Nicholas Ponticello's Blog, page 2
May 11, 2025
Free Books to Read in Bed
Who doesn’t love free books? Here’s the Books to Read in Bed promo (with SATAN’S DIARY among those listed) where you can download any book for free (including mine)!
Go find your next free gem!
May 8, 2025
The first review of Satan’s Diary is in, and it’s…
5 STARS!
Read the entire review below. Then preorder on Amazon.
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
EDITORIAL REVIEW
8th May 2025
TITLE: SATAN’S DIARY
AUTHOR: Nicholas Ponticello
Star Rating: 5
‘A highly original retelling of Lucifer’s life on Earth and how even a fallen angel can fall in love. Highly recommended!’
REVIEW
What a fascinating novel this is, the author, Nicholas Ponticello, creating his very own, living amongst us, Lucifer, or, as he’s now called, Todd Rivet – a kite flyer who works three days a week in a student coffee shop. This is his ‘immortal’ story: how he came into being, his attempts to understand humanity, and how he falls in love. And, I must say, I loved it. It’s insightful, accessibly written and, well – different; and I happen to love ‘different.’
So, what did I enjoy the most? Well, I loved how character focused it was; how I got to know every character, even the secondary, so very well. It’s all in the detail, you see. Like how God is particular about his lawns and the angel, Michael, snips every blade to a predetermined length. And that’s just in the first chapter. I also loved the writing style, the author capable of not only developing his characters but keeping a strong pacing all the way till the end. Finally, there’s humour here; the subtle kind, not the fall over and fart kind, and it works; it works really, really well. So, if you happen to be on the hunt for a character-led, highly original novel in which Lucifer is the protagonist, this book is for you. I think most readers will enjoy getting to know this fallen angel and they’ll be amazed by how very human he is. All in all, a gripping read.
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review, www.thewsa.co.uk
May 5, 2025
SATAN’S DIARY Cover Reveal
I started writing Satan’s Diary in 2005. Back then George W. Bush was still in the White House (and we thought he was about as bad as a president could ever get…boy, were we wrong), the Xbox 360 and iPhone were invented (can you remember a time without iPhones?), and Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” was topping the charts. We have seen a lot of changes in the intervening twenty years, but Lucifer is still the same old angel trying to navigate the human world.
I don’t know why it took me so long to finally finish Satan’s Diary. Maybe I felt a lot of pressure for it to be really good. And it is really good. Don’t take my word for it; Satan’s Diary was a finalist in the Book Pipeline: Unpublished competition and a quarterfinalist in the ScreenCraft Cinematic Prose competition. This irreverent retelling of a well-known tale will find an eager audience among readers who enjoy a witty story of love and loss across the ages—great for fans of the Song of Achilles, Interview with the Vampire, and Outlander.
As longtime readers and fans, I encourage you to preorder Satan’s Diary today. Preorders are a major metric that set a book up for success on the day of its launch. Besides, it’s only $2.99. That’s less than a cup of coffee. So don’t wait!
Preorder here!
April 24, 2025
Free Book Download April 23-27
THREE WISHES: AND OTHER STORIES
You can download my short story THREE WISHES for FREE right now. Go to Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0185C995Q
April 17, 2025
Free Book Download April 17-20
You can download my first novel for FREE right now. Go to Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Do-Not-Resuscitate-Nicholas-Ponticello-ebook/dp/B00VKSQFIC
I also have a limited number of free Audible audiobook copies if you want to request one at info@booleanop.com.
April 12, 2025
How to Budget for Self-Publishing
So you wrote a book. Now what?
For many people, the vicissitudes of the publishing industry make traditional publishing unappealing, not to mention improbable.
So you’ve decided to self-publish! Excellent. I’ve self-published four novels, and I found the process truly rewarding. But it costs money. I’ve spent between $3000 and $5000 on each book. You can do it for less if you aren’t keen on spending thousands to market your book. A lot of my budget goes to marketing, which is completely optional. However, the number of books I’ve sold has correlated directly with my marketing budget, so if you hope to reach a wide audience, you have to do some marketing.
