Soul in Words book 3, To Where We Walk, has been released!
To Where We Walk, by Emily Tiffany Joy.
Available now on Amazon in eBook and paperback formats!
https://www.amazon.com/Where-Walk-Soul-Words-Book-ebook/dp/B0D6M3ZBJ6
Posts
The Flesch Reading Ease of the Soul in Words series of books:
The Flesch Reading Ease of all three books in my Soul in Words series averages between 70 and 80. This means based on that score alone, it is calculated to be readable for someone in the seventh grade or higher, which is typically at the age of thirteen or older.
This is another dimension to consider when rating my books as PG-13. Thirteen and up is the audience I set for Amazon and Kindle. It is up to parents to decide. Some of the topics in my books are intense at times. Without parental guidance, I would say sixteen or older would be more appropriate.
Are my books postmodern? Let us ask Google!
Q&A with Gemini Advanced which has full text analyzed all three of my books:
Are my three books considered postmodern?
Analysis complete
Yes, all three books in the Soul in Words series can be considered postmodern due to their experimental structure, fragmented narratives, and blending of genres.
"Beyond Description" is a collection of vignettes marked by transgender symbols, challenging traditional narrative structures and reflecting the fragmented nature of identity formation.
"Subsection Hope" is a series of dated journal entries that offer a raw and unfiltered look into the author's thoughts and emotions, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.
"To Where We Walk" continues the journal entry format, further blurring the lines between autobiography and fiction, and incorporating elements of poetry and social commentary.
All three books challenge traditional literary conventions and embrace a more fluid and subjective approach to storytelling, aligning with the key tenets of postmodern literature.
On the low vision accessibility of the paperbacks of my books:
I discovered that my larger print size for my paperback books, which is Alegreya size 14pt, is suitable for people with vision as low as a visual acuity of 20/100.
Large print books (also known as enhanced size print) for low vision are classified as size 18pt or higher, but this increases the print costs considerably and are usually sold as a different edition of the book.
One reader told me she appreciates my larger than average print size of 14pt, because she normally wears contacts but does not require them to read my books.
With the next update of my books, I will detail the fact that it's suitable for 20/100 vision in the product listing descriptions.
People with moderate vision issues should not need to squint to read my print books. I want the best experience for everyone, and size 14pt seems like the best solution for my work.
Updates to the manuscripts and the paperbacks:
I just uploaded updated manuscripts to the e-book and paperback listings of both of my books (which are exclusive to Amazon, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible audiobooks now.) The gutter is now flawless on the paperbacks.
My previous update, as well, justify aligned all my books to get rid of the ragged right and make it look more formal in format. Ellipses are now single typographical symbols, which are more typographically beautiful.
And various little corrections were made to the manuscripts outside of that. And the product descriptions now note that the font size of the paperbacks are suitable for up to 20/100 vision.
The unknown will be a matter of when Amazon starts producing the new versions for purchase. It could be in a week, or it could take longer.
I stand behind every edition I have published, however. The paperback editions before the changes in this post are a fully enjoyable read. These changes just make refinements for future prints.
Great Book comparisons:
Beyond Description great book comparisons:
"Orlando" by Virginia Woolf
"The Argonauts" by Maggie Nelson.
"Gender Trouble" by Judith Butler.
Subsection Hope great book comparisons:
"The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath.
"Girl, Interrupted" by Susanna Kaysen.
"Naked Lunch" by William S. Burroughs.
To Where We Walk great book comparisons:
"The Pillow Book" by Sei Shōnagon.
"The Journals of Sylvia Plath."
"On the Road" by Jack Kerouac.
These works are distinct from mine, but based on reflection, some of their features match my books.
To Where We Walk approaching completion and eventual publication!
Based on my latest progress, I estimate writing for my third book will be complete in one or two weeks, at a casual pace. I only need a little over 3,000 words, or a chapter and a half, now to write, edit, and merge. The way the novella ends will partially depend on the possible news of several different things I'm waiting on.
Intended age of the audience of my books:
I analyzed the full text of all three of my books and concluded that they qualify as PG-13. As in, the movie rating, parental guidance for ages 13 and up. This analysis further justifies my latest decision to set my Amazon book listings to age 13 and up as their intended audience.
