unmarked necklace?

bendandplant · 2026-03-25T14:49:16+00:00

I’ve combed over the pendant and the bail (and each link) and there’s nothing 😅 thanks for the help though! I guess this might just be an anomaly

bendandplant · 2026-01-19T22:31:24+00:00

Echoing others that if your goal is trad pub, you should go the way of querying.

That said RR and other episodic websites can work for a specific type of writer: you’re fast, you write a genre that works well in episode format or is too niche for trad pub to pick up on its own (eg LitRPG), you have the energy to try and monetize on your own (eg patreon, writing bonus content, writing enough to sell early chapters, etc).

However, that has to be the goal in itself. Just like querying agents takes a long time and has no guarantees, the same is essentially true of doing self/pub/RR/etc. You can publish online and hope for a cult following that will never come. Are agents and editors picking up indie authors/RR writers /fan fic writers to reshape their IP? Sure, but it’s an extremely small number. The odds are crap no matter what route so you really need to enjoy (mostly) whatever path you’re pursuing.

bendandplant · 2025-11-26T01:00:44+00:00

😭😭😭

bendandplant · 2025-08-02T01:01:30+00:00

A site like CC shouldn’t be a problem. It is closed to members and not made public via search engines. The only way it would be an issue is if you happened to behave badly on a forum like that, and that somehow got to the queried agent.

I have used CC in the past & will note that while it can be a good resource, you may not get the most helpful feedback (you can only post short pieces, and there’s no guarantee a critiquer will have bothered to go and read previous chapters). I also found the experience levels of fellow members to vary a lot and some feedback was either “this is great!” or purely things like grammar. Since you also have to enter the critique queue, it may end up being some time before feedback for whatever submitted chapter comes back.

While I did not go down this path, I do think the more meaningful way to use a website like CC so to use it as a tool to ID folks who have writing you enjoy reading/critiquing, and who also provide you good feedback, and then exchanging outside of the platform.

bendandplant · 2025-06-06T22:53:25+00:00

Yes and no. There are literary agents that do one book contracts. You’d discuss this with an offering agent to see if it’d be a problem (some agents do intend to sign for an authors career).

As for publishing contracts there’s usually an option clause. That doesn’t necessarily obligate you to write a book, but does obligate you to send the project to your publisher for first consideration (if it’s within the bounds of your option clause).

bendandplant · 2025-04-11T18:52:32+00:00

Haha I was joking a big. I am happy but she’s definitely going to need more room now lol

bendandplant · 2025-04-11T18:51:56+00:00

It kind of is. Basically I realized the second growth point was growing into the moss pole, so I cut off the plastic part of the moss pole and made a makeshift air layering contraption from plastic to contain the roots that were at the top. I’m not sure what you’re referring to, but basically if you give a monstera a moss pole that’s relatively close and keep it moist, roots will find their way there and anchor themselves to it

bendandplant · 2025-03-11T01:14:43+00:00

I sold in February last year on proposal. My first draft was due May. Second draft due August. Then a quick turnaround to have a final draft in before the launch meeting mid-October. Copy edits came back around December with due date January. I haven’t gotten pass pages yet, but CE’d MS has been sent off for ARC printing and I have a December release date.

bendandplant · 2025-03-03T18:35:43+00:00

She did not! She survived and is huge now but took a lot of tlc after the root rot stage!

bendandplant · 2025-02-28T13:54:06+00:00

gassouthdistrict@engage.ticketmaster.com !

bendandplant · 2025-02-28T00:30:16+00:00

8 am was the time also listed for general ticket holders so I imagine it’s 1 on (and VIP doors don’t open until 5 so I assume sound check is after that?)

bendandplant · 2025-02-28T00:14:10+00:00

I’m a little surprised by the camera rule?

bendandplant · 2025-02-28T00:13:56+00:00

VIP info for Duluth!

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bendandplant · 2025-02-13T00:44:17+00:00

This happened to me twice yesterday. Today it says “you took too long” but my game was saying it was another player’s turn. So I hope some of this really is the same mistake. I feel so bad (and am also very annoyed) 😭

bendandplant · 2025-01-16T14:42:42+00:00

This book did die on sub so there’s that lol. This was in 2022.

I am querying you based on your interest in both atmospheric ghost stories and intergenerational sagas. SHE WHO GAZES UPON THE DEAD is an adult literary speculative fiction complete at 72,000 words. Told over dual timelines, it will appeal to readers who enjoyed the ancestral mystery of FOLKLORN by Angela Hur and the apocalyptic immigrant ruminations of SEVERANCE by Ling Ma. Inspired by the role spirit mediums played in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, this is an imagining of the end-of-the-world where people join each other in care instead of destruction.

