reading-gnome - Tumblr blog

[reading-gnome]

YA literature? You mean books about Super Special White Girl and Her Mysterious Brooding Boyfriend?

[reading-gnome]

I’m not one to comment when reblog, but this annoys the hell out of me.

Ignorance does not deserve the cancel culture it gets.

there’s a large grey area between “this creator is a misogynist/homophobe/racist” and “this creator did not fully think through the implications of some of their writing choices” and it would be nice if people would stop to assess where in the scale between those two cases their criticism applies, instead of going for a hard zero on the first option all the time

[reading-gnome]

me, reading my own story: wow i wonder what happens next

me, remembering i have to write what happens next myself: fucking shit

[reading-gnome]

there are two wolves inside you

[reading-gnome]

Created some side blogs for content specific stuff, if that’s your thing.

@resource-gnome is for various writing resources.

@prompt-gnome is for writinf and character prompts.

@fantasy-gnome has a lot of fantasy related content, including resources, neat pictures, etc. It’s meant for my fantasy story.

[reading-gnome]

Seriously, rewrite.

It’ll make it so much better. It’s easier to add in details and find mistakes if you rewrite.

Writing advice you're not going to like.

People sometimes send me Asks wanting writing advice.  I suck at it.  I don’t really know how I do the writing, or how one should do the writing, or what one should do to get better at the writing.  All I can ever think to say is “write a lot of stuff and you will get better at the writing.”  Which is true, but hardly a bolt from the sky.

Well, as it turns out, I do have one piece of Legit Writing Advice, and I am going to share it with you, right now.  If you were in any of my writing workshop groups at a con, you’ve heard this advice already.

Warning: you’re going to fucking hate it.  But if you do it, you will thank me.

If you have a piece of fiction you’re serious about, something you might want to actually shop around, or just something you really are into and want to make it as good as you can…do NOT edit it.

Repeat.  DO NOT EDIT.

REWRITE.

As in, print out the whole fucking thing and re-enter it, every word (or use two screens).  Retype the whole thing.  Recreate it from the ground up using your first draft as a template.  Start with a blank page and re-enter every. single. word.

I hear you screaming.  OH MY GOD THAT’S INSANE.

Yes.  Yes, it is.

It is also the most powerful thing you will ever do for a piece of fiction that you are serious about.

Now, let’s get real.  I don’t do this for most things.  I don’t do it for my fanfiction.  But if it’s something original, something I might like to get to a professional level - I do it.  You absolutely COULD do it for fanfiction.  It’s just up to you and how much time you want to sink into a piece.

You can edit, sure.  But you WILL NOT get down to the level of change that needs to happen in a second draft.  You will let things slide.  Your eyes will miss things.  You will say “eh, good enough.”

The first time I did this, on someone else’s advice, I was dubious.  Within two pages, I was saying WHY HAVE I NOT BEEN DOING THIS ALL THE TIME.  I was amazed at how much change was happening.  By the time I got to the end, I had an entirely different novel than the one I’d started with.  When you’re already re-entering every single word, it’s easy to make deep changes.  You’ll reformat sentences, you’ll switch phrases around, you’ll massage your word choice.  You’ll discover whole paragraphs that don’t need to be there at all because they became redundant.  You’ll find dialogue exchanges that need reimagining.  Whole plot points will suddenly be different, whole story arcs will reveal their flaws and get re-drawn.

You cannot get down to the fundamental level of change that’s required just by editing an existing document.  You have to rebuild it if you really want your story to evolve.  You will be AMAZED at the difference it will make.

It will take time.  It will seem like a huge, Herculean task.  I’m not saying it’s easy.  It isn’t.  But it is absolutely revolutionary.

Try it.  I promise, you will see what I mean.

*PSA: Tipsy!Lori wrote this post.  In case you couldn’t tell.

