Tomas’s Comments (group member since May 15, 2018)

Tomas’s comments from the Support for Indie Authors group.

And big red countdown clock because everyone should know when it'll explode. Yeah, bomb stuff is ridiculous in movies.

Sorry that this will be a long reply.
Dwayne wrote: "I don't read a ton of fantasy / sci-fi / action / spy whatever, but it never has bothered me to see it used in those. Is there a way you could twist it a bit to make it feel fresher if it bothers you? Maybe have one of your heroes not make it out on time? "

Well, that's a bit what I did in the first draft of my to-be trilogy's book three. (view spoiler)[I have the villain actually try to bury the heroes alive when they come to try freeing their captured friends. It's not a finale but a part of the build-up instead. (hide spoiler)]

Now to Haru on the topic of cliché kings.

As for what's the "king of clichés", it probably depends on the genre. Sci-Fi movies overuse "alien invaders have green (always the same color) impenetrable shields and super-powerful weapons". There is no superhero story (or even dragon fantasy) without "with great power comes great responsibility" type of line (or whole speech). "He freed and married the princess and they lived happily ever after" is the king of clichés in children's books. If that's how you'd want to see it, even the vampire vs. werewolf rivalry can be considered a cliché.

And finally, on the topic of endings.
I'd say an ending needs to, first and foremost, make sense for the story, its settings, theme and so on. It must feel like an ending. Satisfyingly (for the story itself, not necessarily a perfectly good ending) closing plot threads is what I find the most important. It also depends on what you want the ending to show. Do you believe it's better for the story if they are given their last scare by a collapsing cave, with or without injury/casualty? Do it. Do you believe it's better to avoid it? Make the collapse fail or the heroes cheat in some way - magical shield, teleporting out, having a device that allows them to blast a new way out,... whatever is a good tool for the book's genre.

I've found people that make very helpful posts when it comes to writing. Not just about the process itself but covering things like character traits and some others that I found helpful. Yes, for someone who's experienced writer, these might hold less value. For someone who's still not at the top of the learning curve, every little thing helps. Especially if some of those people are up for a short conversation on that matter and comments on some of those posts can be inspiring too.
I try to do it in a way that combines the way I see something both as a writer and a reader. Combining those factors in hopes of seeing it from a different angle.

Dwayne wrote: "If you're spending more time on edits than you did writing the rough draft, you're doing it right. I love the editing part of it. That's where the real magic happens. It's where you get to dig around in this pile of rubble and find the diamonds."

Thanks for the encouragement. I hope there are some diamonds in the pile.

Sam (Rescue Dog Mom, Writer, Hugger) wrote: "My absence from this group is due to my embarrassment that I haven't yet published a book."

It seems there's no issue with that. I am still far away from my debut being complete yet people here were willing to share advice, listen to my ramblings or just what I thought about the writing process even though I am not published either.

I still fear calling myself a writer, though.

I'd suggest a chocolate and/or a jog. Fueling your writing with revenge can give you a surge of energy but I am afraid it can hurt in the long term.

Anyway, a confession from me: I actually started thinking about putting the concept on my current WIP together two years after finishing the high school, realizing that the girl I loved is probably gone from my life forever (I never had the chance to tell her). So, to put her out of my mind, I filled it with a made-up story. It worked quite well.
Anyway, a (view spoiler)[character that ends up being the MC's soulmate (hide spoiler)] has her name inspired by her.

Also, why does it seem that in-depth edits of a chapter take almost the same amount of time (or even longer) than writing it?...

I just noticed that a character that was wondering - TWICE - about the possible purpose of a magical trinket another character is seen wearing was there when he was given it and the purpose explained.
I did not notice that for TWO friggin' years.
/facepalm.
Good that I am still in the drafting stage.
*undecipherable roar*

I'll tell you what I do - but say right away it might not work for you.

For me, a blog serves several purposes:
1) organizing my thoughts on various topics
2) practicing my writing skills in a different way than writing a book
3) sharing my writing progress
4) talking about what I like to do

I try to write three posts per week (and am mostly successful in that the past two months) but won't force it. There are those who do just weekly and some even with no rule to it at all. I have it easier by not using any social media so I am rid of some other load.

What I write about is a mix: book reviews (longer than on GR where I keep them to 2-3 paragraphs), errant thoughts sparked by my writing/reading, inspiration for writing, retelling of my hiking (with some photos) and some other things that are relevant to my main three hobbies: writing, reading, hiking. I keep the posts around 400-500 words.
The main thing is that you should find a joy in it and do it for yourself, or not do it at all. If you force yourself to it, it'll suffer - and it's possibly better to give up on it. I started my blog as a way to exercise writing when my creative part was slumbering. Writing about random thoughts or retelling moments from my life does not need so much creativity but works to practice writing.

If you'd want to have a look (and see what I write about), the link is in my profile.
Also, I will say it outright: my daily views are in the range of 0-20 (most when I actually post something) so I am no expert. Then, again, I am doing it mostly for myself.
I hope I helped at least somewhat. Good luck finding what works for you.

