R.K. Lander's Blog, page 8
September 23, 2017
Blurb Coaching Post – Road of a Warrior
Today, Ryan Lanz kicked off his new writer’s club which works to give writers the benefit of a network of professionals for marketing, editing, content, and cover design, all for an affordable member fee. The club features articles, free book promotions, contests, insider tips, and free blurb coaching for members, and to give you a sample of the latter (as yours truly will be the professional offering that service), I wanted to share a sample blurb coaching with all of you.
Special thanks go to R. K. Lander for letting me post her blurb online with coaching comments. 
September 10, 2017
Path of a Novice Second Edition is Here!
Path of a Novice, Second Edition is out! You can get it for FREE by signing up for R.K.Lander Newsletter
I would really appreciate some feedback so please consider reviewing on Amazon or Goodreads.
August 23, 2017
Tolkien’s Angels: A question of belief
Guest post on Carolee Croft’s great blog.
Today I have a special guest post by fantasy author R.K. Lander. Without further ado, here’s R.K:
If you are not a Tolkien geek, haven’t read the Silmarillion, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or just haven’t read about elves in mythology, your impression of an elf is probably what the movies have portrayed; tall angels with long hair and flighty voices who dance to the lyre and cry woeful tears as epic poems are recited. They float angelically around majestic gardens of blooming flowers they wear in their hair, pose for portraits or titter away the afternoon as they braid each other’s’ hair and drink miraculous cordials. They sit upon the loamy banks of a beautiful forest and eat green things – probably lettuce and perhaps aromatic herbs and even flowers – they can also be seen cantering bareback through a forest on a unicorn as their immortal…
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August 19, 2017
New artwork for Fel’annár
[image error]Just a sneaky peek of the new artwork for Fel’annár, the main character of Path of a Novice. Love it? Hate it? Let me know what you think.
August 15, 2017
Path of a Novice: three months on.
Launching my first book as an indie author has been – interesting. Did I ever think it would be like this?
Eh … No, not at all, but let me explain.
It would be impossible to quantify just how many articles I read about self-publishing, and most of them were just about saying the same things – over and over again – ad nauseam. There’s so much repetition out there, so many redundant articles and posts, all promising incredible sales if only you would read and especially – sign up for the mailing list. How many desperate indie authors are out there, searching for the paradigm of how to effectively market their books? Loads – and yes, I am one of them – except that now, I know what to read and more importantly, what not to read.
The fact is, the learning curve is not a curve, it’s a vertical line which is only now starting to smooth out. I did the basics, the book tour, the reviews, the author interviews and that, for me, did nothing more than to get me absurdly excited, and then absurdly depressed when nothing happened. I then enrolled on KDP select and did my first free days – that worked ok, even got some sales for a few days afterwards and then – flat-lining again. So, hammering away at Facebook, Twitter, my website – nothing. With my second wave of KDP free days, the world looked brighter and again, got more sales, even some reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
Three months on, and I’ve done all the stuff, read a lot of what’s out there, implemented what I could afford and this, is what I know:
1. Amazon sells – free promo days, reviews, KDP – it works but their marketing services don’t!
2. Facebook – their advertising DOES work.
3. Goodreads works – getting ratings and reviews creates buzz but I wish the platform were a little more interactive.
4. Twitter – you need to do a masters degree to understand how to sell there – if you don’t have thousands of followers, forget it – just getting a ‘love’ is a big deal.
Of course I only came to these conclusions because I did read and take a lot of advice from a handful of very interesting posts but it’s all about being discerning – knowing when the ‘experts’ are really NOT experts; it’s easy to take advantage of people like me to get traffic and bump up your email lists – right?
These three months have been some of the most intense of my life. So many highs, so many lows; so much excitement and discouragement. I have laughed and then wanted to cry – wanted to kiss and dance and then smack someone – hard. But was it worth it?
Work on book II is ongoing, and even a second edit of book one. Book III is lurking on the horizon and I am even thinking of extending the trilogy to a longer series. Can you guess at the answer then?
Did I know when I started on this adventure, that my life would be utterly changed and I would become a writer? an obsessive nerd who lurks in shady corners and stares at a screen for far more hours than is healthy? A person who sees in washing powder packaging the promise of green lizards with transparent horns and red eyes?
No, I had no idea – but I would not change it for anything in this world.
August 5, 2017
Dance as a Means of Showing, Not Telling
A very interesting perspective.
As writers and artists, we’re always looking for ways to express things better, to show our readers and audience how a character is growing, developing, and changing, and recently, through watching The Glass Slipper, I encountered a new means of adding to the “show, don’t tell” techniques: dance.
The plot is that of Cinderella, with Leslie Caron as the main character, but it plays more attention to the characters than many. There is no magic, no spells, just ordinary people making extraordinary things happen (and it has the most delightful “fairy” godmother I’ve ever met, an eccentric old woman with a delight in words and phrases like “pickle relish” and “elbow”). But what particularly struck me was how they used dance in the story.
For the earliest part, Ella has no friends. No one she can talk to. She’s tried sharing her dreams in the past and been met with…
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July 19, 2017
FREE 20-22nd July. Path of a Novice: The Silvan Book I
Epic YA fantasy action. Free 20th-22nd July. Download yours and if you enjoy it, I’d love a review or rating!!
July 13, 2017
Over-excited author moment.
No, I didn’t get a publishing deal – I got the second best thing – another review on Amazon!!!! Thank you Mikey – you’re bloody brilliant
