LaShawn's Writing News June 2024
Or hugemongeous stuff happened since the last time I wrote to you...
In my last newsletter, I had announced I was going to create a Patreon account and launch it on my birthday . Ummm…well…turns out, something else happened that pretty much blew my plans to smithereens.
It’s been two months now since the announcement, and yet, every so often, I sit down, stunned that this is even happening. It’s not the first time GigaNotoSaurus was nominated for a Hugo—that was under Rashida Smith’s tenure as editor in 2017—but it’s the first time it’s been nominated with me at the helm. To add to the awesomeness, the original founder of our magazine, Ann Leckie, is also on this year’s Hugo ballot for Best Novel (Translation State) and Best Series (Imperial Radch).
Suddenly, I had a lot more on my plate. I now had to create press releases, schedule interviews, revamp my website, put together a media kit, aaaand make travel arrangements to head to Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland because HOLY COW WE’VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR A HUGO AWARD.
It also meant pushing the Patreon launch off because now, I have to be more serious about it. So I took a little extra time to craft it.
And now, I can finally say: I HAVE A PATREON.
Launching my Patreon
This is something I’ve wanted to do for years. It’s hard for me overall to ask for money, but with the Hugo nomination and my commitment to writing full-time, now is the perfect time to launch it.
You may be wondering—why a Patreon instead of turning on Substack subscriptions?
Because not everyone can afford to pay $5 per month. I want my rewards to be flexible and accessible. Also, I wanted to offer more than just paid posts. All the tiers on my Patreon will receive a rare ebook I created when I was fundraising for Viable Paradise. Into the Mist-Stained Woods: A Calendar of Tales is a collection of flash stories and poetry set in each month of the year using photos I gathered from friends and family as writing prompts. There are a variety of tales: a woman dumping a guy to date cathedrals, the dream life of your average dog, the ballad of Fat Elvis and Lemon Lover, “Mirra’s Bacon and Fried Egg Sandwich - a recipe written in five scenes”, and more. I had such a fun time writing those stories, and now Patreon supporters will also get a chance to discover my little collection. The first of many, I hope.
My Substack newsletter isn’t going away. Truth be told—I thought I could transfer all my subscribers and make Patreon my newsletter going forward, but alas, that’s not to be. However, for those of you who wish to support me without the Patreon rewards, you can sign up for a paid subscription. After all, it’s good to diversify your income. With that said, my Substack newsletter will always be free. It’s the best way to read my latest news and what’s going on in my life. Just keep in mind if you want to access the rewards on my Patreon, you’ll have to sign up for a membership there instead of here.
Speaking of news:
What I’ve been up to:
I’m creating a story bible for my AFroFae novel, which is basically going through my first draft and noting the characters, locations, timeline, etc. It will help me flesh out my world and be a reference as I continue writing drafts. I’m using Notion, and one of these days, I’ll put together a workshop on how I use Notion as a writer (a future idea for the Patreon).
On the GigaNotoSaurus side, my slush team and I are working to whittle down our slush so we can reopen to submissions again. There’s also the magazine’s funding to consider, which I’m still deliberating on (I want to do a Patreon just for the magazine—just have to figure out rewards).
And I got travel. So much travel.
LaShawn’s Con Calendar
Tomorrow (Thursday 6/13), I head to Minneapolis for the 4th Street Fantasy Convention. Immediately after that, I have two virtual events:
Tuesday, June 18 at 12:30pm EDT (11:30am Central) I’ll be appearing on Gregory Wilson’s ArvanElreon’s Twitch stream to read my short story from Interdimensions at the Atthias Arts Cover Reveal . Interdimensions is the rebirth of the Gen Con Writers’ Anthology and will be available for purchase at the Writers’ Symposium during Gen Con, and then afterwards at online and major retailers.
Thursday, June 20 at 6pm Pacific (8pm Central), I’ll be appearing on The Changing Landscape for Short Fiction panel sponsored by FOGcon. Sign up for their newsletter to get access to this online event.
I’ll be at Gen Con August 1-4 for the Writer’s Symposium, where I’ll be doing my Revision Workshop again. And then…EXCITEMENT…I hop on a plane and head to Scotland for Glasgow 2024! Stay tuned for more information about this.
And THEN, in September, I’ll be heading to Tokyo, Japan. Just for fun!
AND THEN…in October, I’ll be flying out to Martha’s Vineyard to help staff Viable Paradise again.
So yeah…I’m going to be pretty busy over the next few months.
What else I’ve been up to
Finally, on a change of pace, I’ve started gardening again. It’s been 8 or 9 years since I’ve done gardening. Last year, I grew a couple of tomatoes in pots. This year, I have a whole elevated planter as well as a few fabric pots that I’m growing tomatoes and herbs. If this works, I’m going to push having a larger container garden.
Another thing I’m doing? Compost! I miss recycling my food waste and turning it into usable compost. Luckily YouTube has scores of gardeners who have shown how easy it is to make compost with no mess, no fuss.
How to Support Me
This is a whole new territory I’m exploring, and I’m so glad that all of you get to come along this journey with me. Again, if you wish to support me financially, hit the button below to subscribe to my Patreon. And if you can’t give right now, share this newsletter, or follow me on the socials: Facebook, ex-Twitter, Bluesky, and even Threads (slowly venturing onto that—we’ll see how that turns out).
And as always…stay tuned. Things are about to get…FUN.
