D.R. Racey's Blog: D.R. Racey, page 5
January 16, 2014
4 Star Review for Gaspar and the Fantastical Hats
Gaspar and the Fantastical Hats by David A. Lindsay
4 out of 5 Stars
Gaspar and the Fantastical Hats is a novella and prequel to Gaspar the Thief. The novella is just under 30,000 words and would take an average reader 3 hours or less to read.
The storyline was very interesting, with several twists along the way. The main character, Gaspar, is a thief that refuses to join the Thieves Guild and freelances all of his own work. That is until he is cornered into doing a mission contracted to him by the Guild. He meets with his friend Hubris and they take off on a mission to steal a magical item and bring it back to fulfill the contract. The twists and turns in the story keep the reader interested pages and the well timed humoristic approaches amplify that enjoyment.
The author did a great job in laying out the feel of the city and building the characters within the story. Gaspar, is likeable, his friend Hubris is humorous and maybe a little off in the head, Marna is mysterious, and the assassin twins bring tension whenever they show up. As a prequel to Gaspar the Thief, the author did a great job in setting the stage for the world in which he draws readers into.
There were a few minor technical errors for grammar and spelling in the story, but not enough to distract the reader from enjoying themselves.
I would recommend this book for readers looking for an interesting story that they can finish in a couple of hours.
I give Gaspar and the Fantastical Hats 4 out of 5 Stars and plan to read Gaspar the Thief sometime in the near future.
The book is currently free on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Gaspar-Fantasti...
Reviewed by: David at Indie Authors and Books
www.indieauthorsandbooks.com
www.indieauthorsandbooks.wordpress.com
4 out of 5 Stars
Gaspar and the Fantastical Hats is a novella and prequel to Gaspar the Thief. The novella is just under 30,000 words and would take an average reader 3 hours or less to read.
The storyline was very interesting, with several twists along the way. The main character, Gaspar, is a thief that refuses to join the Thieves Guild and freelances all of his own work. That is until he is cornered into doing a mission contracted to him by the Guild. He meets with his friend Hubris and they take off on a mission to steal a magical item and bring it back to fulfill the contract. The twists and turns in the story keep the reader interested pages and the well timed humoristic approaches amplify that enjoyment.
The author did a great job in laying out the feel of the city and building the characters within the story. Gaspar, is likeable, his friend Hubris is humorous and maybe a little off in the head, Marna is mysterious, and the assassin twins bring tension whenever they show up. As a prequel to Gaspar the Thief, the author did a great job in setting the stage for the world in which he draws readers into.
There were a few minor technical errors for grammar and spelling in the story, but not enough to distract the reader from enjoying themselves.
I would recommend this book for readers looking for an interesting story that they can finish in a couple of hours.
I give Gaspar and the Fantastical Hats 4 out of 5 Stars and plan to read Gaspar the Thief sometime in the near future.
The book is currently free on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Gaspar-Fantasti...
Reviewed by: David at Indie Authors and Books
www.indieauthorsandbooks.com
www.indieauthorsandbooks.wordpress.com
January 11, 2014
5 Stars for Dead(ish) by Naomi Kramer
5 Star Review for Dead(ish) by Naomi Kramer
I picked up Dead(ish) from the kindle store because I had seen the same book on my daughter’s bookshelf a few months back. I decided to see what the fuss was about, and was pleasantly surprised.
The author did a great job of telling the story of Linda, how she was murdered, and the events of trying to find her body so she could finally rest in peace. Linda’s ex-boyfriend Mike played hell as the story progressed and in the end probably wished he had never met her.
I laughed my way through the pages and kept wanting more. The book pulled me in deeper and I found myself speed reading certain passages as I felt myself being pulled into the thoughts of the characters. It is one thing to read a book, it is something entirely different to feel like you are actually in the book.
The downside of the book was that it was so short, but this was also an upside. All in all it only took an hour to read the book and left me thoroughly satisfied.
5 stars for Dead(ish) based on quality, technical aspects, and humor.
I would not recommend this book for younger readers due to strong adult content and language.
It is also currently free on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-ish-Naomi-...
Reviewed by: David at Indie Authors and Books
www.indieauthorsandbooks.com
www.indieauthorsandbooks.wordpress.com
I picked up Dead(ish) from the kindle store because I had seen the same book on my daughter’s bookshelf a few months back. I decided to see what the fuss was about, and was pleasantly surprised.
The author did a great job of telling the story of Linda, how she was murdered, and the events of trying to find her body so she could finally rest in peace. Linda’s ex-boyfriend Mike played hell as the story progressed and in the end probably wished he had never met her.
I laughed my way through the pages and kept wanting more. The book pulled me in deeper and I found myself speed reading certain passages as I felt myself being pulled into the thoughts of the characters. It is one thing to read a book, it is something entirely different to feel like you are actually in the book.
The downside of the book was that it was so short, but this was also an upside. All in all it only took an hour to read the book and left me thoroughly satisfied.
5 stars for Dead(ish) based on quality, technical aspects, and humor.
I would not recommend this book for younger readers due to strong adult content and language.
It is also currently free on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-ish-Naomi-...
Reviewed by: David at Indie Authors and Books
www.indieauthorsandbooks.com
www.indieauthorsandbooks.wordpress.com
5 Stars for Sorcerer's Code by Christopher Kellen
5 Star Review of Sorcerer’s Code (The Elements of Sorcery) Lesson One by Christopher Kellen
Sorcerer’s Code (The Elements of Sorcery) Lesson One by Christopher Kellen
The Sorcerer’s Code was a short, but interesting book or rather short story. The story followed the struggles of Edar Moncrief, a sorcerer, after he found the body of a dead Arbiter in the streets of his town. The Arbiter’s death was astonishing in the fact that no one could remember the last time one was killed.
After finding the body, Edar was confronted by another Arbiter who was searching for the murderer of the other and the sword that had been taken from the corpse.
The author did a great job of intertwining magic and sword play into the book and gave the reader a great feel for what was happening on the main character.
Sorcerer’s Code was a very well written short story. My only real complaint was that the book was so short. There were very few technical mistakes in the book and it was obvious that the story had been edited carefully.
I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a real short read and has a couple hours to spare.
I purchased books two and three in the hope that the author’s writing style and skill remains consistent with the first short story.
The first book in the series in free and the other four range from $0.99 to $2.99.
Sorcerer’s Code: http://www.amazon.com/Sorcerers-Eleme...
Sorcerer’s Code (The Elements of Sorcery) Lesson One by Christopher Kellen
The Sorcerer’s Code was a short, but interesting book or rather short story. The story followed the struggles of Edar Moncrief, a sorcerer, after he found the body of a dead Arbiter in the streets of his town. The Arbiter’s death was astonishing in the fact that no one could remember the last time one was killed.
After finding the body, Edar was confronted by another Arbiter who was searching for the murderer of the other and the sword that had been taken from the corpse.
