If you are a new or experienced author on Amazon’s KDP, you might wonder if you are pricing your book competitively. Will it make you enough money? Is it overpriced? Is it underpriced? It is attractive to consumers? And why is there a 35% or a 70% royalty option? Who doesn’t want to make more money? We’ll talk about each of these points below to help you price your book!
Is My Book Overpriced?
You spend a great deal of time and effort on your book. You know you should earn income appropriate to your efforts. However, are you pricing your book to high? Readers often consider price when choosing which book to purchase, and not everyone has the extra money to buy whatever they choose.
A good way to determine if your book is priced too high is to survey similar books in your genre. When you open your book’s sale page on Amazon, you can scroll down to see similar titles other people have bought. Look at the prices of these. Is yours the most expensive of the list? Visit your local bookstore and browse your genre, checking each price. If your book is always on the highest end, you may have overpriced it.
Is My Book Underpriced?
If you price your book extremely cheap, everyone will rush to buy it. After all, who doesn’t want a good deal? Well, this isn’t necessarily the case. Actually, you could be “shooting yourself in the foot”, as it were, by pricing your book too cheaply.
Consumers often attribute the quality of an item to its price. While everyone wants a good deal, if people think something is surprisingly cheap, too cheap, they may assume it is a low-quality item. Therefore, they may assume your book is not good and that is why it’s so cheap. When pricing your book, don’t make the cost so low that one questions how good it is. Also, your efforts deserve a good price. Don’t undersell yourself!
Who Wouldn’t Want a 70% Royalty?
When publishing an ebook specifically on KDP, it gives you the option to choose a royalty plan. You can choose between 35% or 70%. This seems confusing. Who wouldn’t want more money per book sale?
First thing to know is that not all books qualify for a 70% royalty. Your ebook cannot be priced higher than $9.99, or lower than $2.99, to qualify. You must also have this book enrolled in KDP Select. Enrolling in this free program allows your book to be part of Kindle Unlimited (subscribed readers can read your book for “free” and you get paid per page read), your book is allowed to be lent between readers for 14 days, and you can run discounts or free promotions of your book.
Be aware that even if you choose 70%, this may not apply to certain international markets. Honestly unless you are a worldwide-known author, there is no reason to not take advantage of the perks you get from choosing the 70% royalty plan. It gives you better outreach to potential readers.
We hope this has been educational! Happy publishing!
We look at the pros and cons of places to promote your book.
Where to promote your book? That is a question on every indie author’s mind. You did all this work, but how do you get people to actually see what you’ve written? There are many marketers out there that claim to be able to make your “sales soar”, but many of them are only scams. Here is our list of where to promote your book, as well as what to look out for.
Social Media
This one is not the quick-success guarantee many people make it out to be. Unless you’re someone that likes to stir up a lot of drama, you’re likely not going to build a huge following online. Cultivating a social media presence to promote your book will be a long-term, daily effort. And books aren’t exactly the type of quick entertainment content that reads well on things like Instagram and the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Pros: Access to a large audience, able to post multiple times a day, able to capitalize on trending hashtags to get noticed, free
Cons: Slow to build followers, book marketing isn’t a “quick laugh”, posts can easily read like ads
Be aware of: You can pay for ad campaigns that let you reach a lot of people.
Be wary of: People pretending to be influencers that just want a quick sell promising they can get your book out to thousands of people.
Book Review & Reader Websites
There are many websites out there run by a single individual or group that will review books, post about their favorites, and allow you to promote your book on their site. Some of these are good, some not so much. It is a good way to get your book in front of people that are currently looking for something new to read. The problem is that a lot of these people tend to be “free book collectors” that are just waiting for a free sale period to stock up. They don’t always turn around on reviews and revenue for you.
Pros: Targeted audience, good visibility
Cons: Sometimes can cost money, no guarantee of any actual sale
Be aware of: Some websites offer packages to promote and review your book. On the right site, this can give you great outreach.
Be wary of: Just because a lot of people are signed up for their newsletter doesn’t mean they have good engagement.
