T.C. Martin

2.6K posts

T.C. Martin banner
T.C. Martin

T.C. Martin

@TCMartin_Books

Fantasy writer of epic-length tales. Waveborn's Wake is on sale at Amazon. Working on a long arc of stories within the world of Vyr.

Oklahoma 가입일 Mart 2026
141 팔로잉242 팔로워
고정된 트윗
T.C. Martin
T.C. Martin@TCMartin_Books·
Sail into the depths where Chaos tears free. When the world itself turns predator, few dare to defy its hunger. She can steer through tempests and shipwrecks… but no magic can shield her heart from what’s coming. From the eye of the storm to the edge of the world, one choice will drown or deliver them all. A tideweaver marked by the waves. A berserker with nothing left to lose. A voyage none of them will survive unchanged. Climb aboard Shimmering Swell and sail with Thalrenstride into the adventure of... Waveborn's Wake! ~~~~~ Sailing aboard Shimmering Swell, Agnes dreams of glory as Lady Nebula, Ace of the Seas, and with a clever proposal to her father, she aims to step onto dry land and chart a course for a master worthy of such a legend. In the capital of Cresthia, in a time of inebriation and praise, everything shifts for the adventuring band, Thalrenstride, when a woman claiming to be an upstart swashbuckler intercepts Maddox. Hungry for a mentor and drunk on her own imaginings, she calls herself Odyssea Stormchaser and talks her way into becoming Maddox’s apprentice. Thalrenstride soon learns the world in this girl’s head is brighter and grander than the one around her, and when that bright world insists on overshadowing reality, it becomes dangerous. What begins as an unusual apprenticeship becomes a bond reshaping who they are in ways neither expected. Time bends, trials mount, and under Maddox’s hard teaching and fierce protection, Odyssea rises as a woman not chosen because she’s without equal, but one who survives because she’s armed and cherished. Will she emerge as the adventurer she dreams of, or will the tides of fate claim her? Dive into Waveborn’s Wake, a thrilling saga of courage, camaraderie, and the call of the deep. ~~~~~ I used two months worth of credits and revised my promo video. The imagery and frame changes bothered me, as well as the inconsistencies. I spent the last few days finishing it up, and I think it came out well enough. For those that dislike generated imagery, give me the funds and we'll do it right. LLMs are not involved in the book itself.
English
1
3
11
297
T.C. Martin
T.C. Martin@TCMartin_Books·
@AuthorTRobare You're forgetting the review argument. And marketing vs. merit. Or was that like totally sooo last week?
English
1
0
1
15
Timothy Robare, Author
Timothy Robare, Author@AuthorTRobare·
The cycle of the Twitterverse: Indie beef. Prologue debate. Don't need an editor debate. How someone should write. Then do it all again. 😮‍💨😮‍💨
English
19
2
83
1.5K
Shaonic
Shaonic@Sha0nic·
@TCMartin_Books @jmgwritten Understandable argument, however, its safe to say you can always have the game on PC nowadays, maybe the controls would be better. Also, I believe the entirety of Wars added something good to the storyline, as well as having a great addition to the franchise.
English
1
0
1
8
Justine Castellon
Justine Castellon@justcastellon·
I've been reading about editing horror stories for the past few hours. One author paid $3,000. Another came out the other end sounding like her editor, her own voice nowhere to be found. It doesn't have to be that way. Working with editors is one of the genuine pleasures of my writing process. Both of mine are an absolute delight. @FrancesASales, who has worked with me across three novels, has a gift for finding the loopholes. She questions them, offers suggestions if needed, then steps back and lets me build the fix myself. She fact-checks my claims. We talk about my characters as if they're real people. Anyone who overhears us probably thinks we're discussing mutual friends. @GaiusKonstantin is the same. He scrutinizes the plot, challenges the dialogue, then hands it back with his notes and lets me rework it on my own terms. Neither of them rewrites me. They sharpen me. Never lose your voice. It's your story — not your editor's. Know what you need, hire for exactly that, and pay for it accordingly.
Gaius Konstantine@GaiusKonstantin

