Hello, everyone!
In short, in this letter, I’m going to explain my refocusing efforts, provide some updates for Between the Pages, and talk about something I’ve been working on regarding plot structure, as well as republishing “The Cruelty of Magic”.
Specifically, I’m going to discuss why I’m taking a step back, going a little slower, and hopefully, show you my path forward in a way that may be helpful to you, or at least provide understanding.
My hope is that you take something from this—don’t do too much, like I always do.
First, let’s talk about Between the Pages (BTP).
BTP
I’m steppinig down.
Kidding . . . don’t hate me. I do have some news though!
Megan Mossgrove—my wonderful co-host on Tuesdays and Wednesdays—is going to run the show solo moving forward, only on Tuesdays.
This decision is one of multiple facets. First, I need to take some time for myself, as many of you have come to me and said privately (and some publicly). Second, I needed to refocus, and I’ll touch on this more in a moment.
Third, and not least of all, Megan is genuinely an amazing host and a wonderful partner in this, and she deserves more than a little limelight.
Now, let’s return to refocusing. Why am I taking myself down to four days a week with the BTP Live Show?
Refocusing
Sometimes you need to do a lot in order to realize what isn’t being done.
Let’s talk about everything BTP does:
Author Awards—currently being judged.
Book Club—about to start the next book.
BTP Website— We have author spotlights and a magazine focused on being an author and content creator with weekly community and admin contributions.
BTP Live Show—you already know, and if you don’t, you should.
Pebbles is a godess when it comes to this show. She makes backdrops and organizes giveaways for every author we interview. She also schedules surprise interviews every wednesday with industry professional and authors.
Both Pebbles and Megan release videos regarding upcoming interviews and they are about to start announcing the books / genres of the interviews before we even start the show, just so you all can know if you are even interested in winning the free book!
Megan collects questions for the Wednesday Writing Workshop, ensuring we always have something to discuss to help our community grow.
What do I do? Sit and look pretty.
BTP Dungeons and Dragons—monthly sessions are held with Dungeon Masters within the BTP community. Megan handled a lot of this organization.
None of this even begins to discuss the efforts that go into the Discord. All the mods: Alex, Ole, Nander, Atlas, Pebbles, Megan, each of them contribute in massive ways.
Nander has proven to be a deity of data. If we have a form or organization behind something, you can probably thank her.
Alex—oh sweet Alex, probably keeps my head from spinning on a weekly basis by checking in to make sure I’m not volcanic. When available she has helped us work through many of the initiatives, keeps us up-to-date on community endeavors, and otherwise keeps that vibe vibing.
Ole—he’s behind the scenes where he loves to be. Not only is he our only sponsor, and a personal sponsor for me, but he keeps me in check. If we have an HR department, it’s probably Ole. In fact, I can thank him almost entirely for me deciding to refocus and take some time for myself.
Atlas—he headed the writing critique groups, but mostly, he calls everyone out on their $h!+. If there’s a moral quandry within the commuity, he’s got an opinion, and we all try to listen (after defending ourselves).
Managing the Discord, relationships, and most importantly, the relationships between community members, can be daunting. It’s affected the mental health of more than one of us on more than one occasion, but everyone always comes through for the community.
Now, after all that, you might be asking yourself “What do you even do, Shawn?”
Not a thing folks. Nothing. Nothing except everything.
Most of the work is (thankfully) done by someone who has been willing to step up and help this community. But everything flows through me. Every conversation. Every new project we have, every new thing we endeavor to do for this community thus far, has (mostly) been some idea of mine I’ve begged for help with.
Because I am very incapable of doing any of this alone.
Still, my mind never stops. I never escape guilt from not being supportive enough on someone else’s live, or liking videos, or knowing all of the projects that spawn from the BTP community members.
It has been a lot. And I’ve had three more ideas presented to me this past week.
Thus, it has become evident that burnout is fast approaching, not just for me, but for the BTP team. So, we slow down, and we shore up what we have.
Our focus will be on completing the tasks at hand, and I will do what I can to see the community where they are as often as I can.
Therefore, that is my promise to you: BTP will refocus itself, as will I.
Lastly, speaking of myself . . . I have some news.
Republishing “The Cruelty of Magic”
I have been approached by a publisher—small press. Technically, I was approached by three. One of them, however, agreed to my terms.
I will be republishing “The Cruelty of Magic” under this publisher, as they are currently sending me a final contract. They wish to edit and then rerelease the novel after they acquire it.
This means my initial publishing timeline will change, it will slow. And that is okay.
Recently, I have also created an entirely new plot structure which incorporates many you may be aware of: The Hero’s Journey, The Heroine’s Journey, and Save the Cat!
Mine is called Save the Hero(ine)!
I plan to, not only make sure this structure is present in my rerelease of “The Cruelty of Magic”, but to also offer this to anyone interested. I’m considering offering classes. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Cruelty was initially written nearly three years ago and over a two-year long process. As you can imagine, I’ve drastically improved as an author.
I’m excited to share my improved voice and my improved structure with all of you.
I’m also excited for BTP to stay focused on what we know, what we have, and what we want, and I’m very excited for you to grow with us.
I’m excited to reclaim some of my time, to restructure my writing process and possibly refine the process of others. I’m thrilled to republish Cruelty for all of you and give you the story—and glossary—you all deserve.
Thank you for being patient with me, with BTP, and with each other. Be forgiving to those in this space, for creation is never easy.
Wow congrats on the publishing! What a big step!!
Super stoked to see this plot structure hybrid you've created.