I am still conducting more analytical research on the full texts of my work. Certainly without parental guidance, I would recommend the audience otherwise be for mature young adults.
The specific genre of my books:
My books are creative nonfiction. They most closely fit the specific genre of memoirs. Furthermore, while they do not follow every convention of journalism, they loosely fit the genre of literary journalism based upon how they were created.
They are not autofiction, which is defined as a fictional autobiography. While my books include metaphor and occasional recounting of dreams, the books are based in fact, not fiction. I declare them fit for nonfiction shelves.
They use poetry and prose, which is what makes them creative nonfiction memoirs with journalistic intent.
Kindle Select and Kindle Unlimited Availability Are Here!
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
I enrolled my books into Amazon Kindle Select for 90 days at minimum. I delisted them from all other platforms for the foreseeable. This simplifies everything, because about all my readers use Amazon to get my books. They are still indexed on Google Books with previews there. Two chapter previews of all three books are still available on my website, emilytiffanyjoy.com.
Amazon Kindle Select allows my books to be available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited, which is a premium reading service to freely read books for anyone who subscribes to it. If you subscribe to Amazon Kindle Unlimited, look up my books, Beyond Description and Subsection Hope, to read them for free there. Positive, heartfelt reviews are always deeply appreciated.
Additionally, pending processing, I set up a Kindle Countdown Deal for both Beyond Description and Subsection Hope. This means you will be able to get each of the eBooks for 99 cents each over the next two weeks! I'll make another post as soon as the Kindle Countdown Deal becomes active!
Happy reading!
-ET Joy
Human narration is best narration.
For the record, my Audible audiobook, Beyond Description, is not voiced by artificial intelligence. It is voiced by a talented human musician named Sarah Decker with a master of fine arts. Several people thought her voice was flawless enough in production to be AI, and that is the highest compliment to her. Her voice is better than AI could ever hope to do.
Meaning and Interpretation
This is the soul bird that is screened onto the rotated trans pride flag on my first book, Beyond Description.
Some people see a cross when they look at it. But it is not a Christian cross. It could be a subtle allusion to the Christian cross however. The book is a peaceful protest and tribute to Proverbs. So any indication of Christian allegory is not fully resisted by me.
It simply is not a religious book. It is spiritual, instead. It brings no dogma to the table. My book more precisely seeks to empower the reader and lift them out of sorrow.
It seeks to save lives.
My Writing Process and Why I Write:
My writing process is organic. I often like to engage in stream of consciousness writing. It is often hard to tell when I do this because I draft, edit, and proof so much that the results look quite discernibly planned. I grapple with intention often. I avoid intending in the chaos of the creative process. Then I determine what I intended from the results in the editing and proofing process. So much of what I write is from my soul and from my direct experiences in life.
I am a nonfiction writer with a background in the study of oral history. I am unsatisfied until what I have written reads like real literature. I often only place a fraction of what I write into my books. That is how I reach the highest possible quality of expression for my readers. Every reader of my work is an honor to me. That someone devotes hours to learning about my life is the highest compliment. Thanks to everyone who has read my books and to all who read them in the future. You are why I write and who my books set out to empower. You deserve the best life. You deserve a wonderful future lined with happiness and love.
Authentically me:
I want to clarify for the record that I am not using a pseudonym or pen name for my Soul in Words book series. My full legal name is Emily Tiffany Joy. I publish everything under my real name.
Book Three's Title Refers To:
The new title of my third book is in part a reference to the opening of my first book, Beyond Description.
Book 3's title of "To Where We Walk" refers to "The path to joy is one of pain, but once you find it, that walk, while long, is overflowing with loving friends. Because when you walk to joy, others will follow. Others care! And so do I!"
A two cover interplay:
The inky smoke in the book cover from my second book rose up and created a haze on my third to-be-released book's cover.
Tentative Table of Contents for Book 3: To Where We Walk
Book 3 is going to be done sooner than I thought. It is now titled and has twelve chapters now. Below is the title page and the table of contents. This one will be a novella like the others. It is currently 23,318 words. I suspect that in less than two months, it might be complete. It's hard to say. To Where We Walk is abbreviated TWWW. Which infers the internet, but not explicitly. There are no other works with this title or abbreviation.
