Elemental Dragons Now Available in Hardcover

Hi all,

Last week I said that I had an announcement to make. And that announcement is that the Elemental Dragons series is now available in hardcover!

My proof copies of the hardcover version of Elemental Dragons

My proof copies of the hardcover version of Elemental Dragons

I have wanted to do hardcover since I started publishing, as they are my favourite kind of book. I love that they’re heavier than paperbacks, and the covers don’t bend so they’re not as easy to damage. I was tempted to do hardcover outside of Amazon as when I first started they didn’t offer this option to authors. The options that I looked into were Lulu and IngramSpark, but I didn’t use either. The prices for hardcovers on Lulu was enormous, at nearly £30 a book. I knew this wasn’t an option as hardly anyone would pay that much for one book. Then I looked at Ingram, but they charge $50 for each book that you want to upload and if you want to make any changes then it’s another $50. So, I had to abandon the idea of hardcovers for a while.

Until now, of course!

Not only is Elemental Dragons in hardcover, but all of my future books will be too! They will be the ones that I keep on my shelf as well, although I do like the paperbacks.

That’s it for this week! Let me know if you also prefer hardbacks in the comments. See you next week.

PS; looking for some new books to read? Take a look at the ones in these bundles below:

September Urban Fantasy Sale

Terrifying Adventures - Horror Giveaway

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The Pros and Cons of Authors Using Patreon

Hi all,

On Twitter I asked people to vote on what I should blog about next. So, I'm going to be writing about the pros and cons of authors using Patreon!

If you don't know what Patreon is, it's a subscription based platform. The creator posts content specifically for Patreon that can't be found anywhere else. People then subscribe by picking a membership level to see that content and become Patrons. I've heard of a few authors using it before, and have even checked out their Patreon accounts. A lot of them post:

Writing excerpts.

Chapters from a novel.

Polls.

Character profiles.

Book Trivia.

Merchandise.

So, without further ado, let's talk about the pros and cons!

Pros.

It's another way to connect with readers.

Those that subscribe to your Patreon have done it because they want more content from you. They want to see behind the scenes stuff, or help you decide which book to write next. You can see which content of yours does well, and then you know that's what your readers want to see.

Another revenue stream.

A Patron signs up for a monthly subscription, so even if you're only charging £1 a month, that's £12 per person every year! This won't help you pay for cover designs or editing costs, but you can use this money for marketing or advertising.

You get feedback.

If you post a chapter of a story you're working on, you can get feedback from your Patrons. They can tell you what they like, and what parts they want to see more of.

You can post entire books.

Say you want to post a self-edited chapter of a book you're working on once a week. Your Patrons will love that, as they get exclusive content until you decide to publish that book. Even after you've had a cover designed and got it professionally edited, your Patrons may want a physical copy too!

Cons.

It's another thing to manage.

On top of writing, editing, publishing and marketing this will be another thing that you will need to keep up with. Even if you have other social media, you can't neglect one to benefit the others. If Patrons are paying monthly, they will want new content on a regular basis.

Revenue is small.

The money you get from Patreon won't pay your rent or bills. It's just a small revenue stream that you can put into something small. Yes, you can charge Patrons more, but then they can always cancel their subscription. Patreon also get a small cut of whatever you earn as well.

You have to post regularly.

You can't just post once a month and be done until the next month. Your Patrons want regular content, and if you don't give it to them they will leave,

You may feel like you're talking to yourself sometimes.

Readers might not reply to your writing, or polls. So, some of the posts you make on there may feel like you're just screaming into the void. There will be posts that get no feedback as well.

It's not a crowdfunding platform.

You will not be able to crowdfund in order to publish a book. The fee that your Patron pays monthly is all you will get. Don't try to squeeze them for more.

I have considered creating a Patreon, though I'm not sure whether I'll do it or not. I'm not sure if at this stage of my author career if I have enough time to actually put into it.

That's it for this week, next week I have a special announcement to make, so keep an eye out! See you next week!

PS; looking for some new ebooks to download? Check out the ones in these bundles:

September Urban Fantasy Sale

Terrifying Adventures - Horror Giveaway

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Why You Don't Need to Market on Every Social Media Platform

Hi all!

This week I'm going to discuss something that I've seen a lot of authors talk about recently - social media. While some only have one or two platforms for their marketing, others have several. The ones who have several say that all authors should be marketing on every platform available, and I thought I would share why you don't need to do that.

The platforms that authors usually have a mix of are:

Twitter.

Facebook.

YouTube.

Instagram.

Reddit.

Medium.

TikTok.

Clubhouse.

Pinterest.

Patreon.

To begin with, it's too much.

Some authors may be able to use all of the platforms effectively, but I just think it's too much. How are you supposed to engage with your audience equally when you have so many platforms to keep an eye on? Ones like TikTok and YouTube may require you to follow trends or do challenges in order to stay relevant. So you have to research that, on top of posting regularly, and interacting with other regularly. It's just way too much.

Most of the time, it's not effective.

Some choose to post the same thing on all of their social media platforms so then more people see it. However, with things like Twitter and Facebook, it's hard for these posts to get noticed unless one goes viral. A lot of the time you'll just be screaming into the void.

It takes away from other marketing and writing.

If you're spending all day on social media crafting the perfect post and engaging with others, you're going to have less writing time. It also means you'll have less time to research for your advertisements.

Information overload.

If your fans follow you on multiple platforms then they will see a lot of posts from you. Sometimes this can be a hit overwhelming, as if they miss a few they have to go back and see what you've posted. Sometimes it's best to post a couple of times a day.

It’s not fun.

You’ll likely spend most of your day worrying that you haven’t posted enough on specific platforms, or that your posts aren’t doing as well. This is mentally draining, so it’s much better to focus on a few rather than all of them.

Some are not accessible for all.

In the case of Clubhouse, I've seen a lot being posted about how they are not accessible to those who are hard of hearing or deaf. A lot of the events on there don't use closed captions, which means that some people can't engage. If you're going to do an event on here, then make sure that you also run the same event on a different platform that is more accessible.

I only use three platforms myself; Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. It means that when I get home from work I'm not spending hours on social media. I can post as little or often as I want, with no pressure to post something on each account every day.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week!

PS; looking for some new books to read? Check out the ones in these bundles!

Multigenre Kindle Unlimited Finds

Fantasy Books for Sale

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The Pros and Cons of Book Posters

Hi all!

This week I thought I'd write another blog post that could help authors, this time about book posters.

What is a book poster?

It is a poster designed to market your book. It usually has the book cover on the front, and where the book is available to purchase. Some choose to have a solid colour background or a picture, while other authors go for illustrations. An example of one of my book posters is below:

poster.jpg

I went down the illustration route, as I like those best on posters. The top of the poster is dedicated towards the illustration, which initially catches the eye. Then as they look down the reader can see the book cover, tag line, and the fact that it's available on Amazon. Not all authors use book posters, but I prefer having something to tag onto the end of my blog posts and emails.

Pros.

Eye-catching.

A lot of posters can be eye-catching, which is exactly what you need when marketing your book. You want people to be drawn to it and check out your work.

You can make them yourself.

Using websites like BookBrush or Canva, you can make your own marketing material. They have a lot of templates and designs to choose from. You don't have to pay someone else to make it for you.

Useful for advertising.

If you use Facebook ads, then having a book poster as your ad could help you make more sales. It also means you don't have to worry too much about the visual aspect of the ad, as that has already been covered.

Cons.

Illustrations can be expensive.

To get the type of illustration that you want for your poster, it's going to cost money. To get a good one by a talented artist will, rightfully, cost more. If you want to use illustration, make sure you set aside a bit of your budget for the cost of this.

You can't use them in many places.

I use them at the end of my blog posts and emails, but that's about it. Most posters are too large and get cropped by social media sites. This means that they can't grab people as easily. There aren't many places that they can be used effectively.

