|
I don’t usually see authors publish their Kickstarter post-mortems. Mostly because they’re either quietly disappointed or loudly pretending everything was perfect. I’ve done neither. I’ve published a clear-eyed report on my latest Kickstarter -- what worked, what stalled, where the money actually came from, and why being “successfully funded” isn’t the same as growth. No hype. No hustle slogans. Just numbers, patterns, and uncomfortable truths about running small, values-driven campaigns in a noisy economy. If you’re an indie author, artist, or anyone thinking of crowdfunding without burning out or lying to yourself, this one’s for you. 🔗 Read the full Kickstarter report here: open.substack.com/pub/amrasarmchairanecdotes/p/reflections-on-my-second-kickstarter?r=i0jxk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Sometimes the most useful thing you can share isn’t the win -- it’s the process behind it. 
0 Comments
Reminder to self: this diary works because reflection sharpens decisions. https://open.substack.com/pub/amrasarmchairanecdotes/p/writing-diary-4-2026?r=i0jxk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true  I always thought I was a good listener. Turns out I was just terrified of silence. This essay started in a classroom, with a student who needed more time—and me, clenching my jaw, counting backwards, fighting the urge to rescue her by filling the quiet. What I realised was uncomfortable: I wasn’t rescuing her. I was rescuing myself. We live in a culture that rewards speed, noise, confidence, and interruption. Silence looks like weakness. Waiting looks like incompetence. Listening looks passive. But silence changed everything—for my students, my friendships, my emotional regulation, and the way I show up in conversation. This piece is about: – why extroverts get rewarded (and where that backfires) – how talking can be emotional armour, not connection – why asking questions makes you more likeable than being interesting – and how learning to wait ten seconds reshaped my relationships, teaching, and podcasting If you’ve ever: – filled silence too quickly – over-shared to feel safe – confused talking with intimacy – or felt uneasy when things slowed down This one’s for you. 📖 I Wasn’t a Bad Listener—I Was Just Afraid of Silence Read it on my Substack. https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/5d3f3b98-3573-4a72-8419-7ebb06bafa5b  I used to think you had to be “over it” before you wrote about it. Turns out: you just need distance, craft, and consent. I published a new Substack article: Writing From the Wound — what trauma can teach emerging writers about craft (without turning your life into content). In it, I talk about: · why wounds are raw material (not the finished story) · memoir vs fiction as safety choices · how to write hard things without wrecking yourself · the practical tools I use: sprints, placeholders, vent-then-revise, grounding If you’re trying to write something real but keep freezing, this one’s for you. https://open.substack.com/pub/amrasarmchairanecdotes/p/writing-from-the-wound-what-trauma  Episodes 11–20 were where the conversations deepened—and got a lot more honest. This run of Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes moves through early menopause and POI, refugee identity, neurodiversity, resilience, creative risk, and what it really takes to build a sustainable literary life. These aren’t polished origin stories or neat success arcs. They’re conversations about bodies that don’t cooperate, careers built sideways, voices found late (or fought for), and the quiet, unglamorous work of staying creative in a world that prefers shortcuts. Across artists, writers, academics, performers, and small-press trailblazers, these episodes ask the same hard questions from different angles: What does it cost to keep going? Who gets to speak—and on what terms? And how do you build a creative life that doesn’t burn you out or erase where you came from? If you’ve ever felt out of step, underprepared, or like your path didn’t come with a map—this stretch of episodes is for you. Full episodes here20-Early Menopause, Real Talk: A conversation with Antoinette about POI, 08/12/25
19-From Shy Teen To Stage: A conversation with Veronica Ho, 24/11/25 18-Three Minutes To Matter: A conversation with Dr Katherine Firth, 10/11/25 17-Building an indie literary life: A conversation with Koraly Dimitriadis, 27/10/25 16-From Booth to Business: A conversation with Nina Nikolic, 13/10/25 15-Resilience Runs in Our Ink: A Conversation with Demet Divaroren, 29/09/25 14-From Street Art to Gallery Walls: An interview with Lukas Kasper, 16/08/25 13-Embracing Neurodiversity in a Square-Peg World: A conversation with Lee Agius, 04/08/25 12-Dancing Through Life's Transitions: A conversation with Tania Segura, 21/07/25 11-The Refugee Writer's Journey: A Conversation with Fikret Pajalic, 07/07/25 I thought menopause was breaking my marriage. Turns out, it was exposing what had been quietly breaking me. Last year, I wasn’t rage-scrolling real estate listings. I was calmly planning a solo life. Not because I hated my husband—but because perimenopause stripped away my ability to keep carrying everyone else’s emotional weight. This essay isn’t a neat “menopause is hard” story. It’s about rage. Boundaries. Emotional labour. Biology. And the uncomfortable truth that menopause doesn’t create relationship problems—it reveals them. The stats are confronting. The lived reality is worse. And the silence around it helps no one. If you’ve ever felt:
