self published writer

atthequillsmercy

Writing Update: Why do I do this to myself?

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I have to admire anyone who fills the anti-AI NaNoWriMo slot. So, here I am torturing myself for some reason. Who am I kidding? I know the reason. I don’t even remember exactly when I started writing book four in my First Brood series, and I am annoyed with myself that it’s taken this long. My goal is to finish it this month, 50k words or not. If I finish it and it’s not 50k words, I’ll move on to the next WIP: Dewey. Another story I started too long ago thinking I’d just bang it out real quick but having to switch to my other penname to make some quick pennies. Yet here it is, years later unfinished…

Ugh, that image is small… I’m a day behind. But, I managed to get through a part where I’d originally written this scene many years ago in book one of this series. It’s relevant to revisit it since this book is all about Emma and her perspective on everything that happened so far. I wanted to make sure the lore I’d established was held to while making a few little tweaks since it’s from a different writing perspective. It’s also really emotional for me. So much has changed since I wrote that… I designed that scene before I became a parent and it hits hard now that I am one.

I don’t even have to look at the Freewrite draft to know that a LOT of editing will have to take place to have this be smooth and provide a different experience for those who already read the first book.

All three of you.

I kid but seriously, I didn’t want this to be a word for word recreation of what I’ve already done. But, I only have a bit to go with this section before I can write things that I don’t have to dive this deep in to what I’ve previously written. This book is supposed to be an exploration of Emma’s character and why she’d made some interesting decisions in the previous books, not a recap. I’m flying through this but I know I’ll have to go back and make sure my goal is met. It’ll take a lot of editing… But, I’ll find a way to keep things updated and fresh here and on my Patreon with snippets of the WIP. I can already tell the published work will be a completely different animal than the Patreon posts…

And don’t count on daily writing updates.

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday! Patreon Update for Emma!

I was on the fence as to not only what to post to Patreon this week, but how much of it. This chapter seemed short to me so I thought I’d double it up with the next one. The two of them together were too long, though. I just went with what I had. Remember with whatever stories I post on there, the first part is free. The rest are the $1 tier.

Other than that, I will freely admit my word counts are not the best. Not even sure they’re even worth listing but I’m sure some people will wanna know:

  • A: 20,814
  • B: 1,757 (published a different book under this pen name, then moved on to the story in this slot)
  • C: 20,238
  • Manos: 3,662
  • Antichrist BF: 4,433

See? Not all that impressive when it comes to pure words added. A lot of this was a big push for a smutty book and editing stuff for Patreon. I looked back at the exact dates I started Emma and Dewey and after a delightful existential crisis, I am going to do my level best to finish at least one of those before the end of the year. I do like to take a break from smut and work on what I really love to do: dark fantasy. There’s just an itch in my brain that’s scratched when I’m deep into those. Then I feel guilty when I look at my debt and go back to working on what will make a quick buck. I wanna indulge in my angsty vampires and werewolves, goshdernit!

Anyhooooo, I have to pretend I’m not a complete horrid slag of a human being and prepare for being in full cosplay for 4 days in a row at NYCC while attending a bunch of professional panels in heals that hate my feet. Yay for me? This is gonna be interesting since my feet hurt from trying to break these heels in. Maybe since I’m not completely repulsed by how I look in my janky closet cosplay, I’ll possibly post some pictures if there’s any good ones. My son picked Full Metal Alchemist for the theme this year. You’ll just have to guess who’s who!

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: I need some advice. What sounds better?

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I’ve been flying through my ARCs and working out longer these days, and that may have impacted my numbers a bit. There’s also the fact that I’ve split myself into two additional projects. However, I am LOVING working on those projects. I take that as a win! Plus, I have some time off coming up where I can take a whole day to just work on one project and make some real progress. I’ll be trying for more blog posts, too. I have a nice pile of reviews all finished and plenty of books that need reading. Writing will come first, of course. But I guess it’s the numbers for today that matter, right? And these are in progress numbers. I have more writing to do tonight:

  • A: 20,814 (to be honest, I’m stuck with this one)
  • B: 1,944
  • C: 19,921 (kinda stuck on this one, too. This always happens when I hit a big action set piece)
  • Manos: 1,956
  • Antichrist BF: 4,433

Since I’ve been so inspired with the Manos “fix,” I have wondered how I should go about posting it. It will be kinda long for one Patreon post. I’m trying to hit most of the beats for the movie so, I was thinking maybe posting it in parts on Patreon, then posting it in my ebook shop here for free if someone wants the whole chunk at once. Which one would you be more likely to read? I’m guessing it’ll be easier on the eyes to break it up into parts… We’ll see. I have to get more words in before I get some sleep. I have a long run in the morning.

