Challenges Facing the Publishing Industry
Last month saw the 10th anniversary of publishing my first fantasy novel. I have seen for myself how the publishing landscape never remains constant. One year after publishing my first full-length novel for several years, the publishing industry continues to change apace, although not all changes are beneficial.
Book Cafe News
When I ask people whether they prefer eBooks or paperback books, I usually receive mixed responses. I can understand why people prefer paperback, as I often find it easier to read on paper and I love the smell and the feel of a book in my hand.
Should I Write to Market?
When I woke up this morning I sat for a while thinking, what do I write about this week? I then remember a Note I read by a Substack author that resonated with me, particularly advising writers not to ask, what others want to read, but what do You want to read. She’s a seasoned writer with many years of experience.
A Drop in the Ocean
I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experiences with you all, exploring the art of storytelling and the magical realm of being an author. Also sharing with you what it's really like to bring stories to life. Nothing beats the feeling of finishing a manuscript and looking forward to sharing a new story with the world.
Things never go the way you plan
I’m sure you’ve all heard when life gives you lemons make lemonade, a phrase intended as encouragement to make good out of a bad situation. I like lemons and I like lemonade, although when life sends difficulties your way it’s not so simple as making lemonade. I am a glass-half-full sort of person, much to the annoyance of some.
Writing in the Season of Winter Blues
According to Glasgow University researchers you can help lift the blues by writing a letter to winter. I won’t be sharing a letter, but I will share with you a short excerpt from Dawn-Wolf describing the start of winter.
Confessions of a Plantser
There are two distinct types of writers, plotters and pantser, although many, like me, lie somewhere between the two.
A plotter is someone who outlines their story before writing it. They will usually do all or some of the following: Make a breakdown of the events that will occur in the story, story beats and produce character arcs. They are a writer who plans.
How I Stopped Trying to Be Everything to Everyone
Last week I was unwell and had to slow down for a while. In doing so, I had more time to assess how much time I spent in a day doing tasks that were productive, worthwhile and more importantly, something that I needed to do. This also got me thinking about time spent on social media. How many of us can honestly say that time spent on social media is truly productive and enjoyable?
Faerie Tales Reimagined
Authors spend many hours in a fantasy world of our own. Imagining worlds and characters from our imagination and making those come to life through our stories. Those stories and characters can be completely original or may be known to us in the form of faerie tales...
What is an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) ?
An advance reader copy (ARC) is a pre-published version of a new book that is circulated to people who read it before publication. e.g. reviewers and book bloggers.
By offering ARCs to readers an author can receive reviews in the fist few days of a books release. Therefore providing a reader's genuine opinion to potential book shoppers...
What is World Building?
Welcome once again to my little corner, and it is literally a corner, of the writing universe. Today I want to talk about the most important considerations for an author when world building.
A Zero Sum Game
When you imagine the life of an author what springs to mind? No doubt some may imagine authors are making huge amounts of money for every book they publish and are living a high life. Others imagine a struggling artist living on nothing but their imagination and despising the vulgar notion of receiving money for their art. I admit that these may be extremes.
The Wonderland of Research
Whenever I am doing research for a story I, often times find myself falling down the rabbit hole. For those who aren’t familiar with the expression, it originated in Lewis Carroll’s, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice falls down the White Rabbit’s hole, which takes her to Wonderland. It is commonly used to describe a deep dive into research, more often than not what starts out as a quick check, turns into several hours.
Author Services
After seeing a discussion in one of my Facebook author groups, I thought it would be a good idea to make a post about the topic being discussed. If this post can help just one person or save them from falling into the trap of rip off author services, it will have served its purpose.
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