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September 20th, 2025
I'm so excited to announce that I finished my fourth draft! The feedback from my beta readers (who are really alpha readers but I hate that term) was invaluable. I've sent the manuscript out to another small group of people who I am confident in calling actual beta readers this time around. From here, I feel that any changes that need to be made will be much smaller. I think the structure of the plot is in a really good place now and shouldn't need too many more changes. After this group of beta readers are done, the work will mostly be line level edits, and fixing my chronic under-writing. Thank you to everyone following along with this journey. If you'd like to apply to be a beta reader, please still do so.
In the next few months, as I continue to perfect the manuscript, I will need to make the decision to either hire an editor, and go the independent publishing route, or jump into the query trenches. This is a really heavy decision for me for a lot of reasons. If you have any advice, please let me know! I'm so excited to get this book out into the world one way or another!
Check out the updated synopsis of my manuscript on the "books" page.
May 21st, 2025
Thank you to everyone who signed up to be a beta reader! I have a small tight knit group currently reading the manuscript and I am so excited to get their feedback. For the time being, I will not be processing any more beta reader applications, but you can still apply if you would like to be included in the next round.
May 15th, 2025
BETA READER APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!
I can't believe I can finally say that again. It feels like a lifetime ago that I removed the beta reader application from this website to do a complete overhaul of my manuscript. So much of my heart and soul has gone into this project and it has been over two years. I'm so proud of how this manuscript has morphed into such a poignant story for me. It still needs a lot of work, but its finally ready to be critiqued so I can make it into its perfect self. Check out the "books" page for a full synopsis, and the "beta reader" page to apply.
May 5th, 2025
Beta reader applications will be available soon! Its been a long ride since the last time I accepted beta reader applications! If you applied last time, things are a little different with the book so check out the "books" section of my website to read an updated synopsis.
I am just over 1/3 of the way through my current draft, and after that, I'd love to get feedback on the plot, characters, and overall vibez!
My publishing journey is still TBD. In an ideal world, I would love to send it to an editor to clean it up a bit, and then jump into the query trenches. But part of me worries that that will be a long, unforgiving, and disappointing journey. The other option, is to make what edits I can from the feedback I recieve from betas, send it to an editor for a full review, and go the indie publishing route. As always, I'm going to let future Taylor deal with that choice.
In other news, I have a new potential working title that I'm fairly excited about. Enjoy my newest silly canva cover:
December 10th, 2024
It seems like a ritual for me to abandon this website for almost a year before returning to it. So, as tradition dictates, its been almost a year since my last update. Almost a year ago, I decided to undertake the major task of a complete overhaul of my WIP, changing all of the character's names, all places, my magic system, time tense, POV, plot lines, scenery, and more. While I'm proud of the progress I've made so far, I still have an insane amount of work to go. I know that this version of my book I'm creating will be so much better than the original version, and because of that, I know this grueling process will be more than worth it.
As far as the process of writing goes, its been stop and go. Like many undiagnosed neurodivergent people, I get bursts of intense motivation and periods of doubt and imposter syndrome just as severe. I am lucky to have my zero draft to pull scenes from and my detailed outlines and structure scene plotters, but when it comes down to the process of actually writing, I know I am not always at my best. And my brain likes to try to convince me that if I am not the very best at my craft, I shouldn't bother at all. I struggle especially with attempting to incorporate descriptive prose into my writing. Coming from a scientific background is my downfall. I spent four years in college learning to shorten sentences to the barest minimum that will achieve the thought process I'm trying to convey. Unlearning this isn't as easy as I hoped it might be. Another area of difficulty for me, is finding a way to extend my scenes long enough to take up a few pages. In my mind, I like to cut to the chase. Why waste the reader's (or my own) precious time when I can immediately play out the action for them?
The news of the tiktok ban comes at great cost to many of us that have built our main community on the platform. So if you found me through tiktok, like many of the authors and writers I've begun networking with, and we have not connected on instagram yet, please follow me on instagram. My handle is the same on both platforms.
I know I should be trying to engage with an audience on social media but its difficult finding content based around a book that's only half finished. I'm sure I'll post more once this recent draft is done. But for now, you'll have to settle for infrequent blog posts here, and an occasional snapshot of my work station.
Once this draft is done, I will likely comb through it once more, and then begin searching for one to two beta readers to give me feedback on character development and plot. So if you're interested, keep an eye out!
Thanks as always for sticking with me through this ridiculously long process.
-Taylor
January 13th, 2024
Hello and happy Saturday!
I've recently decided to go with my heart's true desire and change The Golden Scroll to be set in an Edo Period Japan inspired world. This decision comes from a lot of soul searching and evaluating of my own racial identity. As a mixed Japanese person who is white presenting, it was a hard decision and it comes with a lot of worries that my work will be perceived as cultural appropriation. But here's the thing: IT'S MY CULTURE. It's definitely been a long journey of epic doubt and I've been back and forth many times. But hopefully you'll be just excited to read this new version of my book. I'll be telling the story of Michiko, a half Asian woman who's racial identity is just as foggy as mine. She crosses through a portal and into a fantasy world that mirrors the Edo Period Japan of our world. More updates to come!
Also, please enjoy this silly canva mock up cover that I created :)
January 3rd, 2024
Its been a while! I'm currently making updates to my website to fit what I truly want to be doing. Social media is a tough beast for me to handle, and I find that if I stress about putting out content that will appeal to the correct audience to maximize the amount of followers I gain in order to be a "successful" traditionally published author, I will lose myself in the process. So now, I will be focusing on what brings me joy! I hope you will stay with me on this journey!
As for The Golden Scroll;
She has become a beast of burden for me. I'm not abandoning this story, far from it. I'm in the very grueling process of doing a complete overhaul on my outline. What this entails is reworking a lot of the main storyline, adding in multiple points of view, and splitting the story in half- which will mean that I will need to rework the main plot points and pinch points to fit two single narratives.
February 8th, 2023
We're almost at 1,000 TikTok followers! Make sure you're following my TikTok account for up to date info on my writing process.
I'm working diligently to edit my most recent draft, and then I will be taking applications for beta readers. Check out the 'beta readers' page for more information.
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