The author did a great job of intertwining magic and sword play into the book and gave the reader a great feel for what was happening on the main character.
Sorcerer’s Code was a very well written short story. My only real complaint was that the book was so short. There were very few technical mistakes in the book and it was obvious that the story had been edited carefully.
I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a real short read and has a couple hours to spare.
I purchased books two and three in the hope that the author’s writing style and skill remains consistent with the first short story.
The first book in the series in free and the other four range from $0.99 to $2.99.
Sorcerer’s Code: http://www.amazon.com/Sorcerers-Eleme...
January 9, 2014
2 out of 5 Star Review for Amberwine
Review of Amberwine (The Lich War Series) by K.D. Nielson
Amberwine is a fantasy story that incorporates many components of the fantasy world to include knights, wizards, healers, drow, barbarians, a lich, and a cat like race known as the Koldorians. Magic is a key element of the story as well as the use of armed combat.
The novel starts out with Bolinar, the hero of the story, in a fierce battle of which he is the only survivor. As he is escaping from the battle, he finds himself underground and eventually finds the lair of a dead dragon and all of the loot the dragon had collected. Bolinar uses this treasure to start his own mercenary company and outfit them.
The book progresses with him building a sizeable force and occupying a long abandoned kingdom that he claims for his own. Him and his people settle the new lands and continue to grow in size. In their new home, they find a woman that had been locked away behind a magical door for many years and discover she has a vampire curse placed on her. Shortly after, they learn of the lich Devron, or Mavious as he is known in his possessed body. They also learn that the lich is working with a rival kingdom that wishes to destroy all the other kingdoms and races.
While adventuring the heroes of the story travel to a distant land where the Koldorians live and find these cat like people. The Koldorians are at war with Slavers and are eventually rescued, at least in part, by Bolinar and his small army.
Bolinar learns of the drow and an impending battle with the drow and the lich. They progress through and learn of three magical swords that can each grant one wish. They must find these swords before the lich can find them and use the reanimated bodies of long ago kings to make his wishes for him.
Technical aspects of the book are very poor and I found myself reading passages three or four times to understand what the author was trying to convey to me as a reader. There are many typos, grammar errors, double words, left out words, tense usage errors, and general inconsistencies. These errors made reading the book very difficult, but I did finish the entire novel.
Many of the characters brought forth in the book have little to no importance to the overall outcome of the story and actually act as distracters to the storyline and plot. I give the author credit for trying to build a world filled with many types of people and races, but it seemed like it was too much for the average reader.
I found myself drudging through the pages in hopes that the story line and flow would become better as the novel progressed. The storyline was choppy and jumped around to a point where it was difficult to try and follow where the author was taking me. There were parts in the story that played no part in pushing the story forward. I found myself going back and rereading entire sections of the book to figure out where the author had just taken me and how I jumped from one portion of the plot to another that did not tie in together.
From start to finish, serious editing needs to be done in the form of technical aspects, storyline, consistency, and flow.
I give Amberwine 2 out of 5 Stars.
I would not recommend this book to others and will not be reading the second book in the series.
The book is currently free on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Amberwine-Lich-...
Amberwine
Amberwine is a fantasy story that incorporates many components of the fantasy world to include knights, wizards, healers, drow, barbarians, a lich, and a cat like race known as the Koldorians. Magic is a key element of the story as well as the use of armed combat.
The novel starts out with Bolinar, the hero of the story, in a fierce battle of which he is the only survivor. As he is escaping from the battle, he finds himself underground and eventually finds the lair of a dead dragon and all of the loot the dragon had collected. Bolinar uses this treasure to start his own mercenary company and outfit them.
The book progresses with him building a sizeable force and occupying a long abandoned kingdom that he claims for his own. Him and his people settle the new lands and continue to grow in size. In their new home, they find a woman that had been locked away behind a magical door for many years and discover she has a vampire curse placed on her. Shortly after, they learn of the lich Devron, or Mavious as he is known in his possessed body. They also learn that the lich is working with a rival kingdom that wishes to destroy all the other kingdoms and races.
While adventuring the heroes of the story travel to a distant land where the Koldorians live and find these cat like people. The Koldorians are at war with Slavers and are eventually rescued, at least in part, by Bolinar and his small army.
Bolinar learns of the drow and an impending battle with the drow and the lich. They progress through and learn of three magical swords that can each grant one wish. They must find these swords before the lich can find them and use the reanimated bodies of long ago kings to make his wishes for him.
Technical aspects of the book are very poor and I found myself reading passages three or four times to understand what the author was trying to convey to me as a reader. There are many typos, grammar errors, double words, left out words, tense usage errors, and general inconsistencies. These errors made reading the book very difficult, but I did finish the entire novel.
Many of the characters brought forth in the book have little to no importance to the overall outcome of the story and actually act as distracters to the storyline and plot. I give the author credit for trying to build a world filled with many types of people and races, but it seemed like it was too much for the average reader.
I found myself drudging through the pages in hopes that the story line and flow would become better as the novel progressed. The storyline was choppy and jumped around to a point where it was difficult to try and follow where the author was taking me. There were parts in the story that played no part in pushing the story forward. I found myself going back and rereading entire sections of the book to figure out where the author had just taken me and how I jumped from one portion of the plot to another that did not tie in together.
From start to finish, serious editing needs to be done in the form of technical aspects, storyline, consistency, and flow.
I give Amberwine 2 out of 5 Stars.
I would not recommend this book to others and will not be reading the second book in the series.
The book is currently free on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Amberwine-Lich-...
Amberwine
January 8, 2014
10 Tips on Self Publishing
10 Tips on Self-Publishing
by
Indie Authors and Books
Over my journey though, I have learned lessons as to what an author should or should not do while self-publishing and wanted to share some of those tips.
Take the tips for what you will. Use them to help you, or toss them to the side like an unread book.
I offer the tips here for anyone that wants to use them to help them in their self-publishing journey. Not every tip will fit every author, but in a general sense they apply to all self-published authors.
Many authors start out the self-publishing journey with very little insight as to where they are heading. Authors contemplate whether they should publish strictly in eBook format or paperback format. Some contemplate self-publishing in both formats.
Each option has pros and cons which much be considered prior to self-publishing that first book.
The pros and cons listed below will be focused on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords (three major self-publishing platforms) as I am most familiar with these three companies.
Pros Associated with both eBook and Paperback Options
Easy to modify content and upload a new version.
Easy to change cover art and upload revised artwork.
User friendly interface for uploading your manuscript and cover art.
Book sales reports – There may be a delay in updating until the buyers credit card clears the bank.
Digital marketing through social media networks.
Sell price is easily changed through any of the major retailers.
eBook Pros
Ability to send free digital copies to help increase word of mouth marketing.
Ability to provide free digital copies of books to Read 2 Review groups on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media networks.
No overhead cost once the eBook is edited and cover art has been created.
