Welcome to the Next Draft ‘Zine, a monthly roundup of my writing and interesting tidbits I’ve picked up along the way.
In case you missed any of October’s articles, you can catch up now:
- On Being a Writer – Part One: Becoming. “On Being a Writer” is a new series about the writing life. It digs into what happened to help me shift to being a full-time writer. Part Two will be out next week.
- Self-Love, Indie Publishing and Building Community – A video and audio podcast with Wayne Jones of Writing and Editing.
- A Birthday Note to Myself – I’m getting up there in years, and I wrote an article to remind myself that getting older really is getting better.
- September’s Next Draft ‘Zine mainly focused on the launch of Rock Gods & Messy Monsters and included a virtual book event with the Revel Writer’s Group.
October was another month mainly focused on the book. The process of indie publishing and promotion is much more work than I imagined it would be, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Except maybe schedule double the amount of time for the next novel. Which I’m working on!
Various updates and media around Rock Gods & Messy Monsters.
- The Indie Bookstore is promoting the book and has an author page. Unfortunately, it only links to Amazon because I had massive headaches getting the book published, and, well, don’t ask….
- Happy to report, though, that RGMM is now available at Bookshop.org, “the” online indie bookstore. You’ll notice there are two selections for the book – pick the cheapest. That version exists. Again, don’t ask. There might be a future article about all the drama in getting this book out. At least it’s funny now….
- And you can always get a copy of the book on any of the Amazon sites. $14.95 paperback; $4.99 ebook; FREE if you have Kindle Unlimited.
If you’ve read the book, can I ask you a favor? I could really use more reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
Thanks!
Also, Diane Donovan, Sr Editor at Midwest Book Review, published an amazing review for the book. An excerpt,
“Modern creative writing classes looking for discussion points in experimental literary styles will find Rock Gods & Messy Monsters promises many lively debates about the elements of social examination and the impact of truly creative writing.”
Full review is on the Whole Healthy Group website
I’m grateful to Valorie Clark for including an interview with me in her Substack “Collected Rejections”. Check it out.
I’ve also been on a virtual blog tour for the past month through Goddess Fish Promotions to promote the book. Each stop has an original article or interview. Stops so far are:
- Gina Rae Mitchell – September 26th
- Viviana MacKade – October 3
- Long and Short Reviews – October 3
- The Avid Reader – October 10
- Westveil Publishing – October 10
- Sandra’s Book Club – October 17
- Fabulous and Brunette – October 17
- Literary Gold – October 24
I think that’s it for October. Today is the start of NANOWRIMO – National Novel Writing Month. It’s become a global sensation, and even though I’m not doing it through their website (their interface is a nightmare), I’m using it as a way to encourage myself to get the first draft of the indie publishing book done. While also working on the next fiction novel.
I’m beginning to think focus is my main challenge right now!
If you’d like to stay in touch, please do!
- I’ve created a mailing list separate from Substack for all things book (though I’m sure they’ll merge at some point). Please join if you’d like to stay up-to-date on all the special events, contests, and goings on around the release and promotion of Rock Gods.
- Please subscribe now if you aren’t subscribed to Next Draft with Diane Hatz. (free and paid)
- If you’re Facebook-friendly, please follow and like my Facebook author page!
- And there’s the usual:
Happy November!!
***Next Draft is broken up into different sections to cover several topics, including the main Next Draft category (monthly zine mainly), My Books/Fiction, Indie Publishing & Promotion, Self-Care/Spirit, and a couple others. If you’d like to receive one or a couple of these topics but not all, please visit my About page for instructions on selecting specific areas. (Scroll down the page.)
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Until next month, let’s read a book!….