Going Lean, Staying Dedicated
A newsletter from Storyletter XPress Publishing
We adopted the view that our job was to find a synthesis between our vision and what customers would accept; it wasn't to capitulate to what customers thought they wanted or to tell customers what they ought to want. ~ Eric Ries, The Lean Startup
Substack has changed the way I think about publishing. It was the reason I created my company. I treat writing online like a business, which can be “taxing,” so to speak, as it can take a lot of time, money, and creative energy. Incorporating has benefits, but that will be a separate newsletter entirely.
I recently went to a writer’s meetup here in SLC—a literary salon, if you will—and explained the concept of my company. I told the group I didn’t want to create just another publishing company. I wanted writers to retain all of their publishing rights and most of, if not all, their royalties while also becoming a trusted place to assist writers on their independent journeys.
Then someone said, “But isn’t that Substack?”
I’ve been pondering that ever since. I know the answer, which is why I’ve been re-imagining my approach in a way that makes sense and fits with my goals. I have very little desire to manage and operate a large publishing company. My passion is in writing and helping others write. Whatever comes of that will be determined by the success brought on by major companies like Substack.
This realization has mostly been a relief. I’ve suffered from burnout over the last few months trying to juggle too many things. I hope that you’re on board with these upcoming adjustments, and are as excited about what the future holds as I am.
Going Lean
In the beginning, I had this desire to fill the days of the week with material to keep people engaged. This worked in the sense that I was able to build up a backlog of stories and articles to read, but the quality could have been better. I cast a wide net in my attempt to figure out what people would be interested in. I actually encourage this for people starting out as it helps to find your own voice and vision. The decision to post less is merely to refocus my energy.
In this vein, I’m turning the monthly free newsletter (what you’re reading now) into a quarterly one as a way to allow myself more creative writing time. I’ve loved writing monthly as it has kept me on schedule. However, I don’t want it to become something I do just for the sake of doing it. The format will likely remain the same, so I’ll still include writing events, prompts, and open calls for submissions. The monthly paid newsletter won’t be affected; in fact, it should be improved because of this.
The next thing being put on hold is the SRA Podcast. I had a lot of fun last year learning the ropes of voice recording. I still have a desire to do it, but the recording and editing process eats up a ton of time. It would need to be a live recording type thing, and I’m just not there yet.
I’ve had a lot of fruitful discussions with people I admire and believe this may be an opportunity to shift focus to something more tangible, more unique.
A New Vision
In the coming weeks, I’ll be providing the details of a new vision for The Storyletter. It’s actually not totally new, it’s more of a relaunch of an event that I hosted last year. Some of you may remember it as the S6 Contest.
I had a lot of fun with it last summer and got to read some amazing stories, but due to my relatively limited reach at the time, only half of the goal had been achieved. This time, with the influx in subscribers, I believe we have a real shot at manifesting the ultimate vision I had for that contest: an anthology.
The biggest and most rewarding way I can think of platforming other indie and emerging writers is to get them published and their stories in front of more readers. So, I’ll be dedicating my efforts to making this a reality. There’s a special feeling when you hold a book in your hands that has your story in it. And with so many talented writers on this platform, I can see it really being something amazing.
Thank you to those who have stuck around this long, and a big welcome to those of you who have just joined. I appreciate each and every one of you. If you ever need to talk or have something on your mind you’d like to share, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here: storyletter@protonmail.com. ~ WM
What’s Happening
Storyletter News
Writing Prompt - Exploring the Unknown
The Indie Promo Space
Tips + Tricks
Open Calls
Contests
Gift of the Month
Up Next
In Case You Missed It
I’ll be volunteering at The Pre-Quill Conference on April 29 (Saturday) at the University Marriott in SLC. Very excited to meet other local writers and those involved with the League of Utah Writers. Hit me up if you’ll be there as well, and we can chat!
The Weight of the World collection has returned from the editor. The next step will be to format the book and get a cover. It’s actually much shorter than I had anticipated. I re-read it in only a few hours. Maybe that’s a good thing?
Along Harrowed Trails Kickstarter campaign finished at $2,123 with 80 backers. Wow! Congratulations, C.R. Langille of Timber Ghost Press, on the successful campaign! I can’t wait to buy multiple copies.
Notes launched on Substack in the web and app versions. It’s been a super enjoyable experience meeting new writers and promoting other people that way. I attribute the most recent surge in subscribers to Notes. We went from 500 to 600 in 20 days, which is truly incredible. Thank you for choosing to be here!
The Storyletter is now an official partner of Coffee Brand Coffee. I’ve been drinking CBC for the last few months. I love flavors like Blueberry Cobbler, especially for cold brew. This month, they are offering to host a giveaway for The Storyletter audience if we reach 10 sales by the end of the month. We’re currently at 3. If you’re going to buy coffee anyway, why not support indie writers in the process? Check them out here and use code STORIES5 to get 5% off your order.
We host quarterly writing events. Writers can either post the story on their own Substack, and we’ll cross-post it to our audience, or the story can be submitted for publication consideration as a Storyletter Original. Storyletter Originals are automatically eligible for inclusion in the Storyletter Anthology (volume one currently in the works). For more information, check out the post below:
Entries:
Indie Promo - Halcyon Horror
Tips & Tricks - Storycraft: The Forest
Learn more about how The Forest can be used in fiction to greater effect!
Open Calls
DarkLit Press - Dark and speculative fiction novels and novellas
Future House Publishing - Speculative, family-friendly novels
Ballads of the Distant Reaches - Fantasy short story pitches
Eerie River Publishing - Year of the Tarot Anthology series
Contests
Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival Poetry & Short Story Contest - Deadline April 28 - ($10 fee)
Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest - Deadline April 30 - ($22 fee)
Parsec Short Story Contest - Deadline May 1 (no fee)
First Pages Prize - Opens March 1 through April 10 - ($20 fee)
Something or Other Publishing Contest - Deadline July 31st (no fee)
Gift of the Month - MAMA Mug
Up Next
I’m currently working on the announcement post for the big summer event. That should be out next month. Stay tuned!
For XPress members, I’ll be releasing “To Build a Business” for May’s paid newsletter. I waited until post-tax season in order to gather as much information as possible on my first year running Storyletter XPress Publishing LLC.
I’m gearing up to release the first Tales of Havek serial called The Angel of War. 4 years in the making. Wow. Time flies. The first chapter will be free, with the rest behind a partial paywall.
In Case You Missed It
*If you’d like to promote something in The Storyletter’s monthly newsletter, send me your pitch in an email to storyletter@protonmail.com
I think it’s great that you’re taking time to refine your vision and adapt to your needs. It sounds like you’ve got a good plan! I know I’ve been rethinking my own approach to Substack this year and trying to create a little more breathing space for writing (and reading). Flexibility is an asset in an environment like this, and so is time for creativity :-) Best of luck!
Thanks for the promo, Winston! I can definitely understand your wanting to cut back on writing commitments. Sounds like a good plan.