My name is Robb Coutinho and I am an IT Professional by daylight and a Dark Fantasy/Horror writer by nightlight. I have published short stories on online “e-zines”, co-founded the Brian Lumley “Necroscope News” newsletter on www.brianlumley.com, and was a contributing author to The Brian Lumley Companion published in 2002 by Tor Books. I am wrapping up revisions and will be seeking a literary agent for my forthcoming first novel (firstcoming novel?), a supernatural thriller called, The Luminari.

Hi everyone, I've been off Savvy Authors for a while and I miss it so...I'm Back!

Hey amazing writing community!

I am looking to get my feet wet with social media, but what social media platform do authors prefer?

Why does that specific platform appeal to you specifically?

How do you use it? For example, for selling your books, to connect with the writing community, to find writing meet-ups, events, or workshops?

Also, feel free to drop your social media handles in your message. I'd love to connect and "follow" or do whatever you're supposed to do on that particular platform.

Thanks so much for your help!

RJ

Haven't posted in a while, so hello, fellow writers. Hope you are doing well as we move towards the holiday season.

I have been querying a fantasy trilogy since earlier this year. I've gone through the same depressing experiences all querying authors have, so I won't bore you with those details. Basically, I got a note from one publisher that third person omniscient narrators were out of style. I was honestly wowed by this note, because the vast majority of all the books I read or have read since I was a child are written in that perspective. There have been a few books over the years I've read that were done in a different POV, such as The Martian, which is written as a journal. But the vast majority of books I've read, enjoyed or otherwise, have been in third person and usually with an omniscient narrator.

While this note had no effect on my fantasy trilogy, it did inspire me, after looking at a large number of writers on social media debate this topic, to challenge myself to attempt to write a novel in first person. There was a story that I had been thinking about for more than a year, while working on the aforementioned fantasy trilogy, that I really wanted to write. After finally getting the trilogy ready for query, I decided to start that book. I had originally planned to write it in third person, but I decided to give it a go in first person, because of that note.

I'm now more than halfway done with the first draft, and I still don't think first person is a great POV for a book. I'm not sure if it's this story, which is an urban fantasy steeped in historical fiction and magic, or the medium in general, but I really just don't feel confident that people would prefer this book told in first person over a third person omniscient narrator. There is so much insight, about both the world and the characters, that is lost in first person. Because the character speaking only knows what they know. And since two of the three narrators are being introduced to magic throughout the story, they don't know much. Which means the audience can't be told much. Which is a real shame from a world building standpoint, which is, in my opinion, a major part of the appeal of the fantasy genre.

So my question is do you actually want to read a novel in first person? This publisher, and many other people I've seen online, have pushed this idea that first person novels are appealing today. I don't want to know your thoughts on the data. I want your personal thoughts as fellow writers and readers. Is the idea of reading a novel, assuming it's in a genre you enjoy, in first person something that sounds entertaining for you personally? Because honestly, I don't want to read a novel in first person. If I wasn't the one writing the project I'm currently working on, I wouldn't want to read it from this perspective. Which is annoying, because I actually do really love this story and would love to read this story in third person, even if I hadn't written it myself.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for welcoming me into your authors' community. I am delighted to be here.

My name is Elizabeth Woods. (Lizzy) and I have 6 books that I self-published through Amazon.com and worldwide. I have written two non-fiction books, one of which is a personal memoir and a follow up book. I am a guest writer for the Complex PTSD Foundation where I help people through day-to-day struggles with mental health. I have written a fiction series called the "Cedar's Port series" set in North Carolina in the US. There are four books in the series and the fifth book is coming soon.
I am a mom and working as a second grade teacher at the same time as completing a Master's degree in Creative writing.
I would love to get to know you all.
Lizzy

Hey everyone, we now have a SavvyAuthors Facebook group if you’re interested in joining! Hope to see you there and excited to get to know you all

Join the SavvyAuthors Facebook group

Hey everyone! We’re getting excited for NaNo and wanted to invite you to join us! I know it can sometimes be hard to find motivation or get past those blocks, but we’re here to help you keep focused and on track in your story!

