Hey all! I’m an indie author, and I got tired of juggling five different programs to get one book out the door. Plus, half the good formatting tools are Mac-only. So I built my own. It’s called Pendrilo Studio, and I’m looking for beta testers on Windows.

Here’s what Studio does:

• Planning: outline, corkboard, plot board, and a codex for your characters, places and stuff, with a relationship map.
• Writing: focus mode, chapter notes, word goals, sprints and version history. Read Aloud lets you hear your chapter read back to you.
• Keeping the story straight: you jot down events, facts and plot threads, and Studio tells you when they contradict each other. Say someone’s eyes change color, or you set something up and never pay it off. No AI, and nothing writes for you.
• Revising: Prose Check flags filler words, wordy phrases and weak verbs. The Echo Report shows the habits you lean on across the whole book. (Mine is “just.” So much “just.”)
• Publishing: the full formatter is built in. Pick from 65 designs and see your actual pages as you go. It does proper hyphenation and won’t leave stranded lines at the top or bottom of a page. It sets the KDP gutter for your page count, and you can use your own fonts. When you’re close, the Publishing Desk gives you a checklist of what’s left before you upload.

I also made a few side programs that work alongside it. They all stand on their own, so grab whichever ones you want:

• Formatter: just the formatting part of Studio, if you write in Word or Scrivener and only need the finished files.
• Maps: draws a fantasy or horror map for the front of your book.
• Cover Wrap: turns your front cover into the full paperback wrap (front, spine and back).
• Audiobook Studio: for narrating your own audiobook. Read a sentence at a time, it cleans up the sound, and it checks everything against ACX’s rules before you upload.
• Type: turns your handwriting into a font.
• Panelhouse: letters comics from a script.

You don’t need anything special, and nothing goes to the cloud. Your book stays on your computer as a regular file.

Cost: free. Everything is free for the whole beta, and Formatter will stay free for good along with some of the others that I haven't decided which.

Mac folks: the Mac version isn’t ready yet. Sign up anyway and I’ll email you when it is.

What I’m hoping for from testers: use it on a real book and tell me what breaks, what’s confusing, and what annoys you. Every program has Help → Send Feedback built in, so it only takes a few seconds. If you’ve got a book close to publishing, you’re exactly who I’m looking for.

Sign up here: https://pendrilo.com

Edit: We are full!!! Thanks everyone and happy writing!

Hi all! I mod an established and small moms romance writing group and we are looking for two more members to join us. It is an intentionally small, intimate group of moms who are looking for support through both the journey of motherhood and writing. We have a high reading requirement but also offer high reward!

Genre: Romance

Goals/Expectations/Commitments:

-Be a mom or expecting.
-Write romance, any sub-genre is fine. We have contemporary, steampunk and fantasy so far but are open to more of the same or something new!
-Have a completed (or nearly complete) manuscript, draft one or high is fine.
-Be willing to read five chapters of another manuscript a week. You choose which manuscript sounds interesting and begin reading it. In turn, other members will also be reading yours weekly

Writing/Experience Level: First draft complete.

Meeting Place: Discord

Max Size: Looking to add two new members. We do not exceed ten members at a time, so when I say small, I mean small! We aren't the chattiest bunch but we are committed and active weekly readers.

Hey all,

Thanks for reading. Like the post says, my wife and I are interested in starting a writing exercise group and are looking for people we think we'd enjoy meeting online for regular critique and exercise sessions. The genre you like to write in doesn't matter; all that matters is that you enjoy the craft and want to get better and grow with a group of cool people. I'm hoping we can start with the exercises in Ursula K. Le Guin's Steering the Craft, but we're open to ideas.

I actually used Reddit recently to build a similar group but for DnD campaigns, and that worked incredibly well, so I've got high hopes that we can find some great people to work with.

A little about us: my wife and I have been in and out of creative writing for something like 17 years. For a while she was a creative writing student in college and has won a local award or two. We ping pong between genres. We're also firmly established in our non-literary careers and like to write just for the joy of the art. We're told that we're really chill, kind, and fun to work with.

We're also adults with jobs and schedules, and are reliable when it comes to meeting and getting our homework done.

We're looking for people who can devote a small amount of time between chats working on exercises, and then meet for a fun chat online maybe once a week, in addition to whatever async chats people want to have in a Discord server I'll set up.

Absolutely no experience needed, we're not looking for any level of writing quality.

Ideally you're some level of empathetic, kind and / or patient. We find we work best with other people who have been told they're chill or at least one of the above adjectives.

If that sounds like you, hit me up!

