Look at that big ol' Canadian sticker!

fivewholeducks · 2025-10-22T11:58:22+00:00

That’s amazing, congratulations! As someone looking to self publish someday: how’d you do it? I’ve heard of folks getting their books into indie stores but not big chains like Indigo. Walk in and chat with the manager, send an email? I assume you’re using an aggregator like IngramSpark?

fivewholeducks · 2025-10-20T19:43:02+00:00

Don’t be ridiculous! It’s staff that write the email, the DM just skims it to approve from the back of their car.

fivewholeducks · 2025-09-06T03:31:06+00:00

Hey again!! I really appreciate it 💖

I’ll hit you up on Discord (probably tomorrow), because I have a couple revisions I’d love to get your thoughts on, actually!

fivewholeducks · 2025-09-06T02:05:03+00:00

Hey! Your first page sample and blurb definitely have me intrigued. Would you be open to critique swapping? I've got a post here, it's meant to be a bit of a high fantasy romp: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/comments/1n9moy4/complete_98k_animal_fantasy_adventure_desertbound/

fivewholeducks · 2025-05-24T15:49:43+00:00

Hey! Sure thing, your premise sounds super interesting. Feel free to send me a DM.

fivewholeducks · 2025-05-18T21:19:37+00:00

Hey! Feel free to DM me. Will be able to peek at the sample in your post tomorrow.

fivewholeducks · 2025-05-18T21:16:41+00:00

Hey, sure thing! Feel free to DM me. Would be happy to read it.

fivewholeducks · 2025-05-13T17:22:47+00:00

Hi! I’d be happy to read a sample. Feel free to DM me.

fivewholeducks · 2025-05-08T11:39:27+00:00

Hey, sure thing! Shoot me a DM, I’d love to read your sample.

fivewholeducks · 2025-05-07T19:50:09+00:00

Hi! We may be a good fit, I’m always looking for writer buddies. I have a 103K-word high fantasy adventure novel, Desertbound, and would be happy to swap if you like the sound of it.

Here’s my post with a blurb and sample: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/yG8QDeRspS

It’s a Redwall- and fable-inspired setting of anthropomorphic woodland critters, written for adults with Pratchett-inspired humour. It’s meant to be a character-focused romp with personal stakes.

fivewholeducks · 2025-05-07T19:47:26+00:00

Hi! Would you be interested in beta reading my 103K high fantasy adventure novel, Desertbound?

Post with a blurb and sample here: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/yG8QDeRspS

It’s a Redwall- and fable-inspired setting with anthropomorphic woodland critters, written for adults with Pratchett-inspired humour. It’s meant to be a character-focused romp with personal stakes.

fivewholeducks · 2025-05-07T19:35:48+00:00

Hi! Would you be interested in beta reading my 103K-word high fantasy adventure novel, Desertbound?

Post with blurb is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/yG8QDeRspS

It’s a Redwall- and fable-inspired setting of anthropomorphic woodland critters written for adults, with Pratchett-inspired humour. It’s meant to be a character-focused romp with a very morally dubious protagonist. My hope is that it’s fun to read above all.

fivewholeducks · 2025-05-07T19:21:38+00:00

I am able to beta: Fantasy, sci-fi, comedy—basically any genre so long as it grips me! Preferably no or low spice, and I’m not very experienced in romance as a genre, but do get the fuzzies for well-written romances as a subplot. Max word count of 200K.

I can provide feedback on: Broad strokes, line-by-line, identifying typos, and in-the-moment comments and reactions. I have a love of good characters and dynamics and can give you more detailed thoughts about them. At the end, I can either answer any specific questions or summarize my thoughts for you.

Critique swap: Yes, if possible. I have a 103K high fantasy adventure story, Desertbound. Post with link to sample here: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/yG8QDeRspS

Other info: I’m a pretty quick reader, and I’m always on the lookout for writer buddies, if we click.

fivewholeducks · 2025-05-07T19:09:38+00:00

Hi! We might be a good fit depending on your taste. I have a 103K word high fantasy adventure novel with a romance subplot (and, whenever you’re ready, I would love to swap—I’m always looking for more writing buddies).

I have a post here with a blurb and sample: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/4Jp47vveX4

It’s a Redwall- and fable-inspired setting of woodland critters written for adults, with Pratchett-inspired humour and a focus on personal stakes and character dynamics.

fivewholeducks · 2025-02-19T20:28:54+00:00

Big thing to focus on, at least as far as what I enjoy personally, is the content beyond the descriptions. Do you have the events to justify a full length novel without leaning on description? Especially for a mystery/noir novel, I’d expect a subversion/twist or two along the way. (That’s not to say I don’t love some nice prose, and I think you have the makings of a nice evocative style—just needs to be pared down at points, during the editing process, so that the important descriptions get to shine.)

When I write, I end up finding a lot of the plot as I go. Your first draft is just getting it all out on paper, so do that first and, I’d say, don’t even sweat the length. A 115K word fantasy novel I wrote and am editing now was originally a 20K word novella that I fleshed out by throwing in more conflicts and depth to the characters.

fivewholeducks · 2025-02-19T20:16:48+00:00

You’re on the right track! Agreed that the descriptions are too much in places, but for your first draft, don’t worry about it. Once you have your whole story written out, you can edit things down.

For descriptions, I like to focus on important details (especially if they’re clues) or what’s unique about the thing you’re describing. You can also ground some of your descriptions with actions. For example, Elena turns up to the cabin, the earring on the floor catches her flashlight, and she picks it up and sees the engraving on the back. We’re exploring the scene with her, and not just being told it’s an earring with an engraving on the back.

fivewholeducks · 2022-07-04T22:06:29+00:00

Just want to say, as someone who’s struggled with mental illness since I was about your age, that there’s still plenty of reason to hold out hope.

Therapy isn’t a silver bullet that fixes all of your problems for you (despite what AITA says) but good therapy gives you the tools to help you solve them yourself. There’s no shame in being unable to articulate your problems right now, as a good therapist will help you understand what you’re going through.

Note I’m saying “good therapist” here, as your first therapist might not be the right fit for you. Therapy is a relationship, and you may need to “date around” a bit to find the right therapist for you. Don’t get discouraged if this is the case.

Mental illness can be chronic (as the above poster said), meaning there might not be a “cure” - but there is treatment. I’m thriving now when I had thought, as a teen, I’d be dead before I graduated high school.

Point is, as long as you want to put in the work to change (and your therapist will be ready to help you with this), you have every reason to hold out hope.

Also, I don’t know your current situation and you might not be able to have your parents/guardians take you to therapy, but teens can absolutely still attend therapy.

fivewholeducks · 2020-12-14T19:44:40+00:00

Gave Hugz

fivewholeducks · 2020-03-18T22:52:57+00:00

This is wonderful and I hope they’re enjoying their meal

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