Ever wondered what it takes to leave a tech career for the unpredictable world of full-time writing? Join us as we sit down with debut author KM Fajardo who shares her inspiring journey from programming to penning her own cyberpunk retelling of "The Great Gatsby." KM opens up about the joys and hurdles of transitioning genres from literary fiction to science fiction and fantasy. You'll hear firsthand about the winding road to securing representation and the invaluable role of perseverance in the cutthroat world of publishing.
Discover the nuts and bolts of writing that engages from page one. We explore how KM crafts characters that stick with readers long after the book is closed, and how she pulls readers into her narrative universe right from the start. Learn why flawed characters are your story's backbone and how to keep your plot from sagging in the middle. KM also delves into the art of writing thematically rich stories with endings that leave a lasting impact, using her own novel, "Local Heavens," as a fascinating case study.
KM doesn't just stop at storytelling; she shares a glimpse into her experience as a YouTuber and offers practical tips for writers wanting to broaden their reach. We talk about the importance of authenticity online, overcoming debut nerves and imposter syndrome, and the delight of finding camaraderie among fellow writers. Whether you’re penning your first manuscript or looking to refine your craft, this conversation is packed with insights to motivate and guide you on your writing journey.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to Craft Chat Chronicles, the go-to podcast
for tips on craftingbest-selling fiction.
Here at Craft Chat Chronicles,we bring you expert interviews,
insights and tips on writing,publishing and marketing.
Join the conversation andembark on a new chapter in your
(00:26):
writing journey.
For workshops, show notes andmore information, visit jdmyall.
com.
That's jdmyallcom.
J.D. Myall (00:38):
In this special in-between-y-sode of Craft Chat
Chronicles that'll come betweenepisode three and episode four
of Craft Chat Chronicles, webring you debut author KM Fajaro
.
Km Fajaro is not only afabulous writer, but she's also
an experienced YouTuber.
(00:58):
Today she's going to talk abouther debut experience, give you
some tips on writing craft andshe'll give you some tips on
finding more success on YouTube.
So, without further ado, I'mgoing to start my chat with
debut author KM Fajara.
Let's get chatty.
Can you tell me a little bitabout your life before books?
KM Fajardo (01:24):
Sure, just about myself, mm-hmm.
Sure, so I'm a writer based inToronto.
I was born and raised in thesuburbs and now I live in the
city.
I've been writing for a verylong time.
I took some creative writingworkshops in university and
(01:45):
decided I wanted to figure outhow to publish about four or
five years ago.
So I started writing a bunch ofbooks.
I decided to query my thirdbook and I signed with my agent
last year and my debut novel'scoming out next.
Next year I studied globalbusiness and digital arts at the
(02:06):
University of Waterloo and Iwas working in tech since I
graduated.
I worked as a designer and nowI'm sort of writing full time
and probably planning to go backto some design work, maybe next
year and probably planning togo back to some design work
(02:26):
maybe next year, but right nowI'm just focusing on, you know,
turning in my edits and gettingthe book out.
So yeah, so I was just kind oftrying to figure out what book I
did want to publish, because Ikind of enjoy writing everything
and when I was in university Iwas doing, you know, I was in a
(02:50):
couple workshops and I waswriting a lot of literary
fiction and I was trying towrite a literary fiction novel
and it just wasn't working and Ikind of switched gears into
science fiction fantasy, whichis what I wrote a lot when I was
younger, and it just kind ofsparked for me and so I wrote
(03:12):
two fantasy novels, sort of whenCOVID lockdown first started
happening.
And on my third book I decidedto kind of pivot and try a
science fiction idea.
I decided to kind of pivot andtry a science fiction idea and I
decided to kind of retell theGreat Gatsby because I knew it
was entering public domain soonand I have a long love for that
(03:35):
book and I had a lot of thoughtson why I would want to maybe
retell it through a cyberpunklens specifically.
So I wrote that book.
I wasn't sure if I wanted toquery it because I thought that
you know I might have an easiertime with fantasy because that's
what I was reading a lot of andthat's what I was seeing a lot
of book deals for.
But I decided to write it andit took me about, I think, seven
(03:59):
months to write the first draft.
I queried it shortly after andI signed with my agent after
about six weeks of querying.
Who's your agent?
My agent is Laura Rennert atAndrea Brown, and so she was one
of my top agents.
I think she was like maybe thesecond agent that I queried was
(04:22):
like maybe the second agent thatI queried and I really wanted
to find an agent who liked, youknow, the mix of like a literary
voice with sort of likecommercial concepts, with like
genre, who represented likegenre stories, and she kind of
felt like this was like theright match, because that's what
(04:43):
I enjoy writing and that's whatshe enjoys reading.
And so, yeah, we we signed andwe we actually did a lot of
editing on the manuscripttogether.
So we edited the book for aboutfive months and then we went on
submission, I think at the endof January 2024, and we got our,
our offer in July.
(05:05):
So, yeah, it happened fairly,fairly quickly.
J.D. Myall (05:11):
How was the call?
Was it a call?
Did she email you first?
KM Fajardo (05:14):
How that, oh, with my agent or with the author with
the offer, both.
Yeah, when I when I got myagent so actually I got three
agent offers and I wasn'texpecting I thought she had
already rejected me like myagent because she had been
(05:35):
sitting on my query for for likea while over a month and when I
let her know that I had anoffer because she hadn't replied
yet, I was really surprisedwhen she was like I want to read
it and I think she read it likein like two days or something
when she was on vacation, and soshe was she kind of like almost
(05:57):
on the last day of the deadline.
She was like I want to call youand I was so surprised, I was
so happy to call you and I wasso surprised, I was so happy and
we had a chat and I think themain thing is that she really
understood, like why I wrote thebook and she really believed in
, like you know, the themes andshe felt like it could really
(06:18):
resonate with audiences.
Like in this period of time, itdeals like a lot with kind of
like class and wealth andcapitalism, and she she felt
like it was, uh, you know, aworthy retelling of this uh book
that um, had just enteredpublic domain.
(06:38):
Um, so, yeah, that was why Iknew that I wanted to sign with
her For submission.
We got you know, we were gettinga bunch of rejections for like
four months or so and she I waslosing a lot of hope.
But she was like, you know,four months is like nothing in
this business and you know she'sbeen an agent for a very long
(07:00):
time.
So she was like I'm just goingto keep sending it out, we just
have to keep believing in themanuscript.
And I think it was like twodays after the 4th of July
weekend where she just randomlyemailed me like okay, we have an
offer.
And I was sitting here like, oh, I, I thought the book was dead
.
So that was.
That was very cool.
J.D. Myall (07:21):
How did your editor call though?
KM Fajardo (07:24):
it was really great.
Um, I so I signed with uhbindery books, who are a new
publisher, so there was a lot tolike get to know about the team
and about, like how editorialwould work.
But the main uh like that firstcall that we had was really just
for me to understand why theywanted the book.
And I think that's what Ireally focused on in that call,
(07:46):
because you know you want tomake sure that you're not just
accepting any offer and that theteam that is going to be
working to publish your book notonly has the resources and
knowledge in the industry butreally is like passionate about
like publishing it and marketingit.
And so when I was, you know,talking to the team, I just
(08:09):
wanted to get a sense for, likewhy they liked it and if they
really resonated with, like, themessaging of the book and they
knew how they wanted to positionit in the market.
So, yeah, it was a great calland I think you know, for all
writers who are like in thosekinds of editor publisher calls,
you really just want to likefollow your gut and and make
(08:32):
sure that the passion that islike coming from, you know, the
publisher side is like verygenuine and that you feel
supported.
J.D. Myall (08:41):
Love that, love that .
What do you think you did rightthat helped you break in?
Um, just in like publishing ingeneral just in publishing in
general, in like it could be,publishing it could be in
writing, craft like it could bejust that you were persevering,
like you know what.
Do you think that righthappened?
That separated you from thosethat didn't make it?
KM Fajardo (09:03):
well, I I think publishing is a lot about luck
and I think that's the importantthing to remember is that it's
very easy for writers to ifyou're going through querying or
submission and all therejections are coming in and you
feel like you did somethingwrong.
I think you just have toremember that a lot of the times
, rejection doesn't have much todo with you and there's a lot
(09:26):
of factors that go into whyyou're rejected, because when I
was getting passes from agentsor editors, a lot of the time
like agents and editors wouldtake the time to like reassure
me that they saw a lot of meritin the book and that a lot of
the times it's just like wedon't feel like it's right for,
like, our specific lineup ofbooks, or you know, we've just
(09:47):
published a Gatsby retelling, oryou know just things that are
completely out of your control.
And I think if you're early,early in your career, you know
if you haven't gotten to thequerying stage yet I think the
most important thing is that youshouldn't force yourself to
like write an idea that you'renot passionate just because you
(10:07):
think, okay, this might bewhat's selling.
Like this is what I think istrending, because trends are
very volatile and also, when youthink about social media
algorithms, like you might beseeing a lot of like one kind of
book being sold, but it doesndoesn't mean that you know other
types of genres aren't selling.
So I think my the main reasonwhy I feel like I was able to
(10:31):
get as far as I did is because Iwrote a book that I first and
foremost felt passionate about,and I wasn't thinking about
publishing necessarily, like Iwasn't allowing that to dictate
you know what I write oranything.
And then the other thing isjust like having a support group
, like having writers who youcan talk to writing about and
(10:56):
you can send your writing to,and to have like beta readers
and people who you can lean onwhen you start getting
rejections, because I think Iwas able to like keep my
motivation up, because I would,you know, talk to my writer
friends, I would be able to liketell them what new stuff I'm
writing and just get my mindlike out of the trenches.
