I've been editing my manuscript and got feedback from a beta reader that my foreshadowing is a bit too on-the-nose. So, I was wondering if you guys have any good examples of good but subtle foreshadowing? The kind that, once you actually know the whole plot and go back to re-read or check your annotations, you go "oooh, I see..." and not "yeah, duh."

Concrete examples from published books or general advice both welcome! Please and thank you :)

Something that recently struck me is that I've been using the terms character arc and character development as if they were interchangeable. But then at book club the other week, I realized that there are plenty of well-written characters that don't actually change much over the course of a book, even though they go through an emotional arc. What changes is the reader's perception or understanding of that character.

The character that inspired this thought was Sybil in The Correspondent: she is more or less the same throughout the book but our interpretation of her becomes kinder when we get some insight into why she is that way. (She does have some character growth, I suppose, but is fundamentally the same.)

So, is character development always the same as character arc? Is it a craft term (the author develops the character over the course of a story arc), or does it always refer to the growth/progression of the character?

And then there's "characterization" as well...

Gah, I may be overthinking this, but am curious what you guys think about this.

Prologues have always been a bit contentious in literature, with some readers even admitting that they skip them entirely.

When done poorly, prologues seem to be just info-dumps in disguise. Worldbuilding, backstory, or a villain scheming in italics that readers can skip it without losing the plot. It becomes a bit of a false start to what could have been an impactful beginning.

But prologues can and do serve a purpose. Some of the best-loved books (especially in fantasy!) would be way worse off without theirs.

So, if you're a reader, do you actually read the prologue?

And if you're a writer, what do you think makes for a good use of prologue?

I've always been intrigued by the idea of writing a memoir. So far, it's only just been something at the back of my mind (for when I'm a bit wiser and older lol), but the more autofiction and memoirs I read (and the more life experience I accumulate), the more it's starting to become something I actually want to take seriously. I have some ideas for general themes to narrow it down so it's not just a biographical account of my life as well.

I've found some advice on how to approach memoir writing but a lot of it contradicts each other. Start with a theme, start with a timeline, start with your earliest memory, start in the middle of the action, etc...

For those of you who've actually finished one (or got meaningfully far), what unlocked it for you? Did you outline the whole thing first, or just write scenes and stitch them together later? Did you get feedback at any point? How did you decide what to leave out? Or, if you love reading memoirs, what do you enjoy about it?

I feel like every thread on improving your writing skills ultimately always comes back to "read a lot, write a lot," which is true the way "eat well and exercise" is true. So, I've been doing that, and I definitely think it's helping, BUT, what's something more active I can do to improve as well?

Some things I've tried where I've seen some noticable impact have been:

• Typing out passages from writers I admire (you feel the sentence rhythm/narrative voice in a way passively reading never shows you) -- obviously only for practice, not to actually use anywhere.
• A critique group that was genuinely constructive. One round of real feedbacck beat a year of solo writing.
• Rewriting an old story from scratch without looking at the original, then comparing.

I'm curious whether anyone has applied any other, deliberate practice principles (isolating a weakness and drilling it specifically, for instance), and if so, how? It works for music and chess, and writing feels like it should be drillable too, but nobody really teaches it that way...

Edit: Woah, people really came through! I'm still reading everyone's comments but lots of good advice here!

So I'm considering self-publishing and I've been considering the various services I'd need to pay for (I want to make sure it's as close to trad pub standards as possible) and I wanted to ask whether you think hiring a book marketing expert is really worth it? Also, how do you know which ones are legit? Some are obvious scams ("guaranteed bestseller", lol), but a few seem like the real deal with case studies and real client lists (and, importantly, realistic promises of what they can do for me).

Before I hand anyone my $$$, I want to hear from people who've actually hired one:

• What did they actually DO that you couldn't do yourself?
• Did anyone see genuine ROI — as in, did your sales actually make up for the money you spent on it?
• What are the red flags that separate a real expert from a snake-oil vendor?
• Is there a category of marketing help that is worth paying for (ads management? publicists for trad-adjacent stuff?) vs. categories that never are?

When I started writing, I didn't really consider the fact that I'd also have to learn how to become a marketer, so outsourcing marketing feels like the most natural step, but then I also feel like it could either be a real genius move or a complete bust.

