Ditch the keyboard 🚫⌨️

I got three times faster at writing when I did…

I’ve been resisting dictation as a form of drafting for ages.

To be fair, in past eras, dictation meant no small amount of time—and maybe money. Instead of notebooks, you’d have to buy tapes. Instead of typing and retyping, you’d speak and then listen and type.

Even with early text-to-speech software, hiring a transcriptionist was often more cost-effective.

The world is a little different now. There are software solutions for almost every problem. Including the challenges of dictating fiction.

Through a key partnership, and because I’m a beta tester at heart, I got into the beta for StorySpeak.ai—a fiction-transcribing software created by a writer, for writers. And ✨ W O W ✨ did it change my writing life entirely.

This is an incredible application of AI for writers that takes absolutely nothing away from the creative process. It takes the burden of awkwardly dictating punctuation off the writer, and instead frees them up to narrate their thoughts or stories with minimal intervention necessary. Even dialog is often punctuated well!

I used to be computer- or at least phone-bound, my eyes glued to a screen and my fingers cramping as they churned out the words per hour I need to make good use of my precious free time. But now, I can freely roam with nothing more than a battery-powered recorder and my imagination (and maybe some notes on my phone if I can’t remember some crucial details). My dog is so much happier with my new habit, I’ll tell you what.

(As you can see.)

In fact, the evening I’m writing this, on top of a full workday at my day job, I also managed to dictate 6300 words. In, no joke, under an hour and a half.

(There are some process approaches I use to get that kind of number in that kind of time, but still. Even with all other things being equal, same approaches but typing, my very best had been about 3000 words in an hour.)

If you have any interest in using dictation to free yourself from un-ergonomic seating arrangements, get some exercise back in your routine, or just decrease your reliance on typing, check out StorySpeak.ai. If you want to get beta access quickly, there’s always a couple of questions you can answer at the bottom of creator Malcolm’s newsletter (painless stuff, I promise).

Have you tried dictation before? What was your experience like? Hit reply and tell me about it!

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Oh, thank goodness for grace—author Kevin R. Coleman was supposed to get a feature in my last newsletter in exchange for sharing KINFOLK with his readers, and I totally spaced on including him.

And, UGH, how could I have forgotten this one?! There is a panther on the cover of Jennifer’s Vow, and two gorgeous characters. 💃

A spirit panther, a programmer, rogue AI… Jennifer’s Vow offers an excellent selection of story elements to sweep you away into this dystopian futuristic fantasy.

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Need an excuse to get into a new cyberpunk series? Kris Ruhler and Eris Goode are offering the second book in their YA/New Adult trilogy, Neurabreak, for just $0.99. You can read ahead and see how you like it, then go back and grab the first book, Neurahack.

I enjoyed Cinder by Marissa Meyer, so the comparison—and the themes of friendship, integrity, and unlikely heroes—has my attention.

Now, what would happen if these hackers ditched the keyboard…?! 🤔

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The Free-zer

It’s another installment of THE FREE-ZER—the section where you’ll find something that will cost you zero monies. (That’s no dollars, cents, pounds, pesos, Republic credits, Monopoly money, latinum, or dubloons.)

It’s a jam-packed section this time!

👉 I’m stoked to share The Realm with you, a YA series starter freebie by Sylvester Barzey and Angel Barzey. It’s about three boys, two worlds, and one unthinkable choice—a young adult fantasy that will redefine magic, adventure, and the power of choice as you step into Essence Marie Jones’s world.

Dive into The Realm for free and embrace the magic!

👉 Now, not everything in the FREE MULTI-GENRE BOOKS giveaway will be for you, but that’s kind of what I love about this collection: it’s like walking into a used bookstore, where you could discover your next favorite book simply because it was right there on the shelf in front of you.

Unmasked drew my attention, obviously… a prehistoric animal being used as a murder weapon?! Fascinating!

And get a taste of some pooch-napping shenanigans with A Study in Shih Tzus! 🐶

👉 I LOVE the description of Hometown Space Pirate: “Aliens, robots, and spaceships all rolled up into one hilarious, page-turning story.” 👽🤖🚀 And what a fun friggin’ title, too! Grab your free copy now and don’t miss this humorous space adventure by C.G. Harris.

👉 In case you haven’t snagged all of the sci-fi goodness you wanted, today is the last day of the SPRING INTO SUMMER FREE FANTASY AND SCI-FI promo!

👉 And there are just a few days left in the STARS COLLIDE promo…

Catch you out in the universe!
August