@franky1: That’s exactly the kind of clarity I wish someone had told me earlier – the part about thinking beyond the book itself. I used to see full rights as just some technical detail, but yeah, if there’s even the slightest chance the story could live on in another form, why hand that away too easily? And your take on book clubs really made me think. I’ve always hesitated to bring unfinished stuff to strangers, but the way you framed it – not just as readers, but as a thinktank with lived genre experience – that actually sounds kind of brilliant. Asking them what hasn’t been done too often… that’s a way better question than “do you like it.” Have you ever seen someone really change the direction of their book based on that kind of group input?

@Antol8133: That balance you talked about – writing, family, the money side, the energy drain – it’s so real. I really felt that line about how fewer readers means fewer chances for your work to mean something to someone. It’s not even about fame, just about resonance. And yeah, it gets heavy when the return isn’t there. But the fact you still write says a lot. Do you still have moments when it feels like you're writing toward something – a future reader, a version of yourself – or is it more like you’re writing because it’s just part of who you are at this point?