Listing my Substack posts chronologically

“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” — Franz Kafka

Hi there. My name is Erica Livingston. I’m an Aquarian poem crafter and storyteller, a husband, daughter and rabbit owner, a Gordon’s Bay beach dweller, and sunrise worshipping moon whisperer. My debut speculative novel, Bloodbird, acquired by Mirari Press, is set to launch this October. Thank you for being here, for following or subscribing, or just passing by. You’re welcome to recommend yourself in the comments.

Over here I (mostly) write about the journey of writing the book and getting it published. It’s been thirteen months since I published my first article on Substack. I’ve made some wonderful connections here, and it’s made me want to keep at it for longer than I’ve historically stuck it out on other platforms (RIP Threads account). I like it here because on Substack, I get to read articles written by people like me for people like me. And I get to do the same. To celebrate my (one month late) stackversary, I thought it would be fun and/or beneficial to someone to have a chronological list of my articles in one place for easy reference.

Here we go:

So, I’m Getting Published - The many years it took to get here. And a letter to my Ouma who passed away two days before I got the book deal.

Why I wrote a book - About that break-up and that song.

How I wrote a book - The slog.

Pursuing Traditional Publication: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Rejections, oh so many rejections.

Influence of a Gen X Creative Writer - On a cheeky mood board.

The Good Plan - My submission for In Other Stories 2025.

Bok Friday - My short story entry for Short.Sharp.Stories 2025.

Make Art, Not War - A rant and a poem.

Magic Circle - Luis Ricardo Falero

The Year of The Great Whiplash - A chat and an updated timeline.

Dear 2026, - Painting the literary world red.

OK, don’t laugh, - My submission to Clarke’s World Magazine, “Charlie”.

Q&A - About this mad wordsmith.

Life Lately - About life and the Western Cape’s arson fire season.

Revising a Manuscript: The Developmental Phase - The ins and outs of my first ever developmental edit.

Getting Published: An Updated Timeline - The timeline updated.

Literati Parties - Literary events we should go to.

Literary resources and a chat - Ten recommendations… and a chat.

“The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.” — John Steinbeck

Ultimately, I hope these articles are of some use to someone who thinks getting traditionally published will never happen. Trust me, it will.

Just.Keep.Going.

Bye for now.

Erica