Writer friends, Black Friday Editing Week 2022 is here! This year I have three different specials for writers:
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There are so many indie author live interviews in May 2022! In the biggest Indie Author Live Chat marathon since our New Year's kick-off in January, I am thrilled to bring to you 7 (and counting!) different indie author interviews from all across the Fantasy Genre. Join me live (and feel free to bring questions) to talk to multi-international-award winners/bestselling authors and more! If you aren't already following me on YouTube, subscribe to my channel HERE to see them all (or hit the bell on the specific ones you can't wait to see for a reminder on that specific video). The current schedule is below, but more are slotted to be added in the coming week, so don't forget to come back and check out the rest: Interested in the books running Kindle Countdown Deals May 23rd-30th? See them all HERE.
Want to stay in-the-know about future author interviews and events? Subscribe to my newsletter HERE for all the news! Are you an author who is interested in an interview/feature? Connect with me HERE Or send me a message on Instagram or Facebook I am so excited to be able to share that I will be continuing my January Indie Author Live Chats series on YouTube! Our New Year's live chats were so much fun, and there are so many amazing books in the works for 2022! We kicked off round 2 of our live chats this weekend with appearances from authors in 4 different Fantasy sub-genres (including the amazing Day Leitao and some award-winning/bestselling authors as well). From Middle-Grade Portal Fantasy to Steamy Paranormal Romance, and from Portal Fantasy to a special session with the voice actors and narrators who bring indie books to life, there's all kinds of sessions coming your way. See the full schedule and links below for the rest of January:
Want to stay in-the-know on future author live schedules?
Sign up for my newsletter HERE to be the first to hear all the news, and I'll send you a free e-book copy of Splitting Dusk: A Splitting World's Novella as a thank-you for signing up! With 2021 quickly coming to a close, some of my amazing fellow indie authors and I have put together a live New Year's indie author fest you won't wanna miss! Follow me on YouTube HERE to catch: -Lives About 7 Different Fantasy Genres -Chats with Over 20 Indie Authors -Indie Book News for 2022 -Live QAs with Every Author on the Stream Check out all seven livestreams here:
![]() Live #7: The "Writers of Rohan" Sunday, January 2nd, 2022 at 1:00PM CST We hope you enjoy our New Year's indie author fest!
Hitting the bell on any of those YouTube videos now will let YouTube send you a notification when we go live this weekend. Which lives are you most excited for? With the craziness of life lately, it's been a while since I gave some shout-outs, but today I am excited to share three new featured indie authors with you guys! Each of the authors below has their own featured author page here on my website, and stay tuned for more information about live interviews with them on Instagram in the coming weeks.
Want to see more featured indie authors?If these three new featured indie authors have piqued your interest (or you're missing your favorite sci-fi or fantasy sub-genre), don't worry!
-Check out my past featured indie authors in the archive HERE -Watch my Instagram live interviews in my IGTV saves HERE -Sign up for my newsletter HERE to get first-looks at future featured indie authors (and I'll give you a free copy of Splitting Dusk for signing up). And if you're a fantasy or sci-fi author who would like to be considered for a feature, contact me HERE for more information on my free monthly featured author pages. With only two days to go before National Novel Writing Month kicks off November 1st, writers around the globe (including me) are getting excited. And I have already started prepping for NaNoWriMo as a Pantser. NaNoWriMo, for newcomers, is an annual, international, free event where writers (from seasoned pros to dreamers still in grade school) dedicate time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboards) and write as many words as possible in the month of November, with the goal being a 50,000 word novel. "So what is a 'Pantser'?" you may ask. A 'Pantser' is someone who shows up at midnight November 1st with no outlines, no planning, just an inspiration/idea which we forge ahead with until our books are completed. For writers who wish to be better prepared, there are also 'Planners', who outline their books in advance, and 'Plantsers', who do some basic planning but nothing in-depth (a hybrid of Planner and Pantser). "Wait," you may say, "What would a Pantser possibly have to do to 'prep' for NaNoWriMo?" I'm so glad you asked! Here is my go-to pre-NaNoWriMo checklist: -1.) "Announce" A NaNo Novel. If you're new to NaNoWriMo, you'll want to create a free account HERE so that you can "announce" (set up the details about) your writing project for this year and do the other things on this list. -2.) Find some buddies/join your "home region". You may have some buddies from previous years, but the more the merrier! Check out your writer friends on social media and exchange usernames to have a list of accountability partners and encouragement set up before day 1. Want an easy start? Add me as a buddy HERE. Your "home region" will have local events called "write-ins" in your time zone which you can participate in throughout the month. -3.) Make a writing playlist. Okay, so I know this may cross the line into "Plantsing" for some, but nothing sets the mood for barreling through 1,600 words a day like an epic playlist. -4.) Upload a "working cover" and assign your self-awarded badges NaNoWriMo stats show that authors with a working cover/working title tend to "win" (hit 50,000 words) more than those who do not. Need something cheap? You can get a working cover for as little s $5 US from Getcovers.com HERE (no, I am not being paid/sponsored to promote them and YES, I have used them myself for all of my working covers). You can find your self-awarded badges section under your "project" once you announce your novel. Anything from which kind of WriMo you're going to be (planner/pantser/plantser) to small-but-important writing milestones. -5.) Grab your "Halo" The final thing on my checklist is something I do to give back to the nonprofit organization, "The Office of Letters and Light" who organizes NaNoWriMo every year both for adult writers and for in-school/in-library writing programs. I want to put a disclaimer that financial donations ARE NOT REQUIRED to participate in NaNoWriMo. However, when you make a donation of $5 US or more, a digital halo is added above your profile picture. Many writers wait until double-up donation day to claim their halo for the year, but it's always a nice "thank-you" to the group and keeps this amazing project running. Now that I've shared my checklist, it's time to get ready for NaNoWriMo! Looking for some prepping help? Want to come join the fun with a live NaNoWriMo launch party? AutoCrit has you covered!
