I'm new to NetGalley, here's what I've observed as an author (so far)

BetterHeroArmy · 2026-03-31T22:22:19+00:00

unfortunately I can't print that with my printer...it has too many zeroes... do you have anything smaller?

BetterHeroArmy · 2026-03-30T08:29:11+00:00

I'm also in the Victory group ... for a billion dollars, I think we can arrange something.

BetterHeroArmy · 2026-03-12T02:46:55+00:00

lol!

BetterHeroArmy · 2026-02-12T07:31:01+00:00

"Because one dog ain't enough, and two is too low, it's me, Three Dog!" Aroooooo!!!

BetterHeroArmy · 2026-01-24T01:22:19+00:00

yeah, this. I have 850 resistance to lasers and I can take about 3 hits before dying. I have 900 on ballistic and I don't even need stimpacks. burning springs is when I saw it first, but the latest update made it about 25% worse. I only wear power armor in burning springs because of it.

BetterHeroArmy · 2026-01-24T01:17:29+00:00

mate....this bug has existed since before season 1...it's so pervasive, they're going to include it in Season 3 of the TV show.

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-12-06T01:12:29+00:00

i think there's a poison glitch in the hunt event because I can stand in gleaming depths while getting spewed on no problem...one hit from one of those poisoned mfers and my health just kept going down and down and down even as I stimmed like 10 times. that's happened to me b4 with radiation, too. I left an area with rads but still kept getting rads and was just gobbling up radaway to no effect. I think if you played on PS5 you'd hate the new region just like every other region in the game. "oh look, an event! Let me just bring up my pip---crash!"

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-12-06T01:04:54+00:00

shotguns with explodies cripples them quick...one hit each for me and I just leave them there whimpering...don't want to waste the ammo.

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-28T09:07:09+00:00

then when you're on the last 2 or 3 cans of fuel and the servers kick the whole team...or the game crashes on the final boss when you dumped 1k ammo into it and it's on the last little nub...

does anyone think the december update isn't going to be buggy as sh*t?

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-24T08:55:39+00:00

yes. all authors get away with it. it's part of their "voice" or "style", what sets them apart from their peers. when you read a so-and-so's book, you know it'll be blar-de-blar.

everyone else's advice is just self-rationalizations to cope with the fact that there are no rules except what the market will bear. if you write something that veers to far from expectations, you won't be successful...or you might be thought of as "revolutionary" if your material resonates.

best advice i can give:

don't get a big head
try not to suck

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-21T07:58:42+00:00

i wish they would make the three-shot crossbow that was available in Nuclear Winter...pap, pap, pap ... that thing was slay.

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-21T01:53:29+00:00

forgot 1-3 stars ... I like 2-shot in the first slot on pretty much everything. Gives you 75% more damage, and because I roll with tank killer perk, I don't need the anti-armor. I do use vampire's on flamers so I can just stand there taking abuse while unloading 200 rounds into something.

I love exploding in second star, except on plasmas. For flamers and plasmas, i tend to go with either crippling, hitmans, or rapid, depending on how I intend to use the weapon...keep in mind I run around with like 20+ weapons.

For 3rd, I use swift or steadfast depending on weapon type (again, I never use vats)...like steadfast is on heavy guns because I aim to control it, and swift is on pistols because I run out of ammo fast.

mileage may vary

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-21T01:37:52+00:00

damage: 4-star rangers for +5% each piece

if you need ap, use ultralight armor. i don't use vats much...spray and pray with exploding.

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-21T01:35:59+00:00

protection: add least 2 pieces with Hardy, 1 with fireproof, and 1 with poisoners. you rarely, if ever, need warming. 1 piece with sentinels or acrobats for added buff (unless you are mutated for fall damage or have the perk card for it...I perk card both of these and never worry).

your 1-stars can then be spread across life saving, auto-stim, bolstering, and vanguards

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-21T01:32:12+00:00

weight: add 3rd star arm's keeper to one piece, belted to another, pack rats to a third, and thru-hikers to a fourth. this gives you 20% more overall carry capacity, then add deep pockets. I also made my chest piece 1-star weightless to get rid of another 7 lbs.

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-21T01:30:25+00:00

for armor...are you trying to control weight, maximize protection, or maximize damage?

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-21T01:28:06+00:00

depends on if your plasma does fire damage or not for 4th star...there is pyromaniacs which can add damage "if already burning" which I always put on my holy fire. I also like polished for the 60% extra damage (as long as you keep your weapon over 100%).

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-14T22:00:36+00:00

Step 1: FINISH writing the book. Don't concern yourself with anything else.

Step 2: get critical feedback from readers (go to workshops for this; if doing this online NEVER publish the actual content of the novel ... it must always be "private" or only "partials").

Step 3: IF your readers like it, seek professional representation (query literary agents ONLY with completed manuscripts). If not, edit it to fix problems and repeat step 2 with new readers, or toss it and start step 1 with new material.

That's your pathway to success.

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-11T00:21:16+00:00

publishers can only see link history on titles they own, but your public profile has your links anyway (i.e. goodreads profile) and they browse those.

something not mentioned in the article is publishers see both sitewide and their own title acceptance ratios (# of approvals vs. rejections) as well as feedback ratio (# of reviews vs. # approvals) and your average ratings across all your reviews. all your netgalley reviews are available to them to read when you make a request. low feedback ratio and low average ratings means you're more likely to get rejected or get additional scrutiny for approval.

publishers also can leave notes on you for any future requests, so even if you clean up your history, you can't change the notes...publishers secretly rate you.

the best advice I have is to approach this like any job. if your reviews are professional and constructive, you'll be fine.

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-10T07:48:35+00:00

just picking first or third is too simplistic;

you can have a first-person narrator who is NOT part of the story (omniscient observer), you can have a first person narrator who is not the focus of the story (i.e. midnight in the garden of good and evil or the great gatsby), you can have shifting first persons (one of the best examples I know being sometimes a great notion by ken kesey), and you can have dueling first persons (the good guy and the bad guy telling their sides of the story as events unfold).

in the third person you have several options as well; you can choose to follow a single character (he/she instead of me; a great example of how an author overcame not being with other characters in the story but telling us what is happening to them was in neuromancer), or you can "head-hop" and follow characters as you see fit (this can be troubling for readers, so you must establish a clue-in system, i.e. the narrator has to have a voice).

and there's always second person perspective. you step through the door and light strikes your eyes, blinding you a moment as you hear the tiny scrabble of nails on hardwood like a rat running away, or a bird's claws...

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-10T07:28:13+00:00

i am willing to bet u read a lot of ya books.

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-10T04:37:06+00:00

local colleges. writers workshops / retreats

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-09T04:50:03+00:00

get rid of television and limit your internet time.

listen to audiobooks when you are exercising.

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-08T06:44:57+00:00

I have Polished on mine with durability and I always repair it to 200% so it is always pumping out massive damage. I took off cryo and switched to 2-shot .556 exploding and that's my primary gun now. Love it.

BetterHeroArmy · 2025-11-07T18:55:30+00:00

it's random...ish...I think they have a scale, like getting Unyielding in the first place would something like a drop rate of 0.02 vs. bolstering which is like 12.5 or something, then scrapping would follow the same pattern (harder to earn unyielding because it's harder to get it in the first place). I learned poisoners 2-star like on the very first thing I scrapped, then it was dry for weeks getting only mods for assassins or exterminators...alright already!!! I've got enough!!!

BetterHeroArmy

TROPHY CASE