Subscription Drive and YouTube

In today’s Journal

* Quote of the Day
* Subscription Drive
* YouTube Semi-Swan Song
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

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Quote of the Day

“Page 98 will never be as “good” as page 1 because it has a ton of context supporting it. Page 1 stands alone.” Harvey Stanbrough (see Of Interest)

Subscription Drive

I was going to run this yesterday, but I had a tussle with Stripe. They didn’t “recognize” the physical address I’ve lived in for the past 15 years. But it’s all ironed-out now, so here we go:

(First, current donors, bless your heart, you’re covered. Please don’t worry about any of this: )

For almost ten years,

I’ve regularly said the Journal will remain free to those who want it. That remains true.

If you are NOT already a subscriber, and if you click the Subscribe button, you will now be afforded the option to subscribe in any of three ways:

• $7.50 per month ($0.25 per issue of the Journal)
• $80 per year ($0.22 per issue of the Journal), or
• Free (I hope you’ll share the Journal)

If you find this Journal of value and you are already a subscriber (but not yet a donor), and if you would like to donate, now you have two options:

• you may click Upgrade to Paid, or
• you may click the Donate Here link at the end of any post.

If you click the Donate Here link, you can make a one-time or monthly donation through PayPal or with a debit or credit card.

But again, for those who can’t afford to upgrade to paid or otherwise donate, the Journal will remain a free resource.

So why pay? Because

1. I am a fellow fiction writer. Like you, I deserve to be paid for my work.

2. I am also one of the better no-BS writing instructors you will ever encounter. My only fault as a writing instructor is that sometimes I over-explain in an effort to be sure everyone “gets it.”

3. The Journal is easily among the best resources for writers who are serious about the craft of writing fiction. it is also the ONLY resource, to my knowledge (please correct me if I’m wrong), that

• routinely delivers fluff-free, myth-free, meaty topics on the craft or writing,
• shares, through archives going back ten years, a prolific fiction writer’s journey from hatchling to soaring,
• shares, in real-time, related topics in publishing and marketing as I’m testing them,
• is devoted to speaking the truth about (and busting) the nonsensical myths of fiction writing,
• provides, in The Numbers section, a daily example of what is possible if you devote yourself to the craft, and
• contains little or infrequent self-promotion.

Through the Journal, comments, and emails, I also serve as your personal cheerleader in writing fiction. No judgement, only encouragement.

The Journal isn’t about me.
The Journal is about best practices for writing fiction.

So if you are able to subscribe or donate, please do.

If you are NOT able to subscribe or donate, please at least share the Journal with other writers and leave a comment on posts when you can.

UPDATE: I also added paid subscriptions to the Stanbrough Writes substack. Since that one is delivered only once a week, the cost is lower: $5 per month or $55 per year.

Hey, the short stories remain free, but if you enjoy them and want to show your appreciation with a paid subscription, who am I to argue?

In fact, I’ve already had my first annual subscriber on Stanbrough Writes. Pretty cool.

But again, don’t panic. You can still subscribe free to both substacks: the Journal and Stanbrough Writes. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to subscribe to either one for a little jing if you want.

Thanks!

YouTube Semi-Swan Song

Those semi-swans are something to see, aren’t they? Waddling quickly down the highway pulling a 53-foot trailer?

Nah, that’s a different kind of “semi” altogether, isn’t it? Sorry.

Here’s what I meant to say:

I probably won’t be doing anymore live streams on YouTube.

When I just talk and ignore the live comments, I feel bad. And when I interrupt the flow to look down and check the comments and respond, I also feel bad. It’s a lose-lose situation.

Plus out of about 530 possible visitors, for the last live broadcast only 8 hardy souls stopped by. Or about 0.015%. That’s bad math.

So not enough interest. 0.015% is not a good percentage when I test going “Live from the Hovel” on YouTube against the WIBBOW rule.

All of that said, I enjoy playing with YouTube, so I will probably record a few topics on there, then upload the videos. It won’t be live so there won’t be any interaction, but it will be about writing fiction.

And of course, what I say about a topic (and how I say it) will differ from what I write about a topic and how I write it. So I guess we’ll see who wants to learn.

If you want to be notified immediately of new videos, I suggest you stop by my YouTube channel and subscribe. It’s free.

In fact, as long as I’m recording and posting videos, I might as well start from the beginning and talk about “my” process, then proceed through various craft topics. But as I said, I’ll say things differently than I write them.

Who knows? Maybe the word will get out as a reminder or refresher to Journal subscribers and as an introduction to What It Is (as mob guys used to say) to be a prolific fiction writer.

I suppose weeshul see. And of course, I’ll probably announce new YouTube video releases here and on my StanbroughWrites substack (where the free short stories are). Stay tuned.

I’ll talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

Fiction Branding… Part 7 Dean changes his tune on placement of author name slightly. (grin)

Page 98 Page 98 will never be as good as page 1 because it has a ton of context supporting it. Page 1 stands alone.

The Numbers

The Journal……………………………… 1000

Writing of Blackwell Ops 23: Buck Jackson

Day 1…… 1217 words. To date…… 1217
Day 2…… 2154 words. To date…… 3371

Fiction for April…………………….….… 3371
Fiction for 2024…………………………. 229163
Fiction since October 1………………… 532219
Nonfiction for April……………………… 3670
Nonfiction for 2024……………………… 132390
2024 consumable words……………… 361553

2024 Novels to Date……………………… 6
2024 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2024 Short Stories to Date……………… 1
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)……………… 88
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 9
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 239
Short story collections…………………… 29

Disclaimer: I am a prolific professional fiction writer. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Unreasoning fear and the myths of writing will slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.

If you find this Journal of value, please take a moment to punch the Share button at the bottom of this post. Or you can make a one-time or monthly donation via debit or credit card or PayPal. Donate Here.