Watching from the shadows

[princess-quiet]

trying to spell necessary like

[lou983]

That’s correct in parseltongue.

[kosmonauttihai]

Turns out the OP of the post I reblogged yesterday about fixing your tumblr being stuck in explicit mode is a nazi (because of course, thank you ever so much for keeping this site ~family friendly~ or whatever, staff).

The post is this, for those wondering if you’ve reblogged it, and so you can block the POS:

And here are the instructions for fixing your blog being incorrectly labeled without having a nazi’s post on your blog. I’m sorry for not checking before reblogging it myself.

After the 17th, if your blog was incorrectly marked as explicit, the setting has been locked to be that way:

But if you right-click on the “[your blog] is explicit” toggle and select “inspect element”, you can still change it.

Remove from the code the attribute about the toggle being disabled.

Which should make the toggle active, so you can uncheck it again.

Like so:

And that’s it.

[librarysilverfish]

I mean I don’t intentionally read books that I hate, but every so often I find a book with prose so flat it gives me a bone deep “I could do it better than that” reaction and that propels me into writing, so I like to keep books like that around.

[kaylewiswrites]

There’s ‘I want to write a story this well!’ inspiration

And there’s ‘if a book this bad could make it into a book store, I can DEFINITELY find success as an author’ inspiration

[dreamstormdragon]

When you read THAT book that pisses you off directly into inspiration.

[lou983]

Genesis by Ken Shufeldt made me want to pull my hair out then write for days. Go read the reviews on Amazon, some of them are hilarious!

[foxflightstudios]

Hey guys, just a warning because I feel like this bot is targeting LGBT tagged items. If you get a message like this one, you won’t be able to view the post if you click because it will send you to an endless log in screen or tell you you need to follow the person to see their stuff. It’s a dummy account.

The message is designed to be upsetting so you will want to click it and see the contents.

I was upset enough to click but luckily I was in the app so i knew it didn’t make sense to ask me to log in again. I then looked CLOSELY at the log in page and realized the url is fake. This is a phishing attempt and I don’t want any other lgbt people to be taken in by it. Be careful out there.

(People are saying that if you do indeed click and give your password, your account may be used to spread the virus, so be cautious of that as well)

[yo-daddys-my-bitch]

May the 10 of Pentacles bless your account with more money than you can spend. 💵✨

[hermes-is-my-homeboy]

10 of Pentz came thruuu

[violaslayvis]

Omg this actually works!!! Thank you 10 of Pentacles!!!

[borkdork]

I could seriously use this money right now….

[ashashi-corner]

Please give me my refund of 400$ soon…

[hermes-is-my-homeboy]

I feel obligated to reblog this every time it shows up in my dash

[hermes-is-my-homeboy]

No bragging, just 100% floored and grateful. Work hard, maintain a positive attitude, and believe that anything can happen.

[virgocity]

So I reblogged this exactly a week ago because I thought it was funny and uh lo and behold, a family friend wrote me a big ol’ check just to help me out of a tough financial spot AND my bank refunded me $32 for fees they’d originally taken out. SO UH YEAH. Reblogging this again in hopes that it brings equally good fortune to my followers.

[penprp]

Sure why not? Jobs bring in money and prosperity…

[leradny]

I NEED TO FIX MY CAR DOOR

[getlostpeeves]

It fucking WORKED.

[888lily888]

Christmas is coming. Please let this work.

🙏🏼🤞🏼

[lesbean-memes]

reblogging because im short on rent

[lou983]

I hope this works for me I’ve got someone who needs to finish paying off a loan. 🤞

[one-time-i-dreamt]

not a dream

I was talking to a woman at the dog park today and she has a Facebook page for her dogs with around 200 likes where she posts pictures of them and original content, and we were chatting about that. I was complimenting her on it and expressed my interest in making a page for my dogs too because I already take like 5000 pictures of them per day, and she got really rude to me (did she feel threatened by my hypothetical page? Idk) and ended up telling me that such things aren’t for everyone and that I should stick to something I can be good at. She was so condescending and talked down to me in such an ugly way that I’ve been sitting here for the past 20 minutes, debating if I should just make that page to spite her or something like that.

[tieflingteef]

do it

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I took everybody’s advice and made the page. I decided to call it “Pawble Trouble” because I have two dogs and they have paws, idk, like Double Trouble? I thought it was cute. Here it is. Thank you everyone for your advice. I have 2 likes now. I’m on the right track.

[one-time-i-dreamt]

The first post (Ragnar was incredibly patient when I put my hat on him)!

[one-time-i-dreamt]

Second post! She’s my little princess!

[one-time-i-dreamt]

WE DID IT! Thank you Tumblr, I couldn’t have done it without you all, I’m speechless, you guys really made this happen. My dogs thank you as well!

[kuntsuragi]

anyone else fucking LOVE BEING IN BED???

[juniorjewel]

bitch im in bed right now!! how did you know!!

[heejinpilled]

reblog if ur in bed

[yorkiepug]

Ohhh boy, so whose actually gunna be at this thing then? Loo, Rupert and dead body #3?

Hope yall didn’t pay too much for those tickets, But I guess it’s not everyday that you can take a picture is Sherlock’s secret cave that was on screen for like one minute.

[narcissus-garden]

*open fingers quote* were all trying to rearrange their schedules so theyy could be part of the event * close fingers quote*

[lou983]

More like they rearranged their schedules so they WOULDN’T have to go to the event. They don’t want to answer questions.

Warning to writers

While you are worrying about whether beta readers will steal your ideas, there is a more genuine threat on the horizon.

When offered a publishing contract, please do all your research before you sign. There are a number of fakes and scammers out there, as well as good-intentioned amateurs that don’t know how to get your work to a wide audience. I won’t tell the heartbreaking stories here - there are too many.

Being published badly is worse than being never published.

It can destroy your career and your dreams.

The quick check is to google the publishing house name + scam or warning.

But, to be sure, check with these places first. They aren’t infallible (nothing is) but they can help you protect yourself. They are written and maintained by expereinced writers, editors, publishers and legal folks.

Absolute Write: Bewares and Background Checks

Preditors and editors

Writer Beware

and the WRITER BEWARE blog

Keep yourself and your work safe.

This is really important, so if you are a writer or have writer friends, or you are a writing blog, please reblog it.

[rosey-buddy]

Just to let you know, PublishAmerica changed their name to America Star Books.

[lunamax1214]

HEAD’S UP, WRITER TYPES: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PSA!

[oldmanyellsatcloud]

Also applies to many so-called freelance sites that are just content mills, and may not pay unless your work is used, even if the contract seems designed otherwise.

[konekat]

Listen, reading these is like legit reading horror stories.  When it comes to publishing your writing, always, always, ALWAYS do your research.  Not only will it help you avoid scams, but it will also be likely to help you land a much better fit for an agent/publisher/whatever.  Knowing more is never going to hurt.

[glorious74-deactivated20181211]

Omg!!! Thanks for the warning! Writers— reblog!

[thegirlwiththebook]

I’ve heard stories like this that are scarier than horror stories. This is an all time worst nightmare for a writer. Everyone reblog and make sure you keep your work safe! 

[the960writers]

Always, ALWAYS check Writer Beware. Let me also recommend Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s blog about contracts and contract scams for authors in her section Business Musings.

[more-legit-gr8er-writing-tips]

Reblogging again for the links. Also check pred-ed.com and the Absolute Write forum. Then google Publisher’s name + scam and see what comes up. Do NOT use the BBB ratings, they are wholly unsuitable for rating publishers and regularly give A ratings to well-known publishing scams. You can also read my own post on publishing scams, have a link on the left of my blog ( can’t link here, I’m on mobile, sorry).

[bodaciousbanshee-deactivated202]

@korrigu

[breelandwalker]

SUPER IMPORTANT PSA!

Equally important to know is that you can SELF-PUBLISH through a number of platforms these days. @ean-amhran and I used Amazon’s CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing to publish both of our books. No editors, no contracts, no finagling with publishers who want to change your materials. Just direct-to-market material.

(Granted, it means you’ve got to do a LOT more work yourself with editing and formatting and cover art, but it’s worth it to miss the headache of trying to bargain with publishing houses or avoid scams.)

Be vigilant, fellow writers!

[jenniferrpovey]

If you choose to self publish then HAVE A PLAN and think things through.

And hire an editor. Please, for the love of all that is holy, hire an editor. It’s expensive, but you will get a better book out, a better reputation…

[athelind]

If you’re going to publish electronically, make sure you also get someone who can LAY AN EBOOK OUT PROPERLY.

I have spent money on Kindle books, many of them reprints of older works, whose formatting is so messed up as to render them unreadable.

[jenniferrpovey]

I actually recommend using the Smashwords Style Guide even if you don’t use Smashwords.