I’m not selling divorce. I’m selling honesty. And the radical idea that you don’t have to destroy yourself to keep a relationship intact. Read the full piece here 👇 “Menopause Didn’t Break My Marriage—It Showed Me What Was Already Broken.” https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/menopause-didnt-break-my-marriageit  ✍️ Substack & Essays Published my first personal essay on perimenopause and psychosis Early reader response has been encouraging (17 subscribers and growing) Long-term goal: curate a revised essay collection for 2027 Spent a full day importing all past essays into Scrivener to: Re-edit unpublished work Extend previously published pieces Build a cohesive manuscript rather than scattered posts 🎙 Podcast & Media Unfiltered Voices Interviewed by Kellie for her podcast Strong enough conversation that I invited her onto mine next Amra’s Armchair Anecdotes Batched 5 episodes and scheduled them More interviews planned before returning to work Updated logo and visual branding for Season 2 🛒 Pishukin Press Store Adjusted direct-sale discount from 20% → 10% Encourages buying direct without undercutting paperback value Currently: Paperbacks: Australia only Digital products: worldwide Next focus: Bundled offers Better advertising and visibility 📦 Ghosts Among the Gumtrees Kickstarter Finalised proof copy of Book 2 Delivered bonus short story “Zora’s Story” Fulfilled backer orders Kickstarter report and breakdown still to come 📚 Friendship on Hold (Middle Grade) Regained publishing rights Identified illustration issue: Two clashing styles (abstract vs cartoon) Decision made to: Standardise illustrations as abstract Teaching activities in development (slow, steady progress) ✍️ Work in Progress – Seka Torlak Series Deep into Book 5 and loving the direction Now tracking chapter-by-chapter threads (because my brain is no longer a filing cabinet) Goal: Complete draft before end of January Let it marinate before revisions Reality check: Book 4 needs a significant rewrite and that’s the next major task https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/writing-diary-2-2026  Just found out about this cool feature on Substack where you can print your Substack as a broadsheet. So here's mine. I used to think “finding your voice” meant polishing your style. Turns out it’s about something harder: figuring out what you actually want to say—and having the guts to say it. In my latest Substack (based on a podcast episode), I share the messy truth of my writing life: early wins, chasing what “sells,” losing time, heartbreak, and the moment I stopped outsourcing my voice to commercial expectations. If you’re at a crossroads—genre, platform, publishing path—this one’s for you. Read it here: https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/finding-my-voice-took-28-yearsand 🎧 Listen to the episode: https://www.amrapajalic.com/evolution-of-author.html  I wrote this essay because I’m tired of women being told to push through when our brains are quietly burning down. For years, insomnia stalked me. Then sleep paralysis arrived—dark rooms, crushing weight, shadow figures watching from the corners. When perimenopause hit, those episodes escalated into something far more dangerous: the creeping return of psychosis I’d spent a lifetime outrunning. This isn’t gothic metaphor. It’s what happens when hormones, trauma, and inherited mental illness collide—and no one warns you it can. This essay is about: – sleep paralysis and night terrors – perimenopause and estrogen loss – how close I came to losing reality – and how HRT quite literally gave me my life back If we don’t talk honestly about menopause and mental health, women keep suffering in silence—and sometimes, they don’t come back. Read it on Substack. Share it if it resonates. And if you recognise yourself in it, please know: you’re not weak, you’re not broken, and you’re not imagining it. https://amrasarmchairanecdotes.substack.com/p/the-night-hag-in-my-wardrobe-when  |
AuthorAmra Pajalić is an award-winning author, an editor and teacher who draws on her Bosnian cultural heritage to write own voices stories for young people, who like her, are searching to mediate their identity and take pride in their diverse culture. She writes memoir, young adult and romance under the pen name Mae Archer. newsletterSign up and receive free books.
Twitter feedArchives
February 2026
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed