# Shameless Self-Appreciation Thread



## Flemming Hansen

This forum seriously needs a thread like this.

I'll start!

F**k yeah! Today, Friday the 13th I've finally passed the 100.000 word barrier; and I'm only two and a half chapters from completing my draft! I'm so proud of myself. I think chocolate I do... or vanilla ice-cream. Mmmmmm... Or both.


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## Black Dragon

Neat idea.  I'm making this a sticky in chit-chat.


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## Steerpike

Almost hit the 10,000 word mark for this week. I'm pretty happy about that.


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## Reaver

Congrats Flemming!

Ninja'd!!!


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## Flemming Hansen

Black Dragon said:


> Neat idea.  I'm making this a sticky in chit-chat.


Cool 



Steerpike said:


> Almost hit the 10,000 word mark for this week. I'm pretty happy about that.


So have I - We rock! 



Reaver said:


> Congrats Flemming!
> 
> Ninja'd!!!


Thanks =)


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## Argentum

I think this is a grand idea! All this week and last week I didn't want to write, but heck yes! I'm only 200 away from my 100k mark! Finally 2/3rds done with my book! I am awesome and will celebrate when I reach 100k with Reese's Pieces.


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## Jess A

After much moping around, I think I may have solved a plot hole. Until I find the next one. I am very excited! Now I can write again.


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## Flemming Hansen

Argentum said:


> I think this is a grand idea! All this week and last week I didn't want to write, but heck yes! I'm only 200 away from my 100k mark! Finally 2/3rds done with my book! I am awesome and will celebrate when I reach 100k with Reese's Pieces.


Go in front of a mirror. Point a finger at your reflection and say "You Rock" 
Always makes me feel even better 



Little Storm Cloud said:


> After much moping around, I think I may have solved a plot hole. Until I find the next one. I am very excited! Now I can write again.


I know how annoying that can be. Normally I just trust my own genius to sort it out as I go along


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## Jess A

Flemming Hansen said:


> I know how annoying that can be. Normally I just trust my own genius to sort it out as I go along



Indeed  these inconsistencies were beyond as-you-go improv, unfortunately. I am very enthused by the new plot addition. This thread is a good breath of fresh air, Flemming!


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## ALB2012

Yay to people being able to write. For the record I have just decided to change the end of book 2, go back to the original plot O had for book 3 that I thought didnt work but if i change the ending of book 2 which I am editing it does, only it is now further in the future and swapping the idea for book 4 to book 3.


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## Flemming Hansen

I've written 2700 words, and now only need to finish the last chapter. Perhaps I'll finish the draft this week. ^^

*edit

Boom yeah! Draft is now complete! 114198 words.


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## Chime85

Wohoo, finished Chapter VII, Yubbajubs are so confusing. Over 41,000 words and climbing  

Edit:31/07/2012, Chapter VIII complete, the war has begun. Over 47,000 and still climbing 

03/08/2012, Chapter IX complete. Over 51,000, clinbing higher 

x


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## Reaver

I'm awesome.


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## Ireth

Sent off a sample of _Winter's Queen_ to an agent this week after she accepted my query. Here's hoping she wants to read the rest!


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## Svrtnsse

I managed to come up with something to fill the plot hole in the explanation of why there are no cars in my world. Making progress feels great. All that's left is to write it down, but first: PIZZA!


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## Ireth

Got ~300 words written for my vampire story this evening, in a particularly troublesome scene that's been holding me up for many days. Small progress, but it's there. ^^

Now, do I want this scene to become riddled with conflict or not, and how would that affect these minor characters' future scenes much later in the novel? Questions, questions...


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## Sheilawisz

Today I have finished the chapter called The Winter Games of the third and final novel of my Fantasy series _Joan of England_. The novel has finally passed the 50000 words barrier at this point, which means that about two thirds of the expected final length have been completed =)

This chapter has also closed the happy part of the novel, and now the next chapter _Shadows in the Sky_ will bring the start of the war and the darkest parts of the entire series...

I want to finish this novel in December!!


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## Endymion

I'm ready! I have finished my book (only the editing left!)! Woohoooo!!!


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## ALB2012

Ireth said:


> Sent off a sample of _Winter's Queen_ to an agent this week after she accepted my query. Here's hoping she wants to read the rest!


Yay Good Luck Ireth


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Endymion said:


> I'm ready! I have finished my book (only the editing left!)! Woohoooo!!!



Congratulations!


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## Flemming Hansen

First edit is complete, and I'm ready for round two. Meeting with the illustrator in two hours! I'm utterly psyched!


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## Grand Lord BungleFic

My first draft is completed and I'm halfway through a first revision. I'm busy chasing down inconsistencies and plot holes. 

Length = 180,150 words - so I guess my next step is figuring out what I can get rid of.


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## ccrogers3d

I wrote, illustrated and self-published a graphic novel - 150+ full-color pages. It took three years. This is a bucket-list level achievement for me, so YAY! *confetti*


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## BWFoster78

I finally finished something completely!

Tonight, I submitted my novelette, _Abuse of Power_, for publication in _Myths Inscribed_.  

Even with all the drafts and revisions, part of me wishes I had more time to add yet more tension and more emotion.  On the other hand, today I wrote that one of my characters "snarled his lips into a feral grin," so maybe it's good that I'm finished looking at it.


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## Ankari

Congratulations!


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## T.Allen.Smith

BWFoster78 said:


> I finally finished something completely!
> 
> Tonight, I submitted my novelette, Abuse of Power, for publication in Myths Inscribed.
> 
> Even with all the drafts and revisions, part of me wishes I had more time to add yet more tension and more emotion.  On the other hand, today I wrote that one of my characters "snarled his lips into a feral grin," so maybe it's good that I'm finished looking at it.



That's great news! Congratulations.
Hoping you get an acceptance 1st go....


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## BWFoster78

T.Allen.Smith said:


> That's great news! Congratulations.
> Hoping you get an acceptance 1st go....



Me too, but the important thing, in my view, is that something is done.  I've been working on my novel for over a year and a half.  Though I "finished" the rough draft, there's still a long journey ahead before I can put it totally to bed.  The novelette, I'm declaring "done."

It is, I think, the best I can make it with my current skill level.  It will be interesting to see what I think of it if I reread it in a year or two.


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## Chilari

I also submitted something to Myths Inscribed. It's part of something I've been working on off and on for a few years, but never quite got down. I was going to try to portray the whole arc in under 3000 words, which I think would have been doable, but wouldn't have done it justice. And I was uneasy about the role one of the characters had - it was too passive. So pretty much last minute I changed things around, turned two characters (a wizard and his widowed sister) into one (a witch) and chose a small, standalone part of the story to write as a full arc and I'm quite happy with it. Fingers thoroughly crossed.

In fact I've had quite a productive week. I also wrote a poem I'm quite happy with and put up an article on my website; it's about great locations in fantasy.


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## BWFoster78

Chilari said:


> I also submitted something to Myths Inscribed. It's part of something I've been working on off and on for a few years, but never quite got down. I was going to try to portray the whole arc in under 3000 words, which I think would have been doable, but wouldn't have done it justice. And I was uneasy about the role one of the characters had - it was too passive. So pretty much last minute I changed things around, turned two characters (a wizard and his widowed sister) into one (a witch) and chose a small, standalone part of the story to write as a full arc and I'm quite happy with it. Fingers thoroughly crossed.
> 
> In fact I've had quite a productive week. I also wrote a poem I'm quite happy with and put up an article on my website; it's about great locations in fantasy.



Congrats!  Good luck.


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## Reaver

This just in: I'M STILL AWESOME.





​


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## BWFoster78

I reached a major milestone today!

The 2nd draft of _Power of the Mages _is complete!!!


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## Sparkie

BWFoster78 said:


> I reached a major milestone today!
> 
> The 2nd draft of _Power of the Mages _is complete!!!



Grats!  Finishing one draft is an accoplishment, finishing two is...  Well, you get the idea.


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## Graylorne

Well done! You know what the Unknown Astronaut said: 'It's but a small step for mankind, but a giant leap for me.'


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## Amanita

I've finally finished the second version of my first Lenima book. The first one has been five years ago, the ones in between have never made it to the end, but this time, I'm quite satisfied. It needs some work at the beginning and some shortening in the middle but all in all I like what I did so far.
Doubt that many other people do, but that's a different matter.


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## Sheilawisz

Congratulations, Amanita!!

The feeling when you finish at last a novel is really wonderful, it gives you a great satisfaction and it's very important to power you up as a writer, helping you a lot to go ahead and write another novel =)

I wish that you will be successful in writing all of your Lenima series, keep up the great work!


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## ALB2012

Awesome Aminata, you certainly have an interesting world. If you publish do let me know I would like to read it.


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## Sheilawisz

Today I have reached 70179 words in my third and final _Joan of England_ novel: Queen Eternal.

After working on this novel for two years I am finally close, really close to finish it... I have been working on the trilogy since 2007, and now I am starting to really feel the pure joy and excitement caused by being so close to my final goal =)

This is so exciting!!


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## Sparkie

Two years on this book and over five years total work coming to a close, eh?  Congrats, Sheilawisz!  I bet that feels good.  Is there a sense of relief that comes with it?


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## Sheilawisz

Thank you, Sparkie!!

Yes, there is a strong sense of relief coming together with the excitement... I have focused so many efforts on Joan of England for five years, so after I finish it finally I will be able to return to work on my other Fantasy stories =)

I am quite impatient, but it's necessary to keep writing with calm and do everything right.


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## PlotHolio

I finally found an artist for my webcomic!


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## Nihal

What a weird and interesting thread, hahaha!

PlotHolio, share the link of your comic when you release, I'm curious to see it!

--
I've not reached any impressive amount of words at all. I've drafted a prologue that doesn't sound like complete shit for me, I may use it or not, it's 2965 words only and needs polishing. Yet it's not the source of my joy.

I'm happy because I've stumbled on this forum. It's unlike any place on the internet of today, a rare place with a rare community, it's like if it was pulled directly out of the memories of my childhood. Discover such place cheered me up and got me looking forward to finally develop my stories. In less than a week I've been doing more work on them than last months.

I'm not sure if I'm praising myself or praising the community, haha.


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## Darkblade

I did it! I got published! With my first ever submission too. I'm so happy right now I might very well explode.


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## Ankari

Congratulations Darkblade.  When you're able to, be sure to post where your story is published and when we should expect to see it.


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## Darkblade

The Urban Green Man Short Fiction Anthology, I'm _Cottage on the Bluff_ in the Water section. It launches in August, so I'll probably make another post about it when it's on sale.


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## Sparkie

I just paid off my truck eight minutes ago.

*AWW YEA!*


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## Ankari

I know the feeling, Sparkie!  Awesome!

On a totally unrelated note, I hit the 36K mark of my WIP.  Only another (estimated) 160K.  I think I need to do some trimming....


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## Sparkie

Ankari said:


> I know the feeling, Sparkie!  Awesome!
> 
> On a totally unrelated note, I hit the 36K mark of my WIP.  Only another (estimated) 160K.  I think I need to do some trimming....



Woo Hoo!  You rock too!


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## Filk

Less than 400 words and 25+ hours to write 7k words in a week. Now to keep up the pace!


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## BWFoster78

Darkblade said:


> The Urban Green Man Short Fiction Anthology, I'm _Cottage on the Bluff_ in the Water section. It launches in August, so I'll probably make another post about it when it's on sale.



Awesome!  Paying gig on your first attempt?  Fantastic!


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## Handsome John

Well, I've finally finished the draft of Chapter 2. WOW!

I reckon when I go over it I'll find it horrible but I know that all the things I wanted out of my head have finally been removed. After a week of editing I'll hopefully find it palatable 

So far: 2 Chapters, 19 pages total, 15k words.

I'll enjoy my sleep tonight and then start my editing tomorrow afternoon (after a day of lazing around in the sun, drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes and reading the newspaper!).

Once I've done a first edit, I'll move onto finding someone to tear two chapters apart for me 

Happy Easter, everyone.


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## Rhizanthella

Finally got to writing a climactic point in my novel! After long periods of writers block and short periods of relief in between, this is an excellent moment for me! All I want to do is write. Ah, inspiration!


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## Flemming Hansen

I figured out Smashwords' meatgrinder, and I got a huge bottle of ginger ale. Yummy!

Oh, and I published my first ever novel a few days ago. 

Maybe I'll receive an owl from Hogwarts as a reward! Or even better... a mist cloak!


