Sporadic Ramblings and Nerdery

WILLIE MINGUS!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Jeff! Meets Daredevil #1 (2026)

Very glad OP decided to draw it for us to clear things up xD

here's what we sketched during this week's #Paleostream flocking

this week we sketched Dynamognathus, Juxia, Presbyornis, and Nimbacinus

Major Mapleleaf (Louis Sadler Jr) profile

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z volume 7 Trade paperback, 2009

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There are many people who dream of writing and publishing their stories, which means that there are a lot of writers to be taken advantage of. Here are some tips to consider before giving anyone your money:

1. Publishers

You should never have to pay someone to publish your book!

Publishers get money from book sales. In exchange for doing the publishing work, they receive elements of your copyright and a large percentage of the profit from your sales. They only get paid when you do.

If a publisher asks you to pay to get published, it’s probably a vanity press. Signing with a vanity press is a lose/lose situation. You lose your copyright and your money. Don’t do it.

Obviously, if you self-publish, you’ll need to make some investments prior to publication. However, most self-publishing platforms are print-on-demand, which means that they also only get paid when you do. In exchange for the use of the platform and handling orders, they receive a percentage of the sales revenue.

2. Literary agents

You should never pay a literary agent to read your work or take you on as a client.

Just as with publishers, agents get paid when you do! In exchange for their work, a literary agent receives a percentage of your advance and royalties, which you only receive once the book is sold to a publisher and to readers.

An agent asking you for money is a scam. Stay away!

3. Editors

This is perhaps the most difficult one, because there’s a lot of grey area. And a lot of exploitation.

With the rise of online remote working, everyone and their mother has decided to become a “freelance editor”. And while there’s certainly no law prohibiting it, you should be cautious before paying someone to edit your work.

If someone asks for money, they are holding themself out to be a professional. Being a real editor requires specific education/qualifications and experience.

Being a writer/reader is vastly different from being an editor. Someone can be a bestselling author with an English degree and not be qualified to be an editor. They are different skills.

So, be sure to enquire about an “editor’s” qualifications and experience. Ask which works they’ve edited and if they have testimonials. They should be honest and charge in relation to their level of education/experience.

So, this doesn’t mean everyone holding themselves out as editors are scammers. It just means that you need to consider all the information to determine whether you trust this person with your money and your writing.

4. Writing courses

There are a lot of online courses for writers out there. And once again, you need to consider the person’s qualifications and experience before you give them money.

Some people have very little writing and publishing experience, or they aren’t that good at what they do - but they charge 100s of dollars to teach you.

So, check out that person’s work and sales. If you think that they can teach you something and that their knowledge is worth what they’re charging, go for it.

Also, look at testimonials regarding the specific course. A lot of the time it’s only a consolidation of info you can easily find for free.

Basically, just make sure it’s worth it before you pay.

Obviously, there’s a different level of scrutiny required for free writing advice. In terms of the latter, I would recommend taking in as much as possible and deciding what you want to apply. Any writer is qualified to offer free writing advice, because everyone can decide whether they want to listen to it or not. No money is lost.

So, I hope that this list can help you make good decisions regarding who you trust with your money and your work.

/Devils/Fallen "Angels"/Underworld Monsters.

I've seen a few great ones for both listed options, but which do you prefer?

In an urban fantasy setting, I'm kind of partial to the idea that they exist in a parallel to our world but can't physically interact with anything except in specific circumstances (possession, communication with magic or arcane science etc). That way, if the story involves something physically manifesting, that becomes a Big Deal to the heroes as it's the equivalent of a computer virus becoming physical and mauling someone.

In a constructed world fantasy setting, I'm kind of partial to demons coming from a variety of sources (negative things powered by belief, sufficiently powerful formerly mortal magicians, the results of botched spells etc.) as it makes for a wider cosmology than them just being alien entities from a Hell equivalent dimension.

But if it helps, it's an extremely low magic setting. And by low magic, I mean, any magic in the setting is just SCIENCE!

196 PAGE DIGITAL PDF, PHYSICAL VERSION TO COME! This is identical to the Mortasheen core rulebook EXCEPT it cuts the monster bestiary down from 170+ monsters to just 41, and it's exactly half the price.

If you get this and then decide you want all the monsters, you can get all of them in Bestiary Zero, digital version buyable here. Together the two books equal both the content and cost of the core book! I just split it into two! Reblogs and boosts of this also help me a lot, whether or not you're getting a copy or already did.

If you don't know what Mortasheen is but your interest is piqued: