Hi everyone. Thanks for stopping by to read this. My name is Mica Scotti Kole, and I write science fiction and fantasy, and I’ve been running Free Writing Events (the free writing contest newsletter and Twitter account @writevent) for almost four years now. I also co-organized and hosted the #Write4Life fundraiser from 2017-2019. And it’s time for me to step back. It may not be permanent, but it probably will be–at least until I can afford to hire someone else to manage Free Writing Events.
I just wanted to explain why I’ve made this decision. Some of you may know that recently I had a book launch. It went well! So many of you stepped up to help me pursue my life goal of making a living through writing, to download the book and give me shout-outs. Your support was everything I love about the Twitter writing community. But the event, the advertising for it, the whole shebang… it drained me, and the end result (income-wise) did not justify the insane time investment. I also stopped enjoying this process long ago, and I’ve been paying an intern to do part of the events work, but it’s expensive and almost as stressful as just doing it myself. (Compiling the events list has taken as much as ten hours a month, though usually it takes 3-5 hours.) I have a Patreon that makes $30 per month, and I am so very thankful for that, but it’s not enough to cover the hourly work (or the intern) and the stress any longer. I will be alerting those patrons, so that they can cancel their ongoing pledges.
(Side note: If you would also like to continue looking for contests on your own time, I’ve compiled a list of all the sites I used to gather my information. Find it here, or click the image below.)
The Covid-19 virus has also changed my perspective on things. I’ve realized that I’ve been putting off a dream for years, distracting myself with smaller things, when I could literally die in a month from a virus. That some of my family could die, never having seen me achieve my one real goal in life. Complacency is a special kind of laziness. I was so proud of what I’d built, that I forgot what I’d stopped building. Now I have a log cabin where a castle should be.
(My husband says I’m being too hard on myself. But I’m not exempt from my own standards. It’s castle or nothing.)
Free Writing Events has been a huge part of my life, and I’ve benefited greatly from it. It got my editorial career off the ground, which helped me earn a financial safety net to fall back on in case of my inevitable upcoming failures; and it led me to several contests which I later won, including the prestigious Writers of the Future contest, which changed my life forever. But those were sub-goals in my writer’s life. I am now scaling back the editing and short story writing, and heading full-tilt into self-publishing through my LLC, Elusive Press. It will be a very slow roll. At the time of this writing, I am making $4 per day for what was a year’s worth of work (and at least $4000 of investment). It’s not a failure, though; it’s a start.
Social media is a mad but beautiful beast. Perhaps I will be able to return to it one day, and no longer see it as a chore. I know I could simply cut back, and still do my Twitter theme posts–but it feels false now. My heart isn’t in it, so why am I doing it? In the meantime, #thewriteprompt will take up the mantle. I also have not given up on getting an agent. I will still be pursuing traditional publication in YA–but I have some revising to do. The Sleeping Lotus series sucked up a year. The next series will not.
If you want to wish me well, the best thing you can do is join one of my newsletters, either for general science fiction and fantasy, or for erotic fantasy. Reviews for my erotic fantasy book, The Rose Contract, would also be an unbeatable gift. Please share the book with any friends that you think might like it. It is free on Kindle Unlimited.
Thank you for the good times, everyone. I won’t forget your kindness. The Twitter writing community is beyond compare, and I’ve been honored to be a part of it. If anyone ever wants to say hi, you can shoot me an email at micaskole at gmail. I’ll be around.
“It’s castle or nothing.” I feel this in my soul. I’m proud of you. Best wishes on your new journey!
Thank you, Michelle! Maybe it will become my new motto. And I hope to keep earning your pride. I wrote 8000 words today (the official start of my new life schedule) so I’m kicking this whole thing off right!
Dear Mica –
I so agree with you on the social media look at life. I am an Oncology nurse and that gives me the gift of a DIfferent perspective on life and priorities.
I wish you the absolute best in all of yoUr endeavors! Thank you for being such an amazing hoSt!
Thank you for the work you’ve done and are doing! Oncology is no walk in the park. You’re a champion in my eyes (well before Covid, too). Sounds like that experience will help you produce successful books one day, if they have no already. Readers love new perspectives.
Take care and stay safe and keep writing!
This is sad sad news, but I understand. Thank you for all the hard work and time you put into bringing us prompts and free writing events. I’M wishing you luck on all YOUR future endeavors!
The prompts will still be available in the good hands of @thewriteprompt, so be sure to check them out! They’ll be doing it all week instead of having me split them with @SuperheroSat. Anyway, you are very welcome. My good wishes right back at you for achieving your own goals in life!
Thank you for all you have done for the writing community. I’ll miss your regular posts. Wishing you all the best with your dreams!
Same to you! Let’s achieve our goals together! The sky is the limit 🙂
Thank you for everything, and best wishes!
Thank you so much! Same to you in your own writing endeavors!
I am totally with you. Social Media takes a lot of time away from writing and away from family time. I hope you find success in everything you set your mind on doing. Thank you for the newsletter.
Thank you so much for your understanding. This was my first day without FWE and some other responsibilities, and I knocked out 8000 words. I can’t believe this is my life now… to be able to do this every day is a gift! However, I’m sad to go, and I am so appreciative of readers like you 🙂
Thank you for everything you’ve done, you helped me with my book and i am forever grateful. good luck with what we all dream of one day, making a living as a writer. I’ve also struggled with balancing life and writing. it’s tough, but i’d rather be writing. Ellery
That’s exactly how I feel too. And I was so glad to read your work! We’ll achieve this goal together, just you wait 🙂
Good luck in building your castle. Your husband is correct; THAT LOG CABIN IS WORTH SOMETHING AND MAY LOOK LIKE A MANSION TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO NEEDED IT BADLY.
My hubby is pretty wise about these things. He’s way more relaxed than I am. My standards for myself are very high, but sometimes he brings me back down to earth 🙂
You’ll be great, Mica. Time to shine 🙂
Thank you for everything you did for us.
It was my honor and pleasure, thank you 🙂 I hope you continue to pursue writing and contests and that you have a lot of success!