“But I’m on a tight budget,” you say. You can still publish that book. You’re just going to have to make some decisions about how to allocate your money.
How cheap can self-publishing be?
Let’s say you do what I did for my first book and design your own cover and do your own formatting, then the only major cost (aside from marketing if you choose to go that route) will be professional editing.
Depending on the length of your book and how much editing you want, this cost can range between $900 and $4000. Editors usually charge per word. The rates can range from 1.2 cent per word to 3.2 cents per word depending on the editor and what type of editing you want. There are many kinds of editing:
Developmental editing ($$$): major structural edits to plot, style, characters, themes, etc. I’ve never paid for this level of professional editing. But one can.
Line editing ($$): more minor changes to style, structure, grammar, word choice, etc. I’ve also never paid for line editing. I’ve always felt pretty confident in my ability to self-edit and revise at this level. But if I had an extra $1500, I’d definitely hire someone to do this.
Copy editing ($): making sure the book has no errors, inconsistencies, misspellings, or other distracting mistakes. A copy editor will make sure your book follows all the rules of an official style guide (proper punctuation, capitalization, spelling, formatting, etc.). I always fork over between $1000-$2000 for this because it ensures my book reads professionally. Nothing can delegitimize your standing as an author like poor copy editing. My advice: don’t try to do this yourself.
Proofreading ($): a final check for errors and inconsistencies. Usually the copy editing packages I buy include a proofreading. But many authors prefer to have different editors for copy editing and proofreading.
Looking for a good editor? I’ve found Rabbit With a Red Pen to be an incredible editor with affordable offerings. But you can also get quotes for editing services from freelancers on Reedsy, a site with lots of awesome opportunities and services for writers.
So now let’s talk about cover design. You can try to design a cover yourself. For the first three books I published, that’s exactly what I did.
You can use stock images to help you design your cover. Stock images often require a subscription to the stock image library for a monthly fee. But this fee is worth every penny if you are trying to design your own cover. I use Storyblocks for around $15-$30/month. You can sign up for one month and then cancel your subscription once you have downloaded the images you need.
For my fourth book, I reached out to a professional cover designer.
If you have between $100-$500 for cover design, then this is the way to go. A professional cover designer will ensure your cover meets all the correct size and quality specifications for paperback, hardcover, and/or Kindle editions. Now that I’ve used a professional cover designer, I don’t think I’ll ever design my own cover again. I worked with Emily’s World of Design on The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel and am very happy with the result.
But can’t I use AI to design my cover for free?
Yes, you can. But that’s not a choice most other writers and artists will support. Be aware that many readers, too, will not read anything that has been touched by AI. And you often have to declare that you used AI with the service you use to publish your book. This is good practice anyway. Never pass off AI as your own work. Be transparent about its use.
Finally, there is the layout design of your book. I love to do my own layout design for all my books. I simply format the book in Microsoft Word. But there are tons of services and software that will help you with this. I might give Atticus a shot on my next book ($147). You will likely have to pay a fee, either for someone to do it for you or for the software. So if you want to pay for formatting, budget anywhere between $100-$500.
In total, these expenses (editing, cover design, formatting) will cost anywhere from $1000-$5000 depending on how much you outsource.
Then there is marketing. Obviously, you can forego all marketing and simply tell your friends and family where to buy the book. But if you want more readers, you need to market the book. I’ve spent between $1000-$3000 on each book for marketing. That includes things likes Amazon Ads, Google Ads, promotional websites and email lists, contest entry fees, editorial reviews, website design, promotional materials like bookmarks, and so much more. The sky is the limit with marketing. That is a whole post unto itself.
Finally, don’t forget to buy an ISBN for each version of your book. I buy ISBNs in packs of 10 from Bowker for $295. One ISBN will cost around $125 if you buy it on its own. You will also want to register your book with the US Copyright Office for roughly $45-$60.