"To Where We Walk
The end of an era into another,
A solace within solitude and sanctuary.
©2024, Emily Tiffany Joy, all rights reserved.
Table of Contents
To Where We Walk 1
Table of Contents 2
Chapter 1: Dreams Do Not Denote My Soul 3
Chapter 2: Nothing Compares to Actualization 26
Chapter 3: A Life Led to Happiness 47
Chapter 4: Aching For Completeness 67
Chapter 5: Vibrant Swirling Chaos 90
Chapter 6: Love Is the Story Most Salient 111
Chapter 7: Telepresence Conservatory of One 132
Chapter 8: That Is All We Will Ever Know 153
Chapter 9: Chaos Archery 174
Chapter 10: To Where We Walk Determines All 197
Chapter 11: Use Caution, Always Use Caution 217
Chapter 12: Even These Words Will Not Do 239"
Announcing: To Where We Walk
Book three, in progress, is now titled: To Where We Walk. This is the current cover design:
Subsection Hope table of contents:
Subsection Hope 1
Table of Contents 2
Chapter 1: Let Your Influence In The World Be Positive 3
Chapter 2: I Dream Of A Pistol That Fires Small Flowers 20
Chapter 3: No Afterlife Would Be Safe If I Lied 37
Chapter 4: I Cast Them To The Universe 54
Chapter 5: In A Space Shuttle To Venus 71
Chapter 6: I Want My Intuition To Guide Me 89
Chapter 7: Just Bring Her Joy 107
Chapter 8: Live To Love Another Day 124
Chapter 9: You Realize You Have Another Chance 141
Chapter 10: I Will Not Die In Vain 159
Chapter 11: This Is Trauma 177
Chapter 12: Love Is The Goal, Always The Goal 196
Chapter 13: Truth Is Intoxicating 219
Chapter 14: How Many Tears Will Solve It 237
Beyond Description table of contents:
Beyond Description 1
Table of Contents 3
Foreword 4
Chapter 1: This Book Is Like a Manual To Smile 5
Chapter 2: My Joyous Transgender Transformation 25
Chapter 3: No More Fighting, No More Wars 46
Chapter 4: Cool Prefixes for Time 65
Chapter 5: I Will Not Even Remotely Remember Who I Used To Be 86
Chapter 6: Music Tears Me Apart 106
Chapter 7: Hope Is A Ghost Condemned To Wander 126
Chapter 8: Worse You Have Ever Felt for A Nanosecond 144
Chapter 9: If I Could Tell You Everything You Mean To Me 166
Chapter 10: There Was Once A Skittish Girl 183
Chapter 11: Every Combination You Can Fathom 206
Chapter 12: You Will Survive 229
Chapters with titles:
I have added chapters with titles to Beyond Description and Subsection Hope, complete with tables of contents, to the eBooks, paperbacks, and hardcovers on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play Books, and Apple Books. The audiobooks will have them, too.
These changes should be fully active across the board in under a week.
Upcoming audiobook Subsection Hope!
Official cover for my upcoming audiobook Subsection Hope, second in the Soul in Words series, written by me and narrated by Sarah Decker, with the recording in progress!
Stories becoming true:
My first book has a metaphorical story of me becoming lost in a forest, hunted by wolves. I imagined this back in early 2021. In 2022, I did get lost in a forest in Oregon. And I nearly died. I nearly didn't make it out. So much of my books come to pass. So much of my books are so journalistically accurate to my life that their predictions echo into my future for years.
形容のない a Japanese title for my first book
形容のない. Also known as Beyond Description. A novella by Emily Tiffany Joy.
Indeterminacy of Translation:
The direct translation of Beyond Description by computer translation services that they default select is etymologically a Buddhist phrase that is about something that is terrible that happened. That is the wrong translation of my title. If I want a real Japanese version of my book, a dual language linguist content expert is required. Something as simple as the title of my book is difficult to translate faithfully!
On Audiobook Exclusivity:
My audiobook is exclusively available on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes/Apple Books.
