By
All The Ladies At LTWF
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So, for a while now, the ladies of LTWF have wanted to find a way to take this site to the next level. Since LTWF started in fall 2009, we’ve grown and grown and grown, both in terms of our wonderful community and in terms of our own personal development. It has been exciting and exhilarating and one of the greatest experiences of our lives.
But a few months ago, we asked each other: what if we changed things up a bit? What would we have to do to take LTWF as it stands and make it into something bigger—something even more awesome?
So we talked. And talked. And talked. Many skype chats, google documents, and email chains later, we all agreed:
In order to grow, we had to undergo a major transformation. We’d have to take the best parts of LTWF and shape them into something new.
And to do that, we’d have to leave LTWF behind.
Not the community, not our contributors, not the openness of the site, but two things:
Our name, and our “Fictionpress authors only” background. Both of those things are closely tied—our LTWF name CAME from the FP website. And now that we’re no longer keeping our ranks closed to the FP community, it made little sense to hold onto the name.
So, today is the last day of Let The Words Flow.
Or, LTWF as LTWF. After today, we’ll be closing down the site until January 9th, so we can have time to organize, to recharge, and to make sure our new site is in order.
And on January 9th, we’ll be launching…
We’ll have our own domain name, a brand new look, and some new, amazing members. We’ll have a new structure, new content, and a new focus. All of us in LTWF will be there—and even though our wordpress site will no longer be active, we promise that none of the closeness and intimacy will be lost in the transition.
We are so, so phenomenally excited for the change to Pub Crawl. We’ll be spending our launch week introducing our new members, who are all fabulous, warm, and talented people. And we’ll be doing a MONTH of giveaways (from ARCs to critiques to agent pitches) when we launch in January.
So, this is our last post on this site. And, in honor of that, we thought we’d do one final Question of the Week—one that we hope you guys will participate in as well.
But before we get to that…
Thank you all so much for your support, for your enthusiasm, for embracing us—for making this into a community that we’re proud to be a part of. For making LTWF into a home for aspiring and published writers. For celebrating with us, commiserating with us, for laughing and crying with us. Thank you for two years of memories—two years that have changed all of us in every possible way.
Thank you—thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It has truly been an honor.
And to quickly announce Wednesday’s GIVEAWAY winner:
Kulsuma!
Email us at letthewordsflowblog (at) gmail (dot) com!
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What has Let The Words Flow meant to you?
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I don’t think there are enough words to describe exactly what LTWF has meant to me. I’ve tried to write this at least six or seven times, but I couldn’t seem to fit in everything I wanted to say. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that, try as I might, there is just no way to properly express how I feel about this place, these ladies, and all of you.
LTWF scooped me up a year and a half ago, just as I was beginning my internship. It was my first real publishing job, and they’ve since guided me to where I am now. I’ve learned so much about this industry and writing because of them, and I could not be more grateful for their help and insight. Not only did they keep me focused on my career, they’ve helped me hone my writing skills, and I can safely say I’m a better writer because of these ladies.
But more than that, LTWF has meant unconditional friendship from some really incredible people. They’ve been there to support me in all of my crazy schemes, from numerous writing projects to graduating to moving to New York. LTWF has meant late-night skype dates, far too many inside jokes, and weird emails that never fail to make my day. These ladies have become some of my closest friends, and I’m so excited to move forward with them. As amazing as LTWF has been, Pub Crawl is going to be even better!
LTWF, I raise my glass to you.
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What has LTWF meant to me…wow… That’s such a hard answer to condense into words. All I can say is that joining LTWF was without a doubt the best thing that happened to me in the last year. Better than getting an agent and better than getting a book deal. Like Kat said, it’s so much more than just a writing blog… These girls and you readers are my best and dearest friends, and I wouldn’t know any of you if it weren’t for LTWF. How can that not mean the world to me?
I don’t want to get too sentimental because then I might start crying, and no one wants that (I am quite literally the world ugliest crier). So I’ll do this instead:
Once upon a time, there was a girl who had no idea what she was doing. When she saw her favorite blog was taking applications, she said, “What the hey? Worst thing that happens is that I don’t get in.” But she did get in…and she found something she had never expected–never even believed possible from “just a blog”.
She found community, support, and fun. She met new people through comments and chats. She learned lots and lots and lots from the other LTWF-ladies and she learned even more from the LTWF-readers.
And the days passed and the blog posts piled up and she thought, “Surely I should be sick of this by now? Surely after a year, this whole blogging thing would feel stale…?” But it didn’t…and then she realized why: LTWF is a community of writers and readers. Pub Crawl will be a community of writers and readers. These are people who live their lives around STORIES. And there are always new stories to experience and always new stories to share. How can that ever get “stale”?
And so, the girl set out to write the next post, to make the next friend, and to tell the next story…
See you on the flip side!!
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The last time we talked about what LTWF meant to us, my answer was pretty long. And all I can think of is, how do I top what I said last time? How do I not repeat myself?
And so I’ll keep things short and sweet (hopefully). LTWF has meant meeting amazing people, geeking out over books, and being part of an amazing community. To all the girls at LTWF: You’ve become some of my closest friends, and I’m forever grateful to be able to spam you with emails at ungodly hours, talk via Skype, and make delicious cookies (here’s looking at you for that last one, Biljana).
To all our readers: You have all been awesome, whether you’ve been the constant commenters, the silent creepers, or the ones who sent emails with suggestions / cool links. You’ve made LTWF worth it; worth all the late-night scrambling, hours and hours of blog post writing, and endless tweets. Without all of you, LTWF would’ve been nothing – and I hope you all move with us over to Pub Crawl in January. We’ll be bigger and better, but we’ll still be nothing without you. Cause in all honesty, LTWF has been a community of amazing people – and without people to talk to, us girls would just be talking to ourselves. So thank you!
