I seem to be the last person on Earth to have heard of these things. Are they a viable way to publish? Does anyone have any experience with them? They remind me of Dickens serializing his novels in London newspapers.

How much thought goes into deciding the gender of your characters, if any at all? Is your protagonist the same gender as you (because that's what you know) or do you intentionally change it up? The novel I'm currently working on has two protagonists, one male, one female and they have alternating chapters. Reviewing my short stories I'd say my protagonists are a fifty fifty mix.

Hi there! I was feeling curious as to whether anybody here writes or creates outside of their manuscripts. Be it writing in other forms like screenplays, creating original music, or even visual arts, are you creative in other respects or are you entirely focussed on making your manuscript as strong as it can be?

I’ve just completed a 63K-word novel and have two trusted beta readers lined up. I’m looking for one additional serious reader—someone who reads literary or character-driven fiction and is comfortable giving honest, thoughtful feedback. The story follows three young women who leave prostitution and attempt to rebuild their lives in Juneau, Alaska. It’s a novel about reinvention, identity, and whether the past ever truly lets go. I’m not looking for line edits or proofreading—just big-picture reactions: - where it holds your attention (or doesn’t) - anything confusing - whether the ending feels earned If you have experience as a beta reader or writer and are interested, feel free to message me privately with a bit about your reading background and what you enjoy reading. The title of the book is *Whoring in Juneau.* Thank you, Chuck

Many, many entries this cycle, well beyond what we had anticipated, and the standard of the writing has made winnowing the longlist unusually difficult. Thank you to everyone who trusted us with their opening pages. The quality was so high that the commended list is longer than in previous cycles. We are releasing the names in no particular order, over the coming days, and a shortlist will be drawn from this group. Today, in no particular order, we are announcing: - Lies on Sale by Gabby Martini - The Impossibility of Eden by Harry Wilson - Beach Dog by Tom McDonough - The Breaking Point by Fiona Harriet - The Taste of Iron by Ramona Slusarczyk - Askar and the Witch by Nina van der Beek - The City of a Thousand Eyes by Angelique Talbot - The Melusine Murders by Jesse Weiner Congratulations to all of them. Many further entries, equally commended, will be announced over the coming days. If your name is not yet here, please don't read into its absence. Names are being released in the order we can write the posts, which has nothing to do with preference, and every remaining commendation carries the same weight as those above.