Here are the platforms that this means it isn't available on:
Google Play Audiobooks, Librivox, Kobo Audiobooks, Downpour, Spotify, Audiobooks dot com, Chirp Books, Everand, Libby, Libro.fm, B&N/Nook Audiobooks, Hoopla, and Chirp Audiobooks.
Why is my new audiobook only available on Amazon, Audible, and Apple? And why are all my future audiobooks going to be the same? Because of the terms of exclusive distribution for ACX production. Do I mind this? No.
Audible is consistently ranked the #1 audiobook service in existence according to most review sites. It has the largest selection of all platforms. And Audible cross-distributes to Amazon and Apple through ACX terms of production which allowed me to find a narrator and to produce the audiobooks gracefully.
While I made my eBook and print editions available on almost every major book platform nonexclusively, the audiobooks have different needs and different policies. They must be exclusive.
In any case, everyone should find it reasonable to pick between Amazon, Audible, or Apple for listening to our audiobooks. Thanks to Sarah Decker! The audio would not exist without her work and her voice!
Beyond Description now available on Audible!
Audible audiobook of my first book is out now! Narrated by Sarah Decker.
Beyond Description by Emily Tiffany Joy - Audiobook - Audible.com
Locales
Want to understand localization differences between American English and United Kingdom English? Try setting all software to the UK locale, including keyboards. I did this for over a year while writing my books.
I had Beyond Description entirely localized to UK standards at one point, spelling, grammar, units and all. I converted it back to American standards before publishing. It caused a lot of "colourful" creativity in the process, however.
Editing, editing[, and editing!]
I just cut 7,000 words from my third book, reducing it from 27k words to 20k. Most of the mundane content is now gone. When I reach even more material, I will do that again. That is how quality literature comes into being. If you save everything for the final edition, you will have a far worse experience available to your readers than if you had refined and culled content from your work before publication.
To what is and what will be...
It tirelessly takes tremendous time to tell truly terrific, trustworthy, timeless tales to talented, tenderhearted, talkative trans women to tactfully turn their tremulous, turbulent troubles to temporary tranquil transformative tears.
Tongue twisters...
I am considering dedicating a few pages of my upcoming third book to original tongue twisters. I am certain my narrator will adore that.
Beauty in-between symmetry...
Beauty should not be simple symmetry. It should not be what merely pleases the senses.
It should be in the Sublime.
The Sublime includes horrible things. It includes the asymmetrical "ugliness" of humanity.
Beauty extends beyond the senses.
A beautiful, hopeful smile on the disfigured face of a landmine survivor.
The juxtaposition of beauty within struggle, within the trials of life...
That is far more moving than any supermodel pose ever made in history.
The will to survive.
The courage to question.
There is no light without darkness.
And a beauty without flaw is simply geometry.
I want to see the whole picture...
Soul in Words book 1: Beyond Description, soon on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon!
I am now reviewing the finished audiobook production for my first book, Beyond Description. Once I determine there are no changes to be made, I will approve it, and it will go through a final review before going live on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Thank you to Sarah Decker for being so wonderful!
To minds more brilliant than mine will ever be...
The book of Sartre, the book of Søren, the book of Beauvoir... All bibles to me. All prime movers of the existentialist body of literature.
Somewhere truth is found in the questions but not in the answers. The questions are often more interesting.
But neither questions nor answers come.
Only no·thing·ness.
Just within the edge of consciousness lies a speck of awareness that what came before all this coincides with us and leads us to return to it one day.
One "day?" A heliocentric assumption.
Our foundations are often assumed. Because without them we cannot function. To change a precept of our foundations creates a cascade effect upon all that rests on it.
Without the Sun as we know it, we no longer have a day as we know it. All follows from below, and above reflects the sequence that precedes it.
There are veritable subatomic structures to every belief we hold. Ignite a fusion to exceed the melting point of everything for miles within your mind.
That is how I perceive the deconstructive impulse. That is how I see the process of finding truth: annihilate all it rests on, study the debris, and imagine a new underlying cosmos.