Target a community that seldom reads traditional paper books.
Paperback Pros
Ability to attend author book signings to market your book in local book stores.
Qualified to conduct giveaways of physical copies of your book on Goodreads (must join the author program on Goodreads)
Ability to market you book on your own website with minimal setup.
Target a community that does not use digital readers.
Ability to place your book on consignment in local bookstores.
eBook Cons
Impression that you are not fully established if your book is only in eBook format.
No physical copy of your book to provide autographed copies for giveaways.
Paperback Cons
Overhead cost is increased due to maintaining physical copies to sell through your website and for author book signings.
Profit per book is minimal due to cost of self-publishing through print on demand services.
Books must be printed prior to shipping to customers. Slows down delivery process once the book is purchased.
Now that we have covered some of the pros and cons (of which I only named a few of each) let’s focus on getting your book ready for printing.
Tip #1
Have someone else read your book.
Writing my book was the most rewarding part of the process for me. I took the time to put what I thought was what readers wanted to hear into something that they could take with them and read on the bus, in an airplane, or waiting for their kids to get out of school.
I gave the book to my wife to read. She looked at me funny a few times and asked me, “Did you know you did……?” Sometimes I replied yes, and other times I went back into the book and made changes.
The romance novel I wrote was more of an erotic novel and eventually ended up being a paranormal thriller. My wife let me know that I didn’t write romance well, and I didn’t want to publish an erotic book.
What I got in the end though was a book that I was truly proud of and was even mild enough that my parents could read it, but wild enough that it would attract readers New Adult and older.
Just so everyone is tracking…..my wife butchered the first two versions of my book.
If possible, find a few people that are “not” friends or family to read your book. Family and friends can be so polite when they read your book. You do not want people that are going to be polite to you. You want people that will give you no crap, down to earth, realistic and constructive criticism. Don’t let someone just tell you it was great or that it sucked. Get them to tell you what was great and what sucked so you know what needs to stay and what needs to change.
This is where the beta read or manuscript critique comes in. I will refer to both terms simply as a critique from here forward. By providing a digital copy of your book for critique you will get an honest assessment of your work. There are companies that will critique your manuscript for free while others will charge for this service.
Take the suggestions from the critique as a way to help you develop your book into the next true bestseller.
Tip #2
Make an investment in your book.
Hire a Copyeditor and a Content Editor to assist you in preparing your book for readers. Many authors make common mistakes in the writing process such as typing the same word twice in a row, misspelling commonly misspelled words, or minor mistakes in punctuation.
Copyediting is probably one of the most important phases in preparing a book to be published. Many readers will lose interest in a book quickly if they are always stumbling across typos and poor punctuation. Depending on the Copyeditor, you may get your word document back with the changes made to spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation. Then again you may get your word document back with notes attached throughout the document and the choice be left to you to change the mistakes or leave them. Copyediting should include two full reads of your book; even the best editors are going to miss a few misspelled words or some poor punctuation.
Content Editors look for consistency in the plot and storyline while focusing on character development and overall readability of the story. Content Editors take notes on each chapter as they go through and compare the transition the main characters in the book make as they progress through the book. No matter how talented an author is, there will always be something that can be changed in the book. You may have written a perfect book, but you need to swap two chapters to maintain consistency or flow of the story. It could be as simple as swapping two paragraphs, but normally there are more drastic changes that need to be made.
Want to go the extra mile? Hire yourself a service that provided Copyediting and Content Editing as a combined package. This costs a little more, but can save you months of pre-publishing time by utilizing one source for all edits.
Prior to utilizing the services of a Copyeditor or Content Editor, ask them to provide you a sample of their work. If possible ask them to edit the first 10 pages of your book. This is normally 3000 words or less in double spaced 12 point Times New Roman font, but will give you an idea of the quality of service they provide.
Tip #3
Make another investment in your book.
Cover art sells books. Yes, what is inside the book is going to keep a reader wanting more. What if they never pick the book up though? A reader needs to look at the cover of the book and know that they want to read the book before they ever touch it. This is even more important with eBooks as the free sample portion at the beginning of the eBook is so short. With physical copies of books they can flip through and read small samples from various places in the book.
Take the time to research reputable cover artists. Find a cover artist that has designed other covers and find one that matches the style for your book. You don’t want to have a cover that does not match the story of your book. Just because a cover artist made a great romance book cover does not mean that they can create a great fantasy book cover. Hire the cover artist that fits the style of your book.
Tip #4
Better get to Blogging.
Start your author blog and get to work. Readers and fans are hard to come by if you do not take the time to find them. Join a social media group for authors and ask for advice in launching your book.
Post regular updates on your blog as you are writing your book andput excerpts on the blog so readers get a taste of what they can expect.
Pay a few dollars and get your own domain name from one of the many website servers out there. WordPress, Weebly, and Blogger are three of the more popular blog services. Webs.com also provides free websites or the option to pay for your own domain name.
Keep in contact with your readers and fans and ensure they don’t get bored. The last thing you want is for your readers to get bored and wander off prior to your book release date.
Make sure you keep your fans up to date on when to expect your book.
As you get closer to your scheduled launch date you may find a good time to run giveaways for ARC copies of your book, even if it is only in digital form.
The longer you are blogging about your books, the easier it will be for others to find you (or stumble onto you) when using search engines like Google and Bing. Search Engine Optimization starts early when you build your blog and can help you out immensely once you make your book available to readers. (not going into SEO details here)
Tip #5
Reviews are a must.
Some readers will not purchase a book unless it seems fully established and has had twenty or more reviews. Well how are you going to get reviews if you can’t get anyone to buy the book?
Utilize Goodreads Giveaways for physical copies of your book. Goodreads has a massive reader base that is constantly searching for new books to read. Though the purpose is to help authors get reviews, only a small percentage of the readers that win your book will write a review. Every review counts though. For one of my books I have given away over three hundred copies in paperback and digital formats, though I have only received around 15 reviews up to this date for that particular book. Those 15 reviews added up though, and they were enough to get some other readers to purchase the book.
You can also use Facebook to set up events and giveaway physical or digital copies of your book. Be cautious though about sending too many messages in Facebook as some of their policies could land you in Facebook jail for something as unintentional as sending a friend request to someone you don’t know.
Reach a fan base and the reviews will come. To get those reviews though, you are going to need to give away some free books. Do not think of the free books as money that you lost, consider them an investment.
Don’t worry if you get a couple of bad reviews, unless of course most of your reviews are bad. Readers will focus on the majority of your reviews to see what other readers think. If you have ten 5 Star reviews, six 4 Star reviews, a couple 3 Star reviews, and a few 1 and 2 Star reviews, then don’t sweat it. Not everyone that reads your book is going to think it is great and some may even hate your writing style. Consider the reviews that get posted as constructive criticism and evaluate if you could have done something differently.
Tip #6
Book pricing counts as much as the cover art does.
