Rory Price @RoryPrice@writing.exchange

Hey everyone. My name is Rory Price and I'm a science-fiction writer. I recently self-published my first novel, Opt Out. It follows a group of free software activist who get very worried about a new form of invasive proprietary technology known as smart implants.

Other than that, I'm a dedicated free software user and take privacy very seriously. I'm very interested in storytelling in general.

Check out my website at https://roryprice.net/

I got my covid shot earlier today. It feels like a big weight off my shoulders.

Wow, it seems like my Mastodon profile just exploded. Thanks for all the new follows.

I'm getting my covid shot next week. Exciting!

And first draft complete. I might take a short break before I start reworking it. Writing my next novel actually went by pretty quickly, even while working a full time job.

Am I the only one who spends forever looking at Mastodon, wondering what to say? I've been feeling like I have nothing to share lately.

I had a productive weekend, writing. I finished that one chapter I'd been struggling with. It's looking like I might finish that first draft relatively soon.

I hate daylight savings. I can already tell everyone's gonna be grumpy at work tomorrow, due to losing an hour of sleep.

Probably the most annoying part of letting people download my book for free is getting excited that I got a bunch of new downloads, only to realize they all came from bots and crawlers.

I hope you enjoyed Opt Out, Apple-bot, cause you sure download it a lot.

I got some work done towards releasing a print version of Opt Out today. I'd been leaving it aside for too long.

In the same vein, can anyone recommend marketing services that are actually worth it? I'm thinking in investing there, but I'd rather avoid Amazon-centric services and I'm not interested in any sort of social media coaching. Really, I have no idea how to market a book outside of what I'm doing here.

While I obviously don't write as much as I used to before I started this new job, I kinda like the schedule I have right now. I feel like when I do sit down to write, it's more productive and rewarding.

I guess I'll see if I still feel that way once I'm in the twentieth round of edits. First drafts are always the most fun part.

I think I might be getting carried away when it comes to my next book. I keep adding more chapters, more details, and a higher word count. I have to keep reminding myself that the book can be as long as it needs. Part of why I self-publish is so I don't have to deal with arbitrary rules.

So yeah, I might be writing a brick. We'll see.

I started a new job two weeks ago. It's nice to get back into normal life to a degree, but I haven't written in a while, or really been active online at all. I should try to work on my next book today, or maybe write a blog post. I have no idea what I'd blog about though.

The more I do it, the more I hate formatting. Everything having to do with graphics design is just so alien to me. I feel like I have to look up every single slightly technical term, and then have to research most of the vocabulary used in the definition.

I want to learn, but man is my brain not wired for this shit.

I ended up watching "Bye Bye 2020" yesterday, which is a comedy show that airs every New Years in Quebec. I've been treated to some honestly insulting attempts at mocking the people who needed money from the government to survive the pandemic. The whole thing reeked of capitalist propaganda, and I'm utterly disgusted that Radio-Canada (French CBC) aired it.

Here's to hoping we learn from the pandemic and start building a fair society that treats everyone with dignity.