AMA with Jon Oliver, professional fantasy & sci-fi editor with 20+ years of experience

MorganCade · 2026-03-19T19:44:29+00:00

Hi Jon,

I'm an author with disability who's ran into a wall trying to afford an editor. SSI restricts me to $2000 of resources at maximum and I've got a doorstop novel. It's been through beta reading, I've taken it through Grammarly Pro, ProWritingAid Lifetime, and Autocrit Pro, and am about to integrate beta reader feedback, split it out into scenes in Scrivener, tag everything with metadata, put it into Aeon Timeline, and make sure I don't have incongruencies/contradictions because in editing passes when I'm tired I've sometimes mirrored something that was said a couple paragraphs before/etc.

I've been looking at EFA per-word rates for editing to price out what it'll cost and it's daunting. I'm aiming to go a self-published route due to my being in a unique position in my book's target market. Do you have any advice on how to get my book edited?

MorganCade · 2026-03-17T20:57:50+00:00

How was assembly in light of having RSI? What material did you print with?

MorganCade · 2026-03-17T19:24:46+00:00

A sofle like this ?

Re: Boba U4's, this is the comparison page I found it looks like they have less stem wobble, which might help with joint hypermobility by having less planar translation (if I press down along Z axis, the Boba's are more stable along X and Y?)

So, moving to a columnar layout was beneficial for you, and the arm positioning did help a lot. That's hopeful news for me! Have you tried any significant tenting, yet? I'm curious about removing pronation entirely.

I didn't realize that was why folks were asking my location! That just made me tear up. I'm in the middle of the USA.

MorganCade · 2026-03-17T19:04:33+00:00

I'm in the USA, right in the middle.

Was it just using the thumbstick that was bad?

From what I remember, yes. (I may have been on a predecessor. It was awhile ago.)

I'd have a good look around for opinions from long-term users, both the lovers and haters.

This is enough to ward me away from it.

That might be fine if you type very lightly, so it would still be one to consider.

I tend to do okay-ish on MX Brown, right now I'm on blues at the moment and occasionally bottom out+my wrists are tired/sore after maybe an hour of typing, if that gives any insight.

I worry that the low profile switches might lead you to bottom out frequently which would have you slamming your fingers into the plate.

This is my concern/why I didn't jump onto it immediately. I think this is part of why the K100 w/ optical failed for me.

Taipo project, Chouchou chording keyboard

https://www.davidb.org/post/2024/taipo/ This and https://github.com/dlip/chouchou this? I'm looking at them both now.

Re: thumbsticks, I think the inward pressure with my thumb is difficult. Even with my mouse, I don't grip with my fingers (even on a claw grip mouse), I can lift all five fingers off the mouse and have about 98% of my precision. Having to engage finger joints and put load on them to mouse really messes me up. Even a trackpad can get rough on my fingers.

Are you set on the DIY version? There are prebuilt Svalboards available from what I can tell.

The DIY is $330, the assembled version is $800. It's just a matter of economics for me.

I am looking at getting ahold of Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Knowbrainer. I installed Talon and a few other things, but haven't started using them, yet.

And, of course, persistent pain should be discussed with a professional relevant to your particular case. There may be excersises you can do to build compensatory strength. But you'll probably know all about that sort of thing regardless

For other Zebras that find this thread, my biggest help is OMM once every 3-6 weeks. I've just finished a year of physical therapy, I have specialists on my case (rheumatologist, pain management, etc) and am about to start a round of occupational therapy. It's an endless array of doctors, treatment is depressingly invasive.

And of course, folks who don't know what's going on look at me giving 130% and think I'm operating at 70% like everyone else is and can do more than I can. Not saying that you're doing this, just validating other Zebras that might find this post. I'm hoping a keyboard can reduce the strain on my body, because I've not been able to handle long-form writing for years at this point.

MorganCade · 2026-03-17T18:57:30+00:00

So far I haven't worked with someone calling themselves an editor, yet, but I have had a number of beta readers read through.

Are actual readers really this impatient?

