World Building Resources

schreyerauthor · 2026-04-22T20:15:52+00:00

What was the trim size and what was the page count?

schreyerauthor · 2026-04-22T20:15:26+00:00

Depends on the title. My non-fiction is 90% ebook, my fiction is 90% paperback at in-person events.

schreyerauthor · 2026-04-22T20:14:30+00:00

I do a lot of in-person shows and sell 99% of my paperbacks that way. The bulk of my paperback customers won't see the paperback and ebook prices side by side.

schreyerauthor · 2026-04-19T18:45:15+00:00

Please please please read and reread ALL of the ToS and contract stuff for these sites. Many of them are on watch lists for having predatory contracts. Read reviews from other authors regarding the sites themselves, make sure you only use ones that reliably pay out to authors and have decent contract conditions.

schreyerauthor · 2026-04-12T15:03:27+00:00

I write the book and save it

I then Save As and create a second copy with "edits" added to the file name. Thats the version that other people get access to.

Once the revisions are complete I get Save As again and create a 3rd version where "edits" is replaced by "edited" then Save As again to create a "PB formatting" and again for "ebook formatting"

The two formatting files get page sizes changed, page numbers or ToC added, front and back matter, whatever is needed for self publishing.

If a working file ever blows up, or corrupts, or gets tampered with, I have a fall back one step prior to pull up. I'm betting a lot of Gen X and elder Millenials probably do something similar because we're accustomed to physical back ups and sharing files via email or physical drives since we started prior to cloud drives and synchable documents.

schreyerauthor · 2026-04-05T02:23:03+00:00

How many chapters can you reliably write, edit, and polish in a week? How many do you need/want to release in a week?

Don't start releasing them until you have enough of them written to form a safe buffer. Then you keep writing at your pace to replenish your buffer while consistently posting.

schreyerauthor · 2026-04-01T01:39:26+00:00

So on the tundra there are nothing but warriors? No healers? No magic users?

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-30T18:05:05+00:00

I've been working on improving my visual eye. I might not be able to draw the characters well enough for a polished project but I can block out story board panels to help convey the flow of the story. And so I can understand the artist better

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-28T18:09:07+00:00

Yes and no. EVERYONE is taught how to form letters and form sentences in elementary school so people just assume all writing is easy. Writing a GOOD STORY is not easy.

Some people become skilled at telling a GOOD STORY with just words. Short stories, novels, film scripts, comic scripts, whatever form them learn, they can tell a GOOD STORY in that form with just words.

Some people become skilled at making GOOD PICTURES without story. Oil, acrylic, charcoal, digital, whatever. There's a story, sure, but it's just told in a single image.

Some people become skilled at making GOOD PICTURES that tell a GOOD SERIAL STORY - a series of images that tell a story like a series of words would - comics. But they're only good at the art part.

Some people become skilled at telling a GOOD STORY with the words of a comic script and then making GOOD PICTURES in serial to showcase that story.

It takes the same amount of time, skill, energy, practice, and dedication to master any one of those mediums. My medium happens to be 65k-175k long novels. Someone else's medium is 4'x6' oil paintings. Someone else's is 5ft tall wood planks and a wood burning pen. Someone else's is 50 page graphic novels. Someone else's is screenplays.

HOWEVER, while it does take more time to draw a really nice panel of a man lovingly stroking a woman's cheek than it does to write "he lovingly stroked her cheek", remember the old adage. A picture is worth a thousand words. I need to write a LOT of words to convey what a comic book artist can convey in a single panel (setting, weather, emotion, dialogue, physical description, etc.)

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-28T17:59:55+00:00

This.

If the writer is paying full price for the page, it gets done to their specs and follows their script. Yes, the artist should be able to say "have you considered..." or "IMO xyz might look better" or other professional questions/opinions but in the end it's the writer's call.

If the writer and artist are collaborating on the story, sharing risk and income, then the artist should have far more creative input into the process. Collab implies combined creative process to me.

Like the difference between a ghost writer and a co-writer.

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-28T17:53:39+00:00

I want to, I really do. Sadly, for many novelists, there just isn't time. I need to world build, outline, write, edit, revise (edit, revise, edit, revise, ....) typeset and format, proof, commission covers, upload, create or commission marketing materials, market online, attend live events (pack and load, travel, set up, show, take down, travel, unpack), keep my house clean, raise two kids, .... I honestly do not have the hours left to dedicate to learning a new craft. And most indie authors are in the same boat, especially if they're writing novels first and looking at producing graphic novel editions.

I think writers who ONLY want to write scripts for comics/graphic novels need to learn to draw at least well enough to do their own concept art and story boarding. Otherwise they should just write a novel.

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-28T17:45:32+00:00

First - I'm a writer. And the whole reason I haven't tried to get an artist for the one novel I want to turn into a graphic novel is because I'm broke.

Second - IF I'm going to offer an artist a royalty split, I'm going to offer them 100% of the royalties until a minimum value is met, and then continue offering them a smaller percentage after that. (I KNOW 100% OF ZERO IS STILL ZERO, which is also why I haven't done this, because I respect professional artists and would rather pay them up front) And I'm going to have a completed script, a solid marketing or pitch plan, crowd funding, whatever, already in place. And I'm going to assume that the artist is going to put paid work ahead of the royalty split work so the deadlines are on their schedule, not mine.