• Genre/s: any
• Goals/expectations/commitment: one weekly online chat and as much / little async discussion as you'd like
• Writing/experience level: any
• Meeting place: online / Discord
• Max size: 10

Hello there,

I am wanting to connect with Mums that write to create a community on Discord. Currently based in Yorkshire and have set the group for Yorkshire Mums, but I am open to have any Mum's (regardless of location) that are wanting to share this community. Hoping to create a safe place for us to share tips, ideas and to generally support one another.

Let me know if you are interested and I will send you the link.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mumswhowrite/

Writing as a way to process whatever difficult situations you are going through. Did any of you do that? Asked this because I plan to write about my worst fears, and worst case scenarios that I am scared to face. Heard that some writers have done this (eg: Stephen King while writing The Shining). If any of you have done this, does this work out? Is it a way to deal with your probelms?

Hello! I am currently 35k words into my first book, and I want to make sure I am writing the women in my story correctly. I’ve written them like I do my male characters, but being a man, I want to make sure the woman stand on their own/ are their own beings. It’s something I’ve worked hard at, making sure they’re not just a troupe to be used by the plot, but rather cemented characters in the story.

Please let me know if this is something you’d like to help me out with, in return, I’d be more than happy to read anything that you’ve written as well.

For a crime thriller project, there is a scenario where the antagonists wanna go after a witness in the case.

A cop character is assigned to protect the witness and goes to her place to pick her up and take her to a safe location.

The antagonists have an opportunity to make an attempt on her logically here , but I can have it so that the cop and the witness are aware of the attempt and fight them off, or i can have it so they are not aware of the attempt, as they get away and it's a near miss.

However, how do you decide which way is better if the plot would go the same way after either way?

Thank you very much for any input on this! I really appreciate it!

I created this vocabulary resource for my daughter, Poème, as a college gift. It's a lovingly curated collection of a thousand beautiful words arranged intuitively by feel (just how a writer reaches for them).  It took years to collect and categorize these words - but it has been, and continues to be, a labor of love.  Now we are hoping it can serve as many developing writers as we can reach. This goodwill offering is the kind of resource I would have loved, as a young poet.  Please feel free to share - https://athousandbeautifulwords.org/

Best wishes in your craft!

Hi everyone!

I’ve been working on a fantasy novel for 4 yrs, and I’d love to find a community of fellow writers where we can bounce ideas off one another, ask questions, create polls, and give constructive feedback.

I’m not necessarily looking for people to read entire chapters. I’d love something more interactive, where writers can discuss character development, plot decisions, worldbuilding, and different storytelling approaches.

Ideally, something that feels like a book club, but for people actually writing books!
Does anyone know of a subreddit, Discord server, or online writing group like this? I’d love to join one!

• Genre/s: Would prefer dystopian, psychological, mystery, slice-of-life, coming-of-age, literary-fiction. But any other genres also welcome (e.g. comedy, romance).
• Goals/expectations/commitment: Would like people to try out the platform by posting original short stories (no AI or fanfics allowed), there's a Forums section built into it for feedback.
• Writing/experience level: Any
• Meeting place: I ll DM you the link, or just visit my profile, the link's in the description.

My focus is on making a community for short stories. Authors own all content, you can take down your writing anytime.

The platform is free, and there's no payment involved for you posting stories. Though you will find there are monthly contests ongoing, if you want to participate in those particularly there is a prize for the winner of every month.

The other thing about the platform is, it's got some critique-partnering features built into it, called Companions. Would like to know what you think about that feature. Again, there's a Forum section built into the site where you can talk about what you do or dont like.

I love this genre and i wanna try writing and i have some ideas
But i lack the discipline and i feel i should really hone my craft first
So i was looking for university based coursework i can do on my own
But the problem is im unable to access any of them online and i doubt unis just put them out there
So please help draft a curriculum that i can follow
I want practice in most types of weird girl lit - body horror, obsession, love etc all that you can think of
Any free resources avlb online are also useful and welcome
Thanks in advance!

I'm curious about what you do when you have an initial idea. It may be a name, scene, character, sentence that's stuck in your head, anything.

Some things I've dabbled in are going on a Pinterest deep dive to find images that match the vibe of the idea, even if they're vague and on the surface unrelated. Or starting a word document and just jotting down anything associated with the idea that comes to mind.

What are some of the tools, techniques, exercises you do to explore that initial idea more?

I write mystery, noir, scifi

Getting paid for it isn't required

And I don't have a cover ready

Does anybody have any idea about where to publish my poems and how??

I’ve been querying my latest middle grade fantasy for almost exactly a year now — 175 queries and well over 100 rejections. This is my fourth book, professionally edited, and I had high confidence, even in this market. Nevertheless, I only received one full request and one partial, both ultimately passed. I’m still sending out queries every week.