J.D. Myall (11:15):
Basically, Love that , love that.
What were your biggestsurprises on this debut journey?
KM Fajardo (11:25):
Like what was the most different than your fantasy
of what being a publishedwriter would be you know, I
think the first thing that mightsurprise a lot of writers is
just how many times you're gonnaedit the book, because whether
it's with your editor or youragent or you're on your own,
(11:46):
like, uh like, for me, my bookwent through a lot of revision
rounds with my agent, so I Ithought by you know, the second
or third draft would be like, oh, this is really good, but then
my agent would would come upwith more questions for me to
consider and then I would keepwriting another draft and be
like, oh, this is the best itcan be, this is the best it can
be.
This is the best it can be.
(12:07):
So, you know, I just finished adevelopmental edit pass with my
editor and now I'm like youknow, this is the best it can be
, like I have ideas that youknow.
It's like, why didn't I thinkabout that two years ago?
And it's because over thecourse of editing your book,
you're also becoming a betterwriter and it's, you know, so
much of revision or so much ofwriting is just revision.
(12:30):
And I think sometimes, likenewer writers, think that the
worst, or not the worst, but thebiggest part of the book is
just going to be writing thefirst draft when really you know
everything can change inrevision and you don't have to
feel like you have to get itright on the first try, because
a lot of the times people can'teven finish their draft because
they're so paralyzed by, youknow, making mistakes, and the
(12:54):
truth is that you can fixanything always, like everything
is fixable in revision.
So, yeah, I think the biggestsurprise has just been how many
times I've been able to pushmyself as a writer.
Like every time I think I can'tpossibly make this book better.
I am able to like really pushmy craft and like think about
(13:17):
revision solutions that I mightnot have necessarily thought
about, like two years ago.
J.D. Myall (13:24):
Love that, love that .
Let's talk a little bit aboutwriting craft.
How do you hook readers on thefirst page?
KM Fajardo (13:32):
Ooh, I feel like that's really tough.
I think every writer, or sorry,every reader, is going to have
like a different thing that theylook for.
For me, I think how I like toapproach first scenes in general
is I always kind of well.
(13:53):
I guess I always describe likestringing together like chapters
, as if you imagine a book asthis big house that you are
leading the reader through.
I like to think of every scene,the end of every scene, as
leading a reader into like a newroom in the house and by the
(14:15):
end of the scene you have kindof like left open a new door and
you've like left it ajar sothat the reader can kind of see
what's through that new door,but they can't fully see and it
makes them want to walk towardsit.
So that's how I think aboutlike my pacing and stringing
together, you know, a plot andthe sustaining like tension.
(14:38):
I think for, specifically forbeginnings, I always try to find
a balance between giving areader like setting the tone of
the story but not giving thereader too many details all at
once.
So not info dumping, my worldbuilding, not info dumping
backstory you don't really knowwho your main character is
(15:07):
necessarily like right away,because I think like part of
reading is also like getting toknow, like who your main
character is and like what aretheir deeper like goals and
motivations, and I don't thinkthat writers necessarily need to
put all of that like on thefirst page, and I think it's
actually more engaging forreaders and also, like as a
(15:27):
writer, to like also make itfeel like your main character is
, like a fully fleshed outperson who, um, like you're not
gonna know everything about themas soon as you meet them, and
so, uh, you kind of want readersto like be compelled to like
learn more about their journey,and I feel like it's just about
figuring out how to leave thatbread, that perfect breadcrumb
(15:49):
trail.
J.D. Myall (15:52):
Love that, love that .
What makes a relatablecharacter?
KM Fajardo (15:58):
Ooh, I think I always start with flaws, because
I think that's really the mainthing that makes them feel real.
I think like if a characterfeels too perfect, they're not
(16:19):
going to feel like grounded, Ithink.
Like grounded, I think.
And flaws are what really likecreate tension with the plot,
because your character is nevergoing to be acting perfectly.
They're going to be actingbased on you know, their
insecurities, their anxieties,their vulnerabilities.
So I always try to workbackwards from like how does
(16:42):
this character have to grow Like?
Who do they start out as at thestart of the book and who like
how?
Who do they have to become bythe end of it?
And how does this plot pushthem to become a new person and
to like learn very difficultlessons, and that can take, you
know, a different shape forevery single story.
(17:04):
But, yeah, I think everyrelatable character has to have
flaws, and I don't like to thinkof my characters as being
likable, and I also don'tnecessarily think about them as
like relatable in the sense thatI believe that my readers have
to see themselves in thesecharacters, but as long as
(17:24):
there's like something on therethat like makes a reader um
understand them and understandwhy they act the way they act
what makes a good villain?
villains, I think think I thinka villain that is really
(17:45):
compelling is one that you canunderstand the circumstances
that have led them to believewhat they believe and whether or
not you agree with how they act.
Um, you can understand, likewhether it's something in the
society or like whatever, butyou can, you can just like
(18:08):
understand, like how they wouldbecome, who they become, and
they don't have to besympathetic or you don't have to
redeem them.
I think people can just behorrible just for the sake of
being horrible.
But I also like a villain thatkind of has like a appealing
quality to them, like if they'revery personable, like I think
(18:30):
that is kind of like sits underyour skin as well.
J.D. Myall (18:34):
Yeah, how do you avoid the dreaded saggy middle
and keep a story engaging allthe way through?
KM Fajardo (18:41):
Ooh, Um, yeah, the act two is always the hardest
part for me to write.
I think every book has kind oflike I kind of have a different
approach for every book becauseall my stories are so different,
but I think I try to alwayslike have act one end off on
(19:02):
some kind of cliffhanger or onsome kind of concrete goal, so
that when act two starts there'ssomething very, very clear that
the character has to worktowards.
And it also has to be on a bothlike external and internal level
.
So there has to be something inthe plot that is driving the
(19:22):
story forward, like an externalgoal that the character has to,
you know, unpack.
But also some kind of emotionalchange I think has to happen at
the end of act one, so that thecharacter, so that the reader
is, like still connected withthe character and that the
character doesn't feel stagnant.
Because I think like sometimesit can feel like a plot is just
(19:45):
like moving a character from oneplot point to the next.
But in order for a character tofeel like immersive, you have
to believe that the events ofthe plot are really pushing up
against their beliefs, againsttheir morals, against their
emotions.
So I always try to think of aplot or the story on both like a
(20:07):
plot and character level lovethat, love that.
J.D. Myall (20:16):
What makes a compelling ending?
How do you tie up the looseends in your novels and leave
readers with a smile or tears,whichever you prefer um, I think
for me.
KM Fajardo (20:27):
I'm a very theme driven writer, so I always have
I figure out my endings.
By what like message do I wantto leave the reader with?
Um, you know, when they walkaway from the story, like, what
have these characters learned?
Or not learned, um.
So I think a satisfying endingis one where, uh, well,
(20:52):
obviously, like the, the plotand like the characters,
journeys have to like, uh, endoff in a different place than
where they started.
Um, so I like to obviously likepush my characters very far
emotionally, but I think morethan that, it's just like I mean
(21:13):
, I know some, some readersdon't like it, but like I
shouldn't call it an open ending, but an ending that leaves the
reader something to think about,like as much as you as you
answer questions.
I think leaving the reader withsomething to ponder is also how
I like to approach my endings.
Like I don't like a neat endingbecause I don't think, you know
(21:36):
, real life is neat either, andso it really is that thing where
, like, one door closes and awindow opens.
I think that is sort of how Iapproach my endings.
J.D. Myall (21:51):
Before we get into questions about your novel,
local Heaven, heavens, I um haveto be silly because you're from
toronto.
Yeah, I'm just curious whatside of the bake the drake,
kendrick lamar beef did youstand on?
KM Fajardo (22:09):
listen, I have.
I have no love for drake.
So if you're to look up mySpotify, it's all Kendrick.
That was true even before thebeef.
But yeah, I mean it's funnybecause I'm also a huge Raptors
fan and he's always there at theRaptors games and it's just so
(22:31):
bad for our brand.
So that's all I'll say.
But I'm a huge Kendrick fan.
J.D. Myall (22:38):
Good, to hear, good to hear.
I love.
Not Like Us too.
I'm not going to lie.
That was number one on myplaylist all summer long.
KM Fajardo (22:45):
Yeah, it's on repeat .
Yeah, it's my commute song whenI'm just like walking through
the city and I don't want tolike talk to anyone.
J.D. Myall (22:54):
Love it, love it.
So tell me the story behindLocal Heavens.
How did it come to be?
Where did you get the idea forthe novel?
KM Fajardo (23:02):
Yeah, it was a long process, I think, from the
moment I got the idea to themoment that I actually started
writing.
It was about two years and thestarting point was really just
that I love the Great Gatsby.
I think a lot of us read it inhigh school and I would just
revisit it constantly.
And you know, when you revisita story, like as you grow up,
(23:23):
you know your relationship withit can kind of change, and so
every time I would read it,there was like something new
that I would focus on.
So when we first read it, weread it as a story about Gatsby
and then, you know, the nexttime we read it we might think
differently about Daisy, andthen the more I would read it,
the more I would connect withNick, like this narrator who you
don't know anything about.
(23:43):
And I think, like at the sametime, like I'm just a huge fan
of cyberpunk as a genre, fan ofcyberpunk as a genre, and I
think that there are a lot ofinteresting concepts in
cyberpunk in terms of, you know,late stage capitalism and this
tech driven dystopia, and Ialways sort of saw cyberpunk as
(24:04):
this like extreme extrapolationof a lot of the things that
we're living through right nowin terms of like you know how
fast technology is advancing andhow sometimes we can't keep up
with regulations and like, whatdoes that do to our societies
and who gets left behind whenstuff like that happens?
