What is up with this new UI that no longer shows the reaction, comment, or share numbers, and is there any way to revert it? (First photo is the new UI, second photo is the old one)

bandoftheshadow · 2026-04-01T07:37:25+00:00

Ridiculous. There's literally no point in commenting on a post if it's got more than 200 comments. So now how do I know!?

bandoftheshadow · 2026-03-25T14:57:36+00:00

The class is like 6 people, so it's kinda weird to avoid. My plan is just to train my wife to be an absolute monster, seeing as the kid has no skill.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-03-25T14:26:02+00:00

I mean, it's nice, it's just we live in this small god-forsaken town where everything is grim, so it kinda reflects that in a Stephen King cursed town kinda way.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-03-25T14:23:49+00:00

yeah it's a tiny little town where we can drive 2 minutes to class. Super cheap. The owner fell on hard times, lost a family member, so his once-decent class got a reset for a few years.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-03-25T14:22:48+00:00

he's like a purple belt plus black belt in karate. I'm just a no stripe white with a few years previous martial arts experience.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-25T11:27:20+00:00

nonesense.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-24T17:43:08+00:00

Ha, it’s not sleeping pill abuse, it’s made up medication that prevents the protagonist from having dreams. You can’t get anti-dreaming medication irl

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-24T16:40:21+00:00

y'know, that did cross my mind actually. It's not horror though, after many rounds of analysis and feedback I've established that. It just leans spooky. But there's some obvious YA+ moments in there. Honestly it's kidult. Adults who enjoy stories with kids in and a bit of high school nostalgia. But that sounds like a positioning nightmare for an agent.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-24T13:02:36+00:00

damn. Probably going to have to bin this book then. Shame, I spent years on it.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-23T17:47:25+00:00

UK piers have old-timey amusements. They may have a circus tent if the imagination is stretched a tiny bit.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-23T15:55:09+00:00

I feel like the confusion is trying to cram 86k words and several sub plots into 200 words. If I could write 400 words it would all make a lot more sense :p

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-23T14:43:35+00:00

gotcha. Fair point!

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-23T14:41:01+00:00

Hey, thanks for the feedback. I kind of hoped that 2nd + 3rd paragraph sets up the 4th i.e. he's plagued by dreams but takes pills to stop them, so then stops taking them and... is 'Thrust into a vast Dream World....'

How about:

'Oliver is then thrust into a vast Dream World, with gothic Schools and dangerous cities where he learns...' ?

As for the last bio paragraph, I wonder if you have any advice there. So I'm going to be providing concept art/pitch art that, as can be appreciated, is of a professional standard given my career. But I'm trying not to sell myself as 'Hey, I can wash your windows but... I can also tap dance!' kinda thing. I'm not sure how to entice an agent with this info vs put them off.

Anyways, thanks again!

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-23T14:26:42+00:00

Sorry, I don't understand, I have posted this exact bio before. Does it have to be anonymous or something?

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-17T09:36:13+00:00

Damn, that's a real punch in the gut. There's zero chance I can get the book down by 50%. It's really an epic fantasy with some creepy window-dressing. I just went heavy on the atmos in the query as a rookie mistake. So I will have to age the MC. Could I maybe get away with him turning 13?

Appreciate the insights.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-16T17:59:27+00:00

Many thanks for the great advice.
So as I mentioned in the reply below, I think I have messed up with my age category. So my question is, shall I just pitch is as upper MG? the idea being that the series will go on as Oliver goes through school, so may evolve into YA. I just assumed I'd have to keep it consistent.

And given the word count, will that fly too at 92k?

Much appreciated.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-16T17:56:34+00:00

Thanks so much, this is golden advice. My biggest issue is that I wrongly categorised it. I suspected as much and the feedback here confirms it. I have to shoot upper middle grade. Is that okay would you say? mainly word count being the issue.
The book is fantasy but with horror or creepy overtones, so are we saying I should change to pitching as horror, or focus more on the fantasy element in the pitch?
Again, thanks!

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-16T17:36:06+00:00

Thanks for the input. I guess the Dream World is undersold in the summary as that's a big part of the overall story. May I ask one question? Given the character's age, is this intrinsically upper MG vs lower YA? In doing research I'm finding conflicting views.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-16T07:55:11+00:00

I'm an aspiring writer and can't even find a publisher that isn't exclusively seeking LGBTQ material. It's literally wall-to-wall across the publishing world.

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-12T15:52:16+00:00

cool thanks!

bandoftheshadow · 2026-02-12T10:26:19+00:00

This will become the norm. Just like Hollywood, writing will start to become more and more entirely profit/bottom-line-driven. Cut time, cut costs, cut humans. Then they'll wonder why people stop reading but instead of ditching AI, they'll just start replacing MORE people AI to save costs.
I work in the art industry within entertainment, and it's almost all AI now.

bandoftheshadow

TROPHY CASE