Nicole MacDonald's Blog, page 14

Just incase you missed it.. The cover to AWAKENING

Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Friday Funnies!

Apparently NZ will have the perfect conditions for an awesome snow storm next week. This could get very interesting! I've really never been in decent snow before (just haven't got around to it ;p) so I'm rather excited! Hence the theme of the funnies *grin*









Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

A sneaky move...

This isn't unheard of but it's the first time I've seen it. An indie author whose work I've read has listed themselves as a published author (in the sense of 'traditionally published'). They've even set up a page for the publisher – not surprisingly it isn't accepting submissions at the current time lol. Now I'm going to be utterly honest, half of me is green with envy at the idea and the other half is hoping like hell for the author concerned that none of the nasty reviewers figure it out. The more I learn about editing the easier it is to spot an indie writer through the common mistakes we make (and I do mean 'we' grin very much a learning process!) and this author's work has the hallmark mistakes that I'm currently trying to edit out of my own work.The idea is cunning. People who deliberately avoid indie author's (like moi) are buying and gushing over the book. It's doing quite well in the rankings and rightly so as it's a good read. And that's where I'm chewing on my own liver a bit. It's an easy enough thing to do but I've set myself up as an indie author and I want to continue to support the indie movement, even if it feels like an uphill battle at times. Yet with that clever move this author has sorted out some of the biggest issues Indies get labelled with. So far no one has attacked the editing, yet had it been an indie there would be at least one comment by now. The book is selling well and the author's name is set in peoples mind as a 'real' author. I don't blame the author at all for doing such a thing, they are doing well and will continue to succeed. I guess in the long run I'll be satisfied with doing the 'loud and proud' indie method but I'm not going to deny that what this author's done is a damn clever way of solving quite a few issues. It's also very cool to see those good reviews from people who've given scathing reviews to indies. It proves the points that so many of us know about those reviewers who are now painfully obvious (to me at least) in their judgemental and aggressive attitudes. I wonder if it will all go this way? Does it matter? Would you feel 'cheated' at finding out someone you thought was traditionally published is actually an indie author? What if groups of indie authors used this method, that would be one heck of a way to throw a spanner in the works, wouldn't it? Actually just the thought of that makes me want to do my best 'Mr Burns' impression mwahahahaha. Watch out indie snubbers! You'll never know where we're hiding ;pTake care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Why is it when you finally get a break?

Your fingers and mind refuse to be idle? Even just for a few days? The sewing hasn't happened unfortunately and it's never something I push as with my sewing skills that promptly equals LOTS of unpicking ;pI'm researching for the YA series that's been on my mind for awhile and have also started another story. While beginning the draft for book three *grin* I'm still not sure where this other idea sprung up from… it seems to be a combination of thoughts that have been swirling (and no, it's not the crazy cat lady story.. that'll be after BirthRight is done). I also want to get book one ready for CreateSpace. Which means… I need to ask for a couple of favors from anyone willing *CheesySmile*
Is anyone interested/willing to be another pair of eyes over The Arrival? I'm wanting it to be as perfect as possible when it's in print so if anyone out there is a fantastic proofer and willing to help OMG would I be grateful!
The other query I have is - do you or someone you know (who's willing to put up with somewhat random questions from me) live in San Francisco? The YA series I'm working on is situated there and I really need to get a better feeling for the city (any videos/documentaries/books you can recommend?).
Oddball questions I know and as mentioned I will be super grateful to anyone who can help or point me in the right direction.Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

THE FIRST DRAFT IS COMPLETE!

Now into the craziness of re-writing *gulp*. I've done so many things differently this time around. With The Arrival - as I didn't actually consider publishing it in the beginning - I read it constantly. It was great fun to do, having never written a novel before. With Awakening I've read through sections but not the entire thing. I know how many times I'll read it whilst re-writing and I don't want to dislike it too soon (we all get to that stage, it passes but for a while you despise it ;p). With The Arrival I wrote in a straight line time-wise. From beginning to end.With Awakening I wrote what ever scene took my fancy then jig-sawed them together.When editing The Arrival I had a few close critiquers who went over it again and again. This time around I have added a few more critiquers/editors to the pot and I am trying to make sure they only see it once. I want all eyes on the MS to be as fresh as possible. It's going to be an interesting few months. My fingers are already twitching to begin re-writing but I don't expect to see my first critiquers thoughts for at least a week… I think I might do lots of sewing to keep my fingers occupied *grin*. It is a GREAT start to the weekend and I sooooo can't wait to see it complete!Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Indie authors vs Indie authors?