Price in today’s economy is probably more important than ever. I have talked to many eBook readers that will not pay more than $3.99 (USD) for any eBook unless it is from and established author that they have read books from before. Pricing on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords allow you to easily change the price of your books to see if you are able to sell more productively at a different price. At $3.99 (USD) I may make more money per book sell, but at $2.99 (USD) I may sell many more books and in the long term make more money and build a bigger fan base. Some authors make bundles by selling their book for just $0.99 (USD) because if the sheer volume in book sales.
I know of one author that has the first book in one of his paranormal series listed for free at all times for the digital version. He promotes the heck out of his free book and readers come back to buy his other books after reading the first. Technically he doesn’t make any money on the first book, but his free book promotion leads to greater sales for his other books.
Tip #7
Market your book. You do not need to tweet constantly or post repeatedly about your book every day of the week, but it doesn’t hurt to tweet and post to Facebook either. Target your readers by researching popular trends that can help you focus on people who would be interested in your genre of book.
Some authors market their book through free online advertising agencies like FreeAd and Craigslist which allow you to advertise to multiple cities around the word at the same time. This is a good way to get the name of your book out there, but is more viable for physical copies of the book. Be careful though as the category “Boats” is just above “Books” and can get your advertisement flagged for removal.
Another form of marketing is author interviews and book features. There are services that offer author interviews and book features then post the interviews and features on their website so others can see them. The interviews are a good way for readers to meet the author without the author going out to look for more fans. The author is utilizing the fan base of the blogger or website owner that listed their interview or book feature to help build their own fan base.
Tip #8
Write your next book.
Don’t stop writing once you publish your first book. Get working on your second book and start publicizing it on your blog. Put excerpts on your blog just like you did with your first book. Hopefully by this time you have built a small fan base and they are talking about your first book to their friends.
Again, keep them interested in your upcoming novel by providing them snippets and excerpts to read.
Tip #9
Find some friends.
No, not the friends you go out drinking with (though they are good too). What you want are friends that have worked in the self-publishing business. Talk to them and find out what worked for them and what didn’t work as they started out in self-publishing.
There are several groups that have years of self-publishing experience and are able to help new authors in the process of self-publishing their first novel.
Tip #10
Don’t get discouraged about book sales.
Stay motivated and keep working towards your goals. Some authors want to be the next New York Times #1 Bestseller. Some authors want to make a living from their writing. Some authors just want to publish a book that fans enjoy reading.
Stay motivated and keep working at writing the story you want to write. Don’t try to write the perfect novel, or you may never publish it. Just keep at it, and give the best you have.
I am now four hours into writing this set of what started out to be “5 Helpful Tips to Self-Publishing” and I am finally to the resources portions.
My wife tells me on occasion that I talk too much. I guess you could say that carries over into my writing as well at times.
I have not been paid to list the following links. I take no credit for their good work. I take no blame for their piss pore work.
I am simply listing some sources that you as a self-published author can look at to see if they fit what you need to finish your book, or to rework it and republish it as a better work of art.
Some of the companies/people below may offer more than one service to authors.
Self-Publishing Platforms
Amazon for Kindle: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishin...
Barnes and Noble for Nook: http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit...
Smashwords (all eBook formats): http://www.smashwords.com
Amazon CreateSpace for Paperbacks: https://www.createspace.com/Login.do
Author Social Media Groups
Author’s Social Media Support Group: http://asmsgbooks.wordpress.com/
Independent Author Network: http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/
Indie Author Book Promotion Page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/57113...
Editing Services
Once Upon A Time Editing Services: www.onceuponatimeediting.com
Helen’s Editing and Proofreading Services: helenmoule@hotmail.co.uk
The Wordsmith, Inc: www.proofeditcheck.com
Amalgam Consulting: http://www.amalgamconsulting.com
Cover Art
Shannon McRoberts: http://www.shannonmcroberts.com
Bull Art Media: ray@bullart.com.au
J.C. Harker: http://www.thinksentient.com/covers/
Book Reviews
Independent Book Reviews: http://www.ibreviews.co.uk/
Author Interviews
Armchair Interviews: http://www.armchairinterviews.com/
Indie Authors and Books Interviews: http://www.indieauthorsandbooks.com
For more resources stop by the Indie Authors and Books Website and check out our resources page. The list of resources grows almost daily and provides numerous links for self-published authors.
Feel free to check out our web store in regards to the services we provide in house.
Best of luck in your self-publishing journey and we wish you the best from Indie Authors and Books.
Written by: David at Indie Authors and Books
by
Indie Authors and Books
Over my journey though, I have learned lessons as to what an author should or should not do while self-publishing and wanted to share some of those tips.
Take the tips for what you will. Use them to help you, or toss them to the side like an unread book.
I offer the tips here for anyone that wants to use them to help them in their self-publishing journey. Not every tip will fit every author, but in a general sense they apply to all self-published authors.
Many authors start out the self-publishing journey with very little insight as to where they are heading. Authors contemplate whether they should publish strictly in eBook format or paperback format. Some contemplate self-publishing in both formats.
Each option has pros and cons which much be considered prior to self-publishing that first book.
The pros and cons listed below will be focused on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords (three major self-publishing platforms) as I am most familiar with these three companies.
Pros Associated with both eBook and Paperback Options
Easy to modify content and upload a new version.
Easy to change cover art and upload revised artwork.
User friendly interface for uploading your manuscript and cover art.
Book sales reports – There may be a delay in updating until the buyers credit card clears the bank.
Digital marketing through social media networks.
Sell price is easily changed through any of the major retailers.
eBook Pros
Ability to send free digital copies to help increase word of mouth marketing.
Ability to provide free digital copies of books to Read 2 Review groups on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media networks.
No overhead cost once the eBook is edited and cover art has been created.
Target a community that seldom reads traditional paper books.
Paperback Pros
Ability to attend author book signings to market your book in local book stores.
Qualified to conduct giveaways of physical copies of your book on Goodreads (must join the author program on Goodreads)
Ability to market you book on your own website with minimal setup.
Target a community that does not use digital readers.
Ability to place your book on consignment in local bookstores.
eBook Cons
Impression that you are not fully established if your book is only in eBook format.
No physical copy of your book to provide autographed copies for giveaways.
Paperback Cons
Overhead cost is increased due to maintaining physical copies to sell through your website and for author book signings.
Profit per book is minimal due to cost of self-publishing through print on demand services.
Books must be printed prior to shipping to customers. Slows down delivery process once the book is purchased.
Now that we have covered some of the pros and cons (of which I only named a few of each) let’s focus on getting your book ready for printing.
Tip #1
Have someone else read your book.
Writing my book was the most rewarding part of the process for me. I took the time to put what I thought was what readers wanted to hear into something that they could take with them and read on the bus, in an airplane, or waiting for their kids to get out of school.
