#self-publishing authors

[writingatthepark]

Sorry Babe, I have to cancel our date. Something just came in the mail...

[outskirtspress]

Congratulations to Andrew Ceroni on his 5-Star book review from Readers' Favorite!

Reviewed by: Alma Boucher Review Rating:  5 STARS – Congratulations on your 5-star review!  First Bullet by Andrew Ceroni is a brilliantly written espionage thriller. Roy Phillips and his wife are eating dinner in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, when he notices a group of oriental-appearing men sitting near their table. His suspicions are aroused, and he questions the manager. And soon after, CIA Agent…

[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.

[mimimar]

˖⁺‧₊⟡₊˚⊹my commissions are currently OPEN!˖⁺‧₊⟡₊˚⊹

all info ✧here✧

all my commission types are open right now, including custom paper doll commissions!

i am also open for commercial work in many kinds of projects, including book covers for self-publishing authors. email me for any inquiries♡

[daisyvramien]

[stuckinapril]

I want to read books I want to write more I want to play the piano I want to sing in key I want to delve into fashion history I want to travel I want to publish research papers and I want to become a surgeon and I’m supposed to do all that in this one wild and beautiful life

[autumn2may]

GUYS DO NOT GIVE YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO AN AI THIS IS A BAD IDEA ON EVERY LEVEL DON'T DO IT

original tweet from @jamesjyu reads: "We launch Shrink Ray today on Sudowrite! Upload your manuscript and get loglines, blurbs, synopsis, and full outlines automatically. Takes a ton of legwork out of book marketing. Below the tweet are two images of the program."

original quote tweet from @sudowrite reads: "New in Sudowrite: Upload your whole novel/script, get instant longlines (sic), blurbs, synopsis, and outline!"

tweet from @FantasyFaction reads: "Oh jeez! Bad bad, very bad! Writers DO NOT willingly give your manuscript to an AI so it can "learn" by stealing your work! I know blurbs and synopses are hard, but PLEASE do not do this! - JI 🐉

(stolen from ML Brennan & Sravani Hotha so I can include alt text)"

[drchucktingle]

hey chuckie, how do you get published and also over the fear of nobody liking your work.

my initial way was to trot a SELF PUBLISHED trot, which is pretty dang exciting because anyone can do it. after writing about four hundred books WORLDS GREATEST AUTHOR CHUCK sent a message to a big time publisher name of nightfire and said 'will you publish my horror novel in all stores?' and they said 'yes bud'

so basically to answer first question of 'how do you get published?' it is both simple and difficult. SIMPLE in that i just started self publishing which anyone can do but DIFFICULT in that i did it for a long time and wrote till my dang eyes fell out.

but honestly i do not think this is the real question.

i think what is really being asked is: how can i climb over the greatest hurdle of all, the voice telling me that i am no good?

the way is to understand that YOU ARE GOOD AT BEING YOU. in fact YOU ARE PERFECT AT BEING YOU. there is LITERALLY NOBODY BETTER, not now, not in the past, not in the future. you are a brilliant eruption of rarity in the middle of endless time stretching forever in either direction.

when i say 'i am the worlds greatest author' i HECKIN MEAN IT, but this does not mean that i am better than you. the podium i stand on is not just for one buckaroo, it is for ALL BUCKAROOS. there is plenty of room at the top because YOU CAN BE THE WORLDS GREATEST AUTHOR TOO. IN FACT, YOU ALREADY ARE.

now that you realize you hold this power and prestige, what are you gonna do with it? that is up to you bud. id say you should go out and publish your dang incredible book

[reasonsforhope]

Book Publishing Resources

Well, since a few people said they were interested and/or that posting about it on here occasionally was a decent idea, here we go!

I'm MC Calvi, a freelance editor specializing in self-help, psychology, spirituality, paganism, workbooks, and LGBTQ books.

You can find out more about me at my website, where I also offer free twenty-minute book/publishing consultations, in addition to regular editing services.

I am also now offering some pay-what-you-can resources on my website and on Gumroad. I'm committed to offering pay-what-you-can resources because the odds are already so stacked against marginalized authors, and publishing shouldn't be pay to win.

I have two new booklets I'm actually super happy with! They both draw on my eight years of experience in the publishing industry to give authors a leg up.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming as I hit "publish" on another good news post!