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What has Let the Words Flow meant to me? Others have used analogies to answer this (almost impossible to answer!) question, so I hope no one minds if I use one more.
When I was in college, there was a specific place on campus where I knew I could always find a friend or two. To my friends and me, this was “our spot,” and whether a half dozen of us were there or just two, it was always the place I felt welcome and understood. When I moved on from college, having a place like that was one of the things I missed the most. It had been so wonderful to know that – whether I had five minutes or five hours to hang out – I had a little sanctuary where I knew I would find people who really “got” me.
For me, Let the Words Flow has become a virtual version of that cozy spot on campus. I always know I will find friends at Let the Words Flow, whether those friends are the other bloggers or our fantastic readers. I know I will find wonderful conversation in the comments! I know that whenever I come to LTWF, I will find like-minded people who know what NaNoWriMo means, who don’t think I’m crazy because I have a two foot high stack of unread books beside my bed, and who will always encourage me to keep going toward my writing goals. Let the Words Flow has been a cozy sanctuary to me, and I feel so fortunate to have found it.
I look forward to Pub Crawl, in part because I know that this sanctuary will still be there, but also because I know it will be fresher and broader, and that I will meet even more wonderful writers and readers. Can’t wait!
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The mentality of being a part of LTWF is incredibly hard to describe. It’s a group of friends, but it’s also a responsibility. We talk constantly, but we also work, and so I suppose it’s sort of like being in school 🙂 The ladies of LTWF are not only my friends, but my classmates, and they’ve given me an education I could never find in any college or university. I like to think I bring a little something to the table, but the truth is they have mostly been MY teachers. Being in LTWF changed my life in a big way. I had an agent but was still a hopeless noob. I didn’t know anything behind the scenes of the big, scary publishing world, and didn’t have the resources to learn. LTWF changed all that. It made my writing career an intimate and REAL part of my life, where before it had been a secret hope and dream.
LTWF was the only safe place I could retreat to during some of the most difficult times in my life. I am so eternally grateful to my friends here for their warmth and wisdom. We are SO excited to be adding our awesome new members and expanding our audience with a new website and brand. It is our hope that we can reach and assist more writers than ever before, and yet… and yet… I will definitely miss saying LTWF and how easily the acronym flows from under my fingers. This was the best time, you guys. Thank you so much for letting me be here.
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It really is hard to put into words. I can’t imagine life without these people. They listen to me rant, they laugh at my (stupid) jokes, they commiserate with me when frustrating things happen, and they support me to no end through griefs. In return I try to do the same. We share in our joys and sorrows. People throw around the word “family” but that’s truly what this feels like. Losing them would be like losing family.
And that’s not even touching on the sheer amount of information I’ve soaked up in the past few years, on writing, on editing, cutting, querying, the industry, not even close to covering the people I’ve met, the friends I’ve made over random online interactions…
It’s really gotten to a point where I can’t imagine my life without it. I don’t know where I’d be right now. Probably still angsting over whether it’s financially prudent to be a writer :P.
Thank god for these people and this community :). I’m really excited to continue this trend in PubCrawl! 😀
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It is insanely hard for me to describe what Let The Words Flow has meant to me in just a few paragraphs. It’d be hard to explain in a few PAGES.
When I started my road to publication, I had very, very few friends in publishing. In fact, I’m pretty sure that for a while, Mandy was my only friend I had that was agented and (soon to be) published. I used to read author blogs and twitter feeds and wish—with all my heart—that I had wonderful writer-friends, too. Sometimes, it felt like I was on the outside, watching this wonderful world through a window. Though it might not have seemed that way at the time, there were moments when I felt really, truly lonely.
LTWF changed all that. Ever since LTWF started, not one day has passed where I have ever felt alone. Since LTWF started, I have never felt like I was on the outside, looking in. Since LTWF started, I have always felt like I belonged.
I have had many, many friends in my life, but I can say—without a doubt—that the friends I have made in LTWF are the friends of my heart. The ones that I’m fairly certain I couldn’t live without. They make my world a far, far better place. They make me a better person.
So, more than learning about the industry, more than learning about writing, I’d say that LTWF has meant unbreakable and irrevocable friendship. And no matter what happens on the road ahead, I will be forever grateful for it.
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Vahini Naidoo: A year ago, when we did a similar post, I said something to the effect that LTWF meant home to me. It meant community. It was, to stretch a thin analogy comparing books to babies yet further, the community required to raise my book babies. At the time, I meant that very, very sincerely, and I still think it’s true. LTWF is a home, a haven on the internet, but over the past few months I’ve come to realize that LTWF also means something else to me. This blog doesn’t just represent home, comfort and safety. This blog represents growth. This blog is about all of us, writers and readers, aspirers and dreamers, at different stages of progress coming together and learning and growing. This blog is an adventure, fun and exciting and awesome, and I have to say that you guys (both my fellow bloggers and readers) are the best companions a girl could hope for.
So that’s what LTWF is to me — a journey. One that I hope you’ll share with me, and the other LTWF ladies, as we transition into Pub Crawl.
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I cannot *believe* it’s been a year and a half since I first joined LTWF. On one hand, how did time pass that quickly?? On the other, what do you mean I haven’t known these girls half my life??
When I joined back in Spring of ’10, I didn’t even have my first draft of WHAT’S LEFT OF ME finished. My entire writing/publishing since then–finishing that first draft, revising, querying, agent offers, more revision, submissions, selling–is utterly tied to the girls here at LTWF. They were my first critique partners, the first people I told about anything exciting that happened. They taught me so much about writing and about publishing and made me believe harder than ever that getting publishing *now* was doable.