I gave the book to my wife to read. She looked at me funny a few times and asked me, “Did you know you did……?” Sometimes I replied yes, and other times I went back into the book and made changes.
The romance novel I wrote was more of an erotic novel and eventually ended up being a paranormal thriller. My wife let me know that I didn’t write romance well, and I didn’t want to publish an erotic book.
What I got in the end though was a book that I was truly proud of and was even mild enough that my parents could read it, but wild enough that it would attract readers New Adult and older.
Just so everyone is tracking…..my wife butchered the first two versions of my book.
If possible, find a few people that are “not” friends or family to read your book. Family and friends can be so polite when they read your book. You do not want people that are going to be polite to you. You want people that will give you no crap, down to earth, realistic and constructive criticism. Don’t let someone just tell you it was great or that it sucked. Get them to tell you what was great and what sucked so you know what needs to stay and what needs to change.
This is where the beta read or manuscript critique comes in. I will refer to both terms simply as a critique from here forward. By providing a digital copy of your book for critique you will get an honest assessment of your work. There are companies that will critique your manuscript for free while others will charge for this service.
Take the suggestions from the critique as a way to help you develop your book into the next true bestseller.
Tip #2
Make an investment in your book.
Hire a Copyeditor and a Content Editor to assist you in preparing your book for readers. Many authors make common mistakes in the writing process such as typing the same word twice in a row, misspelling commonly misspelled words, or minor mistakes in punctuation.
Copyediting is probably one of the most important phases in preparing a book to be published. Many readers will lose interest in a book quickly if they are always stumbling across typos and poor punctuation. Depending on the Copyeditor, you may get your word document back with the changes made to spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation. Then again you may get your word document back with notes attached throughout the document and the choice be left to you to change the mistakes or leave them. Copyediting should include two full reads of your book; even the best editors are going to miss a few misspelled words or some poor punctuation.
Content Editors look for consistency in the plot and storyline while focusing on character development and overall readability of the story. Content Editors take notes on each chapter as they go through and compare the transition the main characters in the book make as they progress through the book. No matter how talented an author is, there will always be something that can be changed in the book. You may have written a perfect book, but you need to swap two chapters to maintain consistency or flow of the story. It could be as simple as swapping two paragraphs, but normally there are more drastic changes that need to be made.
Want to go the extra mile? Hire yourself a service that provided Copyediting and Content Editing as a combined package. This costs a little more, but can save you months of pre-publishing time by utilizing one source for all edits.
Prior to utilizing the services of a Copyeditor or Content Editor, ask them to provide you a sample of their work. If possible ask them to edit the first 10 pages of your book. This is normally 3000 words or less in double spaced 12 point Times New Roman font, but will give you an idea of the quality of service they provide.
Tip #3
Make another investment in your book.
Cover art sells books. Yes, what is inside the book is going to keep a reader wanting more. What if they never pick the book up though? A reader needs to look at the cover of the book and know that they want to read the book before they ever touch it. This is even more important with eBooks as the free sample portion at the beginning of the eBook is so short. With physical copies of books they can flip through and read small samples from various places in the book.
Take the time to research reputable cover artists. Find a cover artist that has designed other covers and find one that matches the style for your book. You don’t want to have a cover that does not match the story of your book. Just because a cover artist made a great romance book cover does not mean that they can create a great fantasy book cover. Hire the cover artist that fits the style of your book.
Tip #4
Better get to Blogging.
Start your author blog and get to work. Readers and fans are hard to come by if you do not take the time to find them. Join a social media group for authors and ask for advice in launching your book.
Post regular updates on your blog as you are writing your book andput excerpts on the blog so readers get a taste of what they can expect.
Pay a few dollars and get your own domain name from one of the many website servers out there. WordPress, Weebly, and Blogger are three of the more popular blog services. Webs.com also provides free websites or the option to pay for your own domain name.
Keep in contact with your readers and fans and ensure they don’t get bored. The last thing you want is for your readers to get bored and wander off prior to your book release date.
Make sure you keep your fans up to date on when to expect your book.
As you get closer to your scheduled launch date you may find a good time to run giveaways for ARC copies of your book, even if it is only in digital form.
The longer you are blogging about your books, the easier it will be for others to find you (or stumble onto you) when using search engines like Google and Bing. Search Engine Optimization starts early when you build your blog and can help you out immensely once you make your book available to readers. (not going into SEO details here)
Tip #5
Reviews are a must.
Some readers will not purchase a book unless it seems fully established and has had twenty or more reviews. Well how are you going to get reviews if you can’t get anyone to buy the book?
Utilize Goodreads Giveaways for physical copies of your book. Goodreads has a massive reader base that is constantly searching for new books to read. Though the purpose is to help authors get reviews, only a small percentage of the readers that win your book will write a review. Every review counts though. For one of my books I have given away over three hundred copies in paperback and digital formats, though I have only received around 15 reviews up to this date for that particular book. Those 15 reviews added up though, and they were enough to get some other readers to purchase the book.
You can also use Facebook to set up events and giveaway physical or digital copies of your book. Be cautious though about sending too many messages in Facebook as some of their policies could land you in Facebook jail for something as unintentional as sending a friend request to someone you don’t know.
Reach a fan base and the reviews will come. To get those reviews though, you are going to need to give away some free books. Do not think of the free books as money that you lost, consider them an investment.
Don’t worry if you get a couple of bad reviews, unless of course most of your reviews are bad. Readers will focus on the majority of your reviews to see what other readers think. If you have ten 5 Star reviews, six 4 Star reviews, a couple 3 Star reviews, and a few 1 and 2 Star reviews, then don’t sweat it. Not everyone that reads your book is going to think it is great and some may even hate your writing style. Consider the reviews that get posted as constructive criticism and evaluate if you could have done something differently.
Tip #6
Book pricing counts as much as the cover art does.
Price in today’s economy is probably more important than ever. I have talked to many eBook readers that will not pay more than $3.99 (USD) for any eBook unless it is from and established author that they have read books from before. Pricing on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords allow you to easily change the price of your books to see if you are able to sell more productively at a different price. At $3.99 (USD) I may make more money per book sell, but at $2.99 (USD) I may sell many more books and in the long term make more money and build a bigger fan base. Some authors make bundles by selling their book for just $0.99 (USD) because if the sheer volume in book sales.
I know of one author that has the first book in one of his paranormal series listed for free at all times for the digital version. He promotes the heck out of his free book and readers come back to buy his other books after reading the first. Technically he doesn’t make any money on the first book, but his free book promotion leads to greater sales for his other books.
Tip #7
Market your book. You do not need to tweet constantly or post repeatedly about your book every day of the week, but it doesn’t hurt to tweet and post to Facebook either. Target your readers by researching popular trends that can help you focus on people who would be interested in your genre of book.
Some authors market their book through free online advertising agencies like FreeAd and Craigslist which allow you to advertise to multiple cities around the word at the same time. This is a good way to get the name of your book out there, but is more viable for physical copies of the book. Be careful though as the category “Boats” is just above “Books” and can get your advertisement flagged for removal.