[vanhelsingapologist]

Publishing has always been a fucking nightmare, but now it’s a layer of hell. It’s not enough that writers be good at what they do. Writers have to maintain an active social media presence and cultivate a following. Be available.

They have to be conventionally attractive enough to look good enough to see on a screen, aesthetically pleasing, kind, funny, up-to-date on trends, socially aware but not so controversial that they turn off a brand from California from slapping their discount code on a video promoting a book.

They have to do all of this with no media training, with little help from the companies that are supposed to be doing this for them.

Of course, a lot of this isn't possible for say, the 40-something mother of two who teaches English at a school and writes on the side. She’s boxed out of an already complex industry that already has enough walls.

On some level, I think authors have always marketed themselves a little, but we’ve reached such a crazy point where we’re demanding the author become the influencer. Accessibility in publishing has narrowed from an inch to a sliver. And that inch was hard enough to get in as is.

[traegorn]

A simple ask for folks who self publish

[subjective-raven]

Hey everybody! I wrote a book! It comes out on September 17th 2024.

It’s a magical realism thriller anthology of four short stories and five poems! Each stand alone short story is set in a different season. Each story says something different about the human condition.

In “Dottie’s Final Day,” a reaper comes to Dottie Lyre in her garden. What does an elderly mother choose to do on her last day alive?

“The Door,” appears suddenly and disappears just as fast. What’s on the other side? Why won’t the door sit still? Jane’s going to find out.

Please share this with anyone you think might be interested! You can preorder the e-book on Amazon now for .99c and the paperback will be available SEPTEMBER 17th for $10.99! The price will go up a few dollars September 28th but I’ll also be getting a larger percentage of the sale.

I’ve been writing my entire life and this is my first published book so pleaseeee if you are reading this, this book is for anyone middle school to grave. It’s only like 142 pages and the cover is really pretty if you would rather just have a pretty trophy and leave me a review on Amazon like you read it and it was awesome then I also love you.

[outskirtspress]

Writer Andrew Williams wants your help choosing his book cover.

Angels & Giants Faith Fact or Fiction Synopsis “A compelling exploration of ancient mysteries that will challenge your beliefs.” “An insightful and thought-provoking journey through the worlds of angels and giants.” “Andrew Williams skillfully blends faith, history, and speculation in this must-read book.” Angels and Giants is a work of religious nonfiction that explores the existence of…

[emeryleewho]

My latest book is live on Kickstarter with a full cover reveal!

Here are 10 Reasons you should pledge to my kickstarter (or at least reblog this post!)

If less than 0.5% of the people who've bought my previous books pledge to the paperback tier, this book would be over-funded, so it's a very doable project but I need help finding those readers again!

I launched this Kickstarter because despite being award-winning and making impressive sales, I wasn't offered a living wage for my next YA book (which went to auction) so it felt counterintuitive to sell this adult book to a publisher that doesn't appreciate me.

The book is VERY queer! It's literally a drag queen romcom. Like, come on.

If you read Meet Cute Diary or Café Con Lychee, you'll get to revisit some characters you love in this one! If you haven't read either, you can still enjoy this one because it technically stands alone!

If we get enough backers, I can upgrade everyone's copies to include more art and higher quality editions!!!

Despite doing this entirely independently, the DDTO eBooks are MUCH cheaper than what's offered for my first two books by a major publisher, and if we get this Kickstarter fully funded, I should be able to offer my paperbacks cheaper too! More access, woo!!!

Helping indie creators achieve their goals is just cool. It's innovative.

The book has Studio Ghibli references and other nerd culture! I get to name drop Lil Nas X! It's just a fun time okay!

There is a nonbinary, trans masc character that I am 99% sure Tumblr is going to lose its absolute mind over, but WE'LL NEVER KNOW IF THIS DOESN'T FUND!

Seriously, let's just stick it to the multi-billion dollar corporation that begged me for my "Meet Cute Diary" sequel only to not even offer me a living wage, like how funny would that be y'all?

Anyway, we only have until Friday October 11th to get this funded so spread it far, spread it wide, spread it through the countryside, just help me get the word out pretty please? <3

[nicosraf]

Really upset about indie authors on Tiktok lying to promote their books so

1. A publisher will not reject you for not having enough followers. Even if they did, they would not directly tell you anything like "Sorry you have less than 100k followers so we decided we're not interested."