Apologies if there's a thread for this already but thought I'd share some tips I've picked up on how to market your children's books if you're planning to self-publish.

Children's books can be tricky because they break a lot of the normal book marketing rules seeing as you’re not actually marketing towards the reader (who, well… can’t actually read yet), but to the adults in their lives who will read for them.

So the main thing to keep in mind is to market to these gatekeepers. Parents, teachers, and librarians are the ones who actually buy picture books, so your cover, blurb, and marketing materials should all speak to them, not to a five-year-old.

Also, remember, these days, parents of young kids are almost all millennials and, as a result, will heavily rely on the internet for any kind of recommendation. Think Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, etc. But, of course, there are also grandparents, librarians, and teachers to consider so don't limit yourself to just millennials.

As for content, I’d say, lean on reading-out-loud videos. Short clips of the book being read, whether by you or a teacher-influencer, will help sell the vibe and send trust signals to anxious parents. Indicate why your book is suitable for their little ones. What will it teach, how will it entertain, and, sometimes more importantly, how will it help make bedtime a breeze?

You should also try to go local and institutional. Even though millennials may rely on the internet, with so much false information out there, nothing beats a recommendation from an actual person in your community. Put effort into booking school visits, doing library outreach, and doing bookstore story-time events. Getting parents, librarians, teachers, and so on to sing praises about your book when they bump into each other in the grocery store is the name of the game.

Any tips I’m missing? What have you tried that has worked for you?

Last week book marketing specialist u/Sara_BFY did an AMA over on r/KDP, and there was a lot of genuinely useful info in the replies. Here's a condensed version for anyone who missed it. Original thread is linked at the bottom.

TL;DR: Sort your cover, blurb, pricing and reviews before you spend money on ads. Aim for 50+ reviews at 4.0+ via an ARC team first. Match the platform to your genre (Amazon for thrillers/crime/nonfiction, Facebook for romance/fantasy/sci-fi). Ignore ACOS and optimize to real revenue break-even instead. Ads should be roughly a third of your sales, not the engine.

Ads come last, not first

• Align your cover, blurb and pricing to the top 100 of your category before anything else. Many authors skip this, but a mismatched product page tanks your ad ROI.
• Get to 50+ reviews at 4.0+ stars before running ads. Below that, ads struggle even with a strong page.
• Ads should be about a third of your revenue, not the bulk. If they're your main long-term driver, you're on a treadmill. The goal is a snowball: ads lead to reviews, which lead to organic sales and recommendations.

Reviews and ARC teams

• Free ARC copies are fine and you can ask for an honest review. Paying for reviews is what gets accounts banned, so don't.
• Fastest route is an ARC team via paid sites like BookSirens, StoryOrigin, Voracious Readers Only, Hidden Gems Books, NetGalley, or Reedsy Discovery.
• Roughly 20% of ARC readers leave a review, so recruit large (aim well past 50 readers).
• Slower organic route: build a following on RoyalRoad/Wattpad, funnel to a mailing list, launch once you've got 200+ subscribers.

Match the platform to your genre

• Amazon Ads: thrillers, crime, nonfiction (buyers searching with high intent).
• Facebook Ads: romance, fantasy, sci-fi. Faster and cheaper reach, but harder to set up (needs creatives plus Amazon Attribution links) and a more price-sensitive crowd.
• TikTok: organic content beats paid here. Invest time, not money (works for fantasy/romance).
• Minimum to see anything move: around $10/day per platform.

Stop optimising for ACOS

• ACOS ignores KU reads and series read-through, so it misrepresents real performance, especially for book one in a series or anything in KU.
• Optimise to break even on actual revenue (royalties + KU reads + read-through). Bid so your cost-per-click roughly matches your earnings-per-click.
• Work out your real break-even from royalty maths. A $9.99 book at 70% royalty breaks even around 45% ACOS, so a "scary" 60% can still be profitable. A $4.99 book at 35% royalty breaks even near 35% with almost no margin. Same console number, totally different reality.
• Tools mentioned for tracking this: BooksFlyer (Sara's own) and MerchJar.

