I've often thought about what I would've done differently, and I don't think I did anything wrong. I tried my best in isolation to market t, had challenges beyond my control, and ultimately relied on the goodwill of a few folks, and I'll be forever grateful. Just wasn't enough to sell more than 10

Plus being a parent without options for babysitting, etc., it's not feasible. The honest truth is that the literary community doesn't feel much like a community an overwhelming majority of the time -- in person and online. My first book pub really taught me a lot, and none of it positive.

there's a lot here in Indy...it's just fraught. my MFA program dominates a lot of the local scene, and they literally pretended my first book didn't exist.

And that feels like such a strange place to be. I’m just saying that it feels kinda pointless to keep attempting to create when it’s very hard to actually improve in isolation, which is where a lot of us sit, I believe. Sometimes I wonder what is even possible without some kind of anointing.

Mind you, this is not because I think my work deserves more recognition or anything. I’m kinda coming to terms with being a mediocre writer at best. It’s just that, I kinda already hit the ceiling, and there’s literally nowhere else to go, and I can’t shell out hundred$ for sub fees anymore

That is mercifully good to hear.

I actually had no idea. I don’t think I’ve invested enough in Bluesky nor the literary community on social for so long that I didn’t really have any idea. I just know that, when I do check in, it feels quiet without that kind of knowledge bc I wasn’t invested. Interesting, though.

Interesting. Early Twitter was hella strange . I've been, to put it mildly, less than active on bsky. I know the technical capacity it offers for customization, portability, and lack of ads, etc. I am very curious if anyone here has seen it feel very active, not implying it's not already alive.

Just was curious. I never said it's a bad thing or that the site is bad or anything resembling a critique so much as a genuine question of how active of a space it feels for people, particularly writers. I actually want to know. For me, I'm well aware that my level of "engagement" is dependent on me

Day 22 of the #sealeychallenge

August 22nd- Shared Blood, Luke Wortley

This collection of prose poems from @lukewortley.bsky.social and @gnashing-teeth.bsky.social feels surreal and magical and true all at once

Not necessarily. I mean, like, there aren't clear classifications like the pantoum, the sonnet, the cento, the golden shovel, the sestina, etc. for prose poetry. I suppose you could modify all those to fit the prose poem form. I want to invent one lol