In the community area, members can create their own groups—both public and private. Use them for workshopping or just talking privately. Set up a private forum just for the people in your group.

Here are the instructions for setting up a group.

1. From the Groups page (members only), click “Create a Group.”
2. Next, fill out the Group name and Group description.
3. Click “Create Group and Continue.”
4. Next, on the Settings tab, select the privacy option you wish to assign for the group and who can invite users to the group. Click “Next Step.”
5. On the Avatars Tab, assign a specific avatar to the group if you wish. Click “Next Step.” Same for the Banner.
6. On the Invites, you can invite users to this Group. You can send invites at any time. BuddyPress requires you to have friend connections before you can invite users.
7. Click “Finish.”

Contact @Angel if you have any trouble or need assistance.

Note that the admin (@Angel) has access to all groups, even private ones, and the Terms of Service apply there as well as in public areas.

Workshops are a great way to get feedback on your work in progress as well as getting to know your peers and make new friends.

Members can create their own workshops and a private group for them. The group will have its own forum just for those people in your group. This way, you don’t have to worry about your manuscript being seen by a broader population.

If you’d like to join a private workshop in progress, request an invitation from one of its members. Our first group is the L’il Workshop of Horrors (members only). Why not give it a poke and see if it squeaks?

BEST PRACTICES:

• Best not to post the same piece more than twice, at most. Once is best.
• Best not to argue with the feedback you receive. Just consider it and do what you think is best for your story.
• Best not to post a whole novel or long work at once. Post in short pieces (chapter or a few pages). You’re far more likely to receive feedback.
• Give more than you receive. Read others’ work and provide thoughtful constructive feedback.
• You may invite others to the group if you’d like. It’s best to discuss this will all existing members first.
• The group is set Private to avoid non-members seeing your work. Please do not change this setting.
• Give the Terms of Service a look for more on Wily etiquette.
• Talk to @Angel if you have any difficulties.

A comprehensive list of all the video tutorials created for Wily Writers. You can also browse and subscribe to our Youtube channel if you find that more efficient.

Image Editing

• How to Download Gimp’s Free Image Editing Application
• How to Use Gimp to Add a Banner to an Image
• How to Resize and Crop an Image with Gimp

Spreadsheets

• How to Import an Excel Spreadsheet into Google Sheets
• How to Sort a Spreadsheet (Excel or Google Sheets)

In this repository, you’ll find spreadsheets and other documents you may find useful. Click the link to download the file.

OF NOTE: Even if you don’t have Excel, you can import .XLS files into Google Spreadsheets. Watch our quick video tutorial to learn how (How to Import an Excel Spreadsheet into Google Sheets).

• Convention List Template (Excel spreadsheet, walkthrough video)
• Word-count Tracker (Excel spreadsheet, walkthrough video)
• Review Tracker (Excel spreadsheet, notes in headers)

If this doesn’t get your body moving and blood flowing, nothing will. Don’t be shy. Take a dance break. You’ve earned it!

There’s something for everyone in this playlist. Choose one or put it on random and see what message the Universe is sending you.

Dance like nobody’s watching.

Make your own playlist and link to it in the comments! Share what gets you pumped.

We have our own Youtube channel, and I’d like to invite any Wily member to do a reading that will be posted there.

We’ll record through Zoom, and I’ll handle the technical side of things. All you have to do is show up and read. 🙂

Writers, almost by definition, are both busy and sedentary! It’s ironic.

Between the kids, the spouse, the day job, the hairballs, and trying to fit in time to write, many writers skip exercising. I know I did.

After a couple serious health scares, I realized I needed to work exercise into my lifestyle.

I did it in three steps:

1. I thought about it a lot. (No calories burned yet. Heh.)
   
   • I had to get my mind caught up to the idea that an inert body—my body—wasn’t going to be lithe and strong forever. I had to own that.
   • I had to convince myself that I didn’t need to become an Olympic athlete to make a difference. I had to give myself permission to take it slow and easy.
   • I had to come to an understanding of what kind of exercise I enjoyed and thus would be less resistant to. Where was my joy?

2. I did research to find the best teachers.
3. I experimented and found what worked for me.

My criteria for a doable exercise routine were:

• I don’t have to change clothes to do it.
• I don’t have to shower afterward.
• It’s quick but effective.
• It’s fun and makes me feel good.
• It’s something I can do any time of day depending on how busy I am.
• It’s guided by a teacher, so I don’t have to think about what to do next. I can be in the moment.

Here’s what I do:

Yoga with Adriene

I sit so much that I was getting stiff and my hips were giving me trouble. I needed to limber up. I discovered this Youtube series, and Adriene changed my life. She has many sessions for beginners and many that are short-short (15 mins or less) or targeted to a particular profession or body part. She also does meditations that are calming and get your breath moving. Here are three of her yoga videos that I do regularly.

Fabulous 50s

To get my heart rate up and strengthen, I do these quick exercises. Schellea Fowler’s brand targets women over 50, but don’t let that dissuade you men and younger people from trying these exercises. They are perfect for writers. They’ll get your heart rate up and tone your muscles—in only five minutes. They’re perfect if your mind is wandering to refocus and wake up. You control the intensity you need.

Self-published authors often find it prohibitively expensive to buy an ISBN, and if you use the free one from Amazon, then you’re letting them put their mark on your book. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but for those who aren’t comfortable with it, you have a better option.