Auto campaign tactics

• Let auto run combined. Don't pre-split the four targeting types. Auto campaigns vary wildly even on identical settings.
• Negatives: mostly negate your own self-targeting (so a campaign doesn't look good just for bidding on its own terms). Otherwise negate a term at roughly 20+ clicks with no sales. Don't over-negate: the algorithm learns from non-purchases too, so cutting too early can kill the campaign.
• Add negatives at ad-group level, not campaign level. Campaign-level is blunt and can kill a converter in close-match because loose-match abused the same term. Protect close-match and complements (highest intent), and cut substitutes and loose-match first when things underperform.
• Underused diagnostic: in the search-term report, filter by the targeting-type column, then sort by search term. The same term showing twice with different performance tells you whether it's the term or the match type that's the problem.
• To squeeze a campaign already spending its full budget: lower bids slowly (2 to 3 cents), keep bidding fixed, then wait a week or two before touching it again. Never drop fast.

Keywords and categories

• The 7 KDP keywords**:** she suggested asking an AI to research them within KDP guidelines, split as 3 shorter/popular (higher match, narrower reach) and 4 longer (wider reach, less exact). Paid SEO tools aren't worth it here; cover, title, reviews and sales matter far more.
• No hard limit on search terms per campaign. Sara uses around 30. Fewer terms concentrates budget and gives faster signal.
• Categories**:** pick one you genuinely belong in where the top 10 aren't all sub-1,000 rank. Never pick an irrelevant category because it looks easy. It's penalized and feeds poor recommendations, which drags your ads too.
• You can email KDP support to be added to categories that aren't in the list (though one user reported support being unhelpful on exactly this, so mileage varies).

Series, nonfiction and edge cases

• Series beat standalones for ROI (more to buy, plus read-through). With a single book you advertise at a loss for awareness, so ramp spend as book two nears. Release early books within a month of each other to ride the new-release algorithm.
• Already ranking organically for a keyword? Amazon sees you as relevant, so your CPC is cheaper. Run a small defensive campaign to hold the spot.
• Nonfiction has real advantages: high intent, low price sensitivity, and a narrow niche means lower CPC. Use tight exact-match on the problem the book solves, run auto to find terms, then harvest converters into manual exact. A respected endorsement in the blurb helps a lot.
• Short-story collections: use them as lead magnets to build a mailing list and your own ARC team, not as ad targets. Release after the novel and surface them via back matter and the series page.

Credit to u/Sara_BFY for the original AMA. The full thread with all the back-and-forth is worth a read if you want more detail: https://www.reddit.com/r/KDP/comments/1u8ctgm/im_a_kdp_marketing_specialist_who_helps_authors/

Hello r/KDP!

Sara Usera Ciriza here. I’m a digital marketer with a background in tech, analytics, and advertising, and I specialize in helping authors market their books through Amazon Ads. Before going freelance, I worked in marketing and advertising technology at Accenture, where I focused on digital marketing tools, conversion, and cost efficiency. I’ve also worked with the CMO of r/reedsy, Ricardo Fayet, on author marketing projects, and now help writers directly through Reedsy.

Through Reedsy, I work with authors on Amazon Ads, Facebook Ads, marketing plans, and Amazon audits — looking at things like blurbs, covers, categories, and keywords. A lot of my work is about helping authors understand what’s actually happening behind the numbers: what ACOS means, how to test campaigns, when to scale, when to stop spending, and how to make ads work alongside the rest of a book’s launch or long-term sales strategy.

I’m here to answer your questions about KDP marketing, Amazon Ads, book advertising, categories and keywords, campaign setup, optimization, budgets, read-through, series marketing, and anything else related to getting your book in front of the right readers.

I won’t be able to review individual ad accounts, book pages, or marketing materials in detail, so please don’t submit private dashboards or links for critique. Other than that, AMA!

You can find me at:
https://reedsy.com/sara-usera

FYI — I'm in Madrid time zone, so if I do not answer your questions on the 17th it's because I'm sleeping! I'll respond to them on the 18th as soon as I get back to work 😃

https://preview.redd.it/kyfkcqwveg6h1.png?width=2560&format=png&auto=webp&s=e05b938c3690619cad699e81ce3bea28ba6efe3e

Hello r/KDP!

Next week we're hosting an AMA with Sara Usera, a digital marketer who specialises in helping authors sell books through Amazon Ads. She's worked in advertising technology at Accenture and now works directly with authors through r/Reedsy on ads, marketing plans, and full Amazon audits.