[reading-gnome]

Worldbuilding: Religion

All people follow some semblance of a god or deity or force. Call it Jesus, Allah, Apollo or positive energy, all worlds believe that there is something greater than themselves or that somebody is guiding their actions and the events that befall them. We all want someone to love, to blame, to talk to. So we create gods and powers that be.

Place of Religion with your World

Before we get to the fun parts, we have to consider the place of the faith in your land. If we look around today, we see a patchwork of countries and their relationship with religion.

Some countries are a patchwork like America or France.

Some are predominantly one religion only and only that one is acceptable to practise.

Some have two religions vying for control such as Pakistan.

Believe in it or not, religion remains a major part of the woldbuilding. So with ever culture you must create you must think about its place in the everyday of your world. Perhaps there is love for religion and faith or perhaps there is fear or oppression. How do the people view religion in your land?

Another thing to consider, is the relationship between Church and State. Sometimes I find that the styles of government have different relationships with their faiths.

Theocracy- Religion is always a huge part. The government runs on it. The people breathe it.

Monarchy- Some monarchs claim to be gods or to be divinely chosen. This is good PR. But some kings and queens don’t get on with religion. I’m looking at you Henry.

Government- May rely on the religion to prove their actions or detest them for going against them. Roman politicians often bribed augurs to fake omens to prove themselves right.

Pantheon

All faiths and religions have a force to look up to. We can have one singular god/force (monotheism) or a group of gods (polytheism).

Most Monotheistic religions focus on a singular theme. The being is all powerful, omnipresent and manages an expansive universe on their own. These gods are usually faultless and perfect and there are no embarrassing stories of them.

Polytheistic gods can be as perfect as their lonely friends but not always. Gather a bunch of all-powerful beings in a single room, you will get some funny stories. These gods are usually flawed. They will share the duties of running the universe, usually in charge of different factions of the world; war, love, death, water or fire.

Gods/forces usually come with stories. We will have an abundance of stories but mainly we will have:

A world creation tale

A human creating tale

A war against evil

Godly origin stories

Tale of a massive flood.

Ritual

We think of religion and we think of prayer. We no longer sacrifice goats or children or virgins to appease the things that be. But there are other things to do in order to honour the gods.

We usually have a few types of ritual.

The gesture

The offering

The sacrament

Gesture: Catholics bless themselves, Añjali Mudrā or the namaste is a sign of respect in India, Muslims perform the rakʿah/bowing cycles in ṣalāt/prayer

Offering: In Judaism, during Hanukkah they light candles to represent eight nights that an oil lamp burned. In Catholicism, candles are burned in memory of the dead, incense is burned. In Greek Mythology, young men were whipped before the statue of Artemis, their blood an offering to her.

Sacrament: Catholicism has seven levels (i once got thrown out of class for referring to it as pokemon evolution). In Islam and Judaism, we see coming of age sacraments.

Values and Ethics

Each religion teaches us something. Each has their own values. Most religions preach peace, love, truth, harmony (except when other relationships are involved in some).

Every religion has its own set of rules. Some are there to keep certain values entertained. If modesty is preached, the people don’t make dick jokes or go about with tits out. If warriors are praised, the pacifist and conscientious objector will be shunned. How often are these rules broken? How are they enforced? What are the punishments for breaking the rules?

You must look at the message your religion conveys. We always hear about the peace and love. Mix it up and allow religions to send mixed messages. It makes it interesting.

Accessories

Every religion needs its accessories. A place to worship in, certain garments to wear and a symbol.

Places to worship can be any place. A building or outside in the open. You can have gilded temples with jewelled idols or your simple altar. You can have your field, forest and beach or river to pray beside.

Perhaps your religion has certain clothes one wears. Islam has the hijab or burka. Hindus have the bindi and the sari. Catholic women used to and still sometimes wear veils in mass. Judaism has their skull caps and rock awesome beards.

Symbols can be anything. It can be a circle. It can literally be a chair. But it needs a reason to be important. Perhaps the deity created the first Lay-Z boy or maybe the saviour likes good back support.

[reading-gnome]

Using this as resources for my current fantasy fic!

