Announcing: In Process + Other Talk Soon Updates
Aka more content, more frequently, more Talking, Sooner
Hi Friends!
I’m writing today with important news about the newsletter and subscriptions going forward. In short: I’m going to write more newsletters, with more behind the scenes content. Revision Season taught me a lot, not only about what revising a novel feels like, but that sharing process is something I want to do more of—and I sense, by subscriber growth and feedback, that you want me to do more of it, too.
So that’s what I’ll be doing, starting next week. Here’s everything you need to know about what’s ahead for Talk Soon subscribers.
What Stays the Same
All subscribers will get my once-a-month emails on everything from what I’m reading (or trying to), observations about time passing, the view from my writing desk. These will come every 4 weeks, which is more frequent than my pre-Revision Season schedule.
And now, for the fun new stuff!
Introducing: In Process
In addition to the free versions of Talk Soon, paying subscribers now have access to additional twice-a-month newsletters on the writing process, a series I’m calling In Process. I’ll tell you what I’m working on, share publication news, answer subscriber questions (more about this in a minute), and generally pull back the curtain on the process of writing at whatever stage I’m in, much like Revision Season did (though for all of our sakes, I swear they will be shorter!).
But here’s the best part!
I’ve lined up a series of special guests to do the same with their own work, some of my favorite writers working today: Writers like T Kira Madden, Nick White (you know him as the patron saint of talking me through my novel), Esmé Weijung Wang, and many others! Some are slogging through a novel draft, some are publishing second or third books, some are just trying to get to their desk. They write fiction and nonfiction. Some have agents or MFAs or a long list of accolades, some don’t. They’re all working writers who have a lot to share.
The thing I’ve realized time and time again is that no matter our relative list of publications, awards, or other quantifiers, all writers are working through the same processes, the same questions, and that talking it through —whether it’s about craft or confidence—is the single most important tool we have for creating community and connection.
I can’t stop thinking about this post that was making the rounds on social media last week, by poet Allison Adair, of an Ocean Vuong quote.
Talking through process with other writers is truly my favorite part of being a writer, the source of our greatest opportunities for learning and growing, and I’m so grateful that so many writers I love and admire have agreed to be in this conversation with all of us on Talk Soon. Am I also doing this in part because I selfishly want to know what people are working on and what it looks like? Absolutely. I’m really excited about it.
Wanna Ask Me Things About Writing?
From time to time in In Process I’ll answer a question from my ongoing list of Things Students Always Ask Me™️ about writing or publishing. Things like: good strategies for submitting to lit mags, what’s subtext and how do you deploy it in story, how do you know when to walk away from a project, and so on.
If you’re a paid subscriber you can ask me a process or craft or publishing (or hell, religion of office supplies) question and I’ll answer it in the newsletter. Think of these as mini craft lessons or coaching sessions.
If you’re not yet a paying subscriber, but want to send me a question, you might sign up for a subscription for a month; $5 seems like a pretty decent rate for having a writing question answered. Consider: my hourly coaching rate is $185/hour. I promise I’ll spend way more than 1.6 minutes answering it.
Have a question burning your brain right now? The form is here!
What You’ll Pay/What You’ll Get
$0. If you’re currently a free subscriber and want to keep going that way, you’ll get the once a month emails as usual. You don’t have to do a thing.
$5/month: Becoming a paid subscriber gets you two extra newsletters a month, with all of the content mentioned above. If you pay monthly, you can come and go as you please, sign up for a month when you’re interested in the guest writer, or want a question answered. Each newsletter will cost you $1.66.
$50/year: Annual subscriptions are $10 cheaper than subscribing monthly, and get you a fun piece of mail from me to boot, and make each newsletter just $1.38.
$51-$250/year: You can become a Founding Member at any amount between $51 and $250, which also gets you fun mail. Founding Members at the $250 level get either a coaching session with me or an extra special mystery package that may or may not have clues to what the next novel is about, as well as goodies from the HQ of the Religion of Office Supplies, amongst other things.
And because I meant to send this email out in October, I’m extending my 20% off sale for this month. And then I’m done, truly, for at least a year, on promos, if not forever; I like things to cost what they cost!
Other ways to get access to paid content
Students (enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program) can access a year of Talk Soon for just $15. Reply to this email to get your code.
Buddy up: If you gather 2 or more people to sign up together, I’ll give you all 20% off. This is an ongoing Substack option I have turned on.
If you buy my book new in any form (paperback, ebook, audio), you get six months free. Send me a photo of the receipt via email (I’m backtalklazarin at gmail). 1
Did you know Substack has a referral program? If you convince your pals to sign up (for the free newsletter), you get comp months. They have to sign up through your share button, which I’ll lay right here for you.
7 day trials are always an option if you just need to get beyond that paywall. I believe you can use these once.
Of course you don’t have to pay—maybe you’re annoyed at the idea of paying even, or maybe you just want a little convincing? Here goes! You should subscribe if…
You want to know what it’s like to be a writer from someone who’s going to show you the inside of process in all its glorious mess so you know what it’s really like, not what the internet or movies or the hope you’ve held on to since you were a small thing might lead you to believe.
You loved Revision Season and want more.
You understand that though reading is an everyday, free pleasure for many, writing itself is work. You believe art has as much value as 2-3 fast casual lunches out a year. (These are NYC prices, but still, I think you know what I mean). While many people would unquestionably say art has value, the scenario is often this: writers write and don’t get paid. We write on faith, sometimes on spec, and sometimes, your book is used to train AI without your permission or any compensation. I’m not the first person to say that exposure is not accepted at any grocery store. Right now this newsletter is 7% of my current income but you know what’s wilder? Straight up writing is currently 1%, and has been for years running. I wish I could say I’ve had a year where I've made more than I did working for a non-profit back in 2005. I wish any of these numbers were exaggerations. For most of us, it is hard to make a living from writing books, or short stories, or essays. The more I have to take on jobs that are not writing books, the fewer books I can finish. If you’re invested in my work as a writer, I’d appreciate your support in the times I’m not getting paid for that work, and more specifically, for the work I am doing in the writing and publishing of Talk Soon right now.
You want June to have more blankets, Archie to have more toys with feathers, me to have access to all the pens I desire, and whatever else it takes to get the work done at my desk. Embarassingly, this is often kombucha.
Thanks for reading this far, and for rolling with me through these shifts. Being a working writer—or, in this case, trying to be one—is about constant reassessment and adjustment of my resources of brainpower, time, and words. About trying things out, and seeing where the process might take me. I appreciate you coming along as a subscriber at any level.
The first In Process will arrive next week, on Wednesday, November 15th, and features a special guest who happens to be one of my favorite writers on Substack right now. I hope to see you there.
Talk Soon,
Danielle
In general, when possible, please don’t buy any living writer’s book used. We don’t see a bump in sales numbers from used books; they don’t count towards our royalties or earn us anything. Taking out from your local library (or requesting it there if it’s not there yet) is a great way to show your support if you can’t buy a book new.