Kester James Finley's Blog, page 20
August 8, 2017
#AuthorToolboxBlogHop: Writing Active Characters — Writing, reading, and all that jazz
Hi, everyone! For this Author Toolbox Blog Hop post, I’m going to expand on a second reason why submissions are rejected based on an earlier post. For those of you visiting for the first time, this is all based on my experience as an editorial intern at Entangled Publishing. While last month I focused on writing a strong first chapter, […]
via #AuthorToolboxBlogHop: Writing Active Characters — Writing, reading, and all that jazz
Kester James Finley – The Independent Author Network
Kester James Finley is the author of the contemporary fantasy novel, Bitter Awakenings (The Keeper Chronicles, Book 1).
Source: Kester James Finley – The Independent Author Network
August 2, 2017
The Trouble with Writing Endings — Kristen Twardowski
The trouble with writing endings is that endings don’t actually exist. Not really. Instead there simply comes a moment when we stop telling the story. Knowing when to stop has always been hard for me. In my head, I can’t help but carry the narrative on. What happens to the hero after she defeats the […]
via The Trouble with Writing Endings — Kristen Twardowski
July 31, 2017
IDK WTH I’m Doing and that’s OK-Self Publishing and the Clicker Cavalcade.
[image error]
I’ll admit it, I have absolutely no idea what the hell I’m doing as a first-time self-published author. I thought it would be easy, I thought it would be fun. I thought I would be intelligent enough to navigate the ins and outs of creating a book and putting it “out there” into the digital and real world. I was half right.
When I first started writing I was excited. It was coming together, I was getting the voices screeching their story out of my head. It was enjoyable to finally be able to see my creation take shape. I didn’t have a clue about “branding” or marketing and gave it little thought during the time it took to finish my novel. I was just happy, I was writing and it was good.
Towards the end, the road got a little rocky. The path started to wind and twist. I was diving headfirst into the self-publishing ocean with water I couldn’t see the bottom of, and I was terrified. There were no clear pointers to direct me, no clear-cut path to take as every author had an opinion, every blogger had an answer. It became a clicking nightmare as I bounced from page to page, from article to tweet collecting bits of information I thought useful. In fact, to this day, I have a folder of bookmarks containing everything I could possibly find that rivals the Dewey Decimal system.
There were tried and true methods galore, page after page of assistance. Some of it antiquated, other times not even close to what I was experiencing. Get a Facebook page they said, get a Twitter. Others screamed out the benefit of author pages, while others spoke of blogs. WTH had I gotten myself into was the recurring mantra of my days of just starting out. I didn’t know where to start, so, like the crazy Southern man I was, I did it all. I took it all in, deciphered the useful from the null and void, and did it all.
I found out or stumbled into discovery mode, that in a world of self-publishing, you choose how far you want to fall down the rabbit hole. You choose where to direct your efforts and how much, or how little you want to invest in the author life. There will be confusion, there will be “wthomghthidk” moments that will make you question your sanity, and yes, there will be clicks upon clicks of sites, pages, people, and places you never knew existed, but you will learn, you will grow.
If you want to self-publish you’ll have to learn to market. You’ll need to learn the tricks, the secrets, the plans, and options available. It won’t be successful for all, it won’t work for every situation. Don’t give up. It will feel like a cavalcade, a series of related events and it will all be good. There is a wealth of information out there and there are others who are more than willing to help. You are not the first, will not be the last.
If I can offer any advice, if I can tell you just a few things it would be that authors make the best community of people to ask for advice, especially the self-publishing ones. They are creative, they listen, they read, they know how to pilot a boat through choppy waters while eating a sandwich and drinking a glass of merlot. They are your cohorts and will always scratch your back if you also scratch theirs. Learn to tweet, text, PM, DM, friend, favorite, tag, add, pin, and share. The world of knowledge unravels as you go.
Learn to use tried and true avenues for your self-publishing endeavors, but also seek different paths that may also help. Learn to do it all, ask questions, offer advice. It gets better, it gets easier and eventually, you get back to doing what you love, writing. It’s ok if you don’t know what the hell you’re doing, most of us didn’t either when we started. Some of us, still don’t.
July 28, 2017
Indie Author Life and Other Forms of Torture — YA Author Rendezvous
Written by K. R. Conway Last night I had an epiphany. One would think it would have been obvious to ME for a while now, but it wasn’t. You see, I am a self-published author, though I refer to myself as an “Indie” mainly because I operate like a business – like a small press. […]
via Indie Author Life and Other Forms of Torture — YA Author Rendezvous
July 26, 2017
Get it Done! What’s Your Best Tip for Sitting Down to Write? — Discover
When it comes to writing, how do you get it done?
via Get it Done! What’s Your Best Tip for Sitting Down to Write? — Discover
July Discount Sale!
July 25, 2017
Kester James Finley – The Independent Author Network
Kester James Finley is the author of the contemporary fantasy novel, Bitter Awakenings (The Keeper Chronicles, Book 1).
Source: Kester James Finley – The Independent Author Network
On Writing a Novel: “Should I Be Writing Bigger?” — Discover
Michelle, writer at The Green Study, muses on novel writing and committing to the process.
via On Writing a Novel: “Should I Be Writing Bigger?” — Discover
July 24, 2017
How to Overcome FOMO as an Independent Author — A Writer’s Path
by Kate Colby How Indie Authors Get FOMO If you choose the path of independent publishing, you’ll quickly learn that you have a lot of responsibilities. You’ll need to write your book, manage the editing, cover design, and formatting, and handle the publishing and marketing. While you can (and should!) hire professional help, in […]
via How to Overcome FOMO as an Independent Author — A Writer’s Path
