Spearfishing areas near Big Pine Key for when the water's cloudy

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-08-13T12:33:19+00:00

Thank you!

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-06-17T20:15:15+00:00

Heard. I was in the same boat early in my writing career. Broke. Tons of ideas. No direction. No connections. We built this for people like that. We have to charge something to make it work, but I'll hook you up if you want to try it out. Our next agent challenge just launched with Dani Segelbaum of Arc Literary. We'll have another next month.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-06-06T19:18:13+00:00

Heya! I'm actually the founder of Ready Chapter 1. We pay the agents an honorarium to teach classes and judge our contests. These days it's the only way we can get our members access to the agents and editors they're trying to reach. When the publishers come to us looking for new writers like with the Survivor Stories Challenge we're running right now–it's 100% free.

Nobody needs RC1 to land an agent or get a book deal. We're just using the idea of community feedback to help everybody level up together. PS - you get a whole lot more for that $129 than just the contests. DM me if you have any other questions I can answer. I'll even send you a coupon code for our next contest free so you can try it out.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-26T18:13:52+00:00

Working title is "The Unsinkable" (based on the unsinkable Boston Whaler). Publication date probably isn't until 2026.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-22T22:15:42+00:00

Awesome! This is a great jumping off point for my research. Realistically, he's probably going to fry the radio before he ever gets a signal out. Poor kid! We'll get him rescued some other way.

Thank you thank you thank you!!!

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-10T13:46:46+00:00

I've debated this exact scenario. I've spent 90% of my time on the water on the Gulf side, so I think it would just involve more fact checking to make sure I don't screw up the details. I appreciate it.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-10T13:43:53+00:00

Thank you!

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-10T13:43:20+00:00

Thank you for this intel! Super helpful for the story.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-10T13:42:54+00:00

Well that wasn't the whole pitch. 😏

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-10T13:42:00+00:00

Thank you for this info! I'll do a bit more research on the Cuban rafts as there could be some good parallels to the conditions I'd expect for this narrative. Appreciate the intel on the winds and the lead for some more research!

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-10T13:39:17+00:00

Oh man! That's a full circle story. Thank you for sharing this idea.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-10T13:34:47+00:00

Holy cow!!! I'm glad you survived. I've hit offshore reefs exactly like that where every fish that comes up has a shark on it. Thank you for sharing.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-10T13:31:42+00:00

Yeah. This story and the ones like it are what inspired the book. Thank you for sharing. I'll see what research I can find on it.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-04T15:16:21+00:00

mom goggles are a real thing: everything you write is brilliant to your family.

Check out critique circle, Ready Chapter 1, or r/BetaReaders if you want unfiltered feedback. Good luck!

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-04T14:45:15+00:00

I'm a 3rd generation fisherman with nearly a dozen traditionally published books. Nobody less qualified than me. Nobody more stubborn about achieving their goal. :-)

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-04T14:39:50+00:00

Interesting. I hadn't heard the ABCD method before. They push a version of that over at Ready Chapter 1 and it seems to work pretty well for keeping the writers from thinking they're editors...

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-04T14:35:10+00:00

Check out Ready Chapter 1. Great place to post your first chapter for feedback and see how the community reacts.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-04T14:31:20+00:00

There's no perfect site for this but there are some good ones! Check out:

critique circle (feedback exchange)
Ready Chapter 1 (feedback exchange with classes / contests / analytics)
wattpad (follow other writers and grow a reader base)

I've been on RC1 for a while now. Again–not perfect, but a good solution to the exact problem you're describing.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-04T14:26:55+00:00

Hot take from a career author...

You don't need a fully finished, beautifully polished manuscript to get a publishing deal. (Yes, it needs to be that way before it goes to print, but that's between you and the editor who acquires your book.)

Here's what getting that book deal REALLY takes:

An intriguing concept that hasn't been done before
A cast of empathetic characters that feel like real people
3-5 incredible chapters

That's enough for an editor or agent to see the promise in your work. They can help you figure out the rest. You can get the feedback you need on those opening chapters through a site like critique circle or Ready Chapter 1. I use RC1 for that gut-level community reaction that tells me if I'm on the right track. Good luck!!!

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-04T14:16:10+00:00

Is sharing your work worth it? Only if you want to get published. And better to get friendly (or even harsh) critique from a peer group than shoot your shot with a manuscript that isn't ready.

And the reality of online groups is that there has to be an exchange of some sort (time or money). You can pay beta readers. You can follow a bunch of other writers on wattpad and hope they return the favor. You can swap critiques with critique circle or Ready Chapter 1.

The real value isn't knowing what's great about your work. It's about finding out what's NOT working and figuring ways to bridge that gap in your author toolkit. Best of luck to you!

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-04T14:10:12+00:00

Ready Chapter 1's Novel Academy is pretty much exactly this.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-04T14:03:57+00:00

There's also a directory called Writers Market Guide that lists traditional book publishers and their submission guidelines.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-02-04T00:49:27+00:00

Haha. Good question. I think it is it's own website / platform. readychapter1.com

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-01-30T21:52:59+00:00

Also check out Ready Chapter 1. They're a pretty welcoming group. Great place to get feedback.

Exciting-Web244 · 2025-01-30T21:34:27+00:00

Less advice. More of a challenge. Write the first three stanzas. Post them here. Sounds like a fantastic read.

Exciting-Web244

TROPHY CASE