I also now count them among my closet friends, and that’s even more important to me.
Being a part of LTWF opened my eyes to the vast network of writers and readers on the internet. I’ve met so many awesome, amazing people through LTWF–and from all over the world! You guys have all been so fantastic, and I’m so glad to have met you.
So, what has LTWF meant to me? Friendship. Support. Links to crazy things on the internet. Skype chats after midnight–I could go on 🙂
Here’s to continuing all that as Pub Crawl!
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LTWF Facebook
LTWF Twitter
Let The Words Flow 
oh.. I’m so sad LTWF is closing 😦
HOWEVER, I can’t wait until Pub Crawl is launched! It’s such a good idea and such a good change.
Keep it up ladies! I’ll follow you all to the new site! 😀
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Leslie!! ❤ It's a bittersweet change, but we think it'll be a really GREAT one. 😀
Thank you, leslie!! We’re so glad you’ll still be with us 🙂
Thanks so much, Leslie!!! I think all of us were a little teary-eyed when we did this post, but our excitement at launching Pub Crawl totally outweighs any kind of sadness we might be feeling today!! Like Kat said, we’re thrilled that you’ll be making the move to PC with us!! 🙂
Thanks Leslie! It’ll be great to see your shining face in January!
Glad to know you will be following leslie! ❤
Oh wow, not the announcement I was expecting but thrilling nonetheless. I’m torn between depression that this means no new posts for another month and excitement at seeing what this new site will bring us (love the name, by the way).
When this site started up, I (like everyone else) was a giant flailing noob and assumed that there were two concrete stages of being an author: the time spent alone angst-ing at the genius of your own misunderstood work and the golden years of being published and making your rounds at sophisticated cocktail parties telling everyone (with immense amounts of subtlety of course) “I AM AN AUTHOR WITH WORDS ON REAL PAPER MADE OF TREES AND EVERYTHING.” That was it. I wish I was kidding.
You guys smacked me on the head with the Good Sense Stick and showed me how to hone whatever ability I had been given and to, above all, NEVER give up. That this business is a tricky one, but the people you find here make it worth it.
Many false starts later, I’m working on something I truly love, and it’s all thanks to you girls and your advice and your heart and the obvious love you have for all of this.
Thank you thank you thank you, can’t wait to see the new site!!
Oh, Adeeti. You made me teary-eyed with your comment. Wow…I know exactly how you feel because I was the EXACT SAME when I first discovered LTWF (loooong before I became a contributor). Clueless, naive, overly-hopeful…but I learned so much, and I’m still learning. And I think that Pub Crawl will have even more to offer–a rounder education, so to speak (more emphasis on the reader and industry side of writing).
And hey, if you need other blogs to read, you can always read our private ones. 😉
Oh, also, this: “I AM AN AUTHOR WITH WORDS ON REAL PAPER MADE OF TREES AND EVERYTHING” made me LOL through my sniffles. ❤
I’m definitely already a private blog lurker…I’ll have to poke my head out and say hello more now =) Your publishing lowdowns inspired me to get a membership to publisher’s marketplace, if only to putter around for a month or two to get a feel of the place. So far their emails have been my favorite part of every morning (they had to beat coffee to get there, so it’s a pretty impressive slot lol).
Again, can’t wait to see the new site. I’m sure it’ll be a smashing success =)
I love the PM emails, too. I feel so connected 🙂
Thank YOU Adeeti for being with us all this time. We appreciate it so much ❤ I'm so glad you like the new name 😀
Nonstop good advice with cute and dorky bookish interludes? It was like having an NPR for writers =) Following you guys was the easiest addiction ever haha
lol, that is the best thing anyone has said about LTWF ever. 🙂
Ahhh, Adeeti, I felt the SAME way. I always assumed you were either Published or Not Published, and that there weren’t so many in between states. I am SO glad that you’ve found LTWF to be a great resource, and that you’re now working on a project you love! The love for your project is what’s going to carry you over the finish line. 🙂
Okay, now I’m getting teary-eyed, so I should stop writing before I become a total mess.
But thank you SO much for everything. 🙂
Aaw, thanks love! Honestly, I was wondering what kind of announcement people thought we’d be making, but I know we’re all super pumped about the change, and I’m so glad you’re gonna stick with us!
The “Good Sense Stick” – I LOVE it!
Oh, wow,, that is *exactly* how I felt (and still feel to an extent) about the line between published and unpublished. Right now, I’m still an unpubbed noob, even though I have the book deal, because the words aren’t down on paper yet and me and my book are not yet responsible for the death of a forest…So weirdly cool to see that someone else shares/shared that same POV 🙂
Thank you so much for sticking with us and I’m super glad that you’re working on a project that you love right now. I hope that the love for your project stays, and I look forward to seeing you when we start Pub Crawl!!!
Ladies, this is AWESOME! I’m so excited to follow the new blog, and so relieved that even though LTWF has run its course, you’ll still be here in another form…I’d really miss all of you if you weren’t! I actually think this whole endeavor is pretty inspirational/motivational! It’s so easy to fall into a writing rut/get stuck on the same project. As writers, we shouldn’t be afraid to reinvent ourselves. In any case, I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be amazing! See you again on January 9! 🙂
Thank you so much for the enthusiasm, Laura! YAAAY! You’re so right about falling into a rut–for any facet of life, and I’m glad you find our new endeavor inspirational. SEE YOU IN JANUARY!! ❤
Yay! I’m so glad you’re excited for Pub Crawl. I know we all are!! 😀 See you in Jan!
Eee! Yay! Thanks, Laura!!! You are SO right–we should NEVER be afraid to reinvent ourselves! Growth and change are awesome things!