Sometimes, when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. No, I haven’t lost my mind—the relevance will be clear in a moment. It’s no secret that the literary world is changing, driven largely by indie authors bypassing traditional gatekeepers. Many supporting services are evolving along with it. I neither condemn nor applaud this shift; I’m simply noting it as fact. However, one area still seems reluctant to fully accept the new reality: editing. Many independent editors approach indie authors as if they were traditionally published with big budgets and resources. They often insist writers “can’t afford not to hire them.” Not so fast. Indie books absolutely need to be polished and professional—but they don’t necessarily require standards from a century ago. Most fiction readers aren’t literature PhDs, and that’s okay. Part of the friction is that some editors scrutinize manuscripts with academic-level intensity. As @tod_1992 noted so well yesterday, “Sometimes it seems that editors (just like auditors) need to establish their value through numerous findings—many of which are incidental.” This approach pushes authors away, leaving editors with less work. What if we had more “general practitioner” editors alongside the specialists? These editors would focus on what truly matters for most readers: grammar, syntax, clarity, and story structure—while leaving minor stylistic preferences that don’t harm flow or immersion on the table. The benefits are obvious: faster turnarounds, lower costs, more authors getting help, and higher overall quality of indie books. Remember: A full-service Editor isn’t mandatory for indie authors, but editing is vital. One way or another, that gap has to be filled. #WritingCommunity

English
4
1
40
1K
T.C. Martin
T.C. Martin@TCMartin_Books·
@Mortheous Everything is inaccurate but the mouth... I wonder what the prompt read🤣.
English
0
0
1
32
T.C. Martin
T.C. Martin@TCMartin_Books·
I think there's a miscommunication. Many see an editor as "catches continuity, grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors." Most people can do this on their own given the time and a few dozen reads of each chapter. Yet, from what editor-using authors post: an editor does much more. Editors tell you to remove parts, enhance some, and sometimes rewrite entire chapters; as well as change themes, and completely deviate from what you had planned for the book — including changing titles, cover images, and everything else. Hell, reading between the lines, I'm fairly certain some editors have told their authors to just write a completely different book entirely. Now, I did much of that myself, including the rewrites, deletions, and enhancements. The title change, the cover image improvements, etc. I even rewrote the entire book (not joking). Some of us are capable of objectively looking at our baby and calling it what it is: ugly. My wife constantly told me all my changes were unnecessary. That she liked the story as is. When the book was at its final revision, she admitted they weren't. There's a reason I moved a scene from CH2 to CH26 and turned it into a vision-like dream, and many other seemingly strange things. That being said, my life would've been 10 months easier if I had the money for an editor. For my next book I'm robbing a bank or something, because I don't want to do that again. Do yourself a favor. Whatever it takes, get an editor.
English
1
0
0
45
J.M. Goodwin
J.M. Goodwin@jmgwritten·
@epchapman1986 No person can see their own work as objectively as an editor. They are essential to publishing a quality book
English
2
0
3
40
J.M. Goodwin
J.M. Goodwin@jmgwritten·
I like Blake. He's good people. But this take misses an important point: If your goal is just to publish any old thing, then go ahead. Skip the editor, toss the thing on Amazon, and call yourself an author But if you want your book to be GOOD, an editor is required
Blake Carpenter@BCarpenterBooks

This has the potential to make people mad, but that’s the way of things these days. So here’s my hot take: you don’t “need” an editor to self-publish your book. I will caveat that by saying you might *want* one, but anybody telling you that you have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for an editor before you publish likely has something to sell you, and it’s probably their editing services. If you forego an editor, some of your book will suffer—you will likely miss typos, plot holes, or other distractions that will take readers away from the story you are trying to tell. That’s just the law of averages. I’ve been doing this writing thing professionally for a long time and I still miss my share of mistakes. You will have to decide how much of a risk you’re willing or wanting to take by going it alone; if you’re worried that you won’t catch every error or that you’ll overlook some major flaw, an editor will be your best bet. But that’s a choice you should make based on your budget and your own proofreading ability—it isn’t something to be bullied into. It also isn’t a choice everyone should make, and it isn’t a choice everyone needs, either. Authors aren’t all created equal. We have skills like everybody else, and some of us are better at catching our own mistakes than others. Editors want to offer you a service. They also want to be paid for that service. If you can find a good one, that service can be worth the cost of admission—but that *is* an “if,” one you will have to decide whether the risk is worth it…and whether you can eat the cost if it blows up in your face.

