Nikolas Lee's Blog: It's Okay--I'm an Author, page 3

Moving On Up and Out

Well, folks, a couple days have passed since my KDP freebie promotion ended, and I couldn’t be happier with the results!! The Iron-Jawed Boy is now gracing the Children’s Bestseller Norse PAID list, currently standing strong at number 4 MOMMA’S GETTING PAID!!

And while IJB moves up on the bestseller list, I am planning on moving out to what I consider to be my second home: Las Vegas. I’ve missed the city so much: it’s lights, it’s life, it’s smells, and weather, and pools, and shopping, and landscaping, and shows, and blah blah blah. I can hardly remember why I moved from Vegas to California in the first place…oh, wait…yeah, I wanted to escape my parents (but that’s another story. A very long story). But nevertheless, I’ll be quite happy to be back in the city I was raised in since I was ten. It’ll be a much-needed return to familiarity.

On the other hand, I’ve just recently gone through a peaceful break-up and am now dealing with the bittersweet feelings of leaving my  2 year relationship to move back to Vegas. Oh, the tangled webs we weave. Being a human with emotions sucks. Like, we can all agree on that, right?

Anyways, don’t forget to check out IJB on the Bestsellers list AND purchase your copy! It’s only 2.99, so stop complaining! Seriously. You pay more for your daily Starbucks, which is mostly just ice and you know it. What is it with that place? You ask for an iced chai and you for realz get 65% ice, 20% actual product, 10% resentment, and I’m not sure what the remaining 5% is…seems like crack to me.

The Iron-Jawed Boy (Sky Guardian Chronicles)

Why Giving Away Free Books is Essential

I’ve read a lot of articles on this matter, and I’ve come to the conclusion that as an indie author, there can be no greater first step to getting your book out there than giving away free copies. I know, I know…”I put soooo much work into this book, I deserve to get money for everyone I sell!” Well, stop complaining. Seriously, no one likes a complainer. It’s, like, a fact.

The truth is, you don’t deserve the people’s money…at least not yet. You must first prove yourself.

That’s right: prove yourself. If that sounded like the objective of the level on that video game you’ve never been able to finish and win, then we’re on the same page…er, level. Listen, over the past (nearly) five days, I’ve sold upwards of 400 copies of my book. They were free copies, yes, but the exposure I’ve gotten from them has been tremendous and the fact that it graced the top ten bestsellers list of multiple children’s ebooks categories on Amazon awarded me even MORE exposure. I mean, The Iron-Jawed Boy shared the same page as Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland; it doesn’t get much more badass than that. Now, that’s not to say giving out free ebooks is a good thing for everyone, because if you’ve written a baaaad book, you can expect to get baaaad reviews AND you didn’t even get the satisfaction of having those bad reviews come, at least, from royalties. In that respect, no, giving out free ebooks is not advised, lol.

If you have, however, written an awesome book (or even a mediocre one), the exposure is VITAL to your mission. Just think about it: those 400-some people who got your book for free might very well recommend the book to others, write a review, OR even buy the paperback for their kids or family or friends when Christmas rolls around. The amount of people reached could potentially be tremendous!

Lastly, mentality is everything. It’s very important, at least in my opinion, to understand that you’re not going to be making much of anything off your books in the first couple years, unless of course you’re releasing a few books over the course of a year or shorter (I’ve seen SO many success stories that were based on those tactics). And it’s IMPERATIVE that you come to terms with that. Impatience leads to mistakes; mistakes that can’t be rewritten.

 

IJB is a BESTSELLER!! WHY AM I YELLING?!