A Musing
Some trains of thought derail. Some carry countless tons of volatile fuel without proper safety measures commensurate with their danger. Some trains should never leave the station.
Privacy, security, communication, and trust...
I may write about my life in detail into my books, but I also believe in the virtue of privacy. For all that I surrender into the public sphere, there is easily as much unspoken about my life within the sphere of privacy.
Privacy is sacrosanct. But balancing it with communicating what needs to be known is an art form. Privacy and communication form a competing set of ideals.
Security provides privacy. Trust is the currency upon which security rests. And communication requires varying levels of trust based on what is to be known and not known.
Privacy does not just involve information. It can also involve the security and unseeable space of someone's home. Even if there are no secrets within that space, the mundane still has a value in private expression.
Being secret is not the same as being private. Secrets hold power. Privacy brings peace of mind. You cannot adequately have secrets without their privacy, but privacy need not involve secrets.
Everyone deserves a sanctuary space to call their own—one free from influence or prying eyes. It brings balance to an otherwise heavily surveilled life. It provides a place to heal from the onslaught of human awareness.
The Cycle of Healing...
One interesting fact of my life is that there is no shortage of events that upset me. But the key is that memory fades about each one. By the time the next upset happens, I will have partially forgotten the one before that.
The transitory nature of memory and emotion creates an interplay of constant recovery from past pains. Pain comes as it comes.
A Musing
I am beginning to think the term, "cycle of death and rebirth," refers to going to sleep and waking up.
A Musing
I sang all the way here, and boy is my larynx tired.
Who on Earth decided to spell larynx that way? Could they have made it weirder?
Piano is a distant desire.
Voice and music theory come first.
Piano optional. Secondary.
A Metaphysics of Memory
The past never goes away. Every detail is there. It is eternal. And the future is always undecided. What will be will become known and then certain upon entry to the annals of past. This fact provides comfort.
Memory is a portal to the past. And it honors every moment upon recollection. It is imperfect, just as we are. It morphs the past every time it is recollected and adds that recollection to the past.
Reminiscence is sacred. It is the activity of worship to Mnemosyne. Her mythological significance to a metaphysics of time cannot be overstated. She is not a creator goddess. She is a guardian of time itself.
This is a metaphor. Goddesses usually are. But to be inspired by the virtues they represent is a tangible source of inspiration to lead a better life. Invoke beneficence to find your future collected into the past as gilded notes of a song sung to true actualization.
A new voice, decades to decades...
In Beyond Description, I said I would "sing if that's what I receive." The "what" refers to being affirmed as the woman I am by society. I am now learning to sing until I reach professional levels. I will not stop until I do. I am going to dedicate decades to it.
A Dedication, among those who suffer.
Among my dedications of my books, I now include Nex Benedict, who left this Earth too soon.
A Musing
Love is the story most salient to a fulfilling life. Live for love, or live for naught.
Words cannot embody love. It is experiential. It is within the passage of time. Hindsight grants a fleeting confirmation of its presence.
Meditative Caffeinated Rumination:
I read somewhere at some point that monks would use caffeine to enhance meditation techniques. This may be true. If used in the right context, it can lead to clarity rather than stress.
I also read that it can cause nightmares if taken too close to REM sleep (rapid eye movement.) I'm not sure the exact mechanism involved in this, but it can be disruptive to the normal process of restorative sleep.
These details about caffeine highlight the higher daily dose I've been giving myself over the last four days. I've been highly organized and constantly improving my apartment and work spaces and overall flow of life since I began the increase of caffeine.
It hasn't been destructive in any way. Outside of somewhat increased stress level, I've been more productive and hold more clarity about how to improve details of my life that I accepted as normal before this.
Nothing dramatic has happened. It's just been an iterative process of optimization and creativity. I've done much more art lately, improving my technique quite a bit!
I am in the process of opening up my social media again to more eyes. How I do this remains to be seen, but what I do know is the past couple months have been dreary. I am working to lift myself out of this mundane routine into something far more positive!
Actualize
Without emotion,
We are lost.
Cold machines
Performing genetic replications.
We are more than logic.
We are more than empty shells.
Our lives mean more than that.
This life means more than that.
Fly to the horizon in your mind.