Witchy *Free* PDF book list Masterpost

Hey lovely witches! I wanted to share some of my PDF witchy books I have on my computer. I know it’s hard to find these books and not everyone has money to buy them or easy access. I hope I can help someone with this <3

Most of the books are on my google drive library, you can click on the link and then download if you’d like to.

A Manual of Occultism, by Sepharial

Mastering Witchcraft, by Paul Huson

Natural Magic, by Pamela J.Ball

Pagan Spells, Author Unknown

Herbal Magick - Herbal enchantments, folclore and divination by Gerina Dunwich <3

Spell Crafts - Creating magical objects, by, Scott Cunningham and David Harrington <3

The Book of Power, by Idres Shah

The Complete book of Incense, Oils ad Brews, by Scott Cunningham

The Essential Skills of Magick - Benjamim Rowe

The Ultimate Book of Spells - Pamela J. Ball *my favorite spellbook*

50 of The Most Powerful Spells, by unknown author

Witchcraft Today, by Gerald Gardner

The Gardnerian Book of Shadows

The Basics of Magic, by K. Amber

8 Sabbaths of Witchcraft, by Mike Nichols

Witchcraft Today, by Gerald Gardner

Celtic Mythology and Religion, by Alexander Macbain

The Art and meaning of Magic, By Israel Regardie

An Introduction to the Study of Tarot, by Paul Foster Case

The Alchemy of Abundance, by Lisa McSherry

Encyclopedia of Acient Roman and Greek Mythology, by James Belton

Asgard and the Gods, by M. W. MacDowall,

The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Spells by, Michael Johnstone

Witches’ Bible by, Janet and Stewart Farrar

The Witch’s Master Grimoire, by Lady Sabrina

The meaning of Witchcraft, by Gerald Gardner

Aleister Crowley book collection (google drive)

Lid Off the Cauldron, by Patricia Crowther

A Grimoire for Modern Cunningfolk, by Peter Paddon

The A to Z of Dream Interpretation, by Pamela J. Ball

The Dream Oracle, by Pamela J. Ball

The Great Book of Spells, by Pamela J. Ball <3

The Techniques of Astral Projection, By Dr. Douglas M. Baker

The Opening of the Third Eye, By Dr. Douglas M. Baker

Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft, By Bailey Michael

The Goddess is in Details, by Deborah Blake <3

Circle, Coven and Grove, by Deborah Blake

A Witch’s Dozen, by Deborah Blake <3

Witchcraft on a Shoestring by Deborah Blake

Egyptian Magic, By Ernest Budge

Advanced Candle Magick, By Raymond Buckley

Amulets and Magic, By Budge Walli

Pen and Ink Witchcrafr , By Collin Calloway

Basic Sigil Magic, By Philip Cooper

The Occult Properties of Herbs , By W.B Crow

Shadow Work Guidebook, by Jessica Cross

Gemstone Sorcery, By Gerina Dunwich <3

Wicca A to Z By  Gerina Dunwich

Every Witch Way By Ellen Dugan <3

Power Of The Witch By Laurie Cabot <3

The Spiral Dance By Starhawk <3

Spiritual Power - Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Book of Shadows By, Phyllis Curott:

Witchcrafting By Phyllis Curott

Spells for the Solitary Witch By Eileen Holland

Wiccan Magick By Raven Grimassi

The Witch’s Familiar By Raven Grimassi

Magical Candle Crafting By Ember Grant

Magical Powder Recipes By Lady Gianne

Wicca For Beginners By Lisa Chamberlain

Scott Cunningham’s Books:

Divination for Beginners

Wicca in the Kitchen <3

Book of Shadows

Living Wicca

Crystal Gem and Metal Magick <3

Wicca

Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs

Magical Household, Rituals and spells for the home <3

D.J Conway’s Books:

