I’m a minor and I don’t want my family to know I’m writing a book but on the other hand I want credit for my work.i really don’t want them to know especially because my book is dark and pretty messed up. what should I do?

Okay, so, I just want some feedback rq. Not dropping the actual name and it's not vulgar or anything but I have accidently made the first part of it a cultural name from a culture I am not a part of. This was kind of shocking to me because when I made the second half I made sure it completely fabricated but I guess I just- forgot to look up the first half since I made it ages after? Anyways, I came up with this name by messing with the letters of a different word but as mentioned, it ended up being a very real cultural name. I've become quite attached to it though. And although I haven't started any publishing process yet (so I can change it easily) it is already the name on a LOT of my accounts as I put it together it years ago. In short, I want public opinion on if I should change it or not, even though I think I know the answer...

Edit: thanks, everyone! Still not dropping the name to my own detriment lol, but I think I’m just going to go the safe route anyways and change it to something that rings in a similar way but isn’t cultural

What do you think about using it for that purpose?

i am working on my first real book it’s gonna be a dark kinda legal drama. i need to know if this is a good idea. so it’s about this guy he and his wife have been married 15 years she had a one year-old before they got married now They are getting a divorce. he never legally adopted the daughter and now they are getting divorce. legally speaking there is no way for him to get custody without the mom giving it to him. the mom is a career oriented who Loves her daughter but puts her job above all else and would never give custody to the husband. so he has to go outside the law.

hello everyone! i’m currently finishing up my adult dark academia romance, Desire, Unbidden, and i’m looking for a few beta readers 🤍

the story follows a young woman starting over after the sudden loss of her mother at an old university in ireland, drawn there partly by the life her mother once had in the country. she falls in with an eclectic group of friends, gets pulled into secret literary gatherings, and earns a place in a prestigious academic competition that places her under the mentorship of a professor she immediately finds herself at odds with – and cannot seem to stay away from.

it’s a slow-burn, character-driven story about academic rivalry, friendship, grief, ambition, morally complicated characters, and plenty of tension.

i’m mainly looking for feedback on pacing, character dynamics, whether the romance develops naturally, and general reader reactions – what kept you invested, where you lost interest, and what you became particularly attached to – before i eventually send the manuscript to a professional editor.

no previous beta-reading experience necessary! i’m mostly looking for people who genuinely enjoy this kind of story and are comfortable being honest about what works and what doesn’t.

the manuscript is currently around 80k words and still in progress. i’m happy to send it in batches as i finish or wait until the full manuscript is ready.

if this sounds like your kind of book, feel free to comment or message me 🕯️📚🤍

I’m mostly talking to the handful of writers on this website who actually understand genre and wield some knowledge of the publishing industry. I also welcome ignorant-but-well-meaning guesses—but please tell me if you’re guessing.

I don’t have a good working title. I’m just calling it Dog Seeks Girl for now.

Here is my Achilles heel: I rarely write in the genre I read most. My ideas take me elsewhere, and I write stories that blend genres. If I have a story, I tell it. Then, I have trouble pinpointing the genre in which I’m working.

That can be a problem, because genres are promises to the reader. I need to know what promise I'm making.

The BOOK

I believe I may be writing historical speculative noir from a dog's perspective.

The protagonist is a real historical dog: Bummer, a Newfoundland who became famous in San Francisco history. Lazarus, his sidekick, is also a real dog from that time.

The novel is written with the dry, satirical voice of a David Attenborough nature documentary, dissecting 1860s human absurdities with clinical distance, while occasionally zooming deep into the visceral, sensory mind of a street dog.

The dogs don't think in words or human concepts, so this is not Watership Down or The Plague Dogs. They are not talking animals. We experience Bummer's senses, emotions, instincts, memories, and understanding of the world, but he does not suddenly acquire a human intellectual framework.

The story opens in 1861 and follows Bummer's five-year quest until his publicly recorded death in 1865. Personally, I prefer stories that take place over hours, days, and weeks, so the four-year span is unusual for me—but this story requires it.

Here is the logline I'm working under:

Bummer, the most loyal dog in California history, canvases the dark underbelly of 1860s San Francisco—from buried-ship saloons to high-society cults—herding the city’s most famous residents into saving his long-lost girl and the city itself from a mass ritual sacrifice to Moloch.

THE STORY

Bummer was raised by a little girl from the age of three weeks to three years. He was an extraordinarily ugly Newfoundland puppy who was nearly subjected to a “mercy drowning.” The little girl saved him, and the two became deeply bonded.

When they arrive in San Francisco, humans separate the girl and her family from Bummer, leaving him astray.

Bummer's central mystery is simple from his perspective:

Where did his girl go?