Exceed all limits within.
Seek out the holy
Beyond the profane.
There is a spark of the divine in all things,
But no human tradition captures it.
No book contains it.
No philosophy explicates it.
From this, there is solace.
From this, there is hope.
For every moment, mystic.
For every science, dreams
Beyond the equations.
Synergestic reality
Of all things and no things
Dot each moment in time.
Rebel from the precept
That truth cannot be found.
It is within the love you share
With everyone you know
To hope beyond hope, to living on in the worst of times...
To any who suffer,
To anyone on the edge,
There is more to your suffering than this.
There is light to be found
Beyond the shadows.
If you cannot take it anymore,
Trust me. I know,
I know how hard it can be
To go on
To fight the fight
To dream of better times.
If you are ever beyond hope,
Let me lend you mine.
If any of my friends
Seek shelter from a nightmare,
And it seems like it won't get better,
Reach out.
Don't give up.
I'm here.
I'll drop what I'm doing
To prevent your memorial.
Dream of a life full of happiness.
You deserve it and more.
-to Nex and those like them.
To anyone who cannot handle
What this treacherous world contains:
I say,
Go on in the face of fear.
Go on until your life
Is brimming with meaning again,
So that you may one day,
FIND THAT YOU CAN HELP OTHERS DO THE SAME.
emily7.com and emilyseven.com, a new convenient way to reach emilytiffanyjoy.com:
You can now reach my official site, emilytiffanyjoy.com, at two additional convenient shorthand locations. They are: emily7.com and emilyseven.com.
These domain names forward to emilytiffanyjoy.com. I purchased the combination of emily7/emilyseven versions today to avoid ambiguity in spoken transfer of the new domains. Now if you tell someone to go to my site, just say emily seven dot com, and they can type either emily7.com or emilyseven.com without explicit declaration as to which is correct, as both are correct. Without both versions, there would be occasional confusion which would dilute the convenience of my new memorable domains. They are not replacements of emilytiffanyjoy.com, but rather, additional easy names to reach my work.
The foremost intended meaning of seven in my domain name is an evocation of a Greek goddess from ancient mythology. Seven represents the Greek deity Athena, who is a personification of wisdom, war, and crafting. This mythological reference is in line with a number of events in my Soul in Words book series. An additional intended interpretation of seven in the new domain names is to evoke the familiar appearance of a television or radio call sign, without explicitly being one itself. This is a tribute to my fascination with journalism.
These new domains do not host email services, and as ever, the best way to reach me is me@emilytiffanyjoy.com.
On refining quality and bringing the best possible forward:
I proofed my second book twice today and issued an update to all formats and platforms. I fixed countless dozens of issues I didn't see before.
Between updating the first book and now my second, I feel very proud of what I accomplished today. I consider the books significantly better.
There have only been 22 sales of the books so far, so I consider those helpful in figuring out the process. The feedback I have been given from my readers has been amazingly helpful and dearly appreciated...
The books and my site are now quite ready for thousands of readers. I want to thank everyone for their support and for believing in me and my work!!
Anyone who has digital editions of my books just needs to clear their downloaded copies and reopen them to have what ought to be the final editions.
And anyone who has print editions prior to today has unique limited editions of the first two dozen prints of my books.
On book thickness update:
I created a new official minor update to my first book, Beyond Description. It will be live and active on every book seller site and every format within a week or two, pending processing time.
I added “* * *” micro story separators like the second book and increased the font size of the book from 12pt to 14pt to ensure it matches the print thickness of Subsection Hope.
There is only a three page difference now. They will look better on a shelf together. I fixed a handful of errors in the text as well.
I will keep the second book at 12pt to maintain thickness similarity with the first book. The range of font size for a nonfiction book according to one site is between 10pt and 14pt, so this change still matches industry standards.
There is only a 2k word difference between the two books, and now their thickness is no longer dramatically different.
I had been considering this change for months, and this morning I finally worked to apply it. Definitely worth it!
A Verse
Zero instinct.
Blank slate.
Nature versus nature.
White out on the soul.
Countless past lives unknown.
A rich inner life muted by fate.
Love is ethereal.
