#Indie Published

[goodluckclove]

To Anyone Seeing a Sudden Influx of Publishing Accounts Contacting Them!

Thanks to some group-think I'm pretty sure most, if not all of them are from the company Ghost Writing Galaxy, a ghostwriting and book marketing company based out of Texas. I spoke with a customer service rep through their website who informed me that they're sending representatives across tumblr to contact writers to see if they'd be interested in their services.

It's not a bot, it's not a scam, it's an ad for their business. This is how they're choosing to market - which may be confusing, as I don't think many have gotten as far enough along in conversation to actually learn the name of the company.

But now you know! Website's linked above, as well as all of their services. I can actually do them the favor and save them some time by gauging interest right here too.

[author-a-holmes]

Changeling Book Trailer

It's been a long time since I've had access to my main computer and, along with it, my video editing software. But this evening I couldn't resist the urge to put together a Book Trailer for Changeling.

March 16th is the 1 year anniversary of Changeling's Release, and I may or may not have something special up my sleeve...

For now, enjoy this brief glimpse into the world of Changeling ^_^

Fey go missing in the mortal realm. Everyone knows that. When Lizzy's mother is the next to vanish she's expected to grieve and move on. Instead Lizzy wants to find out what happened, but the answers she seeks can't be found in the fey realm of Arbaon. With the help of her best friend, Booker Reed, Lizzy's determined to retrace her mother's final steps... straight through an illegal portal and into the mortal realm. Whatever leads she expected to find, it wasn't an academy of vampires, and a world stalked by their rabid cousins, the kavians. Forced to rely on the vampires for protection, and secluded away behind the high walls of Speculo School, it quickly becomes clear not everyone is pleased with Lizzy and Booker's investigation. With danger building the further they dig, the two fey need to decide if the closure they seek is worth risking their lives for. But the longer they remain amongst the vampires, the more Lizzy begins to suspect that her answers instead lie with the deadly kavians.

Changeling is available now at all your favourite online stores

To download and read the prequel novella, you can sign up for my newsletter via my website and grab "Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?" completely free!

Signing up for my newsletter also means you'll hear about sales, cover reveals, and sneak peeks at my work in progress before anyone else.

All media used in the creation of this book trailer are free to use under the licensing terms of their various source sites.

Video Credit & Sources;

Mixkit Free Video License Anderson - Pexel License Sephelonor - Pixabay License

Music Credit & Source;

Tension (Orchestral Music) by Oleksii Kaplunskyi aka Lesfm with Pixabay License.

[thegothiclibrary]

Review of Lacrimore—A Monstrous Mansion

Review of Lacrimore—A Monstrous Mansion

“It feeds on the horrors we commit….” A malevolent, sentient house serves as the lively setting of Lacrimore, a debut Gothic novella by S. J. Costello. The book came out in 2020 and was a winner of the Independent Publishers Book Awards. (more…)

[malcolmschmitz]

So, there's a dirty little secret in indie publishing a lot of people won't tell you, and if you aren't aware of it, self-publishing feels even scarier than it actually is.

There's a subset of self-published indie authors who write a ludicrous number of books a year, we're talking double digit releases of full novels, and these folks make a lot of money telling you how you can do the same thing. A lot of them feature in breathless puff pieces about how "competitive" self-publishing is as an industry now.

A lot of these authors aren't being completely honest with you, though. They'll give you secrets for time management and plotting and outlining and marketing and what have you. But the way they're able to write, edit, and publish 10+ books a year, by and large, is that they're hiring ghostwriters.

They're using upwork or fiverr to find people to outline, draft, edit, and market their books. Most of them, presumably, do write some of their own stuff! But many "prolific" indie writers are absolutely using ghostwriters to speed up their process, get higher Amazon best-seller ratings, and, bluntly, make more money faster.

When you see some godawful puff piece floating around about how some indie writer is thinking about having to start using AI to "stay competitive in self-publishing", the part the journalist isn't telling you is that the 'indie writer' in question is planning to use AI instead of paying some guy on Upwork to do the drafting.

If you are writing your books the old fashioned way and are trying to build a readerbase who cares about your work, you don't need to use AI to 'stay competitive', because you're not competing with these people. You're playing an entirely different game.

[signourneybooks]

Ten Self-Published or Indie-Published Books | #TopTenTuesday 380

When it comes to reading it tends to be easier to pick up books by the big five as often the big US publishers are known as. Certainly, for me as an international reader, I would not know about half of the books if I wasn’t such apart of the blog community and have fellow blogger friends who do read and rec outside of the big five. So I think it is good that for today Top Ten Tuesday (as always…

[roseworth]

comics are such a good storytelling medium i wish they were good

[ginnyzero]

Just a Quick Reminder. I am an author. I do write books. You can read the first one, the Lone Prospect FOR FREE on my Website: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/books/

(Image Transcript: An ad with a wolf howling at the moon on a purple background reading: Cuddle Up With a Cozy Werewolf Drama. And three book covers, The Lone Prospect with a Crazy Crescent Moon, Rodeo’s Run with a Motorcycle with Flaming Wheels, and Serpent’s Smile with a Snake with Roses.)

