@nlowell@zirk.us
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

nlowell

@nlowell@zirk.us

Professional teller of tales

I write the books I want to read but can't find.

he/him

#selfpublishing #sff #dailyhaikuprompt #bookstodon #fountainpens

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nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

A new day. Another chance to succeed.

I'll do the same things today as I juggle mind, body, and spirit.

I'll write a little, read a little, play a little, and take a walk outside.

Need to bake bread again, early before it gets too hot. I kept the dough in the fridge overnight so I wouldn't have to make much noise this morning.

Just because I focus on today, doesn't mean I don't look ahead to tomorrow.

I hope you can take at least a small step toward tomorrow's success

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

Another day. Yet another chance to succeed.

Dropping is part of juggling. It's the first thing you learn.

When juggling, it's easy to focus on the drops. They mask the thousands of toss-catches behind a single "damn."

I keep a year at a glance calendar beside my desk. It reminds me how far I've come. It lets me celebrate the accomplishments and shows the drops in the wider context.

May you celebrate your wins

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

Another day. A new chance to succeed.

My juggling has been a bit difficult lately. More distraction. Less focus. Pieces of the day going missing.

My ADHD is fighting back after over 6 months of focused effort.

I've learned to relax into it. Taking a few moments to just breathe. To remind myself that it's temporary. I've weathered this storm before. I will this time, too.

I hope you can find a few moments to just breathe in the storm of your day

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

Another new day. Another chance to succeed.

Today's going to be much like yesterday although a bit less organized.

I had Things To Do yesterday and I did them.

Today's more free form. I have the normal write, read, play, and walk stuff but beyond that?

I think I'll just let today worry about that on its own. I'm sure the day can fill in the time without my meddling.

I hope you're able to let at least part of your day unfold on its own

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

A new day, yet another chance to succeed.

Sure it's the weekend for some, but perhaps that's just opening the door to different types of success.

It's not a one-size-fits-all deal.

Me? I want to juggle mind, body, and spirit again today.

I may need to redefine how I do that to keep from having my normal routine getting stale. Give the brain weasels something else to play with.

I hope you find your own definitions for

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

A new day. A new chance to succeed.

It's been a couple of days since I've had a routine day. A lot of half-hearted juggling interspersed with rough weather and family responsibilities.

A good time to check-in with myself. Time to take a deep breath and think about what I'm doing.

Am I doing what's important?
Does my schedule need further adjustment?

I hope you take a few moments to breathe and check your priorities

liztai, to mastodon
@liztai@hachyderm.io avatar

Hello , I am seeking comments from the community to include in my next newsletter about 's change in their privacy policy. (They now say that anything you post online will be used to train their AI models.)
I am especially interested of thoughts from and .
How do you feel about this move? What do you think about placing your content behind a wall to protect it? And will this change how you post online in the future?

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@liztai

It won't change what I post.

I regularly post status updates for WIPs and, occasionally, essays about selfpublishing.

My novels are the only IP I monetize and I never post those where they could be scraped.

I barely even mention that I publish them.

ben, (edited ) to random
@ben@werd.social avatar

In a near future where the grid has collapsed and cities are run like startups, someone is stealing the children.

A woman and her daughter are drawn into a community of strangers on a nearby island that is trying to rebuild the past - and will stop at nothing to secure the future they envision.

A science fiction page-turner about competing visions for the future and the need to move forward.

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@ben

First para: Post apoc, not my niche (-5)
Middle para: Decent, succinct summation (+2)
Kicker: "page-turner" is an automatic 'no' for me. (-5)

-8 score = Nope for me.

That kicker isn't telling me what the story is about as much as telling me about the story.

Your opinion that it's a page-turner works against you.

The whole thing would be stronger without that last paragraph.

JMO

ben, (edited ) to random
@ben@werd.social avatar

If I (a first-time author) published a novel, what would make you intrigued enough to buy it?

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@ben

So many people publish books. That's not interesting by itself.

If you're posting about your book as your primary messaging, you've already lost me.

Your "other content?" Meh.

If, however, you are interesting (note the "you" here), I'm going to more likely to look at your profile and see what else you're doing.

If I find you've self-published a novel, in a niche I read, I'm likely to grab a sample.

If I like the sample, I'll more than likely buy it.

JMO

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@ben

The point is that nothing you post here will get me to buy your book.

You might convince me to sample it. Free is a pretty low bar.

I'll only sample it if it passes my personal filter thresholds.

  1. Author is interesting
  2. Novel
  3. Self pub
  4. Past tense

On the other hand, I read 2-5 novels a week.

I'm always looking for more samples because 80% of them fail to engage me.

Good luck and best wishes on this journey. 😀

ben, (edited ) to random
@ben@werd.social avatar

How do you choose a new book to read?

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@ben

None of the above.

I just grab the next sample from my pile. If I like it, I'll read it.

I get samples everywhere. Overheard conversations, bookstodon, word-of-mouth.

But I'm picky about what I sample. 🤪

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

A new day, a new chance to succeed.

Something I noticed this year:

I've almost eradicated "need to do" from my lexicon. Now I have a list of things I "want to do" every day.

Even the chores that used to drag on have become new moments to be in.

Can I do it better? Is this the right thing? Are there alternative ways to do this?

The repeated tasks become challenges revisited, a journey toward mastery of simple things.