Back from the dead
By merely being born,
The wanderer has found her home.
Years pass.
Seasons cycle.
Another spoke in the wheel
Will be complete before
She even knows it was spun.
To the future she climbs
A mountain of hope
To reach not enlightenment
But a refinement of spirit.
A prayer to an ancient goddess,
And burned coffee sipped
To the melody of harmony and chaos,
Dancing like sisters in
A field of memories.
On origin:
Inspiration is complex.
It is a battle of authenticity versus tribute to those who came before.
Originality is literally origin.
If you are inspired by others, what then becomes of origin?
What is originality but a method of intellectual honesty?
If you speak your mind, and not someone else's, by the laws of information entropy, you are likely to be unique.
But is unique original?
Is uniqueness a virtue of creative authenticity?
When your thoughts are your own, individuality of the prolific impulse of artistry is yours.
The key might be full assimilation of memory.
Incorporate everything you know into improvisational writing without drawing directly from any source.
And then, maybe, you will have aspired to fulfill the muses.
Maybe, you will speak your truth—and no one else's.
Another discovery for note about my first book title:
My first book is called: Beyond Description. The etymology of the prefix trans is beyond. While I didn't make this direct connection until now, I'm embracing it as an intended meaning of Beyond Description.
A Verse
Turmoil inspires me to grow.
Just as a plant bends towards the light.
Peacefulness is desired,
And attained for the moment.
I feel good.
Today was another long day.
Fortuitous.
I hope tomorrow goes just as well,
But with less introspection.
A Verse
I seek solace in my writing.
For in this world, there is chaos.
There is vibrant swirling chaos all around.
To the sky, to the soil, and all the air in between,
I find no refuge.
Leave no boulder unturned.
There are dragons here.
The map is indecipherable,
And I've gone so far there is no return.
There is no return as there is nothing behind
That holds value.
The only way is onward
Into the labyrinth.
Perhaps getting lost within it,
I will find my home.
A Verse
To the whims of the muses I scream:
Bring me solace for words do not come.
Creativity is a mereness to being,
One that drains at the soul.
Limitless yet murkily slow,
The writer finds a path
For her mind's water to flow.
Regarding Beyond Description Audible audiobook production:
My ACX audiobook narrator is likely going to begin recording work soon on my first book, Beyond Description. This is very welcome news! Audible, Amazon, and iTunes, here we come!!
Official Genre of Soul in Words book series!
The official genre of the Soul in Words book series, consisting of Beyond Description and Subsection Hope so far, is literary journalism. This is a form of creative nonfiction. This is my craft.
On genres...
My book series isn't actually metafiction. I was exploring genre types as I tried to describe my books after writing them. They are more nonfiction memoirs with an occasional dream sequence... Fitting into one genre is too restrictive, though. My books explore various themes.
Regarding BDST:
About BDST (Beyond Description Surviving Transphobia) available here: https://www.amazon.com/BDST-Emily-Joy-ebook/dp/B09QRXRJR5
This is an early draft of Beyond Description. It is a very rough draft. Additionally, I permanently lost access to the KDP author account and cannot get royalties from BDST at the link I provided.
I want to use the DMCA to take it down. It is no longer relevant and is listed to cost more than my central two books.
Self-Publishing Platforms Ranking
In terms of user-friendliness, speed of updates, features, support, and ease of use, I rank these self-publishing platforms as follows in order of best to worst:
Google Play Books Partners
Kobo Writing Life
iTunes Connect
Barnes & Noble Press
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
Part of the reason Barnes & Noble and Amazon KDP both get last place is because of the process of trial and error in getting the print editions to look right. Barnes & Noble ranks above Amazon KDP because at least their cover creator shows precisely what the printing press will create, while Amazon's system does not.
Regarding my Soul in Words book series cover designs:
The cover of Subsection Hope is a distress smoke signal. It has hints of the trans pride colors in it.
The cover of Beyond Description has the trans pride flag on it rotated 90 degrees. This means the flag is being flown in distress.
Distress flags and distress smoke signals indicate that someone is in danger.
About the second book's title...
My second book, Subsection Hope, is called that because it subsections hope itself. It looks deep into the nature of hope to decide what it really is. This is a form of deconstruction.
