Recent content by Prince of Spires

By definition, you can't ask for a beta read without the story being finished. A beta read is a reader reading your whole story once it's as good as you can make it. They provide feedback on how they feel about the story. So you need a finished story. An Alpha reader is someone who reads either...

You could always watch Monty Python's Flying Circus

Yeah, that first page is always a funny on. For me it's especially the case when I haven't written new words for a while (as happens when I spent a lot of time editing...). That page always feels rusty. Though I find that even a new chapter can feel a bit awkward and like I need to write...

Don't stress about length. For starters, a story should be as long as it needs to be and not longer. There's nothing wrong with writing a novella instead of a novel (if anything, they're easier to write as a first endevour since they're shorter...). Also, at 19 chapters, you're closing in on...

I feel invisible. No scammer wants to talk to me... Well okay, I get a couple of emails every now and then. But nothing this fancy or elaborate. Mine just quote my blurb back at me and pretend that means they've read and liked it. I want fancy scammers too, who pretend they like my book and put...

This is a complete misrepresentation of what writing and publishing a book actually entails. Thoughts and ideas don't make a book. They can serve as a basis for a book. But as long as they're just thoughts and ideas, they're just vague concepts floating around in the air. Only when you start...

Interesting article. Personally, I never wondered why they didn't just fly to Mordor. The obvious 2 answers to me are that flying in without a distraction would leave them horribly exposed. And that Manwe would not allow it, since the Valar wanted Middle Earth to take care of its own problems...

The thing is, for a small author, 10 books does make a big difference. As Mad Swede already mentioned, Harry Potter's first print run was 500 books. 10 extra books sold can mean the difference between a publisher going for a second print run and buying the second book and dropping the author...

It happens all the time. Whenever I write, my brain just starts holding out these wonderful, lovely ideas for different projects to me. I just let them happily bounce around in my head. They keep me occupied. When it happens, I remember 3 things, which helps: - The idea is the easy part, while...

I didn't missed, which was why that for this guy as the publisher, earning $200 in profit was pretty terrible (since he didn't factor in his own time). Yes, it's different as the author, though if you're an indie author, you're both the author and the publisher. And it's still worth considering...

I'm also with A. E. Lowan on this one. None of the reasons hold up to any kind of scrutiny. Being broke is no excuse. There are more free and 99ct books out there than anyone can read in a lifetime. And for books priced up to $4,99 there are literally millions of them. This realy is one of the...

Another 4 chapters down! Well done! Keep it up! As you said, Writing Wins! How far along in the story do you think you are?

Somehow it feels like this might be the case for fast writers. However, if you take 10 months to write a book, then day 1 of writing my book may be an interesting post. But day 298 of writing my own book feels like it would be repetitive and boring. Unless you're either very funny, or spend so...

Not my thing, but it looks cool

You're wrong on this one. Getting 11 chapters is a lot and amazing progress. Don't dimish it by seeing it as not much. You've done way more than most people even dream of. And just keep plugging away. All stories out there have been written 1 word, 1 paragraph at a time. There's no other way...