I hope you get to do at least a few of the things you want to do

massivelyop, to random
@massivelyop@mastodon.social avatar

What MMOs are you playing this weekend? [WRUP: Aggregating edition] https://massivelyop.com/2023/07/01/wrup-aggregating-edition

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@massivelyop

God help me, but I'm back in New Eden.

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

A new day. Yet another chance to succeed.

The juggling seems to be getting harder. The distractions more appealing.

I probably need a break but I want to get this next book put together before I put it down again.

It's one of those start-n-stop projects that has taken too long for me to figure out. I think I have it now but need to keep it together long enough to write it down.

The goal isn't peak efficiency. It's to finish.

I hope you get a little closer to your goal

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

Another day, another chance to succeed.

Doing the same things every day grinds the gears on my ADHD. Yet the routine keeps guard rails on my scattershot brain. It allows me to contemplate and execute long term, complex projects.

But only if I focus on one day at a time. Sometimes even just this moment. If I can focus on the moment, the rest of the day takes care of itself.

It leaves me room to be.

I hope you can find satisfaction in your moments

Grizzlysgrowls, to books
@Grizzlysgrowls@twit.social avatar

@bookstodon

Currently the "Shadow Vanguard" series by Tom Dublink Michael Anderle and Craig Martelle on my . It's part of that Kutherian collection.

SF, fairly plausible, except the spymaster named Nathan Lowell. Where do these SF folks get these crazy names?

@nlowell

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@Grizzlysgrowls

Random name generator, probably. 🤪

CultureDesk, (edited ) to books
@CultureDesk@flipboard.social avatar

Literary Hub has listed 50 of the greatest summer novels of all time, including Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca," "Picnic at Hanging Rock," by Joan Lindsay, and a book that gives you two good reasons to stay on the beach: "Jaws." The list has some great ideas, but we want to know, what do you look for in a summer read?

https://lithub.com/50-of-the-greatest-summer-novels-of-all-time/

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@CultureDesk

More like "Where do I look for a summer read?"

  1. My long, long list of samples waiting for my attention.

  2. The next books in the huge number of series that I'm falling behind on.

🤪

rbreich, to random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Today’s Republican Party, while claiming to stand for limited government, stands for government intrusion everywhere. They are:

-Outlawing abortions.

-Prohibiting teachers from teaching about America’s racist past.

-Making it harder to vote.

This is not limited government.

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@rbreich

Well, limited to them, yes.

Not so much for the rest of us.

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

Another day, a new chance to succeed.

Also a day to meditate on mortality.

The internet and social media grants the boon of wide and varied circles of friends.

As with most boons, it comes with a cost. (See: Plato, Phaedrus, King Thamus).

In this case, having a larger circle means a greater probability that someone in it, suddenly, won't be ever again.

I hope you take a moment to value your circles

AuthorHelp, to writingcommunity

Why you shouldn't rely on a single source of publishing income.
https://www.draft2digital.com/blog/spilling-tea-rumor-has-it-you-should-diversify-your-writing-income/

@authorindiespeak @writingcommunity

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@AuthorHelp @authorindiespeak @writingcommunity

This is good advice as far as it goes, but it has one serious flaw.

Opportunity cost.

Novels are a long term, time expensive proposition. Every hour I'm not writing my next book but instead writing a short? That's a hour I'm never getting back and another hour before the next book drops.

Your catalog is your lever for gaining purchase. The shorter it is, the harder you have to work for the same result.

Build it first.

angelicfruitcake, to random

nlowell,
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

@GhostOnTheHalfShell @angelicfruitcake

https://youtu.be/vvANy49Kqhw

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

Morning left another new opportunity for success on my doorstep.

Maybe success is only picking up after yesterday's party. Maybe it's doing your laundry so you'll have clean clothes tomorrow.

Maybe it's sitting quietly for a few minutes feeling your breaths.

Maybe it's surviving until tomorrow.

You get to decide what success means to you. You can always make a different decision tomorrow.

The secret is continuing to make them.

I hope you find satisfaction in the decision you make

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

Dawn presents me with a brand new chance to succeed every single morning.

It's always up to me what I do with it.

Yesterday doesn't really matter, unless it left a mess for me to clean up.

Picking up the drops is just part of the process of juggling.

Tomorrow? I can't do much about it yet.

I'll focus on my juggling of mind, body, and spirit today. I'll write a little, read a little, play a little, and get some exercise.

Maybe I'll succeed. Maybe not.

I hope you find your focus

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

Good morning, New Day. You bring me another chance to succeed.

I'm changing up the day a bit, redefining success to suit the circumstances.

Sometimes juggling is leaving the balls on the table and reading a book.

Today I'm skipping my morning walk. It's raining and my legs can use the rest.

Am I being lazy? Is it cheating to redefine success? To downgrade accomplishments?

Or just unreasonable to be inflexible in a fluid world.

I hope you can find a bit of success in your day

nlowell, to random
@nlowell@zirk.us avatar

A rainy day is another chance to succeed.

Even here in the near-desert of the High Plains, some skies are cloudy all day. It's too easy to bring that external gloom inside.

Not inside the house.

Inside yourself.

In meditation, I learned a mental trick. A shift in perspective.

The sun always shines on the tops of clouds. Doesn't matter how dark the clouds or how thick the layer.

There's bright sun up there.

I hope you can find its light , if only in your mind.

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