So I think cyberpunk has a lotof themes of class and wealth
(24:28):
disparity like baked into thegenre.
And when I was rereadingcyberpunk I just or sorry, when
I was rereading Gatsby, um, Ithink that ultimately it's a
story about wealth and thedestructiveness of wealth, and,
um, I started to see a lot ofthematic parallels between the
two and I just had this thoughtwhere I was like it would be so
(24:51):
cool to reimagine the glitz andthe glam of Gatsby as this like
cyberpunk dystopia where therich are even richer and the
technology affords the rulingclass you know these this like
unimaginable power, unimaginablepleasure, um, and so I think
there's a lot of like, there's alot interesting decadence there
(25:12):
, but also, um, cyberpunk has alot of gritty cityscapes and I
felt like it could be reallywell adapted for Gatsby.
But I really sat on the idea fora long time because I just
wasn't sure how I wanted towrite it.
It felt like this hugeundertaking to like retell a
(25:38):
novel that you know is so, is somuch a part of a lot of
people's lives, especially inthe US and in Canada, where we
read it in high school.
So I spent a lot of time justlike reading cyberpunk and
trying to understand the genre,reading a lot of F Scott
Fitzgerald as like a vocaltraining exercise to like kind
of get into that voice.
And then when I felt like mycraft was in a place where I
could attempt to write this bookbecause before that I hadn't
(26:00):
finished writing a book so Iwrote two whole other
manuscripts, just to you knowpractice as a writer, to be like
okay, I know how to write abook now.
Now can I try writing this,like more experimental idea.
So, yeah, I basically it wasthe third novel that I finished
writing, the third novel that Iattempted to write, and it's
(26:22):
kind of this like weird, likeanachronistic story.
It feels like sort of a layeringof the past and the future
together and I really justwanted to like revisit the great
American novel and to kind ofanswer the question why is this
story timeless?
And I think it's timelessbecause a lot of the concepts
(26:46):
and the themes are stillrelevant to today, and it
doesn't matter what time periodyou tell.
This story, like a story aboutthe catastrophic sins of the
wealthy, is always going to berelevant.
So, yeah, and I think it's verycool that the book gets to be
published you know, 100 years,exactly 100 years out from the
(27:08):
original, because I think it'sjust like cool to kind of
compare and contrast, like theroaring 20s, to you know where
we are in the 2020s, like 100years later.
J.D. Myall (27:19):
Love that, love that .
What do you hope that peopletake away from the novel?
KM Fajardo (27:39):
for me it's in the same way that Gatsby is a story
about hope against all odds andhow, you know this this guy
could, like you know, uh,overcome all that he overcame to
become to like reach so hardfor his dreams.
And even though it ended upterribly, there is something,
you know, very inspiring in notchoosing to give in to apathy,
(28:01):
and I think that a lot of peoplehave been struggling with, like
how dark and hopeless andlonely our world can feel and
how technology has made us moreconnected than ever before, but
also feeling more isolated thanever before.
And there is a lot of pushtowards like American
(28:23):
individualism and just kind oflooking out for yourself.
And I think, like the doomerismand the apathy that we're
feeling now is very dangerous.
And I think that's kind of whatI wanted to talk about in the
book, because you have thisclassic character of Nick
Carraway who famously doesn'tever want to insert himself into
(28:48):
the events of the book, andhe's telling this story about
all of these horrible richpeople and he's like but I'm not
like them because I didn't doanything, I was just there, I
was just observing.
And now I'm just telling youthe story but I have nothing to
do with it.
And I think, re-imagining Nickas someone who witnesses these
horrible things but is pushed tothe brink and at some point you
(29:12):
can't just be a fence sitterYou're either choosing to walk
away from it or you're choosingto do something about it.
And I think, when you take thestory of Gatsby and you drop it
into an even darker world, intoan even more hopeless world, how
do you find the hope and like,the inspiration to like, try to
be a better person?
(29:32):
Like what does that mean in adystopia?
I think that's what I reallywanted to unpack.
J.D. Myall (29:41):
I love that.
How did you handle youreditorial notes?
Where did you agree with all ofthem?
Was it hard?
Did you find it relatively easy, since you've been through so
many rounds?
KM Fajardo (29:50):
Yeah, editorial is tough, you know, because I think
in the beginning I so I enjoyrevision.
I really care about thinkingabout every possible
interpretation of a book anddeciding you know which ones I
am like I want the reader tohave and trying to guide the
reader as much as possible.
(30:10):
Now that I'm so deep intorevisions like I'm at a point
where the draft that I justturned in was like draft seven.
Like there comes to a pointwhere you start getting
conflicting feedback, or youstart getting feedback that's
like very, very minor, um, andyou do start to have to make
choices as a, as a writer, whereyou're like okay, what is okay
(30:32):
to leave up to interpretation?
Is it okay if a reader comesaway with the book with these
kinds of thoughts?
Because you can't fully controlhow someone is going to
interpret the book.
So you do have to make peacewith some things.
Largely, I would say, revisionis overwhelming always, but you
(30:52):
kind of just have to trustyourself as a writer.
Like every time, I'm like Ihave no idea how I'm going to do
this.
I always figure it out, cause Ithink revision is best when you
, when you take it in, like youdon't try to do everything all
at once.
Like it's like okay, for thispass through, I'm going to focus
on the main character's arc.
For the next pass through, I'mgoing to focus on this.
(31:12):
Like you just kind of take itin steps, and I think that's how
it feels a lot more doable.
I would say that it has beenlike tough as I've gotten into
these later drafts, because I'mlike, oh, I've read the book so
many times, but mostly, I thinkall of each round, I have been
(31:35):
able to solidify what my visionis.
So most of the times I haveagreed with like 90% of the
feedback that I've gotten,because I've I'm very fortunate
enough to work with great betareaders, to work with a great
agent and a great editor, um,and also people who haven't
tried to like overshadow myvision.
So that's been good.
I agree with like most things,but there are some things that
(31:58):
it's like okay, I'm going to putmy foot down on this, because
if the suggestion doesn't likespark joy, then I don't force
myself to do it.
Like I always try to understandwhere the feedback is coming
from, but if it clashes withlike what I feel is like
integral to the story, then Idon't do it, and I think every
writer should feel safe andempowered to make that choice.
J.D. Myall (32:23):
I love that.
Stephen King said he considershimself his first reader.
KM Fajardo (32:26):
So if he gets one complaint, he goes with himself.
J.D. Myall (32:29):
If he gets two complaints, he knows it's a
problem.
Yes, yeah, exactly.
You were talking about worldbuilding earlier, so I'm curious
do you have any advice on worldbuilding for Spartan authors?
KM Fajardo (32:43):
Yeah, I guess it depends what you're writing.
I, you know, I come from like ascience fiction, fantasy
mindset.
So I think the important thingwith with world building, with
world building or at least how Itry to approach it is if I come
up with some kind ofspeculative element, whether
it's a magic system or atechnology.
(33:04):
I try to think about thosethings in multiple contexts
because I think that's whatmakes a world feel lived in.
You know, you, if you thinkabout that concept from like
multiple, like social classes,right, like how would a wealthy
class use this versus like alower class, and like what would
(33:29):
be like commercial versuspersonal use, or what kind of
subcultures would arise fromthis, you know speculative
element existing in this world.
So I think for me, worldbuilding is just a process of
taking a rabbit hole as far asit can go.
And I think this is also whybeta readers are really
important, because sometimes,like you know, you come up with
(33:50):
a technology and you would havebeta readers be like, well, if
this existed, then you know,wouldn't this happen?
And you know, like you justkind of try to follow every
possible kind of outcome.
And I think the other thing Ilike to consider sometimes with
fantasy is just like culturesand how cultures would
(34:11):
cross-pollinate.
I think sometimes fantasy canfeel very one-dimensional if
cultures that are coexistingfeel so siloed.
So I think sometimesinteresting things can come up
in your world building if youconsider the ways that like,
okay, what is very distinctabout this culture?
What is very distinct aboutthis culture if these two
(34:32):
cultures were, you know,coexisting or they were doing
trade in this specific way, then, um, what are the things that
could arise out of that?
Um, so yeah, I think, in thesame way that characters are
multifaceted.
Uh, I think your settings haveto almost be thought of like as
characters in and of themselves,like multi-dimensional, I guess
(34:54):
.
J.D. Myall (35:03):
Love that, love that .
So launching your debut novelis a huge milestone.
How did you feel leading?
KM Fajardo (35:06):
up to the book's release.
Yeah, everything's happeningpretty quickly, because I always
imagined that it would be twoyears out, because I noticed,
like a lot of my friends, theysell their books like this year
and their release date is in2026.
Um, I, I think that, likeleading up to signing the
contract and doing my edits, Iwas feeling a lot of debut
nerves and and feeling like, ohgosh, like is this book even
(35:28):
good?
Is it gonna find its readers?
Like, have I totally messed up?
Is all of it a fluke?
And I think that impostersyndrome settles in for a lot of
writers and I think for me,it's just been about like
trusting my support system andlike speaking with you know,
(35:50):
just like having the opportunityto, to speak with, like my
publishing team and my betareaders and my agent and just
getting that reassurance that,like the book that I wrote
resonated with them and if itresonated with these people so
deeply, like surely there areother readers that are going to
resonate with it too.
But, similarly to what we weretalking about, like the target
(36:13):
audience should, first andforemost, always be yourself as
a writer, and as long as I hadfun writing it, I think that's
really all that matters, and Ithink that's just kind of how
I'm tackling debut nerves.