Might not do as well as regular advertising.

Using a book poster as an ad may not work, depending on your target audience. Some prefer to see images that relate to your book. For example: weapons, backgrounds or creatures.

That's it for this week! Do you have a book poster? Do you consider it a marketing necessity? Comment your thoughts below! See you next week.

PS; looking for some new books to add to your bookshelf? Check out the ones in these bundles!

Multigenre Kindle Unlimited Finds

Inside the Dragon’s Cave…

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Mute Cover Design

Hi all!

If you haven’t seen my social media posts, then you might not know that I have revealed the cover for Mute! Without further ado…

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Again, this cover has been designed by the wonderful people at Deranged Doctor Design! As with all of my previous covers, I thought I’d explain some parts of the design!

  • The cat on the cover is Solaris, one of the guardians. He is not the main character, but he does assist her in her fight against the wendigo.

  • The colour scheme for this book is grey and pale green.

  • The background is a forest that is present in the book. Audra will sometimes dream herself there and be pursued by the wendigo.

  • The buildings in the background are also a part of the forest, where the wendigo hunts.

  • The blade beneath Solaris’ paws is a dagger, which Audra uses to defend herself against the wendigo.

  • I originally wanted the wendigo to appear on this cover in some form, but I thought it would look too messy and also doesn’t fit with the overall look.

  • I had a difficult time picking the font for this one but I think the one I chose is easy to read and also very fitting for the story.

  • The cover is very dark and dreary, fitting the horror theme of the book.

  • The design put my author name at the bottom this time as it is more standard for horror books.

All in all I am very happy with how this cover turned out as I’m not as well-versed with horror covers as I am with fantasy. I’ve a lot of people tell me that the cover reminds them of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, and that was the book that got me into horror!

Mute will be out in October 2021, pre-order will be available in August!

That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading, see you next week!

PS; love reading about dragons? Check out this bundle full of FREE dragon books!

Dragon’s Lair

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Writing in a New Genre - Post-Apocalyptic

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about a new genre I recently discovered - Post-Apocalyptic. A lot of books have fallen under this umbrella but have been marketed as Sci-Fi or Dystopian. The Celestial Plague series that I'm writing is an example of one who will be genre hopping.

First of all, what is Post-Apocalyptic?

It's a genre detailing the aftermath of an apocalypse. I do love writing about world ending viruses and incidents, so I'm very much in love with the genre.

Celestial Plague.

When I started writing the trilogy I had in mind that it would be a YA Sci-Fi. Now that I've discovered more genres and written more books, I've realised that this doesn't quite fit anymore. Instead it will be a YA Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy. I think this label will fit the books much better and also help when I release them. Making a story about four girls with powers live through an apocalypse never quite sat right being in the Sci-Fi genre.

Curse of Anubis.

Again, this was going to a be a YA Sci-Fi Horror, but I think it would better fit as a YA Post-Apocalyptic Horror. The main character, Tahira, has to learn to survive in a world where a zombie virus has broken out. I think this suits Post-Apocalyptic better.

There will be no significant changes to either of the series as I edit them. My writing style will not change, and the characters will be the same. I am only using this as an opportunity to expand my writing into even more genres, and get my books out there more. I'm sure I'll be able to come up with new book ideas in a variety of worlds and experiences!

So with a new one under my belt, what genres am I planning on writing? Currently, my books will be one, or a mixture of:

Fantasy

Sci-Fi

Dystopian

Horror

Young Adult

New Adult

Post-Apocalyptic

A lot of heavy genres it seems…

That's it for this week! I've started Camp NaNoWriMo this week, I'm hoping to get 50K words written for Curse of Anubis #3: Middle before the end of the month.

See you next week!

PS; with Cinder and Fire out in less than two weeks are you eager to read about dragons to fill the time? Check out the books in this bundle:

Dragon Eggs For Easter!