Amazon Ads
Most indie authors choose to publish on Amazon’s KDP because of the ease of it (most of the time, haha). Amazon may market their advertising as an easy way to get sales, but it is a lot more complicated than that. If you go into it without knowing anything about their system, you can quickly get overwhelmed. Make sure you do some research first so you understand what you are filling out. I recommend reading this. While these ads can get your book many, many views, it’s not always a good ROI. Where you market it, what keywords you use, who you target, and when you run your ad can result in lots of sales, or no sales at all.
Pros: Marketed directly to people shopping for a book, easy click to buy the book
Cons: Not user friendly, costs lots of money for a good campaign
Be aware of: The more you invest in your ad, the more outreach you will get.
Be wary of: Books with few reviews, bad reviews, or uninteresting descriptions might not perform well and you will be out the money.
We give some top tips to help effectively write a book summary!
“What is your book about?”
It’s the dreaded question asked to writers all around the world. How can you possibly sum up an entire novel’s worth of character backstories, relationships, plot development, and intrigue? How can you condense a fully fleshed out story into a few sentences? And even worse, how can you make it sound intriguing without spoiling your carefully-plotted twists and turns?
Unfortunately, that is the task that falls on us when we have to write a book summary. If we ever want anyone to actually read the book, they need an overview of what it is about. There are plenty of theories and how-to’s online, but I have always been of the opinion that there is never one right way to do anything when it comes to creative writing. What you’ll find here is a series of tips to help you generate ideas and give you a launching point to summarize your book. Enjoy!
Focus on One Character
Books are full of so many colorful characters that are all important to the plot. But if you try to include them all in your summary, you get a confusing mess. Who wants to read something like this:
“Donna knows she has to break up with Conner, because she is secretly in love with Thomas. But that is complicated by Thomas’ involvement with Derrick “Knives” Laforge, the biggest mafia boss in Metro City. Thomas wants to be free from Derrick and marry Donna, but he doesn’t know how to. But Conner has something going for him, as well. His sister, Susan, is Donna’s best friend and is determined to see her and her brother together, no matter the cost!“
Confusing, right?
As hard as it may be, try to streamline your summary to focus on a singular character. This is a better revision of the above:
“Donna is caught between two men competing for her interest. Her heart may have chosen the bad boy wrapped up with the mafia, but her mind knows a solid friendship without risk of death is the smarter choice. Torn between loyalty and love, Donna’s choice will alter the lives of everyone around her.“
Understand Your Stakes
I once read that “a problem a character can walk away from, is a book the reader can walk away from”. When you write your book summary, but sure the stakes are clear. These don’t always have to be life and death, end of the world type of stakes.
Think of this simple formula. Character wants something > This is what happens if they don’t get it.
Let’s give some examples from the Thread of Souls books.
For Book 1, we understand in the summary that: Zok wants to find out who murdered his mentor. If he doesn’t, his Order and his reputation as a paladin will be ruined.
For Book 2, we understand that Unole has to clear her name. If she doesn’t, she will lose the only home she’s ever known.
Give a Thematic Overview
When there’s simply too much to fit into your summary, it’s helpful to give 1-3 sentences of thematic overview. These work best at the start or end of your summary, and usually can exist separately from the “meat” of the summary. For example, if we take our Donna summary, we might put after it:
“Donna’s Choice weaves a dramatic tale of love and loss against a backdrop of a dirty city where each day is a fight for survival.”
We have something similar at the end of each Thread of Souls book. Because Thread of Souls is an eight-book series, it is much longer and involved than you would need for a stand alone novel. But it is good as a reference:
“Thread of Souls is an award-winning eight-book epic fantasy series based off a TTRPG campaign. These stories weave a world of deep history, cultures, and lore with a fascinating pantheon of good and evil gods. Adventure across the vast world of Corventos while diving right into the heart and soul of a diverse and colorful cast of characters whose passions, strengths, and failures drive the story. “
We hope this has helped you feel more confident when you write a book summary! Practice always makes things better. Write multiple summaries and compare each one, growing and revising until you have your final product!
Top Tips to Help Struggling Writers Get Their Thoughts Together!
We creatives have busy minds, and that can make the process to organize writing difficult. There’s just too many ideas! While I don’t believe there is one path set in stone guaranteed to work for everybody, here is what I do to help keep my ideas in line while I am writing the Thread of Souls books.
