Matt Kilby
@mattkilbybooks.bsky.social
Freelance copyeditor and writer currently working on 2 of 6 WIPs. Blog about my mistakes and how they've informed my process: www.mattkilbybooks.com
I'm now on Substack! Stop by for a look at one of my works in progress: mattkilbybooks.substack.com/p/an-introdu...
An Introduction
This post is the same as the welcome email for new subscribers. If you received and read that, you can skip this.
mattkilbybooks.substack.com
August 13, 2025 at 11:43 PM
I'm now on Substack! Stop by for a look at one of my works in progress: mattkilbybooks.substack.com/p/an-introdu...
New blog post is up, if anyone's interested. This one's about that unteachable milestone every writer needs to pass: discovering their voice. #WritingCommunity
www.mattkilbybooks.com/post/the-elu...
www.mattkilbybooks.com/post/the-elu...
The Elusive Voice
A writer friend recently told me he’d found his voice. In the way he said it—eyes wide and hands gesturing with a manic energy—it was clear something had clicked into place for him. That’s how I knew ...
www.mattkilbybooks.com
June 30, 2025 at 12:18 PM
New blog post is up, if anyone's interested. This one's about that unteachable milestone every writer needs to pass: discovering their voice. #WritingCommunity
www.mattkilbybooks.com/post/the-elu...
www.mattkilbybooks.com/post/the-elu...
Another chapter trimmed from The Road Cain Walks, this one by 10 pages. 168 pages (41829 words) cut so far without touching the plot. 41 chapters to go. #WritingCommunity Here's a sample:
June 14, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Another chapter trimmed from The Road Cain Walks, this one by 10 pages. 168 pages (41829 words) cut so far without touching the plot. 41 chapters to go. #WritingCommunity Here's a sample:
Another week, another chapter trimmed from The Road Cain Walks.
A short chapter, so it's only 2 pages lighter. 157 pages (42,919 words) cut so far without touching the plot.
43 chapters to go. #WritingCommunity
Here's a sample:
A short chapter, so it's only 2 pages lighter. 157 pages (42,919 words) cut so far without touching the plot.
43 chapters to go. #WritingCommunity
Here's a sample:
May 31, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Another week, another chapter trimmed from The Road Cain Walks.
A short chapter, so it's only 2 pages lighter. 157 pages (42,919 words) cut so far without touching the plot.
43 chapters to go. #WritingCommunity
Here's a sample:
A short chapter, so it's only 2 pages lighter. 157 pages (42,919 words) cut so far without touching the plot.
43 chapters to go. #WritingCommunity
Here's a sample:
Another chapter trimmed from The Road Cain Walks, making it 16 pages lighter. 155 pages cut so far without touching the plot. 44 chapters to go. #WritingCommunity
Here's a sample:
Here's a sample:
May 24, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Another chapter trimmed from The Road Cain Walks, making it 16 pages lighter. 155 pages cut so far without touching the plot. 44 chapters to go. #WritingCommunity
Here's a sample:
Here's a sample:
Another chapter down on the Shadow on the Sun rewrite. 24 to go. #WritingCommunity
May 21, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Another chapter down on the Shadow on the Sun rewrite. 24 to go. #WritingCommunity
The novel I'm currently rewriting is about healing from the wounds we carry with us, the ones we allow to define us. Progress is slow but steady. I'll get to the finish line eventually. #WritingCommunity
May 7, 2025 at 2:27 PM
The novel I'm currently rewriting is about healing from the wounds we carry with us, the ones we allow to define us. Progress is slow but steady. I'll get to the finish line eventually. #WritingCommunity
Another chapter trimmed in my bloated first self-pub, The Road Cain Walks. 6 pages from the chapter for a current total loss of 134 pages. 44 chapters left to go. #WritingCommunity
It opens with some spoilers, so the sample comes from the middle:
It opens with some spoilers, so the sample comes from the middle:
May 3, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Another chapter trimmed in my bloated first self-pub, The Road Cain Walks. 6 pages from the chapter for a current total loss of 134 pages. 44 chapters left to go. #WritingCommunity
It opens with some spoilers, so the sample comes from the middle:
It opens with some spoilers, so the sample comes from the middle:
Don't just read books in the genre you write. Read books with the types of scenes you might write. Books with romance, terror, family drama, sword fights. In other words, read everything. ##WritingCommunity
April 30, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Don't just read books in the genre you write. Read books with the types of scenes you might write. Books with romance, terror, family drama, sword fights. In other words, read everything. ##WritingCommunity
Sometimes, you can't see the path until you're at the end of it, but the most important thing is to keep walking.
April 21, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Sometimes, you can't see the path until you're at the end of it, but the most important thing is to keep walking.
No matter how angry you get at an issue or the people on the opposite side of it from you, remember that negatives don't cancel each other out. They combine for a larger negative. Only positives defeat negatives. Try love instead. Compassion. If not for the person or problem, then for the victims.
April 18, 2025 at 3:47 PM
No matter how angry you get at an issue or the people on the opposite side of it from you, remember that negatives don't cancel each other out. They combine for a larger negative. Only positives defeat negatives. Try love instead. Compassion. If not for the person or problem, then for the victims.
One more chapter down for the Shadow on the Sun rewrite. 25 more to go (about 146 pages). #WritingCommunity
April 17, 2025 at 6:51 PM
One more chapter down for the Shadow on the Sun rewrite. 25 more to go (about 146 pages). #WritingCommunity
It's tough to be so excited about a major part of your life, something you've devoted years to, and have the people closest to you not really care.
March 26, 2025 at 2:03 AM
It's tough to be so excited about a major part of your life, something you've devoted years to, and have the people closest to you not really care.