I won’t believe what my friends rate. It’s not possible for me to believe them when they say something good.

But this rating came from a random stranger, that’s why I must tell my brain they were truthful.

I made a reel on TikTok days ago, and this person commented she subscribed. She followed me, subscribed, and downloaded the Advanced Reader Copy.

And after few days, I found her rating on Goodreads. Four stars.

Now, needless to say, last night I dreamt someone else rating less, and I was trying to accept it 🤣 just so you understand what my brain is going through and how incapable I am to disconnect my mind from situations that expose me to judgement.

I have a heavy chest since yesterday when I found this rating. Anxiety.

Why must it be special? Because I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t offer anything in exchange, we have no relationship, and she still rated the book four stars.

Though I know there will be lower reviews and the road to growth is made by ups and downs, I am writing down these words so whenever I say “it was fake” y’all can present me this text, from when I was clear headed, and remind me what I said.

Because yes. I still try to find reasons to explain why these four stars aren’t genuine. It’s like I decided this is my task.

Now off to another Monday. One week till my holidays 🍹

Hi divergently cooky-eaters (or chips eaters for the salty lovers),

It's been a while since I shared a community update.

First off, let me celebrate us breaching the 300 mark. We are 331!

Some cute insights.

--> NOTE: Typos might happen. Be warned.

LAST 30 DAYS? We loved our book recs and special interests talks!

Our most viewed post?

• 👀 https://www.reddit.com/r/writingdivergently/s/SLCiaZEDBZ by u/trashconverters

Our most engaged post?

• https://www.reddit.com/r/writingdivergently/s/haNuwpdaPp by u/TashaT50 who also allowed us to use her knwoledge built in years in our wiki.

LIFETIME? We loved our chat about gay romance and book readings.

Our most viewed post?

• 👀 https://www.reddit.com/r/writingdivergently/s/gWh9zHcgsg by me.

Our most engaged post?

• https://www.reddit.com/r/writingdivergently/s/Ma7YbiD9dW

What we did or changed within the community?

We also welcomed a new mod, u/Anima_1342!

We are ensuring we create a sharing space. We built rules to avoid pure promotion without first stimulating a conversation. We strongly support authors and readers to come together, we have book promo flairs and Monthly promo threads, but first and foremost, we don't want this space to be another place where anyone stops by to copy/paste the same post they create in all bookish subreddits. This is a place of human connection which we, as neurodivergent and queer people, can experience best if we spend time with each other.

If you're new, you can always find the rules in the sidebar of this subreddit.

We also created two monthly threads, for authors and artists. We created more flairs, and I was happy to see our first Sensitivity Reader today, commenting a post!

Is this space perfect?

No. I'm not perfect. I had zero idea, and still do, about how to use Reddit and, least of all, how to manage a community. I often posted things you didn't like. But I am learning with you.

Please remember this is a safe space, and that has always been my primary goal.

When I wrote a book with both queer and autistic characters, I was too afraid to share it in other subreddits. And I thought, "How many, like me, refrain themselves for fear of judgment? For fear of having a book that is too niche? How can I find my people, with similar struggles, who'd love stories like this?"

So I created this space, and I never thought more than 300 people would be here.

Thank you for joining us.

I know this is an uncommon post for Reddit, but I don't do common so much.

The etiquette? It's like being neurodivergent in a neurotypical society. Too many rules to remember. Too many hidden rules. Downvotes for expressing opinions. It is too weird.

So I go with the flow, and your feedback can always reach my DMs or the moderator email!

Have fun, and see you with the next update!

I got my Advanced Reader Copy on BookFunnel.

I tried, for curiosity, also a so-called group promo. If you don't know what it is, it's a group of authors. One of them, the organiser, creates a landing page with free books from authors who join, writing in the same genre, and all authors contribute with a trackable link to boost the landpage.

As a new author, with only 12 subscriber before joining, I must have been the stray they let in.

Here's what I've noticed.

FOR SOME REASON, my book with a queer boy as protagonist does not attract LGBTQ+ audience.