Google Docs to Organize Writing
I use Google Docs a lot. Many years ago, I used to keep all my story notes on Microsoft Word on my computer. After the computer crashed and destroyed everything, I only trust the Cloud haha. But it also is easy to navigate, and works well when you’re working with a co-author like I am. The lovely Dorian.
I have one folder titled Thread of Souls, and that is broken up into subfolders. While I am writing, I keep a few documents permanently open.
The actual document I am writing on.
My outline. I change sections to gray text when I’m done with them, but I never delete in case I need to refer back.
My handy word list! I have a spreadsheet with great synonyms for “said”, emotions, expressions, fighting moves, etc to help me when I’m blanking.
I also have one other document I pull up as needed. I have the original game notes from the game. As you know, Thread of Souls is based off our TTRPG. When I outline, I initially start by going through the rough game notes and sculpting the story off that base.
Evernote to Organize Writing
Because I’m writing a very detailed series of books with a fully fleshed out world, I can’t expect myself to remember everything all the time. What is Zok’s age again? What symbol is on the temple to the Holy Dragon in Somberdale? How much as Taliesin talked about his sister?
When I needed answers to these questions, I use Evernote. This is not an endorsement, I’m not getting paid for this haha. But after trying some other software Evernote was just the easiest for me to use. I have my notes divided up by:
Characters
Plotline
Gods
Locations
I keep this open on my computer so I can quickly use their search bar and find what information I need.
In summary, I keep a few documents open on Google Docs, specifically an outline and a handy word list. I also use Evernote to keep track of things that happened in prior books. I use all of these while I am doing my writing.
What strategies do you use when you organize your writing?
It doesn’t matter if you are an aspiring or experienced writer, when it’s time to choose a book title it can feel overwhelming. You want it to catch a reader’s attention, you want it to convey the theme of the book, and you want it to feel unique to the story you are telling. It can all be overwhelming! We outlined three simple strategies below to help you in naming your book. These are strategies we put into place when we choose book titles for our Thread of Souls series.
The Aesthetic Title
You may want to choose a title that focuses on the specific aesthetic of your story. Is your story dark and moody? Is it romantic and epic? Is it violent and strategic? If you have an idea of the vibes of your story, you can begin to create a short list of words related to them. Try not to fall into the stereotypical trap of young adult novels with edgy names, but instead choose words that relay the moods and themes of your work.
For example, if you book is romantic, you might want to include a color of passion in the title, like red or purple. Or aesthetics associated with romance such as flowers, fire, silk, the night, or chocolate.
Animals are also good metaphors for themes in your book. Foxes are associated with being cunning, owls for wisdom, dogs for loyalty, elephants for sturdiness, or spiders for laying traps.
Consider other symbols and what they mean. A full moon is often associated with power. Storms are often associated with troubling times. Rain for rebirth, a garden for life, an apple for temptation, and so on.
Here are some real-life examples: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White, and Midnight Beauties by Megan Shepherd.
The Prominent Name Title
You may choose your book title based on something prominent within the story itself. This could be a character, a location, or an item of note. This brings the focus onto something instrumental to your story’s plotline.
Some examples of stories named after characters: Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare, The Book of Mordred by Vivian Vande Velde, and Pendragon by D.J. MacHale.
Some examples of stories named after locations within: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, and Out of Africa by Karen Blixen.
Some examples of stories named after an item within: The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, and The Singing Sword by Jack Whyte.
The Fairytale Setting Title
Sometimes you might want to cement the grand scale of the story you are telling. This is especially helpful if you are telling a book trilogy or series. This allows you to be flexible with subtitles, as well! When going for this type of book title, choose a synonym for “story” and then something else from the list above, such as a character name. We’ve got some great examples below!
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, and A Song of Ice and Fire from George R. R. Martin.
How We Chose the Thread of Souls Names
“Thread of Souls” relates to everything that is published within our fantasy world. It not only goes with our theme of multiple character POV’s and how they influence each other, but also of the prominent goddess of death in the stories and her theme of threads. Readers familiar with Greek mythology will easily recognize the allusion to the Fates.
The eight-book series we are currently on is dubbed the “Spider Octology”. This is not only because of a prominent god feature and the number of books in the series, but also is thematic since spiders are associated with laying traps.
