S.L. Wyllie's Blog: S. L. Wyllie, page 5
July 6, 2018
The Dreaded 2-Stars.
Good evening my friends, family, and fans. I hope you all had a fantastic Canada Day and Independence Day… I am happy that I didn’t hear anything too outrageous like moose riding or bear wrestling, shooting roman candles at each others butts, or hanging people off telephone poles by their underpants. I feel like we had a great time! Amazing!
This post is called the Dreaded 2-Stars, which all authors can relate to. Whether you’re just starting out or are seasoned with multiple works released,...
July 3, 2018
Happy Canada Day and Happy Independence Day!
Good evening, friends, family, and fans. I would like to wish all my fellow Canadians a Happy belated Canada Day, and to my southern neighbors, a Happy Independence Day.
I hope whether you celebrated on the 1st or are celebrating on the 4th, that you all have a wonderful day filled with family, and fun. Smiles, laughs, and great memories being made.
Celebrate, stay safe, and if you’re going to indulge, please don’t drink and drive. Let’s make this holiday a great one, and not a last one.
S. L...
June 14, 2018
Why I give 3 stars.
As an avid reader, fantasy genre fanatic, and author that supports other authors and artists, I have a strict rule that I always follow.
Even if I despised a book, song, product, etc. I will always give a minimum of a 3 star rating. Why, you ask? Even if I believed it was terrible and I wanted to scratch my own eyes out… The reason behind this is because I know how much work went into the book, the song, the story, the product.
Think about it, you’re reading a 300 page book and it just doesn’...
May 25, 2018
May 25, 2018
Dear Friends, Family, and Fans…
I am so sorry that I haven’t posted lately… I have been so busy with reading, writing, working, family, dogs, marketing, and other things that kept popping up and keeping me away from you all… So sorry, I will try to do better.
First things first, I am happy to announce that The Legacy of King Jasteroth Vol.1 has received its first professional review from The US REVIEW OF BOOKS.
The Legacy of King Jasteroth, Vol. 1 by S. L. WYLLIE
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“If your powers aren’t ha...
May 13, 2018
May 13, 2018
Dear friends, family, and fans,
Do you ever find that some days your brain is in a funk? You’re moping around, you don’t feel like reading, you don’t feel like writing, and all you really do is drag your ass like a zombie while occasionally scrolling down your newsfeed searching for a mild form of entertainment?
Gosh, I had been desiring to write for ages. I want to. I have all these ideas. Some of them are in relation to King Jasteroth, and some are downright morbid, and I want to write, I r...
May 11, 2018
Why writers shouldn't read their own book reviews:
I 100% agree with that post, and I’m going to go look it up now so I can share it with you, but allow me to tell you why first. I can relate to this article on every level. Whether you receive good reviews, bad reviews, great reviews, or mediocre reviews, you are going to drive yourself crazy. Stop reading them.
There are always going to be people who dislike or don’t connect with your work and that’s ok. There are always going to be people that are in love with it, and that’s also ok. At the end of the day, you can only write for you.
Sometimes you will produce things that completely flop. Sometimes you will hit the jackpot on the first pull. But you have to remember – which I also seem to forget from time to time – You shouldn’t read your reviews because it can cause you anxiety and mess with your psyche. You could give yourself writer’s block and make yourself discouraged.
Be proud of yourself. Pat yourself on the back. So you wrote a flop. You wrote. So you wrote a bestseller. You wrote. All you can do is write, and keep writing, and keep improving. You may shoot and miss, one, two, three times, but all that matters is that you keep aiming, and you keep shooting. You aren’t going to win every time. In fact, it is better you lose first so that you appreciate that win so much more when it comes.
It’s okay to be a loser, because, at the end of the day, you’re not actually a loser. We give out participation awards now, remember? Just kidding, that was a distasteful joke. But in all seriousness, it’s okay to be a loser, because at the end of the day you’re not actually one. You wrote something. You published something. Whether you went for the traditional publisher or you tried that new trendy thing called Self-Publishing (Fun fact: The Legacy of King Jasteroth Vol. 1 is Self-Published), either way, you did it!