Thank you so much for always leaving such wonderful comments–it’s been a real pleasure getting to you know you! And I’m looking forward to getting to know you even MORE over at PC!!!
Wooot!
Oh Laura, we could never leave you!
Laura, I’m with you – 2012 will be AMAZING!!!! Can’t wait!
This is AMAZING. I really can’t wait for the opening of Pub Crawl!
We can’t either! Thanks for sticking with us, Emy! See you in January 😀
Thanks so much for all your comments, Emy ❤ We've always appreciated them 🙂
Thanks, Emy!!!! 😀 😀
I love your choice of words – “the opening of Pub Crawl.” “Opening” is a word so full of possibilities! I’m so glad you will coming with us on this journey. 🙂
wow… big announcement indeed 🙂
It’s been great coming to LTWF and reading each new post, gaining new info on new books and just being motivated to write and read each time. Thanks for everything!!
Can’t wait for your new launch of Pub Crawl in January!!
What is the Crawl for??
good luck!! and congrats!! and see you soon :’D
oh, and also… hope none of the previous posts on LTWF disappear?
Joan, as far as I know, we plan on leaving LTWF up, so our posts will still be around for you to peruse. No worries!
See you on the flip side!!
Nope, they’ll still be up on this site 🙂 And the “Crawl” is sort of a pun along with “Pub”? But maybe the phrase isn’t used everywhere, lol!
Awwww, thank you, Joan!!! ❤
Thank YOU for keeping us going, too, Joan! Readers are what LTWF (and soon Pub Crawl) is all about. 🙂
Lol Kulsuma, no offense, but the award was completly overshadowed:P
I completly agree with changing the name and…um…criteria I guess you could say of the blog. I actually can’t remember the last time I was on fictionpress, let alone wrote on it, and I personally think fictionpress is something to test your theet on rather than hone them. It’s excellent, gives you experiance of wrtiting to reach a deadline, recieving critique and even the trolls thicken your skin, but it’s only a beginning. Which may not go down well:P
And another thing (I reminded myself of someone there but I don’t know who), the whole fictionpress contributor and community alianetes a) writers who weren’t on fictionpress and b) random readers who may be looking for an insight or a book recomendation.
And I can say to my freinds “Hoi! I’m goin’ on Pub Crawl tonight!”.XD
Oh quick question for bloggers. Do you edit your submissions before they are…um…submitted?
Yay! We’re glad you like the changes 😀 And yup, I know I do edit 🙂
LOL! One of the first things we did when we decided on Pub Crawl as a name was daydream about all the COOL things we could do with it (tote bags, beer glasses–for those of us legally allowed to drink–t-shirts). And, of course, the whole fun of saying “I’m going on Pub Crawl!” hehehe. 🙂
I still vote tote bags.
I always edit. 😀 And YAAAAY. That was a lot of what we thought when we decided to take LTWF in a new direction.
YES! Please tell your friends you are going on Pub Crawl! LOVE IT! 🙂
oh, what exciting but bittersweet news! i can only imagine how you all must feel (or…perhaps i can’t). for me, LTWF has been an amazing resource on how publishing works, how to find inspiration/get sh*t done, and how to keep soldiering on. you all have written some incredibly uplifting and emotionally honest posts that have occasionally given me a kick in the pants, but more often, inspired and encouraged me. but even more than that, reading LTWF regularly has allowed me to get in touch with my writerly side on a systematic basis–it’s a side that i had more or less repressed and held secret for most of my late adolescence and early young adulthood. i am super excited to see where this next step takes you all (and your readership)! see you on january 9th!
Thank you so much, kate!! I’m so glad you’ve gotten something out of LTWF. It’s the most a blogger can hope for, right? 🙂
See you in January!
Awww. Okay, I’m trying really hard not to tear up, but THANK YOU so much, Kate, for such kind and wonderful words. That means SO much to me (and everyone at LTWF). ❤
See you at Pub Crawl!!!!!!
Thanks for all the love, Kate! We can’t wait to see you on Pub Crawl, and I hope you enjoy it as much as LTWF! It should be more structured and with a wider range of industry knowledge (our new members are from all facets of the writing world). 😀
Thanks Kate! It’s definitely bittersweet, but we really do think it’s for the best. As attached as we are to LTWF, Pub Crawl is going to be even cooler, I think! So you can look forward to plenty more kicks-in-the-pants 😉
Thanks, Kate :). The repressed writer side is a one I know well. I’m glad we were able to help you set it free :).
You said it, Kate – this new step will take all of us – bloggers and readers – to some fantastic new places. Can’t wait for January! 🙂
Wow, what an announcement indeed! Every ending is a little sad, but life is made of these as well as new beginnings… Good luck with the building of the new site, and I will certainly be there for the launching! 😉
“Every ending is a little sad, but life is made of these as well as new beginnings…”
That is a PERFECT way of describing it. 🙂
Thank you so much for everything!!!!
Thank you! I’m so glad you’ll stick around for Pub Crawl. We were so scared people were gonna say, “Pshaw–I’m out.” So, thank you thank you for joining us on our new beginning!! ❤
We look forward to seeing you there! 😀 And thank you!
Don’t be sad, Asia! January will be here sooner than you know it!
Hey Asia! Your comments have always been so thought-provoking; thank you for your active participation with LTWF. I am really excited to know you will be there when we launch Pub Crawl. 🙂
Wow, wasn’t expecting this at all. So excited for the new site and the new members, though! I’ll definitely continue reading there. You guys are great, dedicated, warm-hearted people, and LTWF has been such a help to me.
Thanks for doing this, while it lasted. I can’t wait until January.
We know it was a huge surprise–sorry for any shock it might have caused!!! But I’m so glad to hear that you’re excited for Pub Crawl! Our new members are AWESOME–I really can’t wait for you guys to meet them. 🙂
Thanks for everything, Ella!!!! See you in January!! 😀
❤ Thank you, Ella. I'm so glad you'll follow us even though it's different. Our content will (hopefully!!) be just as good. See you in January!!
Thanks so much, Ella 🙂 I think you’ll really love our new members. We sure do!!
Sorry for the shocker, Ella! But I’m so glad we’ll be seeing you next month!
Ella, It’s so nice to hear that LTWF has been a help to you. 🙂 See you in January!!!
This is very exciting news!! I can’t wait for Jan 9th!
Heeee! Thankssss!! We’re all pretty psyched, too!!!
Yayayay! Me neither–new year, new blog, and hopefully lots of great new community!! ❤
Me either! 2012 is going to be a fantastic year 😀
I can’t wait either!
I can’t wait for January 9th either!!! It is CLOSER than we think! EEE!!!
Whoa! That’s one major announcement indeed. Thanks for all the awesome posts, ladies. You never fail to inspire, educate or just provide some food for thought. Can’t wait to see the new site in action. Catch you on the flip side, ladies. 😉
Thank you, Meredith!! And thanks for all of your fantastic comments!!! ❤
Oh, Meredith, I ❤ you. That is all.
See you in January!! 😀
I think you guys give us plenty of food for thought, too! Hopefully all of your suggestions and ideas manifest in Pub Crawl. See you in January!
Thanks Meredith! Thanks for always being an involved reader, too. ❤
I’ve been one of your silent readers for a while now. As a writer with hopes of one day becoming a published author, your posts have given me the motivation I need to believe I can do this too. I’m so proud of all of you, even if I don’t know you personally. It’s been a real pleasure to follow you through this journey to publication and I am so excited about you continuing on this journey, even through a new place. I greatly look forward to Pub Crawl! You ladies are amazing inspiration for the rest of us. Keep it up!
Oh, wow–thank you so, so much, Emily!!! I hope we’ll see/hear more from you at Pub Crawl!!!! ❤
Aww, I got sniffly with this. I was always a silent reader of LTWF too (and I am for most blogs still…), but I know how much the content meant to me when I was following my own journey (oh, wait, I’m still on that journey!). I think Pub Crawl will still be as inspiring, educational, and fun!! Can’t wait to see you in January!! ❤
Thank you, Emily! 🙂
I’ll admit, I’m a silent reader most of the time as well, but we’re so glad to have had your readership, Emily. See you in a month!
It’s always really gratifying to hear from silent followers :). And it’s especially inspiring because then we know that there are other silent readers who have hopefully found this place as motivational as you have. Thanks for sticking with us! See you in January!! 🙂
Emily, that is so wonderful to hear! I’m so glad LTWF has managed to inspire you to pursue your dreams of becoming a published author. I wish you all the best with it, and I look forward to seeing you over at Pub Crawl (hopefully as a less invisible reader!)
Hi Emily! Thanks for saying you are proud of us, and please know we feel the same way about YOU. I am always so proud of writers at any stage of the journey. Thank you for being a reader of LTWF and I can’t wait to catch up with you again at Pub Crawl. 🙂
Oh my gosh, so many feelings right now. I had a feeling the announcement was going to be something about moving away from the fp tie, ’cause it seems that’s the direction the site’s been moving towards for a while. I’m sad to see LTWF go, but sooo excited for Pub Crawl! I still remember reading on Sarah’s blog YEARS ago that she was thinking of starting a blog for authors who got their start on fp. It’s so amazing to think that that idea became LTWF.
I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for creating such an awesome resource. I have learned soooo much from LTWF over the years and definitely would still be a lot more clueless about the publishing industry without it. Thanks, you guys! I can’t wait for Pub Crawl to begin.
*sniffle* Thank you, Kaye!! Goodness, I can’t believe how LONG it’s been since LTWF started (…and how long you’ve been reading my blog! Thank you for that, too.)! I am so, so glad that you’ve found LTWF to be a useful resource–it really makes all of the hard work worth it.
See you at Pub Crawl!!!! 😀
Thank YOU, Kaye! We’re so excited about Pub Crawl, and wow…it’s crazy to think what Sarah’s little idea turned into! Catch you on the flip side!! ❤
I’m so glad you’re excited for Pub Crawl 😀 Thanks for sticking with us so long!
Thanks, Kaye! I know it’ll be a big change, but I’m super excited about it, and I hope Pub Crawl is just as awesome, if not more so! We’ll see you in a month!
I actually remember reading that post on Sarah’s blog myself, years ago! I’m so glad you’re excited about Pub Crawl 😀
Hi Kaye!!! Wow – kudos to you for having it (at least partly) figured out! It’s so cool that you’ve been with LTWF since the beginning, and I can’t wait to catch up with you again at Pub Crawl. ❤
I found you gals’ site earlier this year, and I am so glad I did. As a struggling writer who went through a major non-writing slump for many upon many months, I can say for sure that many of your inspiring posts helped the “big push” as I’m calling it get me back into the groove. So THANK YOU girls for setting this place up. All of you are such a wonderful inspiration, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the new site will hold 🙂
Oh, wow. I think I can speak for all of LTWF when I say that I’m SO thrilled to hear that–and honored, too. 🙂
Thanks, Amber!!!
Thank YOU, Amber, for reading our posts and for letting us know what it meant to you. That means so, *so* much. ❤ See you in January!!
I so sympathize with the non-writing slump and am so glad you pushed past it! 😀 Here’s to January!
Aaw, thanks Amber! I feel your pain – I went through a major dry spell this year, but these ladies are the best when it comes to motivation. Here’s to more of that in January!