English
5
1
27
632
T.C. Martin
T.C. Martin@TCMartin_Books·
@japan_nobunaga Animal style was once a secret menu item that was not told, it was only asked for. Our high-trust society has officially fallen.
English
0
0
3
3.8K
NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依
NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依@japan_nobunaga·
I went to In-N-Out and ordered a cheeseburger. The cashier, a calm young woman named Destiny, asked me a question I did not expect. "You want that Animal Style?" I paused. I did not know what this meant. But a samurai does not admit he does not know. So I answered with weight. "...Animal Style." "Cool. So that's mustard-grilled, extra spread, grilled onions, pickles. Yeah?" I understood now. This was a sacred permission. For one meal, I was being told to put down my manners at the door. To eat the way a beast eats, without shame. I had waited my whole life for someone to give me this order. "Yes," I said. "I will become the animal." Destiny did not blink. "...Okay. You want your fries Animal Style too?" I stopped. Even the potatoes? "The potatoes also become animals?" "I mean, they get cheese and sauce and grilled onions, so..." "Then yes. Let the potatoes abandon their restraint as well." "...Got it." She was the calmest woman I have ever met. "3x3, 4x4, or just the one?" I did not know these numbers, but I knew a challenge when I heard one. "How many must I face?" "It's, like, how many patties you want." "How many is the most honorable?" "...Four is a lot." "Then four. A warrior does not ask for fewer." She wrote it down without argument. A 4x4, Animal Style, with animal fries. She warned me once, kindly. "That's gonna be huge." I told her I was counting on it. It arrived. It was a tower. Cheese and sauce ran down my hands the moment I lifted it. There was no clean way to eat it. There was no dignified way. That was the entire point. I ate it like a beast. Both hands, no honor, grilled onion on my chin, and I have to be honest with you, it was the best thing I have ever put in my mouth. For thirty years I have kept my manners at every table in the world. They handed me a burger and told me to be an animal, and I have never felt so free. So tell me, America. The whole country knows the secret menu. What else are you hiding in plain sight? And "Animal Style." Was I eating the animal, or finally becoming one?
NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依 tweet media
English
1.5K
6.6K
58.5K
2.2M
Jared Leys
Jared Leys@jaredleys·
@DanNEO_SS If fiction writers aren’t making up new words, then who will?
English
1
0
5
48
DanNeo S.S. ✮ 𓂃🖊
DanNeo S.S. ✮ 𓂃🖊@DanNEO_SS·
Hey everyone, ready to tackle the challenges of Tuesday? ☕️ A question for fellow creatives and readers: what do you think about words created specifically for fiction? I mean unique slang, expressions, or cultural touches... not entire languages like the ones Tolkien created.
GIF
English
15
0
22
514
Karlstan Vance
Karlstan Vance@KarlstanVance·
@DanNEO_SS I have a hard time reading current slang or swears in a wholly different created world. Like, how did they arrive at the same usage for the F word that we have?
English
3
0
2
37
T.C. Martin
T.C. Martin@TCMartin_Books·
@DanNEO_SS I use them all the time. If you're a wholesome sailor, the worst insult in your arsenal is a scrounger. Ever hear of foreimages? They play a huge roll in the climax of a.co/d/0eIoisiW
English
0
0
0
4
Noah Ray
Noah Ray@NoahRayWrites·
What would you do if you were given $800 dollars for marketing purposes only and had to spend it all within a month?
English
27
0
26
1.7K
T.C. Martin
T.C. Martin@TCMartin_Books·
@Sha0nic @jmgwritten Well done. And I say to that: Halo Wars was disappointing, slow, clunky, and less than StarCraft, WarCraft, and Age of Empires. It felt like a cheap cash-grab of the Halo IP. And whoever thought it was a good idea to run an RTS with a controller needs a permanent dunce cap.
GIF
English
1
0
0
18
Shaonic
Shaonic@Sha0nic·
@TCMartin_Books @jmgwritten Alright, here's a better way. Halo wars is a good game because it tries something different with the source and executes it perfectly within a different style of playing field. It's not a shooter, but I welcome it. Don't think that I believe the world revolves around my opinion
English
1
0
1
10
T.C. Martin
T.C. Martin@TCMartin_Books·
@Hart_Horrors I noticed some of my favorites are gone as well. I started making my own with my greatest OC.
English
0
0
1
5
Hartmouth Horrors
Hartmouth Horrors@Hart_Horrors·
Has something happened with the gifs on this app? Can hardly find any of my usual go-to’s.
GIF
English
8
1
19
380
Katie Roome
Katie Roome@RedHedgedragon·
Everyone should be a reader
kpmaloyauthor@kpmaloyauthor