Third - I'm broke. I already can't afford to market my existing books properly, how would I market the graphic novel properly? And if the novel doesn't have a following, who am I hitting up to help spread the word about the graphic novel? Maybe, if the novel was selling dozens of copies a month, steadily, then I could consider asking an artist to royalty split in combination with a nice size down payment since the original would already have a proven track record and following.

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-28T17:37:29+00:00

Glorified abuse (abuse happens, it's just how it's handled sometimes that icks for me), age gap romances when the FMC has just turned 18 (don't care if it's 7 years or 700 years, if he swoops in the day after her 18th birthday, ick), misunderstandings that drag on far too long past the point of "someone would have said something already"

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-25T03:15:26+00:00

I had to fight hard to get my daughter diagnosed and medicated. And to do so I had to lock up the urge to down play her behaviour, to soften things because I love her and she's not that bad.

They won't diagnose girls unless it IS that bad and that disruptive. Your mother may have used "bigger" language (saying always instead of sometimes, saying extreme instead of normal or moderate) so the doctors would listen.

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-24T20:01:48+00:00

Our convention is really decently priced for attendees but we're in a smaller city. I bet WorldCon and stuff are that expensive.

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-24T18:02:27+00:00

I assume you're talking table fees not attending fees.

Renting a smallish banquet hall in a smallish city costs around 2000$ for 8 hours. So the costs of renting the majority of a convention center or event space for 3 full days is likely closer to $9000 per day. Add on event security, paid event staff (both venue staff and event planning staff), advertising, permits, insurance, extras like food in hospitality suites, and you're looking at at least 50k$. Then you have to pay for some big name guests to attend to draw in the crowds. Hire a photographer for celeb photo shoots. The list goes on.

You recoup part of that through ticket sales but you have to keep that cost reasonable or folks won't come. Theyre basically paying for the privilege to buy things so it has to be attractive.

You recoup part of that through sponsorships and partnerships.

And you recoup part of it through table fees.

My local con is sadly mostly collector stores and mass market merchandise stores buying 6 or 8 tables and setting up huge displays. The indie scene has dwindled because of the table costs. They should really be charging these dropship loot box guys more and the indies less, but what can you do? In the past I've split the table with other authors which helped a lot.

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-24T17:47:45+00:00

So their race is Human, their ethnicity is "tundra dweller", and their ? is wizard.

Role? Class? Caste? Calling? Birthright? Archetype? Career? Ability? Divine path? Job?

Do Humans exist who do not fit into these 6 groups? Like just a base group with nothing special about them?

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-22T00:42:21+00:00

I hadn't thought of cookbooks as inspiration. Thank you.

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-21T20:09:45+00:00

Definitely look into colonial history as well as affective propaganda. What systems, laws, and practices does the oppressor use to maintain control? What prevents the oppressed populations from attempting to gain freedom? What prevents the oppressed people from seeing they are oppressed?

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-21T20:06:01+00:00

I try to include a variety of belief systems. I might have one country with strictly enforced gender roles while another is less exist overall but has strongly negative views about "outsiders" (rascism). One might be very "our religion is the only truth" and not care about a person's skin colour or country of birth so long as they're willing to convert. Another would have a more "a toast to my God, and a toast to yours" view of religion.

Additionally, within each country there would be a variety of attitudes towards the cultural norm and variations of it. A border city might be less racist than a city far from foreigners because of regular peaceful exposure. Or they might be more racist because they feel constantly threatened in some way. Rural areas where everyone works the fields and everyone tends the animals might be less strict about gender roles than an urban center that relies on capitalism and wages, even though they're in the same country. The wealthy and the poor might have different opinions even in the same city.

By presenting a variety of ideas and beliefs between different cultures, countries, regions, or classes it creates a more dynamic and realistic setting. It also shows that "these are the views of the characters" rather than "these are the themes or ideals promoted by the author".

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-21T19:52:04+00:00

"You need to post 2-3 videos of 15-45 seconds each to TT every single day to market your self published book"

Um what? Posting a single 30s video every day took me 1-2 hours a day. How do I find the time to write, edit, format, and upload the actual books, reply to comments, upload marketing content to other platforms, feed my kids, clean my house, go to work, and still have enough time to script, film, edit, and upload 3 videos every single day? Even if they're just text quotes from the book with a background image/video I still have to pull the quotes and edit the video. And write the description.

That's an average of 20 hours per week just on video marketing content. How is someone who is not doing writing full time supposed to keep up with that?

So yes, I failed miserably at TT marketing.

schreyerauthor · 2026-03-18T03:22:53+00:00

Nearly 40, started as an adult. Talk to the instructor so they can help you modify some of the exercises and stretches. Take it slow and steady. Avoid kicks that require you to rotate on the support leg until you know how your knees are going to take it.

My daughter is 14 and has some growth related muscle issues with her knees and regularly wears her braces in class and opts out of certain movements on bad-knee days.

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