Not only is this fantastic, but that’s TWO Jake and Finn gifs in two days

Anyways, this morning I woke up to IJB in the number 9 slot on the Amazon Children’s Fantasy Best Sellers (free) list AND number 17 in Children’s Action & Adventure. I’m one happy author right now! I mean, sure you could make the argument that it’s only Amazon’s free list, but the fact that so many people chose The Iron-Jawed Boy to download over aaaall the other freebies on that list (some with upwards of 100 reviews) is HUGE. It means that this novel is worth something, it means that all the hard work I put into the synopsis was worth something, and that I have a possible gem in my hands. Most importantly, it means I have a chance at being a successful author–something that, for a while, I thought could only be possibly in my dreams.

Wishing everyone a happy and exciting week! And don’t forget to grab your free copy here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Iron-Jawed-Guardian-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00DSEDXWC/ref=zg_bs_7006700011_f_9

IJB IS FREE!!!!! :D

Yes, for today until the 15th, The Iron-Jawed Boy will be available as a free Kindle download!!

 

 

Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DSEDXWC/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb

 

Go and get your copy now!!

Good Saturday To You!

Currently serving: coffee. No, seriously, I’m currently serving coffee.

This my serving coffee face.

I usually enjoyz myselfz a cup of coffee in bed on my Saturday mornings, and this morning is no different. Oh wait…just looked at the clock. It’s definitely not morning time anymore -_-

Anyways, today will be a day filled with tanning (it’s finally sunny in Santa Monica today), some self-loathing in the mirror afterward, for the tanning will make all of my annoying freckles even more freckly, and some writing. I’m trying to average at least 1500 words a day, but I’m actually beating that average so far. And by “so far”, I mean the last two days. I find going to Starbucks, sitting down with a nice Grand Valencia Orange and cheese danish, whilst listening to the radio via my iPhone really centers my focus.

Hoping everyone has a nice weekend! Yeah, I’m nice like that.

 

 

 

There is No Pink

So, apparently the color pink doesn’t really exist.

All those times I fought to be the Pink Power Ranger on the playground I was actually fighting to be the Minus Green Power Ranger.

#liferuined

Thundercats, HO!

Wrote 2500 words today!

Boom.

I’m getting better and better at writing rough drafts, you know, just letting the words flow instead of getting hung up on all the little things. I just keep telling myself “Stop. Noooo, stop. Seriously stop. Omg, Nik -_- FREAKIN’ STOP ALREADY!” so I don’t obsess as much. It works! Sort of.

Anyways, I’ve decided this book is going to span the month of July, which is only a month after the dreaded night of the CVEs in book one. Ion’s going to be encountering a number of things that challenge his ideas of who exactly the Illyrians are. I’m sort of aiming for an abstract view on authority–like, don’t always be so sure. Question everything, I guess you’d say.

I’ve also decided there’s going to be a lot of this:

And this:

Oh, and this:

And definitely some of THIS:

So you have been warned!

IJB Review of the Day!! Woot!

So, I figured I’d post a review of IJB every other day or so, just to fill up those gaps in the day where I’m not feeling up to writing an actual blog post. Here’s one from last week, I believe it was:

“This book hooked me from the very first chapter! It is an exciting, well-written adventure that keeps you entertained to the fullest with every single page. Once I started reading it, I literally couldn’t stop. I had to know what was going to happen next and how the book was going to finish. When I was done reading it, it only left me hungry for more!

Though the book does slightly remind me of “The Lightning Thief”, my favorite overall thing about this read is how extremely unique it is. The author obviously has a lot of raw talent; coming up with the plot, characters, and story line and putting it together to develop a very beautifully-written book. It is one-of-a-kind and very exciting! It’s also great for both the young reader and the adult reader, so everyone must read this book. I honestly don’t have any complaints. It’s that awesome!

I highly recommend this book to everyone!”

- from Natalie of Goodreads

Thank you Natalie, for I now heart your face.

Nik

Girls in Boy Books

I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and the more I go over my first book (and the plans for my upcoming books) I’m quite proud of my female characters.