When you're part of a minority that tends to get looked down upon, you'd think you would support one another. Unfortunately the big green monster of envy appears to be biting more than one indie author and the toll begins to stand out whether it's in reviews or down voting or just straight bad mouthing. A frustrating thing when really, we're all in this together. Yes I can understand where it stems from. Watching a book fly up the rankings when you regard yours as a far better read must be hard. Still, when one person can read numerous books a year (my mum can easily read 10-20 a week) is there really any competition? And your opinion is the same as anyone else's - your opinion, not an actual definition. I don't really understand how some seem to think certain books exist or succeed merely to piss them off ('scuse the language) but you see it frequently in reviews.No I'm not referring to any of mine ;p I read some of John Locke's reviews on his Donovan Creed novels. I bought two on the weekend and placed a review on one I read, then, as you do, had a peruse of the other reviews there. The first thing I noticed was someone had intentionally gone through and down voted any positive reviews and up voted negative reviews. How could I tell? It was just one vote each time, a tell tale sign of someone with a grudge. It intrigued me because while I'd never say the novel was outstanding, it was entertaining. It was something I'd read again and for .99c it was a good read. Yet someone had taken such offence that they didn't seem to realize others could enjoy what they so despised. I have seen other articles on indie's attacking indie's but hadn't really thought that much of it. Probably because the blogging community is so fantastically supportive. Recently however, while chatting to an indie author who has really succeeded (NY bestseller and all) I was astonished to learn that they too, had been on the receiving end of one of these attacks. So much so that after trashing this author on one site the attacking Indie then went to another site and trashed them there too. Thankfully someone picked up on it and as soon as it was revealed the attacker disappeared from those two forums. But I do wonder now, how often this happens? And really if you have to attack someone to try and make your book seem better, well it says a lot for your book now doesn't it…Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Those final three days...

I'm up to the last three days of the plot in Awakening. OH MY GOD does it feel like forever (and no, it isn't boring for the reader! Just frustrating for the writer ;p). This is the part that requires a delicate and forceful touch as it will lead onto book three, Feel the Burn. Yes it will be somewhat of a cliff hanger, but that's how continuing stories work - otherwise it'd be a series, not a trilogy ;p
These last pages are really clear in my head, it's just taking sooo long! Feels like when we used to go tramping with Dad as kids, Brad and I would ask (often... as kids do) 'how long is it till we get there?' And Dad's invariable response would be, 'Ten minutes.'
It never was ten minutes (I swear it!). Or if it was, wow that was the longest ten minutes ever. Period.
So that's where I am now, in that final 'ten minutes' which feels as though it stretches on and on and on. The final hill climb before I can send it off to the first critiquer. Ahh the joys of writing *grin*

Take care all! Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Woo! It's my birthday - some themed pics for fun : )

I am officially now twenty nine *grin* I have been spoilt rotten by Glenn with a gorgeous jewellery set, a fantasy art book, a BIG day out and dinner at my fav restaurant. Also Barnes & Noble finally has a price on my book *yay* so a very, very good day. Enjoy the pics people : )





Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

It's FRIDAY!! (sorry to those still stuck on Thurs in Northern hemisphere ;p)

But at least it's summer where you are *grin* I'm in a fantastic mood today and it feels great! I don't have much time for a post so I thought I'd re-post a poem I wrote and posted last year : ) Enjoy

She walks betwixt
Between the realms she walksFeet light on the boundaryOthers watchCurious
Her feet stay groundedAs she ascends to the heavensSnatching glimpses of dreamsThreads to weaveTapestries to create
Lips whisper wordsEyes dazed As she passes those on the streetWalking in another worldVisible only to herAnd her pen
Take care all! Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon

Is Smashwords really worth it?

With indie e-book publishing there's two main options for you to publish on. Smashwords and Amazon. I use both but as I continue to experience hassles with Smashwords I really wonder if it's worth it. I know you can publish directly with Barnes & Noble via Pubit but it isn't available to authors out of the US yet which really sucks. The problem I'm having is that I want to take The Arrival off free on Amazon and have it back at .99c. The free idea is great but I don't know if it's something I'd do permanently, I'd prefer to have it for a few months at a time. But because the book still shows as free on Barnes & Noble I can't get the US Amazon to take it off their free list. UK Amazon just did it, looks like they allot a certain amount of time for each book to be free which is a clever idea.So I popped on Smashwords and changed the price. Then waited. And waited. And waited. Then bombarded them with e-mails after the first several I sent over a few weeks were never replied to. I got a terse reply from the creator of Smashwords along the lines of 'what's your problem?' which had me pointing out that no one had replied to any of my emails until now. After I'd sent LOTS. He told me it'd be sorted in their next shipping of books. Okay, cool. Three weeks later, it hasn't been shipped yet and I'm still waiting *sigh* It's more than a tad frustrating. Not surprisingly I'm wondering if it's actually worth being on Smashwords. Sales wise I've made all of $12 and the download count is low. Really low. I know the appeal with Smashwords is that you can get the book in any format so I'm beginning to look into the idea of creating a 'buy' button on my blog. Then I can send it through in whatever e-format the reader requires. Also the idea of never having to deal with that god-awful meatgrinder Smashwords has *swoon* now that's a nice thought! This is just one of my current frustrations with e publishing.
The other biggee is the actual allowed formatting. E books are great but because of the current HTML requirements they still can't match paper books. As you're all well aware, I use multiple shifting point of views in The Arrival. It's a style I chose for the trilogy as it conveys the story in the way I want. The problem is that in paper format it's far easier to make out the switches (if you're a person who finds them a little confusing) compared to e-format. Because in e-format there's just two paragraph styles to choose from and you CANNOT use both. If I could use both, it might work better. Now that I have my kindle and I'm reading stack loads more books I'm seeing this format issue in pretty much every single one. Whether it's through a publisher or whether it's an Indie author. I think it has to be one of the most common complaints in reviews - formatting! But having worked behind the scenes in this I have utmost sympathy for anyone trying to make their e-version convey what their paper version does. Thankfully technology always progresses so I'm just waiting for it to move along in this. Until then, my kindle is as prized a possession as my books are and I won't be stopping my paper back purchases anytime soon.
Take care all!Nic The Arrival, on Amazon or UK Amazon