Monthly Review #1
August 2024 - The Rising Writer
GUYS. This whole writing thing is a crazy journey, and I am ecstatic with the progress I’ve made in the last month of being on Substack. Today, we’re going to wrap up the month by looking at the State of the Substack.
Top Post of the Month
This little story has been the top performer this month, and I’m thrilled to bits that I finally got to share it with some people! There will definitely be more creepy little stories on the horizon.
A note about this story in particular: my pastor’s son made a point of letting me know his thoughts about the piece. He seemed to really enjoy it, and then he compared it with what else he had been recently reading: works by Edgar Allan Poe.
Let me tell you, I couldn’t stop grinning like a loon for the rest of the day. Heck, the rest of the week.
Thanks for making me feel like a rockstar, Mr. J.
Note of the Month
Woohoo! This is one of my first attempts at creating a meme (I’m both ancient and yet late to the party). I know those aren’t huge numbers, but they’re the biggest I’ve seen on any of my stuff, which is worth celebrating!
The amount of interaction and support I’ve experienced through the Notes section of Substack has been astounding. I truly feel like I’ve finally found my people, far more so than I have on any other social platform.
If you have any interest in the written word, whether writing or reading or both, I highly encourage you to check out the Substack app and Notes. So many amazing writers and such wonderful encouragement on a daily basis, and it sure beats scrolling on any of the other socials.
The Herald of Som Progress
+ 7,760 words (total = 75,157 words)
My book has grown in leaps this past month in part due to the challenge put forth here on Substack to write 1,000 words a day (a challenge I did not perfectly complete but that I still am proud of).
Currently:
Tyruc and his companions take time to recover from the encounters with the fiendish infiltrator in Bodra, but they cannot afford to wait too long before addressing the newest issue at hand: there is supposedly a third monster lying in wait in the once-peaceful province.
When events take the party northward to the isolated Matuva Farmstead, they find a family bound to the land by a dreadful contract with a monster unlike any they have yet encountered.
Publication Updates
And finally, to wrap this little newsletter up in a timely fashion, some updates to the publication that will take effect in September:
Tuesdays: Blogposts! These will continue to be observational pieces with nerdisms aplenty. I am currently planning a series of posts detailing how I got into writing and what that journey has looked like over the years.
Thursdays: Speculative Fiction! Expect short stories, excerpts from my WIPs, and more! Now, these posts may start to look different as we move forward, and by different, I mean shorter. I will be participating in story prompts from around Substack as well as prompt work of my own, which has already led to some really fun fictional pieces!
Saturdays: I will no longer be posting weekly updates on Saturdays. These posts are by far the least read, and they are frankly my least favorite to write (there may be a correlation there). I’ve enjoyed getting to chronicle the successes that have occurred over these weeks, but I feel that my efforts are better focused on my Tuesday blogposts and Thursday fictions. Hopefully none of you are too woefully disappointed.
The reason for these adjustments is this: I am loving writing for my Substack, but I don’t want to wind up neglecting my novel(s?) because I’m too busy with blogs and newsletters and short stories (oh, my).
I am also going to be transparent that I don’t know what my intentions are with what to do with my novel once it has been finished, edited, revised, and prayed over rigorously. I see three paths ahead: traditional publishing, indie publishing, or serial publishing. I actively dislike the thought of one, but am unsure of the other two.
We’ll just have to deal with that little fork in the road once we get there.
Acknowledgements
As always, the support of my readers is invaluable to me. I hate to play the social media numbers game, but seeing that people really are reading my work is such a blessing and encouragement.
I heavily contemplated putting a section here naming each of my subscribers as a way of saying a personal thank you, but I reconsidered in consideration of people’s various desires for privacy and the opportunity for anonymity. So, for now, please know that if you are a subscriber or follower, I am deeply touched by your support, and I will refer to you in the vaguer terms below:
My mother, father, and grandmother (my loving family by birth)
My best friends and godchildren (my loving family by choice)
My pastor and church family
My former students
My writers group
My old friends from past hometowns, schools, and churches
My current friends from work
My new friends from here on Substack
And anybody who may fall somewhere between
Thank you so much for this first month on Substack. Here’s to many more months, many more words, and many many more stories to come.
Blessings,
S.M. Osborne