Nic Bomgardner's Blog: Valhallan News, page 3

January 27, 2024

Valhalla Post 20: Good News

Hello everyone! Sorry its taken me so long to get around to writing the sort of weekly blog, but don't worry, this one has good news! I finished writing the most recent chapter, so the good news is:

Book 3 written: ~46%
Book 3 edited: ~42% (or so?)

Part of my good news is that I finally finished Baldur's Gate 3! Which should, in turn, help me to focus back up on writing the book. I would really like to make a lot of good progress the next 2 weeks before I move. I'm hoping that I'll get at least another chapter or two written. Said another way, I'm hoping that I will have ~54% of the book written and I'm hoping to have the book at least 50% edited. That's my hope, which I'm very optimistic for because I'm definitely finding my old joy in writing now that I'm done dealing with a lot of other stressful things.

Anyways, that's all for now! I'll try to make sure I post the next blog much closer to 1 week from now instead of the 2 week difference that this one basically was. Until next time, take care my Rising Stars!
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Published on January 27, 2024 16:47 Tags: good-news, progress

January 11, 2024

Valhalla Post 19: Starting Back Up

Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post. Between Christmas and New Years and all the plans I had during that and trying to fight my current employer over receiving my holiday pay, I've been really busy. I wanted to write the entire next chapter of my book, but I've unfortunately not made much progress. I'd maybe say roughly ~0.5%, so barely more than absolutely none.

Now, I'll admit, a small part of this is my own fault, not just outside influence. My work is finally going back to a normal amount as of next week (finally, am I right?) but I still have to try and work out getting my holiday pay, and I've had a slight obsession with playing Baldur's Gate 3, which was a Christmas present. I think I'm about halfway through it playing on Honour mode (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment it seems) but I am also wanting to make more time to get back to writing.

Not only that, but I'm wanting to find something new for work. I don't like working holidays, I don't like having to fight for my own holiday pay, and the inconsistent schedule makes it hard for me to try and plan my life on a daily basis. Such as, it's hard to say "I'll write every day from 4:30-5:30, then eat dinner" when I might be scheduled to work until 6:30 on any given day, while other days I might only work until 4. It makes it hard to plan/live my life, so that's also had quite the effect on things as well.

I don't really do New Years Resolutions, by any means. I know I won't keep at it just because I made a goal for the sake of doing something new. But, I do have a lot of resolve when it comes to getting back into writing. I think it will help me to fix my slowly decaying mental health as of late, or at least distract from things like, and sorry to say this again, missing holiday pay. I am also moving in about 5 weeks, so that might also affect quite a bit, but I am going to do my best to try and at least write close to a chapter per week.

Please have some faith in me, Rising Stars. I need it now more than ever. And, sorry this is late, but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Let's make it one to remember, my Rising Stars!
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Published on January 11, 2024 15:02

December 20, 2023

Valhalla Post 18: Simple Progress

Hey everyone! Normally I cover a specific topic, but this time, I just have an update on the progress I've made. I was hoping I might find the time to bring you something special since Christmas is right around the corner, but I'm afraid I never found said time. So, here's this instead!

Book 3 written: 40%
Book 3 Edited: 35%

It may take me a while to finish the next chapter, but I believe it will be a large one that will cover ~5% of the book, but I'm hoping to have it done this week and may finish it before doing more editing!

Until next time...
Have a Merry Christmas! My Rising Stars!!
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Published on December 20, 2023 15:13

December 3, 2023

Personal Post 1: What it's like to be an Indie Author

Unlike my usual posts, I feel like this one is going to last some of the positive energy that some of my others have. For that, I apologize in advance, but I wanted to talk about what my "journey" of being an indie author has been like.

First, there was just writing my very first book. As odd as it might seem, it wasn't exactly something I had planned. I dreamt up a specific scene in the book, then I started finding ways to explain the world and how it worked, and then I was encouraged to just go ahead and start turning it into an actual story. I didn't plan for it to be a book. In fact, it started as a web novel where I would release 1-2 chapters every week, and each chapter eventually averaged 1000 words. While 1000 words every 3 days doesn't sound like a lot, it is. There are easy days where I can do it all in just one sitting session and within about 1-2 hours (fast typing speed) but sometimes I'm lucky to get 100 words out in 4 hours. Sometimes there's a block or a lack of motivation or you just can't find the right mood to get into it. I truly understand what it's like to struggle through it, but I think that's why my personal goal of "at least 1 paragraph a day" really saved me. I didn't want to fall out of the habit of writing because then I slowly stop writing. It's the same thing with going to the gym, watching your favorite show, or maybe even something as mundane as brushing your teeth.
The short version of what I'm trying to say is that writing is hard. There's good days, bad days, and "meh" days in-between. A "good" writer isn't someone who fails to have bad days, it's someone to continues pushing forward because writing is something they really want to do. So, if anyone out there reading this is wanting to write their first book, I encourage you to set a goal for yourself. Maybe it's the same. Maybe it's "2 paragraphs a day" or "1 page a day" or as ambitious as "1 chapter a day." Consistently writing is really key to finish writing the book, for better or for worse. The initial writing is the hardest part.