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How I Chose the Colour Schemes for my Books

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about something a bit different, colour schemes. Each of my books have a set colour scheme and I usually have the colour scheme in mind before I've finished the book in some cases! I thought I would explain how I narrow down the colour choices for the covers.

Elemental Dragons.

Each book in this series has a different colour scheme:

Blood and Water - blue and red

Venom and Earth - green and purple

Glass and Ice - white and pale blue

Cinder and Fire - orange and grey

I chose the colours based off the book's titles. When people think of water they usually think of the colour blue, and blood is red. The only one I struggled with was Venom and Earth. I knew half would be green, but I did struggle for a while on the other colour. In the end I went with purple, as in a lot of cartoons and films I used to watch the poisonous bottles would be purple or filled with a purple liquid. So I went with purple.

Mute.

Because Mute is a horror book, the colours will be dark. There will be definitely be an element of dark green on the cover. This is because whenever I think of a 'mute symbol' I usually picture it in green.

Years.

This book will have an orange colour scheme due to the abundance of solar flares in the book. I haven't thought about the cover much apart from the colour scheme, but I still have time to mull it over!

Celestial Plague.

I wrote these books years ago, so I have a good idea of what the covers will look like. Instead of a full colour on the cover, I'm going to have it in the background instead:

Nirvana - mint green

Heaven - multicoloured

Purgatory - purple

When I wrote the books, the only colour scheme I was sure of was Heaven's. One of the main characters has the power to change the colour of hair and fabric, but can't control it. That's why this book will have a multicoloured element to it.

Curse of Anubis.

These books will have colour schemes based off sand and the sun. The books contain Egyptian gods and feature heavily in a realm that is a desert, so I thought the colour schemes were fitting.

Halfway - orange

Limbo - red

Middle - yellow

Dual - gold

Like Years, I haven't thought much about the covers apart from the colour schemes. Middle and Dual haven't been written yet, but I already know what colour schemes they'll have!

That's all of the books that I have planned for now, but I'm already deciding what project to move onto once Curse of Anubis is finished. It will be a mix of Original Elementals and standalones that I've been wanting to write for a while. Their colour schemes will come to me before the books are written, I'm sure!

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week.

PS; looking for new books to read this Spring? Check out the ones in these bundles:

Spreading Magic in March…

March Madness Fantasy Book Fair

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The History of Elemental Dragons

Hi all!

As promised, I'm going to talk about my feelings after setting up the pre-order for Cinder and Fire.

When I first starting writing Blood and Water when I was seventeen, I never imagined I'd get this far. I never even considered the fact that publishing might become a reality rather than a dream. I just wrote because I felt like it, and wanted to write something about dragons. I had no plans for the series at that point, I just started writing based off of rough ideas I had. After three months, the first draft of Blood and Water was finished.

My first book.

The first book that I had actually written all the way through, beginning to end. I couldn't believe it. I left it for a month before starting the edits on it, researching word counts and the best way to edit. It was round 90K at that point, so I knew I had a lot of tidying up to do.

Fast forward two years and hundreds of Blood and Water drafts later, I started my second one. I didn't start it straight after Blood and Water because I honestly had no idea where the story would go. After years of not touching it, the urge to continue became too much and I finished Venom and Earth in eight months. I had just started my apprenticeship and was at the height of my depression, so it took a lot longer than what I wanted.

The first draft of Glass and Ice was completed in one month for NaNoWriMo 2018. I averaged 2771 words a day, and knew that I wanted to take writing seriously.

So I started querying.

I sent out about eighty in total, each of them rejections. One of them begged me to pass the book onto someone with more 'experience' and a 'better writing style'. I refused, and so my self publishing journey began. I also wrote the first draft of Cinder and Fire during this period.

Here I am today, three books under my belt with the fourth one coming out in two months time, and I couldn't be happier. In July I'm also planning on releasing a boxset of all the Elemental Dragons books, the cover is here:

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So, how do I feel about publishing the last book in the Elemental Dragons series?