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## advait98

Flemming Hansen said:


> I figured out Smashwords' meatgrinder, and I got a huge bottle of ginger ale. Yummy!
> 
> Oh, and I published my first ever novel a few days ago.
> 
> Maybe I'll receive an owl from Hogwarts as a reward! Or even better... a mist cloak!



Congrats! It's a great feeling to publish a first novel. Believe me, I don't know. 
I saw it in the Self-Promotion forum. Looks great.


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## Sheilawisz

Today I have finished at last the culminating chapter of my Joan of England Trilogy =)

The chapter is called Crystals in the Sky, and it details the final battle of the story, the end of the Shadows War and the true beginning of a wonderful new world... Queen Eternal is now 79079 words long, and my intention is to write two more chapters and then it will be finished.

I am so happy and proud right now!!


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## Butterfly

Well done Sheilawisz!


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## Sparkie

Sheilawisz said:


> Today I have finished at last the culminating chapter of my Joan of England Trilogy =)
> 
> The chapter is called Crystals in the Sky, and it details the final battle of the story, the end of the Shadows War and the true beginning of a wonderful new world... Queen Eternal is now 79079 words long, and my intention is to write two more chapters and then it will be finished.
> 
> I am so happy and proud right now!!



Remember this post:  http://mythicscribes.com/forums/chit-chat/6938-matching-ms-gifts-members.html#post87433?  This is where I gave you the title of Official Mythic Scribes Sorceress.  And now, due to the above accomplishment, I hereby deem thee Sheilawisz,  Official *Grand* Sorceress of Mythic Scribes!


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## Legendary Sidekick

Keep it up, Sheila! Congrats!


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## Rhizanthella

After much writers block and doubt, I have finished the third book in the no longer trilogy and found out I have enough ideas for a fourth book. Looks like I get to spend another year in this world!  Now I just need to figure out how the final battle is going down...


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## TWErvin2

Sheilawisz said:


> Today I have finished at last the culminating chapter of my Joan of England Trilogy =)
> 
> The chapter is called Crystals in the Sky, and it details the final battle of the story, the end of the Shadows War and the true beginning of a wonderful new world... Queen Eternal is now 79079 words long, and my intention is to write two more chapters and then it will be finished.
> 
> I am so happy and proud right now!!



_Very_ cool. VERY!


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## Sheilawisz

@Butterfly, Sparkie, Legendary and Terry: Thank you very much for your posts of appreciation, you made me feel great =)

I have been working on my Joan of England story since 2007, so it really feels good and exciting to be so close, at last, to finish the entire thing. I promise that when I write the last chapter of Queen Eternal, I will immediately announce it in this thread.

@Rhizanthella: Congratulations!! I hope that you will write the fourth book of your series.


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## Rhizanthella

Thanks, Sheila! I'm diving into it right now! Congrats to you too! Can't wait to read your work. I love that feeling of getting close to the end of a long project.


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## Svrtnsse

I finished the first draft of the script of my first novel. I feel great.


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## Sheilawisz

Today, May 12 of 2013 I have finished writing Queen Eternal and, with it, I finish my Joan of England trilogy after more than five long and difficult years working on it.

This feels so good because finally I am standing at the summit of the mountain, with nothing else to write, nothing else to climb... I was crying a lot when I finished it and this is a great victory for me, but at the same time, I say good bye to writing all the adventures of Joan and her friends.

I am sure that the nostalgia will come and hit me later, but for now, this is a description of what I just finished today:

1- Joan of England- _Travel to Castile_ : 207 pages and 74077 words.
2- Joan of England 2- _Warlyak Castle_ : 174 pages and 60630 words.

3- Joan of England 3- _Queen Eternal_ : 219 pages and 82620 words.

I started writing Queen Eternal in December of 2010, and it has been by far the most complex and difficult to write novel of my _Joan of England_ trilogy.

Now, I will re-read Queen Eternal and then read my entire story finished... Yay, this feels so great!! =)


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## T.Allen.Smith

Very nice Sheila & congratulations!

Go crack open your favorite wine & celebrate.


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## Sheilawisz

@Allen: Thank you a lot for congratulating me, you made me smile =)

I have started to re-read Queen Eternal before reading the entire Joan of England trilogy, and when I finish, I will definitely open a very nice wine and celebrate all night!!

To read your own finished work is a great reward and a wonderful feeling...


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## Weaver

It's a small thing, maybe, but... This evening, I wrote something _totally new_.  Not totally new as in _unrelated to my other stories_ (which is never gonna happen), but new as in _about a character whom I've never written about before or even mentioned in a story_.

This has not happened in a long time.  And I'm happy with what I've written.


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## Jabrosky

I've just come home from a 75-minute walk that, according to my calculations, burned over 500 calories. The time has come for me to start losing weight again.


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## Rhizanthella

I have successfully moved into my first dorm room and am beginning to figure out how to live alone... Totaly scared right now but the thought of many fantasy heros that left on an adventure far more stressful than this really helps.


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## Scales

Wrote up 12,154 words on my first book.


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## GeekDavid

Just passed 45,000 words in _Librarian_. (does a little happy dance)


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## Sleepybookworm

It's a small step but I manage to stick to my 500 words a night goal for a week. Go me!


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## GeekDavid

Me again... now over the 50,000 word mark... 51,512 according to Word. :dance:


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## teacup

I wrote about 40k in a little over a month, not too long ago.
Now I've got much less time to write though, thanks to college. I plan to catch up again on the weekend


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## GeekDavid

teacup said:


> I wrote about 40k in a little over a month, not too long ago.
> Now I've got much less time to write though, thanks to college. I plan to catch up again on the weekend



I plan on relaxing on the weekend... tomorrow I add two more sections and then I'm gonna declare the second draft finished and toss it to my volunteer editor to see what he thinks of it.


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## druidofwinter

Well this evening i added around 1,285  words to my WIP. I know it's not much, but i feel rather proud. :showoff:


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## Svrtnsse

Today I went to buy a new pair of jeans.

For the first time, in very many years, it was harder to find ones with long enough legs, than with wide enough waist.


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## druidofwinter

Got another 1,100 words added to my WIP this evening. It seemed to go a lot faster since i switched back to my MC's POV. Guess i like writing her better.


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## druidofwinter

+1000 words this evening. :dance:


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## deilaitha

Finished editing a very difficult and choppy portion of my novel!  It was starting to get me down a little bit but now that section is completed (for now).  Now to tackle the next part!


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## teacup

I finally started a blog, after spending a week trying to think of a name for it. So relieved now.


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## Svrtnsse

Great!

\o/


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## druidofwinter

1000 words today! Half of that was done at Barnes and Noble, great place to write.


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## Noma Galway

I've been writing this for two years...and I'm really slow. But I finally reached 15,000 words today, and I'm a little less than halfway through the plot. Now I've started outlining, plot should be done by the end of March, and rewrites should bump the length up quite a bit. I'm happy with my work for the week


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## BWFoster78

Today, I reached 1000 downloads of my novelette, _Abuse of Power_!


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## Ankari

BWFoster78 said:


> Today, I reached 1000 downloads of my novelette, _Abuse of Power_!



Good work, Brian. Congratulations!


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## Noma Galway

I have figured out major portions of my plot!! Character death is the way to tear another character apart  Just saying. But I will be in tears while writing for a while. But plot is going well!


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## teacup

I've just finished draft 2 of my first novel! (I stopped before reaching the very end in draft 1, because it was so terrible, and went back to rewrite. So this is the first time I've been able to write the ending!)
Got a lot to edit and little bits to rewrite on the previous chapters, and pretty much the first half of the novel to rewrite to a better standard, but woo, an ending


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## JRFLynn

Finally, finally, finally finished chapter five! Spit out 13 pages in four days, weeee! It totally veered off in an odd twisty place, though. So, following the rabbit hole...


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## Rhizanthella

So... I finished the final installment to my four book series last night... Why don't I feel super excited or happy? Im not even sad really... Its been a five year journey and I just finished. Shouldn't I be ecstatic or at least relieved?


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## A. E. Lowan

Give it a day or two to sink in before the train of emotions arrive.  They will, and then you can deal with them as they come.

And congratulations!  That's not an easy thing you just did.


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## Rhizanthella

Well, they're all just the rough drafts of each book. Handwritten and note-covered. Haha! I'm not good at bragging. ^_^


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## druidofwinter

1200 words in the last two hours. Very rare occurrence .


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## Zweee

Yay to me for finding a way out the corner I had written myself into. It involved being brave enough to scrap a third of what I had written but the story is so much better as a result.


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## deilaitha

After a long time of having trouble writing for my WIP, I finally got 784 words written!  That's amazing!  The most I've written at a time in months is like 200 or 300.  Happy, happy, happy dance!


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## Feo Takahari

I just got the best rejection letter of my life.

Michael H. Payne is, if not exactly a big deal, at least a medium one. He's an award-winning writer, an accomplished reviewer, and a fairly important muckymuck in the SFWA hierarchy. He's also one of the most popular authors of My Little Pony fanfiction under the name AugieDog.

There's a fansite called Equestria Daily that collects the best of the best of MLP fanfiction. Their standards are pretty stringent, and the fic I submitted to them got a rejection. But the reviewer mostly pointed out minor flaws, and he said he liked the story overall. He encouraged me to make some edits and resubmit it. It wasn't until my second time looking over the suggestions that I noticed the name at the bottom. AugieDog.

I've gotten plenty of encouragement from fellow no-names and wannabes. But this is the first time a writer on Payne's level has told me he liked my story. I keep thinking I'm going to stop smiling sooner or later, but the corners of my mouth just won't go down.


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## A. E. Lowan

That's awesome!  Those are the rejections you print and put on the wall.  I love those!  Congratulations!


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## deilaitha

Yay!  Another day where I actually got writing done, and believe me when I say it was a really hectic terrible day! 720 words!!!


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## deilaitha

Hurray! Even though it's not as much as I'd like, I still managed to get 690 words in yesterday!


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## druidofwinter

950 words tonight. Been a long time since I had a session that good.


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## Jabrosky

Finished a 2,100-word chapter today!


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## Darkblade

I just sold my second short story! Not nearly as excited as I was when I sold my first one but pretty damn close.


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## Jabrosky

I just got my life's first paycheck. $15 for a commissioned artwork to illustrate a Huffington Post article (here).


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## Ankari

Congratulations!


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## Ireth

Congrats!  That's awesome!


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## Jabrosky

Here's another reason to appreciate myself: I finished the first draft of a 3,300-word short story tonight. Now I just need to get it reviewed and polished.


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## Noma Galway

This isn't strictly writing related, but I just organized all my fiction and poetry into like 50 different folders and backed them up twice. I'm feeling good


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## A. E. Lowan

Noma Galway said:


> This isn't strictly writing related, but I just organized all my fiction and poetry into like 50 different folders and backed them up twice. I'm feeling good



That's a lot more writing related than you think, kiddo.  Trust me, regular organization and backups will save you many headaches and heartaches and leave you free to create.  You should feel good!


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## A. E. Lowan

This was several days ago (I'm late reporting due to family stuff), but we're still squee'ing over it.  Earlier this week, we signed our very first publishing agreement!  Thank you to Steerpike for the opportunity to chair dance.  We're terribly excited!


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## Ruby

Hi Jabrosky,

Congratulations! Your artwork is so vibrant and colourful, lovely!
(Ps I've just followed your blog!)


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## Jabrosky

Ruby said:


> Hi Jabrosky,
> 
> Congratulations! Your artwork is so vibrant and colourful, lovely!
> (Ps I've just followed your blog!)


Thank you. I take pride in my digital art's colorful qualities since I like bright colors.


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## Noma Galway

Nice job, Lowan!


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## T.Allen.Smith

Short story submitted for an anthology publication today after completing the 4th draft. 

14k words in total.

A special thanks to Caiged Maiden for her assistance and insights.


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## Feo Takahari

I finally, _finally_ have an agreed-upon contract to publish _Blood Price_ (formerly known as _Extraordinary_, formerly known as _Kids These Days_, and I think it had an earlier title when I first joined the site.) For reference, I finished all edits on the final draft of the story last September. In the time it took me to publish it, I completed and fully edited an entirely new story of the same length, plus a few short stories. I can't even feel happy about getting it published, since the story feels like it's so far in the past now, but I guess I've at least gotten that dealt with. (And maybe going to conventions and such to try to promote it will at least feel like a fresh experience.)


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## Ankari

Congratulations! Be sure to link it when it goes on sale.


