Julius Schenk's Blog, page 2
February 17, 2016
Take the Darkness - Needs reviews!!
Hi All,
Just a quick one, My second book 'Take the Darkness and Give us the Light' has been out for around a month or maybe two. It's doing well in sales and the reviews, thank god, don't mention spelling and grammar, so paying those editors and proofreaders was well worth it! It only have seven reviews currently and i need at least 15 to get some good Amazon love.
If you've read the first and want the second one, just shoot me an email and i'll send you a copy for your kindle. If you don't have kindle you could get the kindle app for your computer. If you can then give me an honest review in excahnge that would be great.
Also a quick sorry to the people who have sent me comments on here i haven't seen, just tweet me, or facebook, i see that more often.
email: xjuliousbx at gmail.com
twitter: @juliusx_x
facebook: www.facebook.com/juliusschenkaus
Just a quick one, My second book 'Take the Darkness and Give us the Light' has been out for around a month or maybe two. It's doing well in sales and the reviews, thank god, don't mention spelling and grammar, so paying those editors and proofreaders was well worth it! It only have seven reviews currently and i need at least 15 to get some good Amazon love.
If you've read the first and want the second one, just shoot me an email and i'll send you a copy for your kindle. If you don't have kindle you could get the kindle app for your computer. If you can then give me an honest review in excahnge that would be great.
Also a quick sorry to the people who have sent me comments on here i haven't seen, just tweet me, or facebook, i see that more often.
email: xjuliousbx at gmail.com
twitter: @juliusx_x
facebook: www.facebook.com/juliusschenkaus
The free tool all self published authors should get - Bit.ly
As most of you know, being self published means ,lots and lots of pimping your own work, often your'll find your doing heaps of promo and even paying for things and then wondering if it's worth you time or money, imagine you had an easy way to track it.
Bit.ly www.bitly.com
is a free website that shortens your big ugly links, into small sexy ones. I guess it was originally for tweeter. Anyway if you sign up, free, they will let you track your links. So if you're going to spend a few hours doing facebook promo, you can create and name and link and see how many click have resulted from it/ Yesterday, i did this to some facebook groups and got ten clicks, so it was good, if you wanted to go further, you could do one per group.
Best for Paid promo.
Most of us are happy to shell out some cash if it results in sales but we have no really way of knowing. You might see a bump in sales on a day but it could be from anything. Recently i paid $19 for a promo from 'Book tweeters' it's to their group of around 500k followers. Now twitter, normally sucks for promo, but they are running it on friday, and i'll be able to see what the direct result is., Also if i get 100 clicks and only 10 sales, i'll know my sales page needs some work!
If you don't have bitly get it, your probably using it anyway.
Bit.ly www.bitly.com
is a free website that shortens your big ugly links, into small sexy ones. I guess it was originally for tweeter. Anyway if you sign up, free, they will let you track your links. So if you're going to spend a few hours doing facebook promo, you can create and name and link and see how many click have resulted from it/ Yesterday, i did this to some facebook groups and got ten clicks, so it was good, if you wanted to go further, you could do one per group.
Best for Paid promo.
Most of us are happy to shell out some cash if it results in sales but we have no really way of knowing. You might see a bump in sales on a day but it could be from anything. Recently i paid $19 for a promo from 'Book tweeters' it's to their group of around 500k followers. Now twitter, normally sucks for promo, but they are running it on friday, and i'll be able to see what the direct result is., Also if i get 100 clicks and only 10 sales, i'll know my sales page needs some work!
If you don't have bitly get it, your probably using it anyway.
February 4, 2016
A rant about pop fantasy and the ruination of monsters
Lately i've been doing heaps and heaps of promo on facebook. There are lots of groups for people who want to find new books by indy authors. The problem with the fact everyone can write a book, is everyone now does. While there is some great stuff out in the world, there are some titles that are so bad it's crazy. I used to think things like twilight we're good because they're making fantasy more accessible, but they aren't. They are just making fantasy into pop and lame.
No i'm not trying to say i'm some great writer here, all i'm saying is i have some respect for the people who actually came up with these ideas in the first place, not the a-holes who have turned them into commercial fodder.
Here's one I read recently, i'll just say the idea, not details, I'm not that mean. But i'll write it in their style.
'He was just after some easy money, he was the kind of good looking bad boy who normal got whatever, and whoever he wanted. But he wasn't expecting when he went to the werewolf party that he would end up hooking up with the male alpha, or that he'd get pregnant!
no shit, that is actually a story line from a real book!
The problem with this stuff is that people actually read it and now when someone thinks of vampires they think of this shit, werewolves, shape shifters, they have taken and fucked up. All these cool creatures and once original ideas. You think Bram Stoker would like twilight? he'd be pissed off that they stole his monster and made it a heartthrob with glitter skin.
In short, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. I could write a hack book in a week about some vampire/werewolf bad boy and his love for a non-nonsense business women and sell it, but I would be selling my soul.
If you want to writer romance, write romance. If you want to write erotica, write erotica. But in the name of the dark one, please leave monsters alone. Vampires don't fall in love. They don't have hearts that pump blood, they can't have sex, as mentioned they don't get erections due to no blood pumping! They kill people, that's what they like, they don't go to high school. If you we're 300 years old would you go back to high school, it was shit the first time, let alone the 50th time.
Once the classic monsters, Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, they we're things to be feared. Now if you want to create something scary, you actually have to create something of your own. Once you do just pray you don't get famous, cause some idiot will come along and ruin it.
February 3, 2016
Can writers be mates and should they be?
I've always thought of myself as someone who doesn't like other writers. i even used to say to myself and other people things like 'I don't play well with others' the main reason was when i was trying to do my first book, like four years ago, i went to some meet up groups for writers and they we're just so shit.
The idea of reading a story to a group of 20 people and them telling you their thoughts is fucking horrible. So i just got on with doing my own thing. I now have people who read my stuff and give it reviews and things. I don't really have fans, they never actually email me or stuff, but i think their are some people who want to read what i write. Anyway point is i'm confident to call myself a 'writer' now i have written a couple of books.
So i'm calling myself a writer, i've done pretty well on kindle and my lovely girl, vicky, says her mate caz (caroline peckham) is coming to stay for a few weeks. Caz is one of vicky's best mates and i'm told she also a fantasy writer. She even has a book on Amazon. So i'm thinking we're not going to get along at all.
The thing is caz and me are now mates and i think having a writer buddy, at a similar level to you can be very good. We're both at the stage of having books out and hitting promo hard. We talk endlessly about sales numbers, promo and all that stuff. I add her to facebook groups, she adds me. I promo her and she helps me. It's good because when she does well, i'm happy for her and a bit jealous, so i push myself harder.
I think writers can be mates and should be, but you need to be at the same level of the creative process. I wrote my first book four years ago, now i can write a new one with no plan and no real internal struggle, so i can't help newbies very well. I remember having the thoughts, oh it's going to be shit, just do it anyway. Now i still think that, but i don't care. My new book might be shit compared to George. r.r but it'll be good compared to 90% of everything on kindle.
If you're a writer, get a promo pal, it's more fun than doing it alone and if they get famous before you, they will hopefully drag you along with them.
If my shit is too dark for you or you feel like some YA action, read caz's book.
The idea of reading a story to a group of 20 people and them telling you their thoughts is fucking horrible. So i just got on with doing my own thing. I now have people who read my stuff and give it reviews and things. I don't really have fans, they never actually email me or stuff, but i think their are some people who want to read what i write. Anyway point is i'm confident to call myself a 'writer' now i have written a couple of books.
So i'm calling myself a writer, i've done pretty well on kindle and my lovely girl, vicky, says her mate caz (caroline peckham) is coming to stay for a few weeks. Caz is one of vicky's best mates and i'm told she also a fantasy writer. She even has a book on Amazon. So i'm thinking we're not going to get along at all.
