2019 Year in Review

Hi all!

Seeing as next week's blog post will be my 2020 writing goals, I thought that I would do a year in review for the last Sunday of 2019! 

Published Blood and Water.

My debut novel came out this year with the next one out in April 2020! It's been a great experience self publishing and I want to thank everyone who bought my book.

Sold 40 books.

I've sold 40 copies of Blood and Water, thanks to everyone who bought one!

Wrote three books.

I set a goal for writing two books this year, but I managed three! 

Elemental Dragons Book 4: Cinder and Fire - 88,000 words

Celestial Plague Book 1: Nirvana - 83,000 words

Celestial Plague Book 2: Heaven - 83,000 words

Participated in July Camp NaNoWriMo and November NaNoWriMo.

I finished Cinder and Fire during Camp NaNo and Heaven during NaNoWriMo. I said last year that I would participate again, and I've enjoyed it. Now I'm just taking a break until the beginning of January to start working on Purgatory.

Hired editor for two books.

My editor, Nicola, has edited two books for me this year. Elemental Dragons Book 2: Venom and Earth and Elemental Dragons Book 3: Glass and Ice. Venom and Earth is almost ready for publication as it is in the formatting stages, while I have only recently got the edits back for Glass and Ice. Next year I will be asking her to work on the final book.

Two cover designs.

Both Blood and Water and Venom and Earth have come to life this year thanks to Deranged Doctor Design! They both have gorgeous covers and I've already booked the next two books to be designed by them next year.

Entered Blood and Water for a book award.

I've entered Blood and Water into the Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Wish me luck!

Read 30 books.

I've read 30 books this year, most of them being Warriors books. I've already got a little pile going ready to be read next year.

That's it for this week, come back next Sunday to read about my 2020 goals. See you next week!

Perfect Cheap Gifts for Writers

Hi all,

I've seen plenty of posts about gifts for writers and I thought I'd create my own little list to help people out! I've seen some ideas range from cheap to ridiculously expensive. Like most people, I don't have loads of money to spend on just one present, so I thought I'd focus this post on cheap ideas rather than really elaborate ones. Although everyone has their own little quirks and hobbies, most writers would love to receive any of the following:

Mishka in her Christmas outfit last year

Books - The most obvious one. Who doesn't love books?

Vouchers - I personally love receiving vouchers for book stores or Amazon. It means that I can fill up my to be read pile again.

Magazine subscriptions - Tying into my blog post last week, buying a month or two subscription to a writing magazine is a great idea.

Book posters - Some authors sell posters of their books. If the writer is a huge fan of a certain author, consider a poster!

Bookmarks - Like posters, most authors sell bookmarks of their books.

Notebooks - Writers can get struck with an idea at any time, so a notebook is a great thing to have on hand.

Food - Get them some of their favourite food or a voucher to their favourite restaurant. Creatives need fuel to keep writing!

Stickers - Some people love decorating their laptops with little stickers to personalise them. There are loads of writing related ones you can buy.

Book merchandise - Whether they're published or querying, you can get some of their manuscript printed on mugs or scarves.

Art - If you're a great artist, you may want to consider doing some art of their book. Maybe one of the characters or your favourite scene.

Supply Kit - Maybe combine a few of the above into a basket or box to gift the writer.

Support - This one is free. Support the writer by encouraging them to keep going. It's the most important and valuable gift you can give them.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed! I also hope everyone has a happy holiday as well, whether you celebrate or not!

See you next week.

Why Authors Should Read Writing Magazines

Hi all,

This week I'm going to talk about writing magazines and why authors should read them.

There are thousands of magazines out there geared towards writers, filled with publication opportunities, author interviews and book trends. Some you have to pay for, while some are free. I'm subscribed to a few writing magazines and have even had a short story published in one. That's why I want to talk about why writers should read at least one.

Publication.

Writing magazines often hold a lot of competitions which gives readers a chance to have their work published. Depending on who you submit to, you could also get paid! The first time that I was ever published was in a writing magazine, and it's a good way to get you work out there and add to your writing portfolio.

Writing Tips.

Most magazines will contain writing tips from other authors. Although not all will work for everyone, you can try a few out and see if any techniques will work for you.

New Reads.

By reading a writing magazine you might find your next favourite book! There are hundreds of books featured in magazines every year that you might never have heard of.

Marketing Tips.

As well as writing tips you can also discover new marketing tips. There might also be opportunities to advertise your book within the magazine if you have the budget.

Some are free.

You don't have to pay to subscribe to some magazines, you can sign up to mailing lists or just read the online versions.

Writing Events.

Magazines are a great way to find out about writing events. You can find out about events close to you and see which authors are attending.

Book Trends.

You can see which genres are up and coming and what hasn't sold well so far. This can also help you see what agents are looking for and who you can submit to.

New Agents/Publishing Houses.