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: I started another one!

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Okay, I didn’t NEED to start the “There, I Fixed It” stuff right away, but when inspiration strikes, you take it. I’m probably stretching myself too thin, but fine. I’m going for it. The first movie I picked to “fix” is Manos: The Hands of Fate. This movie is often cited as one of the worst movies ever made. However, the idea of travelers happening upon a scary cult is a classic, and I think it’d be fun to write this! I’m going to try to keep as many of the character names the same as the movie, but not necessarily all the scenes. There’s this overly long makeout scene and this random-ass couple of ladies at the end. If I can’t naturally fit them in, I’m cutting that out.

Should I add another project that will keep me from finishing the stuff I have and publishing it? Probably not. Yes, I need the money; yes, I need to produce to make that money, and I should treat this like a job, but I also write because I love it. And I want to keep loving it. When it’s complete, I’ll put it up on my Patreon for free. These will always be free since they’re mostly just for fun, and I’m not smart enough to grapple with the copyright issues that come with doing this. Better not to take the chance of getting sued. I guess this would fall under “transformative,” though. Whatever, we’re not here for that. We’re here for the word counts:

  • A: 20,814
  • B: 740
  • C: 19,862
  • Antichrist BF: 4,433
  • There I Fixed It: 775

The one good thing about having the extra projects in my Google Docs is that I can pull out my phone whenever I feel like it and get in a few more words here and there. I’m also posting some previews over on my BlueSky as teasers. They will probably have typos, so be gentle.

This also does mean that the longer projects will not have much of a dramatic increase but I am putting my foot down and not starting anything else. I am already teetering on the edge of burnout and trying to push through it until the inevitable day where I accidentally sleep through my alarm and sleep for 12 hours. Again.

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: And then there were four

I almost forgot I needed to do an update today. I was able to post another part of Dewey on Patreon and since I’ve joined Koala Quill, I’ve earned two badges:

It’s actually a good motivator and Philip was SUPER helpful getting the browser extension to work with Postbox. If I have Postbox open while I type on my Freewrite, it fills up the progress bar just like with Google Docs. Speaking of which, that brings us to the subject line. See, I usually only have three projects in development at a time since only three fit on the Freewrite:

I’m sure someone out there has found ways to hack their way into fitting more but I don’t want to. But, since I have three non smut projects going right now, I saved the B slot for the short smut and moved Antichrist Boyfriend to Google Docs. For now, the breakdown is as such:

  • A: (Emma) 20,814
  • B: (smut) 513
  • C: (Dewey) 19,645
  • Google: 4,042

Google Docs is probably where I’ll be writing the “There, I Fixed It” stories which I will just leave on Patreon for free. Maybe if I write enough of them, I’ll make them a free ebook or something. We’ll see I end up hating this little side quest or not. I’m really hoping I can get some material that will entice someone to my Patreon and finally get some members. I was able to get three stories done last month and I’m hoping to either match that or exceed it.

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: August 2026 Roundup

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I have to admit that while I haven’t put many more words on my longer stories, I was able to catch up with a bunch of ARCs, post a ton of reviews, and publish three stories this month on my smut pen name. I am also in the process of assembling bundles for that pen name, learning the hard way about merging and converting documents, let me tell ya…

Despite not adding on to the longer projects as much as I’d wanted to, I am ready to post to Patreon next month. I’ve also added more items to my online store; all comics I’m looking to get rid of. I’m also thinking of adding a new project to my Patreon that will be available for free on all posts. I wanna call it “There, I fixed it,” where I take ideas that I feel had potential but not the best execution. It’s mostly movies where, like The Happening, the concept could absolutely be handled in a way that’s effective and not so goofy. I think it would be a fun way to stretch my writing skills. I have no set schedule for this; it’ll be done sporadically whenever I have the chance to do it. I just don’t have the audience to commit to taking requests or a hard timeframe. I’m all about pumping out content at this point.