You know there's there'snothing you can control.
All you can control is how muchfun you have writing the book.
All you can control is how muchfun you have writing the book,
(36:34):
because I do believe that thejoy of writing comes through in
the book itself.
J.D. Myall (36:45):
So for me it's more important to find, like the
readers, for who it'll resonate.
Love that, love that.
Have you planned any likelaunch?
KM Fajardo (36:55):
events or any special things that you want to
do on social media?
Yeah, I'm not entirely sure yet, like my publisher, and I
haven't gotten that far, butyeah, I'm sure I'll have a book
launch.
J.D. Myall (37:03):
I don't quite know where or when it'll be, but uh,
yeah, fingers crossed that if,when that news happens, it'll
definitely be on my socials.
Love that, love that.
KM Fajardo (37:30):
Were there any tools or platforms?
or things that helped you alongthe way as far as either writing
the book or editing or justthings that you've been like
playing with, as far as like todo reels for it, or you know any
tools or anything that helpsyou.
Yeah, I don't know.
I guess I'm kind of a boomer,because it's just me and
Scrivener, like in terms ofwriting itself, like I actually
don't really like to introducetoo many tools into my writing
process because I find that itdistracts me from just writing.
So I use Scrivener, I like theorganizational capabilities of
(37:55):
it and that's what I use todraft my books.
In terms of early brainstorming, I think if you are really like
visual writer, it can be greatto use something like Miro or
Milanote that's the one that Iuse which is like just for
whiteboarding, brainstorming,dropping in photos.
(38:15):
I prefer it more than likePinterest, which is where you
just put photos together.
But with something like Miro orMila Note, you can like
basically like add little notesand like little videos or, yeah,
photos, and I think that's likefun if you really enjoy that
like early brainstorming process.
(38:36):
I usually only do that when I'mlike really early on and I'm
like what are the vibes of thisproject?
So that can be really greatjust for like building hype,
like getting excited aboutwriting the project.
In terms of like social media, Ikind of just learn by watching
(38:56):
other people Like I try to justbe myself on social media
because I think that's the stuffthat really gets across the
most.
And when I look at you know whatreally works for my other
writer friends it's when theyspeak very like authentically
and it's not so much coming fromlike buy my book, but more like
bringing people behind thescenes, into the process and
(39:19):
into like the thoughts that youhave as a writer.
And like that was kind of likewhy I started a YouTube channel
three years ago is because Ithink writing feels very
isolating sometimes and writerskind of finding each other on
social media.
It's it's less about like thisis how you do this thing and
more like these are the you knowinsecurities that I have, or
(39:41):
this is what I learned in myprocess and it just makes it
feel like writing isn't solonely.
So whenever I see somethingthat's working really well on
like TikTok, like a certain kindof post, like figuring out,
like okay, this is what'strending right now, I just kind
of try to follow that andobviously like if it feels right
(40:04):
for me.
I don't try to like forcemyself to talk about something
that I'm not passionate about,but I think like, yeah, the key
with social media is just likefollow creators that you really
like and be yourself.
J.D. Myall (40:21):
Love that, love that .
Do you have any advice forother debuts who are just
embarking on the same journeythat you are on now?
KM Fajardo (40:37):
um, I think on a technical level, um, definitely
read your contracts.
It like don't phone it in.
Um, I like very, verymeticulously read my contracts.
I know your agent is there todo that for you.
But if you see something that'seven super minor, ask your
(41:00):
agent about it, Ask them is thisnormal?
Can I ask for this?
Your agent should be there toreally guide you, and I think
sometimes writers can feel apower imbalance with publishers,
with agents.
But I think it's reallyimportant to like advocate for
yourself at every part of theprocess.
Like just like I think it'slike very normalized, like that
(41:23):
agents and publishers just kindof do things on their own and
they don't really like bringwriters into the loop.
But if you have a question,like instead of letting it
fester inside of you, like justask like hey, like how does this
process work?
And like don't let anyone makeyou feel bad about asking that
question, because, as a debutauthor, there's so much that you
(41:43):
don't know, and I think we alllike deserve transparency.
So, you know, join writerdiscord groups.
Like if you're a 2025 debut,there's like a discord group
where everyone's in.
So you know, like, don't beafraid to like ask someone, like
if you're, if you're not in it.
(42:05):
Writers are very eager to helpother writers and I have been
very lucky Like when I did mydeal announcement like just all
the support that I've gotten.
I think the other thing thatwas like a huge topic last year
was just not seeing your fellowwriters and your fellow debut
cohort as competition.
(42:26):
It's like a lot.
It like it is so much better tojust support each other because
you know like don't focus onlike this author got a huge deal
, Like there's so much betterthan me or whatever.
Like I think all of us are goingthrough this process together
and I think the vast majority ofus see each other as like
(42:48):
really we only have each otherin this industry, right, Like
this industry is not going tolove you back a lot of the times
.
And as great as it is to beengaged with readers, there is
kind of a degree of separationthat you need to have with
readers.
So lean on the other writers inyour debut cohort.
You know, figure out, figureout like what else they're doing
(43:10):
for promotion.
Like ask them questions if youdon't want to ask your publisher
.
I think that support goes along way in making you feel
reassured that whateverinsecurities you're having are
not unique, and also it's justgreat to not go through the
journey alone.
J.D. Myall (43:28):
Love that, love that you gave me another question.
KM Fajardo (43:30):
So what are?
J.D. Myall (43:30):
you doing for promotions?
KM Fajardo (43:40):
So I think, like, aside from social media, I
haven't like had like a hugediscussion yet with my publisher
, like that's probably somethingthat we're having later next
month or next year, but I'm surethere'll be a book launch and
like we're doing arcs and, youknow, pre-order campaigns.
Hopefully I'd love to do apre-order campaign and to just
like especially give back to thepeople who've been like
(44:02):
supporting me for a really longtime, because I've been
documenting like my writingjourney for like the last three
years and there's like a lot ofreaders who've been invested in
this book like before they everknew it was going to get
published.
And yeah, I think, other thanthat, it's just like I try to
keep a social media presence sothat people know like who I am
(44:25):
and why I write, and yeah, I'msure you'll have lots and lots
of great things, yeah, when thetime time comes.
J.D. Myall (44:35):
So what's next for you after your debut novel?
Have you, are there going to beany collaborations, any other
projects in the works?
KM Fajardo (44:41):
yeah, I'm halfway through, or over halfway through
, my next book, so my biggestgoal is, like I want to buckle
down and finish my next book sothat I can go on submission
again and hopefully sell anotherbook.
I think the main thing is thatI want to write a lot of
different things.
I think, like a lot of writers,I feel like I have a lot of
(45:04):
different ideas.
My next book is going to be,hopefully, fantasy and I'm
hoping fingers crossed crossedthat it won't be a long
submission process.
But I think that's what I'mprobably going to be focusing on
and, yeah, Can I?
J.D. Myall (45:25):
get a hint on what the next one's about.
KM Fajardo (45:27):
Sure, yeah.
So it's an adult fantasy andit's kind of inspired loosely by
uh, 1930s manila and like thetime period surrounding, uh, the
us occupation of thephilippines, um, so it's kind of
like a little bit closer tohome in the sense that, like um,
(45:48):
I've always kind of like wantedto write a story about that
time period, especially like asa Filipino diaspora writer, and
it deals a lot withintergenerational trauma and
sort of the commodification oftrauma.
Um, it uh is a secondary worldfantasy and it's kind of how I'm
(46:17):
pitching it sort of is like thegang politics of Jade City
mixed with the commentary on uhlanguage and colonialism similar
to Babel, um, so those are kindof the preoccupations of of
that novel.
But we're still in the firstdraft, um, and I'm hoping that I
can finish it soon, hopefullyQ1 next year.
J.D. Myall (46:39):
Sounds great.
Sounds great.
How do you envision your futurewriting career?
Like 10 years down the road?
How do you see yourself?
You?
KM Fajardo (46:48):
know I just want to be writing.
I think that's the main thing isI just still want to have a
relationship with writing and Ithink we we all have big, big
author dreams.
Um, uh, like you know the usualmilestones of of like hitting a
bestseller list or you know,selling film, tv rights, like of
(47:08):
course those things are like onmy bucket list.
But if I envision myself five to10 years down the road, I would
love to just have writingsustain me.
And if I'm not writing fulltime, I just want to be in a
place where I am still tellingstories, because I think that
(47:31):
this industry burns you outreally fast.
And I think when I, if you havetoo many like thoughts around,
like I have to do this, like Ihave to hit the bestseller list,
I have to win these awards, youcan start to like really resent
writing, because you'rethinking less about writing and
more about publishing.
(47:51):
And so I try to keep writingand publishing two separate
things where I always say I takewriting seriously, I take
publishing on seriously in thesense that I don't try to have
expectations.
You know I see writing as thereward.
So fingers crossed that I'mdoing this full time in a decade
(48:13):
, but as long as I'm writingstories that I'm passionate
about, that's really all I canhope for.
J.D. Myall (48:19):
Love that, love that .
Is there anything you want tocover that we haven't mentioned?
No, I think that's it.
I think those are greatquestions, thank you.
Thank you, you gave fabulousanswers.
I can see that you have thesocial media experience.
You come across as genuine butvery, like I said, very polished
.
Those were great questions,though, thank you.
(48:41):
I appreciate that you get greatanswers.
Where can people connect withyou and how can they stay
updated on your latest work?
KM Fajardo (48:48):
Sure, so all my links can be found on my website
, which is kmfajardocom.
I have a sub stack,kmfajardosubstackcom, and yeah,
I give like major projectupdates always through my
newsletter on there.