The thing is caz and me are now mates and i think having a writer buddy, at a similar level to you can be very good. We're both at the stage of having books out and hitting promo hard. We talk endlessly about sales numbers, promo and all that stuff. I add her to facebook groups, she adds me. I promo her and she helps me. It's good because when she does well, i'm happy for her and a bit jealous, so i push myself harder.
I think writers can be mates and should be, but you need to be at the same level of the creative process. I wrote my first book four years ago, now i can write a new one with no plan and no real internal struggle, so i can't help newbies very well. I remember having the thoughts, oh it's going to be shit, just do it anyway. Now i still think that, but i don't care. My new book might be shit compared to George. r.r but it'll be good compared to 90% of everything on kindle.
If you're a writer, get a promo pal, it's more fun than doing it alone and if they get famous before you, they will hopefully drag you along with them.
If my shit is too dark for you or you feel like some YA action, read caz's book.
doing blogs
So i'm going to start doing some blog posts cause i have shitloads of writing time everyday, and my mate craig atkinson is doing that and he reckons it's good for the soul. So here is my first one, i don't think my daily life is that interesting, all i do is write, smoke, drink coffee and check my kindle dashbaord eight times, but i do have thoughts that are probably worth expressing.
January 30, 2016
New Book Series: Shadows of the Sea: August 2016 - Kickstarter now!
My new book series due to drop in August. Pimping on kick starter to get it edited right.
Her first memory was a storm, or being left out in one. She could still picture it boiling in the sky above her, a dark grey creature of swirling rage. She been taken roughly by the hand and dragged from the lonely metal cage that was her home. She breathed in hard but focused on breathing in the emotion not the wind along. She felt it starting to come. She breathed in more and more, taking the soul of the storm, it's angry heart. Her tiny body felt full and powerful. The girl screamed out with force and the wind ripped from her lungs like the frozen breath of a dragon.
Jasonne: the power of a god trapped in the body of a prisioner. Shadow: a former slave seeking revenge through burned ships and piracy.
Enric: A man desperate to return his people to the old ways of dragon ships and raids, not matter the cost to himself or those he would rule.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
Her first memory was a storm, or being left out in one. She could still picture it boiling in the sky above her, a dark grey creature of swirling rage. She been taken roughly by the hand and dragged from the lonely metal cage that was her home. She breathed in hard but focused on breathing in the emotion not the wind along. She felt it starting to come. She breathed in more and more, taking the soul of the storm, it's angry heart. Her tiny body felt full and powerful. The girl screamed out with force and the wind ripped from her lungs like the frozen breath of a dragon.
Jasonne: the power of a god trapped in the body of a prisioner. Shadow: a former slave seeking revenge through burned ships and piracy.
Enric: A man desperate to return his people to the old ways of dragon ships and raids, not matter the cost to himself or those he would rule.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
Fiverr gig: post your ebook to 25 facebook groups
https://uk.fiverr.com/juliusschenk/pr...
hey all, as you may know im doing a lot of facebook and other promo for myself and i've found some pretty good groups to post in. If you're lazy and want someone else to do this for you i'm happy to, since i do it daily for myself. Check out my gig,
Ps. Get google affliates.
January 17, 2016
First book is free today
*******FREE TODAY ON AMAZON********
Take the Body and Give me the Rest - Soldiers & Gods book 1
A soldier betrayed and sold into slavery
His reluctant pact with a forgotten god from the realm of the dead
Stolen skills and abilities, brought with the blood and sacrifice of his enemies
A battle to stay true in the face of a growing temptation to kill
Seth stood and watched the nightmare creature as it tore its past master into bloody shreds and tried not to let the gripping fear show on his face. He could feel the man's life force, his memories, his talents and hard won skills filling his own mind and body, turning him into something much more than the lowly soldier he'd been just mere moments before
http://amzn.to/237Y5Kn
Take the Body and Give me the Rest - Soldiers & Gods book 1
A soldier betrayed and sold into slavery
His reluctant pact with a forgotten god from the realm of the dead
Stolen skills and abilities, brought with the blood and sacrifice of his enemies
A battle to stay true in the face of a growing temptation to kill
Seth stood and watched the nightmare creature as it tore its past master into bloody shreds and tried not to let the gripping fear show on his face. He could feel the man's life force, his memories, his talents and hard won skills filling his own mind and body, turning him into something much more than the lowly soldier he'd been just mere moments before
http://amzn.to/237Y5Kn
January 3, 2016
Second book, needing reviews
Hi All,
Second book is going well in the amazon ranks, currently at 57th in 'Dark Fantasy' which is bloody awesome. Thanks to all of you who have read it and giving me such support. If you've read it please jump on amazon.com and give it a review and lets see if i can get top ten!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019...