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## stephenspower

well done!


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## Handsome John

Well done, Feo! Hopefully more to come for you.

As for myself, just passed 50,000 words.

Totally unedited, but it's a start.

Unfortunately, it contains plenty of adult themes so I can't post for reviews/critiques here, but I'm still pretty stoked.


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## Kathryn M Hearst

First rounds of editor comments and suggestions down... I have the second book rattling around in my brain, but I am afraid to get too far into it before I am done with final edits of the first.  I feel a little like a dog chasing its tail. 

While waiting I started a new series and a handful of short stories.  But I am chomping at the bit to get back to my first love.  I almost feel like I am cheating.


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## The Maven

I got my manuscript back from the editor.. My publishing company is in the process of being approved for registration and I have just completed setting up the Facebook page.. Hell yeah


----------



## Jabrosky

I just set up a Society6 profile to sell art prints. Don't expect to make much off it, but I gotta get some source of income sooner or later:

Brandon Pilcher | Society6


----------



## ThinkerX

Submitted  the first chapter of 'Labyrinth' to 'Flogging the Quill.'

Flogging the Quill

Not a smashing success, but not a flop, either.  If I'd bothered to re-edit for the umpteenth time I probably would have spotted the noted issues.  But...hey, half of the folks there were willing to 'turn the page.'

Now to finish rewriting the last chapter or two before NaNoWriMo starts...


----------



## Sheilawisz

Today I am celebrating!

I have finally completed my Frozen fanfiction The Arendelle War, which is a carefully crafted and novella length-work that kept me concentrated writing for fifty days and nights consecutively.

The story was written between September 23 and November 8. This story has attracted a considerable enthusiasm and feedback from the Frozen fandom at the Fanfiction Net site, counting 68 reviews so far (okay, some of those are mine) and awaiting at least a few more now that the story is complete.

If you are interested, you can find The Arendelle War right here.

I am so happy! =)


----------



## The Maven

Well done Sheila!!


----------



## The Maven

Just posted my debut novel The Anmorian Legends: Wrath of the Exiled on Amazon.. publication to follow after review. Woooohoooooo!!!


----------



## Chessie

Congratulations, The Maven! I hope it does really well!

I'm feeling proud of myself and since most people in my life don't really know that I write (secretsss), sharing here that I've just started my 3rd book...which amazes me. Like...I actually have the mojo and mental retention to write books. If I finish by January (which is the plan), it will be the 3rd book I have written this year. Just awesome.


----------



## Ruby

Hi Sheilawisz, I've just read your first 12 chapters and I think your story is very good.
Do you recommend this website?


----------



## Sheilawisz

Hello everyone.

First of all, congratulations to you Dhesan (The Maven) for taking this great step in your career as an author. You have my best wishes for the success of your novel, keep up the good work!

@Chesterama: Awesome! The feeling of finishing a book is a great reward for any writer =)

@Ruby: Thank you very much for reading _The Arendelle War_. I hope that you will enjoy the rest of the story, because the battles get quite severe in later chapters and I go to represent the true nature and cruelty of war.

I highly recommend Fanfiction Net to any person interested in writing fanfics, because it's full of talented people and virtually all the stories shared there eventually receive a considerable and friendly feedback.

I'll soon start to write another _Frozen_ fanfiction, after I finish The Purple Pumpkin.


----------



## Writeking

Finished the first draft of my manuscript. Letting it set for a while before I read through it and edit.


----------



## Rhizanthella

I just finished the third rough manuscript of my first book! 
I know I need to go and edit a lot, but I'm wondering if I should get more beta readers before I do that or should I hunt them out after I try editing from my own thoughts...? 

Either way, I happy to say I am on the final stretch of the first book!


----------



## Feo Takahari

I made my first direct sale to someone who wasn't a friend or family member. L.B. Lee, the author of Cracks of Sunshine, posted that he wanted to see more transsexual characters who got to be heroes and save the world without all the usual tragedy and suffering. I mentioned Melody from Blood Price, and I convinced him to give it a try. Now I'm waiting to see what he thinks.


----------



## Amanita

I've just finished the first draft of my story from NaNo this year. Did drag on a bit after the "peer pressure" was gone but it's done now and waits for me having some distance for editing.


----------



## Svrtnsse

I just had a look through the rest of the outline of my current wip and I got really excited about some of the upcoming scenes I'll get to write later on. It's going to be awesome fun and I think it might turn out really great. It's a most wonderful feeling and it's made me really happy after a few rather miserable days.


----------



## skip.knox

I just finished going through the entire manuscript of my WIP. 160,000 words. I printed the whole catastrophe and I've read through it, making notes.

It's a mess, of course. There are whole sections duplicated. Even more sections where I've written the same scene two or three (or five!) different ways. Entire others scenes that consist of little more than a note "something needs to go here". 

But it's the first time I have looked at the entire work _as a work._ I'm feeling both pleased and overwhelmed. That's a good thing, right?

Anyway, just that. Needed to say it to fellow writers.


----------



## T.Allen.Smith

Nice, Skip.

Feeling accomplished today as well.

I completed the rough draft of a new novel today. 66k words written in 56 days.

There's a lot of revision work still ahead, which should fill the book out to somewhere within 70-75k, but I like the bones of this story. I'm certain I can whip it into something readers will like.

If anyone remembers Iron Pen XIV (I think it was 14, might be 15), the novel is based off the short story _Benediction_.


----------



## skip.knox

T.Allen.Smith: 66,000 words in 56 days? Fantastic!

No, seriously, that's a fantasy, right?
(sorry, couldn't resist)


----------



## Sheilawisz

I have finished writing Whispers of the Witch!

This makes me very happy today and for many days to follow, because this story was really hard and took a very long time to complete. I started working on it November 9 2014, and I just finished it yesterday, November 7 2015... Almost an entire year after the day it began.

The problem with Whispers of the Witch was that the story never really clicked with me, many times it would refuse to dance and function properly and I was struggling to tell it... Then other, more interesting stories to tell got in the way, and I stopped working on Whispers for a very long time.

Well, now it's done! It's finished!

I have enjoyed and loved the story after all, I'll be thinking about Starlight, Shellfire and Alistair for a long time and the road is open to write a third installment and finish everything...

Whispers of the Witch is the sequel to Violet Riding Hood, and you can find it at the Halloween Challenge =)


----------



## Svrtnsse

Congratulations SW


----------



## Sheilawisz

I have finished writing my story Winter Hollow!

This one was for sure the saddest story that I have ever written, and completing it has been a real challenge. I have worked with great patience on Winter Hollow since September 2 2015, and finally it was finished at January 17 2016 while I enjoyed Nightwish music and an excellent white wine.

Special Thanks to the band Nightwish for their fantastic song _Ever Dream_, which inspired me like dynamite during the final chapters of Winter Hollow.

In case that you want to read a story that combines a medical thriller with elements of a Ghost story, you can find it at the Showcase =)


----------



## Chessie

I had my first Kindle Unlimited borrow. Yeah, it's not that big of a deal but coming from someone who dreamed of publishing stories since childhood, this is a huge first step in the right direction. I actually wrote a book, finished it, went through the tireless process of editing it, made the cover, wrote the blurb, and figured out how to upload it on Amazon. One borrow so far but it feels good to know that I actually started the process.


----------



## Heliotrope

What is it? I want to borrow it! My husband got me kindle unlimited for Christmas and I would love to read it...


----------



## Chessie

Lol it's a romance, I'll PM you the link.


----------



## Sheilawisz

Hello everyone!

I have finished my story _Something Weird Happens in QuerÃ©taro_ yesterday, and I feel really happy with it. This story was started April 13 2016, and it was completed June 24 with a total of 26.3 thousand words.

You can find it at my What the Hell Challenge here: What the Hell.

_Something Weird_ is just a crazy story, and I did it mostly for fun... Anyway it demonstrated to have potential, and there have been many nice and memorable moments that took place through the story. After literally swimming in craziness, now I am ready to move forward and start my new project as soon as possible.

_Alice into Darkness_ coming soon! =)


----------



## Chessie

Congratulations, Sheila! It always feels like you're on top of the world when a story is finally finished.


----------



## ThinkerX

Congrats, Sheila!


----------



## Sheilawisz

Thank you very much, Chessie and Thinker.

Indeed, it's a great feeling to finish a story even if it was just a crazy one like _Something Weird_ has been. The impact on me was nothing like the moment when I finished Winter Hollow and crashed down in tears, but it was intense and enjoyable anyway.

Now, I'll have some rest before my meeting with Alice Layttel =)

I am a little afraid of her, to be honest. What I have seen of Alice and her journey so far is quite eerie, but I am sure that it's a very powerful and intriguing story to tell.


----------



## A. E. Lowan

Finished _Faerie Rising _today!!!  I'm a bit stunned. O.O


----------



## Chessie

This is the only place I can post this sort of stuff in...no one else besides my husband cares LOL!

My historical romance Kiss Me Again is holding strong rank in its category. Right now, it's in the 500s, which is good for ME considering I've only done a couple of promotions. Basically this means I'm selling a combination of 1-2 actual sales + KENP page reads daily of organic discovery. Before Valentine's Day, it held strong at 169....69 points away from the Best Seller's list in the 20th century category! Agh! *breathe* Exciting, no?


----------



## Malik

_Dragon's Trail _hit #18 yesterday on the Amazon Best Seller list for Fantasy > Military. 

Edit: Here's how it happened, from what I can figure. 

A whole bunch of things went right on Monday, including a wonderful review on GoodReads that I can only figure got posted to the reader's group or social media, because it kicked off a huge sales run after a six-month slow burn. I had no other promos going. 

At some point Monday night, Amazon moved _Dragon's Trail _from Fantasy > Epic to the much smaller Fantasy > Military (which makes me think that the reviewer socialized it to a fresh readership whose also-boughts are in that subgenre), where it spent most of the day on the first page. It's still running on the second page this morning.

The first few pages of this subgenre are dominated by three writers, so the readers might be viewing me as new blood into a niche market. On the other hand, it's a very small market, with only 900 titles, and I've been trying to get listed in it for months, now, tweaking keywords and even contacting Amazon directly. It has been a slog.

But I literally woke up yesterday as a best-selling author. Anyone who tells you it doesn't happen overnight is full of shit. It does happen overnight. It just takes a few years.


----------



## skip.knox

> It does happen overnight. It just takes a few years.


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

I might be able to publish my first book [The Mythaven Unity] very, very soon. The only thing holding me back is myself.


----------



## Ban

That's great news Malik!

 On a much more minor note, I finally wrote an actual paragraph for my book. Given a few years I can hopefully have an "overnight" success as well.


----------



## Russ

Nice work Malik.  Amazon is a funky place but it is always good to see success.

Now that you are dragging in those super loyal fans, you should be putting out more works to keep them hooked.

At the moment I am finding tracking Amazon sales rankings rather addictive.


----------



## Chessie

@Malik: congratulations that's super awesome! And you know what? It kind of makes me giggle a bit too since I recall the discussion elsewhere (place going nameless ahem) about how your book wasn't going to "make it" because you only had the one. So, bullshit, and high five, and keep stoking those emails baby by the way scoot over because I'm coming into the epic fantasy category this summer mw hahaha!  

J.K. I do not write epic fantasy lol!


_At the moment I am finding tracking Amazon sales rankings rather addictive. _
^Once you get the hang of it, a whole new world opens.



skip.knox said:


> > It does happen overnight. It just takes a few years.


Yeah, just overnight for years and years trying to figure out how to properly write a book people will pay money for. Years of research into the book selling market: what the heck do I have to write in order to get people to pay me for my work? Then there's the publishing process. There certainly are no shortcuts.


----------



## Malik

Chessie said:


> It kind of makes me giggle a bit too since I recall the discussion elsewhere (place going nameless ahem) about how your book wasn't going to "make it" because you only had the one.



To be fair, they're doing it differently. And I have five more; they're just not fully written, yet.

Continued in Marketing so as not to derail this.


----------



## Chessie

I got my first 5 star review on Amazon. Um...it was the sweetest most beautiful review ever in the whole world and I'm so grateful to this sweet reader. I mean, she GOT IT...the book...got it like 100%. She's the kind of reader I'm looking for far as those historical romance books go. And...she put the rest of my books in her Goodreads library and also signed up for my newsletter. Win win!

*punches the air*


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

^Hooray for you!


