Character Takeover: Harry Finn

by Keri Rozansky | Feb 19, 2025 | Blog

I’m a bar owner, not a writer. The most I do is write emails to suppliers who won’t deliver when they promise. I looked, and some of the people who have taken over this blog have talked about themselves, their worries and doubts, and whatever. Pam talked about how she hated certain things about her life. Me, I just don’t care.

Like I said, I’m a bar owner, not a writer. Yeah, me and Pam have a past, but that’s really none of your business, is it? Has it influenced our current relationship? Sure, but so does that twit of a husband of hers.

What I want to know is why the hell that Ellison detective guy seems to think I have anything to do with anything. Pam coming to my bar to visit a friend and have a drink, and that idiot Phineas Greene living only a few blocks away shouldn’t have anything to do with what he’s investigating. Ever hear of coincidence, Ellison?

Damn cops want to make whatever connection they can to get their investigation over and done with. Why don’t you look at the real criminals? Next you’re going to ask me how I know who the real criminals are, and where to find them. Nope, not gonna tell ya. That’s for you to figure out on your own.

I’m done with this. If I keep going, it’s going to give me a heart attack with how angry it’s making me. Next you’re going to say I could have said no. But from what I hear, everyone is being forced to do this. Who’s next? How the hell do I know, but I wish them well. If they’re not a writer they won’t know what the hell to say or do either.

Anyway.

Bye.

New: Paid Subscriber Content on Substack

by Keri Rozansky | Feb 12, 2025 | Blog

Welcome to the next step of my social media presence! It’s not this blog, as this blog has been around in some form or other since at least 2011. I have a Facebook page that I try to keep up with, mostly posting links to the latest blog post on this website. I have an X/Twitter account, mainly because I was told it was part of a robust social media presence. Again, it’s mostly for tweeting out the link to my latest post here. In early 2024, I decided to start an Instagram author account, yet another thing I was told would offer a robust social media presence. Since much of the content I create doesn’t include pictures or videos, it sits mainly dormant. I prefer my face to not be in front of the camera, so photos and videos may be few and far between. Photos of my workspace, or the photos I use to put with posts are fun for only a short time. I’m not interested in Tik Tok, much for the same reason.

The final step in my social media journey has been to join Substack. It was part of my marketing and writing plan going into 2024. It took a while to get it set up, as I focused mainly on writing my novel. I avoided the big question: what does a typical fiction writer on Substack write about – and what should I write about? There are bunches of sites that focus on the craft or writing, or a user-friendly newsletter that’s not your boring list of articles laid out like a newspaper or traditional newsletter.

I didn’t want to start advertising my Substack until I had some content up. This included figuring out my theme: did I want to write about craft? Not really. Did I have a lot of “news” for a newsletter? No really. After examining some of the most popular writing-related and author-related sites, I came up with an idea: a newspaper for the fictional town where my novel is set. The Glass Creek Chronicles was born. The next step was to figure out content. The first several articles are introductions to the main characters, nuggets gleaned from the character biographies I’ve written for each.

Then came the news articles. News article reports on the deaths that are the inciting incident for the story. Town events, holidays, events at the school where my younger characters attend classes. A published interview with the senior detective tasked with solving these murders. Writing this as a town newspaper website has opened endless possibilities.

Now to the next step: Substack has paid and unpaid subscriptions. A paid subscription can get you special perks not afforded to unpaid subscribers. Those things could be anything the author deems to be limited access. Behind-the-scenes tours of writing spaces, special Vlogs, AMAs, podcasts, short stories, and more. Whatever they feel may add value to the content experience.

I’m still in the planning stages of some of this content, but it will be coming shortly. Once it does, you’ll be able to sign up for a paid subscription for just $5/month. Watch this blog and my other social media accounts for more announcements!

Learning As I Go

by Keri Rozansky | Feb 5, 2025 | Blog

I’m part of an online writers’ community that, without them, I don’t think I’d be anticipating the release of my first novel soon. They’ve pushed me to make a schedule and (mostly) stick to it. Of course, life gets in the way sometimes and I fell behind. That’s part of the reason why my debut got rescheduled from the end of 2024 to early 2025. I hate moving goalposts, especially ones that have been in place for so long.

That’s just part of the consequences of learning as I go. I have many years of writing experience, with nearly 20 of those under a professional degree. Other than still not always being able to tell the difference between affect and effect (yes, it’s true, that’s why editors exist), there’s not much I can’t do in terms of the ability and mechanics of writing. I hope you love the novel.

There’s more to writing a book than just the story, an edit, and pressing Publish on an online publishing platform. There were steps I wanted to skip – why do I need beta readers when I’ve been working on this manuscript for years? It’s perfect! Well, not quite. My beta readers, bless them, found plot holes I didn’t realize existed, and expressed needs/wants for information that was never followed up on – how did that happen!? Without them, these glaring mistakes would have made it to print.

The next step, or so I thought, was to send it to an editor. But first, the beta readers’ suggestions. I’m still working on them, with hopes to get them done by the end of the week. Only then, will I send it to an editor. After that, the editors suggestions will be applied, and sent back for proofreading. After that, I’ll be able to press publish. But again, that’s just the story.

What about the rest? What is the rest? That writers’ community I mentioned? One of the leaders gave a presentation recently about some of the things she’s working on and what stages they were in. She said she had to work on the “front matter” and “back matter” of the book? What the hell is all that? It’s the pages before the start of the story that include the ‘business’ of writing. It’s the traditional stuff you find in the front: copyright page, the ISBN number, the title page, a dedication if the author chooses, a prologue if the author chooses, and more. It’s the traditional stuff you find in the back: an epilogue, acknowledgments, a glossary if necessary, and a host of other information. It may even include an excerpt of the next book.

While I work on beta reader comments, I’m also working on these other things. They don’t take as long as the book itself, but they are things to consider for the final product. Without the knowledge gained from this workshop/presentation, I wouldn’t have thought twice about ‘front matter’ and ‘back matter’ and it’s importance. I likely would have added a copyright page and a title page, made sure the ISBN was listed, and left it at that.

So with many other things in life, I’m learning as I go. What are some things you’ve had to learn as you go? Had the learning process set you back from achieving the end goal? Let’s talk on Facebook!