He spends years investigating.

The reader gets to see the clues and gradually work out what happened to her. Bummer doesn't understand the human conspiracy in the way the reader does. He follows scents, memories, instincts, and the people and animals who lead him toward her.

The investigation takes him into the world of cats, rats, and colorful human characters. Along the way, Bummer repeatedly manages to involve humans in what he has discovered, sometimes by manipulating them and sometimes simply by leading them where they need to go.

Among the historical figures he encounters are Mark Twain and Emperor Norton. Bummer essentially tricks or forces these humans into noticing pieces of a plot that exists beneath the streets of San Francisco.

The novel involves Bummer protecting his girl, but also protecting San Francisco itself. The mystery eventually reveals that the threat is much larger than what happened to one little girl.

HISTORY

I am using real people, real dogs, real places, and real documented events from San Francisco history—mostly.

I’m reasonably good about taking only a few liberties, but there are liberties taken when necessary to serve the story. I am willing to bend the historical rules.

For example, I use the Bohemian Club as inspiration for a group of cultists, although the actual organization didn't yet exist during my 1861–1865 timeframe. In the novel, I call the organization the Secret Circle.

So, I’m not claiming this is strict historical fiction.

MYSTERY

I do think this is a mystery in an important sense.

The reader gets information that Bummer cannot interpret as a human would. We can see the clues and potentially solve what happened to his girl before Bummer understands the significance of what he has discovered.

The structure is therefore somewhat like Chinatown—a long investigation into a hidden conspiracy—but with rats, cats, famous people, satire, and a very different kind of detective.

Bummer is the investigator. He isn't a human detective with a dog's sidekick. (Well, Lazarus is a dog.)

I'M STUCK

The manuscript is complete at about 90,000 words.

My current description is:

A historical speculative noir featuring the deadpan, anthropological perspective of The Gods Must Be Crazy and the emotional drive of Watership Down**.**

But I don't know whether that's actually a useful genre description.

So, my question is:

What genre would you call this if you were trying to shelve or market it?

Is it historical fiction? Historical mystery? Historical noir? Speculative historical fiction? Something else?

Does the speculative element make “historical fiction” the wrong label, or is “historical speculative” a useful distinction?

And if it is a mystery, does that need to be part of the genre description?

Most importantly, what existing books would you tell me to read or study so I can understand the reader expectations I'm making?

(I know. I ask tough questions.)

I need to study the genre carefully enough to make sure I’m not promising the reader an experience the novel doesn't actually deliver.

Please tell me what you think I'm writing—even if your answer is “you've created a genre soup and need to pick a shelf.”

Thank you!

I finished the first draft of my very first novel this weekend. I put all the chapters together and gave it a shiny title page and table of contents. My thought baby was finally finished, even if unpolished. Hooray!

I didn’t expect the sadness after. For the last six months I’ve been working tirelessly on this project, having not missed a single day of at least 300 words. Now that routine, the ritual of returning to the same world/people every day is over — or at least changed. After spending my Sunday putting around when I would normally be hard at work drafting this week’s outline, I realized the source of the feeling and burst into tears.

Happy tears, but also sad ones. I didn’t expect this reaction. Did anyone else feel the same after finishing their first novel?

Hey guys, posting my new cover art for my fantasy book here. I'm a new author and I feel part and parcel of what makes self publishing most fun is all the other bits that come with it. I felt my original cover was a bit boring so decided to switch it up!

I know it's not on the level of professional designers, or some of the AI stuff people have started churning out, but it's something I made and I thought it was cool.

I was going for the 1970's folk horror vibe, as I've recently been going back over the old cult classics like Captain Kronos and The Wicker Man.

https://preview.redd.it/kdl1w9h41zjh1.jpg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cdbb594aa1fb037a7969422aaa3f03f6d34f4899

All the art is all hand drawn and painted. I purposefully went for the old collage poster style from cinema posters.

Anyway, I think it looks cool and I hope you do too :)

Hi!! I'm new to the publishing world. Always been a writer, but to me, you gotta be published to call yourself an author! (I dunno if anyone else has this distinction in their mind!) Well, my memoir is coming out in Sept and I am getting nervous.

I just had a random instagram biz celebrity with a big following tell me, essentially, "You're 40 years old and not even famous....you have no business writing a memoir." Feeling a little deflated and also gassed up!!!

It's called "Aneela, Where Are Your Eyebrows?" and shares my story of growing up with compulsive hair pulling disorder (trichotillomania) and my recovery, starting a business to help others and my journey with cancer.

I know I wrote it to help others feel seen and yet, the fear of being seen myself!!!
Anyone else get nervous like this? Of "What will people think?" once the book is out!?