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

Chessie said:


> I got my first 5 star review on Amazon. Um...it was the sweetest most beautiful review ever in the whole world and I'm so grateful to this sweet reader. I mean, she GOT IT...the book...got it like 100%. She's the kind of reader I'm looking for far as those historical romance books go. And...she put the rest of my books in her Goodreads library and also signed up for my newsletter. Win win!
> 
> *punches the air*



Must feel amazing


----------



## Chessie

DragonOfTheAerie said:


> Must feel amazing



It's just nice knowing a real person received benefit from the story. I like to think of it as providing a service.


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

I made it through today! Also I finished reading a book last night, and it was a good book, and I got my exercise even though I didn't feel like it. Also I have the best dog ever. My dog is the bestest.


----------



## skip.knox

DragonOfTheAerie said:


> I made it through today! Also I finished reading a book last night, and it was a good book, and I got my exercise even though I didn't feel like it. Also I have the best dog ever. My dog is the bestest.



Next to mine, of course. 

Srsly, good job getting through.


----------



## Malik

So, I just got back from Norwescon, where I spent four days as a panelist and moderator on the military and writing tracks. I booked an autograph session for _Dragon's Trail,_ because why not? I had a hole in my panel schedule, and hey, what could happen? 

I fully expected to spend the session sitting by myself surrounded by stacks of my books. Worst case, it was a chance to decompress.

The con started on Thursday; my signing session was on Saturday afternoon. And when I got there on Saturday, this happened:







That's me, in the blazer and tie (don't judge me), arriving for my signing session. And that's a line of people waiting in front of my empty chair, clutching hardcopies of _Dragon's Trail._ Between Thursday afternoon and Saturday afternoon, University Bookstore had sold out of every copy I'd brought, and ended up taking orders for more, which my imprint, Oxblood Books, now gets to figure out how to fulfill. (Recommendations on a printer that drop-ships, anyone?) 

As of the close of business today (Sunday), I was told that, best the store could figure, I outsold every local author they carried, even the ones with major house contracts. University Bookstore now wants to stock _Dragon's Trail_, and the manager running their booth asked if I'd be interested in future author appearances.

A whole bunch of writers on another board that shall remain nameless apparently forgot to tell my fans that self-publishing a decades-encompassing "masterpiece" work that got passed over multiple times -- and then only writing one book per year -- is stupid because no one will ever buy it.

They also forgot to tell the University Bookstore that it's idiotic for an indie author to buy his own ISBNs and start his own imprint just in case. I am really, really, glad I had at least a skeleton of a plan in place. There's a lot to be said for showing up with your paperwork ready just in case something goes startlingly right. 

TL;DR: I had a hell of a weekend.


----------



## skip.knox

Congratufrakulations!


----------



## ThinkerX

> whole bunch of writers on another board that shall remain nameless apparently forgot to tell my fans that self-publishing a decades-encompassing "masterpiece" work that got passed over multiple times -- and then only writing one book per year -- is stupid because no one will ever buy it.



Congrats!

We have, or rather had, another member here, now a successful author, who adopted a similar strategy: one novel a year, plus a few short stories, all set in the same world - a sort of role-playing game gone real, with a lot of crude humor thrown in.  As I recollect, he does much of his promotion on social media.


----------



## Malik

ThinkerX said:


> Congrats!
> 
> We have, or rather had, another member here, now a successful author, who adopted a similar strategy: one novel a year, plus a few short stories, all set in the same world - a sort of role-playing game gone real, with a lot of crude humor thrown in.  As I recollect, he does much of his promotion on social media.



Thanks. There was a noticeable shift this year in the attitudes of the attending professional writers toward the indie authors. They seemed really receptive and supportive, which was a one-eighty from my experiences in previous years. It might have helped that I got some people's attention with that line of fans at my signing session. Other authors were stopping me in the hallways to shake my hand and introduce themselves after that. One author who shall remain nameless, but whose work I enjoy, said he has a labor of love manuscript that his agent won't touch, and he wants to Skype and pick my brain about self-publishing. I was floored.


----------



## Russ

Malik said:


> Thanks. There was a noticeable shift this year in the attitudes of the attending professional writers toward the indie authors. They seemed really receptive and supportive, which was a one-eighty from my experiences in previous years. It might have helped that I got some people's attention with that line of fans at my signing session. Other authors were stopping me in the hallways to shake my hand and introduce themselves after that. One author who shall remain nameless, but whose work I enjoy, said he has a labor of love manuscript that his agent won't touch, and he wants to Skype and pick my brain about self-publishing. I was floored.



Great stuff.  Very pleased for your success.  There is nothing more fun than a successful book signing.

I totally agree that the indy v traditional silliness is settling down with far less hostility and condescension in the past.  My wife runs a high end writer's conference every year and they are including more and more indy writers and programming all the time.

I really have to read your book now.


----------



## Malik

HOLY ASS, _DRAGON'S TRAIL_ JUST GOT A BOOKBUB. I came back from the gym and found the email waiting for me. May 6th, worldwide outside the US, so UK, Australia, India, Canada. And that's fine. I'll take it. 

I may have to go back to the gym.


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

I'm planning on publishing my first book by the end of this month, no later. Go me!


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

Meanwhile, Dragon has made it through the past week. 

Sometimes, just that is something to be proud of.


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> I'm planning on publishing my first book by the end of this month, no later. Go me!



Yes! Go you!


----------



## skip.knox

Malik said:


> HOLY ASS, _DRAGON'S TRAIL_ JUST GOT A BOOKBUB. I came back from the gym and found the email waiting for me. May 6th, worldwide outside the US, so UK, Australia, India, Canada. And that's fine. I'll take it.
> 
> I may have to go back to the gym.



Nothing but blue skies ahead!


----------



## Chessie

I swear I'm not stalking you, Malik. But it's super cool to see how well you've done--this business is TOUGH. And my mind just keeps going back to how poorly you were treated by our fellow authors about the 1 book a year thing. I don't believe in luck, just hard work, and you've definitely done that. I like seeing my fellow fantasy authors succeed, too. So congratulations a second time. Rubbing it in people's face ain't cool, right? But shit, they were wrong. LOL


----------



## Russ

Malik said:


> HOLY ASS, _DRAGON'S TRAIL_ JUST GOT A BOOKBUB. I came back from the gym and found the email waiting for me. May 6th, worldwide outside the US, so UK, Australia, India, Canada. And that's fine. I'll take it.
> 
> I may have to go back to the gym.



I look forward to seeing it in my in box!


----------



## Malik

Chessie said:


> I swear I'm not stalking you, Malik. But it's super cool to see how well you've done--this business is TOUGH. And my mind just keeps going back to how poorly you were treated by our fellow authors about the 1 book a year thing. I don't believe in luck, just hard work, and you've definitely done that. I like seeing my fellow fantasy authors succeed, too. So congratulations a second time. Rubbing it in people's face ain't cool, right? But shit, they were wrong. LOL



I said it back then: "I could be wrong about this, but I'm not."


----------



## Chessie

It just goes to show there are many ways to do this writing thing. And since this is shameless self-appreciation thread, lol, one of my books made it into the top 100 of the free list on Amazon last week (made it to 89). Nothing really to brag home about, but without promotion, I thought that was pretty cool.


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

^That seems pretty awesome to me! Any accomplishment, no matter how small, is always worthwhile and good to celebrate.


----------



## Michael K. Eidson

Chessie said:


> It just goes to show there are many ways to do this writing thing. And since this is shameless self-appreciation thread, lol, one of my books made it into the top 100 of the free list on Amazon last week (made it to 89). Nothing really to brag home about, but without promotion, I thought that was pretty cool.



That is nothing short of amazing, in my book, especially since it happened without promotion from you. There are obviously other people out there spending their time promoting you, such as by word-of-mouth or reviews or tweets or maybe even advertising (that you don't have to pay for!), and that's a sign someone other than yourself loves what you're doing. Doesn't get any better than that.


----------



## Chessie

Thanks! I guess I had never thought about it that way. The book is a western bride romance, which has a hungry audience, too.


----------



## Malik

As I type this, DRAGON'S TRAIL is:

#3 in Epic Fantasy in the U.K.

#1 in Fantasy (overall) in Canada.

#6 in Fantasy (overall) in Australia.

I can check "Become an international bestselling author" off of my bucket list.


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

Malik said:


> As I type this, DRAGON'S TRAIL is:
> 
> #3 in Epic Fantasy in the U.K.
> 
> #1 in Fantasy (overall) in Canada.
> 
> #6 in Fantasy (overall) in Australia.
> 
> I can check "Become an international bestselling author" off of my bucket list.



That's so cool! Congratulations! The feeling of achievement must be glorious.


----------



## Malik

It is pretty goddamn cool, yes. It's a pizza and champagne night, my wife and I are sitting here on our laptops drinking and checking my rankings, clinking our glasses whenever it goes up a notch. It's now up to #2 in Fantasy in Australia, and well under the Top 100 Paid overall in both Canada and Australia. This night just keeps getting better.


----------



## Rkcapps

Well done! I'm in Australia so will check it out after I finish my current book. See if we can change that 2 to 1!


----------



## Russ

Nice work.  That $35 used paperback must be one heck of a collector's item.


----------



## MAndreas

I hit #1 in free ebooks for Fantasy, and #2 for all free ebooks on Amazon today! Gotta love Book Bub!!


----------



## Svrtnsse

I wrote a poem and read it in front of an audience. It's the first time I've done something like that, and it went really well. I'm very happy I did it, and I'd do it again. Also, here's the poem: Me, On A Stage ? s v r t n s s e


----------



## Svrtnsse

After a poetry event I went to, someone looked me up online and asked about purchasing a copy of my book of Valentine's Day cards. 

They say plagiarism is the highest form of flattery, but this has got to be up there too. 

EDIT: This one: Read Me ? Burn With Me ? s v r t n s s e


----------



## Chessie2

Started turning my western brides series into audiobooks! Let me tell you, it's a bit strange hearing someone narrating in minutes what you spent weeks writing. It's super cool anyway.


----------



## Svrtnsse

Chessie2 said:


> Started turning my western brides series into audiobooks! Let me tell you, it's a bit strange hearing someone narrating in minutes what you spent weeks writing. It's super cool anyway.


That's really cool. I bet it's a really weird feeling hearing someone else read your stuff out loud.

How are you doing it? Is there a service provider for that kind of thing, or are you using some kind of text-to speech software (are they even good enough for that yet?). Maybe a good idea for another thread?


----------



## Chessie2

I'm going through ACX and doing the royalty share. All you do is claim your books and put out auditions by posting an excerpt from the story. It's pretty cake.


----------



## Russ

Chessie2 said:


> I'm going through ACX and doing the royalty share. All you do is claim your books and put out auditions by posting an excerpt from the story. It's pretty cake.



That site has a very good rep and many cool auctions.  Some excellent experienced people there, some of whom have top notch equipment.

Audible bought my wife's book and it is really weird listening to someone read it aloud, but fun.  They didn't get the characters names pronunciation perfect this time...but they will next time.


----------



## A. E. Lowan

I, who writes at speed of slug, have put out a chapter a day for the past 4 days! Feeling smexy right now.


----------



## A. E. Lowan

Wrote 2 chapters of _Ties of Blood and Bone_ in one day yesterday. One more chapter and Act II is in the bag. Counting down the days to our May release! O.O


----------



## Malik

100 reviews on Dragon's Trail at Amazon.


----------



## A. E. Lowan

Uber smexy!


----------



## Rkcapps

That's awesome, Malik!!! Huge congrats, I know those reviews are hard to get.


----------



## T.Allen.Smith

Always good to hear of success!


----------



## xkara

I've been reading a lot more, which means I'm building my attention span for it again. Yay!

I've also done little bits of brainstorming and character generation. While not a lot, it's more than I've been able to do on command for a while. Yay!


----------



## Malik

It lives. Line edits and initial proofread complete, _The New Magic_ went out to beta readers tonight. 

It will be done--really and truly done--in a few weeks, and then the real work begins.


----------



## Tom

I received a letter of acceptance today for the Graphic Design BFA program I applied to! The institution I'm at now has been good to me for the last two years, but I'm overjoyed to be moving on to a more challenging course of study at my top choice school. Finally the weeks of anticipation and nerves are over...


----------



## Malik

I'm scheduled to appear on a worldbuilding panel moderated by Brandon Sanderson.

I checked. It's the same Brandon Sanderson.


----------



## Chessie2

Coming from a place of deep gratitude on this one: my ebook royalties have saved our butts this month. Woot! What an encouragement to keep writing!


