Hey Passengers,
I’ve been entrenched in this particular project for months now. Now, at the halfway point, I feel I must express how awesome #antiwrimo is. But first, let me explain the history.
In 2021, I was thinking to myself, with not much going on during the COVID-19 Pandemic, “Why isn’t anyone doing something against this NaNoWriMo thing?” Burst of inspiration and ingrained habits should always take precedence in my opinion. One thing led to another, and I married #antiwrimo to Thirty West Publishing House. This union soon adopted a project, no, a protest against the hyper-fixation of content creation, further inflating the indie literature scene.
So, a call was made, and it didn’t take long to get applicants. With many writers of varying influence, skill, and prestige, a total of 30 people were written in the record books. At the strike of November 1st, we all proceeded with one goal in mind: 1-2k words apiece.
Fast forward a few months and a real novel was born. This includes editing, typesetting, and many emails. In May 2022, the book was published as the horror novel, Those Who Scream. We even had a launch party outdoors! It was a crowning moment in collaborative writing and publishing…until I got bored.
Now, two years later, we’re doing the process again. Except it’s 3 novels ranging from realism to horror and even a literary epic. 9 brave authors this time, and trust me, they know the assignment. The book will be published in May/June 2024. It’s nearly 4/10th done. Hell, the manuscripts are being written, like, right now!
Wow, what a graphic, right? This was crafted by Maddy Brozusky, one of the TW faithful. It’s been the lifeline of this year’s project. Every Wednesday in November, and maybe until the end, it will continue to track the progress of this massive undertaking. With the stakes higher, and with one successful project in the bag, there is no doubt there will be fireworks.
TW wishes to pay in both a contributor copy and with real $ this time. There are a handful of international authors and first-time collaborators, so I want them to know that their efforts and skills are respected and appreciated. Presales are months away, but I want to shift this toward you all, the indie literary community at large.
With the ethos of being anti-anything, I don’t want to see crowdfunding managed by the hands of a middleman site. It’s bad enough the tips being collected now are skimmed by a site…but it’s all for the sake of the book. There’s good news though: we’re going to credit all donors in print within the book. If you read Those Who Scream, the writers’ bios bookended the story. This time, it’ll include a list of all donors. Sure, you may not be writing the book, but you can feel the pride of sacrificing a latte for professional credit, yeah?
Follow this link to the TW Submittable and make your passion for writing matter. Alternatively, if you really want to stick it to the system, you can Cashapp me/TW any amount ($joshthirty). You can even leave a kind note of encouragement; I’ll share it promptly with the writers. I promise that you shall share in the glory that is #antiwrimo.
Long live Thirty West! Long live indie lit!
Yours,
Josh