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<NOTE: This is not the newsletter for updates about my fiction and creative works – for those, you’ll want Petermball.com/newsletter. This newsletter is purely focused on writing craft and business.
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- On Day, You’re Going To Get Hit By A BusProcess Knowledge, Indie Publishing, And Thinking About The Future Yesterday I was made redundant at my current day job, which has been an interesting experience (among other things). Over the years, I’ve spent the bulk of my time in the non-profit space, working for teams that often developed what I call a “hit by the… Read more: On Day, You’re Going To Get Hit By A Bus
- If You’re A Writer, Debt Is The Enemy(So I was writing an upcoming essay about file architecture and publishing, and discovered a few unpublished essays I’d written during my morning commute over hte last year. This was originally finished back in April, with some minor rewrites to bring it in line with the current circumstance, so please forgive me if the tone… Read more: If You’re A Writer, Debt Is The Enemy
- The Right Book At The Right Time: A Life UpdateSometimes you read the perfect book at the perfect time. In my case, it was Cory Doctorow’s The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Surviving Life After AI, which is one of the smartest and most incisive critiques of the AI industry I’ve come across so far. Central to Doctorow’s thesis is that the problem of AI… Read more: The Right Book At The Right Time: A Life Update
- “Going Pro” is bullshit: Rethinking Failure and Control in the Writing GameI recently applied for a job doing long-form content for a company that trains folks in how to use online stores. Great pay, interesting job, well within my wheelhouse in both the skill set required and the things I could learn. It seemed like an incredible fit, and I received an invitation to take part… Read more: “Going Pro” is bullshit: Rethinking Failure and Control in the Writing Game
- A Short Give-Away of Dark and Spooky ReadsHave you got space for a few spooky books in your life? My upcoming release leans towards crime, but my heart will forever belong to the darker parts of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. I’m always on the lookout for new-to-me authors and taking a chance on things that look interesting. Sometimes that pays off for… Read more: A Short Give-Away of Dark and Spooky Reads
- Writing While CommutingI typically expect to write between 1200 and 2400 words a day during my daily commute. As shown in the drafting heat map I posted a few weeks ago, those words are typically split between four or five different writing sprints, which largely correlate to the transit time in my two-bus commute to work and… Read more: Writing While Commuting
- Cleaving to Open Systems as a WriterYesterday, I recommended Anil Dash’s episode of the Past Due podcast, and specifically called out the sections where he talks about platforms built on open technology versus closed technology. Dash calls out technologies like email, blogs, and podcasts as great open tools. Both are platforms where you may rely on a piece of software to… Read more: Cleaving to Open Systems as a Writer
- Recommended Listening: The Past Due PodcastOne of my favourite podcasts of late has been Past Due by Open Mike Eagle and Ama Marie Cox. There’s no central website hosting it, but you can find past eposodes on YouTube, Patreon, or your favourite podcast app. The podcasts focuses on how people survive in a creative economy in a time of profound… Read more: Recommended Listening: The Past Due Podcast
- The Drafting Heat MapI recently passed the halfway point in a new book, working title Dead Man’s Tale. Around 17,000 words down, with 16,000 to go. My target is getting the draft done by May 18, but I’ll be okay with anything up to the 25th of May as I’m getting my feet under me now that public… Read more: The Drafting Heat Map
- An Unexpected Writing Tool Gets It’s Moment In The SpotlightA few weeks back, I finished my fourth short-story draft for the year and submitted it to an open call before startingstory number five. Writing’s an uphill battle at the moment because the world–once again–is trending towards chaos and laying disruptions in my path. After spending the first six months of my new job training… Read more: An Unexpected Writing Tool Gets It’s Moment In The Spotlight
