What is COMPENDIA?
“You’re one of only a handful of people on Substack whose writing is so immediate that it makes me want to read it more.”
I’m S J Watson, author of bestselling psychological thrillers BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP, SECOND LIFE and FINAL CUT.
I started this Substack in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. I was excited about all Substack had to offer — as a fantastic way of connecting with readers, but one that didn’t rely on algorithms to determine which posts were visible, and didn’t rely on advertising — but didn’t really know how it was going to go or how I was going to use it. Initially I thought I’d just share bits of news about my books and writing, and it was a nice vehicle to share the discussions we had during #SJsTwitterBookClub.
But then, it started to grow, and we now have a wonderful community of readers and writers. But I realise I’m frustrated. I love writing, and there are lots of things I want to write and share, both fiction and non-fiction. However the publishing industry is becoming increasingly risk-averse, and lots of what I want to write I doubt they’d be that interested in putting out. Also it moves SO slowly. If I deliver something today, it might be on the shelves (or in your e-reader) in about a year’s time.
There has got to be a better way, and this is it.
COMPENDIA is a mixture of news, personal essays, book recommendations, memoir and fiction. There’s also plenty of advice here for those aspiring writers, both about the craft of writing and the reality of the publishing world. These posts are gathered in The Writers’ Zone. I’m also sharing The Experiment, which will see me write and publish the first draft of a novel (‘draft zero’) - with no polishing and no eyes on this other than mine, and then yours, of course.
There are three levels of subscription.
With Free Membership you'll get the news and the occasional longer post (at least one a month) and also be able to participate in the discussion threads. You’ll also get all the chapters of The Experiment.
However you won’t see the other weekly posts, and you also won’t be able to access the background posts for The Experiment, where I discuss the project, along with the challenges I’m experiencing and how I’m overcoming them. Most of the existing Writers’ Zone posts (previously known as The Writers’ Lodge) are also behind the paywall.
With Paid Membership, on both monthly and annual plans, you’ll get access to ALL the posts, including the news, essays, fiction and both the background to The Experiment and the chapters themselves. You’ll be able to read the entire archive of Writers’ Lodge posts and access all those going forwards, as well as participate in the threads etc.
In addition, you’ll also get a discount on my COACHING packages, should you want more 1:1 support for your writing.
If you’re not sure about going paid, rest assured. It’s easy to cancel at any time.
Finally, If you sign up for COMPENDIA-PLUS, you’ll get all the benefits of Paid Membership, PLUS personalised reading recommendations, one half-hour online meeting with me, access to a fortnightly Q&A session, and if you’re a writer there’ll be regular competitions to have your work featured in COMPENDIA.
The cost of COMPENDIA-PLUS is £99 per year.
Keep in touch
This is a space for readers and writers alike, so do feel free to post comments, make suggestions and offer thoughts of your own. I promise to read them all, and will comment whenever I can!
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Happy reading/writing!