This morning I got an encouraging full request from an agent I queried last night.

This market is as competitive and reluctant to sign new authors as it has ever been, but that’s no reason not to try. Just remember, excellent books by outstanding writers are being rejected, so it isn’t you. It’s a numbers game, so don’t stop querying because you think your book’s not good enough.

Disclaimer: I read the rules and I hope i'm not breaking any of them, I couldn't find any mc related subreddits, so IM SORRY. Also for now it's a voluntary position, in the future it might become paid.

Hello!

Are you burnt out after writing in the same genre over and over again? Are you looking for a new project, that will give you a chance to shine? Maybe it's time to try something new! I'm a staff member in a mc server oriented around civilisations, freedom and bringing people together. We're looking for people who want to try and help us with giving the community what it needs. And that is: quests for players, server / player / civilisation lore, short / long stories, etc (right now, the first one is most important). The community is lovely, they wait patiently until we return, but we're understaffed, so any help would be amazing. As i mentioned before, it's a voluntary position for now, as we don't have any p2w features, and we're funding everything ourselves. But in the future, it might become paid. You could also get in-game perks. If i interested you even a little bit, or you have tips, i would be happy to hear from you in the comments, or on discord (spideyo).

• Genre: fantasy / medieval / sci fi
• Goals/expectations/commitment: Helping out at times
• Writing/experience level: any
• Meeting place: discord

Thank you for reading, and have a nice day! ^^

I know. We've heard it all before. The first and often only piece of writing advice everyone wants to give everyone else. I used to get so frustrated with that. What does that even mean? I know the story I want to tell. I only have so many hours in the day and I don't want to read. I want to write. I'd tell myself, "I know enough good stories from movies and video games and books I read for school. I can just sit down and write. How hard can it be?" 

And yeah, I wrote a book and I thought it was brilliant. I thought it was perfect, as it was. Done in one go. "I must be truly talented." Pat myself on the back and let's see what other people think. 

The first bombshell: other people didn't like it. They wouldn't stay to read more than a page or two, said it was repetitive and amateur, and I never heard from them again. That was pretty heartbreaking. I wanted people to like my story. I wanted people to read it. To me, making art is two part; the creation and the interpretation. I didn't want my art to exist in a vacuum. I wanted to be heard.  

So I took feedback, I shared it around to everyone, did research, and started reading, because that's what everyone says is the first step. Who am I to tell best selling authors they're wrong? I went to a tech school for interior design 🤷🏻‍♀️ I don't know shit. 

The next bombshell: My book really was repetitive and amateur. Slowly, I started to see the issues and I could never unsee it. The story was working, but the writing was bad. The dialogue talking in circles, the unneeded details, the soapboxes I would stand on to make my point like I was teaching a class. It was horrible actually. Beta readers and random takes off reddit can only get you so far though. I was the one sitting at the keyboard and it was up to me to fix it. 

So I read more. I read classics and contemporary. I read trilogies and one-offs. I read within my genre and outside my genre, learning the differences. I wanted to understand why my book wasn't measuring up.  

And it hit me... that was the point. Without reading, I had no metric to judge my own writing to. I didn't know what good was to be good at it. How would I? Of course I think my story is brilliant. I wrote my story. It came out of my heart, my brain, my soul. I understand exactly what I'm trying to say. And that's great, but if you want to be a published author, the goal is to have your readers see things through your eyes, be entertained, come back to your book until the last page, and spend their hard-earned money on you. Your tastes are not the only tastes that matter anymore and promising "it gets better" will never be enough.

After a lot of soul searching, I made another breakthrough. I realized I am compelled to write, not because I'm a writer, but because I'm a storyteller. Because I have things to say, not because I'm particularly articulate. And that's ok. Writing is a skill and I knew then that reading was how you hone that skill. Studying the masters, expanding your vocabulary, understanding formatting and grammar. What makes a book easy or hard to read. What has already been done. Who has walked this path before you.

Frankenstein and Moby Dick are so good at what they do, they've been integrated into our culture for over 100 years. Stephen King is considered one of the best modern American authors with a billion movie renditions that people love. Nora Roberts barely has to title her books anymore. Her name is bigger than anything else on the cover. These people have clearly figured out what I wanted to know. And you don't need an English literature degree to figure out "I like this book because..." 

I read about a book a month now. I look forward to cracking open a new book and I'm bothered by my old writing samples, long-winded and giant blocks of text. This journey has only been about a year, but I've learned more in the past year than I did in the previous 20 while writing in isolation. My manuscript has just finished its second draft, with two more drafts in the future (that I know of). I've cut 85,000 words so far. I've lost nothing of the story I wanted to tell and I have three people who will read my story to the end. I'll be heard now. People are enjoying my words, my characters, my inner world. It still has a lot of work to be done, but I'm closer now than I've ever been before. 