Over the moon that I managed to accomplish what I set out to do, but also sad that it's coming to an end. These were my very first books, and I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for them. I'm going to keep writing and keep publishing, as that's what makes me happy. I hope that I can inspire others to write or even just help them get through the dark period in their lives. If I can help just one person, it would mean that I've done something right.

On another note, the proof copies of all four books will not be staying on my bookshelf. The first three belonged to my Grandfather before he passed, and I don't like the thought of them just sitting there. Instead, I'm going to set up a raffle for them and donate the money to charity. He loved cats, so I am going to go with a cat charity. I'm not sure when I will set this up as it is a painful process, especially to pass on the books that belonged to him, but I want to do something in his name. Something he could be proud of. Once I'm ready, I'll get in touch with the cat charity that I would like to donate the winnings to and set it up. I will make posts about it, so keep your eyes peeled.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! Next week I have treat for you all - my bookplate reveal! I received them this week and they look absolutely gorgeous, I'll do a giveaway on a few of them too! See you next week!

Looking for some new fantasy books to read? Check out the ones in this bundle:

NEW YEAR HIGHS AND MYTHOLOGY

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How to Market Books Online When You Have Anxiety

Hi all!

This blog post is the result of a tied Twitter poll, with the other winner being posted last week! This time, I'm talking about how to make marketing your books easier when you have anxiety. Although my anxiety is a lot better than it used to be, I still get anxious when posting on social media sometimes. I thought I would share a few of tips and tricks to decrease the amount of anxiety I feel and make marketing easier.

Schedule posts.

With marketing my books, I schedule the posts. Why? Because then I forget about them. When I log into my social media for the day I remember that I scheduled a book quote or promo image when I see my notifications. This alleviates my anxiety when checking social media, as scheduling marketing posts a month in advance means I inevitably forget when some will be posted.

Don't post anything you're not comfortable with.

Some people like to share absolutely everything on social media, but you are under no obligation to do the same. You post what you want to post, not what other people want you to post.

Likes ARE engagement.

I've seen this argument on Twitter quite a few times, and I'm sick of it. If you 'like' a post, you have engaged with that person. Some of the arguments I've seen have tried to make people feel guilty for not commenting on their posts. Some say that likes are false engagement as it's simply a click. Do not get sucked into this. My anxiety means that sometimes I just can't bring myself to comment on a post, no matter how mundane it is. Instead I give it a like and move on. You are not obligated to comment on every post you like. Take care of your mental health, don't worry about someone getting upset about a like.

Only follow people you're comfortable following.

This is another thing I've seen that is prevalent on Twitter. You don't need to auto follow everyone back who follows you. If you look at their profile and see things you aren't comfortable with, don't follow them. Again, you are not obligated to follow everyone who follows you.

Newsletter swaps.

I use StoryOrigin for newsletter swaps, as it involves no direct communication with the other author unless you want there to be. There's no back and forth emails discussing list sizes and who is promoting what. You pick what you want them to promote, what you'll promote in return, and the date. I find this much easier than approaching authors directly.

Promotions.

Again, I use StoryOrigin for a lot of promotions. It's the same as newsletter swaps, you pick what you want promoted and they'll either accept your work or not. No direct communication is necessary. This helps me with my anxiety a lot, as I'm not great at talking to people who email me out of the blue. You can then schedule these on your social media with the link and an image if the promotion has one.

Post a promotion for your book once a week, and build up from there.

Test the waters and see how you feel after posting weekly. If you feel ready enough to increase those posts, then do so. You will not get angry comments from people about how you constantly promote your book. There are people who post about their book ten times a day and just get blocked. Posting once a week will not send an angry mob after you.

Don't spend too long on social media.

Take frequent breaks, and don't constantly check your statuses. It won't help you alleviate your anxiety.

Once you post something, leave.

When I post on Twitter or Facebook, I make the post and then leave. I usually come back an hour or so later with a clear head, instead of sitting there worrying why no-one has liked it yet.

Do what you are comfortable with.