Second book is going well in the amazon ranks, currently at 57th in 'Dark Fantasy' which is bloody awesome. Thanks to all of you who have read it and giving me such support. If you've read it please jump on amazon.com and give it a review and lets see if i can get top ten!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019...
December 31, 2015
Adventure in England: Stonehenge
So i was staying with Vicky and her Dad in Winchester, Winchester is a fantastic old village with some awesome stuff of it's own i'll be writing about at some point. Anyway it's quite close to Stonehenge so we decide to go an have a look. I don't know much about it, other than it's very old and amazing because it's impossible.
We got in the canvas covered landy and drove the two or so hours to the stones. It's a long drive and in true English fashion we got caught in some traffic from hell where we got to crawl around a mile in thirty minutes. As we we're crawling along the A303 you could see it from the side. Slowly growing from the fog. It's a low structure across the fields. We drove past and past and had to walk back, across the fields to get to it.
There was a vistors centre and a ticket booth but we walked on past it, At the stone, there was a helpful man who asked for tickets but we said we didnt have any. So we we're guide to a nearby field to look. So we ended up standing about a metre away from the paying people and looking at 'Stonehenge'
It's one of those places that people drive past again and again, because it's just there. It's hard to spend much time at the stones, because they are indeed just stones, but the idea of them really gets stuck in your mind. Australia has a lot of natural history, lots of ancient trees and mountains but this is both man made and nature in one. The stones that make the structure are old and look it. It's a shame you can't touch them anymore because it seems like they would be cold to the touch. The structure is so strange as well. It's not that it was built so many hundreds of years ago, by people who shouldn't have had cranes and forklifts, but why. Why did they both building this monster structure in an empty field.
If you're near this place you should have a look. You can avoid the 17 pound ticket if you're willing to walk. If you go at sunset (4ish!) you'll get some great snaps. Again it's not a place you'll spend all day, but you will spend a lot of time afterwards thinking about it.
We got in the canvas covered landy and drove the two or so hours to the stones. It's a long drive and in true English fashion we got caught in some traffic from hell where we got to crawl around a mile in thirty minutes. As we we're crawling along the A303 you could see it from the side. Slowly growing from the fog. It's a low structure across the fields. We drove past and past and had to walk back, across the fields to get to it.There was a vistors centre and a ticket booth but we walked on past it, At the stone, there was a helpful man who asked for tickets but we said we didnt have any. So we we're guide to a nearby field to look. So we ended up standing about a metre away from the paying people and looking at 'Stonehenge'
It's one of those places that people drive past again and again, because it's just there. It's hard to spend much time at the stones, because they are indeed just stones, but the idea of them really gets stuck in your mind. Australia has a lot of natural history, lots of ancient trees and mountains but this is both man made and nature in one. The stones that make the structure are old and look it. It's a shame you can't touch them anymore because it seems like they would be cold to the touch. The structure is so strange as well. It's not that it was built so many hundreds of years ago, by people who shouldn't have had cranes and forklifts, but why. Why did they both building this monster structure in an empty field.
If you're near this place you should have a look. You can avoid the 17 pound ticket if you're willing to walk. If you go at sunset (4ish!) you'll get some great snaps. Again it's not a place you'll spend all day, but you will spend a lot of time afterwards thinking about it.