If you’d like to see the nitty-gritty breakdown of costs associated with my last book, I have a great post on Patreon for subscribing members that shows where every cent of my budget went for The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel. Definitely check that out if you are serious about self-publishing.
So now you know how much it can cost to self-publish. If you don’t have a couple thousand dollars lying around, maybe try a Kickstarter. Or start saving up. Or go the traditional route. Because the feeling of holding your book in your hands is truly rewarding.
April 1, 2025
Happy 10-Year Book Anniversary
My first novel, Do Not Resuscitate, turns 10-years-old today. It remains the book I am most proud of. In the ten years since its publication, I have sold almost 1000 copies, given away another 5500 free downloads, produced an audiobook version of the novel, and seen 30,000 pages read on Kindle Unlimited.
Thank you to everyone who has taken the chance on an indie author. Do Not Resuscitate has earned 4.1 stars on Amazon thanks to 184 reviewers.
If you haven’t read it yet, order your copy today!
March 25, 2025
March Q&A: Staying Sane in MAGA World
This is the question I ask myself every day. The Trump administration’s attacks on immigrants, people of color, transgender folk, and anyone who doesn’t fit the Republican mold weigh heavily on my heart and mind. As a member of the LGBTQ community, I am particularly impacted by the way the MAGA movement is framing any form of queerness as a kind of mental illness from which LGBTQ folk are suffering. Let me be perfectly clear: The only thing causing me any suffering right now are the MAGA attacks on my identity. I love my queer self, and I find happiness in my ability to express my queer love safely and freely.
If you voted for this administration and somehow think you can still care for your LGBTQ friends and family, you have greatly deluded yourself. The Trump administration is coming for me and my marriage, and they always said they would. So you voted for Trump knowing he would attack my lifestyle. That’s on you.
In 2020, at the end of the first Trump term, I started writing a YA novel called Sinner X that is proving prophetic. In the not-too-distant future, America has fallen into the hands of religious extremists, and LGBTQ+ kids are rounded up and sent to internment camps in the wildernesses of Utah and Idaho to undergo conversion therapy. Fifteen-year-old Xen must find a way to survive the abuse of his captors while also confronting his own complicated feelings about his sexuality.
Read the rest of this post on my Patreon page. Subscribe for exclusive content.
December 25, 2024
Top Books of 2024
I’m in there somewhere…
November 29, 2024
Black Friday Freebies
Good morning friends! If you’re looking for some reading material this holiday, look no further! My entire catalog (including my most recent novel) is FREE to download on Amazon for Black Friday! Tell your friends and share this post! ‘Cause who doesn’t like free things?
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00WRCPEF0
If you are looking for a place to start, download DO NOT RESUSCITATE first.
Jim Frost thinks that when you’re dead, you’re dead. Gone. Finished. Kaput. But on the eve of his seventy-third birthday, his daughter suggests he have his brain downloaded to a microchip for safekeeping, and Jim is forced to consider what it really means to die—and what it might mean to live forever.
Winner in the 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards and semifinalist in the 2015 Kindle Book Awards, Do Not Resuscitate is the firsthand account of Jim Frost, an aging misanthropist who witnessed the rise and fall of the United States as a world power, the digitalization of the planet, the advent of the water wars, and the near collapse of the global economy. Yet he remains impervious to it all. Concerned more with his plasma TV, high-speed Internet, and continual supply of hash, twentysomething Jim takes an under-the-table job off Craigslist delivering mysterious red coolers to strangers in cafés in an effort to pay the bills. But when Jim’s enigmatic employer asks him to fly to North Korea for a delivery, Jim starts to wonder what he’s gotten himself into.
Do Not Resuscitate received honorable mention at the 2015 Green Book Festival, which spotlights “books that contribute to greater understanding, respect for and positive action on the changing worldwide environment.”