Here is a breakdown of the subtitles of the four books published so far:
Book 1 – Phantom Five. This is named after the adventuring group the Phantom Five created across the story.
Book 2 – Ash & Thunder. Not only is this title a bit aesthetic for the chaos and violence in the book, but it also directly relates to two major battles that take place within.
Book 3 – Path of the Spiders. Many secrets are uncovered in this book regarding Taliesin’s missing spiders.
Book 4- Asunder. The story begins with many of our heroes split apart, and thus the group has been torn asunder.
We hope this has been helpful to you! We’d love to hear how you came up with the names for your stories below!
You don’t have to look far on the internet to find multiple people posting their own “writing rules”. It’s on Twitter, Pinterest, blogs, published books, and more. Some are from professional authors, some from amateurs, and some from just random people who think they have talent but haven’t published anything yet. As authors ourselves and people who often publish blogs about writing tips and tricks, this begs the question, do you actually need rules for writing? Are there actual do’s and don’t’s that make or break your book? Or is it all just nonsense from people with superiority complexes?
Too Much Info
When you start to look up some guidelines for writing online, it doesn’t take long before it all just feels too much. “Describe eyes like this”, “Don’t describe eyes at all“, “Don’t use prologues“, “Use prologues”, “Don’t slow down your pace“, “Give the reader time to breathe“. It all feels a bit contradictory. If you are looking for hard advice to follow, it can seem like a losing battle.
This reminds me of an amusing quote I found on Pinterest once that made fun of these writing rules by saying “the best thing to give your reader is just a blank page“.
Do Rules Have a Place in Creative Writing?
When you are writing a creative piece, is there really a need for rules? Do you need to follow a formulaic plotline? Or do you simply write what is in your heart? Everyone has different tastes in stories. What one person likes to read will be completely different than what someone else likes to read. It begs the question if there is much of a point in sticking to certain specifications as if that will magically make your book the perfect story for every single person in the world.
We once worked as part of a writing team for a company, and one member of the team believed that stories should have a “you did this / you go there” POV so that the reader is drawn in to believe they are part of the story. But for both of us personally, we really dislike those types of POV’s and don’t enjoy stories written like that. This team member spouted out all these “rules for writing” to support his point, but does that have any merit when it actually comes down to personal taste?
Breaking the Writing Rules
We watched a documentary about J.R.R. Tolkien once, and something said in it will always stick with us. It said that his Lord of the Rings books would be considered completely unmarketable today because they break all the “rules” of telling a story. And yet, they still live on as one of the best works of fantasy. Unless, of course, you don’t like The Lord of the Rings, in which case refer to the paragraph above.
We knew an author who was a huge Stephen King fan, and he read many of King’s guides on writing. As such, he believed one should never, ever, use adverbs. However, he was also a big fan of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle. Having read The Name of the Wind, we found this an interesting point of view since Rothfuss liberally uses adverbs. In our opinion, both authors tell fantastic stories, though we are much bigger fans of fantasy than horror.
When Should You Actually Pay Attention to Writing Rules?
So, is there any use for these writing rules if all it comes down to is personal preference? When we post blogs or entries on social media giving writing tips, it is with the intention that people will use this if they are seeking help, or an outside point of view. Not as a rule to always follow. We really dislike the dialogue tag “said” and use it as infrequently as possible. We have written a blog post about alternatives to use. But if you like “said” and hate all other tags, more power to you! You do what works best for you. That post is only meant for those seeking input on different ways to write dialogue.
If you love you writing as-is, don’t worry about what others say you should or should not do. We do think that everyone can benefit from hearing outside viewpoints on how others go about their writing, and writing courses, but that doesn’t mean you suddenly have to change what you do entirely just because someone else does it that way.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps we should change “writing rules” to “writing opinions”. So many young, potential authors get scared off of ever starting a book because a random person on the internet will toss around these rules like they are decrees sealed in blood that you must follow or end up a failure with no future. This is just silly. Tell the story that is in your heart exactly the way you want to tell it. There are people out there who it will resonate with. And in the end, you have told your story the way you wanted to, and that is the most important thing.