Register below if you’d like to join - it’s entirely free!
NaNo with SavvyAuthors

And we’re also planning a get together on November 4th @ 1pm CT to get to know everyone! Please join if you can, I’d love to meet you all

Also know, it’s super casual you don’t have to have your camera on or speak if you don’t want to, but if you’d like to join, meet some of the other members from Savvy, get some ideas, or just chat about what’s going on in your life, we’d love to have you!

I'm a teacher living in Prague. Currently working on an urban fantasy/ portal series. Nice to be here!

Hey, I'm Grasshopper, and I'm happy to be back with all the Savvy Authors. There is lots to learn and folks to meet.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your sentences and cast a vote.

We've tallied the votes, and @Melyssah's first three sentence won as the favorite.

Here is Melyssah's entry:
"Cracks in the paint on the old walls, rows of scuffed and dented lockers, flags with the names of prestigious colleges hanging in the hallways packed with students, and panoramic views of the beach out of the windows give Salt Cliff High a personality all its own. It’s familiar since I’ve been here for two years, it’s cozy because we make it our own space and it’s ghetto because the kids here do what they want, last week a senior brought a mini grill and had a cookout on the side of the building. It’s a fun, beach school."

Thanks for participating. Please stay tuned for more SavvyAuthors contests. If you have any ideas on topics or contest ideas, please reach out to [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!

The SavvyCrew

Thank you for the warm welcome from SavvyAuthors!

I am a published author of two non-fiction books. The titles are "The Dawn of a New Heart: A Guide to Self-Discovery and Cultivating Harmonious Relationships" and "The Ultimate Best Friend."

Looking forward to this group. I write children's books. Four have been published and three have been self published.

(1) I have yet to receive my refund for the Writers Conference I paid for, despite the promise.
(2) I have asked on numbers occasions to be removed from all emails from Savvy Authors - to no avail.

I hope your new site turns out better than the former, but I would respectfully ask that my wishes regarding the above, are respected and fulfilled.

Unhappy camper!

It's time to vote for your favourite first three lines. (A huge thank you to those who shared.)

Please vote HERE.

The voting will close Sunday at 11:59 pm. EST, and winner will be contacted and announced on Monday September 30th.

If you have any trouble, please email us HERE.

Thanks!

The SavvyCrew

Post your first three sentences of your current work-in-progress for a chance to win a $20 coupon on an upcoming SavvyAuthors workshop.

Contest will remain open until Sunday at 11:59 p.m. EST. Members will vote on their favorite entry.

Please email us if you have any questions.

Thanks!

RJ

Hello, amazing authors!

We are excited to announce that you can now register for the fall/winter 2024 workshops. You can find the workshops and events under the Classes & Events button on the top menu bar.

Please let us know if you have any issues with registration or need any assistance. You can email me or send me a direct message.

Thanks!

RJ

Hello!

Since it's almost the middle of September (where the heck did the summer go?), I'm already starting to plan my November bootcamp novel.

If you are planning to participate, are you a plotter (like to plot out your entire novel), pantser (write as the words come to me), or a plantser (the hybrid approach)?

I am a plotter at heart, but when I'm in the middle of bootcamp then often times I'll jump off my plotting path. I'm trying to get down a skeleton plot so that I can write without distraction.

What about you? I'd love to hear if you are participating and if you do any planning leading up to November 1st.


RJ

Hello, everyone!

For those of you that don’t know me, my name is RJ Garside, and I have been at SavvyAuthors almost since it began. I started out as a writer looking for a writer-friend that understood the struggles of being an author and discovered a community that I’ve loved being a part of for nearly twelve years! I never want to leave.

I have worked as SavvyAuthors’ Workshop & Special Events Coordinator for nearly nine years, and a member of the support team for more than a decade. If you've contacted Savvy support, we've probably already crossed paths.

I’m beyond thrilled that Savvy will be continuing and that I will be back to continue scheduling and running workshops and special events. I know you’ve met several of the wonderful team members that have taken over ownership of SavvyAuthors, and they have amazing ideas to grow this community. I can’t wait to see Savvy grow!