[danielleurbansblog]

Meet This Author: Melinda Curtis

Q: You mentioned you write both as a traditional and indie published writer. Tell us, readers, about your experiences as both. Writing for one of the big publishing houses is like taking a meal order from Meg Ryan’s character in When Harry Met Sally – you need to write what they want and edit to their preferences. The publishing house mostly knows their audience and what they want to read, down…

[madi-konrad]

A DEMON'S NAME UPON YOUR LIPS

It is the curse of ADHD that, at least for me, I'm always running to the next project, and then the next, chasing the new shiny thing. And that has served me well in my creative endeavors, as much as it has stymied me. But I really do think that I caught something special in my first novel, A DEMON'S NAME UPON YOUR LIPS. And thanks to how my brain works, I rarely ever promote it! Which seems unfair for how much effort I put in, alongside my friends who patiently helped me edit it.

It's a sapphic romance between a (newly minted) Duke and the demon she summons. It's a fantasy which takes place in a secondary world loosely based on Victorian-era Europe, though without any of the queerphobic, or even sexist, hatred endemic to its real-world counterpart (or even to our modern day). It's fast paced, gay as fuck, and I poured my heart and soul into it.

I'd be honored if you picked it up; it's only $5.99. About the price of a Latte.

Grab it at the following places:

itch.io (PDF, ePub, and mobi all included!)

Kobo link (ePub version)

Apple Books, Smashwords, and a few others (ePub version)

Amazon (Kindle version)

Barnes and Noble (ePub

Synopsis below the cut:

Lucia is a succubus, a demon with the power to shape the emotions and passions of mortals. Summoned often into the world of Melodia, she takes pride in upholding her demonic contracts to the best of her abilities. She likes to think she does her job well … though a string of recent failures say otherwise.

Talia, the recently elevated Duke of Fallmire, summons Lucia for a simple reason: to pose as her wife and fulfill marital obligations to the satisfaction of Parliament. All to say, just a few weeks of walking around the estate and playing nice with the neighbors before a conveniently tragic death. Quick and easy.

But immediately, Lucia smells blood in the water. Behind closed doors, the Duke plots vengeance upon those who killed her father—and the demon wants in. Revenge, after all, is much more fun … and more lucrative, to boot.

But can Lucia predict how hard she’d fall for the Duke? (Not a chance). And can the Duke find it in her vengeful heart to love?

Spice Level: lightly described nudity, fade-to-black sex.

64,000 words.

[fantastic-nonsense]

comic sales are down because the industry is inaccessible and expensive, not because piracy exists

Higher piracy rates are what happens when you make buying comics expensive, difficult, platform-dependent, and inherently exclusionary while pretending trades and digital don't count as sales.

if any single comic book company decided to be a competent publishing company for even a year comic piracy rates would plummet

[prokopetz]

Sometimes I see folks who follow this blog citing stuff like Vampire: The Masquerade as their "favourite indie RPG", and I reflect that some of my posts about indie publishing must come across very differently than I'd intended them to if that's what they think I'm talking about.

[daisyvramien]

[author-a-holmes]

Seven Snippets, Seven People

Thank you @wordsacrossemptypages for the tag!

I'm not going to be able to share Darkling content for this one, I don't think. I think seven snippets from a sequel might be more than I'm willing to put down right now.

But I can share seven snippets from Changeling instead.

Taggin forward, with no pressure, to; @afoolandathief, @oh-no-another-idea, @sleepyowlwrites, @sunset-a-story, @ashen-crest, @fictionalbullshitter, and @mr-writes <3

One.

"What, in the realm, are you doing?" Booker asked her on a heavy exhale, his sleep-coated voice rumbling quietly as he ran a weary hand through the tufts of bed-mussed blonde hair in a vain attempt at smoothing them into place.

"Nothing," Lizzy answered, wincing. It was too short, and too sharp, and she hoped he was still drowsy enough to miss her tells.

Her hope sank when Booker paused in his grooming to blink at her owlishly. It took a couple of seconds before her abrupt answer seemed to register, but when it did his frown deepened into an outright scowl.

"Lizzy, you're fully dressed in the middle of the night, with a bag packed, and the best you can come up with is 'nothing'?"

Two.

... he let himself concentrate on the conversation the two troublemakers at his back were trying to keep quiet.