I am also making plans to catch up with the ARCs I have that are not comics or manga. I got a nice one from Flame Con that I wanna read and a pile of library books to get through, including Haunting Adeline, because I want to see if it’s as bad as everyone says, and In the Miso Soup for the same reason. I also have some more movie and TV show reviews on deck.

Like I said, pumping out content. Maybe volume will help me pull out of this pit.

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: First Brood 4 uptate!

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I’ve updated my Patreon with the newest part of First Brood 4: Emma. That one is on the paid tier, but the first chapter is available for free.

As I’ve been editing and cleaning things for Patreon, my word counts aren’t the best:

  • A: 20,612
  • B: 912
  • C: 19,121

I’ve also started posting some of my old comics to my other website. I photographed a decent stack of them to start, and I wanna make sure I get all the condition details right before they’re all live. I’ll be selling them around cover price if they’re new and discounting the ones that are yellow or damaged. And if you’re subscribed to this blog or any of my socials, you’ve seen that I’m catching up with a LOT of reviews. I’m nearly caught up with all my recently requested digital ARCs, and once those run out, I have older digital ones and physical books floating around. I am not short on content.

I was also approved for a press pass to FlameCon! I won’t have a table there or anything, just me and my son checking it out and reporting on it for Otakus and Geeks. I post reviews there as well from time to time. I’m doing my best to get up the money I need and working as hard as I can. Thanks to everyone who’s supported me so far. It means more to me than you know.

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: In where I complain but I’m grateful

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It’s been a wild couple of weeks, especially going back and forth with the contractor about the basement Apparently “I’ll call you with a time” really meant “You tell call me when you’re available.” Silly me. Can’t believe I thought words mean what they mean. I’m also in limbo with the dentist. And my check engine light keeps going on and it’s adorable that it thinks I’m going to do anything about it unless that fucking car is on fire.

But I am so grateful for all the people who took a chance on my work during the Smashwords sale. It ends July 31st. Man this month flew by… I also got my Patreon updated and I’m on track to have more next month. I’m sticking with monthly for now. Here’s the word counts:

  • A: 20,023 words; 2 chapters ready for Patreon
  • B: 736 words; 3 smut stories in editing process for release next month
  • C: 19,121 words; 3 chapters ready for Patreon

I don’t have any patrons yet but I don’t care. I want things ready if I get some. I also worked my way through a nice pile of ARCs that I’ll be posting reviews for and I’m working on my overloaded eReaders and pile of library books. I’ve finished a decent pile of manga that I’ll probably sell since they’re too smutty for the library. I do the adult collection but not ADULT adult if that makes any sense. I’m not sure if I want to post them to my blog, on my separate shop site, or toss them on eBay. I’m not looking to make a profit, I’m looking to get them out of my house and in the hands of someone who will enjoy them.

I guess that’s it for this week? I can’t think of anything else. I’ll probably think of 10 more things as I go to sleep tonight.

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: Editing!

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I’m up to three finished rough drafts, as well as parts to edit to post on Patreon. That means no real word counts of note to post. The good news is (is not having word counts ” bad news?) that I am aiming to post again on my Patreon this month. I am still tweaking my page. I’d like a better description and more art, but that’s not the most important part. The most important part is getting more books out.

Also, I’d like to thank everyone once again who has purchased my work during the Smashwords Sale. I really hope you enjoy them!

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: Lots of Updates!

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If you’re subscribed to my blog, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been fairly regularly posting reviews. That’s gonna continue. I have a lot to get through.

Next up is my Patreon! I’ve been editing a lot, and the next part is up! It’s on the paid tier, but the first chapters of all my WIPs that I’m working on will always be free. The first part of “Dewey” is here.

Smashwords has started their July sale! All my books are discounted or even free on that site! You can check them out here.

Now, time for the wordcounts:

  • First Brood 4: 19,914
  • Smut short story: 570 (published 2 stories last month)
  • Dewey: 17,316

I am doing my best to try to get out some good content. I need to treat it like a job if I’m going to make money from it like a job. It’s not going to be easy, I am going to be very tired, but I have debt and a kid to put through college. I gotta do what I gotta do.

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