But if you follow me on likeInstagram, that's probably like
(49:09):
the best place to follow me.
Tiktok as well I'm prettyactive and I also have a YouTube
channel and, yeah, all thoselinks are on my website.
Speaker 1 (49:17):
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
That wraps up today's.
Announcement (49:20):
Craft Chat Chronicles with JD Mayor.
Thanks for joining us.
If you liked the episode,please comment, subscribe and
share.
For show notes, writingworkshops and tips.
Tips head to jdmayocom.
That's jdmayorcom.
While you're there, join jd'smailing list for updates,
(49:45):
giveaways and more.
Welcome to Craft Chat Chronicles, the go-to podcast
for tips on craftingbest-selling fiction.
Here at Craft Chat Chronicles,we bring you expert interviews,
insights and tips on writing,publishing and marketing.
Join the conversation andembark on a new chapter in your
(00:26):
writing journey.
For workshops, show notes andmore information, visit jdmyall.
com.
That's jdmyallcom.
J.D. Myall (00:38):
In this special in-between-y-sode of Craft Chat
Chronicles that'll come betweenepisode three and episode four
of Craft Chat Chronicles, webring you debut author KM Fajaro
.
Km Fajaro is not only afabulous writer, but she's also
an experienced YouTuber.
(00:58):
Today she's going to talk abouther debut experience, give you
some tips on writing craft andshe'll give you some tips on
finding more success on YouTube.
So, without further ado, I'mgoing to start my chat with
debut author KM Fajara.
Let's get chatty.
Can you tell me a little bitabout your life before books?
KM Fajardo (01:24):
Sure, just about myself, mm-hmm.
Sure, so I'm a writer based inToronto.
I was born and raised in thesuburbs and now I live in the
city.
I've been writing for a verylong time.
I took some creative writingworkshops in university and
(01:45):
decided I wanted to figure outhow to publish about four or
five years ago.
So I started writing a bunch ofbooks.
I decided to query my thirdbook and I signed with my agent
last year and my debut novel'scoming out next.
Next year I studied globalbusiness and digital arts at the
(02:06):
University of Waterloo and Iwas working in tech since I
graduated.
I worked as a designer and nowI'm sort of writing full time
and probably planning to go backto some design work, maybe next
year and probably planning togo back to some design work
(02:26):
maybe next year, but right nowI'm just focusing on, you know,
turning in my edits and gettingthe book out.
So yeah, so I was just kind oftrying to figure out what book I
did want to publish, because Ikind of enjoy writing everything
and when I was in university Iwas doing, you know, I was in a
(02:50):
couple workshops and I waswriting a lot of literary
fiction and I was trying towrite a literary fiction novel
and it just wasn't working and Ikind of switched gears into
science fiction fantasy, whichis what I wrote a lot when I was
younger, and it just kind ofsparked for me and so I wrote
(03:12):
two fantasy novels, sort of whenCOVID lockdown first started
happening.
And on my third book I decidedto kind of pivot and try a
science fiction idea.
I decided to kind of pivot andtry a science fiction idea and I
decided to kind of retell theGreat Gatsby because I knew it
was entering public domain soonand I have a long love for that
(03:35):
book and I had a lot of thoughtson why I would want to maybe
retell it through a cyberpunklens specifically.
So I wrote that book.
I wasn't sure if I wanted toquery it because I thought that
you know I might have an easiertime with fantasy because that's
what I was reading a lot of andthat's what I was seeing a lot
of book deals for.
But I decided to write it andit took me about, I think, seven
(03:59):
months to write the first draft.
I queried it shortly after andI signed with my agent after
about six weeks of querying.
Who's your agent?
My agent is Laura Rennert atAndrea Brown, and so she was one
of my top agents.
I think she was like maybe thesecond agent that I queried was
(04:22):
like maybe the second agent thatI queried and I really wanted
to find an agent who liked, youknow, the mix of like a literary
voice with sort of likecommercial concepts, with like
genre, who represented likegenre stories, and she kind of
felt like this was like theright match, because that's what
(04:43):
I enjoy writing and that's whatshe enjoys reading.
And so, yeah, we we signed andwe we actually did a lot of
editing on the manuscripttogether.
So we edited the book for aboutfive months and then we went on
submission, I think at the endof January 2024, and we got our,
our offer in July.
(05:05):
So, yeah, it happened fairly,fairly quickly.
J.D. Myall (05:11):
How was the call?
Was it a call?
Did she email you first?
KM Fajardo (05:14):
How that, oh, with my agent or with the author with
the offer, both.
Yeah, when I when I got myagent so actually I got three
agent offers and I wasn'texpecting I thought she had
already rejected me like myagent because she had been
(05:35):
sitting on my query for for likea while over a month and when I
let her know that I had anoffer because she hadn't replied
yet, I was really surprisedwhen she was like I want to read
it and I think she read it likein like two days or something
when she was on vacation, and soshe was she kind of like almost
(05:57):
on the last day of the deadline.
She was like I want to call youand I was so surprised, I was
so happy to call you and I wasso surprised, I was so happy and
we had a chat and I think themain thing is that she really
understood, like why I wrote thebook and she really believed in
, like you know, the themes andshe felt like it could really
(06:18):
resonate with audiences.
Like in this period of time, itdeals like a lot with kind of
like class and wealth andcapitalism, and she she felt
like it was, uh, you know, aworthy retelling of this uh book
that um, had just enteredpublic domain.
(06:38):
Um, so, yeah, that was why Iknew that I wanted to sign with
her For submission.
We got you know, we were gettinga bunch of rejections for like
four months or so and she I waslosing a lot of hope.
But she was like, you know,four months is like nothing in
this business and you know she'sbeen an agent for a very long
(07:00):
time.
So she was like I'm just goingto keep sending it out, we just
have to keep believing in themanuscript.
And I think it was like twodays after the 4th of July
weekend where she just randomlyemailed me like okay, we have an
offer.
And I was sitting here like, oh, I, I thought the book was dead
.
So that was.
That was very cool.
J.D. Myall (07:21):
How did your editor call though?
KM Fajardo (07:24):
it was really great.
Um, I so I signed with uhbindery books, who are a new
publisher, so there was a lot tolike get to know about the team
and about, like how editorialwould work.
But the main uh like that firstcall that we had was really just
for me to understand why theywanted the book.
And I think that's what Ireally focused on in that call,
(07:46):
because you know you want tomake sure that you're not just
accepting any offer and that theteam that is going to be
working to publish your book notonly has the resources and
knowledge in the industry butreally is like passionate about
like publishing it and marketingit.
And so when I was, you know,talking to the team, I just
(08:09):
wanted to get a sense for, likewhy they liked it and if they
really resonated with, like, themessaging of the book and they
knew how they wanted to positionit in the market.
So, yeah, it was a great calland I think you know, for all
writers who are like in thosekinds of editor publisher calls,
you really just want to likefollow your gut and and make
(08:32):
sure that the passion that islike coming from, you know, the
publisher side is like verygenuine and that you feel
supported.
J.D. Myall (08:41):
Love that, love that .
What do you think you did rightthat helped you break in?
Um, just in like publishing ingeneral just in publishing in
general, in like it could be,publishing it could be in
writing, craft like it could bejust that you were persevering,
like you know what.
Do you think that righthappened?
That separated you from thosethat didn't make it?
KM Fajardo (09:03):
well, I I think publishing is a lot about luck
and I think that's the importantthing to remember is that it's
very easy for writers to ifyou're going through querying or
submission and all therejections are coming in and you
feel like you did somethingwrong.
I think you just have toremember that a lot of the times
, rejection doesn't have much todo with you and there's a lot
(09:26):
of factors that go into whyyou're rejected, because when I
was getting passes from agentsor editors, a lot of the time
like agents and editors wouldtake the time to like reassure
me that they saw a lot of meritin the book and that a lot of
the times it's just like wedon't feel like it's right for,
like, our specific lineup ofbooks, or you know, we've just
(09:47):
published a Gatsby retelling, oryou know just things that are
completely out of your control.
And I think if you're early,early in your career, you know
if you haven't gotten to thequerying stage yet I think the
most important thing is that youshouldn't force yourself to
like write an idea that you'renot passionate just because you
(10:07):
think, okay, this might bewhat's selling.
Like this is what I think istrending, because trends are
very volatile and also, when youthink about social media
algorithms, like you might beseeing a lot of like one kind of
book being sold, but it doesndoesn't mean that you know other
types of genres aren't selling.
So I think my the main reasonwhy I feel like I was able to
(10:31):
get as far as I did is because Iwrote a book that I first and
foremost felt passionate about,and I wasn't thinking about
publishing necessarily, like Iwasn't allowing that to dictate
you know what I write oranything.
And then the other thing isjust like having a support group
, like having writers who youcan talk to writing about and
(10:56):
you can send your writing to,and to have like beta readers
and people who you can lean onwhen you start getting
rejections, because I think Iwas able to like keep my
motivation up, because I would,you know, talk to my writer
friends, I would be able to liketell them what new stuff I'm
writing and just get my mindlike out of the trenches.
J.D. Myall (11:15):
Basically, Love that , love that.
What were your biggestsurprises on this debut journey?
KM Fajardo (11:25):
Like what was the most different than your fantasy
of what being a publishedwriter would be you know, I
think the first thing that mightsurprise a lot of writers is
just how many times you're gonnaedit the book, because whether
it's with your editor or youragent or you're on your own,
(11:46):
like, uh like, for me, my bookwent through a lot of revision
rounds with my agent, so I Ithought by you know, the second
or third draft would be like, oh, this is really good, but then
my agent would would come upwith more questions for me to
consider and then I would keepwriting another draft and be
like, oh, this is the best itcan be, this is the best it can
be.
