The final book in my first trilogy was one of the hardest things I’ve ever written. It was intensely personal, and the story I really needed to finish before I could even think of a writing career. And the experience taught me so much. Think about the hardest thing you've ever written. Not the longest. The hardest. The one where you deleted eleven thousand words. The one where you sat in the car in the parking lot for twenty minutes because you finally understood what the book was actually about and it was about something you didn't want to see. Now: would you trade that experience for a version where the pages arrived clean and easy and on time? Be honest. Not the answer that makes you sound like a serious artist. The true answer. Because deadlines are real and rent is real and I'm not going to sit here and pretend that suffering is a virtue when you’ve also got to pay a mortgage. But here's the follow-up, and it's the one that actually matters: would you be the writer you are now without the experience you gained from that draft? I don't think I would be. I think that draft is where I learned the thing I’ve used in every book since. So what did the hard one teach you? And — this is the part I really want to know — is there any version of you that could have somehow learned it the easy way?

If you didn't get that title, that's a joke from the Big Lebowski, a definite Plot Dude principle. Look, we want this whole durn community to be fun, enjoyable, and a safe space for everyone. So we have to set some rules to get started. Refer back to this post from time to time, but we'll try to announce any changes in separate posts. But here's our starting place: 1) Be kind. Don't dis on anyone else for any reason. There are some topics we just won't allow to be discussed here, but no matter what, kindness matters. That golden rule thing: treat others the way you want to be treated. No exceptions. This is the only rule where there won't be a warning: treat someone unkindly, and you'll get removed faster than the Dude can mark a gutterball zero. 2) No selling or self-promotion. Stacey and I are even "light" on this in this community. There are classes, some that will be free, others that are paid, in the classroom section. Most of the time though we will be posting about FREE things we offer, like free webinars, education, and our podcast. If you offer author services and want to be recommended by Print2Pro, contact us. You get one warning for this one. Continued self promo after that? You'll find yourself outside, and unable to look in. 3) No political or religious posts, even related to your current WIP. This is a politics and religion free space, not because we don't care about those things, but because they cause division. We're here to talk about writing craft and business. Stacey and I even differ in our religious and political beliefs, but we won't be having that discussion here. If you are insanely curious, and want to talk about those things, you'll have to book a paid consultation with us one on one, and we might have to charge you double. 4) Don't be annoying or be a jerk. Everyone is at a different stage in their writing career and has different goals. We like to teach gently, not in a condescending or mean way. Take 'er easy, dude. Keep things light and kind.

Hey all. As we continue to grow, we are seeing an influx of members who are - well, who seem less genuine than others. I don't want to say, "This is a bot" without proof, but some comments sound like they were written by AI, and we are having issues where clearly the commenter had not read the previous comments or replies on a thread. So, to keep things clean: If you comment on any thread, be sure to read the comments that came before yours. We're seeing a lot of nice text, and then the same line: "Out of curiosity..." It's common enough I think we are seeing some bot action or AI comments. If you can't craft your own thoughts on a comment thread, please don't use AI to do so. This is a place for human discussion, even if we are talking about AI. If your replies sound like this, I'll send you one message with a warning. The second time, you'll find yourself on the outside, unable to look in. Second, if your profile says something about your author services or an author marketing business or something like that, expect an immediate DM from me clarifying your intent to be part of this community. As stated in the other rule posts: no self promo, not even soft "funnel sales" followed by "mind if I send you a DM?" We are not doing that here or allowing it. This is a community designed for genuine connection, and genuine answers from real authors facing real struggles and real issues. We are not selling solutions (even though we offer courses and resources, some free, some paid) that's not why we are here, and it's not why you should be either. I hope I don't have to keep adding rules, or I will just have to start DMing new members, and removing and banning people with abandon. Don't make me be the bad guy.

Thank you @Stacey Smekofske for the Power session today it was really good and the information about the summit. I wish I didn't have to leave because that was great talk about Kickstarter. I really do enjoy your classes and hopefully, maybe, someday can join your paid community.

Hi, I'm new here. I'm wondering where else to add my metadata? I've posted it to my website (price changes, keywords, categories); I spent a good amount of time updating it on OpenLibrary... Where else should I add it to? I have Instagram, tumblr, goodreads, but no TikTok or Facebook (I'm not into those). Does IngramSpark allow you to insert a bunch of keywords, as in 50 of them? Or anything more? I know for Amazon, yes, you update the categories and add keywords, but Amazon changes frequently.