We will be planning to open our workshop registration in the very near future with our classes starting in October. Please watch our workshop registrations as new workshops will be added.

We are looking to do a deep dive into what the community wants and how we can help. This includes learning what topics you want to learn about and also revamping our special events. We also plan to offer a writing bootcamp for the month of November, so keep an eye out for that registration. It will be a fun month of revving up those word counts.

We hope you will consider sharing your thoughts with our class survey, and you can also reach out to me privately either through the SavvyAuthors site (RJ Garside) or my email [email protected]. I would love to connect.

Thanks for your continued patience and support. We're excited to support and motivate you on your writing journey!

RJ

Hey everyone, we're looking at getting classes started up again and we wanted to get your thoughts on classes you'd like to see. Please let us know in the survey below!

Take a look at the Survey

Hey everyone, the site is going to be down for a short period of time starting tomorrow at 8am CT. We're planning to do some routine updates to the site as well as introduce a few new changes to make the site easier to use and navigate.

If you've got any questions on the changes or anything you'd like to see, let me know!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to reach out to introduce myself, get to know you all, and let you know the plans we have in store for Savvy.

I’ve been working with a small team behind the scenes with Savvy for several years, helping Leslie keep the site up-to-date with the latest software, so when we heard that we had the opportunity to be a more direct part of Savvy Authors, we couldn’t pass it up!

We're planning to start making a few changes over the next few weeks to improve your experience on the site, but I’d like to have your input while we’re making these changes. If you’ve noticed any bugs, have requests for new features, or any questions, please let me know.

I’m looking forward to getting to know you all better and I’ll see you around the site!

Hi all!

I am still due for a proper announcement but meanwhile figured Id get some feedback on how things were run before and what you would like to see changed! Particularly around workshops and events, or things you think you'd like to see and would make you more interested in being involved!

I don't like making these "public" threads of this nature, but I'm struggling to get any response regarding this issue.

I have tried repeatedly to contact someone regarding this. My previous contact was RJ Garside. With my communications with RJ, I have documentation that says I was supposed to receive a payment for the class I ran early July 2024 (The Antagonistic Beats of a Story with Judy Mohr), with payment going out around July 29, 2024. We also had assurances that instructors would be paid. Yet, I have not received payment.
Please advise.

Judy L Mohr

Hi there,

My name is Mike, and I am interested in helping our, partnering, or taking over Savvy! I am posting this thread to see if there is anyone who wants me to be involved or not. Please message me on LinkedIn or DM me here if:

1. You would like to help moderate or manage
2. You would like to run some classes
3. You have some ideas for the future
4. You think I would be better off finding a different hobby

A bit about me:

I'm from the Chicago, IL area. I went through the system growing up. Got into Harry Potter and Tolkien at a young age, and started going online to many message boards and digital communities. I founded some of my own communities. Early on I wore all the hats, such as editing people's fanfics, articles, and posts, graphic design, web design, etc. Eventually I focused a lot on engineering and web and founded Audentio, a digital agency, which has a bit over a dozen or so team members from around the world specializing in online community building and management.

What must be some 6-8 years by now, our team built some of the tools used here at Savvy today. We've been around behind the scenes helping with managing the server and web hosting (the energy company so to speak), building the web interface here (the foundation and interior design of the house, as it were), and the lessons system (Im out of analogies ). In general we've been around, but just as hired help. We would stop in from time to time, and always loved seeing everyone and the care they put into this community.

The reality is that communities like this are becoming far more rare. More and more platforms like this are bought by data/AI companies, their user data fed to the models. And while this may just be the way of the world, I feel it my responsibility to help communities stay open, democratic and free wherever possible. So I have offered to step in in some capacity to rebuild Savvy, continue it, or perhaps do nothing at all... and that is why I post here today, to see what you the community members would like out of me.

So maybe an AMA might be a good idea? Ask Me Anything. Looking forward to meeting you guys!

Hi All!
Well I have been contacted by someone who is interested in taking over SavvyAuthors! Watch this space for more information!

Also please post here if you would like to see us continue and your ideas for a NEW SavvyAuthors!!!


Leslie