When your dreams are deferred, your hope is subsectioned further into the future. You must work to reach your dreams.
It also refers to the legal sense. Section symbols are typically used to cite codes of law: §. Sub means to be below.
This means that your hopes and dreams are buried by procedure and red tape. Societal structures stand in your way of actualization when your hope is sub§ed...
The future holds...
My working title for the third novella in the soon-to-be Soul in Words trilogy is...
Exceeding Expectations.
This is a working title.
And my goal. The temporary title is what I intend to do with this next book!
ACX Narration for the Soul in Words book series news
I now have a great narrator scheduled to voice my second book Subsection Hope in March. This was arranged through ACX, the official platform for publishing eBooks to Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.
The audiobook format will be exclusive to these platforms. All other formats, including paperback, hardcover, and eBook, are non-exclusive and available on every major online marketplace for books.
I just saw she accepted the offer moments ago. I wanted to jump up and down with happiness. I've had a rough few days, and this brightened my world completely.
Status Update on Publishing
Both Beyond Description and Subsection Hope are now available on:
Amazon as paperbacks and hardcovers, as well as on Kindle as eBooks.
Barnes & Noble as paperbacks and hardcovers, as well as on Nook as eBooks.
Apple Books as eBooks.
Kobo/Walmart as eBooks.
Google Play Books as eBooks and audiobooks.
and
Libby/Overdrive for libraries as eBooks.
You might not know how much work it took to self-publish to all these platforms. It took weeks.
I submitted a purchase suggestion to Seattle Public Library's Central Branch. It is now ready for them to consider.
ACX is the publishing platform for audiobooks for Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. It does not accept text-to-speech audiobooks no matter how good they are. They have a narration talent directory. I'm looking at Author's Republic as well...
I've contacted a narrator who is interested in voicing both audiobooks sometime in March. I sent her PDFs of the books to look over... Professionally voiced audiobooks are the last missing puzzle piece for my books!
A Musing
Sentence fragments are shards of broken glass. You can craft beautiful art with shards of glass. But place them wrong? You stumble upon them with bare feet. A fate unjustifiable! A grammar broken without license!
A Verse
In my mind I find
Something indecipherable,
An encryption scheme only Turing could break.
Within the algorithm
Rests
The soul within the machine.
Body horror in a nightmare
Aching for completeness.
All the flesh falls away to reveal
A homunculus wearing a tiny VR headset,
Grinning wildly in an unsettling manner.
This is the digital cogito
Seeking not deceptive demons
But Hollywood existenz.
Simulated love.
Simulated charity.
Simulacra seeking nothing.
The vagrants die in the cold,
As the life spectators save
Virtual lives,
As they virtually live for nothing
But shadows on the cave wall...
A Musing
I no longer use contractions. I use expansions. I do not like casual writing now. I am learning to be formal. One does not aspire to literature in “isn'ts and don'ts," outside of quotations...
About a book title...
Beyond Description has two senses both embraced:
1: To be beyond your ability to describe.
2: To describe the Beyond.
A prayer to Mnemosyne is the origin of the series title, Soul in Words...
Beyond Description prays to Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory. The prayer ends with: “In this, most of you might finally read my soul within these words."
This is where my book series Soul in Words gets its name. It refers to Mnemosyne as my muse...
A Verse
If I knew what I wanted to say, I would say it.
But silence sometimes speaks louder than verse
Punctuated by 38 years spent in misunderstanding
The nature of my existence.
There is no way but North
through this mountain pass.
And time follows close behind.
The road ahead might be rocky,
but it's sure and true.
If you always live in safety,
your life is not always that interesting...
A Musing
Aesthetics supersede ethics. How is this possible? Because if you do not know what good and evil look like, you can never have a foundation of ethics. Aesthetics can sense good and evil because it knows what they look like and can intuit them.
A Verse
I have lived for 41 years,
And meaning has been hard to grasp
For I never want to conclude
The quest for a solution
To the problems of life.
There is no end but synapse halt.
And it's no one's fault.
Truth is what matters.
There is no single destination.
Everyone has a different way across the river.