Ingram Spark no longer charging for revisions. Makes me want to go through all my books and re-write them. Is that an impulse all authors have? A do-over for their old books, now they are better writers?
I don’t write about being chronically ill very often, mostly because I’m still thinking it through in real time.
This short piece is about effort, belief, and what it’s like to live in a culture that insists improvement is always possible…even when your body says otherwise.
https://kristiedegaris.substack.com/p/effort-without-improvement
#Health #Scotland #UK #Writing #WritingCommunity #Books #Reading #Women
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My daughter took this photograph of me today, quickly, in my bedroom. We swept the mess off the table, moved the dirty clothes off the chair and tried to make things look presentable, including me.
I complained the entire time about how I looked. The light wasn’t good, my hair was greasy, I’m 42 on Sunday, I want to lose weight, I’m in perimenopause. But this is something I do. Saying it out loud has become a habit.
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My daughter took this photograph of me today, quickly, in my bedroom. We swept the mess off the table, moved the dirty clothes off the chair and tried to make things look presentable, including me.
I complained the entire time about how I looked. The light wasn’t good, my hair was greasy, I’m 42 on Sunday, I want to lose weight, I’m in perimenopause. But this is something I do. Saying it out loud has become a habit.
The figures are stark. GenAI slop is severely impacting the #CreativeArts and particularly the #writingcommunity
" 86% of authors say GenAI has already reduced their earnings
72% of authors say job opportunities have already been cut
57% of authors say their career is no longer sustainable
43% of literary translators and 37% of SoA illustrators saw earnings fall due to GenAI
26% of illustrators and 36% of literary translators report cancelled or redirected commissions "
This is a report on the UK state of affairs, but it could equally be representative of what is happening here in Australia.
Read more:
https://societyofauthors.org/2026/01/30/brave-new-world/
The figures are stark. GenAI slop is severely impacting the #CreativeArts and particularly the #writingcommunity
" 86% of authors say GenAI has already reduced their earnings
72% of authors say job opportunities have already been cut
57% of authors say their career is no longer sustainable
43% of literary translators and 37% of SoA illustrators saw earnings fall due to GenAI
26% of illustrators and 36% of literary translators report cancelled or redirected commissions "
This is a report on the UK state of affairs, but it could equally be representative of what is happening here in Australia.
Read more:
https://societyofauthors.org/2026/01/30/brave-new-world/
Just a reminder that if you like my writing on Substack, it’s very likely that you will also like my book ‘Drystone - A Life Rebuilt’
If you buy it on bookshop.org you support me and indy bookshops.
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/15919/9781846976469
#Books #Book #Writing #WritingCommunity #Reading #Scotland #UK
It's February, which means my first book is getting published in 16 days!
*Fates Alight* comes out Feb. 17th.
Then the conclusion, *Destinies Ablaze*, is out exactly one month later.
The ebook is available for pre-order now: https://books2read.com/fatesalight
The physical copy will be available once I get my new proof and confirm the issues in the first proof were fixed.
I hope everyone is staying safe and warm ❤️
#WritingCommunity #Bookstadon #FiresOfFaldon #WritingLife #Publishing #FatesAlight
#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 1: How satisfied are you with your current writerly ‘voice’?
I adjust my narrator voice for every project. To me, the narrator is a character, the one readers will spend the largest amount of their time with, so I need to be conscious of how it sounds. I noticed Cat Valente does that, and it's super effective.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
#WritersCoffeeClub Feb 1: How satisfied are you with your current writerly ‘voice’?
I adjust my narrator voice for every project. To me, the narrator is a character, the one readers will spend the largest amount of their time with, so I need to be conscious of how it sounds. I noticed Cat Valente does that, and it's super effective.
#Writing #Writers #WritingCommunity #WritersOfMastodon #AmWriting #Scriberspace
It's February, which means my first book is getting published in 16 days!
*Fates Alight* comes out Feb. 17th.
Then the conclusion, *Destinies Ablaze*, is out exactly one month later.
The ebook is available for pre-order now: https://books2read.com/fatesalight
The physical copy will be available once I get my new proof and confirm the issues in the first proof were fixed.
I hope everyone is staying safe and warm ❤️
#WritingCommunity #Bookstadon #FiresOfFaldon #WritingLife #Publishing #FatesAlight
I'm in a mood. Here's a link to my book. No genAI went anywhere near it. I wrote it. I edited it. I did the cover. If you enjoy reading fantasy books with an angry female POV, have at it. Also found family, sapphic romance subplot, elemental magic, brutal deaths. Annoying nobles...
Most hashtags are pretty obvious, you just put # in front of a topic. For example if a post is about coffee it might have the tag #Coffee
However, many popular hashtags have difficult-to-guess names, so I've started a list to help people discover them:
➡️ https://fedi.tips/fun-and-useful-hashtags-to-follow-on-mastodon-and-the-wider-fediverse
Copy-paste a hashtag into the search box in Mastodon if you want to browse or follow it.
If you have suggestions for non-obvious hashtags that should be added to the list, let me know in the replies 🙂
@FediTips if it was not added yet: #JobAlert #histodon #academicChatter #makersHour #writingCommunity #solarpunkSunday #standingStones and #standingStonesSunday #phantastikPrompts #FotoVorschlag #FiberArts #textileArts #visibleMending #thickTrunkTuesday #naturelovers #FediHire #fediHelp #FediGive #askFedi #HerStory #WomenInHistory #WomenInSTEM #indigenousPeople #BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #blackHistory
I'm in a mood. Here's a link to my book. No genAI went anywhere near it. I wrote it. I edited it. I did the cover. If you enjoy reading fantasy books with an angry female POV, have at it. Also found family, sapphic romance subplot, elemental magic, brutal deaths. Annoying nobles...
I don’t write about being chronically ill very often, mostly because I’m still thinking it through in real time.
This short piece is about effort, belief, and what it’s like to live in a culture that insists improvement is always possible…even when your body says otherwise.
https://kristiedegaris.substack.com/p/effort-without-improvement
#Health #Scotland #UK #Writing #WritingCommunity #Books #Reading #Women
This is going around BlueSky, figured why not bring it over here?
1 like = 1 random line from one of my WIPs/published works