When: Wednesday, June 17

Time: TBD

Duration: 24 hours

Where: right here on r/KDP

Sara will be answering questions on Amazon Ads, KDP marketing, categories and keywords, campaign setup and optimisation, budgets, read-through, series strategy, and pretty much anything else around getting your book in front of the right readers.

Start thinking about what you'd like to ask and see you on the 17th!

NOTE: To make sure your questions get answered, you need to post them in the AMA event (not this post), which will go live on the 17th.

I see a lot of newer writers ask some version of this, and the answers can get pretty scattered, so I was hoping to get some clarity here.

Once someone has finished a manuscript and revised it properly, what should the next steps actually be? For people who’ve been through it, how would you explain the practical order of operations? But also, are there any mentality shifts you need to go through at this point?

I’ve seen this question come up a lot so apologies if this has already been answered, but for people who've outgrow Google Docs, Word, or their notepad, what writing app works best?

For shorter fics, almost anything works. But once you’re dealing with novel-length stories or even longfics, multiple chapters, outlines, drafts, notes, research, and backups, you definitely need something a bit more robust.

A few questions:

• What software do you use to write fic?
• How do you organize chapters, scenes, outlines, and notes?
• Where do you store your drafts and finished fics?
• Do you write across multiple devices, like phone and laptop?
• What’s your backup system?
• Have you had issues with writing apps getting slow once a fic gets long?

I’m especially interested in tools that are good for easy chapter organization, reliable backups, not painfully slow, and simple export/copy-paste options.

I’ve been working on one of my novels for many years now. I want to preface I know I need more editing help especially with grammatical stuff. I do however truly believe I have an interesting story with a good plot (I am bias of course but I do believe strongly in this). I have used some proofreaders on my beginning chapters. I also used on reedsy editor for the first ten k words which was helpful to see how we work together.

I got quoted 1,200 for copy edit and 2k for developmental edit for 70k words, this is the first half of my novel.

Does anyone have advice on if this is something I should go with, is there another step I should do?

I've seen some people ask about wanting to become an author and I think it's one of those professions that is often shrouded in mystery, so I'd thought I'd pop in to share some lessons I've picked up through working with tons of debut and experienced authors in my own career.

Becoming an author largely comes down to three things: building a writing habit you'll actually keep, finishing your first complete draft, and then choosing a path to get it in front of readers (traditional publishing or self-publishing). There are obviously some steps in between those three, but that's the gist of it. You don't need a degree, fancy credentials, or permission. You need a process.

Most advice on this topic stops at "just start writing." That's true but useless if you're already stuck. So this covers the two camps people actually get stuck in: the not-starting-at-all, and the what-comes-next camps.

Why you're not sitting down to write (and what to do about it)

Having an outline and still not writing is incredibly common, and it usually isn't laziness. A few of the real reasons, and the fix for each:

You're waiting to feel ready. You won't. The feeling of "I can do this" comes after you've done it a few times, not before. The fix is to make the first session absurdly small: write for ten minutes, or 200 words, and let yourself stop. The goal early on is to prove you'll come back, not to make progress.

The project feels too big. A whole book is an overwhelming object to face. An outline is supposed to break it down, but a lot of people outline at the chapter level, which is still huge. Break the chapter into individual scenes or sections, and only ever look at the next one. You're not writing a book today; you're writing one scene.

You're judging the draft as you write it. First drafts are supposed to be bad. If you're editing every sentence as it lands, you'll stall, because you're trying to draft and revise at the same time. Give yourself permission to write something you know is rough; getting it down and fixing it later are two separate jobs.

You don't know what the writing is for. It's hard to commit to a marathon with no finish line. So before you write much more, get clear on which path you're aiming at, because it changes how you finish. I'm not saying you should decide who your target audience is right away or even which publishing path, but just aim for a rough date to have your first draft done for now.

The actual steps to becoming an author

1. Build the habit before you worry about the book

Pick a consistent, realistic time (daily or a couple of fixed days a week) and protect it. Consistency beats volume early on. Twenty focused minutes you'll repeat is worth more than a three-hour session you'll dread and skip.

2. Finish a complete first draft

Most aspiring writers never finish a draft. If you finish one, even a messy one, you're already ahead of the majority. Resist the urge to go back and polish chapter one for the fifth time; push to the end first.