This is the best it can be.
(12:07):
So, you know, I just finished adevelopmental edit pass with my
editor and now I'm like youknow, this is the best it can be
, like I have ideas that youknow.
It's like, why didn't I thinkabout that two years ago?
And it's because over thecourse of editing your book,
you're also becoming a betterwriter and it's, you know, so
much of revision or so much ofwriting is just revision.
(12:30):
And I think sometimes, likenewer writers, think that the
worst, or not the worst, but thebiggest part of the book is
just going to be writing thefirst draft when really you know
everything can change inrevision and you don't have to
feel like you have to get itright on the first try, because
a lot of the times people can'teven finish their draft because
they're so paralyzed by, youknow, making mistakes, and the
(12:54):
truth is that you can fixanything always, like everything
is fixable in revision.
So, yeah, I think the biggestsurprise has just been how many
times I've been able to pushmyself as a writer.
Like every time I think I can'tpossibly make this book better.
I am able to like really pushmy craft and like think about
(13:17):
revision solutions that I mightnot have necessarily thought
about, like two years ago.
J.D. Myall (13:24):
Love that, love that .
Let's talk a little bit aboutwriting craft.
How do you hook readers on thefirst page?
KM Fajardo (13:32):
Ooh, I feel like that's really tough.
I think every writer, or sorry,every reader, is going to have
like a different thing that theylook for.
For me, I think how I like toapproach first scenes in general
is I always kind of well.
(13:53):
I guess I always describe likestringing together like chapters
, as if you imagine a book asthis big house that you are
leading the reader through.
I like to think of every scene,the end of every scene, as
leading a reader into like a newroom in the house and by the
(14:15):
end of the scene you have kindof like left open a new door and
you've like left it ajar sothat the reader can kind of see
what's through that new door,but they can't fully see and it
makes them want to walk towardsit.
So that's how I think aboutlike my pacing and stringing
together, you know, a plot andthe sustaining like tension.
(14:38):
I think for, specifically forbeginnings, I always try to find
a balance between giving areader like setting the tone of
the story but not giving thereader too many details all at
once.
So not info dumping, my worldbuilding, not info dumping
backstory you don't really knowwho your main character is
(15:07):
necessarily like right away,because I think like part of
reading is also like getting toknow, like who your main
character is and like what aretheir deeper like goals and
motivations, and I don't thinkthat writers necessarily need to
put all of that like on thefirst page, and I think it's
actually more engaging forreaders and also, like as a
(15:27):
writer, to like also make itfeel like your main character is
, like a fully fleshed outperson who, um, like you're not
gonna know everything about themas soon as you meet them, and
so, uh, you kind of want readersto like be compelled to like
learn more about their journey,and I feel like it's just about
figuring out how to leave thatbread, that perfect breadcrumb
(15:49):
trail.
J.D. Myall (15:52):
Love that, love that .
What makes a relatablecharacter?
KM Fajardo (15:58):
Ooh, I think I always start with flaws, because
I think that's really the mainthing that makes them feel real.
I think like if a characterfeels too perfect, they're not
(16:19):
going to feel like grounded, Ithink.
Like grounded, I think.
And flaws are what really likecreate tension with the plot,
because your character is nevergoing to be acting perfectly.
They're going to be actingbased on you know, their
insecurities, their anxieties,their vulnerabilities.
So I always try to workbackwards from like how does
(16:42):
this character have to grow Like?
Who do they start out as at thestart of the book and who like
how?
Who do they have to become bythe end of it?
And how does this plot pushthem to become a new person and
to like learn very difficultlessons, and that can take, you
know, a different shape forevery single story.
(17:04):
But, yeah, I think everyrelatable character has to have
flaws, and I don't like to thinkof my characters as being
likable, and I also don'tnecessarily think about them as
like relatable in the sense thatI believe that my readers have
to see themselves in thesecharacters, but as long as
(17:24):
there's like something on therethat like makes a reader um
understand them and understandwhy they act the way they act
what makes a good villain?
villains, I think think I thinka villain that is really
(17:45):
compelling is one that you canunderstand the circumstances
that have led them to believewhat they believe and whether or
not you agree with how they act.
Um, you can understand, likewhether it's something in the
society or like whatever, butyou can, you can just like
(18:08):
understand, like how they wouldbecome, who they become, and
they don't have to besympathetic or you don't have to
redeem them.
I think people can just behorrible just for the sake of
being horrible.
But I also like a villain thatkind of has like a appealing
quality to them, like if they'revery personable, like I think
(18:30):
that is kind of like sits underyour skin as well.
J.D. Myall (18:34):
Yeah, how do you avoid the dreaded saggy middle
and keep a story engaging allthe way through?
KM Fajardo (18:41):
Ooh, Um, yeah, the act two is always the hardest
part for me to write.
I think every book has kind oflike I kind of have a different
approach for every book becauseall my stories are so different,
but I think I try to alwayslike have act one end off on
(19:02):
some kind of cliffhanger or onsome kind of concrete goal, so
that when act two starts there'ssomething very, very clear that
the character has to worktowards.
And it also has to be on a bothlike external and internal level
.
So there has to be something inthe plot that is driving the
(19:22):
story forward, like an externalgoal that the character has to,
you know, unpack.
But also some kind of emotionalchange I think has to happen at
the end of act one, so that thecharacter, so that the reader
is, like still connected withthe character and that the
character doesn't feel stagnant.
Because I think like sometimesit can feel like a plot is just
(19:45):
like moving a character from oneplot point to the next.
But in order for a character tofeel like immersive, you have
to believe that the events ofthe plot are really pushing up
against their beliefs, againsttheir morals, against their
emotions.
So I always try to think of aplot or the story on both like a
(20:07):
plot and character level lovethat, love that.
J.D. Myall (20:16):
What makes a compelling ending?
How do you tie up the looseends in your novels and leave
readers with a smile or tears,whichever you prefer um, I think
for me.
KM Fajardo (20:27):
I'm a very theme driven writer, so I always have
I figure out my endings.
By what like message do I wantto leave the reader with?
Um, you know, when they walkaway from the story, like, what
have these characters learned?
Or not learned, um.
So I think a satisfying endingis one where, uh, well,
(20:52):
obviously, like the, the plotand like the characters,
journeys have to like, uh, endoff in a different place than
where they started.
Um, so I like to obviously likepush my characters very far
emotionally, but I think morethan that, it's just like I mean
(21:13):
, I know some, some readersdon't like it, but like I
shouldn't call it an open ending, but an ending that leaves the
reader something to think about,like as much as you as you
answer questions.
I think leaving the reader withsomething to ponder is also how
I like to approach my endings.
Like I don't like a neat endingbecause I don't think, you know
(21:36):
, real life is neat either, andso it really is that thing where
, like, one door closes and awindow opens.
I think that is sort of how Iapproach my endings.
J.D. Myall (21:51):
Before we get into questions about your novel,
local Heaven, heavens, I um haveto be silly because you're from
toronto.
Yeah, I'm just curious whatside of the bake the drake,
kendrick lamar beef did youstand on?
KM Fajardo (22:09):
listen, I have.
I have no love for drake.
So if you're to look up mySpotify, it's all Kendrick.
That was true even before thebeef.
But yeah, I mean it's funnybecause I'm also a huge Raptors
fan and he's always there at theRaptors games and it's just so
(22:31):
bad for our brand.
So that's all I'll say.
But I'm a huge Kendrick fan.
J.D. Myall (22:38):
Good, to hear, good to hear.
I love.
Not Like Us too.
I'm not going to lie.
That was number one on myplaylist all summer long.
KM Fajardo (22:45):
Yeah, it's on repeat .
Yeah, it's my commute song whenI'm just like walking through
the city and I don't want tolike talk to anyone.
J.D. Myall (22:54):
Love it, love it.
So tell me the story behindLocal Heavens.
How did it come to be?
Where did you get the idea forthe novel?
KM Fajardo (23:02):
Yeah, it was a long process, I think, from the
moment I got the idea to themoment that I actually started
writing.
It was about two years and thestarting point was really just
that I love the Great Gatsby.
I think a lot of us read it inhigh school and I would just
revisit it constantly.
And you know, when you revisita story, like as you grow up,
(23:23):
you know your relationship withit can kind of change, and so
every time I would read it,there was like something new
that I would focus on.
So when we first read it, weread it as a story about Gatsby
and then, you know, the nexttime we read it we might think
differently about Daisy, andthen the more I would read it,
the more I would connect withNick, like this narrator who you
don't know anything about.
(23:43):
And I think, like at the sametime, like I'm just a huge fan
of cyberpunk as a genre, fan ofcyberpunk as a genre, and I
think that there are a lot ofinteresting concepts in
cyberpunk in terms of, you know,late stage capitalism and this
tech driven dystopia, and Ialways sort of saw cyberpunk as
(24:04):
this like extreme extrapolationof a lot of the things that
we're living through right nowin terms of like you know how
fast technology is advancing andhow sometimes we can't keep up
with regulations and like, whatdoes that do to our societies
and who gets left behind whenstuff like that happens?
So I think cyberpunk has a lotof themes of class and wealth
(24:28):
disparity like baked into thegenre.
And when I was rereadingcyberpunk I just or sorry, when
I was rereading Gatsby, um, Ithink that ultimately it's a
story about wealth and thedestructiveness of wealth, and,
um, I started to see a lot ofthematic parallels between the
two and I just had this thoughtwhere I was like it would be so
(24:51):
cool to reimagine the glitz andthe glam of Gatsby as this like
cyberpunk dystopia where therich are even richer and the
technology affords the rulingclass you know these this like
unimaginable power, unimaginablepleasure, um, and so I think
there's a lot of like, there's alot interesting decadence there
(25:12):
, but also, um, cyberpunk has alot of gritty cityscapes and I
felt like it could be reallywell adapted for Gatsby.