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

I have over $33,000 per year in scholarships at my dream college.


----------



## Svrtnsse

I did my first interview as a writer: #IrishIndependentAuthorsCollective: #IIAC Author Interview with Nils Odlund @svrtnsse for #IrishIndieAuthors
It's through the Irish Independent Author Collective and part of a weekly series of interveiws with Irish indie authors.


----------



## Chessie2

Svrtnsse said:


> I did my first interview as a writer: #IrishIndependentAuthorsCollective: #IIAC Author Interview with Nils Odlund @svrtnsse for #IrishIndieAuthors
> It's through the Irish Independent Author Collective and part of a weekly series of interveiws with Irish indie authors.


Awesome. Loved it.


----------



## Svrtnsse

The barista at one of the coffee shops I write at asked if he could use one of the promotional quotes for Lost Dogs for a tattoo. I'm both flattered and scared. I told him I'd be honoured, but that he ought to read the book first.
The promo quote is this one:





I'm not holding my breath for him to do it, but it's still cool that he even asked.


----------



## kennyc

I finally got two new collections of poetry together - one traditional, one prose poetry/microfiction.
This had been on my goals list for two years now. Yeah for me!

Keep up the good work everyone!


----------



## Rhizanthella

I finished my fifth draft of my debut novel a few months back and just recently finished making my list for agents. 9 years ago, I finished the first draft of this book and my friend mentioned an agent to me. A freshman in high school, I had no real idea what that meant. Now, after accidentally falling in love with writing, completing the first draft of the whole series, and editing and revising the first book until everyone started screaming at me to publish, I'm here. I'm actually about to seriously talk to agents about starting my career for real. You can imagine my nerves right now. 

I'm smiling back at my fourteen year old self who had no idea what she was doing, and looking forward with only a little less of one. XD Wish me luck!


----------



## Demesnedenoir

I'm not really high-fiving me, I'm high-fiving _Eve of Snows_, heh heh. Since the book has no hands, I had to do it.

My initial goal while watching KDP was to see days of 500 page reads... basically making it a book's worth of pages per day. The first 10 days of the release were full of wild swings with the best day 1011, and down as low as 64 and 111 on the 4th of July. But on the 5th it went into the 500's, 6-8 went to 8 & 900's, broke 1200 on the 9th, broke 1k again yesterdayt, and already this morning over 400... So, Eve should see a week straight of 500+ page read days.

Worthy of a little "woot!"


----------



## Rhizanthella

That is so exciting, Demesnedenoir! Congratulations! Woo!


----------



## Malik

_Dragon's Trail_ has officially crossed 10,000 sales.

30 Day Cliff, My Ass: Reflections on 10,000 Sales | Joseph Malik


----------



## pmmg

Malik, you are always very informative.


----------



## Svrtnsse

Malik said:


> _ragon's Trail_ has officially crossed 10,000 sales.


Gratz!


----------



## A. E. Lowan

Wow! Congratulations! That's awesome.


----------



## Chessie2

Way to go, Malik! I hope the second book does phenomenal as well.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Congrats on the big 10k!

I never heard it couldn't be done, but it is still a feat. 

And yeah, I have to agree with most of what you've said, although I am many moons behind you in release. 

I think the 30 and 60 day cliffs are created by the books and promotion strategies, or lack thereof, not the algorithm per se. Sales are sales, and Amazon reacts to them the same no matter what, far as I can tell. I've seen nothing in particular happen at 30 & 60. Just passed 60, will hit 500 sales in the next week or so and be well over 100k page reads by the end of September/90 days. Page reads trends up, sales just clip along with spikes during promotions. Nothing different to my eye.

There are a lot of myths and half-truths out there when the data necessary to really understand what's going on is hidden behind proprietary walls, LOL.



Malik said:


> _Dragon's Trail_ has officially crossed 10,000 sales.
> 
> 30 Day Cliff, My Ass: Reflections on 10,000 Sales | Joseph Malik


----------



## Demesnedenoir

I also have to say, to agree with something more specifically... with the caveat that things will be different for different books and genres...

But I experimented with a "sale" at $2.99 and! I can sell just as many copies at $5.99, most of the time, and at worst, sell enough at $5.99 to cover the difference in quantity sold due to profit per sale. Hell, some days sold more at $5.99. But sales are, for the most part, comparable. Now, this is a 500 page epic, which is part of the caveat, LOL. People willing to spend $2.99 seem mostly as willing to spend $5.99. 2.99 might even make some people anticipate junk. I know I'm that way. Now, $16.99? My apologies to writers and publishers everywhere, but there are about 3 writers in the world I will spend $16.99 on for a digital copy of a book, LOL. It's been a while since I got to pick on Sanderson, SO! kiss off to $16.99 for a digital book. Nope, ain't gonna happen. 

A 0.99 sale on a countdown deal is another story all together. That price point is a bit more magical.





Malik said:


> _Dragon's Trail_ has officially crossed 10,000 sales.
> 
> 30 Day Cliff, My Ass: Reflections on 10,000 Sales | Joseph Malik


----------



## Rkcapps

That's super, Malik! Congrats!


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Funny thing about milestones, you hit 'em, cruise on by and start looking at the next... Eve of Snows hit 500 digital and paperback sales a couple days ago, staring at 100k page reads now, LOL. And over 1k page reads per day average overall, which feels good considering the slow start at launch.


----------



## Writeking

Turned my book idea into a screenplay, almost done with the first draft of the screenplay. Yay.


----------



## Writeking

Finished the first draft of my screenplay at 143 pages. Progress, Yay.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

One day short of 3 months, and 100k page reads on KU for _Eve of Snows_. Not huge! But it feels like something. Now to get that to 100k per month, heh heh.

Next step... Bookbub.


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

Submitted every good poem I have to contests and magazines. (About 18 poems in total.) Now we wait.


----------



## kennyc

DragonOfTheAerie said:


> Submitted every good poem I have to contests and magazines. (About 18 poems in total.) Now we wait.



Good for you. I'm about to go on a submission spree myself.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

#1 in Canada, Nordic Myth and Legends! Total chance I even saw that, I don't have much in the way of ads in Canada nor a sale going... but totally cool. #31 in Epic Fantasy.


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

Obtained first rejection (by a magazine.)


----------



## skip.knox

Hooray, DotA!  Rejections are part of the writing life. It was a rejection letter from Galaxy Magazine back in the 1970s that finally inspired me to get serious about writing. I had kept it all these years, and about ten or fifteen years ago, my wife found it and simply put it on my desk one day. A switch flipped and that was that.

One thing I know: you just never know.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Congrats! I recall my first rejection back in High School. I was pissed/hurt, then since I hadn’t read it for a while, went back for a perusal: Yup! They were right. Then it was screenplays, where I got some of the nicest rejections! LOL.I’d almost rather hear “you suck” instead of heaping praise on the work before saying, “BUT, it’s not for us.”

Rejections and bad reviews make for good conversation after success: ask Brandon Sanderson, and many others. LOL.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

How to start a morning right for Eve of Snows.

It took over 3 months for the first review in Australia, but it was worth the wait and from a Top 500 Reviewer:

"Wow this book was amazingly written. Once I started I couldn’t put it down till I was finished. This book has twists and turns you don’t know what’s happening. will they all get there happily ever after or will it all go wrong. To find out what happens go buy the book. You won’t be disappointed I wasn’t."

And then back in the US, EOS got another 4 star review, but it was one of those 4 star reviews that sounds more like a 5.

It was a back-patting kind of morning, LOL.


----------



## Tom

Got my acceptance letter for my (latest) first choice school today! It's a good, solid university in my home city, with a graphic design department known for its commitment to innovation and involvement in the local arts scene. I don't know why I didn't make them my very first choice instead of the nightmare school I'm currently at. Oh well....live and learn, I guess. In a few short months this craziness will all be put to rest, and I'll be able to look back on my disastrous one semester here and laugh. Hopefully.


----------



## Chessie2

Tom, that's awesome! I hope you are much happier in your new school! Live and learn, yes, sometimes painful but at least you come out the wiser. 

I'm proud to post that I received my very first one star review for sexual content on one of my books. Hell yeah. I have arrived.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Damn girl, I’m proud of you!

When you get 1 star for lack of sexual content on the same book, then you’ve got the cherry on top!



Chessie2 said:


> Tom, that's awesome! I hope you are much happier in your new school! Live and learn, yes, sometimes painful but at least you come out the wiser.
> 
> I'm proud to post that I received my very first one star review for sexual content on one of my books. Hell yeah. I have arrived.


----------



## Chessie2

The funny part is that scene is literally 2 paragraphs long. She might have passed out reading my other books that go on for pages, lol.


----------



## Tom

Chessie2 said:


> Tom, that's awesome! I hope you are much happier in your new school! Live and learn, yes, sometimes painful but at least you come out the wiser.
> 
> I'm proud to post that I received my very first one star review for sexual content on one of my books. Hell yeah. I have arrived.



Thanks, Chess! I really hope so too. Ultimately, I think my...eclectic...college education will end up helping me in life. I feel it's forced me to become a more adaptive, hardworking person than I would have if I'd stayed at one insitution for four years. I've definitely learned to land on my feet, and to make the most of a bad situation while refusing to resign myself to "just sticking it out". Being proactive is an important skill to learn early.  

Congrats on that one star! Print it out and frame it. Treasure it. You truly have arrived.


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

Second rejection! 

This was actually yesterday but whatever I kinda forgot about it. 

Wait, shit, I forgot, this is actually my third 

Whatever I am submitting stuff


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

Chessie2 said:


> Tom, that's awesome! I hope you are much happier in your new school! Live and learn, yes, sometimes painful but at least you come out the wiser.
> 
> I'm proud to post that I received my very first one star review for sexual content on one of my books. Hell yeah. I have arrived.



Omg thats great


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Last Thursday, Eve of Snows kicked to #1 in the Norse Fantasy categry in Australia, and it’s mostly been there since. It’s bounced between 1 & 2, but stuck at #1 all through Sunday down under. Amazon is opaque, but it’s obvious that Amazon did a promo after I kicked some ad money in. It was a FB ad for $2.50 per day which I started after getting the first native Aussie review, and it was a beautiful review from a top 500. Once hitting #1 I dropped more dollars, averaging about $15/day, which not only has taken profit but held the #1 slot.

As a starting point, when I dropped the first ad money in, EoS was sitting at 180k overall, it topped out at 500 and is now slotted fairly stready for a few days in 1000-1500 overall. 

How much credit can 1 review get? Sure, EoS has way more reviews overall than when previosly advertised in Australia, but it really is the only major difference I’m aware of.


----------



## Malik

I just got my statements from the launch of _The New Magic. _I'm buying a new laptop this weekend and paying it back entirely with book proceeds on the first. Just, wow.


----------



## skip.knox

Congrats! You'll soon be throwing down fifty-dollar bills as tips!


----------



## Malik

FWIW, this is the first time in my life I've ever bought a new computer for writing. I've always made do with a <$500 cheapie rocking last-gen technology.

I went with the new Zenbook 14. No stately, universe-crushing graphics card; no detachable screen; just a slim little workhorse with a big SSD, a shitload of RAM, and a military-grade ultralight chassis, all of which I hope will last me another 5-6 years. It arrives on Saturday.

I think that using proceeds to purchase things that you'll use or see, especially things you'll use or see when writing--knickknacks for your desk, a new keyboard, whatever--is tremendously motivating. You sit down to write, and realize that this thing, this little R2D2 action figure or whatever, is the first thing I bought with my first $3.42 royalty check (I do not recommend blowing all your money on stuff; this is a business, after all. But treat yourself, for God's sake. You've earned it. And mementos go a long way.)

I have had a great couple of years, as some of you know. I've been able to build an office in my garage with my receipts. Even so, the principle is the same: I sit down in here and look around and realize that even the paint on the walls is there because someone, somewhere, bought my book. It helps get the words on the page for the next one, because you remember how hard the last book was, and now that effort has become this thing.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

A not so serious self-appreciation... In salute to Organic Also Boughts!

Meliu, Book 1.5 of Sundering the Gods has Brandon Sanderson’s Oathbringer as an aso bought... This might not seem a huge deal, but compared to how BAD I screwed up Eve of Snows’ also boughts, it’s just flat out cool, LOL.