Filling out the form on Bowker’s site can also be extremely painful if you’re unfamiliar with it. Wily Writers can make the process easy-peasy.

What you get:

• Your forever ISBN for only $29
• A listing on our Wily Writers Fiction site (work in progress) that links out to wherever you’re distributing it
• Promotion of the Wily Writers Fiction site and thus promotion of your work
• No other charges required. You keep all sales from your book. We may occasionally request donations for a special promotional push, but those will be completely optional.
• Possible promotion on sites that give added benefits to publishers (such as Edelweiss and NetGalley). We’re actively looking into making this a reality.

What we ask for in return:

• When you use one of our ISBNs, Wily Writers will be listed as your imprint (your publisher). This is non-negotiable as it’s part of the registration process for the ISBN, and because we purchased it, we’re listed as the imprint.
• We ask that you give us credit as your publisher within the book. We also ask that you put our logo on the back cover and an image of the Wily fox or the blue feather on the spine in accordance with our guidelines.
• We ask that you allow us to promote your book on our Wily Writers Fiction website (work in progress).
• We ask that you share our Wily Writers Fiction website with your social media to help promote your Wily fellows. This is optional but would be very kind of you.
• Because you are a member of Wily Writers, we believe that your work will be of professional quality and meet common publishing standards. We ask for your due diligence in this regard.
• You’ll be asked to sign a publishing contract that will cover both our asses.
• Wily Writers reserves the right to reject any ISBN application if the book offends our sensibilities. We’re not overly sensitive, but there are some platforms we will not support on the Wily Writers Fiction site: white supremacy, for example. We’ll talk it out with you if we have concerns.

How does this differ from predatory publishers who offer ISBNs?

• Aside from the initial fee, we take no money from you. We do not take a portion of your sales.
• You publish your book yourself at Amazon, or wherever you like.
• You are in charge of the cover, of editing, and of publishing the work however you want.
• We do help you promote it via our Wily Writers fiction website (wip).
• You retain all copyright to the work, IP, and elements in it.

IMPORTANT: The following content was flagrantly copied from the BOWKER WEBSITE for your convenience.

What is an ISBN?

The ISBN is a unique identifier for a book or other book-like product (such as an audiobook) that specifies its format, edition, and publisher.

Why should I buy an ISBN?

There are many reasons to purchase an ISBN for your title, including:

• An ISBN improves the likelihood your book will be found and purchased
• An ISBN links to essential information about your book
• An ISBN enables more efficient marketing and distribution of your title
• Most retailers require ISBNs
• Correct use of the ISBN allows different product forms and editions of a book, printed or digital, to be differentiated clearly, ensuring that customers receive the version they require
• An ISBN helps you collect and analyze book sales data
• An ISBN ensures your book’s information will be stored in the Books In Print database
• Books In Print is consulted by publishers, retailers and libraries around world when searching for title information
• The ISBN conveys no legal or copyright protection, however, the use of ISBNs for publications is prescribed by law in some countries
• In some countries a book will be charged higher tax if it does not have an ISBN
• ISBNs are the global standard for book identification

How many ISBNs do I need?

You will need one ISBN for each edition and format of your book. The ISBN identifies the publisher as well as the specific book title, edition and format (hardback, paperback, ePub, PDF, Mobi, Audio…). Any variation of a book would require the use of a unique ISBN to identify it properly. This allows retailers to help the customer understand exactly which version of a title they are purchasing. So, you should consider:

• How many book titles you are planning to publish
• How many formats will each title be created in
• Do you plan to publish future revised editions of these titles
• And remember:
  • You can purchase ISBNs in advance and register your titles any time after they are obtained.
  • ISBNs never expire.

Why should I buy my ISBNs from Bowker?
(Wily Writers gets their ISBNs from Bowker)

Bowker is the official ISBN Agency for publishers physically located in the United States and its territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, as well as military bases and embassies. If an ISBN is obtained from a source other than the official ISBN Agency, it might not identify the publisher of the title accurately. This can have implications for doing business in the publishing industry supply chain.

Once you set up your account with us, your ISBNs will be added to your account immediately at purchase (Title Assignment Instructions). You will be recognized as the publisher of all book titles associated with those ISBNs. For more information about the ISBN standard, or if you are looking for the official ISBN Agency in your jurisdiction, visit the International ISBN Agency.

Let’s get the hashtag #darkfiction reinvigorated! Use it on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, your blog, or wherever you talk about your writing and books.

Using hashtags in social media increases the chance that your reader soulmates will find you. It improves your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) if you include it on your website.

You can put it into your newsletter and also educate your subscribers to look for it to find the posts of other dark writers. In this way, we build a presence and begin to share readership with one another.

If you’ve read any great resource books that you’d like to share, note it in the comments. If you’ve read one of the ones listed and have insight into how useful it is, please comment (put the title in brackets at the beginning for easy scanning).

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There are many interesting podcasts out there about dark arts, but there are few that specifically serve writers. Here’s a list of those we currently know about. If you’ve listened to any one of them, leave a note/review of it in the comments so others know what to expect. Also, if you know of one that’s not listed here, let me know in comments and I’ll add it to the list.

Each of these presents an opportunity for self-promotion. You may contact the podcast and offer to appear. Many are actively looking for guests.

NOTE: Just because a podcast is dead, doesn’t mean it’s gone. The episodes of all those listed here are still available for listening.

For Dark Fiction Writers

About Dark Fiction

Dark Fiction Author Readings

Writing in General