Related to my previous question. The first iteration of my novel had chapters start with quotes from songs and the lyricist's name attributed the next line down. What are the mechanics of that? Do I seek permission from the source or is an attribution enough? I removed them until I found out the legality of it.

Tonight I cut over 10,000 words from my manuscript and moved a gigantic cluster of scenes to their proper place. Though I'll be editing what I moved to just about smithereens, I feel like this has been a glorious end to my day.

For this morning, I am doing what I hope to be the last edits on Baker Street, a new Max Boucher series, and what I hope will re-ignite it, as it has been a while since I released a book in that one. I'm also working on ideas for new covers for the first two books - all that before tackling edits for other people. As we head toward the weekend (for some of you, I don't know what those are) what are you working on?

I'm Troy Lambert, the Plot Dude. This space is really exciting to me, because there is nothing I like more than talking about craft and story. It's really the foundation of your author business. You need a good story before you can do anything else, and that means finishing your draft. So that's what we're all about here. Feel free to chat, peer to peer, ask questions, or even just commiserate about the writing life. It's your chance to connect with like minded authors, editors, and other members of the community for advice or just a friend to talk to. To get started, feel free to introduce yourself, and please, tell us about your pets. That's really what's important here.

This week on Pros Talking Prose we discuss how to stay positive when things are difficult. We tackle tackle burnout, doomscrolling, industry panic, AI fearmongering, and the emotional exhaustion many authors are quietly carrying right now. If you aren't already following us on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube, why not?