It’s so fantastic to hear we played a part in getting you out of your writing slump, Amber! That really does mean so much to hear.
I’m super glad you’ll be following us over to Pub Crawl 😀
Amber, thanks for your support and encouragement; glad to know LTWF gave support and encouragement to you, too. See you soon!
I’m not sure I can quite put into words what LTWF has meant to me… It is, quite honestly, the whole reason I realized publishing was something I could do. Being a writer wasn’t some mythical fantasy. Hearing all of your stories and learning from your amazing advice has convinced me that I can be a writer. Some day, I, too, will have my book sitting on a shelf in a bookstore, and you guys will be far and away one of the main reasons I’ll get there.
So thank you, thank you, thank you 🙂 I honestly can’t say it enough. I can’t wait for Pub Crawl. I’m sure it will be just as amazing and wonderful as LTWF. If only January 9th was tomorrow 🙂
*sniffle* Thank YOU, Katelyn!!!
I am 110% positive that we’ll see SHATTERHEART sitting in stores some day. 🙂
Let the countdown to January 9th begin!!! 🙂
Aww, Katelyn, thank you. Thank you for reading our posts, interacting with us, writing your great novel, thanking us, and being an inspiration to us too. I second what Sarah said: we will DEFINITELY see your book in stores. ❤
Thank you so much, Katelyn! 🙂 I look forward to one day hearing all about your book news, too!
I agree. Is it January already?!
You are SERIOUSLY the reason we love doing this so much! I’m so happy to read your comment!! It makes me all grin-y and teary :’). See you back soon!!! 🙂
Aw, Katelyn, thank YOU so much for your support of LTWF! I feel the same way about LTWF and the encouragement it has given ME. We will see you soon!! 🙂
Is it January 9th yet?
This is so exciting and amazing. LTWF has been a great source of inspiration, advice and general fun.
Also, since this site will be down, are all the old articles going to disappear? I like to go back and re-read some of them sometimes. I hope you guys make an archive of them on the new site!
Hehe, I KNOW–I want it to be January 9th RIGHT NOW!
And nope! Even though we’ll be moving to a new site, LTWF still be here, so you can go back and reread the articles whenever you like! 🙂
The site will still be up, as Sarah said, so no articles will be lost and all old links will still be live and functional 🙂 We may do an archive of some of the best on the new site, too, but we might be too excited with the NEW posts! hehe 🙂
Nope! All of our articles will remain here on the site for you to re-read anytime you want.
See you next month, Marina! Thanks for sticking with us!
Haha, January 9th will probably sneak up on us really fast. It’s really right around the corner! 🙂
Marina!!! Thanks for your support of this blog and your excitement for January 9th! (And I, too, like to go back and reread the old posts!) See you SO soon. ❤
Everyone has already answered your question, so I’ll just say: SEE YOU IN JANUARY!! ❤
Well, I’m very glad that you guys aren’t really going anywhere. Change is a natural part of life… and to change something that is already so wonderful into something that I’m sure is going to be even more so, well that is something to be celebrated. With that said however, I do wish that it was January 9th, 2012 right now ’cause I love reading the posts here even if I don’t always leave a comment for them. I wish you ladies the best of luck with the redesigning and I hope that you all have a very Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year and I guess that I’ll see you on the other side. ^_^
Awww, thank you so much, Angelica!!! Happy Holidays (and New Year) to you as well!!
“Change is a natural part of life… and to change something that is already so wonderful into something that I’m sure is going to be even more so, well that is something to be celebrated.” <—I could not agree more. Beautifully put!!! 🙂
January will come quickly, I’m sure!! Happy Holidays to you, as well, and thank you!!
Have a wonderful holiday yourself, Angelica! We can’t wait to see you again next month!
Thanks for the wonderful words, Angelica :).
Happy holidays to you, too, Angelica! See you soon!!!
Yay! See you on the other side is right!! And if you need more to read, you can always check out our personal blogs. Ya know…if you’re really starved and desperate. 😉
Happy holidays!!!
I don’t know what to say, I’m speechless! I’m so thankful to LTWF, I would never have taken writing seriously until I found your site; I thought trying to get published was a silly dream so big that I should never have even bothered. But thanks to you guys, it really did shed light on a world I never knew before, corny as it sounds. So I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to you guys for all the wonderful work you did. I’m a tad sad but I’m looking forward to your new site.
Hi Fiona! We are all a tad sad with you; LTWF has been a wonderful site. But I KNOW you will love Pub Crawl, too. ❤
Fiona, I feel so honoured that LTWF let you see publication as possible. It definitely is a bittersweet ending for all of us, but we’re so looking forward to in Pub Crawl, so I’m glad you’re looking forward to the new site as well!!! 😀
Oh, wow. Thank YOU so much Fiona! This is definitely a bittersweet transition for all of us, but we are SO excited for the move to Pub Crawl!
Thanks again! ❤
Aww, thank you so much! We’re sure Pub Crawl will be even bigger and better 😀 ❤
We’re all a tad sad too. 😦 Hard not to be. But Pub Crawl should be just as good if not better (or we sure hope so!). Thank you so much for following us here, and I can’t wait to see you in January!! ❤
I just discovered this site and found some very useful advice and what seems to be a wonderful spirit. I will check the new one out in January!
Oh, hi! And welcome! It’s a bit unfortunate that you’ve stopped by just as we’re taking a break, but I’m glad that you’re loving the spirit of the blog. I hope to see you soon at Pub Crawl 😀
Hey there! It does feel weird to be saying “welcome” and “let’s go!” all in one breath, but I’m so glad that you’ve found us and look forward to having you as one of the earliest readers of Pub Crawl. 🙂
Thank you! Looking forward to seeing you there 😀
Thank you so much! See you on January 9th!