If you'd like to know what bloggers I follow (it'd be a short list), contact me (either PM on Goodreads or through my web). I'll not be able to respond tomorrow, though.

There shouldn’t be a period after party unless you want to start a ..."

V.K. wrote: "Which is right?

a) "Yes," she replied, "The Party. I have been planning."
b) "Yes," she replied, "the party. I have been planning."

...Any help appreciated. Thanks"
I am someone leaning towards B. What I'd like to say is something else, though.
Leah wrote: "I believe b is more correct, but not entirely. It’s more correct this way:
“Yes,” she replied, “the party I have been planning.”

I see some difference in these options. Leah's way means that the speaker (whoever it is) is planning the party. Your version means that there's a party and the speaker was planning related to it - but it might not necessarily be the party. It might be anything else, related to the party or not. Without the wider context (more of the dialogue), it's hard to say which would be better.

As for dialogue tags - we don't even know how many people are in the dialogue. If only two and they take turns, dialogue tags might be removed. If there's more, then we need something to know who's talking.

I have managed to read two books filled with unintentional errors (author with English as the second language and obviously not good enough in it + no editing done) because I liked the story. If it's to be a trait of a character, especially as a diary, I'd have no issue with it. I'd possibly miss it because I have English as a second language myself.

I've heard that important factor for Amazon is its recommendation system that takes past reads into account to make recommendations more relevant - thus lowering the chance for something you won't like. "Readers also bought" is a big factor in that. I'd guess that's why they gained readership dominance - by better recommendation system. Amazon recommends what you might like regardless of price, trading instant profit for long-term readership, which obviously worked.

If I understood that correctly: if you are an active reader and write the same genre you read, it should probably have at least some idea what kind of book it is and, based on your purchase history, have some idea who to suggest your book to. And, for a reader, getting relevant recommendations is probably quite important.

I am far from being ready to publish but I expect to stay in KDP select for at least one half-year term, maybe two, while I see how it goes. In that time, I'd (apart from writing) have a look at paperback options and possibly try to find some relevant data about my genre on exclusive vs. wide.

Linda wrote: "Hi all, I'm new here. Just about to release my first self-published novella (eek!) entitled Missing Presumed Dead. How on earth do I create an author page? Thank you x"

There's a detailed guide on the Goodreads FAQ so the easiest would be if a moderator shared link to that.

Anyway, shorter version as best as I remember it:
Step one: Make sure the name you display on Goodreads is EXACTLY the same as on the book itself.
Step two: wait for it to be added on Goodreads (there's usually some delay) or add it manually (look into the Goodreads FAQ on how to do it)
Step three: on the book's page will be something like "i am the author" or "this is my book" or something along these lines. You click that, go through the procedure and wait for the process to be confirmed (probably one or two business days).
You should get a confirmation mail when it's done.

Rich wrote: "Does one write the prologue before everything else, or when the rest of the book is completed?"
I wrote the first attempt at prologue after the second draft and reworked it in the following drafts as I was not sure what I wanted it to tell when I started writing. It might be different for others.

I was away for a few days so I am coming a bit late but there's something that would help people decide better. You did not give much to go on. You should state what genre you're writing (because not everyone reads everything) and some guesstimate of the length of your book - as well as what genre(s) and what length you'd be willing to read in turn. Possibly say if there's something you'd have an issue with (gore, torture, etc.) or if your book contains something that could be troublesome. Make sure people reading this have something to base their decision on.

What I mean is that some ebooks I have on my Kindle have hyphens while my own WIP, converted by myself in Calibre, does not, even in case of long words. I guess I am missing something. I'll try to look at the settings.

I use Calibre to convert *docx file to Kindle file so I can do proof-reads of my WIP. It's aligned right only, does not make hyphens. Do I understand right that it needs to be aligned both left and right?

$5-$6 is very rarely used for self-published debuts, pretty much only with very long books. The one I bought for that price was something like 700 pages.

If you know it'll be a series, it's probably tactical move to have it stay at $3 as the minimum for 70% royalties and also get some window for raising it with sequels. Many people do it that way and it seems to work.

Dwayne wrote: "I like books that have slow spots, then faster spots. An even pacing throughout becomes tedious to me."
I don't know if I shared that part already...
When I started writing, I enjoyed writing action passages and much less writing backstory and the calmer times, possibly because backstory was still in flux in the early drafts. As time went, I found joy in worldbuilding even though I am trying my best to not overdo it. There are small things that I know what they mean but the reader won't know for several chapters. Maybe until the next book, even.
Currently, I am waiting for my first beta reader's feedback on book one and meanwhile figuring out things for the second half of book three. What I am trying to solve is to prevent a long period of calmer times when the diplomatic part is being taken care of before the road to the final battle - which I'll need to also approach well so it's not too long a sequence of uncontrolled action without a break.

When you're at movie music, I really like the soundtracks from Michael Bay's Transformers movies. Some would say it has more quality than the movies.

You might have a look in the topic about short stories, many people gave their thoughts there from several points of view.