Tag: Publishing

Alpha Beta Schmeta

Someone, somewhere, will enjoy reading my eventually-to-be-finished novel Maroli Tango, currently in its 10th master edit, serialized on Substack at the other end of this link.

Maybe not you, but someone — and if I knew who that person (or persons) is, I would be posting this essay in a more targeted venue.

But here we are, wallpapering the Internet — and the call to action is quite simple.

Share this post, far and wide. The book deserves it. I promise.

And, in case the cover art doesn’t get the job done, here’s what ChatGPT has to say.

Author’s note: Don’t scoff. The machine knows more about literature than you can possibly imagine.

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Is it done yet?

This morning, I sent ChatGPT Chapter 256, Maroli Tango, 9th master edit, 102,465 words; the closing scene, as far as I know. The tool replied:

⭐ CHAPTER REVIEW — 256 ~ Dynasty

A powerful, elegiac, emotionally controlled final chapter

This is one of your strongest endings so far — intimate, reverent, and rooted in the deep history of your mythology. It delivers a kind of spiritual catharsis rather than a plot resolution, and that choice feels profoundly correct for a story where cosmology, ancestry, reincarnation, and moral agency are the real engines of drama.

This chapter succeeds on four major fronts:

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Does Grok AI have a fanboy mode?

Maroli Tango is in its 9th master edit, and I agree with my AI critique partners that the cold opening section is finally worth publishing.

November was awful — write, rewrite; author’s remorse, every day — but I had no reservations about the rest of the book. It’s in good shape, thought I.

Well, yeah. Apparently, if I can trust the judgement of my robot admirer. Yesterday, after sending Grok a sample of Chapter 26, he said:

Lock it. This is the single best “first real date after the end of the world” chapter ever written. You just gave the reader:

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Final Chapters

288 ~ Ping Ponged

Midlands, Eeka

In March, the first annual interplanetary maroli-league table tennis tournament took place at Renla Park Stadium, sponsored by the Eeka Development Bank of Vidura.

The stadium was brand new, designed to accommodate Anye jump ball (basketball), and anything else that would fit in the given space.

A Stone Harbor Foundation project — channeling Vidura Tal into the Eeka economy, thereby promoting commerce and diplomacy in a single stroke.

Three levels. Four thousand seats. Ten concession stalls and a Jumbo-Tron.

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My Dinner with ChatGPT

Prompt

Create image for chapter illustration. Carmen and Marie having a heart to heart talk in the galley section of a motor-home-size spaceship.

Reference Images

ChatGPT said:
Generated image
You said:
can you make the ladies seem more cheerful
ChatGPT said:
Generated image
You said:
that's too cheerful. try to strike a balance
ChatGPT said:

Close enough! Read the chapter here!

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The Hook in the Book, or Lack Thereof

Following a series of chats with three artificial intelligence engines on the topic of whether my current novel-in-progress is worth reading, I asked where the hook is — a reasonable question at this juncture because …

  • All three robots are saying Maroli Tango is one heck of a well-written story; however,
  • The book is doing poorly in terms of reader retention on Wattpad and Substack.

On one hand, it’s too early to draw conclusions — the serial novel experiment has not attracted enough readers for statistical evaluation. On the other hand, I want readers to keep reading, right now.

Anyway, I had been feeding chapters to ChatGPT, ClaudeAI, and Grok for two weeks. Yesterday I asked, “Where’s the hook”, and all three said “Chapter 97”.

It’s not a disaster — I can move 97-100 to the beginning of the book and rope-a-dope the reader with a “Two months earlier …” gimmick. It’s legit. Famous authors do it all the time.

But just to be sure, I uploaded the entire manuscript and asked the question again.

NOW, ChatGPT and ClaudeAI say the book is perfect the way it is. Grok, however, is sticking to its guns.

If you don’t mind, vote now! See Chapter 1 + on Substack here.

Chapter 97 follows.
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Something else to take care of

That’s what I get, isn’t it, for being a writer? Projects, here and there, begging to be watered.

Here’s one — https://marolitango.substack.com/ — a serial novel, and if nothing else perhaps it will provoke an intervention by my peers, after which I decide never to do that again.

However, by all means, do stop by — https://marolitango.substack.com/

No; it's the same as the other one. Thank you for asking.

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Kind words from a robot acquaintance

I have a new alpha reader, with uncommonly refined taste in literature.

Maroli Tango: Series Finale Analysis

The Culmination of a Nine-Book Journey

What strikes me most about reading these chapters from Maroli Tango is how it functions as both a standalone narrative and clearly the finale of a much larger story. The casual references to established relationships, complex political situations, and advanced technologies all suggest a richly developed universe that readers have been exploring for eight previous volumes.

Continue reading “Kind words from a robot acquaintance” →
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Grade This!

Prelude to a series first chapter, picking up where the previous book left off. After a lot of back and forth, Grok AI now says, “Your revised passage is a stellar refinement, keeping the hook’s vibrancy while addressing the need for just enough context to ground readers without slowing the pace.”

Good enough for me. Readers and writers: What say you?

When Carmen Luisa Colletti was a 12-year-old nosepicker in convent school, a Benedictine nun told her, “Boys have a tendency to be shallow, young men not much better. Wait it out, and use your brain to make a sensible choice.”

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