I'm in two promotions/giveaway: one for LGBTQ+ sci-fi, one for general sci-fi.

The LGBTQ+ one has so far generated 0 claims of my book. TBF, this has also a much lower number of contributing authors. But I wonder if I should better my pitch for the folks from my own community.

The other one got me 10 claims.

I gained 14 subscribers in four days, which is massive for me. That's a 116% increase for me!!

But, womp, womp, one already unsubscribed. I feel used. Like you subscribed to have something for free and then you left me. You took my flower, ripped it off, and then you were gone, leaving me with a void.

Anyway, I also wonder if I was smart in giving away the book for free, but I think it was a good idea. Maybe among those 14 people, 1 or 2 will leave a nice review. And they'll stick around and read my future books because they'll stay subscribed.

Publishing your book is definitely a learning curve.

Edited: typos (the ones I found)

I'm writing this urban fantasy about a trans woman who dies and revives to become a linger, investigator of demonic crimes.

This is for context.

It's a dark fantasy, where she investigates murders that look exactly like hers. It's fast paced and first person, present tense.

Far down the third act, her best friend in her team separates from her, and something happens. When she's back, they exchange words about it. But I was thinking to add a POV/Flashback from her friend, instead of telling what happens.

My thought is a separate chapter, third person, past tense, to "live" what happened with that character, disconnecting from the MC for a moment.

Is this a bad idea?

Would it be jarring?

If it is, I thought this could also become an extra chapter at the end, or for email subscribers, but I find this specific character likeable and something readers would enjoy.

Open to your thoughts.

I know what it’s like to get to those days when everything makes you irritable or makes you cry.

Today is one of those days.

And I know it’s been a period where I have put a lot on myself and have been hyper-excited about something (editor finished working on my manuscript and said beautiful things, so my mind went „yay, now I do this, that and that… 100 things to do and it’s like I need to do them all now“).

The most painful part is, I have been trying to tell the person closest to me how I feel.

He keeps saying it’s just because I haven’t slept.

That I find so many complicated reasons (I told him my brain is loud and it’s hard sometimes to calm down) when in reality it’s so simple: I just haven’t slept.

As if taking a nap will shut my brain down.

I can’t do this anymore. I want the person I share my life with to research about what I mean, to be open, to understand. Because I can’t do more than having a diagnosis to prove to people that I do have a disability. It’s not my explanation. It’s a fact. Knowing it can only give me and the people around me better tools to manage situations.

Instead I have someone who dismisses me every time and I pretend it’s fine.

I don’t want to be self-centred. I just need to talk about these moments and hear support, not someone who tells me that it’s not my autism, it’s not my adhd.

I never use it as an excuse for behaviour , but it’s like there’s an ick every time I say „it‘s one of those days when my brain won’t shut up and I feel tired“… he‘s like finding the most common and simple explanation, as if ADHD wasn’t it. Come on.

I am looking for people who'd like to moderate this community with me.

You must be of legal age, have a genuine interest for this space, and be kind.

If interested, comment so I can send you a google form link in DM.

The form contains a general description of what a moderator should do, but we'll figure it out together. What matters is that you can ensure to check-in regularly and that you're nice :D

No worries, introverts. We do everything via chat, I won't drag you on zoom calls.

There are also a few questions to answer, just to have a vibe of your approach, but nothing serious.

Thank you in advance,

Alexein

We hit 200 yesterday, and it's scary and exciting at the same time.

With only one mod at the moment, and new people joining regularly, it is now time to share some ideas for the future, which I will try to implement in the next days.

Feel free to reach out, if you have a different idea or advice. I'm always open to feedback.

What is this subreddit?

>I changed the description slightly: we welcome lovers of the written word, with a focus on LGBTQ+ and/or neurodivergent representation. This has always been the core and it will never change.

>We open the space to artists in the bookish space (cover and character artists).

The idea is a networking space distinguished by kindness and a common interest for literature. Not a marketplace! A networking space.

What you do in your DMs is your responsibility. Everything starts with a "Oh this looks cool," or "This story sounds for me."