If you don't want to post on social media on days you aren't feeling up to it, don't. You don't have to push yourself to go on social media and post anything. Ignore the ones that say you have to post multiple times a day to get interaction. You don't need to do anything. There are no rules as to how much you post. It's on your terms.

If someone messages you something nasty, block them.

Don't dwell on whatever they've said. Just block them so they can no longer communicate with you.

Don't feel bad for being anxious.

If people tell you that you aren't doing enough, ignore them. Anxiety is a mental illness that can't be switched off. Some think that you might not be doing much to promote your books but in my eyes, one post is better than nothing. Your anxiety does not make you less of a person. Remember, one person's definition of 'not enough' does not need to match your definition. One post means that you are speaking up about your work. You don't need several in one day.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed! See you next week.

Looking for new fantasy books to read? Check out the ones in this bundle!

Reading Treasures

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Why Authors Need Boxsets

Hi all!

I ran a poll on Twitter and the result was writing a blog post about boxsets. If you don’t know what a boxset is, it’s a collection of books in a series that you can buy as one product. In this post, I will cover the following points:

Design

Pricing

Readers

With design you need to think about the following points:

Spine Direction

Thumb Notch or no Thumb Notch

Boxset Cover

Although spine direction and thumb notch comes down to personal preference, the cover is the one you need to think about the most. You can get a whole new cover designed for it, or you can use your book covers. Depending on your covers, you could have multiple books on one cover. However, if your books feature the same model on each cover I would advise on picking one. With my boxset, I have chosen the cover for Blood and Water with my cover designer's advice, as they said having the same girl on the cover three or four times wouldn't look as good. Listen to the advice of you cover designer, they have more experience in that field than most authors.

Here is an example of a boxset of Warriors by Erin Hunter. The spines are facing the right and it does not contain a thumb notch:

Boxset of ‘The Prophecies Begin’ by Erin Hunter

Boxset of ‘The Prophecies Begin’ by Erin Hunter

With pricing, you need to make sure that it's reasonable, but also priced high enough for you to make a profit on advertising. I've found that a lot of authors on Amazon either set it at 99p for sales or slightly cheaper than buying each book separately. For example, each individual book may be priced at £2.99 and there's five in a series, but the boxset is priced at £7.99. Have a look through boxsets of authors in your genre to see what they're pricing their boxsets at.

Although most readers are happy to purchase a book and wait for the next one, there are a lot of people who will only buy a series when all the books are out. A boxset is perfect for them, as they can download all of the books in the series at once and read them at their own pace.

Now, onto the pros and cons.

Pros.

More readers.

As I stated above, some readers wait for all the books in a series to be published before picking up the series. A boxset is the perfect way for them to buy all your books at once.

Cheaper than buying all the books.

Having the boxset cheaper than all of the individual books combined will tempt some readers into checking out your books. It's a low risk, high reward scenario.

More reviews.

The readers who only buy boxsets gives you a new stream for reviews. The more reviews you have, the more Amazon will push your book in front of new eyes!

Cons.

Boxset design.

It's another thing to spend money on, and you need to make some design decisions so it matches other books in your genre. Although you can make it yourself, if you're not familiar with graphic design it might not turn out the way you like.

Amazon doesn't allow indie paperback boxsets.

Self published authors can only publish boxsets of their ebooks. If a reader wants the paperbacks, they'll have to buy each one separately. Or, you could combine all the books into one file. This would be one huge book, which would have high shipping and printing costs. Plus if it goes over a certain page count, Amazon won't print it.

Less profit.

Because boxsets are cheaper, you'll get less profit than if you were to sell each book individually.

Amazon doesn’t like the word ‘boxset’.

I’ve heard a lot of authors talk about how Amazon only likes the word boxset for paperback books. With ebooks, they prefer you to use ‘collection’ or ‘omnibus’. Some Amazon ads have been rejected for using the word boxset, so be careful when naming and advertising.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! Next week I'm going to talk about how to market with anxiety. See you next Sunday!

PS; looking for new books to read? Check out the ones in this bundle!

Reading Treasures

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