every single person you know has something in their life and past that is probably worth collapsing to the ground in an uncontrollably sobbing heap over, so be nice to each other and tell good jokes
unity amongst disabled people would look like neurodivergent people advocating for elevator access. not neurodivergents changing “accessibility” in venues to mean “accessible for people with adhd” or “accessibility for sensory issues” when most places literally can’t even accommodate the most basic ass fucking wheelchairs. we literally just want to go to the same places as y’all and it’s still too much for ablebodieds. it fucking sucks
do you have any idea how disappointing it is to see the word “accessible” next to “for neurodivergent people” for something/somewhere that you’ve literally never have been able to do because of your physical disabilities and mobility aids. lmao
somehow instead of saying “as a treat”, I’ve started using the phrase “for morale”, as if my body is a ship and its crew, and I (the captain) have to keep us in high spirits, lest we suffer a mutiny in the coming days.
and so I will eat this small block of fancy cheese, for morale. I will take a break and drink some tea, for morale. I will pick up that weird bug, for morale.
I’m not sure if it helps, but it does entertain me
I find it personally offensive how many bad writers can get published so easily.
I used to find it reassuring, like, “Haha, wow, if THIS can get published…” but now I take it to mean “It doesn’t matter if your book is good or not, all that matters is if you’re in the right social circles (and you’re not)”
As someone who used to acquire for an indie publisher … it sucks on the other end, too. We don’t WANT to work on shitty books with shitty writing. But bossman wants to make money, and shitty writer has marketing clout/knows the right people/is already published (even if it’s only online/ebook).
I used to read the most AMAZING submissions I’d be forced to pass on. Like, there was one, a literary fantasy featuring a bi deaf protagonist who learns how to navigate a spectrum of relationships while discovering herself (I don’t want to give too many details out of respect to the author/don’t want her concept stolen) and I couldn’t get it acquired no matter how thorough my proposal and marketing plan was because she was a debut author with fewer than 10k Twitter followers and we needed that advance money for another Fifty Shades knockoff (this was a few years ago lol).
BUT PLEASE DON’T LET THAT DISCOURAGE YOU! If you’re a writer, and you’re trying to get published, don’t give up!! If your first novel isn’t getting traction with either a house or agency, publish it yourself on amazon. Get that “debut” moniker away from your name. Prove you can sell your shit and keep working.
A good agent will work with you to come up with a marketing/publicity proposal. That will be huge in getting houses to notice your work - makes the acquisitions team’s job easier as they can point to it and tell bossman “we have a plan”. Look online for titles that have high ratings/are on the NYT list that can be compared to yours. That helps give acquisitions an idea of what they’re getting into - and how to represent your book to their ED/publisher.
A good agent will also help you target editors/imprints whose lists match your book, increasing your odds of getting positive feedback or even constructive feedback. If I had a submission that just wasn’t quite ready for publication, I’d give detailed notes of what I wanted and ask them to revise and resubmit.
Keep writing! Even if a book isn’t picked up, start your next. It’s so attractive to see an author with several unpublished works ready to be polished if you already like the work that’s submitted. And more writing only refines your skills.
Yes, bad writers get published. And too many good writers, even when published, go unrecognized (if you like southern gothic fiction a la Where the Crawdads Sing, go read The Past is Never, which came out four months earlier and got NO national attention but is BEAUTIFUL). Be such a good writer that you break those odds.
Because you can. I’ve read your stuff on Tumblr. On Ao3. On Fanfiction.net. On Wattpad. You can do it.
So this Leia standing up which is adorable and I would have posted on Reddit to /r/catsstandingup but I haven’t really figured out Tumblr yet so is there a #catsstandingup is that what I do someone help I’m an old man
I do believe in the power of sitting in your car just a little longer before heading inside, lying upside down on the couch, cloud gazing well into adulthood, taking the time to learn something new, humility, recollecting your dreams, pressing something warm against your belly, small talk w strangers, odes to romance, a lit candle on your countertop while you cook, having a sense of humor about life
I vividly remember attending a training session with a scan from an 1880-something newspaper that said “unions used to be something we needed, but we’re past that now.” The corporate propaganda hasn’t changed in 130+ years.
Dorian is one of my favorite characters in Dragon Age, maybe in any game too. I think a side quest in my life is to memorize all his lines. I hope he’s goin’ to appears PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE on DA4 ;-;
like how his little nose scrunches when he’s upset, lol :D