It lays out how to neatly format an e-book in a wonderful step by step format, and you can get it free from Smashwords. Just leave off the couple of things that are (very obviously) Smashwords specific.

If you can’t stand dealing with the meticulous detail, then by all means hire somebody, but most people can learn to format an ebook correctly and once you’ve done it a couple of times it takes about an hour tops.

[freshest-tittymilk]

@ghdos spread the knowledge

[vorpalgirl]

Because the redirects aren’t working for me, I’m going to assume others might have trouble with these links, so for those who need it the URL for the website to Writer Beware is: www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/ As stated on here: “Writer Beware is sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, with additional support from the Mystery Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and the American Society of Journalists and Authors.” These are not publishers’ guilds, notice; you sometimes see scammers trying to defend themselves against Writer Beware exposes by claiming that they’re “small press” or “indie” and Big Publishing is somehow out to get them - but all of those guilds are run by and for writers, to help support them and represent them in the field. It is the closest writers have to having unions, and there’s no direct competition between them (you could literally be an in any of those guilds are the same time as each other, in addition to others, and I believe a number of authors are).

Writer Beware is a wonderful resource, and I highly recommend it. It’s both a good general guide to the scams people run/red flags to watch out for (such as giving up your copyright entirely as opposed to specific rights, or being charged to publish something or have it edited, when they’re trying to act like they’re a “normal” publisher), and a frequently-updated list of the latest specific known scammers, both in “fake agents” and fake/scammy publishers categories. (The company formerly known as Publish America is one of the most famous and egregious cases, but by far not the only one)

Additionally, for SF and fantasy writers, the SFWA’s own list of qualifying markets that one can be published in as a prerequisite to be able to get into their guild (remember, it IS a profession-based guild), is a great guide to normal markets for those genres that have standard contracts that aren’t abusive or scammy, and their guidelines include some of the industry-standard minimums for “per word” etc rates, so even if some new magazine market isn’t on their list, you can tell if it’s suspiciously far outside the usual per-word or whatnot standards. (It’s likely the guidelines for Mystery Writers of America etc also would be useful in that vein) Even if you’re unpublished or don’t want to join their guild, they’re a wonderful group and resource, and I highly recommend their site and Writer Beware in particular! The other sites mentioned above, such as “Preditors and Editors” should be still valid if you Google them, and are often rec’d by Writer Beware, but Writer Beware is the one I’m most familiar with. :)

[hookslovelyswan]

Also, you should never have to pay an agent or anyone a  “reading fee”! DO NOT PAY PEOPLE TO READ YOUR WORK!!! Run away from so-called agents that charge a reading fee! They are considered unethical in their own industry!

Also related to agents: Should you go this route and seek one, DO NOT PAY ONE DIME TO THEM upfront! A real agent only gets paid when he sells your book to a publisher! The average cut is about 10-15% of the first sale profits, if I remember right, with cuts of film and other rights maybe being more, when sold. At most, writers should only be responsible for the costs of phone calls and postage.

For more information see: How Literary Agents Get Paid. Standard Commission Practices and Payments for Literary Agents

Edited to Add: Some other great, highly respected resources for writing and getting published are:

Writer’s Digest

The Writer

Writer’s Market

[ms-potts-to-you-deactivated2018]

BOOST

[lady-of-the-abyss]

Sharing this with everyone!

[tvtalk247]

Martin Freeman Says Fan Pressure Ruined 'Sherlock' For Him

After the reaction to the fourth season of "Sherlock," Martin Freeman isn't

When the non-canon shipping wars get out of hand so much that the fans ruin a show for the actors…… Good luck on getting another season.

[lou983]

That just seems like fan blaming because he can’t say the writing for S4 was awful and he’s got better things to do than deal with a show that’s going off the rails. Also if they start throwing blame at fans and don’t make another season they don’t have to face up to the actual faults of the show.

[cooperhoward]

i just found out merriam webster has a time traveler feature that tells you some of the words that were “born” the same year as you. it’s pretty neat yall should do this

[princesshamlet-deactivated20210]

i’m the same age as twerking and bromance guys

[team-ginger-himbos]

‘Internet service provider’….how fucking old am I???!!

[sadpearonmars]

Yuppie, post-traumatic stress disorder, Usenet, wind farm.

[splix71]

Dominatrix, minibar, performance art, tight-ass, VCR.