Mystical Dragon

Norse Magic

Wicca, The Complete Craft

Falcon, Feather and Valkyrie Sword

Celtic Magic

Christopher Penczak’s Books

Gay Witchcraft - Christopher Penczak

The Living Temple of Witchcraft V. II- Christopher Penczak

The Gates of Witchcraft

The Living Temple of Witchcraft V.II 

Mystic Foundation

The Outer Temple Of Witchcraft

The Inner Temple of Witchcraft

The Witch’s Shield

Cassandra Eason’s Books:

A Practical Guide of Witchcraft and Spells, 

Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters and Animal Power Symbols

Candle Power

The Art of Pendulum

The Complete Guide to Psychic Development

Illes Judika’s Books:

Magic When You Need It - 150 Spells

Pure Magic

The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft

Ellwood Taylor’s Books:

Pop Culture Magic

The Pop Culture Grimoire

Multi-Media Magic

Manifesting Prosperity

For those of you who wish to see my full library on the drive, feel free to send me a message and I will send you the link!

HAVE FUN!  :)

[reading-gnome]

Hey, writeblrs! Can you please reblog this if your blog is a safe space for diversity!

[reading-gnome]

Hey! I’m Sam. I just graduated college. I write whatever, I don’t even have a genre anymore. Most of my new characters are LGBT+

Looking For Writeblr's To Follow ♡

Reblog if you write or post about the following:

Fantasy (dark/light, urban, etc)

LGBTQIA+ characters

Romance

Writing advice

Cats

Positivity :)

Prompts

Ask games

Tag games

Want to be friends!!

Animals

Cute stuff

Talk about your WIP/characters/etc

About Me

I’m a 27 year old Journalism/PoliSci major with a focus on International Relations. I use they/them pronouns. I write a mix of fantasy, urban romance, mostly LGBTQA+ characters all in main roles. I like cats, history, languages, and generally cute things.

So.

Reblog this and tell me about yourself/your WIP(s)!

[reading-gnome]

no one:

me: here’s a flow chart of 41 lgbtq+ book recommendations, have fun!

disclaimer: this is a very non-comprehensive list since I’m only including books that I’ve read

[reading-gnome]

attention writeblrs:

I am looking to connect with some writeblrs, so if you are a writing blog, book blog, study blog, or a blog with resources for writers, please reblog so I can follow you. If you want to follow my writerblr, the url is: @badass-rebel-babe

[reading-gnome]

I’m looking for some new blogs to follow!

If you post any of the following, please like/reblog this post and I’ll check your blog out!

Harry Potter

Red Rising

Grishaverse/Leigh Bardugo

Alice Oseman

V E Schwab

Jay Kristoff

Doctor Who

Bookish stuff in general (especially YA/fantasy/science fiction) - I have a soft spot for merch, book hauls and shelfies

Writing advice

Writing memes/jokes

Writing resource/reference materials (infographics, masterlists, etc)

If you’re the kind of person who writes literal essays analysing, criticising and interpreting your favourite books, then I love you and must read your rants immediately

[reading-gnome]

Life as a Fallian

Title: Life as a Fallian

Genre: Fantasy New Adult Drama

Status: Work in progress

Type: Standalone novel (for now. I want to make it a series)

Pov: First Person (with two main characters) 

Synopsis: 

The small town of Lost Pines is nestled deep in the mountains of Massachusetts. It is a town where everyone knows everyone and generally doesn't react well to outsiders. 

Cassandra Bates has just moved to Lost Pine to inherit a house left by her grandmother. What secrets does Lost Pine hold for Cassandra? What will she learn about herself?

Read it on Wattpad 

Chapter 1:

(Cassandra's POV)

Lost Pine, Pennyslvania. 

My grandmother left her house to me, so now I was moving to Lost Pine, a town tucked away from main roads. The last hour or so has been made up of cobblestone and dirt roads.

At last, I saw the sign, an old rickety wooden sign with a carved bear next to it. Both could be repaired and repainted. The only thing readable were the large etched in letters that said "Lost Pine."

Sighing, I looked around as my car inched through town. There were a small handful of shops, nothing sustainable really, which meant I'd have to drive at least an hour to go shopping.

Another ten minutes, and I finally found the street sign that read "Sandalwood Avenue." Underneath, there is a bright yellow sign reading "No Outlet." I glanced down the sheet of paper sitting on my passenger's seat. My phone had lost service a while back, so I had to rely on road signs and the printed map. The sign matched the paper's address, so I turned down the road.

After another couple of minutes, I finally found the first house on the street. It appeared to be only one of two houses on the entire street. The other house was further down the street. From what I could tell with the distance, it stood at the very edge of the road.

Thick wooden numbers had been hammered to a tree near the front of the yard. "312". The number matched the paper.

This was my new house.

Pulling the car into the yard, I shut it off and looked to the house. It was massive, probably better described as a castle rather than a house. The outside was even made entirely of stone.

Why had I never known about this place?

I guess, to be fair, I barely knew my grandma. She was around when I was a baby. My parents didn't talk about her much. I was the only grandchild, hence inheriting the house and most of her belongings, despite only just graduating from high school.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the car. I had to get to work, even if I didn't want to.

Before worrying about any of my stuff, I walked up the driveway. The door was a large wooden door with some weird designs etched into the wood. I dug out the house key from my pocket and unlocked the door.

The door opened slowly, seeming to push against me. I stepped inside, taking in my surroundings.

The entrance room was beautiful. Large staircases spiraled upwards, leading to a large balcony that overlooked the room.

"Wow," I gasped.

Grandma must have been rich. It is the only way she could afford all of this.

I wonder what happened to her money?

I shook the thought away. It was a silly fantasy anyway. I continued to move through the house, taking in my surrounds and attempting to figure out the floor plan. The rest of the house had the same beautiful, elegant feel as the entrance room.

Sighing, I decided to start bringing my stuff in. I had no idea what I was going to do with it or what bedroom I would claim as my own. The house was almost too big for me to know what to do. However, I knew I couldn't procrastinate it anymore.

The walk from the entrance room to my car very quickly got tiresome. It took a little over an hour to completely unload my car, simply because I needed to take breaks occasionally. I piled everything in the front room.

Taking a deep breath, I looked at all the items. Boxes and bags stared back at me. I'd have to find a way to put these away and a place to put them. The house had plenty of room, that much was obvious. I began to separate the boxes and bags, placing them in smaller piles, so I could place them.

The kitchen would be easiest to start with, so let's start there. I carried kitchen stuff into the kitchen and began unpacking. I looked through the cupboards to find that no one had cleaned out my grandma's stuff. Plates, bowls, and cups remained in the cupboards. Pots and pans were clean and ready to be used. The sheer amount of it made me question if it was even worth putting my stuff away.

Sighing, I pushed the boxes to the side and decided to just look around the house. In one of the cupboards, I found a few heavy duty cast iron pots. I found a variety of herbs and spices, which appeared to still be good.

In the backyard, there was a small garden, which looked like someone had been keeping up with it. From my quick glance, it hadn't appeared like it had weeds or anything, which was strange.

Just as I walked back into the kitchen and pulled a box closer to me to look through, I heard a knock on the door. I sighed and pushed the box back on the island, so it wouldn't be close the edge.

Who could possibly be here?

Another knock, which meant I didn't have time to wonder who was at the door. I would just have to go see.

I started to make my way towards the entrance room. Through the window on the front door, I could see a figure through the door. The figure seemed to be moving slightly, probably out of boredom, as they had knocked a few times already. I grabbed the doorknob and twisted it.

As the door opened, I could clearly make out the figure standing on my porch. It was a woman who appeared to be in her forties. Her attention was off to the side, looking at something that I couldn't see. From what I could tell, she had long black hair and dark red lips. In her arms, she had two closed containers.

"Hello?" I asked quietly, getting her attention.

She looked at me quickly. A smile formed on her lips as she eyed me up. "Hello, darling. I came to welcome you to the neighborhood. My name is Lucy Setan. I live in the house down the road." She motioned to the left, where the road continued.

"Cassandra Bales. It's a pleasure, ma'am."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Bales? Not Hawthorne?"

I shook my head, confused for a moment. Realization hit me.

"Oh," I said softly. "Hawthorne. You knew my grandmother. That's my mom's maiden name."

Lucy's lips form an "o" shape. "Ah, yes, of course. Maggie was one of my closest friends. She mentioned she was leaving her house to her family. I'm so glad someone moved in. It would be such a shame to let this beautiful house go to waste."

I nodded without saying anything. I wasn't sure what to reply.

She glanced down to her arms. She lifted them slightly as if to drive my attention to it. "I brought you a housewarming present. Freshly baked cookies and bread. I figured you could use the pick-me-up to help you with your unpacking."

"Thank you, ma'am."

I reached forward to grab the container. She handed them over and laughed lightly. "Please, please, call me Lucy."

I nodded again.

"Anyway, I should let you go. I'm sure you have a lot of work to do. If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to ask. I have a daughter about your age, so feel free to stop by our house anytime."

"Thank you."

She spun around and began down my driveway. I watched her for a moment before looking at the items in my hands. I returned back to my house and shut the door behind me. I went back into the kitchen, where I set down the containers. After figuring out which one was cookies, I popped open the container and ate one. It was better than I expected.

I looked at the boxes that still sat on my island. I sighed and grabbed another cookie. As I ate some of the cookies, I thought about the woman. She seemed nice enough and said she was friends with my grandmother.

I wonder what she could tell me about her.

[reading-gnome]

Reblog if you’re an writeblr

for follow

[reading-gnome]

Publishing for Fun and Profit

So there was a list going around tumblr for a while that made it to my dash of literary journals that accept open submissions (and will pay!), but upon inspection about half of them were closed indefinitely, and I found quite a few other places that looked interesting through further research, so I wanted to post my own list. 

I tried to focus on things that paid professional grade (at least 6 cents per word), were friendly to speculative fiction, and specifically encouraged diversity and writing about marginalized groups.

(Please note that as of right now I have never submitted or been published with any of these, so if anyone has experience with them, good or bad, please feel free to message or reblog this with your experiences.)

Speculative Fiction

Strange Horizons — Speculative fiction (broadly defined) with an emphasis on diversity, unusual styles, and stories that address politics in nuanced ways. 8c per word. Up to 10,000 words, under 5,000 preferred. Responds within 40 days. LGBT+ positive.

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine — Sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc. 7-12c per word. Up to 25,000 words. No response times listed.

Asimov’s Science Fiction — Primarily sci-fi but accepts fantasy and surreal fiction, but no high fantasy/sword and sorcery. Prefers writing that is character driven. 8-10c per word. 1,000-20,000 words. Responds in about five weeks.

Evil Girlfriend Media — Horror and urban fantasy centered on female empowerment and defying gender stereotypes. $100 flat payment. 4,000-7,000 words. No response times given. LGBT+ friendly.

Beneath Ceaseless Skies — Fantasy with a focus on secondary worlds and characters. 6c per word. Up to 10,000 words. Average response time 2-4 weeks.

Fantastic Stories — Speculative fiction with an emphasis on diversity and literary style. 15c per word. Up to 3,000 words. Responds within two weeks. LGBT+ positive.

Fiction Vortex — Serialized fantasy and speculative fiction. $300 for featured stories, $50 otherwise. 3,500 words or less. No response times given.

Shimmer — Speculative fiction with an emphasis on diversity, strong plots, vivid characters, and beautiful writing. 5c per word. 7,500 words or less (will consider longer words with query letter). Usually responds within two weeks. LGBT+ positive.

Clarkesworld Magazine — Sci-fi, fantasy, and other speculative fiction. 10c per word up to 5,000 words, 8c per word after. 1,000-16,000 words. Responds within days usually, gives a tracking number.

Apex Magazine — Speculative fiction of all kinds. 6c per word, +1c per word for podcast stories. Up to 7,500 words, all submissions over will be auto-rejected. Responds within 30 days.

Heliotrope Magazine — Speculative fiction of all kinds. 10c per word. Up to 5,000 words. Responds within 30 days.

Lightspeed Magazine — Speculative fiction of all kinds, with creativity and originality in terms of style and format encouraged. 8c per word. 1,500-10,000 words, under 5,000 preferred. LGBT+ positive. Submissions temporarily closed for their main magazine but is accepting for their People of Color Destroy Science Fiction special.

General Fiction

The Sun Magazine — General fiction, likes personal writing or writing of a cultural/political significance. $300-$1500 flat payment  and a one year subscription to the magazine for fiction (also accepts essays and poetry). No minimum or maximum lengths but over 7,000 words discouraged. Responds in 3-6 months. Physical submissions only.

One Story — Any and all varieties of fiction, “unique and interesting” stories encouraged. $500 payment plus 25 contributor copies. 3,000-8,000 words. Usually responds in 2-3 months.

Camera Obscura — General fiction. $1000 for featured story, $50 for “Bridge the Gap” award, no payment for other contributors. 250-8,000 words. Response time vary, running just over two months as of now.

Flash Fiction 

Daily Science Fiction — Speculative flash fiction (including sci-fi, fantasy, slipstream, etc.). 8c per word. Up to 1,500 words, but shorter stories given priority. Response times not listed.

Vestral Review — General flash fiction. 3-10c per word depending on length to a max of $25. Up to 500 words. Response within four months.

Flash Fiction Online — General flash fiction. $60 flat payment. 500-1,000 words. Response times not listed.

Novels/Novella

Riptide Publishing — Any LGBTQ manuscripts between 15,000 and 150,000 words. Currently especially interested in lesbian romances, trans stories, asexual/aromantic stories, romances with a happy ending, and genre fiction such as urban fantasy. Also has a YA branch.  LGBT+ positive.

Crimson Romance — Romance stories of all kinds, currently seeking LGBT+ stories with a focus on emotional connections and relationships, especially m/m romance. Novel (55,000-90,000 words) or novella (20,000-50,000 words) length.  LGBT+ positive.

Kindle Direct Publishing 

Kindle Direct Publishing — Allows you to set your own prices, create your own cover art, and make royalties off of each sell. Any and all genres are welcome and if you’re prolific and smart about how you’re publishing you can make pretty good money.

General Guide to Kindle Publishing — Gives a good rundown of the publishing process on Kindle.

101 Guide to Kindle Erotica — Great guide with lots of resources about how to make money publishing erotica on Kindle.   

Publishing Comics/Graphic Novels

Here is a list of potential comic companies and what kind of open submissions they accept.  

Here is a list of literary agents who accept graphic novels. 

[reading-gnome]

Do you have any tips on how to make sure your character stays consistent throughout the book? (especially for a newbie)

Get to know your characters really well before you even start the first draft. It’s a time commitment, but it’s well worth it. If you write the story with an already solid knowledge of who your character is, how they present themselves, what their motivations are, and how they change over the course of the plot, you’ll have a much easier time keeping the character portrayal consistent, as well as interesting. 

I have a couple articles that will help with your character development in the planning/outlining stages of your story:

Ways To Fit Character Development Into your Story

When To Stop Planning

Character Trait Form

Tips On Introducing Characters

Tip On Giving Characters Flaws

As well as some master posts of resources:

Resources For Creating Characters

Resources For Describing Characters

Questions I’ve answered:

Having Trouble Connecting To Your Characters?

Giving Characters Bad Traits

On Making Scenes/Characters Unpredictable

Showing Vs. Telling And Characters

Keeping Characters From Sounding Identical

And finally, some prompt lists to inspire you:

31 Days Of Character Development: Wordsnstuff May Writing Challenge

Interview As Your Character