Jake Joy - Author

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Friends, Romans, Countrymen, my debut novel! You should read it, the contents are even cooler than the cover. Highly recommended for people who enjoy stories that contain epic fantasy adventure, fighting the forces of evil, and heroes you can look up to Link below ofc

@jmgwritten I probably need to redo mine. I get a lot of clicks to the book on Amazon but bo sales, so something must be putting buyers off.

Finally updated my book's description and back cover blurb. My condolences to everyone who had to read the old one, for it was truly awful I would have fixed it ages ago, but writing blurbs is as sisyphean a task as modernity has yet invented

Agreed.

@timmckay52 There's a number of writers that seem to forget that you write for a Reader, and the rules exist to make the experience as pleasurable for them as possible.

Been seeing a lot of author posts lately about knowing the rules to break the rules (or ignoring the rules altogether). And, granted, there are plenty of people (authors, reviewers, even casual readers) who are way too rigid, and way too quick to judge a book's quality based on it breaking a few rules. But that doesn't make those rules useless, and it doesn't make sharing or discussing them an attack on your writing. No need to get worked up, and no need to assume anyone posting a grammar or storytelling tip believes their "rule" should never be broken (and no, they shouldn't have to include a caveat with their post for you to extend that common courtesy). Many of us find these discussions extremely helpful for improving our craft, and plenty of people enjoy learning them. So, ya know, lay off, will ya? 😅 Also, the correct order is "Learn the rules to break the rules." If you don't know the rules and take pride in breaking them, it very much shows in your writing (and your reviews, as it happens). Tread carefully before you get too cocky, especially as a new author.

I didn't know Helen of Troy could generate so much conflict.

I know right. It's leaving money on the table.😂 Epic fantasy is seeing an uptick in popularity. There's a lack of books for men at the moment, so many are going back to read older books e.g. The Lord of the Ring, The Wheel of Time etc... Huge potential market, so stay the course. It'll be your turn soon.

@TheGrumpySensei I'd enjoy what you write. But what do I know? I'm just an older dude who reads a ton and has money to spend. So why would agents or publishers have any interest in your work, when the only people interested in reading/buying it are people like me, who number in the millions? 🤣

I'm seeing a lot of querying success stories on here, and sincere congrats to those authors. But am I the only writer on Earth with 90-plus queries out (starting in February) and not a single request for a full? Makes me feel like a loser and a fool.

@deathwizard57 We all should have lol. I write humorous high fantasy. No one wants that at the moment

@TheGrumpySensei I usually write epic/dark fantasy, but I took a stab at folklore horror. Apparently, I should have chosen something else.

@deathwizard57 It's all about how marketable your book is (assuming everything else is equal and the book is good). Romantasy, thrillers, and LitRPG are popular right now. If you don't write in one of those genres it's harder to break in.

@TheGrumpySensei Makes you wonder what the heck is going on ...

AI has only proven what we already knew; that, generally, most people's ideas are generic and dull. When given the power to do ANYTHING, with no limitations (theoretically... AI output is garbage, but let's just pretend), it turns out, most people have little of value to offer. Not one person has risen up as some master storyteller, master artistic mind, enabled by AI. Not one. Why? They quibble and say it's because of bias. People just out-of-hand hate AI, the meanies 😠 but it's really because of two things. 1) the first thought you have as an artist is never that great. The ability, then, to instantly capitalize on that thought just cuts off the process of what makes something good; work. AI has no way to comprehend or match the vast permutations of thought that go into the artistic choices made over months and years as an artist builds their piece. The different considerations, the impact of different headspaces, the way personal events change how they do their work, layering together over and over and over; there's just no way to fake that richness. And audiences don't want mundane; they want things that are well-made, and well-told, and reflect the passion of the artist. They only tolerate mundane because so much of what surrounds them is mundane. But they still flock to great stories and beautiful art when it comes along. 2) people don't want completely atomized experiences; storytelling is meant to be communal. AI is the final horseman of a complete social breakdown. Real stories and actual artistry are (should be) agents of social cohesion. People *want* the latter, even as we are constantly attacked by forces of the former. It's not that complex at the end of the day.

@Chronodendron Hard to be worse than zero, ha ha Ha ... *weeps*

I see lots of authors complaining about the drastic decrease in sales this month and dashboard issues. I haven’t noticed. Sales remain as few and far between as usual. 😂

@sarahs_sky It's the insane level of narcissism that gets me. "How dare you judge my work based off mutually agreed upon standards built over the course of a hundrded years or more."

Comments are full of everyone who thinks they're the exception. Just assume you're the rule until proven otherwise. Trust me. There is nothing worse than a writer unaware that their skill is far outpaced by their lofty aspirations and certainty in their own genius.

Utter nonsense. Real, genuine writing advice is for people who haven't the first clue what they're doing (most of us) and want to learn and improve (many of us) Not to be confused with Writing Advice YouTube Channels, which exist to advertise the creator's books

@jmgwritten But also:

What it feels like asking certain Indie Authors why they didn't have a professional look over their manuscript:

@Icarusflyer 😅 Saw one of those once. Thought it was a calculator.

@TheGrumpySensei I will see your Sega Mega Drive and raise you a ZX81…

I played on a Sega Mega Drive... so...

@robarnold10 Because if I have to suffer with the knowledge. So do you. XD

@TheGrumpySensei Why hurt me so