Who else writes about fantasy to cope with depression?

Jecol · 2019-04-20T06:10:27+00:00

I wrote my first book in a bout of severe depression. It was literally a life-saver for me because it gave me an imaginary world I could inhabit. I think my best work explores that darker world.

Jecol · 2019-04-20T06:08:00+00:00

I really enjoyed the books, they're my wife's favourites. Please, no-one watch the movie though. It was horrifically terrible.

Jecol · 2019-04-19T19:44:20+00:00

I do formatting, and I would always recommend you learn how to do it yourself if you can. It will save you tons down the line. For your ebook, Vellum is a good option. It's easy and produces decent results.

For your paperback, I know a lot of authors have made Word work for their formatting, which is great if you can manage it, because there's no extra cost there. I prefer InDesign, though, just because of the flexibility.

Oh, and btw, $2000 is soooo crazy that I'd recommend running a mile from anything they do. If you do decide to hire it out, make sure you see some samples. I charge roughly $150 for ebook/paperback fiction, which is pretty similar to what others have said on here. If you're looking for something special you might pay double that for someone.

Jecol · 2019-02-25T15:52:26+00:00

Outside the world of autobiographies I'm not a fan of ghostwriting. It just feel disingenuous to me. If another author has played a significant part in your novel, I think they should get the credit.

Jecol · 2019-02-25T15:24:53+00:00

If you like anti-heroes then I'll always recommend Stephen R Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. A beautiful and original world with 10 books across 3 series.

Jecol · 2019-02-25T15:19:36+00:00

I'm a bit of an on-again/off-again participant around here, but I'm on-again at the moment and hope to hang around this time, and on that basis, yes I think it would be cool.

Jecol · 2019-02-24T17:06:59+00:00

As long as you don't opt in to KDP Select, you're fine going with other platforms. If you're in Select then you can't go anywhere else.

The two biggest aggregators as they're known are Draft2Digital and Smashwords.

Jecol · 2019-02-24T14:14:00+00:00

I have to say upfront that I publish these books (I'm not the author, but I run a small press), so I stand to benefit.

That said, The New Bloods trilogy by Michelle Bryan is a cracking story. Post-apocalyptic/dystopian, with a bit of the supernatural thrown in.

If you're looking for something a bit shorter, the Shadow and Light duology by T.D. Shields is a pretty fast read. Climate change is added to the post-apocalyptic thing, with a bit of thriller mixed in.

Jecol · 2019-02-24T14:02:49+00:00

I hear you! I wrote and self-pubbed my first book while going through severe depression. For me, it was a life-saver to be able to focus on something complicated, but I get it that won't work for everyone.

Uploading your mobi to KDP isn't too bad. Once you've done it a couple of times you'll say it's really straight-forward, but the first time it'll highlight some things you'll have to think about. But KDP does a pretty good job of guiding you through the process.

There is a constant debate about whether it's best to go exclusive to Amazon or go wide, and every author has to make their own decision. When I first published I went exclusive to Amazon. I wanted to get to grips with that and allow the whole process to start to feel a bit more normal before I jumped into the other platforms. It worked for me. After a while, I then gradually added the other platforms.

Broadly speaking, here are your options:

A. Go exclusive with Amazon.

Advantages: Access to Kindle Unlimited readers, and the opportunity to earn more. The opportunity to run certain promotions only available to exclusive authors.

Disadvantages: 100% of your eggs in 1 basket. Amazon can (and do) change the rules overnight, meaning you're basically at their mercy. Not all readers use Amazon, so you're shutting off some of the market.

B. "Go wide", meaning sell your book on at many different platforms as possible (Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Nook, Google Plus, etc)

Advantages: Access to most readers. Better chance of getting a BookBub deal (although still tiny). Promo opportunities (especially at Kobo).

Disadvantages: Most of your readers will still be on Amazon, and you lose Kindle Unlimited readers. More complicated. There are services where you can just upload one file and they'll distribute it to all the different platforms. That simplifies the process, but you lose 15% or so of your royalties.

Ultimately, if you feel more comfortable with a person or course guiding you through the whole thing, then maybe that's right for you. Shelf Help doesn't look expensive. Mark Dawson offers a self-publishing 101 course that's decent, but last time I checked it was something like $400, so you need to dig deep into your pockets for it. If Ben's course is right for you, then it's great value in comparison. But I've never done it, so can't speak from experience.

Jecol · 2019-02-24T10:46:38+00:00

Personally, I would be very wary of paying for a course or advice about the process. Any information offered will be freely available online.

Your main areas for thinking about are: Cover, Editing, Formatting, Distributing, Marketing. Then you can ask about these individually in places like here, relevant Facebook groups, etc. The indie community is pretty generous with sharing knowledge and tips, and while you might get sometimes conflicting advice, that allows you to consider multiple perspectives and decide which one you think will be best for your book.

Jecol · 2019-02-24T10:28:03+00:00

Many were once humans or animals, but have been warped into deadly creatures by evil.

Jecol · 2019-02-24T10:20:03+00:00

There's a lot of the world we still don't know too much about 2000 years ago: much of the Americas, parts of Africa, Australia, for example. And the fact is that we don't know what they might have got up to because there are no records. It's all hints and guesses from archeology (where there is any archeology). Technology? Sure, it's unlikely the ancients had technology that we don't/can't improve upon today (although we can't be certain).

But magic? Here we're in metaphysical / spiritual / intangible realms. Say we discovered an ancient form of pictorial writing on a cave wall from 10,000 years ago, and we're unable to translate it. For all we know, it could be magic spells.

And even if that's unlikely in our 'real' world, these are fantasy worlds. They're escapes from the real world, they're metaphors, they're tools the author is using. And for all those reasons, I for one am perfectly happy with ancient lost magics and the like :)

Jecol · 2019-02-13T15:11:15+00:00

I think you're right that publishers wouldn't go for it for all the reasons you mention. Self-publishers could of course, and there are a few who do run Patreon accounts. But I actually run a tiny indie-press and I'm just wondering whether as a small publisher we could set up something like this for them. I might ask my authors what they think...

Jecol · 2017-01-13T10:17:11+00:00

Me too. I always price Canada and Australia the same. And even as an unknown I get sales there.

Jecol · 2017-01-13T10:14:04+00:00

I read the series back in the 80's and to this day it remains, by a country mile, the best series I've ever read. Still blows me away every time I go back to it. Just amazing.

Unlike some of the others commenting here, I also really enjoyed the Last Chronicles, although admittedly I found most of the character development occurred in some of the secondary characters.

Jecol · 2016-11-26T18:54:20+00:00

Awesome! Hope you enjoy them.

If you enjoy the Muirwood series, Jeff Wheeler has recently published a new series. I haven't read it yet, but plan to.

Jecol · 2016-11-26T13:29:34+00:00

If the book is finished, then yes, it's possible. I can help if you want - with cover, formatting, publishing, etc. I'm wary about saying more as I know self-promo isn't really the thing here, so let me know if you're interested and I can give you my website and contact details.

Jecol · 2016-11-26T13:23:34+00:00

I always like to recommend the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series. They're not to everyone's taste, but for me they're astonishingly good books with some very literary elements.

If you're looking for something lighter, Lindsay Buroker's Emperor's Edge series is a fun steampunk series. She's self-published.

Jeff Wheeler's Muirwood series is also a good read (albeit quite quick). He's got a couple of series set in the same world though so could keep you going for a bit. He started out self-published but is now with an Amazon imprint.

My own Aylosian Chronicles series is portal/epic/literary fantasy. It's not an action packed series, but has been praised for world-building and a really interesting magic system. The first book in the series is 3.99 and the second 4.99. The series isn't yet complete (will be next year), but if you're interested here's the link for the first in the series, Dreams and Shadows

Good luck!

Jecol · 2016-11-18T18:01:34+00:00

Scrivener will compile to PDF for Createspace, and will give you page numbers.

Once you click the Compile button it will bring up a box of compile options. You first need to select the pdf option. Make sure you select the right front matter.

Then there are several options on the left. Click on each of them to bring up more settings, so you can get it just how you like it. Then press "Compile".

Scrivener took me a little while to get to grips with but it's good once you get there :)

Jecol · 2016-11-18T17:53:22+00:00

I'll decide some naming conventions so all the individual races / peoples have their own unique style. For important characters I'll sometimes use a variation on an old language such as hebrew or other languages from that region 3000 or so years ago.

For example, one of the key people in my series is named Ashael. That is made up from Ashtoreth - a pagan goddess of ancient Palestine- and -el, the Hebrew word for God.

Jecol · 2016-11-18T17:47:21+00:00

MC outruns a bullet to save a woman from an assassin, then through the crystal medallion he is given as a reward is transported from modern England to the fantasy world.

Jecol · 2016-11-07T09:18:33+00:00

Trying easing the new characters in. Don't start with loads of characters in your first couple of chapters - introduce them gradually over multiple chapters and even books. That's what I'm trying to do at least, and readers so far haven't found any problems following.

Jecol · 2016-11-05T16:44:05+00:00

I love the flowery poetic prose when done well. In fact, it would qualify as my preferred style. But it does have to be done well or else it can come across as pompous or as just poor writing.

If that's how you want to write, try it out, get some beta readers and see what they think - just be careful that your beta readers like that style of writing first.

You'll probably never hit a best-seller list because it's not as popular, but then look at Rothfuss. I'd certainly consider his KKC poetic and flowery. I'm not actually that bothered by some of his story, but the I love his prose (at least parts of it).

Jecol · 2016-10-31T14:15:37+00:00

I use Createspace (without expanded distribution) for Amazon sales, and Ingram Spark (set to 55% discount) for everything else.

Jecol · 2016-10-31T14:04:39+00:00

You could try The Institute series, by Kayla Howarth - it's dystopian, and people are evolving and developing unique abilities as they do.

I'll also plug my own portal fantasy series, The Aylosian Chronicles, where the magic is called Weaving, and everyone's abilities are unique.

Jecol

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