The next part, following writing, is editing. Truth be told, this is where the magic of my stories lives. Occasionally, my sentences might be "a glowing stick lit up the path" because I couldn't find my words, but the edit might change it to "an evanescent rod illuminated the path." I wouldn't argue one sentence is better than the other because they both have their reasons, but you don't have to find that PERFECT word as you write. If you can't find it in your brain, just use a synonym, maybe restructure the sentence, and move on. Save the heavy thinking and lifting of your diction for your edits. I would also recommend having at least one "editor" aside from yourself, even if it's just a friend or family member, or your significant other, like in my case. Same thing with formatting. Sometimes it's best left for the end.

Now I want to go through publishing and ownership of your book. This is a tough topic for several reasons. When it comes to publishing, you can either find some way to publish your book by yourself via Amazon or a publishing company that will essentially do all the Amazon things, get your book an ISBN, and then make sure it's properly formatted for you, and it will cost more than if you did all of that yourself, on one side. On the otherside, you could pay more money for a proper publishing company to take care of a lot of the publishing for you. They will have editors change your book to a certain standard, or tell you what needs to be changed so you change it to said standards, or you will start giving over certain ownership rights for your book. One that's been circulating lately is a publisher who will get your book out there, but then they have the rights over any movies that are made about your book.

Of the two, my general opinions are these. 1) you can publish it yourself and it will be a hard clawing climb to try and get your book out there and selling copies, but you can try to utilize platforms like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and other social media platforms, or pay to advertise on platforms Spotify/Amazon, which is likely the hardest option, but you get to keep all ownership rights to your own book. (There's a certain interaction between having your book on Kindle+ and having your eBook in other places, please read into it, but you retain final rights on your books).
2) You can sacrifice certain rights or degrees of telling your story your way to have a bigger publishing company do the heavy lifting for you/your book. They will make sure it fits certain standards, take care of all formatting, spread your book far and wide, and even do some advertising for your book. It's the easiest way for you to get your story out there, but it is also the most costly in terms of money and, as discussed, rights.

Now, with this, I'm sure there's one specific question: "If I could do it all again, would I do anything differently?" And that's a hard answer for me, but it's both yes and no. IF I had the money to do so, I would release a book or two through a publishing company that I didn't want to keep the rights to so that my book would get out there and they would, hopefully, gain a reader following for my next book. After I had two of them out there, I would start self-publishing books that I loved and wished to keep all of the rights to and then I would only really need to eat the ISBN cost and production cost, but I would likely keep more of the profits and all the rights to my story.

After publishing, there's advertising and what's next. The thing is, I don't know the best way to go about this next step and I think it's what I struggle with the most. As I've alluded to before, you can advertise on social media and buy advertisements on certain platforms like Spotify or Amazon. There's lots of people you can pay to teach you all the "tips and tricks to sell a lot more books" but I'm not sure whether or not it's worth it because, for one of the same reasons why I self-published to begin with, I don't have a lot of money, especially to throw at what is currently more of a hobby for me. I love writing books and I would do so full-time if I could and I would gladly pay some money to make it better/more successful, but I don't. I would suggest saving up some money and trying a plethora of advertising areas to see which one works best for you. Otherwise, things like social media posts are always free, as long as they aren't paid advertisements of course.

As for the rest of what's next, it's for you to decide. I decided I love my story and characters, and that I love to write, so I'm continuing on with my books/stories. Right now I have a large series planned which is my focus, but I do also have a lot of "one-off" stories planned out as well but I haven't given them proper time or attention. Maybe you decide it's too hard for you, so you give up. There is no wrong answer. However, I will say one thing. I would choose the answer that you will least regret in the long-term. For myself, that's slowly self-publishing my books, even if few people buy/read them. It's difficult, but I also want my story out there for the whole world to find. That's as much my reason for writing as finally finishing one of the many stories stuck in my head. Your reasons are your own, but as long as you have no regrets at the end of the day, your answer will always be the right answer.

I may share more personal posts in the future, but I currently have none that are planned. My work schedule is slowly changing back to normal, so my writing and writing related posts should continue starting next week, roughly. Until then, take care of yourselves, happy December, Merry Christmas, and please keep spending time on yourself too. I know what it's like to lose yourself in work, but you deserve some love and attention.
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Published on December 03, 2023 11:00 Tags: personal-post, thoughts, writing-process

November 16, 2023

Valhalla Post 17: Quick Update, Different Next Post

Hello everyone! Sorry, but this is going to be a quick and short one. Terribly sorry, but this is the general update.