Yay!! See you in 2012! ❤
I like how whenever anyone says they have big news I ALWAYS guess incorrectly. One day I will get it right!
When I first found this blog two years ago, writing was just some nerdy little thing I did in secret and didn’t talk about. I didn’t know anything about agents and had never even finished a full novel. Now I’ve completed several epic masterpieces (ha) and am hoping to start querying some time in the next year. You guys have taught me so much and always been so friendly and welcoming that I haven’t felt too shy and socially awkward to comment now and then 🙂 Plus you helped me sprout the confidence to find amazing writer friends without whom I don’t know how I survived. I used to be so secretive about my writing but now I have awesome people to struggle/dance party through it with, which is completely amazing 🙂
Thanks for everything! So excited for Pub Crawl!! 🙂
Haha, I always guess wrong with big news announcements, too! I’m also still somewhat secretive about my writing, so we have tons in common 😀
But wow, Heather that is SO great that you’ve managed to finish several manuscripts and LTWF helped with that! Good luck with querying — such a rollercoaster ride, that is!
And we absolutely love interacting with and getting to know our readers, so it’s awesomesauce that you’ve always felt free to comment ❤
See you soon at Pub Crawl!
Hey Heather!! What a great writing journey you’ve had! I feel so proud to know that LTWF had a part in it. I agree with you completely about how friendly and welcoming LTWF has been, and I know that will continue at Pub Crawl. Thanks for all of your wonderful support over the past two years. 🙂 See you soon!
Wow, considering your prolific output now, I would have never guessed that you hadn’t finished a book yet two years ago! But YAY for such amazing progress 😀 and DOUBLE YAY for querying next year! I hope to hear all about it 🙂
Hehehe!
And WOW–several books?! That is AWESOME! And EEEE! Fingers crossed for when you start querying! You’ll have to keep us all posted on how it goes!!!
*hugs* Thanks for everything, Heather!!
And thanks to YOU for reading the blog. I too was suuuuper secretive about my writing and had no one I could talk to about it. Finding LTWF (even when I was just a lurking reader) was SUCH a huge step for me too. Can’t wait to see you in January!! ❤
Like most everyone else who follows LTWF, I first came to this site with a giant N00B stamp on my forehead. Like Adeeti, I believed there were only two stages in an author’s life (Published / Not Published), but even worse, in my mind, I had romanticized the publishing process to fairytale proportions. I believed in the whole “tortured artist” thing and waited for my muse to strike, and hoped that one day my epic masterpiece (lol!) would be picked up by a publishing house and suddenly I’d have fame! fortune! bestseller’s list! and we’d all live happily ever after.
Boy, did I ever need a good kick in the pants.
If it weren’t for you girls, I wouldn’t have known about agents and querying (yes, I was that clueless), much less the entire publishing journey (auctions, editing, copy-editing, galleys). If it weren’t for you girls, I would probably have still waited around waiting for my muse to turn up, which would be sad, because I may not have made it halfway through my novel if I had done that.
You girls have taught me to keep soldiering on, to show up to work everyday (BICHOK!) and to never EVER give up on my dreams.
I know this isn’t goodbye, but I’d just like to say thank you thank you thank you so much for teaching us about this industry, for all the advice and pep-talks, and mostly for all the warmth and passion you girls have shown.
The move to PubCrawl makes a lot of sense and I can’t wait to see what else you girls have in store for us! Also, I love that PubCrawl sounds like an awesome hangout place! See you on the flip side!! <3<3<3
p/s: There should totally be bubbly at the launch of PubCrawl ;P
BICHOK indeed!! We all love Sooz for coming up with that one 🙂 Thank YOU for sticking with us, and see you on Pub Crawl!!
And thank you, thank you, thank YOU for reading our posts and sticking with us into Pub Crawl!! I was SO the same with that idea that “my muse must strike, and when it does, it shall be DEEP AND INCREDIBLE”. Ha. Hahahahaha… My muse had the last laugh on THAT one. 😉 It was a kick in the pants for me too…
BICHOK FOREVER!!!!! 🙂
And thank YOU, Diyana, for being such an awesome reader!
(and yes, there should totes be bubbly at the e-launch of PubCrawl, lol)
Wow this is some big news! Like a few people have said; this feels quite bittersweet. I will be sad to see LTWF go it is one of the first websites i check in the morning to see if anything has been posted, but at the same time it is really exciting about Pub Crawl and being able to ‘meet’ the new contributors and seeing what they bring to the table. I know i will ‘be there’ on the opening day of the website, it is the first day back at college for me so i’m sure I will remember to check. Will you be posting the new website address here on LTWF on the 9th of Jan so everyone knows where to go?
I also wanted to say a big thank you to all of the ladies at LTWF for making not only wirters but readers welcome on this blog. I used to write on fp when i was in my teens but deleted it all as i got older and looked back at my work and cringed (this is now something i regret as i wish i could go back and see if i could make something better out of it but its a lesson learnt!) however now life has taken over i find it hard to make time to write and i don’t think of myself as a writer particularly, maybe in a couple of year i can pick up a pen again and see where my creativity leads me!
But, being a reader, it has been fascinating learning about where books come from and all the hard work that goes in behind the scenes, the amount of time i used to think ‘why can’t they hurry up and release the sequal to that fab book i read?’ and now i know why…. it has been a fabulous couple of years learning about the publishing industry and following all of your incredible journeys. I know i am going to have a shelf dedicated to all the LTWF books that i will HAVE to buy when they are released! Good luck with Pub Crawl, i will definately be making the move with you. Thanks again LTWF!