[jaybird-with-a-hat]

air guitar, limited liability partnership, veg out, yuppie

[gclane]

backslash, compact disc, identity politics, peer-to-peer, self-publish

[jaybird-with-a-hat]

i feel like we need a new game of “guess my age from these words”

[anyawen]

beer pong, retro, sound bite, speedbump, user-friendly, veto-proof, wafflestomper

[7-percent]

artificial intelligence, big bang theory,clear air turbulence, downshifting, hidden agenda, Oxbridge,stir fry,stress test, weirdo- YUP that sums me up pretty well

[alexxphoenix42]

Wow, there are so MANY for my year. Highlights … acid head, Alfredo sauce, baby wipe, boob tube, bunny slope, cold call, domino effect, freak out, guerila theater, grinch, hedge fund, key pad, lovebug, mountain bike, multitasking, panic attack, ROM, ski mask, turned-on, unisex, zit …

I FEEL LIKE I WAS BORN AT THE DAWN OF TIME ITSELF …

[lou983]

😟 AIDS, nuclear winter, CD-ROM. Feeling sad and old.

[bannock-and-biopolitics-deactiv]

A lot of adulthood is shouting “AUGH MY LAUNDRY” hours after you put it in the washer/dryer and running to go fetch it

[curlicuecal]

oh shit my laundry

[mishafletcher]

reblog to save someone’s laundry

[nocuriositycure]

AUGH

[lou983]

Forgot mine in the dryer last night! This reminded me. Turning on the dryer AGAIN to get the wrinkles out.

[nevaehtyler]

“Her fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone, the first of a trilogy about a young girl’s battle with a prince over bringing magic back to West Africa,  is going to be released some time next year. But it’s already got a seven-figure publishing deal with Macmillan, and a massive deal with Fox Studios too, with the latter acquiring the movie rights pretty early on in the day for a book that hasn’t even been published yet.”

Source (x)

[jonesywrites-deactivated2025050]

OH MY GOD MY SOUL JUST LEFT MY BODY. GOOD FOR HER! AND I CANNTO WAIT TO READ THESE!

And you know what, all this does is inspire me. If she can do it, I can do it. We can do it. 

[pixelated-peony]

I don’t know if it’s because I have Prime BUT the Kindle version was free for me just now (Jan. 9, 2018). GO CHECK IT OUT!!

[dkafterdark]

The first six chapters are available for free as a sneak peek from Amazon

[alltheladiesyouhate]

i saw her speak at comic con! she’s delightful and much braver than me (told the audience about her epic zutara fanfiction while michael dimartino was on the panel with her)

[lou983]

It’s still free I just got it

[rindeservedbetter-deactivated20]

hey I keep seeing these “2017 Tumblr” compilation posts and it seems like everyone is deliberately leaving out the part where we all thought the author of My Immortal was finally found and that she was a Native American lesbian author who wrote the fanfic as part joke and part desperate attempt to find her long lost brother while she was in high school and that she was going to publish a memoir in 2018 and Buzzfeed covered it and everything but then some people, one who was supposedly her aformentioned brother, on fucking Kiwifarms of all things, started poking holes in her story and then she deleted and dropped off the face of the earth. because it seems like everyone is trying to pretend like it never happened but it happened.

[rindeservedbetter-deactivated20]

the year is almost over and I’m not letting anyone forget about this.

[hashtagloveloses]

WAIT I NEVER HEARD ABOUT THE SECOND HALF WHAT HAPPENED

[luthientheasexualdragon]

Figured I’d put a link to the article on Vox about it so you guys can see it if you missed it like I did.

[lou983]

Wow thanks for the link, I never saw the second part of that mess. Looks like she was basically trolling everyone with each “detail” of her backstory/identity

[catherinegrant]

PSA: My dash was getting spammed with posts from people I don’t even follow. Seems mobile has yet another “feature” that literally nobody asked for. You can turn it off in Dashboard Preferences.

[nottoolateforthegame]

Thanks for sharing!

[lou983]

Thank you!!!

[boldlygoing-nowhere]

The new season of Sherlock looks great

[lou983]

It’ll make more sense than the last one.

[mediamattersforamerica]

BREAKING: The FCC just voted to repeal net neutrality, meaning we’re all screwed. TV news shows were essentially silent about this for the three weeks leading up to the vote.

[birger-wuvs-elsa]

When I saw this post on my dash, it kept disappearing every time the site finished loading. It had nothing to do with my blacklist extension, all evidence of this post on my dash vanished. I had to go to the blog of the person I’m reblogging it from DIRECTLY. If you can see this post at all, even if it’s for a split second, try and like it and reblog it! Don’t let this post be hidden!