When I was writing The Iron-Jawed Boy, I was well-aware of the fact that because my book was centered around a 10 year old boy that the book would then be considered a “Boy Book”, but I reject that notion quite vehemently (spelling?). I chose to surround Ion with lots of strong female characters–be it older or younger–because I think it’s important that the book not just be a “boy with another male friend goes on all the adventures and what not” story. Girls are just as brave, just as strong, just as intelligent (most would argue more intelligent) and I wanted young readers who dove into the book to pick up on those themes.

Moreover, the female characters I do provide I make a point of not allowing to lean on the crutches of boys. It’s such an annoying thing (whether in reality or in a book or in a movie), watching some girl constantly rely on the boy for ideas or strength or something ridiculous like that. Not that it’s out of the question, but I thought it vital to attempt a protest of the Disney Princess Syndrome, commonly referred to as Ugh, Why She So Annoying? Disease. Yes, you have to include the question mark.

I guess my concern over boys learning early that girls are awesome comes from my upbringing. I was raised with two pretty cool older sisters, whom I looked up to for almost everything. To me, there was no one stronger than those two, and I still feel that way. Though don’t tell them that. Here’s one graduating. Also in the picture, you will notice  the beautiful gelled “bowl cut” I was given. You might also notice, I rocked the shit out of that haircut.

In conclusion, if one day my series was picked up by a large audience, I only hope I could empower a generation of girls, just as I plan on empowering a generation of boys. No, I did not plan on that sentence sounding as epic as it did

Excerpt from IJB

As more reviews come rolling in (all 4-5 stars thank Jesus, Joseph and Mary) I’ve decided to start posting excerpts from The Iron-Jawed Boy every week. Hold your applause, hold your applause . Here’s a tidbit from Chapter 14, which comes just after my favorite fight sequence, and is one of my favorite visual scenes of the book. I absolutely love storms, so whenever I get to write about them I pee my pants at least twice.

…

Ion slowly turned to face Spike, who was struggling to his feet. Ion stretched out his arms, and a mighty gale battered the coliseum like whisks beating the inside of a bowl. The winds tightened around his waist and wrists, and a funnel cloud of dirt and grass lifted him from the floor until he was fifty feet above the field.

He stared down at Spike, his head filled with thoughts—angry, unforgiving thoughts. He teased you, Ion. Made you feel small. Made you feel inferior. Show him.

Show him what you can do.

“Ionikus!” Esereez shouted from below. “I demand you come down from there right this moment! Flight is not permitted for a novice such as yourself!”

Ion’s gaze snapped toward the Inventor and a sharp bolt of wind blasted Esereez right over his seat.

“I surrender!” Spike squeaked from below, waving his hands helplessly in the air. “You win, Ion!”

But Ion didn’t care. He looked to the heavens, and the single cloud above exploded with a monstrous roar. Clouds rolled and expanded out of the original, thunder cracking with each new squall that pushed out over the Acropolis until the sky grew dark as night.

“Ion!” Oceanus cried. “I demand you stop this at once! You shouldn’t be controlling clouds at your level, either!”

But Ion unwound his fists and gripped two lots of the sky. His hands felt as though they really were wrapped around something—something invisible but as solid as rock. He pulled downward, a weight falling on his shoulders, and two whirling funnel clouds came twisting down from the clouds. The twisters groaned as they struck the coliseum floor, tearing the dirt and grass up from its place. Spike latched himself to the battlefield—Oceanus and Esereez clung to their seats.

Ion’s jaw was searing hot. So hot, in fact, it felt as though it was burning the skin underneath. It was just as angry as he was.

Show him, Ion thought. Show him his place.

Ion snapped his arm forward, pointing at Spike. With a blast of thunder, a bolt of green lightning tore down from the clouds and struck Spike where he stood.

Oceanus screamed. Rain battered the coliseum.

Ion looked to his sister, her eyes now filled with tears. They were afraid and uncertain, and the anger that had claimed Ion vanished as quickly as it had come, replaced by nothing but emptiness. The rush of power left his body, and as he fell back down to earth, his vision went black.

…