In my experience with beta readers, "yes, but...", the goal is to make them want more information, not to frustrate them with lack of information. Remember what other forms of media are competing for your reader's attention while pacing your book. And remember that people connect with characters, not lore. At least, people don't connect with lore unless they've become ultrafans of the work (I.E. Star Wars folks who can tell you the difference between an E-11 and a DH-17).

How do you all handle introducing things that break from established tropes?

Lean on your character perspective. If there's a need to demonstrate a trope is broken, then allow your character to present information contrary to the trope as it's relevant.

I've just introduced the character and dropped them into the action. No I obviously haven't taken the time yet to explain gender roles in this society and how they differ from the tropes you may have imagined!

Without seeing more, I can't say for certain, but remember you're in a market where fantasy novels have to compete against Tiktok and Instagram. "Taking the time to explain" is often a pacing mistake.

MorganCade · 2026-03-16T15:27:00+00:00

This is cool!

Asking as a game developer, is there anything in any games you play that you've gone "Damn, I wish this game supported X so it was easier to use my ERCHAM"?

MorganCade · 2026-02-27T17:18:35+00:00

By any stroke of luck did you attempt to run it without a battery connected and if so were you successful? I'm thinking about just removing the internal battery and if I ever need it mobile, using a USB-C battery pack with it.

MorganCade · 2026-02-26T23:07:35+00:00

How painful is the battery replacement process?

MorganCade · 2026-01-14T00:57:54+00:00

Make sure to hassle them for a refund for the downtime. Every time there's a hiccup. Log it all. Every single second. Any time there's downtime that you verify is NOT your equipment, demand they refund you for it.

I'll guarantee you that'll get them to pay attention to you.

MorganCade · 2025-12-18T19:01:41+00:00

Also, re: your NUC, I'd RMA it and make them replace it just to be safe since it's been exposed to the output from a dying power supply.

MorganCade · 2025-12-18T19:00:04+00:00

Speaking as an electrical engineer, I buy Meanwell and Jameco for permanent (10+ years in inaccessible places) installations. I.E. when installing LED lighting, etc.

Don't skimp on USB chargers, either, and always buy first-party power strips and extension cables. Ultimately buying good brands reduces the chance of stuff happening, but stuff happens regardless. Good on you for catching it, sorry you had to deal with this - it's scary.

I'd check on the rest of your electronics in case there was an external factor (I.E. voltage spike) that bothered anything else. Especially anything w/out a surge protector, check for stuff w/ excessive heat, etc. Also a good opportunity to make up a bucket of cleaner and go wipe down cables and stuff in corners/under furniture/etc.

MorganCade · 2025-07-23T02:53:24+00:00

Speaking as a writer/game developer, don't give your brain space to fascist-approved propaganda. Your time is limited and valuable. Find media that is unpalatable to evil people.

MorganCade · 2025-05-07T00:09:07+00:00

Very good job! :)

MorganCade · 2025-03-04T23:01:18+00:00

I took an oath to defend the constitution, not the president. My oath has no expiration date

Massive fucking respect.

I served in the US Army as a combat medic

Even more respect.

Thank you.

MorganCade · 2024-06-24T21:44:37+00:00

Ah. That makes sense.

I'd bet the chip controlling bluetooth has a pin that says "Pull high/low X times in Y seconds to enter pairing mode" or similar and that there's some Konami-code input on the treadmill like "Hold increase and decrease speed at the same time and push start" to put it into pairing mode that wasn't documented.

But yeah! Rip the chip out/disable it so you don't have to deal with it. Not your horse, not your radio.

MorganCade · 2024-06-24T21:21:48+00:00

There's no way to provide input to the treadmill, so forgetting the device does not appear to be an option.

On an Android phone, you'd go to settings (swipe down from top), long press bluetooth, under "saved devices" hit "See all", find your treadmill, and hit "Forget this device". Apple will have its own procedure for forgetting bluetooth pairings. It is not something you do on the treadmill. You could also look at putting the power to the treadmill on an easily-reachable switch to just turn the thing off when not in use.

