Hi friends!
(First, some housekeeping. The other day I found two of my own newsletters in my spam folder, so it may well be that some of them are going to yours, too. Do check, and add substack to your list of safe senders if necessary).
In This Issue:
Refer your friends, earn rewards!
The Experiment - What I’ve learnt so far
Fear
Reading the work aloud
Being free
Finding the joy
There’s still plenty to learn..
Referral Programme
I’ve launched a referral programme here on my Substack. The more friends you refer, the better the reward. Here’s how it works:
1. Share S J WATSON : COMPENDIA. When you use the referral link below, or the “Share” button on any post, you'll get credit for any new subscribers. Simply send the link in a text, email, or share it on social media with friends.
2. Earn benefits. When more friends use your referral link to subscribe (free or paid), you’ll receive special benefits.
Get a 1 month comp for 3 referrals
Get a 3 month comp for 5 referrals
Get an online chat with me, S J Watson, for 30 referrals
The Experiment - What I’ve learnt so far
Are you following along with my serialised novel-writing project, The Experiment? As you may know, I’m writing what I hope will become a novel-length work, from scratch, and uploading it chapter by chapter to my Substack. The idea is that I’m going to do this with little or no polishing, so what you see is very much the first (i.e. the ‘zero’) draft, warts and all.
Why am I doing this? First, it’s my attempt to ‘put my money where my mouth is’. Here in the Writers’ Lodge emails I often talk about how hard it is to write a first draft, and that I believe one of the most important things to do is to give yourself permission to write badly. This doesn’t change the further one is in their career, and neither does having written a bestselling novel make your first drafts suddenly brilliant. So, in The Experiment, I’m trying to show that (show, don’t tell, right?), by letting you all see my work at its earliest stage.
Second, it’s an attempt to fuse the two aspects of my Substack. I’m a writer, but I also consider myself a mentor — I want to pass on the knowledge and skills I’ve gained over the years, as well as my insight into the (real) world of publishing, in order to encourage other writers out there. So with The Experiment, those who are interested only in what I write will hopefully enjoy seeing a story develop and grow, while those who are (also) interested in writing will gain some insight into my process. There’s more, though.