3. Revise, then get outside eyes

Once you have a full draft, revise it yourself, then get feedback from people who aren't your friends and family: a writing group, beta readers, or a professional editor, for example. Honest outside feedback is where a draft becomes a book. Reading widely in your genre during this stage helps you see what your manuscript needs.

4. Choose your path to readers

This is the "where do I go once I've finished it?" answer, and it's really two roads:

• Traditional publishing. You write a query letter, submit to literary agents, and if one signs you, they sell your book to a publisher. No upfront cost to you, but it's competitive and slow, and rejection is part of the process for nearly everyone. Best if a print presence and industry validation matter to you and you're willing to play a long game.
• Self-publishing. You publish directly (most commonly via Amazon and other retailers). You keep control and a far larger royalty share, but you're responsible for (or you hire out) editing, cover design, formatting, and marketing. Best if you want speed, control, and to build a catalog over time.

Neither is the "real" way to be an author anymore. They're different trade-offs, and plenty of authors do both across different books.

5. Keep going past book one

Your first book is where you learn to write a book. It may not be the one you submit or ever show to anyone, but it's where you cut your teeth and prove to yourself you can do it. Most authors' careers are built on the body of work that follows it, not the debut. Finishing teaches you more than any amount of preparation, so the fastest way to get better is to finish, publish, and start the next one.

Lastly: you don't need permission to call yourself a writer

The gap between "aspiring author" and "author" isn't a credential, it's a finished manuscript (or short story, etc.). If you write regularly, you're a writer now. Give yourself the title, get the draft done, and the rest is a sequence of solvable, learnable steps rather than a mystery.

Sorry if this has been asked before but I'm curious how people here do it. Do you have a dedicated desk/office, or do you just write wherever — kitchen table, café, subwaylibrary, in bed?

And the other half of the question: what do you write in? Trying to figure out if I should bother learning a new app or if I'm fine just staying in Word/Google Docs.

Mostly wondering what actually works for finishing a book and lowering the threshold to writing vs. what has the most complex set of outlining tools etc.

Writers, what’s a legitimately useful gift you've received or would love to receive that would help you with your WIP or generally just with your craft?

I’m trying to buy a gift for someone who writes fiction, but I don’t want to get them another notebook, mug, or tote bag. And they’ve specifically said they already have too many books on their TBR… So… I’m kind of stuck.

What’s something that would make you feel supported as a writer?

Things I’ve considered are: 

• a yearly subscription to a writing software or app
• an online writing course
• a ticket to a workshop or some sort of writerly memberships 
• anything that gives them more time or motivation to write

Budget is flexible and I’m happy to pay a bit more if it’s going to be actually helpful, but I literally have no idea where to start with any of these… 

Please, has anyone here received or would like to receive something like this that you can recommend? Or if there's something I haven't thought of?

Thanks again to everyone who joined the AMA with Reedsy editor and literary agent Jon Michael Darga aka u/jmdarga. There were a lot of great questions about querying, short story contests, editing, self-publishing, and the publishing process generally, so here’s a recap of the main takeaways for anyone who missed it

1. A strong query needs balance

Jon recommended structuring the plot portion of your query letter in three parts:

1. The setup: who the characters are, where they begin, what they want, and what’s missing.
2. The inciting incident: what kicks the story into motion.
3. The “dot dot dot”: a teaser of the stakes, challenges, and direction of the story without turning the query into a full synopsis.

The goal with the letter is to give agents enough to understand the book and want more, without either being too vague or explaining every plot point.

2. A useful comp doesn't have to be an exact equivalent to your novel

For example, one book might be a comp for how yours handles grief, another for new parenthood, another for tone, another for structure, etc.

3. Don’t chase current trends too hard

Publishing is slow. A book sold now may not come out for two years or more, so today’s trend may not be the trend by publication. Publishers notice trends, but they can’t rely entirely on what’s hot right now.

4. Your submitted manuscript should start at the latest possible moment where the story still makes sense

One of the biggest reasons Jon stops reading a submitted manuscript is “throat clearing” at the beginning: characters waking up, going through their morning routine, having a dream, or taking too long to reach the real start of the story. Don’t assume an agent will wait until page five or the end of chapter one to be hooked.

5. Follow the rule of threes before submitting

Professional editing can be helpful before submitting to an agent, but Jon generally suggests a “rule of threes”:

• at least three drafts before showing it to others;
• feedback from at least three outside readers;
• then another revision before sending it to publishing professionals.