Clothing is an important factor in a story. You may not consciously think about the characters’ outfits while reading or watching, but they tell the story just the same. Shows and movies are easy-to-track outfits, while books or actual plays are more challenging. Keeping track of your character’s clothing is fun and should be part of the tale itself.
Clothing isn’t Optional
Talking about character outfits is just as important as talking about them. You don’t have to describe much or go into much detail. Something as simple as stating the character wears dark leather armor and carries a belt with multiple daggers on it, gets several points — pun intended — across.
This character relies on stealth and strikes quickly. This brings to mind they may be some sort of rogue. The dark armor suggests they prefer to stick to the shadows or be out at night.
You can use clothing to quickly describe a character without outright saying what their specialty is. Mages wear flowing robes, rangers wear leather or fur armor dyed the color of nature, and clerics or healers wear colored robes depicting their deity.
Plot, plot, plot. Location, location, location
Keep in mind the environments your characters visit. Once again, clothing description isn’t meant to take up a lot of words. You’re not in school anymore, you don’t need to hit a word count. What you need to worry about is the type of clothing. If your story takes place in a cold and snowy biome, make sure the characters wear thick outfits to keep them warm.
Vice versa, if they are at the beach for a relaxing day. Put them in clothing that says beach attire. Also, don’t forget about their weapons.
For the love of all things holy. Nothing drives us madder than when characters have their weapons with them all the time! Take them away from time to time. Give them moments to use random objects to fight with. A frying pan hits just as hard as a hammer. Another thing. Please, if they get locked in prison, have the guards take their armor and weapons. Throw in the trope of having a stealthy or rogue character thoroughly searched if you have to. It’s funny.
Major plot points require outfit changes, too. These can be anything from going from one environment to another and character growth. If a character is just starting out on their quest, their outfit should be tailored to their lifestyle. Perhaps they are a professor and only wear professional-looking attire. Then, once they get thrown into the fire as it were, they come out changed. No longer are they that clean professional instructor, but an adventurer who has seen some shit. Their new clothes should reflect this. Now, they wear business attire but it’s ripped or bedazzled with color.
Keep clothing in mind when you write. Outfits make great characters and really help describe your characters even more.
“How did you become a writer?” When we tell people what we do, their reaction is always the same. Eyes widen, smiles cross their faces, and a look of intrigue and interest passes over them. They ask that question, typically followed by “What do you write?” and “How did you get into that?”
Answers to those then usually lead to the inappropriate questions of income, but I believe the meaning behind them is sincere. People that are not within the arts have a hard time wrapping their mind around others being creative for a living.
So here is our story. It is very condensed for blog purposes, but I hope it inspires those seeking to write. If not, we hope it is at least entertaining!
Childhood Dreams
I believe everyone that ends up being a writer already knew they would from childhood. This was true for Dorian and I both, though the details were different.
I have been crafting stories ever since I could pick up a pencil. Even before I was old enough to know how to spell and write sentences, I told my stories through a series of pictures Crayon-colored across ripped-out notebook pages. It is little wonder I ended up loving drawing so much!
Once I learned how to write, that was my hobby. My love. My passion. I wrote everything. I wrote Star Wars fanfics even before I knew what a fanfiction was. I wrote stories inspired by characters from my set of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. My original story was selected to be put up in my elementary school. If my adoptive parents hadn’t kept such a tight leash on me, I probably would have been involved in community writing programs and field trips. Such was my love for it.
By my preteen years I was writing 200+ page novels by hand. I had written six of them by the time I was 18. And one ghost-story children’s book, but I quickly found I didn’t like writing children’s stories. My reading was advanced, and so my writing reflected what I read.
For Dorian, he started out differently. His love of the craft came not from putting words on paper, but from the art of storytelling. He dabbled in creating short films with his friends as an adolescent. He admired the early pioneers in digital journalism, especially for video games, comics, and other fantasy topics.
The largest project he undertook in his adolescence was writing a comic book series called “Produce Guy”, inspired by his local job at a grocery store. It involved a produce worker getting superpowers and battling villains in a light-hearted and witty storyline. Alas, it never got past the first draft as he had no artist friends.
