What’s been happening: November 2024 update

Hello friend, it’s time for my November update!

Thanks for subscribing, opening this newsletter and reading along on my fictional endeavours, I appreciate you being here.

Here is what’s been happening in my world full of stories over the past month!

Today’s topic: ‘Booktok/Bookstagram has ruined book publishing’

I’ve seen this commentary online and I’m keen to share my 2 cents.

For anyone who doesn’t hang out on Booktok/Bookstagram (the bookish stuff on TikTok and Instagram) essentially it’s a wave of content creation that’s influenced the book publishing industry quite heavily in recent years. Books that are picked up by influencers in that space often go on to sell many copies (sometimes millions) and due to their popularity are often optioned for movies, even without a single book being sold. It’s a strange phenomenon, I won’t lie.

Booktok hasn’t ruined publishing. It’s created a space for readers who enjoy popular and sometimes raunchy reads. Does it reflect the entire industry? No. Does it reflect all readers? No. Does it indicate that the books in that space will be quality reads? No. But the people who read them, enjoy them. That’s all that matters at the end of the day. And isn’t connecting with a story the whole purpose of writing and releasing books anyway?

I find it hilarious that people seem to overlook the fact that the books this large online audience enjoy reading have existed for a long time—Mills & Boon anyone? Now it’s Mills & Boon with a fae twist, who cares? We are just seeing these readers out in the open in a public online sphere, when perhaps historically readers like them weren’t so visible. Let them enjoy what they want to read, and focus on reading what you enjoy.

I do take issue with anyone being snooty about what they enjoy reading vs someone else. There’s no room for book elitism in this world, whether you’re into Booktok reads or not. Everyone is entitled to enjoy what they enjoy, and pass by the books they don’t.

Let me know your thoughts on this!

Out and about

Op Shop Book Browsing

I love a good op shop (who doesn’t?!) and I found some gems in a local shop recently—check out my reel with the footage. But if you haven’t dug into the shelves at an op shop recently you MUST go! It’s so much better for the planet than buying books new, there are so many great books out there to be read and it saves a few dollars too. Make yourself a cuppa or an iced coffee in a travel mug (it’s getting pretty hot here in Aus so iced beverages are 💯) and dawdle through some local op shops.

Novel update (71k words)

I am currently editing part 3 of the book which is where all the action really heats up! So I’m having fun working on writing action scenes, developing the characters on both sides of the battle and ensuring you lovely readers don’t get lost amongst the madness 😅

An interesting part of the process recently has been in giving the “bad” guys enough airtime. What I’m finding with my first draft is that I gave the evil side to my story very little to say, so as a reader it was difficult to know who they were, what motivated them and any real sense of how to think about them. We have to relate to the baddies as much as the goodies! So at the moment I’m finding ways to give these guys the microphone, so to speak, so as a reader you feel connected with them enough to follow them through the story as much as the “good” guys.

What I’ve Written

I was very close to skipping the Not Quite Write flash fiction competition but I changed my mind last minute and submitted! Fingers crossed I hear something over the next few weeks🤞

Read my Reedsy short stories content submissions below:
A Chase to the Oak
The Victorian Cupboard

I also wrote a short story on my blog called Harper’s Rebuild, perfect for sci-fi and space travel lovers.

What I’m Reading/Listening To
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
Nightfall in the Forest of Broken Dreams of by Loren Tuxford (Australian indie author)
Journey To The Centre of The Earth by Jules Verne
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #6) by Diana Gabaldon 🎧