A good test for whether you’re ready to query: if you know the book needs work and you know how to fix it, fix it first. If you know it could still be better but you’ve reached the limit of what you can identify or improve on your own, that may be the point where outside professional feedback is useful.

6. Fiction authors do not need large platforms to get a publishing deal

For fiction, Jon said the query and manuscript are what matter. A huge platform might make someone curious, but bad writing will still be rejected, and a writer with zero followers can still get representation if the book is strong. 

Nonfiction is slightly different. Jon was candid that memoir is a tough market at the moment, especially for non-famous writers. Platform helps only if it is very large or if the author is widely recognizable.

7. Traditional publishing is still better for discoverability

For authors hoping to reach the widest possible audience, traditional publishing still generally offers the strongest discoverability in terms of reviews, ads, interviews, bookstore placement, and publicity infrastructure. That said, every author’s path is different, and self-publishing can work for some writers. 

8. Previously self-published books are hard to sell traditionally

This came up several times. The general answer was: once a book has already been published, many publishers see it as having already had its chance to find an audience. That makes it difficult for agents to sell. 

9. A short story should work on its own

If a short story feels like a chopped-down novel or an excerpt from something larger, that can be a problem. Jon’s view was that a short story should feel complete on its own. If the reader finishes it mainly thinking “this should have been a novel,” then it may not be working as a short story.

More generally, a strong opening helps, but a winning story has to sustain quality throughout and land the ending. In a contest setting, where the judge reads the whole piece, the overall shape of the story matters more than just the first line.

10. AI should not replace human feedback

Jon said AI editing tools should be disclosed if a form asks whether AI was used in creating the materials. He also emphasized that AI lacks the community aspect of writing: critique partners, fellow writers, support, and human readers. His point was not that AI can never be useful, but that it should be a supplement, not a replacement for human editing and writing relationships.

11. Publishing requires resilience

A major theme of the AMA was rejection. Even a successful book will be rejected many times: by agents, editors, publicity outlets, reviewers, awards, etc. Authors need to be able to handle rejection, edits, conflict, disappointing sales, and promotional obligations without collapsing under the stress. 

12. Very long debuts are a hard sell

A 1,000-page debut novel is unlikely to be attractive to most publishers right now because of printing costs and pricing. Jon said the general sweet spot depends on genre, but broadly, 70,000–80,000 words is often a good range.

Overall takeaway

The AMA was a good reminder that publishing is subjective, slow, and often frustrating, but not mysterious. The recurring advice was pretty consistent: write the strongest version of the work you can, get feedback from real readers, don’t query before you’re ready, make the opening count, understand your genre and market, and don’t treat publication as a shortcut around the hard parts of writing.

https://preview.redd.it/u5o2pbr5j41h1.png?width=2560&format=png&auto=webp&s=f0f3403d3e57cd1e03836c3af88849278dda89bc

Posting on behalf of Jon aka u/jmdarga:

Hello r/literarycontests!

Jon Michael Darga here. I’m a senior literary agent at Aevitas Creative Management and a former editor at Penguin Random House who’s worked on award-winning and bestselling titles by authors such as Tim Curry, Kyle Prue, Lynette Rice, and Ashley Cullins. In addition to my day job, I freelance edit for authors via Reedsy.

As an experienced agent and editor, I’ve helped my clients develop their manuscripts across various stages of development. I’ve provided editorial letters about world-building, character development, and complete restructures. I’ve done final passes of manuscripts, making line-edits to make sure that the language is polished and sings. And I’ve done everything in-between, including tweaking query letters and agent submission lists.

I’m here to answer your questions about writing, the querying process, the publishing industry, and more. I’m also the guest judge of the inaugural Reedsy Literary Prize, so feel free to ask about the competition, how to write a winning submission, and what catches a judge’s eye. (I won’t offer any feedback on writing, so please do not submit samples or links.) Other than that, AMA!

Proof it's me: https://x.com/jmdargz/status/2054576351714124140

You can also find me at: https://reedsy.com/jon-michael-darga

And for any questions about how Reedsy works, you can check out r/Reedsy, who are co-hosting this AMA. Looking forward to chatting with you!

EDIT: The AMA is now finished. Thank you to all participants!