andrewbach.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

“all XYZ and ZYX” is one of those PHRASINGS

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

Did tweeness die out? Are people still into twee? I feel like that was a huge “art” thing not that long ago. Everyone had birds and snow. Deeply fake authenticity. The good old days!

submitted 5 days ago • 0 comments

I write romances because I don’t want to do hustle culture. It’s fine if you don’t hustle. Normalize not hustling! Getting a regular amount of stuff done every day is great too!

submitted 12 days ago • 2 comments

For all the crappy stuff Amazon does, they gave me (and lots of indie writers like me) a career. That doesn’t mean they’re above criticism. But publishing in KU did change my life.

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

You strap the goggles on and port into the metaverse where a dozen twitching cartoon ghouls are waiting to critique your recent writing. They don’t make eye contact because they can’t. Welcome to your MFA.

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

Tan suits ONLY (gender neutral) at the SFF writing influencer compound! Typewriters optional but encouraged!

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

Building my SFF writing compound in a vaguely rural location with beautiful sunsets and “rustic” buildings. There will be random horses. Also a neighbor family with minimum 8 kids (also SFF writing influencers, happy to do cameos).

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

I write romances because I don’t want to do hustle culture. It’s fine if you don’t hustle. Normalize not hustling! Getting a regular amount of stuff done every day is great too!

submitted 12 days ago • 2 comments

Entering my Business Phase. Filling my calendar with meaningless events. Email inbox overwhelming. Business Phase in full Business Swing. Look at these numbers. It’s all profit baby!

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

You can definitely become a writer without a networker of writer friends. Finding a community helps—it was a huge help when I was starting out—but it’s totally doable!

submitted 16 days ago • 1 comment

You’re an indie author. You have MEETINGS. Why???

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

Imagine needing an assistant for your assistant!

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

The loss of TikTok will be bad for books but I’m optimistic that the community it built will find a new home. Even if you didn’t love the titles booktok recommended, more readers is always a good thing, no matter what they’re reading.

submitted 39 days ago • 1 comment

The hack never fixes all the problems. I’m sorry it just doesn’t! That post won’t change your life. It’s okay if you don’t read it.

submitted 53 days ago • 0 comments

Consistency is more important than almost anything else in a writing career. That doesn’t mean writing every day—but it does mean learning how you can create books and stories readers enjoy on a regular basis.

submitted 54 days ago • 0 comments

My last New Year resolution was in 2015 when I decided to give self publishing a serious try. Now here I am 10 years later still writing books full time.

submitted 55 days ago • 1 comment

I almost never hit my yearly books-read number goal and honestly that’s fine. I have two young kids and there was a time when reading even 5-10 books in a year was really hard. Now I’m in a much better reading habit—plus all the audiobooks while running!

submitted 60 days ago • 0 comments

Writer’s block had one cure: prep work. That might be going for a walk and actively (actively!) thinking about your story (character, setting, plot, whatever); that might mean writing an outline; that could be reading or researching. But the best cure for a long block is active prep.

submitted 62 days ago • 0 comments

Focusing on sitting down and typing one day at a time. Outlining when needed, typing when needed, but one single day at a time.

submitted 63 days ago • 0 comments

I’m on a non-writing streak for frustrating reasons (mild cold, time of year, bad habits) but determined to get back at it. In that spirit: one day at a time.

submitted 63 days ago • 0 comments

Speculating on hobbies is not a hobby. Hobbies cease being a hobby when profit is the central motive.

submitted 66 days ago • 0 comments

Love this post! countercraft.substack.com/p/turning-of... Something I think about a lot—how the popularity of visual mediums have affected the way we write fictions. I kind of think film has been bad for writing in general. But I wonder what short for video will do in twenty years?

submitted 68 days ago • 2 comments

The bad reviews are NOT more true than the good reviews. They’re just not!!!!

submitted 71 days ago • 1 comment

Banning TikTok will be bad for books overall. I don’t use TikTok, but it has been such a huge driver for building a new reading culture. If you write books, no matter the genre, TikTok has been really good for you!

submitted 71 days ago • 3 comments

Writing consistency is everything. That doesn’t mean every day. It means showing up and finishing books on a reasonable schedule, whatever that looks like for you.

submitted 72 days ago • 0 comments

I’ve been writing full time for ten years now, and books I published eight years ago still regularly sell. Not in huge numbers, but they add up. An indie writing career is all about consistency.

submitted 73 days ago • 2 comments

Writing is an act of patience. An author career is a long game. Books take a while to make—and most careers don’t magically appear overnight. But consistency is everything.

submitted 74 days ago • 17 comments

I feel like this could be done well— assuming the author is compensated, involved in the process, and approves of the final product. What are the chances of that though? I don’t hate the idea of custom LLMs ethically trained and built by artists on their own works!

submitted 76 days ago • 0 comments

“I’m so happy the heroine wasn’t the kidnap victim!” - actual feedback on my last mafia romance. I wonder how authors are squeezing in that third act drama!

submitted 76 days ago • 0 comments

Someone just told me they were doing a comfort read of one of my romances and that made my month. That’s like the ultimate compliment.

submitted 78 days ago • 0 comments

I find the idea of generating content horrifying both for the generator and the reader—but maybe this right here is also content and we are trapped in a content nightmare where all attempts to avoid content are also content, excepting only silence.

submitted 80 days ago • 3 comments

An MFA won’t automatically make you a better writer and you absolutely don’t need one to make writing your full time job.

submitted 82 days ago • 1 comment

I have an MFA and my best advice is: don’t go into debt and think of it as dedicated time to study and write. Use that time! Write a ton! Make friends and find things you care about! An MFA won’t change your life, but it can be great if you put in the effort once you’re there.

submitted 82 days ago • 1 comment

Do people still give the advice “write what you know”???

submitted 83 days ago • 4 comments

Internalize “constant improvement.” It’s hard to get better at something without consciously trying to get better—just doing the same thing over and over might work eventually, but it’ll take a lot longer. Writing is like anything. Dedicated practice helps.

submitted 83 days ago • 1 comment

Magic writing advice: get words down on the page. Don’t plan forever. Don’t get lost in research and revision. Write the book.

submitted 83 days ago • 0 comments

Ah yes this book is 1300 pages long, it must be very smart and good, and nobody will ever know otherwise.

submitted 84 days ago • 1 comment

I like thin and propulsive. I also like thick and sticky. I like voicey and I like flat. I like a lot of story shapes in all different genres.

submitted 84 days ago • 0 comments

Does anyone else dislike the “sequel” part of “scene/sequel?” Like why that word, sequel? It just feels like the wrong word to describe the sequel. Action/reaction? Goal/response?

submitted 87 days ago • 1 comment

The simplest and hardest lesson I learned successfully writing books the last ten years is: figure out what people want and give it to them.

submitted 87 days ago • 3 comments