Early Careers
For me, experiences with college and “advice” from my adoptive parents made me believe pursuing a career as a writer wasn’t the right path. I need to go into the corporate world! I got my degree in psychology, which I still believe today helps me write characters.
During college I spent my free time writing fanfictions for The Legend of Zelda, Xiaolin Showdown, Sonic the Hedgehog and the like. I had a lot of success and won many community awards, including “Fanfic of the Year”, “Best Adventure”, and “Best Romance.”
I went into Human Resources, specifically recruitment because I like to help people. I thought I would be helping people get a job and enjoy their work life. But my personality did not mesh well with corporations, and I was appalled by the systemic racism I found within which even went as far as a boss telling me to bring him “less brown people”.
Wanting to get away from that culture, I moved into career advisement for a college. I enjoyed a more practical approach to helping graduates. I helped them write resumes and even published one career-oriented newspaper that then got cancelled by executive leadership because they didn’t want to get graduates’ “hopes up” that they could land a certain career. Covering their asses, as it were.
Suffice to say, I was burned out and depressed by the lack of creativity within these spaces, and felt quite hopeless about my future.
I met Dorian just as I was graduating college. Unlike me, he was more closely following a career as a writer. He’d been discouraged from pursuing the type of writing he wanted by family, saying it wouldn’t “lead anywhere”. So instead, he worked across a few local news stations in his early career. He moved from entry-level cameraman job to writing stories for the anchors as well as for website publication. He wrote commercials, breaking news, and produced the newscast as a whole.
On the side, he wrote and hosted a podcast for Einfo Games for free as a way to indulge his creative side. The side that enjoyed fantasy stories and adventure. Like me, he didn’t enjoy his jobs and wanted a better fit for himself. He’d gone to college for journalism, even though it wasn’t the university he’d desired or the specific degree program to get him where he wanted to go. Like me, he’d followed the advice of family and it wasn’t turning out how he’d hoped.
The Turning Point
I would say 2018 was the biggest turning point for us. Three years after we got married and bought a house, we were both laid off from our jobs. My college closed down, and his news station did staffing cuts. We were at home for six months, and for the first time we started to explore other options.
Maybe we didn’t need to live in this state? Maybe we could follow our original dreams? Maybe we could turn both of our passions of writing into something else?
A series of events happened from 2018-2020 that really kick-started this. I took a remote job writing resumes for clients on a freelance basis. This allowed me flexibility with my schedule and the ability to pursue other passions.
Dorian wrote freelance across a variety of platforms remotely, this time focusing on nerdy news. He wrote for free for a website called The Nerd Stash for a couple of years, getting me on the staff, as well. We also both wrote for Car Bibles and The Drive, this time for pay. He was published across other platforms on a freelance basis, which was very hard work to get pitches accepted for a writer that had no big names behind him.
Still, at least we were enjoying ourselves for once. We were both at home together, writing about things we actually liked. Minus the resumes for me, of course, but it paid well. And there was Thread of Souls.
The Beginning of Thread of Souls
We started playing our first tabletop game in September of 2015, two months before we got married. I was more hesitant, not really understanding what it was. I only agreed to join because only two of Dorian’s friends agreed to show up for the first game, despite him helping a large group learn the rules and make characters. After that, I was hooked.
I loved the game so much I started drawing for the first time since starting my corporate career. As the game progressed, I thought about writing again. I wanted to turn this story we were telling into a book series. When I was around 19 years old I had tried to get my novels published. But I was young, inexperienced, unpolished, and didn’t have a great deal of support to help me learn what I needed to do. Because these books were based off a game that was so close to our hearts, I didn’t want to go down that path again. I didn’t want them changed by a publisher for what was “marketable” or “trendy”. I wanted to tell our story the same way it had touched my heart.
In 2019 we wrote and published Phantom Five independently. And in 2020 we did the same with Ash & Thunder. This initially was just for fun. Just because we loved it. When other people began to read it, and give it good reviews, we realized we had something special. Something that other people might enjoy and be moved by.
Our Lives Now
Both of our careers have become more stable after the drastic shift we took to become writers. We write for video games and still do some freelance work. But our focus is on Thread of Souls. We publish one book a year and intend to increase that number as the years go on with supplemental stories. We also started publishing for Dungeon Master’s Guild. Thread of Souls may have started as a mashup of many tabletop games, but it did not take long for us to change it to a fully homebrewed game with our own rules, pantheon, monster stats, and classes. We decided to share that creativity on another platform.
