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

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

Yeah, I think that the "it costs me nothing to stop reading if it fails" is the big benefit of KU that means people using it can give a try to anything they stumble upon if they have enough time.

The young character in my series has some ideas on how to help the others going on with their plan and gives them to his mage friend, who then builds the plan on it. Later, when the mage is about to talk with the plan, he's uncomfortable being credited for that, especially among people that are heroes in his eyes and who have drastically more experience than he.
The mage then tells him this:

"You need to stand for your ideas, even if it might be uncomfortable. I know that you are young and it might feel strange to suggest something to us, but be sure that we'll be glad if anyone helps our cause. You did a great job with all of this and it would not be fair if I was to take credit."

Thank you both for your input.

Yes, history. So, if the palace was built from scratch by a utilitarian King, utilitarian names would be a good fit, right?

Well, it happened to me that I was carefully choosing some fitting music only to realize that I filtered it out anyway...

Andres, thanks for your input as well.
One correction though: Kraasian is a warrior, not a mage. The Eternal Defenders are a mix of warriors and magi alike.
Anyway, there are parts I like in your suggestion and I'll definitely use some of it for the final version.

Side note: I can't deny some inspiration by both WarCraft and Diablo universe when it comes to the demons.

Thanks for the feedback, John. It's still very early attempt on the blurb so I know it'll need some work.

Thanks for the comment, M.L.
I might as well have a look (before the final decision) at how long blurbs for epic fantasy tend to be and then try to accommodate. I'll also think about your point with the antagonist - but as I said above, I'll only rewrite the blurb later when I've gathered some more feedback.

Jane wrote: "IMO too long. Try to halve it. Or more. I find the first paragraph intriguing could maybe do with that and no more"

It did not seem so long in my head. When I wrote it out here, though...
I'll think about the length.

Thanks for your insight, A.J. What you suggest are pretty small changes and while they might be different, they will surely happen. I should've probably said it at the beginning of my post, what is important for me at this point is to be pointed out if it feels like some (possibly important) parts are missing - if the blurb feels incomplete or saying too much.
The thing with capitalization - yes, that's something that I'll need to have a look at, not just in the blurb but the entire manuscript.

Again, thanks for your opinion - I hope I'll gather more feedback with time.

Hello everyone!
The first scary moment has come, I am about to share a bit about what I am working on...
As the work on my to-be debut goes on, I've started trying to put the blurb together and after a few attempts, I've made some kind of first "shareable" draft. Any insight on it will be welcome.
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The first version of the blurb was put under spoiler tag to save space.
(view spoiler)[
A war they did not start. One they want to end.
For generations, the Order of Eternal Defenders fought on the frontlines to defend their land from demonic invaders. Blessed by the Eternals, they are the best warriors and magi the elves have and just a few of them can make a difference on the battlefields. Yet, it's different to fight on your terms, with impenetrable walls behind your back, compared to the idea of bringing the battle to an enemy who seems to have infinite numbers at their disposal, unhindered by the need to eat or sleep.

Kraasian Darkwood, one of the best warriors in the history, experienced losses on the battlefields. Now that he became a father, he vows to forge a better future for his son, one without the demonic threat. With his friend, Archmage Ereanel, Kraasian creates a plan that would use the unique skills of his fellows as well as the budding talents of his son to crush the demons forever.

Yet, the Eternal Defenders will see that there is only so much they can do alone and while heroes might win battles, you need an army to win a war. With generations used to stalemate and the elven leaders beset by personal grudges, a small move forward might be harder than Kraasian would expect and the price for even a small victory could be higher than he would ever expect.
(hide spoiler)]
The second draft of the blurb:
(view spoiler)[
For generations, the Order of Eternal Defenders fought on the frontlines to defend their lands from the endless hordes of demons unhindered by the need to eat or sleep. The few Eternal Defenders, magi and warriors blessed by the Eternals, could turn the tide of battle. Yet, few as they are, they could not win a war when their army's leaders are used to stalemate and beset by personal grudges.

The legendary warrior Kraasian Darkwood lost friends and family to the demons. Now that he has become a father, he wishes his son to avoid the same. With his friend, Archmage Ereanel, he decides it's time to stop being on the defensive and show the demons the true extent of the Order's might.

Can the small group of Eternal Defenders defeat the demons? What might be the price for even a small victory? Can Kraasian persuade the Elven leaders to strike, or will he need to rely on his small group alone?
(hide spoiler)]
Third draft of the blurb (added 12.1.2019, post 24):
(view spoiler)[
For generations, the Order of Eternal Defenders had fought to defend their lands from the endless hordes of demons. Blessed by the godlike Eternals, the Eternal Defenders can turn the tide of battle with expertise in arms or magic. Yet, few as they are, they can't win a war alone – not when their leaders are used to stalemate and beset by personal grudges.