There are many subreddits about book. This is a niche and that is where our focus is: LGBTQ+/ND Literature. I invite your discussions and contributions to always keep this in mind. Ultimately, my wish is to host a place where readers are sure to find what they look for, so we filter out the broader spectrum of books they can discuss elsewhere.

Threads

One of the biggest challenges, especially for introverts, is exposing themselves and posting. I want to remove the burden from you, and create monthly and weekly threads you can simply join by commenting.

The current weekly reading thread seems to work.

Weekly Threads

1. Weekly Reading: this will stay, and it is where we share what we are reading in the current week, what we like, and if it has any representation of our communities.

2. Weekly Writing: here authors can comment about their weekly plans with their works, their struggles, their progress.

3. Weekend Talk: will be removed.

Monthly Threads

4. Montly Promo: if you wrote a story, book, chapter release that involves representation of our marginalised community, and if that can be bought or obtained in any platform, this is the place to sponsor your work as a creator.

New User Flairs

Networking means that we can contribute in different ways to supporting LGBTQ+ and ND Literature and creators. Which means, each of us can wear new flairs if they wish.

1. Beta Reader, ARC Reader, Sensitivity Reader: these roles will be used if you want to support authors in this space to shape their manuscript thanks to your feedback as a reader. If you are not familiar with these terms, don't worry. More explanations will follow.

2. Artist: this flair is if you want to focus your profile on sharing bookish art, character art, and cover art.

New Post Flairs

I will add new post flairs.

1. For connecting authors and readers on a cooperative level:

1.1 Open to ARC, BETA, SENSITIVITY
1.2 Looking for ARC, BETA, SENSITIVITY

These two can be used by readers and authors to explicitly say communicate their read for beta, arc, sensitivity readers or if a reader wants to candidate for any of these roles and has time to do so.

2. For readers to express to share their opinions:

Review: I will add a tag in case you want to review a book with representation that you've enjoyed (or not).

There are many readers, and reviews are fun. I don't see why readers shouldn't have a space to share their opinions. This will generate book talks and recommendations.

In Summary

The first few months have attracted more people than I expected, and the interactions helped me understand what we need to focus on to not be like other Reddit spaces and maintain the promise of a safe, open environment for people belonging to our marginalised communities.

We will focus on Reading and Writing, reducing the "noise" of experiences which other subreddits do very well ( r/Neurodivergent , r/lgbt). But I will leave those post flairs when you think this place is safer for you to express or ask for advice.

You are welcome to let me know if any of the above doesn't sound exciting or useful, or if I can improve my proposal.

Remember: I am alone, so if any of you wants to support me managing the community, come forward.

Follow the rules. Don't be judgy or rush. Respect the courage of others stepping out of their shell to express an opinion.

Also, Reddit auto moderates new joiners. If you see your comment is posted but not visible, be patient, I might have missed it for approval.

Thanks for your contributions so far, hope you'll be happier from now on!

Alexein

Hi there!

I created this subreddit so authors and readers of the queer and neurodivergent communities could network.

I imagined book recommendations, announcements and promotions of books with representation.

I realise I do 99% of the posts here, to keep this community lively.

But I‘m also quite tired.

I work a corporate job, write every evening, and try to share my thoughts online, on different social media.

Only those posts on AI and apparently piracy here generate interactions, and not necessarily positive and supportive responses, though I was not here for that. I am here to read more queer and neurodivergent representation and to help you find it more easily.

This community will now face a challenge.

I know there are so many of you here for the same reason, and I want this space to be yours, not mine.

I can learn much more from all of you than from myself. More than once, some of you came forward and showed me one different perspective. I wish there was more than that.

I want to be the one who, among many others, will come to tell you when also my book is out, or send some free copies to those who need them. I want to see what you’re reading and writing and get excited about it.

One of you once told me, my posts are too „feel good“. Well I do want that. I like kindness, I like support, and I don’t want this subreddit to be another source of frustrated drama.

And I want to be the one who makes sure this place is safe so you can express your opinion without judgment.

I‘ll take a step back now, if I manage to fight against the fear of seeing this project slowly die.