----------



## skip.knox

I'm so tired of success stories. Do tell us how you screwed up!  <grin>

Srsly, I only barely understand Also Boughts--other than that they appear on the page--so I'm interested to know how the author himself can affect what appears there, positively or negatively.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Screwing them up is much easier than anything else, LOL. Giveaways are the #1 screwer of the also bought, my Goodreads giveaway created a pile of “awful boughts” and “ugh boughts”, and I’ve mostly gotten rid of the awful boughts over time via targeted advertising. A $0.99 Countdown Deal or other 0.99 is liable to also ad a couple oddballs in your list, but those are easier to get rid of than the storm of a goodreads giveaway.

Now, here is the problem, for those not in the know: Amazon uses your also boughts as a guide for their email promotions, so if your book is lumped in with a bunch of nonfiction in their ads, you can imagine that it puts a dent in your sales. But, this can also happen by a nonfiction book having bad also boughts... I’ve received emails with a single nonfiction in the middle of an otherwise fantasy promo... AND if that one book has a cross-appeal, and therefore gets sales along with the fantasies, it can then show up in the fantasy book’s also boughts, and create a marketing link you don’t want. So, Awful Boughts can be A) Self perpetuating via Amazon promos and/or B) kill your sales and convince Amazon to stop running your book in promos.

The most obvious way to positively effect your also boughts is to use AMS ads where you target authors and their books... BUT, AMS ads pretty much suck pond water. You could get a bit more likely to draw also-boughts to another author using bookbub ads, but you could probably achieve a very similar targeting system via FB ads and pay less per click. With FB, you can also target some book series, like LoTR & ASoIaF, and others, I’m sure. So, now that Meliu has that one Also Bought, I might be able to go to a FB ad and target Stormlight Archive... if Sanderson fans hit the click and take the time to notice Brandon in the also boughts... you could begin to reinforce that also bought.

Now, this also bought is relatively organic. I target Sanderson fans on a regular basis with ads and do well with clicks, but who knows how many buy. This is the first hard evidence of that sort of direct line connection.

Another contributor here COULD BE that I ran a Sanderson giveaway on Amazon, and those people had to click on “Follow L. James Rice” in order to enter, and then of course, they would get an email from Amazon when I have new releases... So, doing giveaways targeting specific authors could also be a benefit.

ADDENDUM: Being KU will also, almost undoubtedly, diversify your also boughts... see all the sci-fi, thriller, and mystery books in Eve of Snows’ also boughts. KU readers download things all the danged time, and many I know read just about anything because hell, they’re free after your monthly fee! This is true with cash purchases, also, but I’ve no doubt from the list that targeted ads draw in more genre appropriate also boughts. Though I don’t really mind the thriller, sci-fi, and mystery books for the most part. 



skip.knox said:


> I'm so tired of success stories. Do tell us how you screwed up!  <grin>
> 
> Srsly, I only barely understand Also Boughts--other than that they appear on the page--so I'm interested to know how the author himself can affect what appears there, positively or negatively.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Now for a little one that took bloody forever! The number kept going up and down and up and down as people finished the book...

100 people “currently reading” Eve of Snows on Goodreads. It feels like such a small, and yet large number, at the same time. LOL.


----------



## Malik

Big week.

We reached an agreement on audio rights for _Dragon's Trail_ and _The New Magic_. We're extremely happy with the deal and we should have the contract shortly. Press release and official announcement forthcoming.

_The New Magic _is  in the top 25 on the GoodReads recommended list for the 2019 Hugo Award. (I once read something that sums up my actual chances, and it was along the lines of "roughly the same as playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded revolver and surviving because the gun jams on a winning lottery ticket that falls out of the sky," but for God's sake, please go vote anyway.)

I'll be moderating a panel on "Pacific Northwest Indie Author Success Stories" at Emerald City Comic Con in March.

There's probably more but a lot's going on right now.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Another odd little note as I glance at also boughts... The audiobook of Eve of Snows has picked up two Robert Jordan books in the also boughts. This, and having a Sanderson book for a while in also boughts, demonstrates that marketing targets can work. Yes, I target the “bigs” who readers compare the EoS to rather than the oft recommended targeting other indie authors.


----------



## Chessie2

Malik said:


> Big week.
> 
> We reached an agreement on audio rights for _Dragon's Trail_ and _The New Magic_. We're extremely happy with the deal and we should have the contract shortly. Press release and official announcement forthcoming.
> 
> _The New Magic _is  in the top 25 on the GoodReads recommended list for the 2019 Hugo Award. (I once read something that sums up my actual chances, and it was along the lines of "roughly the same as playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded revolver and surviving because the gun jams on a winning lottery ticket that falls out of the sky," but for God's sake, please go vote anyway.)
> 
> I'll be moderating a panel on "Pacific Northwest Indie Author Success Stories" at Emerald City Comic Con in March.
> 
> There's probably more but a lot's going on right now.


Hm. Now that we live in the foothills with Seattle only a few hours away this might be doable. The tickets seem very reasonable! What day is your talk?


----------



## Demesnedenoir

International BookBub confirmed and ready for take-off! Woohoo! February 6th, damn straight. Next up, get the Bookbub in the States. Dream a little dream.

NOTE: That’s the first try after dropping Amazon KU. 

Shameless, totally shameless.


----------



## Malik

Chessie2 said:


> Hm. Now that we live in the foothills with Seattle only a few hours away this might be doable. The tickets seem very reasonable! What day is your talk?


My talk is on Thursday evening, March 14th.
"Indie SFF Success Stories" 
Room TCC L3-R3, 5:15-6:15 PM


----------



## Svrtnsse

I got the omnibus edition of Lost Dogs in the mail today. 






Sure, the print quality doesn't stand up to close scrutiny, but it looks good at arms length.


----------



## Black Dragon

Svrtnsse said:


> I got the omnibus edition of Lost Dogs in the mail today.



Wow, that looks terrific!  Excuse me if you mentioned this previously, but who handled the cover design?


----------



## Svrtnsse

Black Dragon said:


> Wow, that looks terrific!  Excuse me if you mentioned this previously, but who handled the cover design?


I did the cover myself, but I should point out I got some help with the initial layout from Devor


----------



## Black Dragon

Svrtnsse said:


> I did the cover myself, but I should point out I got some help with the initial layout from Devor



It looks very professional.  What software did you use to create it?  And did you use an initial template of some kind to help with the layout?


----------



## Svrtnsse

Black Dragon said:


> It looks very professional.  What software did you use to create it?  And did you use an initial template of some kind to help with the layout?


Thanks.
It's all done in GIMP apart from the conversion to PDF.
I didn't use a template, but I did look at a lot of other covers for books in related genres (paranormal, Urban fantasy, etc), and then I tried to make something that fit with that, but without looking too much like your average shifter action.


----------



## skip.knox

I agree that the cover is most excellent. What was wrong with the print quality?


----------



## Svrtnsse

skip.knox said:


> I agree that the cover is most excellent. What was wrong with the print quality?


A lot of the darker shades come off as a bit faded and grainy when looking closer at them. I think that's a bit of "creator's criticism" though, and if you don't look for it, you probably won't notice.

EDIT: Also, Thanks


----------



## skip.knox

Ah. You mean the quality of the type on the cover. I thought you were referring to the interior text.

GIMP is awesome, ain't it?


----------



## Svrtnsse

skip.knox said:


> Ah. You mean the quality of the type on the cover. I thought you were referring to the interior text.
> 
> GIMP is awesome, ain't it?


Aye, indeed. 

The interior looks great. I had to go down to 9pt type (from 10) or the book would have been too long to print, but it still looks great. Even the shoddy little map I drew came out nice.


----------



## DragonOfTheAerie

Today I found out I got a scholarship that means I will be able to attend my dream college. 

I’m on top of the world.


----------



## kennyc

DragonOfTheAerie said:


> Today I found out I got a scholarship that means I will be able to attend my dream college.
> 
> I’m on top of the world.


Woohoo!!! Congratulations! And that college is?


----------



## Demesnedenoir

*US Bookbub* for _Eve of Snows!_ Doing a jig. Had the international a few months back, and just skipped a month or two of applying while getting Book Two ready, and last Friday I figured “what the hell” I’ll try for a US Bookbub. Yesterday I thought... “Huh, they’re taking a long time to send me a rejection email.” Today the email popped up as accepted. Woot! And this time they’ve given me plenty of time to prepare! The International promo was on top of me so damned fast I had little time to coordinate promos.

June 15th... the Ides of June... uh-oh!


----------



## Chessie2

I got a raving five star review on one of my books last night stating that it should be turned into a movie and that she went to sleep with her Kindle each night because she couldn't put the story down. How freaking awesome! THAT is why I write, to share hope and beauty with people. It was one of two five stars I've received this week (the other was for one of my westerns and it was very sweet). After going so long without reviews I am grateful for these two readers. <3


----------



## Svrtnsse

Sweet! That's gotta be a lovely feeling.


----------



## Chessie2

Definitely. I need to go back and read those reviews when I feel down about my writing.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Small world moment...

So my brother-in-law calls today to tell me that he was at a store/restaurant establishment talking to the owner he knows, when a local lawyer and his wife show up and somehow start talking about books and reading... turns out this woman is a huge fantasy fan who’s reading my book, Eve of Snows, and loving it without any idea of it’s a local writer or anything. A friend of hers recommended it and she has zero connection to me... and yet, now she does. A book.

It’s one thing to know there are several thousand copies out there in the wild around the world, but to have one of those random readers run into a relative, the whole thing is still a little surreal.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Opens up Goodreads author page...

Total Books added: 999.

Falls asleep much later staring at the number, waiting for it to turn.

If only it was a skill in a video I could get that to flip! heh heh.


----------



## Writeking

I'm almost finished with Act 1 of the 1st draft of my second screenplay. I'm glad I decided to turn my book series into screenplays instead.


----------



## Ned Marcus

Chessie2 said:


> Definitely. I need to go back and read those reviews when I feel down about my writing.


Sometimes I do this. It's a good way to motivate yourself.


----------



## Malik

_The New Magic_ got a pretty kickass review in the *Booklife Prize*. It didn't make the semis, but I don't really care. It scored nearly a full point higher than _Dragon's Trail, _including racking up an 8/10 for prose. Being that _Dragon's Trail _only got a 6.5 overall and it went on to conquer the world, I'm pretty psyched right now.

Best of all, there's now an argument to be made--at least to myself--that I'm getting objectively better. It has definitely lit a fire under my ass to get Book III out the door. I'm working to get it done, completely done, by early 2020 and out in January 2021. Maybe sooner, depending on my editor's timelines and availability.

Anytime you want to sympathize with indie authors who go through the trade-pub wringer, or if you just get a crappy review and want to see how scathing the big guys can be, go back and read BookLife reviews. They're written by _Publishers Weekly_ reviewers turned loose on the indie authors who have the stones to send their stuff up for mainstream critique.


----------



## A. E. Lowan

Malik said:


> _The New Magic_ got a pretty kickass review in the *Booklife Prize*. It didn't make the semis, but I don't really care. It scored nearly a full point higher than _Dragon's Trail, _including racking up an 8/10 for prose. Being that _Dragon's Trail _only got a 6.5 overall and it went on to conquer the world, I'm pretty psyched right now.
> 
> Best of all, there's now an argument to be made--at least to myself--that I'm getting objectively better. It has definitely lit a fire under my ass to get Book III out the door. I'm working to get it done, completely done, by early 2020 and out in January 2021. Maybe sooner, depending on my editor's timelines and availability.
> 
> Anytime you want to sympathize with indie authors who go through the trade-pub wringer, or if you just get a crappy review and want to see how scathing the big guys can be, go back and read BookLife reviews. They're written by _Publishers Weekly_ reviewers turned loose on the indie authors who have the stones to send their stuff up for mainstream critique.


Second this. Booklife is absolutely awesome and totally legit. We had a great experience with them with _Faerie Rising_.


----------



## Malik

A. E. Lowan said:


> Second this. Booklife is absolutely awesome and totally legit.



For better or worse, Booklife is the best barometer I've found for how an indie novel might fare among mainstream reviewers. SPFBO and other indie-specific contests are, quite literally, amateur hour. Booklife is a quarter the cost of Kirkus, and there's zero bias.