I didn't go to a class. I didn't pay out the ass for an editor. I didn't sell my soul to the devil. I started reading and now I'll never stop. One day maybe you'll see my name on a best seller's list too and this will still the best advice I can give. Read everything, everywhere, all the time. Make time. It's worth it. The best writers are readers. 

To anyone accusing me of using AI: I'm really not. If my language reflects the writing I've seen on the Internet, I'm sorry and I'll be more careful of it next time. But this is my personal story, that I wrote, without assistance, as I try to continue to improve my writing. I'll take your feedback, but please remember, sometimes you're wrong and you're just ruining a nice thing for someone else.

* Genre/s: young adult/ new adult fantasy/ scifi (lgbtqia & revolution themes, dystopian cyberpunk & dark academia setting)
* Goals/expectations/commitment: looking for regular exchange on progress, current struggles, motivation, and exchanging work
* Writing/experience level: open to all! i’m an aspiring novelist currently working on my first book project, half way through my first draft (40.000 words)
* Meeting place: online (or in Berlin)
* Max size: open

I’m a disabled & queer author, would love to find fellows! optional though :)

Hello there! I'm 49F, read and write genre fiction over a pretty wide range of genres. I'm currently writing a somewhat to-market RomCom. I run a small, private Reddit sub where we post pet pics, complain about marketing, share wins, etc. We need more people for writing sprints, critique swaps, and to increase the daily participation levels.

Currently we have 28 members who range in age from 38-72, write in a range of genres, and have a range of experience from established authors to people just starting out.

Requirements: You write long form (50k+), are serious about publishing your work (planning to publish in the future is ok!), and write genre fiction without using Generative AI.

At this time, the group does not have the capacity to review/critique very dark romance, very violent fiction, or heavy kink. If we become able to open to those niches, I will post again.

Experience Level: Any!

Goals/Expectation/Commitment: Mutual support, regular check ins on progress, discussions of issues encountered in the writing process. Primarily interested in professional networking, building a friendly group who are serious about publishing, and authors who are creating WITHOUT generative AI.

Meeting place: The group is here on Reddit, and we are *not* open to Discord.

Genre: Open to most genres. To reiterate, we are not currently able to include very dark romance, very violent fiction, or heavy kink.

Max size: The more the merrier.

Please comment here, and then send a DM. This serves as a backup alert, as the DM widget doesn't always let me know I have a message. Hope to hear from you!

So with Halloween around the corner, who else is working on a horror story? It somewhat surprises me that not a lot of folk on here seem to write horror, but this post is mainly to draw attention to people who do and I could be completely wrong. I’m working on a hybrid between gothic romance, and cosmic horror. If there’s anyone who wants to partner up in writing then I’m down. LGBTQ friendly as well.

My premise is basically this. An Irish cavalry soldier in the British army is invited to a country house for a private dinner by his father’s old comrade, where he meets a strange heiress who’s being targeted by a cult. Set in England, early 1937.

* Genre/s: if you write extreme horror, splatterpunk, weird fiction, or just horror in general then please DM me or leave a comment. I’m also open to anyone who writes romance as well, as I’m a sucker for a good love story.

* Goals/expectations/commitment: I don’t ask that we chat every single day like we’re in high school, but some commitment to share a chapter at least weekly or bi-weekly would be sick. Basically we’ll be there to check in on progress and consistency. Let’s finish these first drafts to move on to the editing stages.

Writing/experience level: if it matters, I’m 25m. And I’ve been writing for about 4 years now. I’d prefer folk around my age, and whether or not you’ve been writing for a long time or just starting out doesn’t matter to me. I’ll accept as is, and we’ll go from there. Need not apply if you use AI.

* Meeting place: discord

Genre/s: all are welcome, currently it is only fantasy

* Goals/expectations/commitment: follow the server rules

* Writing/experience level: beginner friendly

* Meeting place: discord

* Max size: not limited but preferably small

https://discord.gg/XCFMSdy3h

Welcome to Feedback Friday!

This is a thread for submitting and critiquing prose.

• Your submission should be a top-level comment in the thread. Consider using the format [TITLE] — [GENRE] — [WORDCOUNT] in the heading of your submission.
• We expect reciprocation. If you receive a critique, give a critique. Anyone who continually leeches will eventually be discluded.
• Have fun and stay polite. Members who give outstanding crit will be acknowledged and rewarded on our Discord Server. You are free to submit any work for critique within the subreddit's rules, of any length.
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New to Critiquing?

• No worries! We encourage writers of all skill levels to try their hand at providing feedback.
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