Another form of marketing is author interviews and book features. There are services that offer author interviews and book features then post the interviews and features on their website so others can see them. The interviews are a good way for readers to meet the author without the author going out to look for more fans. The author is utilizing the fan base of the blogger or website owner that listed their interview or book feature to help build their own fan base.
Tip #8
Write your next book.
Don’t stop writing once you publish your first book. Get working on your second book and start publicizing it on your blog. Put excerpts on your blog just like you did with your first book. Hopefully by this time you have built a small fan base and they are talking about your first book to their friends.
Again, keep them interested in your upcoming novel by providing them snippets and excerpts to read.
Tip #9
Find some friends.
No, not the friends you go out drinking with (though they are good too). What you want are friends that have worked in the self-publishing business. Talk to them and find out what worked for them and what didn’t work as they started out in self-publishing.
There are several groups that have years of self-publishing experience and are able to help new authors in the process of self-publishing their first novel.
Tip #10
Don’t get discouraged about book sales.
Stay motivated and keep working towards your goals. Some authors want to be the next New York Times #1 Bestseller. Some authors want to make a living from their writing. Some authors just want to publish a book that fans enjoy reading.
Stay motivated and keep working at writing the story you want to write. Don’t try to write the perfect novel, or you may never publish it. Just keep at it, and give the best you have.
I am now four hours into writing this set of what started out to be “5 Helpful Tips to Self-Publishing” and I am finally to the resources portions.
My wife tells me on occasion that I talk too much. I guess you could say that carries over into my writing as well at times.
I have not been paid to list the following links. I take no credit for their good work. I take no blame for their piss pore work.
I am simply listing some sources that you as a self-published author can look at to see if they fit what you need to finish your book, or to rework it and republish it as a better work of art.
Some of the companies/people below may offer more than one service to authors.
Self-Publishing Platforms
Amazon for Kindle: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishin...
Barnes and Noble for Nook: http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit...
Smashwords (all eBook formats): http://www.smashwords.com
Amazon CreateSpace for Paperbacks: https://www.createspace.com/Login.do
Author Social Media Groups
Author’s Social Media Support Group: http://asmsgbooks.wordpress.com/
Independent Author Network: http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/
Indie Author Book Promotion Page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/57113...
Editing Services
Once Upon A Time Editing Services: www.onceuponatimeediting.com
Helen’s Editing and Proofreading Services: helenmoule@hotmail.co.uk
The Wordsmith, Inc: www.proofeditcheck.com
Amalgam Consulting: http://www.amalgamconsulting.com
Cover Art
Shannon McRoberts: http://www.shannonmcroberts.com
Bull Art Media: ray@bullart.com.au
J.C. Harker: http://www.thinksentient.com/covers/
Book Reviews
Independent Book Reviews: http://www.ibreviews.co.uk/
Author Interviews
Armchair Interviews: http://www.armchairinterviews.com/
Indie Authors and Books Interviews: http://www.indieauthorsandbooks.com
For more resources stop by the Indie Authors and Books Website and check out our resources page. The list of resources grows almost daily and provides numerous links for self-published authors.
Feel free to check out our web store in regards to the services we provide in house.
Best of luck in your self-publishing journey and we wish you the best from Indie Authors and Books.
Written by: David at Indie Authors and Books
January 7, 2014
4 out of 5 Stars for Mage Hunter Omnibus by Ty Johnston
Mage Hunter Omnibus by Ty Johnston
4 out of 5 Stars
Mage Hunter Omnibus was a good read that kept me involved in the storyline from start to finish. The story follows an Ursian soldier, Guthrie, as he battles against the Dartague Barbarians in the northern region of the kingdom he is from. The Ursian people do not believe in the use of magic and condemn magic users to death just for practicing the art of magic.
Early in the story he is confronted by a wyrd woman from the barbarian people that lets him leave after an ambush so he can tell the story of how the barbarians slaughtered the Ursian soldiers. Later in the story, he finds out the real reason why she left him alive.
After making it back out of the mountains Guthrie is confronted on two separate occassions, once by a witch and then by a seer. Both of them have their own impact on his actions throughout the course of the book.
Character development for Guthrie was well written, but was lacking for several of the other characters. Zanbra and Kroff, their official titles Sword and Spear respectively and both members of the kingdom’s religous military called the Guantlet are both in need of some additional character development. A flashback or two into who these two were before joining the Guantlet or possibly some more detailed explanation of their training would have given them more depth. The witch and the seer could have also used some more depth that would have added to the story.
Lord Verkain the King of Kobalos played a vital role in the storyline as he confronted both the wyrd woman Ildra along with Guthrie and his companions Zanbra and Kroff.
Guthrie, Zanbra, and Kroff spend the last quarter of the book hunting the remaining wyrd women down and doing battle with them and their barbarian warriors.
If you like a book with a few twists and a solid storyline then the Mage Hunter Omnibus will make a good solid read for you.
The book was written as five distinct parts, which are all published individually. To get a good feel for the author’s writing style, I would suggest purchasing Mage Hunter: Blooded Snow (the first of five parts) as a free download from Amazon. If the writers style suits your reading preferences at that point, just jump in and buy the Omnibus which has all five parts and is cheaper than buying each part individually. (Blooded Snow, Sundered Shields, Bared Blades, Hammered Iron, Changeless Fate).
The book, for the most part, is technically sound. The storyline and plot are consistent and continue along at a relative pace. There were few technical errors in spelling, grammar, tense, and double words. Most of these technical errors were in the last chapter of each of the five parts of the book. Although the errors were present, they only caused minimal distraction to reading and were easily overcome by reading the passage with the error a second time.
Reviewed by: David at Indie Authors and Books
You can find the Mage Hunter Omnibus at http://www.amazon.com/Mage-Hunter-Omn...
4 out of 5 Stars
Mage Hunter Omnibus was a good read that kept me involved in the storyline from start to finish. The story follows an Ursian soldier, Guthrie, as he battles against the Dartague Barbarians in the northern region of the kingdom he is from. The Ursian people do not believe in the use of magic and condemn magic users to death just for practicing the art of magic.
Early in the story he is confronted by a wyrd woman from the barbarian people that lets him leave after an ambush so he can tell the story of how the barbarians slaughtered the Ursian soldiers. Later in the story, he finds out the real reason why she left him alive.
After making it back out of the mountains Guthrie is confronted on two separate occassions, once by a witch and then by a seer. Both of them have their own impact on his actions throughout the course of the book.
Character development for Guthrie was well written, but was lacking for several of the other characters. Zanbra and Kroff, their official titles Sword and Spear respectively and both members of the kingdom’s religous military called the Guantlet are both in need of some additional character development. A flashback or two into who these two were before joining the Guantlet or possibly some more detailed explanation of their training would have given them more depth. The witch and the seer could have also used some more depth that would have added to the story.