The best part about it is that if they completely destroy your book--and don't get me wrong, they apparently love to--you can keep the review private and try again next year. It gives you an objective overview of your work, ranking you no shit against what "the big kids" are looking for, and there's no way to lose. Even if they hate your work, it tells you what to work on.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Kirkus is pricey, but they liked _Eve of Snows _so I like them as well, LOL. Always wait for $100 off with Kirkus.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Oh hell, just look at what Kirkus will do to NY Times best sellers, LOL. I’m sure the PW people are the same. If you get positives from these folks it means something. Now, lots of readers won’t know it means something, but it sure as hell does. My theory is that when the big boys like something, it’s at least fairly well written (unless its real world politics, history, or whatever, then lots of non writing factors can get a book destroyed) even if it’s not something I would like. So, as a reader I weight my interest a little bit when seeing positive reviews from Kirkus or Booklife/PW.



Malik said:


> _The New Magic_ got a pretty kickass review in the *Booklife Prize*. It didn't make the semis, but I don't really care. It scored nearly a full point higher than _Dragon's Trail, _including racking up an 8/10 for prose. Being that _Dragon's Trail _only got a 6.5 overall and it went on to conquer the world, I'm pretty psyched right now.
> 
> Best of all, there's now an argument to be made--at least to myself--that I'm getting objectively better. It has definitely lit a fire under my ass to get Book III out the door. I'm working to get it done, completely done, by early 2020 and out in January 2021. Maybe sooner, depending on my editor's timelines and availability.
> 
> Anytime you want to sympathize with indie authors who go through the trade-pub wringer, or if you just get a crappy review and want to see how scathing the big guys can be, go back and read BookLife reviews. They're written by _Publishers Weekly_ reviewers turned loose on the indie authors who have the stones to send their stuff up for mainstream critique.


----------



## Ned Marcus

Demesnedenoir said:


> Kirkus is pricey... Always wait for $100 off with Kirkus.


How much do they normally charge?


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Oh shoot, I don’t recall. Been a while. But if you give them your info and act like you might pay for one, you’ll start getting special offers, the best I’ve seen is $100 off. At the time I used Kirkus, Booklife was doing paid reviews.

I will also note my quibble with Booklife is the cutoff at 150k words, LOL. Thy also have a word count max on their contest that pisses me off.



Ned Marcus said:


> How much do they normally charge?


----------



## Malik

The last I looked at Kirkus it was in the neighborhood of $400.


----------



## Ned Marcus

Not cheap! I could run a few advertising campaigns for that.


----------



## Malik

Ned Marcus said:


> Not cheap! I could run a few advertising campaigns for that.



It depends what you want to do in the long run. A good Kirkus review can get your foot in the door with bloggers and reviewers who will effectively promote your book for free, effectively forever. If you're willing to do the legwork, a glowing mainstream review can translate to far more sales than you'd get for the equivalent in ad campaigns. It just takes longer. Mainstream critical acclaim has been the lynchpin of my success so far.

The flipside of it is, they don't promise you a good review. If you spend the $400 and they hate it, well . . . yikes.

If you're following the typical indie model--find your formula, write fast, build a backlist, sell cheap, first one free--then mainstream reviews aren't worth the outlay. Definitely go for the shorter-term gains that you'll get with cheaper promos. 

Man, I need to do a blog post.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

I’m going to take a guess and say this as well: If you are looking for a Featured Bookbub, I wager that a Positive Kirkus or Booklife review (in particular for a debut novelist) is going to carry weight between whether your book or a hundred others makes the BB Grade.



Malik said:


> It depends what you want to do in the long run. A good Kirkus review can get your foot in the door with bloggers and reviewers who will effectively promote your book for free, effectively forever. If you're willing to do the legwork, a glowing mainstream review can translate to far more sales than you'd get for the equivalent in ad campaigns. It just takes longer. Mainstream critical acclaim has been the lynchpin of my success so far.
> 
> The flipside of it is, they don't promise you a good review. If you spend the $400 and they hate it, well . . . yikes.
> 
> If you're following the typical indie model--find your formula, write fast, build a backlist, sell cheap, first one free--then mainstream reviews aren't worth the outlay. Definitely go for the shorter-term gains that you'll get with cheaper promos.
> 
> Man, I need to do a blog post.


----------



## Writeking

I have finished Act 1. I am now working on Act 2 which is 90 pages.


----------



## A. E. Lowan

I beat renal cancer this week.


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## kennyc

A. E. Lowan said:


> I beat renal cancer this week.


Congratulations!!!!


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## Malik

A. E. Lowan said:


> I beat renal cancer this week.



HELL, YEAH.


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## Svrtnsse

A. E. Lowan said:


> I beat renal cancer this week.


Kick Ass!


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## ThinkerX

A. E. Lowan said:


> I beat renal cancer this week.


good for you!


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## Ned Marcus

A. E. Lowan said:


> I beat renal cancer this week.


Congratulations!


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## Demesnedenoir

The Booklife Review (the Publishers Weekly folks) for _Eve of Snows_ is in for Christmas... ego inflation for the holidays:

Gripping action scenes, evocative writing, and steady story momentum make the pages fly. The shadows bring a genuine chill with every appearance. The mystery surrounding the banished gods sparks curiosity, and Rice draws a fine line between feral magic and answered prayers. The plot is marked with plenty of surprising twists as Eliles and Ivin confront shadows and the conspiracy within Istinjoln. There is a solid conclusion, but Rice leaves enough unanswered questions and ambiguity to have readers theorizing possibilities and itching for the next installment. This extremely impressive series launch is guaranteed to earn diehard fans.

Takeaway: The high-stakes plot, fast pacing, and convincing characters will hook epic fantasy readers on this impressive debut.

Great for fans of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, R. Scott Bakker’s Prince of Nothing series.

Full Review is here: Eve of Snows: Sundering the Gods Book One by Lee Rice | BookLife

My takeaway: This review has the best synopsis of the plot I’ve scene and you can tell the reviewer was paying serious attention.


----------



## Ned Marcus

Blue Prometheus is in Kobo's 'Trending Now in Science Fiction and Fantasy' list. And number 14 in the bookstore for the same category. 

A first for me!


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## Demesnedenoir

Oh damn... I just noticed yesterday that the Booklife Review for Eve of Snows is tagged with a little lightning bolt... and just now discovered this means an "Editor's Pick" for "superlative books". The review was killer, but now I'm even more stoked!

I should say hot lightning damn... as of today EoS is in the finals of the Epic Fantasy Fanatics Readers Choice Awards with the winner announced tomorrow. Four good books remains, so win or not, it's all good!


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## A. E. Lowan

That's wonderful! So happy to hear it!


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## Demesnedenoir

A. E. Lowan said:


> That's wonderful! So happy to hear it!



It’s always good when something goes right, heh heh.


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## skip.knox

Congratulations, mate!


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## ThinkerX

Demesnedenoir said:


> Oh damn... I just noticed yesterday that the Booklife Review for Eve of Snows is tagged with a little lightning bolt... and just now discovered this means an "Editor's Pick" for "superlative books". The review was killer, but now I'm even more stoked!
> 
> I should say hot lightning damn... as of today EoS is in the finals of the Epic Fantasy Fanatics Readers Choice Awards with the winner announced tomorrow. Four good books remains, so win or not, it's all good!



Congrats! That reminds me, I'll have to add book II to the pile...keep plugging away.


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## Demesnedenoir

Well, now it just got crazier... Eve of Snows may now officially wear the tag “Winner of the 2019 Epic Fantasy Fanatics Readers Choice Awards.”

Pestering readers to get the book nominated paid off! LOL.


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## Pemry Janes

I finally got my second book published. Very proud of that.


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## Prince of Spires

Passed the 50k mark for the first time today. Woot! Of course, there's still at least 15k words left to write. But it's now officially novel size!


----------



## Malik

Landed another international Bookbub last week. Dragon's Trail was #1 in Kindle Epic Fantasy in Australia for 3 days. That was nice. 

It came out 3 1/2 years ago. I reiterate: "30 Day Cliff, my ass."


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## Demesnedenoir

Cool, however the 30-day cliff theory involved Amazon algorithms, not bookbub promos  



Malik said:


> Landed another international Bookbub last week. Dragon's Trail was #1 in Kindle Epic Fantasy in Australia for 3 days. That was nice.
> 
> It came out 3 1/2 years ago. I reiterate: "30 Day Cliff, my ass."
> View attachment 2560
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 2559


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## A. E. Lowan

That is so awesome! We love these books.


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## A. E. Lowan

Wrote three chapters in three days after a long dry spell.


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## ThinkerX

A. E. Lowan said:


> Wrote three chapters in three days after a long dry spell.


Good for you!

The dry spell with my rewrite lasted most of the winter.  Part other projects, part utter lack of motivation.  But key elements have been clicking into place...maybe by May sometime....then on to 'Chimera'....


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## Demesnedenoir

_Eve of Snows_, now a Bronze Medalist at the IPPY Awards... stumbled on that on their website, the award packets haven’t gone out yet! It’s a broad Fantasy category, and it looks like it’s the top Epic Fantasy. So, two for two for at least medaling in contests so far, LOL.


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## skip.knox

Well done, young Jedi.


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## Demesnedenoir

Well, this is the SHAMELESS thread after all, and this feels piling on... but just got an email from the Indie Book Awards... _Eve of Snows_ won the Fantasy category there. Krikee!


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## ThinkerX

Demesnedenoir said:


> Well, this is the SHAMELESS thread after all, and this feels piling on... but just got an email from the Indie Book Awards... _Eve of Snows_ won the Fantasy category there. Krikee!


I'll have to return my attention to your tale eventually....


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## Demesnedenoir

Currently busting my arse behind schedule on releasing Whispers of Ghosts June 25... Making myself nervous, LOL.

And that the Next Generation Indie Book Award.



ThinkerX said:


> I'll have to return my attention to your tale eventually....


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## ThinkerX

Demesnedenoir said:


> Currently busting my arse behind schedule on releasing Whispers of Ghosts June 25... Making myself nervous, LOL.
> 
> And that the Next Generation Indie Book Award.


I'm so far behind schedule with the rewrite of 'Empire: Judgment' it's not funny.  A dying computer and MS Word crashing earlier this week are not helping matters any.


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## Demesnedenoir

It’s amazing how fast I falls behind and how slow I catch up, heh heh. The kids home from school and needing help with all the schoolwork is totally throwing me off, LOL. 



ThinkerX said:


> I'm so far behind schedule with the rewrite of 'Empire: Judgment' it's not funny.  A dying computer and MS Word crashing earlier this week are not helping matters any.


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## Demesnedenoir

_Eve of Snows _is named a Grand Prize Winner in the Next Generation Indie Books Awards, 2nd place in ALL of Fiction.

I mean of course one thinks ’Why not my book?’ when entering contests, but even after winning the Fantasy category I was like... naaaaah, Not my little book, no way it hits the top three. Well, so much for that notion!


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## A. E. Lowan

Demesnedenoir said:


> _Eve of Snows _is named a Grand Prize Winner in the Next Generation Indie Books Awards, 2nd place in ALL of Fiction.
> 
> I mean of course one thinks ’Why not my book?’ when entering contests, but even after winning the Fantasy category I was like... naaaaah, Not my little book, no way it hits the top three. Well, so much for that notion!


Wow! That is fantastic! So happy for you.


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## A. E. Lowan

After many years of wrestling with recording to no avail, we finally broke down and opened up to the possibility of finding a narrator for our audiobooks.

AND WE FOUND ONE!!!

He's awesome. He's actually better than my wife, which is no mean feat, and he sounds a lot like one of our characters does in my head. SO excited! We're still talking time tables, but he's interested in narrating at least the first three books!

Okay, I'll stop squeeing now.


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## Demesnedenoir

A. E. Lowan said:


> After many years of wrestling with recording to no avail, we finally broke down and opened up to the possibility of finding a narrator for our audiobooks.
> 
> AND WE FOUND ONE!!!
> 
> He's awesome. He's actually better than my wife, which is no mean feat, and he sounds a lot like one of our characters does in my head. SO excited! We're still talking time tables, but he's interested in narrating at least the first three books!
> 
> Okay, I'll stop squeeing now.



That’s excellent, good narrators are tricky to find and time tables... well, yeah... Congrats.


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## A. E. Lowan

COVID tests came back negative. S'all good for now. Thank you so much for everyone's concern. <3


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## Prince of Spires

Past the 50k mark for my current project! While it's a completely arbitrary number of course, I like the feeling of passing it, even if I've still got 10k or so words to write. I do feel that the current project is not as strong as the previous one, plot-wise. But maybe that's something for revision (or just imposter syndrome...). On that note, if anyone feels like being a beta-reader, let me know


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## Mad Swede

Now hit the 70000 word mark in my latest novel. Feels good, even if I do say so myself - as a dyslexic writer. Don't think it will get much longer, I'm just at the point where it starts to wrap up. Then we'll see what the others say...


