More Changes

An Autumnal Breath of Fresh Air

Peonies by Utagawa Kitamaro, 753–1806, source

It looks like the change to Straw Hat Scribe wasn’t enough. More changes are coming.

Recently I’ve been struggling and eventually failing to keep the weekly newsletter rhythm that everyone seems to recommend. I kept that rhythm, more or less, since I started taking Substack seriously in 2023. But any writer will tell you that different works call for different strategies. There may be a time for focusing on a weekly newsletter, a time for drafting a novel, a time for cultivating new ideas.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been focusing on my dark fantasy novel, tentatively titled Vain Empires. It’s been demanding and fun at the same time. Ever since my first NaNoWriMo in 2009, novels have been my favourite form of fiction to write. For years, I would draft one novel after another, barely stopping to edit before starting the next one. It was addictive. It’s easy for me to slip into that routine now, chipping away day after day, like pulling on a well-worn glove. Whenever I get sick of it, I write a quick short story as a palate cleanser, then jump back into the novel.

Not that I regret those 2+ years of weekly newsletter writing. On the contrary, Requiem of the Moth and all those short pieces have taught me many useful lessons that I’m applying with Vain Empires now. When it’s finished, it will be the best thing I’ve ever written.

I started this newsletter at the same time I committed to writing fiction in English. It was a place to experiment, to share my stories with a handful of readers without sinking too much time into promotion. English isn’t my first language, and so I didn’t know if my writing would be compelling to native speakers. If anyone would want to stick with me. (To everyone who has, I cannot thank you enough!)

Thanks to Substack, I’ve gotten somewhat more confident in my writing. To my own surprise, I’m ready to take the next step: see if readers in other corners of the web would be interested. To me, that means two things:

1. submitting short stories to SFF magazines and

2. publishing a novel

At the moment, I want to aim for traditional publication with Vain Empires, if only because it seems to be the sort of story publishers would be interested in (dark fantasy with a romantic subplot). Of course, I’m still working on the first draft, after which I’ll have to revise and edit. My opinion might change. If trad pub rejects it, I might think about self-publishing or serialising. There are possibilities. For now, this feels like the right path for this story.

Short story is the other form of fiction I’ve always enjoyed writing and so it only makes sense to try and submit to SFF magazines. It took me a long time to notice this. In the German-speaking world, magazines only exist for literary fiction but now that I’m writing in English, what’s stopping me from winning a spot in Uncanny or Clarkesworld? Only my own skill as a writer. It’s a delicious challenge.

As you can see, my focus is shifting. That doesn’t mean I will abandon Straw Hat Scribe, only that the weekly rhythm will be relaxed into something more comfortable. I’ll share short stories and essays whenever I finish something that doesn’t fit anywhere else. There will be short pieces, such as this weird story about scientific curiosity. Likely there will be book reviews, such as this one on Stoner by John Williams. Beyond that? We will find out.

As for free vs. paid, I had a more detailed list in my earlier update but for now I’m liking this simple breakdown:

• Short things will be free

• Long things will be paid

So there you have it. I hope you stick around for the occasional spark of inspiration. And if you’d like to keep in touch some other way, my inbox is open.

Happy reading and writing!