The pair were doing a good job; they were staying several paces back and speaking in hushed tones. If he were human, or fey, he doubted he'd have noticed their murmured argument at all.

Unfortunately for them both, being a vampire gave him a distinct advantage.

"It's not my fault he's acting like a—"

"Please," Mr Reed breathed, pleading, and cutting off his companion's scathing comment. With Andric's back to them, he didn't bother smothering the amused grin that spread across his face.

Three.

"I just... I couldn't stand being in that house."

"I can't imagine how difficult—"

"No," Andric agreed, cutting Hilda off, his voice quiet, "you can't. Dad's near catatonic with grief, and when he's not he's destroying the house, or picking physical fights with anyone who can punch back harder than him. Mum's splitting her time between crying, and blaming me for—"

"Your brother's situation is not your fault, Andric," Thomas growled. The sound was primal, predatory, and it reminded Andric how much older Walcott was than the average vampire. Slowly, the breath that had caught in his throat released into a sigh and he shrugged.

Four.

"Why?" he asked, and Nameer shrugged one shoulder.

"Rumour is, he's on the warpath. Does it matter why?" he asked, sighing before uncapping their prescribed daily dose of animal blood and stirring it into his mashed potatoes, giving Andric the perfect excuse to grimace in disgust.

"We all know he's a prideful little shit," Nameer continued. "Just figured you might want to be on hand, in case someone needs to have their back."

"Yeah, thanks," Andric murmured, glancing away from the ruined mash and blood, and letting his eyes skip across the hall...

Five.

"You... you believe me?" Lizzy asked, blinking in shock.

"You've no reason to lie."

"Well, no. I don't, but— but everyone else—. Even with Cara's help, I—"

"I am not in the habit of deluding myself, just because the reality is something I don't wish to contemplate," Gladstone said, lowering her cup to the desk.

Six.

Even as the words spilt over his tongue and across his lips, Andric knew his tone was too hard, too harsh, and her shell-shocked expression only reinforced that.

Booker was glaring at him, and Andric sighed, "Lizzy—"

"Don't," she hissed. "I don't want to hear it."

She spun on her heel and stalked over to the door, yanking it open and disappearing into the hall before Andric was able to shake himself out of his shock.

Seven.

It was the growing silence that made him grind to a halt, Lizzy almost stumbling into him at his abrupt stillness. He could feel the weight of her gaze on his face and swiped his thumb across her hand again, but he couldn't spare her any additional reassurance, before tilting his head to listen to the forest.

His brow furrowed, as he strained his hearing to its limits, but there was nothing.

Not a bird ruffling its feathers, not a mosquito whining in the distance. Perfect stillness, and Andric felt nausea begin gathering in the pit of his stomach.

[publishinggoblin]

Alright alright... @cryptotheism / @normal-horoscopes, I think we've got one more in us.

The third edition of the Normal Tarot is coming... and it's coming March 5th. All-new, full-color illustrations by Ezra Kimbell, this deck will be the final version of the incredible Normal Tarot, designed by the Caretaker.

You can sign up to be notified of our launch on backerkit here!

Oh... What's that? Oh, okay, it won't be alone then.

@worm-dark, @charminglyantiquated y'all ready for the Gold and Silver decks to finally get reprints? I suppose it is about time, then. We'll have to make them cheaper than last time, to let the most people get a hold of one!

And... what?

Alright alright, I hear you-- the 1st edition will also be there, in its clean black and white glory.

If you want to be there and be first, please join us here on the teaser page and signup to be notified, help us see how much interest we have! : )

[hiveworks]

The Demon of Beausoleil by Mari Costa is coming to print!

Armed with a demon-forged knife and guarded by the enigmatic Elias, Helianthes ventures into the streets, causing mischief and exorcising demons. But the shadows of his past lurk, and a haunting specter emerges to confront him. Amidst the dark chaos, an unexpected romance blossoms between Helianthes and Elias, fueling the fire in this dramatic M/M narrative.

This is definitely not a story for the faint-hearted. We recommend 16+ readers navigate this fiery tale.

Claim your copy today!

[beneathathousandskies]

Map Reveal: The Marauders, the Daughter, and the Dragon (The Azure Archipelago #1) - K.R.R. Lockhaven

Map Reveal: The Marauders, the Daughter, and the Dragon (The Azure Archipelago #1) – K.R.R. Lockhaven

Hello! This is an incredibly belated post as life got in the way, but I love this map so much and I am going to be reading this book very soon so I wanted to share it anyway! Book Summary: To say that Azure Brine is at odds with her father would be an understatement. His recent spiral into the “Humans First” politics of League of Islands’ new governor has strained their once-strong…