Steven Smith's Blog, page 24

Open Book Blog Hop – Testing! Testing!

Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop! Things got a little away from me last week, so I took an impromptu break.

This week’s question for us to ponder is “If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why?”

And remember to pay a visit to my fellow writers to see what they have come up with. You can find their works here!

Photo by Jill Burrow on Pexels.com

Wow, this one is a real challenge this week. Having recently published my firs...

Open Book Blog Hop – Ad Break

Another week, another Open Book Blog Hop! I am getting quite into this series now!

The topic for this week is adverts. And more specifically the best and worst ones in my opinion.

And remember to pay a visit to my fellow writers to see what they have come up with. You can find their works here!

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

This one is an interesting topic. With the rise of set-top boxes such as TiVo, we can record so much content and skip through the ad breaks. Ad space is more o...

Open Book Blog Hop – Plot Twist!

Welcome back to my third post in the Open Book Blog Hop series.

This week we are talking about favourite plot twists – either those written by ourselves or ones we have come across in other books.

And remember to pay a visit to my fellow writers to see what they have come up with. You can find their works here!

Photo by Todd Trapani on Pexels.com

I had to think long and hard about this one. I am notorious for reading much of the same thing on repeat. It’s why I started my book blog, ...

Open Book Blog Hop – Pleased to Meet You!

I really enjoyed taking part in last week’s Open Book Blog Hop. It’s an opportunity to offer a little more of an insight into my interests and thoughts while tackling a different subject each week.

Today is a little less creative, but an interesting subject: What historical or public figure would you most like to learn more about? Would you ever write about them?

And remember to pay a visit to my fellow writers to see what they have come up with. You can find their works here!

Photo by ...

Open Book Blog Hop – Dear Diary

Today, in the spirit of being a little more active on here beside book promo, I am taking part in a new weekly (I hope) feature! It’s called the Open Book Blog Hop. The idea is that there is a discussion point tied to books, writing, literature, that everyone taking part works on. We write a piece tied to that and in doing so, get to share with you lovely readers a little more about us as authors and what makes us tick.

This week’s subject is to write a diary entry from the perspective of one...

Time Flies

I’ve been a lot quieter on here than I planned or hoped to be lately, but things have been pretty crazy of late. Some of you may have heard my little book Chasing Shadows released to the world on the 1st of April. I could not be happier to see it out in the world and finding its way to the bookshelves and Kinles of readers all over. Some of you might have even seen the news that Chasing Shadows on its release day took the crown and became an Amazon Best Seller! So what next for my book baby? W...

On Writing

Some of you may recognise the title of this post. That’ll be because I pilfered it straight from the cover of a book by one of my favourite authors. That would be On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. This will become a bit more relevant further on into this piece. Now seemed a good time for this post, just a few short days out from the release of Chasing Shadows upon the world at large! A friend recently said how impressed he was with the look of my book cover, and my dedication to...

Chasing Shadows – Update 14

Time for another update on progress as we round the corner onto the home straight now. Two big things have happened lately. If you’ve been following my Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages you’ll see I have been sharing out little teasers of the book cover. Yes, that’s right – the book cover design is fully signed-off now, and I couldn’t be happier. I honestly think it looks amazing, and really fits with the book!

Last night I received the fully typeset proofs – the document that gives me the best idea of how the interior of my book will actually look once printed. I love the styling and the little touches that just help tie the format to the cover to the story – it’s brilliant to have that run all the way through! I gave my sign-off on that and now it’s on to the final stages. Next up, the book will go through a final proofread to ensure no little errors are hiding anywhere. After that, it’s on to spine and back cover design. To think when I started writing that I might release it as an eBook was a fantasy, but knowing that a spine and back cover are being designed is something else. I look forward to holding a printed copy of my book soon!

Chasing Shadows – Update 13

So when I mentioned in my last update I hoped to have more news to share with you soon, it would seem I was right! I think updates may come a little more thick and fast for a little while. This one is a short one, but a big one. My talented editor Jen at Fuzzy Flamingo started reading the book in earnest last Monday. Yesterday I received my manuscript back, fully copy edited.

I won’t lie, I was beyond nervous to find out what a professional eye thought of my book. Well I can safely say I am now on cloud nine! Aside from some grammatical, spelling and style issues, there were only two minor plot inconsistencies. Both were rectified easily on my part. And I am thrilled to say that as of today, I’ve returned the finished manuscript ready for typesetting! It feels like publication is moving ever closer, and I will be sure to continue providing updates here, however brief to keep you all posted. Exciting times are ahead!

Chasing Shadows – Update 12

 Wow, how is it almost the middle of February already? We are well in to the new year and another national lockdown here in the UK, so not a lot of change in circumstances here for me. But what has changed is the status of Chasing Shadows! So without further ado, I think it’s time for a new update.

So first up, book news! Chasing Shadows has been in the hands of two fantastic test readers whose feedback has been priceless. Between them, it helped me developed my final, fourth draft. My fourth draft is in the hands of my editor/formatter/designer and as of the beginning of this week, copy edits are underway. Yesterday I received word that hopefully later this week I will have the first round of copy edits. And rather unexpectedly, I also received two first drafts of possible book covers. It already feels like she has really grasped the story and the character of Edison Crow. I hope to be able to share the final design with you in the near future!

Chasing Shadows aside, there have been other developments for me in my pursuit to become a published author. One small change is the URL for this site. I’ve taken the leap and purchased a personalised domain name. In case you have the site saved in your bookmarks, you may need to update it. The new address is https://authorstevensmith.co.uk

I’ve also joined the Alliance of Independant Authors (ALLi). I’ve taken the process of writing and honing my book seriously, and this felt a real step in the direction of professionalism. They offer all manner of support and a range of service to aid independant authors. It felt like the right move to take out a membership with this organisation.

 And last but not least, a little bit of news on publishing. I decided that I wanted to ensure I retained control over my works, while not publishing under my own name. So I came up with a publishing imprint of my own. Under this mark I will release any and all books I write. I’ve named this mark As the Crow Flies Publishing.

With work progressing at a respectable pace now, I hope to have more updates to share with you in the near future!