We all have goals, we all have dreams. Getting your work out there for the public to see, read, judge, love, hate, let’s go back a couple steps, Judge, Judge, Judge. That word is one of the main reasons that a lot of writers have beautiful stories with a lot of potential sitting in the back of their desk drawers never to see the light, but sometimes judgment is a beautiful thing. It’s not how you were judged, it’s what you can learn from the judgment.
Make a list of all the good things and bad things. How many things are coming up repeatedly between beta-readers, critiques, trusted confidantes, maybe the odd review you snuck a peek at that you weren't supposed to? If you start to notice a PATTERN, then you’ve actually been handed a very special gift. Take the negative from a review and learn from it! Use it to fix your mistakes, and to improve your quality of writing overall. Because in actuality, there is no negative in a review, or a judgment, or a report, or a critique. There is only opportunity to learn. (But still, don't read reviews! That's what your beta-readers are for!)
Here is the link to the post I read a while ago, hope you enjoy!
S L
Why Writers Shouldn’t Read Their Own Book Reviews
JANUARY 28, 2015 BY HOLLY ROBINSON
http://authorhollyrobinson.com/2015/0...
May 11, 2018
Dear Friends, Family, and Fans,
As our Social Media family steadily grows, our reviews slowly trickle in, and our fan base begins to blossom, I would like to take a minute to say thank you. It’s been a while since I’ve created a thank you post and I feel like it’s in order.
Thank you for helping me spread the word about King Jasteroth. Thank you for buying the books, thank you for reading the books. Thank you for leaving a review. I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for sending...
May 6, 2018
Bestsellers
Ever read a book that’s left you feeling underwhelmed? Maybe the characters are all flakes or the writer took the story in a direction you just can’t fathom? So, you’e sitting wherever you sit to read, and you’e reading, obviously, but you start to scratch your head in disbelief whilst repeating the chant, “This is a bestseller? This is a bestseller?”
Maybe, you couldn’t even finish the book. You skimmed it with one eye closed for good measure. Now you’re sitting at your desk working on your own masterpiece but the words won’t come. You’re steadily nibbling away at your nails whilst repeating the chant, “That was a bestseller? That was a bestseller?”
The book you finished reading torments you long after you finished it. You start rocking back and forth; you’ve never had writers block before. What’s happening to you?
The light bulb switches on in your mind. Of course, it was so obvious. Why hadn’t you realized this before.
Bestseller doesn’t mean best-written. Bestseller means best marketing plan. Remember that next time you sit down to write. The more time (and money) you invest into marketing your book, the better chance it has at becoming a best-seller.
Your family means well when they come up with these catchy phrases which make our ears sing, “The book is so good it will sell itself!”
Sorry to shoot you in the leg with a flaming arrow but unless you’re the niece or nephew bearing the last name Rowling, King, Martin, or Trump, you better go Market your book.
Remember the sacred words on your journey, bestseller does not mean best written. You would be lying to yourself if you said you hadn’t’ read at least one bestseller that you disliked so strongly that you wanted to pitch it across the room.
Now go sell your book!
S L
Bestsellers
Ever read a book that’s left you feeling underwhelmed? Maybe the characters are all flakes or the writer took the story in a direction you just can’t fathom? So, you’e sitting wherever you sit to read, and you’e reading, obviously, but you start to scratch your head in disbelief whilst repeating the chant, “This is a bestseller? This is a bestseller?”
Maybe, you couldn’t even finish the book. You skimmed it with one eye closed for good measure. Now you’re sitting at your desk working on your...
May 5, 2018
May 6, 2018
Dear Friends, Family, and Fans…
I would like to say that I’m the biggest slacker in the universe, but that’s just not true. I know I haven’t posted on this blog for a couple of weeks, and I apologize. What have I been up to lately?
Here is a small and basic recap of my days.
Writing Volume 2 of The Legacy of King Jasteroth Series (The Journey to Oclesedor).
Sending the EXCLUSIVE prologue of Volume 2 to a few awesome Beta-Readers I found on both Goodreads and Fiverr.
Giving back to my comm...