To celebrate the audiobook launch, Talon David and I are throwing a launch party! Come join us to celebrate the launch of the audiobook on an RSVP-required live party!
-When: TBD - Awaiting final date from publisher -Where: Online meeting; link will only be e-mail to people who RSVP (RSVPs coming soon) -What: Join in for a QA with Talon and I, enter a giveaway for a chance to win THREE MONTHS of Audible membership (US only), a signed copy of TVTTF, OR a cash prize equivalent via PayPal (international only). ![]() Are you self-publishing savvy? Or self-publishing struggling? Or, quite honestly, slipping back and forth between the two? Yesterday I had the great privilege of speaking with AutoCrit Editing about not only my personal self-publishing journey with The Vow That Twisted Fate, but also about the self-publishing process overall. There are so many different approaches to self-publishing (or "indie" publishing), that I humbly share my experiences as a fellow beginner "indie" author with the hopes that it will provide clarity for other writers in my shoes. While most of my blogs are brief and related to my projects and supporting other authors in the indie author community, the response from yesterday's live was too overwhelming to leave at that. Here are the key points that I discussed on my live with AutoCrit: 1.) Writing inspiration (in my case, a dream hijacked my 2016 NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - plans) & my mentor, Lindsey (owener of Of Ink and Pearls Publishing) 2.) The five levels of editing (developmental edit, line edit, copy edit, proofread, galley proof) + Beta Reading & Self-editing using AutoCrit. 3.) Distribution Platforms (KDP, Barnes & Noble Press, Ingram) and Formats (AudioBooks, Print, etc.) as well as formatting/cover design 4.) Timelines (from revisions to print); what I wish I'd done sooner and why 5.) Budget (how much did it cost me to truly self-publish and what that went toward - overview) 6.) Reviews (trade reviews and reader reviews, what I did to set up review tours, and post-launch marketing) 7.) Marketing in general (*still navigating this part myself* - From pre-orders to Amazon bestseller to post-launch slow-downs)
For that reason, I am truly grateful for the money-saving, headache-relieving role that AutoCrit played in my self-editing process.
If you have any questions at all, or comments about your own experience self-publishing, feel free to drop them in the comments; I love hearing your feedback! If you would like to try AutoCrit's self-editing software for yourself, you can do so by signing up for their Free Forever membership HERE. Want to read the finished version of The Vow That Twisted Fate? It is on sale for only 99 cents (e-book) or $10 (paperback) on Amazon now thru October 4th 2021, so grab your copy today HERE. Something big is coming... something so big, that I have not dared breathe a word of it 'til now, and I tremble at mentioning it, as though the words leaving my fingertips as I type this are jinxing something.
And yet, here we are. *Deep breath.* I'm going to let you in on a secret. One of the biggest secrets of my writing career: I am participating in a project. This project may *cough* involve other amazingly talented authors. And it may *double-cough* have a HUGE event coming up in the next two weeks. An event that will change my career and launch me into a writing frenzy that won't slow down for over a year. Ready for the spoiler? The one just for you? Splitting Dawn, the first full-length novel in my Splitting Worlds series, may *triple cough and looking around for falling bricks* be involved. Something big is coming... I am literally shaking as I write this. You won't find Splitting Dawn in the drop-down section under "My Books" tab...not yet. There is only a working cover there right now (not the final cover), and a vague blurb as it is all I am able to share right this second. However, make a note, set a reminder, or keep a close eye out for an e-mail from me September 8th 2021 (CST). That e-mail will be the one to finally pull the veil off what this HUGE project is, and you will have front-row first access. If you are not already an e-mail list subscriber, but you want "in" when the announcement comes on September 8th, you can sign-up for my e-mail list HERE and receive the first novella in the Splitting Worlds series, (Splitting Dusk) to read while you wait for the announcement. ![]() Calling all readers! Help me choose the title of my next fantasy book! My next fantasy novel is in the works, with ideas pouring out, but the title is up in the air! Here's a brief summary: When June, a recent business school grad, boards the wrong train while on holiday, she's swept into dimensions beyond her wildest dreams. In worlds where Humans are shunned, fairies are outlaws, wolves are the police, and magical ability dictates leadership, can she survive the train tour home? Genre: Adventure/Portal Fantasy (Adult) Ready to help me choose the title of my next fantasy book? Everyone who votes for the winning title will have their entry name here listed on the acknowledgments page of the book! Vote For Your Favorite Title: Starfire Express The Girl Who Twisted Tales A Flame of Fae and Fang Star-Crossed: Blood And Water This poll is now closed, and the working cover reveal can be seen HERE. Thank you for taking the time to help me choose the title of my next fantasy book! Want to learn more about me/my writing and get all the latest news?
-Sign up for my e-mail list on my home page HERE to receive a free New Adult Paranormal Fantasy novella (Splitting Dusk) as well as notifications on contests, giveaways, books news, and more! -Check out my debut Epic Fantasy novel The Vow That Twisted Fate coming out July 9th HERE. -Follow my Instagram for unique Instagram-only content HERE. |
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