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## A. E. Lowan

So, Sunday was eventful...


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## skip.knox

Wooooooot!

You finished the one. Now finish the other!
(the wine, that is <g>)


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## Demesnedenoir

I’m digging the Wonder Woman glass!


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## Stevie

That was me on a Saturday last month. It's a damned good feeling! Glad to see there are writing tables out there just as cluttered as mine is.


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## A. E. Lowan

Stevie said:


> That was me on a Saturday last month. It's a damned good feeling! Glad to see there are writing tables out there just as cluttered as mine is.


I liken my desk to a tornado strike zone. My writing partners both have neat, tidy desks, but no, I'm Irish and an Aspie. I need my toys.


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## Demesnedenoir

A. E. Lowan said:


> I liken my desk to a tornado strike zone. My writing partners both have neat, tidy desks, but no, I'm Irish and an Aspie. I need my toys.



I don’t have a desk, if I did, you wouldn’t be able to see it anyhow.


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## ThinkerX

Well, I'm reasonably sure there is a desk (two of them, actually) beneath all the paper and debris...


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## Stevie

Hot dang doodle! I just got a request for a full manuscript. That's two for two now. Two submission queries, two requests for the full manuscript. One, you can put down to luck, but two? Maybe, just maybe, this book is the one ...


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## NRuhwald

Just got my short story critiqued, the first time any writing of mine has been seen by professional eyes. Lots of work to do, of course, which is why I paid for the critique. 

But they liked it! The word "enthralled" was used.

I would post the story but I want to try submitting it to magazines and contests first, once it's all shiny and polished.


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## NRuhwald

Update, this short story will be published in the next edition of Scare Street's Night Terrors Anthology!


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## A. E. Lowan

NRuhwald said:


> Update, this short story will be published in the next edition of Scare Street's Night Terrors Anthology!


Way to go! That is awesomesauce.


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## Eztlirald Kane Clairinda

I've been through so much here lately...
I have been going through depression, fighting with my parents, unemployment, financial instability, and no car... It's been one heck of a ride. But I'm still here standing and pushing onward nonetheless. And I continue to write evermore.


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## A. E. Lowan

Eztlirald Kane Clairinda said:


> I've been through so much here lately...
> I have been going through depression, fighting with my parents, unemployment, financial instability, and no car... It's been one heck of a ride. But I'm still here standing and pushing onward nonetheless. And I continue to write evermore.


Right there with you. We released our third book yesterday, and it's been a very long road to get here. I'm Team Lowan's drafter so when I go down in flames, which I did, everything grinds to an abrupt halt. This book was supposed to come out in 2019. But, with being multi-diagnosis mentally ill, and then losing both of my parents within 18 months, being diagnosed with renal cancer, my aunt dying from renal cancer, going through surgery to remove half a kidney, helping my sister handle our parents' estate, having all of my teeth out, being declared cancer free, buying a new house, moving, selling the old house, and then finishing the third book, I was a bit of a stress monkey - an autistic stress monkey, nonetheless - and stress monkeys have a hard time writing. You are doing great! Keep at it and someday you'll be someone's favorite author.


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## A. E. Lowan

This behemoth showed up on our doorstep yesterday. I think it may have eaten the first two. I posted this in another thread, but I can't stop squeeing about it.


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## Prince of Spires

A. E. Lowan said:


> This behemoth showed up on our doorstep yesterday. I think it may have eaten the first two. I posted this in another thread, but I can't stop squeeing about it.


Squee! indeed. I'm a physical book reader. Ebooks are nice to sell to other people, but I like having the copy in my hand. And that makes getting the real life version of a book special. It's better then seeing the ebook on Amazon (or elsewhere). Nothing beats holding a copy of your own book (well, writing wise that is...). 

Congrats! And the cover deserves a Squee!


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## A. E. Lowan

Prince of Spires said:


> Squee! indeed. I'm a physical book reader. Ebooks are nice to sell to other people, but I like having the copy in my hand. And that makes getting the real life version of a book special. It's better then seeing the ebook on Amazon (or elsewhere). Nothing beats holding a copy of your own book (well, writing wise that is...).
> 
> Congrats! And the cover deserves a Squee!


Totally agree. I'm a 'both ways' kind of girl when it comes to books. I love physical books, but I also love e-books, and for that my groaning bookcases thank me. lol The covers are all thanks to Deranged Doctor Design. They are amazing, brilliant, and a joy to work with.


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## skip.knox

>The covers are all thanks to Deranged Doctor Design
My designer as well! And I fully concur. Anyone interested, though, be warned: they are booked for many months ahead. I got them for my Trouveres series last August or September and they are booked for the first of March. These artists types, so laaaazy! <g>


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## A. E. Lowan

skip.knox said:


> >The covers are all thanks to Deranged Doctor Design
> My designer as well! And I fully concur. Anyone interested, though, be warned: they are booked for many months ahead. I got them for my Trouveres series last August or September and they are booked for the first of March. These artists types, so laaaazy! <g>


We just in the past few hours moved the date for our next cover from the tail end of January to their next open slot: early June. So worth it.


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## Demesnedenoir

1000 _Eve of Snows_ Audiobooks sold! Okay, this must've happened a while back while I wasn't paying attention. not a huge number, but considering the lack of direct promotion, I'll take the landmark! LMAO.


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## pmmg

More than most i would expect.


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## Demesnedenoir

One major thing I'd change going back to the start, and that's having an audiobook on release with the books, but I had no idea at the time what the hell I was doing. If it would be worth it.



pmmg said:


> More than most i would expect.


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## skip.knox

Judging from folks I know, most of those audio sales would simply not exist otherwise. That is, a fair number of people want audio or nothing.

But it is so expensive!


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## Demesnedenoir

I did a profit share on EoS, decent enough quality, and now have my own super cheap hole in the basement studio, LOL. My goal for future books is close to simultaneous release. The extra $2 per EoS Audible subscription would've been a big deal at the initial release, let alone $4 if recording it myself.

Hindsight and all that, heh heh.

From what I gather, Audio folks are not only dedicated Audio, but they are even more leery of Book 1s because even if books 2 & 3 are released, a % never make it to Audio.



skip.knox said:


> Judging from folks I know, most of those audio sales would simply not exist otherwise. That is, a fair number of people want audio or nothing.
> 
> But it is so expensive!


----------



## Prince of Spires

congrats! That quite the landmark.

And the good thing about publishing, especially indie, is that you can simply learn from what you've done and apply those lessons next time.


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## A. E. Lowan

We did a thing this weekend. We're already down a couple of notches, but it was so much fun to get here.


----------



## Prince of Spires

And it's by far the prettiest cover in the screenshot...

it's an awesome achievement!


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## Demesnedenoir

Good fun! Congrats.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Oooh, I was chosen as a panelist at the SFWA Nebula Awards on the topic of Fighting and Writing!

Stabbing people while typing! I excel at that, which is why my family avoids me when I'm writing, heh heh.


----------



## A. E. Lowan

Demesnedenoir said:


> Oooh, I was chosen as a panelist at the SFWA Nebula Awards on the topic of Fighting and Writing!
> 
> Stabbing people while typing! I excel at that, which is why my family avoids me when I'm writing, heh heh.


That's huge! Grats!


----------



## Demesnedenoir

Next up! Snooping on the other panelists to see who they are, LOL.



A. E. Lowan said:


> That's huge! Grats!


----------



## Demesnedenoir

The SFWA panel on fighting and writing was a lot of fun, and I got to give a shout-out to Malik and Dragon's Trail at the end, LOL.

I must say, live panels are a good opportunity to say something stupid with incomplete thoughts, hopefully, I didn't make an ass out of myself, heh heh.


----------



## Prince of Spires

After playing around with the new Amazon reporting dashboard I found out I've sold exactly 100 books so far on Amazon. It's a start! On to the next milestone.


----------



## ThinkerX

Prince of Spires said:


> After playing around with the new Amazon reporting dashboard I found out I've sold exactly 100 books so far on Amazon. It's a start! On to the next milestone.


100 books over how long?


----------



## Prince of Spires

ThinkerX said:


> 100 books over how long?


I published my first book December 2020, so a year-and-a-half, give or take. I should note, I've also sold 22 in other stores, and given a bunch of them away in the hopes of gaining either reviews or newsletter subscribers. So the total nr of readers is a bit higher. But in general finding people to sell my books to is hard work.


----------



## A. E. Lowan

Prince of Spires said:


> I published my first book December 2020, so a year-and-a-half, give or take. I should note, I've also sold 22 in other stores, and given a bunch of them away in the hopes of gaining either reviews or newsletter subscribers. So the total nr of readers is a bit higher. But in general finding people to sell my books to is hard work.


Still, not too shabby. We find that when we exhibit at comicons that we put a lot more copies in hands than during any other reader interaction. It's easily the highest profit margin per paperback that we engage in. Also, it helps to get involved with internet communities in your sub-genre. For example, we write urban fantasy, so we're active here on Scribes and in three or four different groups on Facebook. We haven't found much difference when we interact on Twitter and Goodreads, so we don't do much there, anymore, but by being a consistent voice helping and interacting in a positive, supportive way here and on FB that we're starting to get signal boosted and talked about by new people. We also make a lot of friends this way, which is always a plus. But, the key is authenticity. There are a lot of writers who think marketing their work involves being spammy. That doesn't do anything other than annoy people and annoyed people won't read your books. But, writers who interact with and promote their groups authentically find support and new fans.


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## Prince of Spires

A. E. Lowan said:


> Still, not too shabby.


Thanks for the kind words  I am proud of the numbers. 

Being in the Netherlands, comicons aren't much of an option... Other than that I agree that marketing has a lot of different aspects to it and much of it comes down to interacting in a genuine way with readers. I'll been taking it slow marketing wise until my next novel comes out (aim is september). I currently have 3 stand-alones published, which makes marketing harder since read-through is lower. The next novel will be the sequel to one of the other ones, so I'll increase my efforts then. 

I still have to go look for some fun epic fantasy facebook groups to interact with. And posting here for me is about interacting with other writers, just because it's fun


----------



## ThinkerX

Prince of Spires said:


> I published my first book December 2020, so a year-and-a-half, give or take. I should note, I've also sold 22 in other stores, and given a bunch of them away in the hopes of gaining either reviews or newsletter subscribers. So the total nr of readers is a bit higher. But in general finding people to sell my books to is hard work.



One of your more recent sales was to me, part of a campaign I've been engaged in for the last year or two to read a book or three of the published authors on this site. You were the fifth or sixth.

Thus far...I grow tempted to offer my services to prospective authors here, to aid in the resolution of plot and worldbuilding issues.


----------



## Prince of Spires

ThinkerX said:


> One of your more recent sales was to me,


Thanks! Much appreciated.



ThinkerX said:


> Thus far...I grow tempted to offer my services to prospective authors here, to aid in the resolution of plot and worldbuilding issues.


I might actually take you up on that. Current plan is to start a new series in a new world after my next novel. And I'm thinking that to kick off that series I'd like to get a developmental editor or similar to go over the book and smooth out all the wrinkles in plot and pacing etc. At my current speed that's still a year away of course.


----------



## Demesnedenoir

The first SPFBO 8 review for _Eve of Snows_ is in and all things considered, it's looking good to make the semifinals. The audiobook kind of screwed me up a bit... long story short, I folded book 1.5, a novella, into the original Eve of Snows, but the audiobooks are still separate, which is confusing if trying to read and listen at the same time. But all and all! A strong review that might just put Eve into the semis. 

#SPFBO Review - Eve of Snows — The Nerdy Narrative


----------



## Prince of Spires

Reached another milestone. Got a few sales today, which means I have now sold at least 1 book per month for each of the past 12 months.


----------



## RoebieWanKenobie

Prince of Spires said:


> Reached another milestone. Got a few sales today, which means I have now sold at least 1 book per month for each of the past 12 months.



That's so awesome! Congratulations to you!


----------



## Demesnedenoir

This is pure luck to even have noticed, as I was building an ad on Amazon, but it's something I've never seen before. Book 2 of Sundering the Gods, _Trail of Pyres_, is sold out in Hardcover! LMAO. At least it's fun to be able to say I had a book sell out.

First time for everything I guess. Heck, only _Eve of Snows _in stock right now too. I knew they sales had picked up in hardcover, but apparently, more than I knew.


----------



## BearBear

Nice!


----------

