And Then Along Came Substack

Update: A month or so ago, I decided to add Substack to my social media plate. Just finished setting everything up & published my first post. I’m including a copy of it below, along with the link info if you happen to be a current user on that platform or are interested in joining.

I’ll still be focusing on this author website, but thought it might be fun to try something new.

Here’s a direct link if you’re interested:

_{^{My First Post on Substack}}.

Finishing my first post on Substack has turned into more of a challenge than I expected. During my travels through the self-publishing wilderness over the past few years, I’ve grown accustomed to posting regularly on my author website, commenting and replying on various platforms, and trying out new options.

So I thought, “Substack intro? Piece of cake.”

Then I started taking a second look at offerings by other writers and soon realized I’d joined a community where civil discourse has a decent chance to develop into worthwhile observations and discussions with both the customary short posts and longer form as well. (Fortunately, the scale is balanced a bit by anecdotes, dog pics, occasional tirades, controversies, and whatnot.)

Needless to say, I figured it was time to step up my game. But the cornerstone of support and positivity I’ve encountered allayed my growing concerns about my own writing not passing muster.

Which means I can relax and enjoy my time as an independent author with one published novel set in a realistic, speculative world and a companion novel ready to launch a month from the time of this writing while I set up and navigate what amounts to a second author website fused with a new social media account.

A rational person might ask me something along the lines of, “With everything else you have going on in that arena, why the hell do this now?”

My answer would be simple—writing soothes my soul, thank you kindly.

Keep you posted.

Drew

I invite you to check out Lee Hall’s excellent video review, especially the first book he includes on his short list of memorable indie reads—uh-huh, that would be Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown.