Miscellany #5: Two years on Substack; 10th novel update; and book tour snaps...

Writing life: 57

Here’s the fifth in my Miscellany series that, you know, combines a few seemingly disparate items that can’t be parlayed into full posts of their own.

Two years on Substack and counting…

It was a little over two years ago that I first visited Substack while I was on a train headed for Kingston. I was on my way to lead a humour writing workshop as part of the Kingston Writers Festival and a friend had suggested I take a look at Substack. I explored the site while riding the rails and was impressed. It seemed quite simple to navigate and had a boatload of features that appealed to me.

On the train ride home, I opened an account, made the decision to keep my posts free and not take advantage of the monetizing capabilities of the platform, and began to develop a content plan. By the time the train pulled in to Toronto’s Union Station, I thought I had enough content ideas to carry me through the first year.

My homepage on Substack showing my most recent posts as well as a list of the most popular posts. (Click here or on the image above to visit my site.)

I sustained a one-post-per-week pace for the first year but was beginning to feel the pressure. So I backed it off to one post every two weeks and that has been much easier to manage. To date, I have written and published 85 posts, some more popular than others, but I’m still here, and for the most part, so are you. I must say I have really enjoyed writing the posts, and the discipline of cooking up an idea and then writing it every two weeks has been good for me. I’ve also read and enjoyed every one of your comments. Thanks so much, and keep ‘em coming.

Last year, with my brother’s assistance, we created a visual brand—or at least a word mark of sorts—that I still quite like. I based it on an antique typewriter key, which I thought was fitting imagery. If my initials were QA or WL, it never would have worked. But T and F blend together quite seamlessly, for which I thank my forethoughtful parents. I’ve had many positive comments from readers about it so I think it will be staying around for a while. The word mark has also now been incorporated into the design of my website (terryfallis.com), to bring some thematic consistency to my two principal online platforms, such as they are. The word mark also appears on some of my social media channels. Marketers might call it my literary brand, but I’m still exactly sure what it is.

I still quite like this.

As for the number of subscribers, I’ve been very pleased with the steady organic growth that has been sustained since the early flurry of initial sign-ups flattened out. Every week a few dozen more subscribers throw their lot in with me while only a few say goodbye. So, the net growth is gratifying. May it continue. I am grateful to those of you who have cajoled others to check out Terry Fallis: A Novel Journey. I know I have you to thank for hundreds of new subscribers.

The steady growth over the last two years on one graph.

Looking ahead, I know it’ll be a challenge to keep pace with the biweekly demand for semi-original content that will appeal to the group of readers and writers who have joined me on this Substack journey. I’ve already covered quite a few topics, but there are more out there, I know. So I’m game to carry on if you are. I’m certainly open to ideas about future content and topics you might like me to cover, so feel free to chime in. Onwards!

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An update on my 10th novel

After about a year of planning and mapping out my 10th novel, The Marionette—check out an earlier post about it here—developing my characters and charting their growth over the course of the story, I recently completed my scene-by-scene bullet point outline of the story. It runs to 80 pages. Interesting to note that my bullet points this time around seem to be a little more prosy than short-form, but that’s what has emerged.

So ten days ago, I started writing the manuscript, guided by my 80-page outline. It always feels good to lock down the story (though there could be minor changes as I write the ms) and start writing the novel’s sentences, paragraphs and pages. Here’s a peek at page 1 of my outline.

Page 1 of my 80-page outline.

The current state of my new manuscript’s first few paragraphs. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m starting to line up the words. I’m sure they will change often in the editing and polishing process, but for now…

Now, a week or so into writing the manuscript, I’ve completed my first three chapters of, I estimate, 15-17 chapters. With such a detailed outline and an intimate understanding of the entire story—I’ve been living with it for a year now—writing the manuscript is not so daunting a challenge, and it moves along quite quickly.

Here’s the Word Count table I use to track my progress and help me stay no top of my self-imposed deadlines. I owe the ms to my editor at M&S, Joe Lee, by the end of August.

So my days are now spent—when I’m not on the road still promoting A New Season—in the library on the third floor of our home writing away. I really enjoy this part of the process. And I lean on the Word Count page to keep me motivated as the table fills up.

I’ll keep you posted as milestones are reached and thresholds are crossed.

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Snapshots from the road…

I’ve still been busy giving talks around the province and doing other writing-related events. Here are few shots from my last three weeks.

I was in Picton for the County Reads Author Festival where I caught up with friend, Charlotte Gray. We both gave talks on our new books. I liked her talk better as I’ve heard mine quite a few times already.

After Picton, I drove to Almonte, near Ottawa to deliver a humour writing workshop with good friend and fellow scribe, Rod Carley. Then the next afternoon, Rod kindly interviewed me at the library. (I’ll be interviewing him a few times in the fall when his great new novel, Ruff hits bookstores.)

The week after, I was in Northbrook for a talk (Sorry, no pics.) and then the next day, I drove several hours to Alice Munro country to speak at the Clinton Branch of the Huron County Library (above). Another fun evening.

Last Monday evening I was in London, Ontario, where I interviewed the publishing legend and my editor for my first six novels, Douglas Gibson, at a great event organized by the London Writers Society. (See my earlier post about Doug here.)

Finally, I spoke in Markdale (near Owen Sound) last Wednesday. We had a full house by the time I was introduced—and there were cookies.

So it’s been a busy few weeks and that will be continuing for the coming months as I seem to have events booked well into 2025. The life of an itinerant writer. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Wrapping up…

So there you have all the news, at least until we meet again in two weeks. Here’s hoping you consider subscribing. It’s free and easy. Many thanks.

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