The Infinite If:
The chess of writing & publishing

I'm seven weeks into my fiction blueprint. Had one meeting with my book coach so far.

I've already overhauled the whole story.

Is this feeling familiar to you? OMG the chess is real.

I've rewritten my entire blueprint, all the way down to the why—at least in my mind. During tomorrow's Saturday writing session (I'm writing this on May 1), I'm going to put my new thinking down on paper. Map out a whole new because-of-that sequence and a whole new Inside Outline.

The only thing that isn't changing is the title. Everything else? Totally shapeshifted.

I'm surprised. This blueprint, it's a power tool.

I mean, I know this. I've worked with various writers as they built their blueprints. I've watched people tear their work back to the studs and rebuild it stronger. But now that I'm going through the process myself, I'm astonished anew—and feeling awe about how hard the process is working me.

I'm also feeling so much compassion for my writers! Guys, I GET IT NOW.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. If you want a dedicated time to write and haven't registered for the Saturday sessions, here's the link. They're free and ongoing, so you can register once and drop in whenever.

What I'm paying attention to in the industry

New Adult goes mainstream

Four of the Big Five publishers (Hachette, S&S, Macmillan and PRH) have recently embraced the New Adult (NA) category, launching imprints or dedicated lines that bridge the YA and adult categories. These lines focus on romance-forward, commercial fiction for readers 18 and older. There's no arguing with the continued growth of the romance category.

Upcoming: AVT on the #AmWriting podcast 🎙️

On Friday May 8, I'll be hitting the airwaves LIVE with none other than the book coaching grandmaster herself ♟️, the legendary Jennie Nash! We'll be talking nonfiction books on the #AmWriting podcast.

Bring your questions and be part of the conversation as we talk through the real challenges writers face, from getting started to revising what’s not working to moving toward publication.

What: Substack Live

When: Friday May 8 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific

Where: #AmWriting Substack

What if I can't attend live? Jennie will publish our conversation to the #AmWriting podcast feed, so add that to your podcast shows and watch for it to drop in the days following our Live. (Also, if you're writing a book, this is one of my top two podcast recommendations, the other being The Shit No One Tells You About Writing. You'll learn a lot to help your writing.)

This month's hippie flip

So much fire and air in the astrology rn. If you've been feeling crunchy and tinder-dry these past weeks, it's okay. We're all feeling that way—and we're going to feel that way for a while yet.

Self-care: Bare feet on the earth. Swimming in a water body. Anything that reconnects you with the earth. Bonus points for water. Look inside, not outside. The outside is a shit show, and the answers aren't there. They never have been. The work is always you.

Dealing with the day-to-day: Simplify. Cut the things that don't matter. Be ruthless. Make time for analog, with no content entering your eyes or ears. Breathe into your back ribs. SLOW DOWN. Shake it out when you're stressed: literally get up, shake, move your hips in ways you never would at the office, swing your arms. Cross-body movement to reset. Doing any of these for 30s-2mins will let you "offgas" so you're not carrying it all around.

Be your own best friend. Have your back. Forgive yourself. Be soft. We've got a ways to go yet.

Write On 2026 writing conference🍁

My community of Canadian book coaches is so excited that we've got almost 100 people already signed up for our first-ever writers conference.

It's free, and our expert coaches are talking about all kinds of topics: self-publishing, revising, tips for writers with ADHD, a panel where we talk about AI (you know where I stand 😂), writing better characters, ways to spot telling...there's a lot of value. Most of us are planning to go to each other's sessions, because book coaches are nerds like that.

Write On 2026 runs May 30 and 31 (over Zoom). Get more details and register here. If you can't make it, register anyway and you'll get the recordings.

Thanks for reading The Infinite If. ♾️