Any other authors lurking around here.

[Spartan]

Nice! All the best man. I thought I was alone in this, but I can't tell you how many good South African writers I'm meeting at the moment. What can you tell me about your novel, or are you trying to keep it under wraps for now?

For me self publishing really is the way to go if you're willing to put the time and money into marketing. Unless you're Brandon Sanderson or Robert Jordan, the big five aren't going to put a lot of time or money into your book, and for that you get low royalties, draconian contracts, zero control and outrageous ebook prices. I was listening to a published author discussing it, and he was saying that for first time novels, they put a week into promotions- that's it. Thereafter you have to do it yourself.
Things have changed so much, if you want to get noticed, you have to bring something to the table. Either get an Audience on a site like Wattpad, or (Like Michael J Sullivan) sell enough copies to demand their attention.

What made you decide on the self-pub route?

The Amazon link is in my previous post.
Here's my goodreads page, but it's pretty sparse at the moment. I haven't had much time to do anything with it.
By the way, same offer as above. I'll give it to my community and sell it to everyone else.



Thanks for the reminder. I need to still look into that. I know Amazon doesn't do EFT into a South African bank account, they send cheques, which seems a little antiquated, and I don't exactly trust our post office. I've got a friend who's doing quite well on Amazon, so I'll ask him what he uses and get back to you.



haha. That's why it took me so long! if I had to do it all over again I would have started out on something much shorter- 100,000 words, and then built up to the epic.

For now my novel is a secret and only some beta readers and family members have read parts of it. It is Science Fiction with a whole lot of good things from other genres. That is all I can say at the moment.

I tend to disagree. Marketing helps, but it can be done without the need for too much funds. Word of mouth and building a fan base with your first novel should be your main concern. That and I have a few other ideas for my release with the novel that will help with the marketing and reach of the novel itself. Goodreads and Twitter and dedicated review sites are your best bets at getting a fan base after release, especially as a new author. I am aiming to be successful with my first novel series then trying to get an agent and having a go at it then.

With self-publishing you have a lot more control over everything. It might be harder but you can determine when and what you release. The only real negatives are that you aren't going to get rich easily, not without a lot of hard work and really good writing, and quality control can become a issue if you rush things or you cut corners on covers or editing, etc.

My Goodreads page will be up once I publish the first book.

Thank you. I would be interested to know what he or she has used. I use Paypal and will maybe use Payoneer for Amazon and Createspace. If there is no other alternative that is.

I see that it is indeed an epic. My series will be much shorter per novel, around 90k words a pop, but together they will form one vast story.

[Spartan]

I realized I should pm you this post instead.

[DarthMol]

I've always dreamed of being an author and writing books for a living. From about Grade 7 I started writing my first novel (about 60 000 words, unfinished) and then in high school I tried writing another (55 000 words, unfinished). At varsity I participated in an informal Creative Writing workshop for 2 years and focused more on writing on short stories as a starting point.
The PhD student who led the class always said you're not an author until you publish a book so congrats [MENTION=9056]ave[/MENTION] on becoming an author.
I'm hoping one day to actually knuckle down and actually finish a novel.

[ave]

Bought it through Amazon. May still be a while before I start reading it but I look forward to starting it.

Thanks- I appreciate the support! I would love an honest review on Amazon once you're done- 1 or 5 stars, or anything in between.

Also can I just say congratulations on sticking with it.

I've started so many times and not finished.

Thanks, yeah it's surreal to finally be done.

For now my novel is a secret and only some beta readers and family members have read parts of it. It is Science Fiction with a whole lot of good things from other genres. That is all I can say at the moment.

I tend to disagree. Marketing helps, but it can be done without the need for too much funds. Word of mouth and building a fan base with your first novel should be your main concern. That and I have a few other ideas for my release with the novel that will help with the marketing and reach of the novel itself. Goodreads and Twitter and dedicated review sites are your best bets at getting a fan base after release, especially as a new author. I am aiming to be successful with my first novel series then trying to get an agent and having a go at it then.

With self-publishing you have a lot more control over everything. It might be harder but you can determine when and what you release. The only real negatives are that you aren't going to get rich easily, not without a lot of hard work and really good writing, and quality control can become a issue if you rush things or you cut corners on covers or editing, etc.

My Goodreads page will be up once I publish the first book.

Thank you. I would be interested to know what he or she has used. I use Paypal and will maybe use Payoneer for Amazon and Createspace. If there is no other alternative that is.