I’m seeing more ‘rules’ for indie writers these days. 1) must be an avid reader 2) must be a harsh reviewer of the books you read 3) must have beta readers 4) must have an editor 5) must be familiar with other books like your own 6) must stand for something 7) must not alienate with your stances 8) must include at least one special character Have I forgotten any…? Not knocking any one of these - and not crashing out! - just curious what else I’m missing. What about lone gunman…😂

English
6
0
26
731
SB Wight
SB Wight@sb_wight·
@SDDonovan You seem to be about the least blockable person on this app, unless I missed something.
GIF
English
1
0
5
103
Shane Donovan
Shane Donovan@SDDonovan·
When you buy an indie book you've been looking forward to and then notice the author has you blocked. Oops.
English
56
1
122
4.3K
T.C. Martin
T.C. Martin@TCMartin_Books·
@SDDonovan I haven't seen a single thing anyone would block you for. Perhaps that person doesn't like hockey?
English
0
0
0
55
T.C. Martin
T.C. Martin@TCMartin_Books·
@jessica_barberi @SketchesbyBoze This was my understanding. A gathering to discuss a book. Something to chat about for a bit before the conversation divulges into what Becky did last Friday at the supermarket🤣.
English
0
0
0
6
Jessica Barberi
Jessica Barberi@jessica_barberi·
@SketchesbyBoze Do book clubs typically read in proximity? I thought they mostly talked about the book they read on their own time.
English
2
0
7
168
Boze Herrington, Library Owl 😴🧙‍♀️
Boze Herrington, Library Owl 😴🧙‍♀️@SketchesbyBoze·
“Reading is performative.” “Reading in groups is performative.” Stop. Ask yourself why reading is the only activity we say this about, and who benefits from that. Don’t let yourself be propagandized into abandoning one of life’s greatest pleasures. We are in a literacy crisis.
A.C. Sharma@Acs2093

I love reading books, but I hate the idea of book clubs and book reading meets. The thought of 4–5 people sitting together for 2–3 hours to “read” a book feels so performative and fake to me. Reading is a personal, solitary activity that requires quiet and focus. If you have a

English
32
184
1K
25.6K
Abigail Lakewood
Abigail Lakewood@Miss_Lakewood·
Wow you said a handful there, TC 😊 I have nothing against blurbs or AI generated trailers BUT the title is the very first demonstration of the author's writing skills in my eyes. No I don't base my entire review on the title but I am always aware of it, in the sense of asking myself "Does the title make me think twice about its words? Does it make me want to know more?"
English
1
0
1
16
Shane Donovan
Shane Donovan@SDDonovan·
Some people in the indie scene are flat out rude, mean, condescending and think they know better than everyone, but people aren't ready for that conversation.
English
26
1
81
2.1K

탐색

@AuthorTRobare @Sha0nic @jmgwritten @justcastellon @SDDonovan @FrancesASales @GaiusKonstantin @Mortheous