The legendary warrior Kraasian Darkwood lost friends and family to the demons. When Tyr'eshal, his twenty-year-old son, accepts the offer to wield an almost forgotten power, Kraasian realizes there might never be a better chance. Along with his closest friend, Archmage Ereanel, he believes their experience and his son's budding skills are the key to ending the long war.

As Kraasian and Ereanel plan to defeat the demons forever, Tyr'eshal struggles to deal with the expectations put on him – and the resurgence of another, underestimated foe. Despite being challenged by friends and foes alike, Kraasian leads the Eternal Defenders against the demons only to realize the victory might cost them more than he anticipated.
(hide spoiler)]
4th draft (28.1.2019) - slight cutting of version three
For generations, the blessed warriors and magi of the Order of Eternal Defenders had fought to defend their lands from the endless hordes of demons with unmatched expertise.

The legendary warrior Kraasian Darkwood lost friends and family to the demons. When Tyr'eshal, his twenty-year-old son, accepts the offer to wield an almost forgotten power, Kraasian realizes there might never be a better chance.

The resurgence of an underestimated foe with their eyes set on Tyr'eshal and the challenges of waging a war with merely a dozen Eternal Defenders will test Kraasian and his hope. More so when the cost of victory might be higher than he anticipated.
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Some notes:
-The Eternals are the world's guardians/watchers, power-wise below demigods.
-This is to be the first book in a trilogy.
-If you need to know anything else, feel free to ask. I'll answer if I can.

Susan, I agree with you. Some of us, including me, want to tell the story, want to see it grow and the journey is the reward more than anything else.

For me, writing is about exactly that: watching it go from ideas to the complete story and maybe more than I initially expected, seeing the characters grow maybe differently than I expected. I go on, because I want to see not only how it ends (which I mostly know) but how exactly it gets there - which is still shrouded in mist, so to say.

If I don't sell a single copy, so be it. I tried and I will do my best. But I took that path, had load of fun and learned many new things - and thanks to these discussions, had a chance to talk with many people willing to talk about their process and share their thoughts.

I believe Amazon has tools for self-publishing paperbacks directly through them but I did not look into them yet.
There's the "Paperback through KDP" topic somewhere on the group's forums that might help you.

Thank you both for your insights. I'll surely think more about the background (and other factors as well).

Hello everyone.
I've decided to try asking for some feedback/help with an issue that I let pretty much untended for a while and only started looking at it now when I am getting closer to the beta version.
The problem is... in the royal palace. Of course, different parts of it will be used for different purposes and will be called something. It's easy for some that don't need anything special ("Royal Library" works well enough) but some were a bit more troublesome and for all the time I am drafting this, remained under working names and such. I've come up with some names for those and thought I might as for some feedback or - if someone feels generous enough - their own suggestions.

One of those that I struggled for a while to come up with a decent name was the part where the elite magi reside and work, under the working name "mage quarter" which is obviously bad. My current idea is calling that section "Halls of Divination" but I still think it might be better.

The even worse problem is the section where the officers of the army have their offices and such, called simply (and awfully) "military wing" in the drafts. The ideas I had so far are something like "Halls of Arms" or "Halls of the Blade". I hope I'll have some better ideas but maybe someone around here can nudge me in the right direction?

I also wonder if I should try to make some kind of unity in the names - like everything named "Halls of [something]" or instead go for more diverse names?

Maybe some of them actually want to focus on one genre, because they feel they're strongest there. Or they have enough ideas in it to keep going.

What I am working on is fantasy and to exhaust all the ideas I have (should I write them all), I might need a decade at least. I'd like to give sci-fi a try but before I am done with this project, I probably won't even try to touch something for which I don't even have a developed idea (let alone concept for the storyline).

Maybe that's another thing to consider in such case: whether to write under one name and risk having split readership with little overlaps or to split the writer and have a specific audience for each.

Taking a blind guess here but maybe it could be good if the reviewer specifically notes that he had early access from the author. Probably not failproof but could help.

I admit I always thought writers wrote in genres they like to read and thus know.
And it works for me. I prefer reading fantasy and what I am working on is fantasy as well. And by writing in the genre I like to read, I have some idea of what people might want to see there.

Graeme wrote: "They are all verified purchases."

Is that of any good use if they are winning something out of their preferred genre and entering purely for the sake of free stuff they might never touch?

Christopher wrote: "I am new member (and Author) and I am trying to "own" my book as the author. However, alas, there is another author with the same name and when I click on the author name of my book, I arrive at th..."

There are two ways to deal with this: either go to help section and send an error report or join the librarian group and report it there. In both cases, you'll need a link to your author page, the author on which it is incorrectly shown and links to all affected books.