2. A bookstore returning books or refusing to stock them is not a sign your book has been banned. Your indie book on Amazon/Ingram is not going to get banned, frankly. That's not how it works. The distributors might decide you go against their vague policies somehow but getting removed is not a book ban either.

It's really careless to spread lies about publishing for pity buys of your book but its also incredibly disrespectful to your readers and other authors. Can't believe anyone thinks this would be a good idea at all

[haine-kleine]

anyway. the ending was like That because it was Izuku's hero academia. it was his story told from his point of view and it concluded all the plot points he was concerned with, like his relationship with Bakugou, Allmight, the public's opinion on the heroes, what the new generation of heroes is going to be like, how Shouto is perceived by the public, Izuku's general relationship with his former classmates and Aizawa.

he never really cared about Shigaraki outside of their brief confrontation. he didn't really know Shigaraki as a person, and nor was he interested in getting to know him, even when he got the chance to peek into his past, Nana and Allmight had more reason to be interested in who Shigaraki the person was. to Izuku, Shigaraki started as a terrifying villain and ended as a crying boy he was unable to save. this is why, as he joins the rest of his classmates and becomes a pro hero, he imagines the ghost of Shigaraki looking over him, haunting him, reminding him of his failure but also inspiring him to try harder and 'keep reaching out'.

The villains were the ones concerned with their stories. Spinner wrote that book by himself, as Izuku's notes are being written at the point the book has already been published. Izuku never mentions any contents of that book nor Spinner or Mister Compress. Because they do not belong in his story, not really.

They belong with each other, in the League of Villains, as they have proven time and time again how important they are to each other and how far they are willing to go to protect their own. Shigaraki's thoughts before Izuku had killed him were all about the League. Kurogiri's last act was trying to save Shigaraki from AFO and the heroes. What kept Spinner's spirit from crumbling after losing everyone he had cared about was his burning desire to tell their story to others, to let their stories be heard. Touya finds no solace despite getting everything he had ever wanted from his family and being reunited with them - because his place was in the League of villains, the place where he was accepted just as he was, unconditionally.

the conflict of heroes versus the villains led to nothing but devastation and destruction for the villains. even those who were heard out and validated by the other party ended up becoming victims, or martyrs.

after that experience, after having a whole crowd of pro heroes, the people who made it their lives career to save others witness his destruction by the man who stole his body from him and by the boy who swore to save him, why would Shigaraki be interested in keeping in contact with these people, had he survived? why would Kurogiri go out of his way to let Shirakumo's friends know he had survived their students attempt to take his life and the life of the boy he wanted to save, all because they couldn't accept his affection for that boy outweighing their long gone friendship? why would Toga, when the reporters and the heroes saw her body after starting to transfuse all of her blood to Ochako and not even bothered to pick it up, to save her life or even to bury her?

here is how it went: Kurogiri did end up successfully saving Shigaraki, the fact going unnoticed by the heroes because both of their bodies were crumbling. he had also taken Toga, which is why her body wasn't picked up together with Ochako (and why Ochako doesn't have any memories of Toga's dead body, only of her final words to her). and then Kurogiri teleported them far away, where they healed and started planning how to get the remaining three LOV members back, while they are still alive.

they broke Spinner and Compress out of the prisons. In memory of Twice, Hawks had covered it up, as long as they don't resurface as villains.

Shigaraki and Toga had considered letting Touya stay together with his family, up until the news of Endeavor's disgraced villain son being on his deathbed got out. On the very next day, Shigaraki broke the tank Touya was residing in to pieces. Enji and his sidekicks had covered his eldest going missing by holding a funeral ceremony for him (the second one, this time knowing full well it's a fake funeral). Shouto was enraged with his father's decision and Enji used Shouto's just starting pro hero career as an excuse, don't you want to have a clean start, without the weight of mine and Touya's crimes weighting you down? It's not like Shouto has a choice in the matter, just as when he was a kid. The family wonders about the missing one's fate. Sometimes, Shouto gets messages from unknown numbers. He doesn't share them with anyone, except for Natsuo, who is still devastated about not using his one last chance to reconcile with the brother he had been so sorely missing for 8 years.

The ghosts of Toga, Shigaraki and Dabi live on, haunting the heroes who failed to save them. Himiko, Tenko and Touya also live on. They are very different from these ghosts.