Mary Ellen’s
Comments
(group member since Mar 18, 2017)
Mary Ellen’s
comments
from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.
Showing 61-76 of 76
I do the same thing as CL does in Scrivener. Every scene is a new document. This will also give you a visual separator if you want when you compile the manuscript for publishing. It makes it so easy to organize and move scenes around if you need to.
PWA has a free version but you'd have to copy and paste. Like I said, sign up for free and I bet they will send you an email making a reduced price for the upgrade. It's worth it.
Oh, and as far as formatting, I use Scrivener to compile and upload it directly to KDP. Works fine. It is a learning curve but it makes an acceptable ebook and paperback.
I'd highly recommend ProWritingAid. They offered me a discount of $25 for a year (normally $40) after signing up for the free version. It does so much more than Grammarly, which as several have said I found to be wrong as often as right on its corrections. PWA will offer some crazy corrections as well from time to time but much less frequently than Grammarly. As others have said, no program can do what a human does so you still need to take suggestions with a grain of salt. PWA analyzes your writing in at least 20 ways (pronoun use, sentence and paragraph length, overused words, vague and abstract words, checks for consistency in spelling & capitalization, and so much more). It is also customizable to a degree. They also have excellent customer service. I've emailed them several times with questions and they got back to me very quickly with good explanations.
The premium version works with Scrivener (and other programs) which is what I use to write so I don't have to copy and paste documents back and forth. The free version has most of the same features but has a word limit. So I find the upgrade worth paying for because it is seamlessly integrated into the platform I am already using.
I just finished going chapter by chapter through my novel and found thousands of ways to improve it and most of those were not spelling or grammar. It helped cut several thousand unnecessary words from the 90,000 + word manuscript. It has helped me recognize weaknesses in my writing and that means I can correct them before an editor or proofreader even sets eyes on my manuscript. I pay my editor by the hour so I will make my $25 back instantly. I think it is well worth the cost even at full price.
Okay since Theodore was so detailed... here is the playlist from my novel :“Nothing at All” - Heart
“Lady in Red” - Chris De Burgh
“Love in an Elevator” - Aerosmith
“Tall Cool One” - Robert Plant
“Your Song” - Elton John
“Bad Love” - Eric Clapton
“Let’s Be Us Again” - Lonestar
“Let’s Get It On” - Marvin Gaye
“I Want You to Want Me” - Cheap Trick
“Jealous Again” - Black Crowes
“Love Me Tender” - Elvis Presley
“Something” - The Beatles
“Slow Ride” - Foghat
“I Can’t Stop Loving You” - Ray Charles
“Nobody’s Fault But Mine” - Led Zeppelin
“My Happy Ending” - Avril Lavigne
“The House is Rocking” - Stevie Ray Vaughn
“Whipping Post” - Allman Brothers
“Black and Blue” - Van Halen
"Marry Me" - Train
“I Do It For You” - Bryan Adams
“Time in a Bottle” - Jim Croce
“Figured You Out” - Nickleback
“Pour Some Sugar on Me” - Def Leppard
“Breathe” - Faith Hill
“Three Times A Lady” - Commodores
"I Want to Grow Old With You" - Westlife
I make playlists in much the same way Justin described above. These appear in the back of the book on a chapter by chapter basis for my contemporary novels. My contemporaries usually mention songs that the characters are listening to. I also have incidents in my historicals that are inspired by modern songs I listen to. My historical inspirations are often classic rock such as Aerosmith. I know everyone makes fun of Nickleback but I find inspiration in their music. And to Theodore: RIP Jimmy and it is great that you have immortalized him in your writing.
Nicole wrote: "Mary Ellen wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Oh, and one more thing. I've recently discovered a site called Book Boast where you can find other authors to do Newsletter swaps and giveaways with. It looks prom..."Thanks for the info Nicole.
Nicole wrote: "Oh, and one more thing. I've recently discovered a site called Book Boast where you can find other authors to do Newsletter swaps and giveaways with. It looks promising. That's at http://www.bookbo..."Nicole, I looked at the site but couldn't really figure out much. Do you happen to know if I can use it if I'm on KDP?
Ok, I guess I'm wrong. I thought we got paid for pages read with the lending. Guess I misunderstood. But I still will loan. I'm on KDP.
I did it with my novel. I had it both in Unlimited and in the Prime lending library. Some people won't buy an unknown author's book so this is a way to reach those readers you might not otherwise. Remember you are getting paid for pages read just like Unlimited, so you aren't really giving it away for free.
Mine is unique for the age of the hero and heroine and the level of sexuality. There are some steamy romances with 40ish couples but all the ones with 50ish couples I've found are pretty tame. Well, except for granny porn but I'm not sure those qualify as romance. Mine has the 50ish couple having very steamy encounters, such as the scene where they have make-up sex in his son's laundry room before Christmas dinner.
I like the way you are thinking on this. I think the standard is people have to see an item 5 to 7 times before they do something. So, if you look at your ad as visibility rather than sales that makes it a positive.
I write 19th-century US historical fiction. In the morning it's coffee, though I refrain from grinding the beans with a rifle butt. If I need to get creative in the evening it's a dance with the green fairy.
I tend to like it, if well done. I love all things 19th century and after reading many first-hand accounts, one gets used to the vocabulary and syntax. But, the example had repetitive words that felt as though they were added to pad the word count without adding any detail. If anyone wants to tell me how purple prose my writing is...you can read some a short selection here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...I'd welcome commentary if you think it is too much.
In defense of purple prose: If one is writing a historical novel set in the nineteenth century or before, the use of language to appear period correct may be considered purple prose, especially when writing dialogue between well-educated characters. But with that said, the example given is pretty overdone.