Lord Verkain the King of Kobalos played a vital role in the storyline as he confronted both the wyrd woman Ildra along with Guthrie and his companions Zanbra and Kroff.
Guthrie, Zanbra, and Kroff spend the last quarter of the book hunting the remaining wyrd women down and doing battle with them and their barbarian warriors.
If you like a book with a few twists and a solid storyline then the Mage Hunter Omnibus will make a good solid read for you.
The book was written as five distinct parts, which are all published individually. To get a good feel for the author’s writing style, I would suggest purchasing Mage Hunter: Blooded Snow (the first of five parts) as a free download from Amazon. If the writers style suits your reading preferences at that point, just jump in and buy the Omnibus which has all five parts and is cheaper than buying each part individually. (Blooded Snow, Sundered Shields, Bared Blades, Hammered Iron, Changeless Fate).
The book, for the most part, is technically sound. The storyline and plot are consistent and continue along at a relative pace. There were few technical errors in spelling, grammar, tense, and double words. Most of these technical errors were in the last chapter of each of the five parts of the book. Although the errors were present, they only caused minimal distraction to reading and were easily overcome by reading the passage with the error a second time.
Reviewed by: David at Indie Authors and Books
You can find the Mage Hunter Omnibus at http://www.amazon.com/Mage-Hunter-Omn...
January 6, 2014
4 out of 5 Stars for Magic of Thieves (The Legends of Dimmingwood Book 1) by C. Greenwood
4 Star Book Review of "Magic of Thieves" by C. Greenwood
Magic of Thieves was an entertaining novella of 45,000 words that held my interest easily as I journeyed through the pages over the course of 4 hours. Definitely a book that the average reader can go through in one sitting.
The book started out with the main character Ilan at the age of 6 as her parents whisked away in an effort to keep her from being murdered by the men of the magic hating Praetor, the lord of the land.
The first part of the book focused on her journey to safer lands but bandits caught her. Brig reluctantly took her back to the bandit camp instead of killing her or leaving her stranded on the road in the middle of nowhere.
After being captured by the bandits, the author strung together Ilan’s history as she grew up among the bandits and showed her not only as a young girl, but also as someone that held a higher regard for life. She was influential is saving the life of another young man, Terrac, that ended up joining the bandit camp against his will, but that option far outweighed his only other option...death.
The book flowed easily until one of their own betrayed the bandits and chaos broke out at one of the bandit camps.
As Ilan was from the Skeltai people, it would have been nice to hear more about their heritage and how they came to be so hated by the Praetor. The simple explanation that the other lands were afraid of magic users was not quite enough to satisfy my hunger and curiousity of the Skeltai.
Rideon the Red Hand, Brig, Resid, and Hadrian played vital roles in the book, but not enough was lent to their character development. Molehill and Red Rock could have also been developed more so the reader had a deeper sense of these locations.
The book ends with the author leaving the opening for the next book in the series and makes you want to see what happens next.
C. Greenwood did well in the technical aspects of the book and there were very few spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors.
Overall I give the book 4 out of 5 stars.
Plot: 4
Storyline: 4
Character Development: 4
Technical Aspects: 5
Enjoyability: 4
Overall: 4
You can find the book on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Thieves-L...
Reviewed by David from Indie Authors and Books
Magic of Thieves was an entertaining novella of 45,000 words that held my interest easily as I journeyed through the pages over the course of 4 hours. Definitely a book that the average reader can go through in one sitting.
The book started out with the main character Ilan at the age of 6 as her parents whisked away in an effort to keep her from being murdered by the men of the magic hating Praetor, the lord of the land.
The first part of the book focused on her journey to safer lands but bandits caught her. Brig reluctantly took her back to the bandit camp instead of killing her or leaving her stranded on the road in the middle of nowhere.
After being captured by the bandits, the author strung together Ilan’s history as she grew up among the bandits and showed her not only as a young girl, but also as someone that held a higher regard for life. She was influential is saving the life of another young man, Terrac, that ended up joining the bandit camp against his will, but that option far outweighed his only other option...death.
The book flowed easily until one of their own betrayed the bandits and chaos broke out at one of the bandit camps.
As Ilan was from the Skeltai people, it would have been nice to hear more about their heritage and how they came to be so hated by the Praetor. The simple explanation that the other lands were afraid of magic users was not quite enough to satisfy my hunger and curiousity of the Skeltai.
Rideon the Red Hand, Brig, Resid, and Hadrian played vital roles in the book, but not enough was lent to their character development. Molehill and Red Rock could have also been developed more so the reader had a deeper sense of these locations.
The book ends with the author leaving the opening for the next book in the series and makes you want to see what happens next.
C. Greenwood did well in the technical aspects of the book and there were very few spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors.
Overall I give the book 4 out of 5 stars.
Plot: 4
Storyline: 4
Character Development: 4
Technical Aspects: 5
Enjoyability: 4
Overall: 4
You can find the book on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Thieves-L...
Reviewed by David from Indie Authors and Books
January 5, 2014
3 out of 5 Stars for Time Crystal 1 - The Convergence (The Eridon Chrinicles)
Time Crystal 1 - The Convergence (The Eridon Chrinicles)
Time Crystal 1 - The Convergence
3 out of 5 Stars - An Average Read
The story takes place starting in the year 2000, time travels back as early as the year 834, then eventually traverses back to the year 2000. The shifts in time were expected and added depth to the story without causing much distraction.
The Time Crystal 1 was a semi enjoyable book to read. The book started out with Jason finding a powerful crystal in the middle of an Australian desert during a drug-induced search.
The next five or six chapters bounced around as the Eridon time traveler, Heath, searched for five humans that he needed to complete his quest of finding the crystal that Jason had located in the first chapter of the book.
The storylines behind each of the five humans (Katarine, Kirsty, Charlotte, Con, Aidan) that Heath searched for was interesting as they each were going through some sort of turmoil when Heath found them. As the story progressed, all but one of the humans (Aidan) played a very minor role in the storyline and plot. Each of them seemed to act more of filler material for the main story that was happening around them than actually driving the story forward.
Jason appeared in four or five chapters in the book, even though he had located the crystal and could have played a much larger role. His transformation from a normal human to being more powerful seemed to be lacking definition and detail as the story progressed. The author did attempt to show the human side of Jason as he struggled with his emotions as he became more powerful and interacted with his girlfriend and others that knew him prior to finding the crystal.
I would have liked to see more character development out of Katarine, Kirsty, Charlotte, and Con as this could have added much more depth to the overall story. This also would have allowed the author to let these four characters contribute more to the pace and overall outcome of the plot.
Two sex scenes serve no purpose in the overall flow of the story. Aidan’s bisexuality had little to do with the flow of the storyline and served as a distraction as I was reading.
