Elina’s Comments (group member since Jan 24, 2017)

Elina’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

Elina wrote: "Hi!

I'm self-editing my first YA fantasy novel, and though I have one very good beta reader, I would really like to hear some other comments and thoughts about it too.
Would someone in this group..."

Thanks, Penni! That's amazing! I'll send you a message about it. :)

Hi!

I'm self-editing my first YA fantasy novel, and though I have one very good beta reader, I would really like to hear some other comments and thoughts about it too.
Would someone in this group like to read few chapters from my novel and give a comment or two? :)

Hi, everyone!

My name is Elina Vale. I'm a 33-year old mother of two, and during the daytime, I work in a small company that specializes in B2B communications. Oh, and I live in Finland.

I'm a newbie in the writing business. I’ve written stuff for my whole life, but only for myself. Then something happened about two years ago (I don't know what, something clicked inside, I guess) and I decided that I want to do something about my writing dreams.
And it has completely taken me over! I just love it!

I am struggling with the language and grammar a bit because I'm not native English speaking. But luckily, those things can be fixed, right?
I'm currently self-editing my first novel (YA fantasy) and hoping that I would be able to publish it this year. It scares the shit out of me and at the same time I'm excited as hell and can't wait to get it finished...

Nice to meet you all!

Delvin wrote: "Elina wrote: "Hi,

Can someone please explain Kindle Scout to me? :) You submit a book and try to get as many nominations as possible, right? Then what?

Is it something a beginner like me should ..."

Thanks, Delvin! I'll check it out. :)

That's amazing. I hope it's possible to join when I have actually something to put there. :) :)

I'm not sure if this is already in some thread here but thought someone would like to check this out.

Free video course with Pixar – the art of storytelling. :)

https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-c...

Hi,

Can someone please explain Kindle Scout to me? :) You submit a book and try to get as many nominations as possible, right? Then what?

Is it something a beginner like me should maybe try out? Have any of you tried it?

So many questions again... :D

Wow, I love this. I love setting up goals, but mine are usually on a bigger scale. You know, "publish your first book in 2017" kind of goals. These weekly ones seem less threatening. :D

My goals for this week are:
1) design and draw the map the book needs (I have been avoiding this for too long)
2) Be more active with the FB account (haven't done anything with it yet, blah)
3) ask the schedule for covers from the graphic artist

These are great advice. I try to balance between the action tags and 'said'. Sometimes my characters might whisper or shout, but I try to leave all those bookisms away. :)

Aislinn wrote: "Personally, I think inflection (the way a character says something) is pretty important to both them as a character, and a particular moment. If a character only 'said' something, it means they are..."

Thanks for reminding me about this 'was standing', word pair. I tend to have that a lot in my text.

Carole wrote: ""Do look for experience and any qualifications."


That's the best advice. Something always gets missed. I just sent in my newest book- a juvie chapter book- the first edit is for content, the seco..."

Carol, it's kind of nice and comforting to know that there's always something that gets missed. :) I am scanning my text through and my marvelous beta-readers are really cleaning it out. If only I had the chance to give it two rounds of editing but I'm afraid my budget doesn't allow it. :D

Roughseasinthemed wrote: "I recommend you ask for a sample edit. Any decent one should do it for free.

Also, be clear about what type of editing they are offering, how many times they will read it, will they proofread it, ..."

Thank you for good advice, Roughseasinthemed! You gave me many things I should put on my list when I'm asking for an editor. I'm such a novice and I'm so glad I found this group! :)

Becky wrote: "Elina wrote: "Do you know any good and affordable editors for YA fantasy novel? I would love to check them out."

I am happy to be able to name-drop and hopefully help you out all at the same time...."

Thanks, Becky! I'm nervous and excited about my first novel. And thanks for the recommendation, I will check her out. :)

Hi,

I'm writing my first novel and trying to find an affordable editor. I have to admit that I'm a bit lost with it, so I'm turning to you guys for help! :)

This may sound like a stupid question, but how would I know if the one I'm asking for an offer is decent and good enough? I have looked up some of their previous work, of course, and there are no negative comments about their editing. Should I just trust the reviews and my 'gut'? Or should I always use an editor that someone I know recommends?

I don't want to use my money on an editor that does a poor job. And because I'm not native English speaking, I need a good one. :)

Do you know any good and affordable editors for YA fantasy novel? I would love to check them out.

-Elina V.

Amy wrote: "I have just set up an author page on FB. Yes it was tedious. I'm not even sure what I'm going to do with it. Or if I'll have a lot of time to do it. I've now got author Twitter, FB, two blogs, FB f..."

I have the same thoughts. I registered as author-me, didn't set up a page yet, though. I think I know what to do with it, (50% business 50% fun, make them interact etc. Post an ad once in a while...) but that's when I have someone to follow me and when I actually have something to say there. What do one say when nothing is out yet? I have to start somewhere, right? It kind of feels tricky, this you know, getting everything started.

Maybe I should I start a blog and share my blog posts there.

Jennifer wrote: "Part of the confusion is that Facebook (and the people who use it) call both personal accounts and PAGES, "Facebook Pages" which gets really confusing. I wrote a blog post in January on this topic ..."

Thank you, Jennifer! This was very enlightening and made me really sure what I want to do. So I need to get a new account for my pen name, set up an author Page under it and get two or three admins (including my personal Fb account?) to it to keep it safe in case something happens to my pen name account. I really don't want my personal account's friends to see all the time what I'm doing with my Page so this is my only option.

Thanks! :)

Erin Lee Daniels wrote: "I just set up my fb accounts - one under my pen name and an author page for my pen name. I needed them separate from my personal fb page so two new accounts were the way to go. It was fairly easy a..."

I've read some stories on how Fb can shut the profile down if you can't prove it's really you. This is why I'm concerned. I want to have different profiles and create the page under my pen name profile and put my real profile as an admin to that page. But well, does that mean I have to handle three different sites? My personal fb, pen name profile, and the Page...

Thank you for your comments!
So there are both sides represented here. And I'm still confused what I should do. I'm kind of leaning towards the pen name profile, but I don't want it to be compromised or taken down, of course.

Thanks Jennifer for the tip with the Page and setting up a friend as an admin. Didn't think of that. But to build the page on which account... well I have to think about it some more.

Thanks for the advice!

Hi everybody,

Could I get some advice about setting up an author fb page? I'm pretty sufficient with my social media skills, but I would like to ask your opinion on something.

I want to keep my personal fb and my author fb accounts separate. I have a pen name because my real name isn't suitable for international markets. But my question is, do you prefer Author Page in fb or just Author Profile?

If I set up an Author Page, can I comment on discussions with my author name or join groups? Is it easier just to have another profile with my pen name instead? (I naturally have a fb profile as real me)

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Hi everyone!

Came here to introduce myself. I wasn't sure if this thread was the right one to do it since I don't have an Amazon page yet. Or anything published for that matter.

I'm just finishing up my first novel (YA fantasy) and soon I'll be sending it to my editor. So I'm a beginner and I intend to self publish, so I really need every advice I can get.

Luckily I have a great mentor/coach who is helping me out with the book, the process and marketing. There's so much to learn...

And now I'll dig into these amazing topics you have in this group. So again; Hi and nice to meet you.

https://elinavale.wordpress.com/

-Elina