We speculated about the future of the publishing industry, touching upon the Authors Equity news, maintaining your passion as a part-time writer, and hurdles specific to indie authors. We even talked about types of editing services and the prevalence of scams.

If any of that sounds interesting, here is the discussion:

I’d love to hear your thoughts on any topics we covered. I’m open to learning more from your personal experiences and those of the broader writing community. Comment here on Substack or on YouTube to further the discussion. We can’t wait to chat!

Thanks, Matt Waterhouse, for having me on the show. And , for connecting us. You guys rock!

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As the festive lights warm the ever-cooling night air of this holiday season, I find myself reflecting on the things that matter most. With the end of the year upon us, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to each and every one of you.

Living away from family, I'm reminded that the greatest gifts often aren't found under the tree. They are the connections we build, the stories we share, and the support we offer one another. You, dear readers, have been the most wonderful gift I could ever hope to receive. Your engagement, encouragement, and enthusiasm have been the cornerstones of our growing community and the driving force behind every post.

As we celebrate this joyous time, I want you to know how much you are appreciated. You're a cherished part of a passionate and creative family that continues to inspire and motivate me every day. Here's to a splendid Christmas and a New Year brimming with new stories, new adventures, and all the indie magic we can create together.

Thank you for being the most amazing part of Storyletter XPress Publishing. You truly are the best gift of all.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! ~ WM

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Giveaway Winners

Congratulations, , you’re the lucky winner of SXP’s Christmas giveaway grand prize: a copy of the book formatting software, Atticus, along with the independent publishing companion course!

Secondary prize winners:

• H. A. Titus

• Mr. Troy Ford

• Colin Devonshire

• Forkbeard Jon

I’ll email you individually to discuss your prizes and how to receive them. Thank you to everyone who participated. It’s always a pleasure to host these events.

Buy Indie

The Library is promoting a great list of independent books to buy this holiday season. Check it out and find your next favorite read while supporting an indie author!

Buy Indie Books

As an indie author, modern publishing can seem daunting. There’s so much to consider, so much to learn, and so many hurdles. Since the start of my indie journey in 2015, I’ve learned and re-learned the basics, and in most cases, I’m still learning. That’s the beauty of Substack; we can learn and grow together.

Storyletter XPress Publishing officially turns 2 this month, and I wanted to give back to the community for having stuck with me this long. Considering the theme, I figured the best gift would be related to writing and indie publishing. Therefore, I’ve purchased a copy of my favorite formatting software, Atticus, and will gift it to a fellow writer in need.

Atticus is a formatting software for writing, designing, and exporting your work into ebooks and physical formats such as epub, PDF, and DOCX. It costs $150 and comes with a “Publishing for Indie Authors” course valued at an additional $50. The course guides you through formatting your book with Atticus, preparing your work for publication, publishing steps for KDP and IngramSpark, marketing on BookFunnel and elsewhere, seeking beta readers, and everything audiobook-related. For more information, head over to their website at Atticus.io.

How to enter:

To know that the gift will be going to someone who wants and needs it, you must be at least a free subscriber to Storyletter XPress Publishing, share this post on social media (Notes counts) or with a friend, and drop a one-to-two sentence comment below explaining how this software will help you as an indie author. The comment doesn’t have to be overly persuasive; it illustrates that you’re a human, a writer, and will use the software so that I can enter you into the raffle.

Example:

Hi, my name is Winston, and I’d love to use Atticus to format my books because I hear it basically does it all for you, and works on PC, Mac, and Chromebook.

Once the criteria are met and I’ve acknowledged your comment, you’ll be entered into the raffle. The winner will be randomized with a number generator. The participation window will end at midnight MST on December 23, with the announcement released on December 24. Afterward, I’ll email you directly with instructions on how to claim your prize.

Thank you for joining me on this experimental journey. I’m confident the software will find a good home with a writer who loves the hobby very much. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments; it won’t affect your entry in any way. Stay positive, keep writing.

Steps to enter:

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And that’s not all…

Four additional participants will be entered to win either a $25 gift card to the Storyletter Gift Shop or a 3-month paid subscription to Storyletter XPress Publishing (includes a link to download the ebook, The Weight of the World: A Collection of Short Fiction and Poetry). The winners of these prizes will be notified in the announcement post on the 24th, along with the Atticus winner, and contacted via email separately.

This is all made possible by SXP’s current paid subscribers, who’ve graciously contributed to support independent writing on and off Substack. I couldn’t do this without you.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

| | | | | Dan Oday | | | | Yvonne | Skiddlzninja | | | | Richard Schultz | | | Clay Collins | | | Joan Lass | | | Robert D Malone JR | | Sandra | Erica

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! ~ WM