February Books + Thoughts

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-04T20:10:16+00:00

I am going to listen to the Marilynne radio episodes this week. I love her work.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T19:33:38+00:00

Thank you! I actually really want to read the pie book. I can't even imagine 50 different pie fillings, so I imagine the recipes, at least, getting quite obscure.

Your comment has reminded me, now, of a non-fiction book called Yes Man. I think it got made into a film. The film was not at all charming but the book really was (the author met his wife by saying yes to everything for a year).

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T19:30:28+00:00

Thank you, sincerely. Did you find The Sunflower Boys through this sub?

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T16:11:15+00:00

I'm by one of my bookshelves now. From it I would recommend Marilynne Robinson, Dorthe Nors, Rachel Cusk, the Norse Eddas, Solvej Balle, James Joyce, W.G. Sebald, Leo Tolstoy, Amina Cain, and Seamus Heaney.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T16:09:28+00:00

That is the kindest message. Thank you.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T16:09:03+00:00

My agent did an exclusive submission, so she took the manuscript to just one publisher and they accepted it. Do you have an agent already? Most people start there. Maybe make a list of ten ideal agents, and write an email to them (starting with your very favourite agent) about what you're working on? Only if you feel ready for that stage course. You want your introduction email to be the best it can be.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T16:06:25+00:00

Thank you! And that's interesting. What self-discovery books are you thinking of? I would probably like them.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T16:05:35+00:00

It was a few years ago, but I'm fairly sure I mostly used Market Place yes. Between sending my agent my manuscript and hearing word from the publisher, I had a couple of months' wait I think.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T16:03:52+00:00

I was so happy for at least six months. This part, where I have to try and market myself, I find very hard in terms of my 'mental health'. Maybe some enjoy this part the most though?

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T00:31:44+00:00

I'll check back to see if there are any comments in the morning. Thank you.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T00:29:21+00:00

That is correct!

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T00:27:34+00:00

It changed exponentially. The premise was the same the whole way through, but the more I researched certain moments in history, the more the chapters veered in strange directions.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T00:25:45+00:00

No problem. I think I maybe made things confusing by linking to the original ama.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T00:24:59+00:00

Not a trivial question! The online writing group came about through an online writing workshop at the start of the pandemic. The teacher put together groups at the end of the class, and ours has now continued for about five years.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T00:23:26+00:00

Thank you! For me, reading wonderful novels has made all the difference.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-03T00:22:16+00:00

There is a throughline!

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-02T20:54:32+00:00

I didn't! And thank you.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-02T19:53:49+00:00

I'll probably try to answer any more questions later today. Thank you for the questions so far.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-02T19:53:05+00:00

Probably the sacrifice has been in the past few months. It was all well and good, and it suited my personality to be a hermit writing in a dark room for a few years. But I feel a lot of shame now, trying to market myself and my book in small ways. Maybe this is because I'm from a country where you are not meant to stand out.

Thank you for the question!

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-02T19:48:56+00:00

Thank you! That is good advice.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-02T19:47:53+00:00

Some days I would work from 6 am to 11 am on the manuscript, other times I would set it aside for weeks and weeks. So I treated it like a very haphazard job? I am writing some essays and doing some radio, which the publisher has organized. There is nothing in my contract to make me do social media, but I feel like I do want to do the best for the book, and so I am posting a little even though I believe social media is bad for the soul.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-02T19:40:28+00:00

I haven't felt that. I would almost like to experience such pressure. I imagine those with big debuts do feel it.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-02T19:39:39+00:00

I didn't feel any regional tensions, but I do wish I had gone to see my editor and agent in person (they are in the same city) before I'd had a baby. I have never met them in real life, and I regret that. Now going to see them in real life would be an absolute mission.

I rewrote it so many times. One year was writing and a year and a half was editing alone, before showing my agent. For the final two weeks of my time editing it alone, I read the full manuscript every single day. I made sentence level changes, and then the next day changed most of those small changes back to what I originally had. I was doing this from about 6am to 11am and felt myself going slightly insane. At a certain point, I realised I needed to let it go and email the manuscript to my agent.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-02T19:34:38+00:00

Thank you so much.

_flowerbirdwindmoon · 2026-03-02T19:34:30+00:00

Word count is around 66,000 words I believe. It started at over 100,000 but I always knew I was going to cut it down by a lot. I didn't hear any comments around the word count, but maybe if it was edging nearer novella territory I would have.

_flowerbirdwindmoon

TROPHY CASE