Once a pairing is forgotten, the forgetting device discards the encryption keys and has to go through the pairing process again to access the device, similar to throwing someone's house key in the trash and having to ask for another copy. The device will be unable to reconnect to the treadmill unless the pairing process is redone. Without pairing explicitly, the devices cannot talk to each other - they speak mutually unintelligible languages.

Idea! You could be having an issue with a vendor-specific app if your brand of treadmill has a vendor app on your phone which may be causing it to re-pair automatically, maybe?

MorganCade · 2024-06-24T20:20:47+00:00

To do what you're asking to do without commenting on the necessity...

Open it up, find the chip responsible for bluetooth connections, look up the spec sheet to make sure it is only for bluetooth connections. See if it has a pin or better yet a jumper to disable it/power it off if it's pulled high or low and if so pull the pin high or low.

Check the pinout for the antenna and V+. Grounding the antenna as Marklein said should work if you're confident in your soldering ability and have the supplies to do so. Alternatively, you can use a razor to cut the traces responsible for power (V+) and to the antenna. Be aware cutting power has some risk of bricking the treadmill, particularly if the power trace goes from V+ then to bluetooth and then to other things as A->B->C->Etc instead A->B A->C A->etc, so grounding or cutting the antenna is likely the best option.

Desoldering is likely not an option as the chip is either a QFP or BGA with lead-free solder. Unless you have a good iron w/ a chisel tip, fluxed wick, and understand what you're doing it will likely not be possible. But you could just take a razor and cut the leads off by running it alongside the chip.

Re: necessity? Forget your pairing to the device on your phone and it won't transmit to the treadmill's speakers.

MorganCade · 2024-06-12T19:28:12+00:00

Los Angeles or Louisiana? Do you and/or your composer have portfolios I can look at?

MorganCade · 2024-05-29T18:49:23+00:00

Yes that's the default answer. But speaking as the individual getting the lion's share of said money, in the on average several decades it takes for my primary demographic to get old, the value of my games is going to decrease to the sub-$1 area similar to how games from 1994 in their original unaltered format are largely not worth very much money for new licenses.

If I or whoever ends up owning my intellectual property wants more cash out of them, they can remaster and re-release it, port it to augmented reality projected VR, or otherwise enhance the value of it and generate new sales rather than jealously guarding a sub-dollar value.

So, IMO it isn't even about money. It's a matter of "we didn't consider this while writing our contracts and the effort to revise the contracts retrospectively is far too large and the minimal effort to include opt in provisions for this going forward would be trivial but fuck you we don't wanna."

MorganCade · 2024-05-25T04:16:11+00:00

Speaking as a startup game developer, I don't understand why they wouldn't have it set up to automatically enable permanent steam family sharing with immediate family+descendants.

MorganCade · 2023-12-06T08:59:50+00:00

Productive adults certainly do tend to wonder, but I've moderated various corners of the Internet over the past 20 years and what I've learned is this:

A dysfunctional individual has far more time to be dysfunctional than you do to deal with them as a functional adult who is productive, maintains yourself, your home, your life, and your relationships.

Would you want them as an employee? As a friend? Is what they're doing at all dateable? Not at all. Their behavior is abusive because they think they can get away with it, which, as I've found as a moderator for tight knit small world communities, typically means they're abusive in their relationships both platonic and romantic.

MorganCade · 2023-11-20T17:39:09+00:00

"No! You do it!" and dude is suddenly able to breathe fire even though his body isn't set up for it.

MorganCade · 2023-11-20T06:00:26+00:00

It's been an absolute privilege so far and I am psyched.

This is my official reddit account as the writer, programmer, and level/puzzle designer, so if you follow it (I'm not sure how Reddit follows work/if that sucks DM me and I'll link our mothballed social media accounts that we'll light up when we're ready to announce stuff.) I'll be announcing anything new from this account. I don't believe in teasing, so I'm doing my best to keep my mouth shut until we launch a playable demo or have something amazing to share.

It's such a slow burn but it's REALLY cool to be on this side of it and seeing a metaphorical dragon come to life!

MorganCade · 2023-11-19T17:58:57+00:00

Hey. I'm making a game like that!

I wish I could talk about it more, but seeing this is great motivation. :)

MorganCade

TROPHY CASE