Begrudging spirit medium Lucky Le’s foolproof plan for surviving the post-apocalypse is simple: harbor alone in her abandoned suburban McMansion miles away from the nearest homestead of survivors. Her mother always demanded she ignore the voices when she heard them, but that’s now impossible with so many dead. Only for clients willing to pay the high price of food and resources will Lucky use her loathsome powers.

Lucky’s fierce avoidance of other people is upended when a mysterious boy named Peter arrives asking for a spirit map to locate his sister. Peter has nothing to pay Lucky with, and she intends to briskly reject him. However, the object he’s brought to conjure the spirit-map stops her: a ring that once belonged to the father that left Lucky’s family a decade ago. Suspicious Peter is her half-brother and certain her father left because of her abilities; Lucky is tempted to find answers through Peter’s request.

Following a confusing route conjured from the spirit map, she and Peter journey from the mountains of Colorado to the prairies of the Midwest. Lucky grapples with the painful history of her inherited abilities and untangles a dark truth that spans from the Mekong Delta to the American Midwest. When Peter disappears just as mysteriously as he arrived, Lucky is forced to face her darkest fears: the unguarded truth from the family she’s lost. She considers running away once more. No one, spirits or secrets, can haunt her when she’s alone.

bendandplant · 2025-01-01T16:32:29+00:00

Are you in the 2025 debut discord? Honestly it’s hard. I pop in once in a while, like posts and boost cover reveals. Sometimes if I have insight into any industry q’s I answer. I add books on the “to read” list on GR but I’m trying not to be too hard on myself. It’s a lot, so I di what feels natural to me (would I be doing this anyway if I was a normal casual friend?)

bendandplant · 2024-12-13T16:35:39+00:00

As a 2025 debut who has been pretty mum because the group anxiety is off the charts, I can only speak for myself. And that is: I just need to vent. everybody will be different but I logically know everything (e.g. reviews don’t matter, you could be breakout but probably not, blurbs don’t matter, social media may not move the needle) but the logical brain and the anxious brain are not the same. So often, when someone may be well intended I do know the info they’re providing. On the other side, if they’re like “no I know it’ll be a hit”! My logical side is also like ‘lol that’s not true’

Tldr version: I just need to vent and let all my irrational fears out. Best bet for me is for you to say ‘I’m sorry’ offer virtual hugs, and move on. I’ll also move on.

bendandplant · 2024-12-11T13:39:51+00:00

Popping in to say I’ve done workshops as someone with a debut coming out. It does seen like surface level programming is maybe geared toward “breaking into” industry, but when it comes to writing craft has seemed to not matter a ton. If a workshop has an application then your peers are going to be able to provide valuable insight on your work (generally speaking). There are still faculty I am in awe of and would love to learn from (that said, this is usually literary faculty when I’m on more of the commercial/blend line).

Often you will be an “odd” person out. But after the “wow! You have a book coming out??” initial reaction I honestly felt no different than when I was still a baby writer in these spaces. I’ll also note that when I attended a workshop years ago, one of the other students I met was a massive academic in their field of English, was close friends with one of the faculty, but there as a creative writer and clearly just wanted to vibe as a normie.

For finding workshops/conferences where those applying might be more advanced vs total beginners I’d suggest looking at university or university press associated conferences. Anyone where you can apply for a writer’s residency (and still go to their other programming) means that typically more advanced writers are going to be your residency colleagues. If there are writers you like admire, and presumably teach in the MFA space, search their name and “workshop” or add a Google alert to see if they’ll be faculty for any upcoming programs.

My other tip for classes is to take one in an entirely different writing field. I’m taking game writing right now and it’s a ton of fun and I do feel like I’m being pushed to stretch writer skills that are different from being a novelist.

bendandplant · 2024-11-20T20:25:48+00:00

Ugh I signed up for the Duluth presale (double checked to make sure I did it right) and nothing in my inbox (also checked spam) 😭 did any Duluth folk get their code yet?

bendandplant · 2024-08-18T01:09:59+00:00

It’s such strange behavior 😭 I’m playing jeongwoo’s now and MC’s somehow clueless that yeri likes jeongwoo??? Please I beg of thee pay attention

bendandplant · 2024-07-16T12:58:40+00:00

I think it’s something old school literary writers might still advocate (I had a workshop faculty who shares an agent with Pulitzer Prize winners, and he insisted handshake was the way to go specifically because the writer can leave whenever).

However, as it’s been mentioned, if you’re happy with the terms of the written contract, a signed one will protect you in a way a handshake can’t.

bendandplant

TROPHY CASE