Aww, thank you so much, Rosie!! We really appreciate it 🙂 And yes, the new website address will be here on LTWF on the 9th! We’re so excited for it.
Oh, Rosie, I look back at my teenage FP and wanna DIE from mortification, and when I went to university/grad school, I pretty much stopped writing completely. I learned so much of what I know now from LTWF–before I was a contributor, I mean. I’m so glad you’ll join us on Pub Crawl, and I can’t WAIT to see you there!! ❤
Awww, thank you so much, Rosie!!
And re: shelf dedicated to the LTWF/Pub Crawl girls…I am TOTALLY gonna do that, too!! Just thinking about it makes me teary-eyed.
❤ ❤
Wait, what’s the URL?!
The site’s not up yet. We will be putting up a URL on Jan 9th, when things go live! 🙂
Thanks! I’ll be looking for it!
Well, I’m mostly a lurker here, but I have been following you guys ever since you started, and I just wanted to say that this has been my absolute go-to website for inspiration and all-around amazing advice. I’ve grown so much as a writer since I began reading this blog, and have cheered alongside you as some of you have gotten agents, book deals, etc. I am so excited for PubCrawl, and if it’s anything like LTWF (which it sounds like, but even more awesome!) I will be following just as fervently.
All of you, whether you know it or not, mean the world to me. I started getting active on Fictionpress 8-9 years ago, mostly in the fantasy section. I remember the first profile I checked recommended Queen of Glass as a must read, and I spent the next two nights poring over the early draft and thinking to myself that THIS is how fairy tales should be written. It was so inspirational to see another young writer get such a following, and I cannot wait for its release! Like you guys, I’ve since moved on from Fictionpress, but I’ll never forget that moment.
So, good luck getting the new website going and thank you ever so much for helping all of us aspiring authors 🙂
Thanks so much for sticking with us all this time!! 😀 How cool that you “knew” Sarah and QoG from way back when! She is an inspiration, isn’t she? 😉 ❤
Looking forward to seeing you around Pub Crawl!
Well, first off, gg, thank your for de-lurking here. 🙂 It’s great to “meet” you and hear your story. In the last few weeks, my mind keeps going back to Fictionpress–to how much it meant to me as a writer and how many stories I devoured on there! There was this heady feeling when I wrote for FP because I wasn’t so worried about the details (details that my inner editor will NOT let me ignore now) and I just let myself WRITE without embarrassment or filtering. I miss those days, even if my writing is much stronger now. 🙂 I think there’s a lesson to be learned, though. We all loved FP because we all love the stories…or that’s how I interpret it. 🙂 And hopefully we’ll keep sharing stories and getting better as writers/readers/people on Pub Crawl. See you in the New Year!
A whole month of radio silence from you girls?? Nooooo!! 😦
Aww ❤ We'll be back before you know it 😀
Not *total* radio silence. We’re all still writing on our private blogs. 😉 But we’ll be back SO VERY SOON!! 😀
We’ll still be chatting away on Twitter, too! I don’t think any of us COULD be silent even if we tried :p
Oh, gosh. I’ve been trying to write this for a week. De-lurking during finals is tough.
I started following LTWF in either November or December ’09, back when Rachel and Alexandra and others were still contributors. It was sad when they left (I seriously loved their articles), but all things change with time, and LTWF continued to grow in a wonderful direction.
My initial reaction to this post was sadness. My favorite blog, closing?! But really what I’ll miss most is the name. Let The Words Flow sounds magical to me. It rolls so easily off the tongue. I do like Pub Crawl, though. It’s evocative of athletic training, which really is what it’s like.
What has LTWF meant to me? To use a cheesy simile, it’s like a hug. You ladies have welcomed everyone here with open arms. I’ve seen nothing but support and enthusiasm, which has become a defining trait of this community. I’ve learned so, so much about the publishing industry. I’ve written a query letter. I’ve even found comfort and encouragement for more personal issues. And I have never felt judged for being at an earlier stage in the journey to publication than others.
So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. It’s been a pleasure to follow this blog, and I eagerly await the upcoming Pub Crawl in January.
Thanks so much, Jennifer 🙂 🙂 I know how hard it is to get anything not-school-related done during finals time!
I’m glad you’ll still be with us as we become Pub Crawl and look forward to seeing you in January!!
Awww, what a heartwarming comment. And it’s not cheesy to compare LTWF to a hug–that’s how it felt for me. I adored this blog before I became a contributor, and what I loved was how open and accepting it was. “Oh, so you tripped and fell? You tied your shoelaces together before your first race? No prob. We’ll dust you off, teach you what you need to know, and next race, you’ll win.”
I hope (and think) we can offer that same support on Pub Crawl. We’ll just be branching out some–trying to reach more people by covering different parts of writing (like reading! and the industry!). So until January, Jennifer.
HUGS!! ❤
Ahhh! I’m a bit more depressed then I should be about this (probably because I’m in the midst of a major overhaul in my own life it came right at the same time)! Probably because this has been such a haven for me, helping dispel some illusions I had about writing, as well as opening my eyes to my own confidence to discover, that I can do this. That there is no magical spell with writing. No special zone or state of mind that all things will magically come together and we will all write like geniuses perfectly every time (naive I know it’s hard to shake that all published writers are a part of some mystical CLUB). However I’m also excited about the new site! It’s not leaving just changing! I’m glad you all are coming along with it! Congratulations on this move, I can’t wait 🙂
Exactly! We’re still going to be around – we’ll just be bigger and better! And while we won’t 100% focus on writing, it’ll still be a major part of Pub Crawl.
The thing I was most scared of losing is the community we’ve built – but I think, if anything, our community will become closer after this!
So I hope I’ll see you around come January when we launch the new site!! ❤