I see that it is indeed an epic. My series will be much shorter per novel, around 90k words a pop, but together they will form one vast story.

Well best of luck, and let us know when you're done. If you're hoping to get an agent then 90k is the sweet spot. 90% of agents wont even look at a 300k book that doesn't already have an audience.

I'll be paying for a bit of advertising when the KDP select discount kicks in, and I do the official launch, so I'll let you know how that works out for me. A friend / acquaintance of mine has had a lot of success with it, but he also has a lot of good reviews, which helps.
Once you're published we can compare notes, and exchange ideas.

Yes I like the control that self publishing gives you. If I want to give the book away, I can. If I want to charge $0.99 or $9 I can. I may eventually consider selling the print book / audobook rights, but I'll hang onto the ebook rights for now.

I've always dreamed of being an author and writing books for a living. From about Grade 7 I started writing my first novel (about 60 000 words, unfinished) and then in high school I tried writing another (55 000 words, unfinished). At varsity I participated in an informal Creative Writing workshop for 2 years and focused more on writing on short stories as a starting point.
The PhD student who led the class always said you're not an author until you publish a book so congrats [MENTION=9056]ave[/MENTION] on becoming an author.
I'm hoping one day to actually knuckle down and actually finish a novel.

60,000 words in Grade 7 is impressive. Really impressive. I don't think there are many grade 7's who could stick with a project for that long. Do you think you would ever revisit those works?

[Wyvern]

Nice! All the best man. I thought I was alone in this, but I can't tell you how many good South African writers I'm meeting at the moment. What can you tell me about your novel, or are you trying to keep it under wraps for now?

For me self publishing really is the way to go if you're willing to put the time and money into marketing. Unless you're Brandon Sanderson or Robert Jordan, the big five aren't going to put a lot of time or money into your book, and for that you get low royalties, draconian contracts, zero control and outrageous ebook prices. I was listening to a published author discussing it, and he was saying that for first time novels, they put a week into promotions- that's it. Thereafter you have to do it yourself.
Things have changed so much, if you want to get noticed, you have to bring something to the table. Either get an Audience on a site like Wattpad, or (Like Michael J Sullivan) sell enough copies to demand their attention.

What made you decide on the self-pub route?

The Amazon link is in my previous post.
Here's my goodreads page, but it's pretty sparse at the moment. I haven't had much time to do anything with it.
By the way, same offer as above. I'll give it to my community and sell it to everyone else.



Thanks for the reminder. I need to still look into that. I know Amazon doesn't do EFT into a South African bank account, they send cheques, which seems a little antiquated, and I don't exactly trust our post office. I've got a friend who's doing quite well on Amazon, so I'll ask him what he uses and get back to you.



haha. That's why it took me so long! if I had to do it all over again I would have started out on something much shorter- 100,000 words, and then built up to the epic.

Congrats! I take my hat off to you, the book looks interesting and something I would like to read. I have to say it's impressive that we have so many author's/ would be authors and @Saint Dee! I wish I could write, but I lack the imagination for it. So I will support all of you when you are ready to release it to the public.

[GregRedd]

I've been writing for the past 6 years, and just recently published my "doorstop" epic fantasy on Amazon, and was wondering if there are any other writers/ aspiring writers hiding in the shadows?

Congratulations [MENTION=9056]ave[/MENTION]! Huge achievement that is, and I wish you and Riftwalkers huge success to go with it. Thanks for the offer to send us a copy, but will definitely prefer to show you some support by buying a copy directly, and also so that my eventual review gets the "Verified Purchase" tag to go with it.

I've been writing on and off for most of my adult life, but never got to the point of actually submitting anything for publishing. I've dabbled in everything from short-form horror to epic-scale fantasy stuff (but never anything near the scale of your 850 page tome!) About 2 years ago now I made a decision to start reviewing some of my scratchings and looking at material, ideas, and ways to actually take that leap from private to published.

To that end, I've been working on some near-future sci-fi stuff (with the emphasis on the fi and not the sci!) as and when I can. Still months, if not years, away from ready to publish point though. When it is I will most definitely be going the self-pub route as well, for all the reasons mentioned by others already.

I did do some flash-fiction exercises when I made the decision to write a little more semi-pro, and there's still a piece or two posted on my web page if you (or anyone else) would like a quick read: Warlord and Don't Fear The Reapers are still up, but neither are anything close to what I'm working on. I was convinced I had posted an intro to one of those stories on the site, but can't seem to find it now.