Book 3 written: + ~2%

Haven't done any editing, mostly done some writing, but I wanted to partially discuss this my next post. I will not be posting a blog next week, but I may use it to take the time to write a longer post. What I'd like to talk about is my experience as an indie author and being self-published and my whole experience with it. It may not be quite as upbeat as I try to make my normal blog posts sound (at least slightly) but I'm hoping it will be a good one. Also, posting next week would have been difficult thanks to Thanksgiving and Black Friday, so I'll try to create a great one the next week.
Until then, stay safe and enjoy your Thanksgivings! My Rising Stars!
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Published on November 16, 2023 16:13

November 8, 2023

Valhalla Post 16: Finally Back

Hello everyone! I know it's been a while, but I am finally back from vacation. Unfortunately, this one will be short because I didn't make any progress on the next IoV book... But I did write the prologue for another book I have planned for the future. I still need to try and figure out the rest of what I'm going to to do for that story, but once I do, I may start giving percentages on how the writing of that book is going.

I do want to clarify one point on that, though. I still plan to continue writing the IoV books and making them my priority. I may write really slowly basically the rest of the year because I'm still stuck in a retail job and I'm sure you can imagine how that is with Black Friday and December coming up. In short? It's a mess and I'll probably be working 6 days with 9-10 hour shifts. It kinda sucks, but it is what is is, and this hungry author still needs to eat.

Anyways, I'm afraid that's all for this post. Glad to be back and looking forward to updating you all again soon. Stay safe out there, my Rising Stars!
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Published on November 08, 2023 12:15 Tags: new-book-talk, vacay-return, which-series-is-priority

September 18, 2023

Valhalla Post 15: Vacation

Hello everyone. As per usual, here's the update on how Book 3 is coming along.

Book 3 writing: ~39%
Book 3 editing: ~36%

I haven't made as much progress as I would like to, however, the next chapter has been written, so now I have some editing available to me as an option too and I will do my best to make progress in both areas. I've just had a lack of focus and time to work on the book and between the two, it's been really slow going. For that, I'd like to apologize.

Speaking of times I won't be able to work, I will be taking a vacation for most of October and thus, not writing, I'm afraid. My vacation starts in exactly 3 weeks from now. I'm hoping to have the book at least to the 50% mark for both writing and editing by then, if not even farther past that. I just have a lot going on which makes it a little difficult for me to do. I will do my best to keep everyone updated here as things play out.

Until next time, I hope you all do well and enjoy your own vacations when they come around, my Rising Stars!
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Published on September 18, 2023 15:34 Tags: plans, progress, vacation

September 5, 2023

Valhalla Post 14: Quick Progress

Hello everyone! I don't have much of a topic this time, so I'm just gonna share progress and say a quick this or that.

Book 3 writing: ~38%
Book 3 editing: ~36%

I am still working much slower than I'd like to, but all sorts of things just keep coming up to just make me busy. I'm hoping to get up to ~40% this week, but Starfield also just came out last night, so I'm not sure how well I'll be able to hit that target, but I should get to at least 39%, I'll force myself to get at least that far.

Continue enjoying all your journeys, even if they take you out into space my Rising Stars!
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Published on September 05, 2023 07:13

August 21, 2023

Valhalla Post 13: Making Progress

Hello everyone! It's taken me a while to get back into the swing of things, but here is the newest update!

Book 3 writing: ~36%
Book 3 editing: ~34.5%

As I do my best to always keep, I have made pretty good progress on the book for a normal week. However, in terms of making the level of progress I was hoping to make... I was a little on the low side. Truth be told, I highly doubt that I'll be able to finish my book by October. More realistically, I think the book is looking at a December or January of next year release date. I wish I could get it out when I originally planned, but the truth is that things just aren't working out that way. Even with the class done, I still have a lot to do, but I am working on the book again, so it's not all bad news.

That's the post for this week, so I'll be catching you all next week. Keep living your best lives, my Rising Stars!
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Published on August 21, 2023 14:13

August 11, 2023

Valhalla Post 12: Return of the Writer

Hello everyone! It's that time again, so let's get right into it.

Book 3 written: ~34.5%
Book 3 edited: ~31%

As I was hoping with the last post, I've officially finished my course! Which means I'm back to having free time, and as you may tell, of the little bit I've had since then, which is very little, I've caught up on editing the book and done a touch of writing.

Now, while this may be a good amount of progress (roughly 3% in less than 3 days of finishing my class) this is still far from where I was wanting to be. I'm strongly hoping for an early October release, specifically before I go on a fun vacation that I have planned. To do that, I will have to write and edit ~1,5% of the book every day. (yikes, that's a lot.) or at least ~9% per week. This is a lot of work, but I am going to do my best to get this done.

I'm sorry for the insanely slow progress up to this point and there's a decent chance I won't get the October release that I'm wanting/chasing, but I am going to do my best and I will keep everyone updated. Now is the time to witness the Return of the Writer! Prepare yourselves, my Rising Stars!
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Published on August 11, 2023 12:05 Tags: course-completed, finally-back

Valhallan News

Nic Bomgardner
News about my writing, progress, or just general updates with regards to writing.
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