But I really sat on the idea fora long time because I just
wasn't sure how I wanted towrite it.
It felt like this hugeundertaking to like retell a
(25:38):
novel that you know is so, is somuch a part of a lot of
people's lives, especially inthe US and in Canada, where we
read it in high school.
So I spent a lot of time justlike reading cyberpunk and
trying to understand the genre,reading a lot of F Scott
Fitzgerald as like a vocaltraining exercise to like kind
of get into that voice.
And then when I felt like mycraft was in a place where I
could attempt to write this bookbecause before that I hadn't
(26:00):
finished writing a book so Iwrote two whole other
manuscripts, just to you knowpractice as a writer, to be like
okay, I know how to write abook now.
Now can I try writing this,like more experimental idea.
So, yeah, I basically it wasthe third novel that I finished
writing, the third novel that Iattempted to write, and it's
(26:22):
kind of this like weird, likeanachronistic story.
It feels like sort of a layeringof the past and the future
together and I really justwanted to like revisit the great
American novel and to kind ofanswer the question why is this
story timeless?
And I think it's timelessbecause a lot of the concepts
(26:46):
and the themes are stillrelevant to today, and it
doesn't matter what time periodyou tell.
This story, like a story aboutthe catastrophic sins of the
wealthy, is always going to berelevant.
So, yeah, and I think it's verycool that the book gets to be
published you know, 100 years,exactly 100 years out from the
(27:08):
original, because I think it'sjust like cool to kind of
compare and contrast, like theroaring 20s, to you know where
we are in the 2020s, like 100years later.
J.D. Myall (27:19):
Love that, love that .
What do you hope that peopletake away from the novel?
KM Fajardo (27:39):
for me it's in the same way that Gatsby is a story
about hope against all odds andhow, you know this this guy
could, like you know, uh,overcome all that he overcame to
become to like reach so hardfor his dreams.
And even though it ended upterribly, there is something,
you know, very inspiring in notchoosing to give in to apathy,
(28:01):
and I think that a lot of peoplehave been struggling with, like
how dark and hopeless andlonely our world can feel and
how technology has made us moreconnected than ever before, but
also feeling more isolated thanever before.
And there is a lot of pushtowards like American
(28:23):
individualism and just kind oflooking out for yourself.
And I think, like the doomerismand the apathy that we're
feeling now is very dangerous.
And I think that's kind of whatI wanted to talk about in the
book, because you have thisclassic character of Nick
Carraway who famously doesn'tever want to insert himself into
(28:48):
the events of the book, andhe's telling this story about
all of these horrible richpeople and he's like but I'm not
like them because I didn't doanything, I was just there, I
was just observing.
And now I'm just telling youthe story but I have nothing to
do with it.
And I think, re-imagining Nickas someone who witnesses these
horrible things but is pushed tothe brink and at some point you
(29:12):
can't just be a fence sitterYou're either choosing to walk
away from it or you're choosingto do something about it.
And I think, when you take thestory of Gatsby and you drop it
into an even darker world, intoan even more hopeless world, how
do you find the hope and like,the inspiration to like, try to
be a better person?
(29:32):
Like what does that mean in adystopia?
I think that's what I reallywanted to unpack.
J.D. Myall (29:41):
I love that.
How did you handle youreditorial notes?
Where did you agree with all ofthem?
Was it hard?
Did you find it relatively easy, since you've been through so
many rounds?
KM Fajardo (29:50):
Yeah, editorial is tough, you know, because I think
in the beginning I so I enjoyrevision.
I really care about thinkingabout every possible
interpretation of a book anddeciding you know which ones I
am like I want the reader tohave and trying to guide the
reader as much as possible.
(30:10):
Now that I'm so deep intorevisions like I'm at a point
where the draft that I justturned in was like draft seven.
Like there comes to a pointwhere you start getting
conflicting feedback, or youstart getting feedback that's
like very, very minor, um, andyou do start to have to make
choices as a, as a writer, whereyou're like okay, what is okay
(30:32):
to leave up to interpretation?
Is it okay if a reader comesaway with the book with these
kinds of thoughts?
Because you can't fully controlhow someone is going to
interpret the book.
So you do have to make peacewith some things.
Largely, I would say, revisionis overwhelming always, but you
(30:52):
kind of just have to trustyourself as a writer.
Like every time, I'm like Ihave no idea how I'm going to do
this.
I always figure it out, cause Ithink revision is best when you
, when you take it in, like youdon't try to do everything all
at once.
Like it's like okay, for thispass through, I'm going to focus
on the main character's arc.
For the next pass through, I'mgoing to focus on this.
(31:12):
Like you just kind of take itin steps, and I think that's how
it feels a lot more doable.
I would say that it has beenlike tough as I've gotten into
these later drafts, because I'mlike, oh, I've read the book so
many times, but mostly, I thinkall of each round, I have been
(31:35):
able to solidify what my visionis.
So most of the times I haveagreed with like 90% of the
feedback that I've gotten,because I've I'm very fortunate
enough to work with great betareaders, to work with a great
agent and a great editor, um,and also people who haven't
tried to like overshadow myvision.
So that's been good.
I agree with like most things,but there are some things that
(31:58):
it's like okay, I'm going to putmy foot down on this, because
if the suggestion doesn't likespark joy, then I don't force
myself to do it.
Like I always try to understandwhere the feedback is coming
from, but if it clashes withlike what I feel is like
integral to the story, then Idon't do it, and I think every
writer should feel safe andempowered to make that choice.
J.D. Myall (32:23):
I love that.
Stephen King said he considershimself his first reader.
KM Fajardo (32:26):
So if he gets one complaint, he goes with himself.
J.D. Myall (32:29):
If he gets two complaints, he knows it's a
problem.
Yes, yeah, exactly.
You were talking about worldbuilding earlier, so I'm curious
do you have any advice on worldbuilding for Spartan authors?
KM Fajardo (32:43):
Yeah, I guess it depends what you're writing.
I, you know, I come from like ascience fiction, fantasy
mindset.
So I think the important thingwith with world building, with
world building or at least how Itry to approach it is if I come
up with some kind ofspeculative element, whether
it's a magic system or atechnology.
(33:04):
I try to think about thosethings in multiple contexts
because I think that's whatmakes a world feel lived in.
You know, you, if you thinkabout that concept from like
multiple, like social classes,right, like how would a wealthy
class use this versus like alower class, and like what would
(33:29):
be like commercial versuspersonal use, or what kind of
subcultures would arise fromthis, you know speculative
element existing in this world.
So I think for me, worldbuilding is just a process of
taking a rabbit hole as far asit can go.
And I think this is also whybeta readers are really
important, because sometimes,like you know, you come up with
(33:50):
a technology and you would havebeta readers be like, well, if
this existed, then you know,wouldn't this happen?
And you know, like you justkind of try to follow every
possible kind of outcome.
And I think the other thing Ilike to consider sometimes with
fantasy is just like culturesand how cultures would
(34:11):
cross-pollinate.
I think sometimes fantasy canfeel very one-dimensional if
cultures that are coexistingfeel so siloed.
So I think sometimesinteresting things can come up
in your world building if youconsider the ways that like,
okay, what is very distinctabout this culture?
What is very distinct aboutthis culture if these two
(34:32):
cultures were, you know,coexisting or they were doing
trade in this specific way, then, um, what are the things that
could arise out of that?
Um, so yeah, I think, in thesame way that characters are
multifaceted.
Uh, I think your settings haveto almost be thought of like as
characters in and of themselves,like multi-dimensional, I guess
(34:54):
.
J.D. Myall (35:03):
Love that, love that .
So launching your debut novelis a huge milestone.
How did you feel leading?
KM Fajardo (35:06):
up to the book's release.
Yeah, everything's happeningpretty quickly, because I always
imagined that it would be twoyears out, because I noticed,
like a lot of my friends, theysell their books like this year
and their release date is in2026.
Um, I, I think that, likeleading up to signing the
contract and doing my edits, Iwas feeling a lot of debut
nerves and and feeling like, ohgosh, like is this book even
(35:28):
good?
Is it gonna find its readers?
Like, have I totally messed up?
Is all of it a fluke?
And I think that impostersyndrome settles in for a lot of
writers and I think for me,it's just been about like
trusting my support system andlike speaking with you know,
(35:50):
just like having the opportunityto, to speak with, like my
publishing team and my betareaders and my agent and just
getting that reassurance that,like the book that I wrote
resonated with them and if itresonated with these people so
deeply, like surely there areother readers that are going to
resonate with it too.
But, similarly to what we weretalking about, like the target
(36:13):
audience should, first andforemost, always be yourself as
a writer, and as long as I hadfun writing it, I think that's
really all that matters, and Ithink that's just kind of how
I'm tackling debut nerves.
You know there's there'snothing you can control.
All you can control is how muchfun you have writing the book.
All you can control is how muchfun you have writing the book,
(36:34):
because I do believe that thejoy of writing comes through in
the book itself.
J.D. Myall (36:45):
So for me it's more important to find, like the
readers, for who it'll resonate.
Love that, love that.
Have you planned any likelaunch?
KM Fajardo (36:55):
events or any special things that you want to
do on social media?
Yeah, I'm not entirely sure yet, like my publisher, and I
haven't gotten that far, butyeah, I'm sure I'll have a book
launch.