All power to you and to all the other forumites who are brave, dedicated and committed enough to put their words out into the world - you have my respect.

[DarthMol]

60,000 words in Grade 7 is impressive. Really impressive. I don't think there are many grade 7's who could stick with a project for that long. Do you think you would ever revisit those works?

Thanks. If I went back to the first one it would more than likely mean a re-write for the most part. Back then I was more enthusiasm than skill but I still think there were some decent ideas that may be worth keeping. Basically what happened was I started writing down the imaginary world I played out in my parents backyard - it was all inspired by an old Atari game called Archon. I even had a trilogy planned.

The second serious attempt was kick-started in Grade 11 (or thereabouts) when I heard of some competition where you could win $1000 or something. I had written a couple of chapters based on one of the other fantasy worlds I had constructed as a kid. The only thing was I would be hard pressed to reach the 50 000 word minimum in time so I grafted like crazy, trying to write at least 1 000 words a day. In the end I didn't enter despite achieving the 50 000 mark, essentially my story was just getting going so it was no where near complete.

With the creative writing class I did finish and submit one completed short story. After many revisions I finally had a story worth sending out into the world. Managed to crack a special mention in the Wits creative writing comp (one of the other students in our creative writing group won with a great little story).

I'm not sure why my drive for writing slowed down after that, haven't really written anything decent since. At the moment, work, studies, family etc. occupy most of my time. And the last thing I feel like doing after writing bunches of essays is to sit and write some more stuff (albeit creative). Plus I'm a gamer, struggling to work through my backlog...

[Donisia]

Lets say i have an book idea, and i cant word it or i keep changing the way i write... would there be any tips you could give me... I started a novel, but i just cant seem to make whats in my head come alive on paper... Its been a bit of a failure since i started as i keep restarting, ive pretty much got the entire story in my head already (just one or two minor changes that will happen as i write).

[Spartan]

Lets say i have an book idea, and i cant word it or i keep changing the way i write... would there be any tips you could give me... I started a novel, but i just cant seem to make whats in my head come alive on paper... Its been a bit of a failure since i started as i keep restarting, ive pretty much got the entire story in my head already (just one or two minor changes that will happen as i write).

What is it that motivates you to write? Or is it a self-confidence issue with your writing itself?

Practice makes perfect, that is the truest thing when it comes to writing. Practice, read books, write down any little idea, even if it is just scribbling in a notebook you keep by your bed. Work at it, do some writing courses if you can, look at free writing tutorials from writer circles or author blogs that give writers good tips.

Let the story flow as it should, let it out, you can always change and edit later. Get the idea on paper, if they remain stuck in your head you tend to forget the really good lines or good ideas. My notebooks are horrible messes, I understand them but no-one else would. Every idea, for whichever story I am working on gets written down in whatever form I choose, be it short notes or long explanations of a pivotal character or plot point.

I write organic, meaning I do not plan my scenes or story. I only know the end point, the journey is for me and my characters. It works for some, others need extensive planning and notes to help the story evolve as they write or others need to plan ahead. I only make notes of key features or traits I wish to add and then most do not even make it on to the paper.

One last tip I can give you, never ever force yourself to write a certain amount of words a day or a month, this makes your writing experience become tedious and routine, write when an idea hits you or you feel like it. I sometimes go days without writing a word, but when I sit down again I have new ideas growing in my mind for the journey ahead, and then I write 1000 word sessions or more.

[DarthMol]

I write organic, meaning I do not plan my scenes or story. I only know the end point, the journey is for me and my characters. It works for some, others need extensive planning and notes to help the story evolve as they write or others need to plan ahead. I only make notes of key features or traits I wish to add and then most do not even make it on to the paper.

One last tip I can give you, never ever force yourself to write a certain amount of words a day or a month, this makes your writing experience become tedious and routine, write when an idea hits you or you feel like it. I sometimes go days without writing a word, but when I sit down again I have new ideas growing in my mind for the journey ahead, and then I write 1000 word sessions or more.

I can totally relate to that first part, I also find myself reading and discovering the story as I write it.

With regard to your last tip, I think sometimes writing is about the grind and if you ever want to finish you have to put in a fair amount of discipline. If I recall correctly, Charles Dickens would sit to write 5 hours a day, even if all he got out of it was one sentence. I guess it's all about what works for you as an author, some people need to write reams and then pick the best out of it and others agonise over every single word (that's me!).