The technical aspects of the book could use some additional work, as there are many spelling, tense, and word usage errors throughout the book. There are not so many errors that the book was unreadable, but there were enough to become slightly distracting at times.
If you enjoy a simple read that has basic elements of emotion, action, and drama, then this is an average read.
I would recommend the book to others to read if they enjoy time travel novels.
Overall Rating:
Plot: 3
Storyline: 3
Character Development: 3
Technical Aspects: 4
Enjoyability: 3
Overall: 3
Reviewed by: David at Indie Authors and Books
Time Crystal 1 - The Convergence
3 out of 5 Stars - An Average Read
The story takes place starting in the year 2000, time travels back as early as the year 834, then eventually traverses back to the year 2000. The shifts in time were expected and added depth to the story without causing much distraction.
The Time Crystal 1 was a semi enjoyable book to read. The book started out with Jason finding a powerful crystal in the middle of an Australian desert during a drug-induced search.
The next five or six chapters bounced around as the Eridon time traveler, Heath, searched for five humans that he needed to complete his quest of finding the crystal that Jason had located in the first chapter of the book.
The storylines behind each of the five humans (Katarine, Kirsty, Charlotte, Con, Aidan) that Heath searched for was interesting as they each were going through some sort of turmoil when Heath found them. As the story progressed, all but one of the humans (Aidan) played a very minor role in the storyline and plot. Each of them seemed to act more of filler material for the main story that was happening around them than actually driving the story forward.
Jason appeared in four or five chapters in the book, even though he had located the crystal and could have played a much larger role. His transformation from a normal human to being more powerful seemed to be lacking definition and detail as the story progressed. The author did attempt to show the human side of Jason as he struggled with his emotions as he became more powerful and interacted with his girlfriend and others that knew him prior to finding the crystal.
I would have liked to see more character development out of Katarine, Kirsty, Charlotte, and Con as this could have added much more depth to the overall story. This also would have allowed the author to let these four characters contribute more to the pace and overall outcome of the plot.
Two sex scenes serve no purpose in the overall flow of the story. Aidan’s bisexuality had little to do with the flow of the storyline and served as a distraction as I was reading.
The technical aspects of the book could use some additional work, as there are many spelling, tense, and word usage errors throughout the book. There are not so many errors that the book was unreadable, but there were enough to become slightly distracting at times.
If you enjoy a simple read that has basic elements of emotion, action, and drama, then this is an average read.
I would recommend the book to others to read if they enjoy time travel novels.
Overall Rating:
Plot: 3
Storyline: 3
Character Development: 3
Technical Aspects: 4
Enjoyability: 3
Overall: 3
Reviewed by: David at Indie Authors and Books
April 29, 2013
Conflagration by D.R. Racey - Free At Major eBook Retailers
FREE on Amazon - Conflagration - Book One in The Phoenix Blade Trilogy.
Come get your free copy today.
If you like this epic fantasy, you can always go back to get the second book in the series, Lineage.
Free on Amazon, Goodreads, Kobo, iTunes, and Smashwords.
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/281667
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Conflagration/book-H2gbUbe_ykSwBx8oBUIKDg/page1.html?s=iB6BVhimyU2hjoYLINFriQ&r=4
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/conflagration/id600164326?mt=11
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Conflagration-Phoenix-Blade-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00BA4JGNC/ref=sr_1_4_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367273393&sr=1-4&keywords=d.r.+racey
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conflagration-Phoenix-Blade-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00BA4JGNC/ref=sr_1_3_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1366330135&sr=8-3&keywords=d.r.+racey
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17212713-blood-rites
Lineage
Book Two in The Phoenix Blade Trilogy
Buy the eBook today for $2.99 (USD)
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Lineage-Phoenix-Blade-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00BEJCB1M/ref=sr_1_4_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366330910&sr=1-4&keywords=d.r.+racey
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lineage-Phoenix-Blade-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00BEJCB1M/ref=sr_1_5_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1366330135&sr=8-5&keywords=d.r.+racey
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lineage/id603686824?mt=11
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Lineage/book-0wWPUouarUGPxpfjiKpqcA/page1.html?s=iB6BVhimyU2hjoYLINFriQ&r=2
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/284417
Come get your free copy today.
If you like this epic fantasy, you can always go back to get the second book in the series, Lineage.
Free on Amazon, Goodreads, Kobo, iTunes, and Smashwords.
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/281667
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Conflagration/book-H2gbUbe_ykSwBx8oBUIKDg/page1.html?s=iB6BVhimyU2hjoYLINFriQ&r=4
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/conflagration/id600164326?mt=11
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Conflagration-Phoenix-Blade-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00BA4JGNC/ref=sr_1_4_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367273393&sr=1-4&keywords=d.r.+racey
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conflagration-Phoenix-Blade-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00BA4JGNC/ref=sr_1_3_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1366330135&sr=8-3&keywords=d.r.+racey
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17212713-blood-rites
Lineage
Book Two in The Phoenix Blade Trilogy
Buy the eBook today for $2.99 (USD)
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Lineage-Phoenix-Blade-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00BEJCB1M/ref=sr_1_4_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366330910&sr=1-4&keywords=d.r.+racey
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lineage-Phoenix-Blade-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00BEJCB1M/ref=sr_1_5_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1366330135&sr=8-5&keywords=d.r.+racey
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lineage/id603686824?mt=11
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Lineage/book-0wWPUouarUGPxpfjiKpqcA/page1.html?s=iB6BVhimyU2hjoYLINFriQ&r=2
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/284417
April 18, 2013
Conflagration an Epic Fantasy Novel - FREE to Download
FREE on Amazon UK - Conflagration - Book One in The Phoenix Blade Trilogy.
Come get your free copy today.
If you like this epic fantasy, you can always go back to get the second book in the series, Lineage.
Conflagration
Book One in The Phoenix Blade Trilogy
Also free on Kobo, iTunes, and Smashwords. Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Confla...
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/conf...
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conflagration...
Lineage
Book Two in The Phoenix Blade Trilogy
Buy the eBook today for $2.99 (USD)
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Lineage-Phoenix...
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lineage-Phoen...
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/line...
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Lineag...
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Come get your free copy today.
If you like this epic fantasy, you can always go back to get the second book in the series, Lineage.
Conflagration
Book One in The Phoenix Blade Trilogy
Also free on Kobo, iTunes, and Smashwords. Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Confla...
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/conf...
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Conflagration...
Lineage
Book Two in The Phoenix Blade Trilogy
Buy the eBook today for $2.99 (USD)
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Lineage-Phoenix...
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lineage-Phoen...
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/line...
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Lineag...
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
D.R. Racey
D.R. Racey has served on active duty in the U.S. Military since 1998 and spends much of his time off writing, developing his next story, and designing his own cover art. He has been married since 2000
...more
- D.R. Racey's profile
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D.R. Racey isn't a Goodreads Author
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but they
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so here are some recent posts imported from
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