Acid Christmas felt truly fresh to me. And I am over that traditionally published stuff now. Glad I didn't end up going that route. Glad that whatever comes next--I can do whatever I want. That's always worked best for me. I did great in IT because people all designed what they were taught to design and I always designed what I imagined because no education in that field. Made me very successful. But I do like work that has been polished to a shine. You still need to do that part before sending it out into the world.
I did go to tech school for 6 months to learn to code, but that was it. No degree. I was just telling friends the other night a story of a cross country trip with my then husband, how we met, and seeing Alice Coltrane play in SF at a North Beach jazz club in her first concert after her husband, John died. Carlos Santana was with her, giving her support. He did not perform. She played piano. It was a small club in 1975. They asked the first 4 rows in the club not to smoke because it bothered Alice. lol.
This is true! Ai plus some human beta readers can take you very far. Joanna Penn, who has sold large numbers of her books, has some good demos and talks out on YT about how she converses with Ai in regards to her novels in progress, as if she was chatting with different types of readers. Not a total substitute for a human editor, but a useful new tool.
I like AutoCrit. It lets you make the decisions so you aren’t having AI re-writing for you, just pointing out what you need to address and sometimes making suggestions. If you sign up for their newsletters, they usually offer a lifetime subscription every so often for a reduced price.
Acid Christmas felt truly fresh to me. And I am over that traditionally published stuff now. Glad I didn't end up going that route. Glad that whatever comes next--I can do whatever I want. That's always worked best for me. I did great in IT because people all designed what they were taught to design and I always designed what I imagined because no education in that field. Made me very successful. But I do like work that has been polished to a shine. You still need to do that part before sending it out into the world.
Ahh thanks so much! That means so much to me. I’m over it too! I seem to be reading about 50/50 self pub vs trad pub. Totally agree on the polish too.
And didn’t know you weren’t trained in IT! A true outsider success story!
I just assumed that sometime in between your memoir and working in tech you’d majored in computer science or something!
Clearly you need a memoir part 2!
I totally agree that the non writers are sometimes the best writers!!!!!! Thanks for this one Charlotte!
Thanks for reading! It’s not everyone, but sometimes there are gemstones uncovered!
I love this. Thanks!
I did go to tech school for 6 months to learn to code, but that was it. No degree. I was just telling friends the other night a story of a cross country trip with my then husband, how we met, and seeing Alice Coltrane play in SF at a North Beach jazz club in her first concert after her husband, John died. Carlos Santana was with her, giving her support. He did not perform. She played piano. It was a small club in 1975. They asked the first 4 rows in the club not to smoke because it bothered Alice. lol.
I’m impressed you learned that in such a short time! I sense it’s very hard. And love Alice Coltrane.
Also, fun fact, I once made out with Santana’s oldest son in a hot tub. 😂 Our one and only brief encounter.
They said I needed to write the next memoir.
I’ve got a novel eating my storage space on Google drive and doing little else.
I think it’s good, but I sense that without a larger substack following, a professional editor and an agent, it won’t go anywhere.
Thanks for this push to dream bigger.
Well that’s not right. Maybe “to dream more medium”. Haha.
Dream big! Excellent work can travel far and wide without an agent these days.
use AI for editor. It's so supportive!
This is true! Ai plus some human beta readers can take you very far. Joanna Penn, who has sold large numbers of her books, has some good demos and talks out on YT about how she converses with Ai in regards to her novels in progress, as if she was chatting with different types of readers. Not a total substitute for a human editor, but a useful new tool.
Oh interesting idea! Do you have a platform/bot you like specifically?
Claude 3 will allow you to upload an entire full length book manuscript for analysis.
I like AutoCrit. It lets you make the decisions so you aren’t having AI re-writing for you, just pointing out what you need to address and sometimes making suggestions. If you sign up for their newsletters, they usually offer a lifetime subscription every so often for a reduced price.
Great to know!
ChatGPT4 or the free Chat GPT3.5 are helpful.
Love this!