Your contributions, comments, posts will shape this community going forward.

Let me know, always, the type of initiatives that would bring it to the level that you need, or produce that level with your own posts.

Little interactions, upvotes or comments on mine are a sign to me that I don’t write to the standard of reddit users. Or that I haven’t found a way to write to hit the purpose of this community. I was maybe ambitious in creating a subreddit after being only on reddit for a year.

There are so many hidden rules, and so much ruthlessness. Navigating it is still confusing, so instead of hindering this subreddit, I want to ask for you help to make it the place you want.

Take care.

Alexein

Edited: typos, though I‘m sure I didn’t find them all 😂

I know how piracy feels as a consumer.

I want it, but can’t afford it. That was my first thought when I was a kid and the first pirated CD flew under my nose.

But as a creator of art, from paintings to books, I don’t support it, and not for the reasons you think.

It’s not about the money.

It’s about the channel. Especially with Indie authors and creators, it’s so easy to get your book for free.

Here are some ways, from what I’ve learned so far:

ARC Campaign

You can find campaign for advanced reader copies, and read for free in exchange of honest reviews on your preferred channel.

Beta read

If you are a beta reader you can read books before anyone else and contribute to their success. It’s not like reading a popular book, I know, but I assume you read because you like it, not because of a trend

Ask

Pride aside, reaching out to me and ask for a free copy, watermarked maybe, would be totally okay. I can’t speak for all of us, but I would be pleased to know someone wants to read my book but can’t afford it. I’d gladly send you an epub.

Local library

You can ask your libraries the book you want. If it’s available widely (e.g. not only on Amazon) the librarians can add it to their catalog.

Second hand

There are second-hand buying options.

Lending

Ask someone you know to lend you their copy.

Platforms like AO3

You don’t find THAT book, but you find a lot of free writing of any genre.

Low prices by default, heavy promotions

Indie authors often have low prices, especially for epub versions, but they will often launch their books at 99p/99c or have long promotional periods. You can follow them for updates.

I can’t think of anything else, but this helps art being spread in a wholesome way that keeps the creator fairly recognised.

I know someone will come for me, but call it sense of righteousness from autism, or being naive, I think piracy doesn’t hurt anyone more than the creator of the art. Even when you think you’re “fighting the system” you’re actually ignoring hours, months, years of work and not only of the artist, but of the cover artist, editors, and all the money invested to make the book perfect for readers.

I am confusing myself so I need reader‘s advice.

There’s this demon, a woman, who can take shapes of people to influence your mood and mind.

When she turns into a man, I switch the pronoun to he/him. When she turns into a woman, I use she/her.

Should I rather always keep ”she“ because it’s always the same character? Is it confusing if in some paragraphs she turns into several people of different sex and you need to keep up with the changes of pronouns?

Maybe I should post examples but I‘m too self conscious on this draft still.

If you have opinions, let me know!

Authors.

You're here because you write divergently, right?

Let readers know what have you released lately, so they can browse the thread and pick their next read.

I suggest you give

- Title

- Link to pre-orders or orders page (or free website/platform where you publish)

- One paragraph pitch

- Type of representation

Go!

The rush to create often makes me less attentive to details, therefore ruining things. But also, I never know what’s the best choice. Is it from the one from the hype or the one from the counter-hype?

Contradictions one after the other:

- You should write a book
- You have no talent to write a book
- Do character art
- You can’t draw like others why do you try?
- Share the first chapter
- It’s not edited why did you share it?
- Talk about your book
- No one likes that post because your book is shit
- Create the book page on Amazon so you don’t do everything at the last minute but don’t sponsor it
- 5 minutes later: check the pre orders. None? You’re delusional and talentless
- Post something
- It wasn’t interesting why did you post it?
- Check your notifications
- You have no notifications you should quit social media
- Talk about world building and your idea behind
- No one cares about that stuff
- Rest today you’ve written nonstop you need a break
- Why are you on a break? This book won’t write itself
- You wrote two books in English that is great
- Your vocabulary is so small it’s going to flop