That has led to a social media presence, and Dorian getting back into video production for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. It has led to our weekly blog writing and getting to express ourselves creatively through other means. We also became digital nomads, moving from one city to another, and sometimes traveling in our campervan.
That does not mean everything is easy. After all, for writers the future is often a question mark. You can only hope the jobs don’t stop, and that people keep buying your work. But after layoffs from the corporate world, that wasn’t exactly stable, either. For us, the freedom and sense of personal achievement we feel is far worth the risk.
If you are looking to become a writer, my advice is this. Don’t let people who have never followed this path tell you what you should or should not do. They don’t know. If you can find a mentor, or be involved in a group, all the better. I wish we’d had that. You don’t need to worry about a degree or work history. One of our most fulfilling creative roles hired us just because of the content on our website and never asked to see a resume. Doing something even though it’s risky is far better than doing something “stable” that drains you. And finally, be loyal to your own dream above anyone else’s dream.
This September we are celebrating “Read a New Book Month”! You can also totally celebrate in December, since that is also designated as a new book month. For us, September is the doorstep of our favorite season of the year, and it has us looking to settle down, find some new books, and enjoy a slower pace of life.
Choose Your Weapon
When looking for a new book, there are many avenues available! A big chain like Barnes & Noble has plenty to choose from, or you might want to go to a local bookshop and find some hidden gems. Going online to stores like Amazon enables you to support indie authors who might not be able to get their books into larger stores. Or if you find yourself pressed for time to sit down and read, audiobooks are another option! Don’t overlook your local library if you don’t want to spend money.
What Genre?
We are lovers of high fantasy, and that tends to be 80% of what we read. But we also enjoy some spooky stories, some urban fantasy, and some nonfiction books. Stick with what you like, or it might be fun to branch out and try something new! If you are uncertain about spending money on a book you are not sure you’ll like, you can find ebooks for relatively cheap, especially from indie authors. Some sites like Amazon also let authors do a temporary free promotion of their book, so you can try one without any cost! Keep in mind the authors do not make any money from this, so you can tell they truly want to share their work if they do free promotions.
Recommendations
We’ve definitely written plenty of posts talking about some of our favorite books. If you are looking for some inspiration, feel free to check these out!
September is here and it’s a time to celebrate self-published fantasy books! The month is for authors who self-publish their own fantasy works. From tabletop creators, fantasy authors, and bloggers, if you write fantasy, let’s celebrate together!
We are the authors of the heroic fantasy series Thread of Souls. The story is based entirely on our homebrew tabletop campaign. We started playing together in 2015. No one knew a thing about ttrpgs but we all grew up on fantasy. We knew Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and Game of Thrones and all especially loved LotR.
After playing for a few years, Talia came up with the brilliant idea of turning our campaign into a fantasy book series. As an author her entire life, she grew up reading and penning fan fiction and creating comics of her and friends. Turning our storyline into a book was the next natural step.
We discovered self-published fantasy month last year and are excited for this year. Each day of September features a prompt or challenge. It includes prompts such as world-building, ecology, magic Mondays, scenic Saturdays, and self-promo Sundays.
The first exercise is thematic Thursday, tradition versus change. We thought of magic in Thread of Souls. Fantasy stories feature magic in some form or another and we wanted to keep to that tradition. One way we change magic is how it works. Magic was granted to mortals by the gods and works in numerous ways. Clerics and paladins rely on their devotion to their deity in order to cast divine magic. Whereas, wizards and mages learn by studying and use crystals to cast their spells.
Day two is a quote.
For you cannot find yourself, if you do not first lose your way.
Rob J. Hayes – Never Die
This reminds us of our characters from Thread of Souls. They each experience something that causes them to change who they are. For example, Taliesin was born into a cult and knows nothing outside of it. During his adventure, he learns more bout himself and the life he left behind, leading him to discover who he really is.
We would love to see your projects! Whether it’s a book, blog, or tabletop related, let us know what you’re working on in the comments!