J.D. Myall (37:03):
I don't quite know where or when it'll be, but uh,
yeah, fingers crossed that if,when that news happens, it'll
definitely be on my socials.
Love that, love that.
KM Fajardo (37:30):
Were there any tools or platforms?
or things that helped you alongthe way as far as either writing
the book or editing or justthings that you've been like
playing with, as far as like todo reels for it, or you know any
tools or anything that helpsyou.
Yeah, I don't know.
I guess I'm kind of a boomer,because it's just me and
Scrivener, like in terms ofwriting itself, like I actually
don't really like to introducetoo many tools into my writing
process because I find that itdistracts me from just writing.
So I use Scrivener, I like theorganizational capabilities of
(37:55):
it and that's what I use todraft my books.
In terms of early brainstorming, I think if you are really like
visual writer, it can be greatto use something like Miro or
Milanote that's the one that Iuse which is like just for
whiteboarding, brainstorming,dropping in photos.
(38:15):
I prefer it more than likePinterest, which is where you
just put photos together.
But with something like Miro orMila Note, you can like
basically like add little notesand like little videos or, yeah,
photos, and I think that's likefun if you really enjoy that
like early brainstorming process.
(38:36):
I usually only do that when I'mlike really early on and I'm
like what are the vibes of thisproject?
So that can be really greatjust for like building hype,
like getting excited aboutwriting the project.
In terms of like social media, Ikind of just learn by watching
(38:56):
other people Like I try to justbe myself on social media
because I think that's the stuffthat really gets across the
most.
And when I look at you know whatreally works for my other
writer friends it's when theyspeak very like authentically
and it's not so much coming fromlike buy my book, but more like
bringing people behind thescenes, into the process and
(39:19):
into like the thoughts that youhave as a writer.
And like that was kind of likewhy I started a YouTube channel
three years ago is because Ithink writing feels very
isolating sometimes and writerskind of finding each other on
social media.
It's it's less about like thisis how you do this thing and
more like these are the you knowinsecurities that I have, or
(39:41):
this is what I learned in myprocess and it just makes it
feel like writing isn't solonely.
So whenever I see somethingthat's working really well on
like TikTok, like a certain kindof post, like figuring out,
like okay, this is what'strending right now, I just kind
of try to follow that andobviously like if it feels right
(40:04):
for me.
I don't try to like forcemyself to talk about something
that I'm not passionate about,but I think like, yeah, the key
with social media is just likefollow creators that you really
like and be yourself.
J.D. Myall (40:21):
Love that, love that .
Do you have any advice forother debuts who are just
embarking on the same journeythat you are on now?
KM Fajardo (40:37):
um, I think on a technical level, um, definitely
read your contracts.
It like don't phone it in.
Um, I like very, verymeticulously read my contracts.
I know your agent is there todo that for you.
But if you see something that'seven super minor, ask your
(41:00):
agent about it, Ask them is thisnormal?
Can I ask for this?
Your agent should be there toreally guide you, and I think
sometimes writers can feel apower imbalance with publishers,
with agents.
But I think it's reallyimportant to like advocate for
yourself at every part of theprocess.
Like just like I think it'slike very normalized, like that
(41:23):
agents and publishers just kindof do things on their own and
they don't really like bringwriters into the loop.
But if you have a question,like instead of letting it
fester inside of you, like justask like hey, like how does this
process work?
And like don't let anyone makeyou feel bad about asking that
question, because, as a debutauthor, there's so much that you
(41:43):
don't know, and I think we alllike deserve transparency.
So, you know, join writerdiscord groups.
Like if you're a 2025 debut,there's like a discord group
where everyone's in.
So you know, like, don't beafraid to like ask someone, like
if you're, if you're not in it.
(42:05):
Writers are very eager to helpother writers and I have been
very lucky Like when I did mydeal announcement like just all
the support that I've gotten.
I think the other thing thatwas like a huge topic last year
was just not seeing your fellowwriters and your fellow debut
cohort as competition.
(42:26):
It's like a lot.
It like it is so much better tojust support each other because
you know like don't focus onlike this author got a huge deal
, Like there's so much betterthan me or whatever.
Like I think all of us are goingthrough this process together
and I think the vast majority ofus see each other as like
(42:48):
really we only have each otherin this industry, right, Like
this industry is not going tolove you back a lot of the times
.
And as great as it is to beengaged with readers, there is
kind of a degree of separationthat you need to have with
readers.
So lean on the other writers inyour debut cohort.
You know, figure out, figureout like what else they're doing
(43:10):
for promotion.
Like ask them questions if youdon't want to ask your publisher
.
I think that support goes along way in making you feel
reassured that whateverinsecurities you're having are
not unique, and also it's justgreat to not go through the
journey alone.
J.D. Myall (43:28):
Love that, love that you gave me another question.
KM Fajardo (43:30):
So what are?
J.D. Myall (43:30):
you doing for promotions?
KM Fajardo (43:40):
So I think, like, aside from social media, I
haven't like had like a hugediscussion yet with my publisher
, like that's probably somethingthat we're having later next
month or next year, but I'm surethere'll be a book launch and
like we're doing arcs and, youknow, pre-order campaigns.
Hopefully I'd love to do apre-order campaign and to just
like especially give back to thepeople who've been like
(44:02):
supporting me for a really longtime, because I've been
documenting like my writingjourney for like the last three
years and there's like a lot ofreaders who've been invested in
this book like before they everknew it was going to get
published.
And yeah, I think, other thanthat, it's just like I try to
keep a social media presence sothat people know like who I am
(44:25):
and why I write, and yeah, I'msure you'll have lots and lots
of great things, yeah, when thetime time comes.
J.D. Myall (44:35):
So what's next for you after your debut novel?
Have you, are there going to beany collaborations, any other
projects in the works?
KM Fajardo (44:41):
yeah, I'm halfway through, or over halfway through
, my next book, so my biggestgoal is, like I want to buckle
down and finish my next book sothat I can go on submission
again and hopefully sell anotherbook.
I think the main thing is thatI want to write a lot of
different things.
I think, like a lot of writers,I feel like I have a lot of
(45:04):
different ideas.
My next book is going to be,hopefully, fantasy and I'm
hoping fingers crossed crossedthat it won't be a long
submission process.
But I think that's what I'mprobably going to be focusing on
and, yeah, Can I?
J.D. Myall (45:25):
get a hint on what the next one's about.
KM Fajardo (45:27):
Sure, yeah.
So it's an adult fantasy andit's kind of inspired loosely by
uh, 1930s manila and like thetime period surrounding, uh, the
us occupation of thephilippines, um, so it's kind of
like a little bit closer tohome in the sense that, like um,
(45:48):
I've always kind of like wantedto write a story about that
time period, especially like asa Filipino diaspora writer, and
it deals a lot withintergenerational trauma and
sort of the commodification oftrauma.
Um, it uh is a secondary worldfantasy and it's kind of how I'm
(46:17):
pitching it sort of is like thegang politics of Jade City
mixed with the commentary on uhlanguage and colonialism similar
to Babel, um, so those are kindof the preoccupations of of
that novel.
But we're still in the firstdraft, um, and I'm hoping that I
can finish it soon, hopefullyQ1 next year.
J.D. Myall (46:39):
Sounds great.
Sounds great.
How do you envision your futurewriting career?
Like 10 years down the road?
How do you see yourself?
You?
KM Fajardo (46:48):
know I just want to be writing.
I think that's the main thing isI just still want to have a
relationship with writing and Ithink we we all have big, big
author dreams.
Um, uh, like you know the usualmilestones of of like hitting a
bestseller list or you know,selling film, tv rights, like of
(47:08):
course those things are like onmy bucket list.
But if I envision myself five to10 years down the road, I would
love to just have writingsustain me.
And if I'm not writing fulltime, I just want to be in a
place where I am still tellingstories, because I think that
(47:31):
this industry burns you outreally fast.
And I think when I, if you havetoo many like thoughts around,
like I have to do this, like Ihave to hit the bestseller list,
I have to win these awards, youcan start to like really resent
writing, because you'rethinking less about writing and
more about publishing.
(47:51):
And so I try to keep writingand publishing two separate
things where I always say I takewriting seriously, I take
publishing on seriously in thesense that I don't try to have
expectations.
You know I see writing as thereward.
So fingers crossed that I'mdoing this full time in a decade
(48:13):
, but as long as I'm writingstories that I'm passionate
about, that's really all I canhope for.
J.D. Myall (48:19):
Love that, love that .
Is there anything you want tocover that we haven't mentioned?
No, I think that's it.
I think those are greatquestions, thank you.
Thank you, you gave fabulousanswers.
I can see that you have thesocial media experience.
You come across as genuine butvery, like I said, very polished
.
Those were great questions,though, thank you.
(48:41):
I appreciate that you get greatanswers.
Where can people connect withyou and how can they stay
updated on your latest work?
KM Fajardo (48:48):
Sure, so all my links can be found on my website
, which is kmfajardocom.
I have a sub stack,kmfajardosubstackcom, and yeah,
I give like major projectupdates always through my
newsletter on there.
But if you follow me on likeInstagram, that's probably like
(49:09):
the best place to follow me.
Tiktok as well I'm prettyactive and I also have a YouTube
channel and, yeah, all thoselinks are on my website.
Speaker 1 (49:17):
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
That wraps up today's.
Announcement (49:20):
Craft Chat Chronicles with JD Mayor.
Thanks for joining us.
If you liked the episode,please comment, subscribe and
share.
For show notes, writingworkshops and tips.
Tips head to jdmayocom.
That's jdmayorcom.
While you're there, join jd'smailing list for updates,
(49:45):
giveaways and more.
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