A lot of writing magazines will advertise new agents or publishing houses. Since they have only just started up they'll be looking for plenty of submissions and you could submit your manuscript if they fit your genre.

That's it for this week, hope you enjoyed.

See you next week!

NaNoWriMo - November 2019

Hi all!

As promised, this week I will talk about how I got on with NaNoWriMo this year. This is the second time I've participated, but I had heard of it previously.

For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. You are given a month to write 50,000 words. You can track your progress on their website and fill in your daily word count and when you are projected to finish. There are also forums to connect with other writers, who you can add as buddies.

My progress each day according to the tracker

This year I participated with the second book of the Celestial Plague series: Heaven. I had finished the first draft of Nirvana the month prior and wanted to write Heaven for NaNoWriMo. Before November 1st I'd already written 20K of my first draft, so I hoped that I could complete the entire first draft by November 30th.

By the end of the month I had written 61,908 words, bringing my overall total to nearly 83,000!

My overall word count

Last year I did an entire first draft in 30 days, which was tough. This year I decided to just write what I could.

My method:

- Goal: 2,000 words a day. (60,000 words by the end of the month).

- Write on my phone during my commute to work (bus): usually write between 600-1000 words.

- Write during my half an hour lunch break: usually write between 700-900 words.

- Write during my commute home (bus): usually write between 300-600 words.

- Anything left over I write at home.

My average word count

I found a method that works for me and also means that I don't have to cram words in when I get home from a long day at work. This way when I get home I can relax. Although the whole process is difficult, I still love participating. I love having a goal in front of me and a chart to tell me how I’m doing. I’ll definitely participate again next year, as well as Camp NaNoWriMo.

Did you participate in NaNoWriMo? Did you hit the 50K target? Let me know in the comments!

See you next week!

Venom and Earth Cover Design

Hi all!

If you haven’t seen my social media posts the cover for Elemental Dragons Book 2: Venom and Earth has been revealed! It has been posted to my Twitter and Facebook pages, and also on another author’s book blog:

https://suesbookblog.wordpress.com/2019/11/25/cover-reveal-venom-and-earth-by-jessica-turnbull/

As with Blood and Water this has also been designed by the wonderful people at Deranged Doctor Design. (I got the Print Social package for those who are interested).

Like with Blood and Water, I thought I would explain a few key details of the cover:

The colour scheme is green and purple, to represent the title of Venom and Earth.

Hazel, the MC, is again on the cover.

The rocks are not being created by Hazel as she is not an Earth Elemental.

The rocks are being conjured by someone else, cornering Hazel.

The background is a forest, which comes into play later on in the book.

I liked the font from last time and kept it, as well as the colours.

Again, dragons aren’t in the background as I thought it would be too overwhelming.

That’s it for this week! Next week I’m going to talk about NaNoWriMo, how I felt during the entire process and how I managed to churn out 61,908 words in total.

See you next week!

My Least Favourite Genres

Hi all!

A few weeks ago I did a post on my favourite book genres and I thought it was about time I posted the sister post: My least favourite genres.

Readers will always have genres that they don't particularly like, which is okay. We're all allowed to have preferences. Just because one reader doesn't like the genre, it doesn't mean there isn't someone out there who loves it! The following are the genres that I very rarely read and I'm not a huge fan of:

Romance.

I know romance is one of the most popular genres out there but I just can't get into it. I'm not a huge fan of romance being the centre of the plot and really struggle to read romance books because of it. While querying I was stunned to see how many agents would only consider romance and some agencies were built entirely on the romance genre. While i don't really see the appeal myself, I won't put anyone down for liking romance or writing about it.

Medieval.

Again, another genre that I just can't get into. Although some books do this quite well, others do not. I prefer books set in modern times to those set in the medieval era. Plus, I think it's a hard genre to write in due to people have warped conceptions of medieval times. A lot of things that people have seen on TV or at school just didn't happen, or it happened in a very different way.

Magic.

I used to love books about magic when I was younger, but I'm not a huge fan of them now. I've just found that there aren't many I can get into, as I don't like the magic system or the magic itself. Maybe one day I'll get back into them, but if not I don't really mind. There are some that I've read recently which are really good, but it's not enough to get me back into the genre.

Non-Fiction.

I'm just not a fan of many non-fiction books as I just love fiction so much. I'd rather pick up a fiction book and escape to a different world rather than read a biography. I will read non-fiction for research, such as Egyptian mythology books, but apart from that I don't really touch them.

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

How Dreams Can Influence Your Writing

Hi all!

This week I'm going to talk about dreams and how they can help your writing.

I've had most of my book ideas from dreams; including Elemental Dragons and Street Rats. Although I've adapted the story line slightly, it's still very much true to the original dream. I keep my phone by my bedside just in case I dream something up which I think would make a good book idea. Some are better than others, I've scrapped three book ideas because I just couldn't make them work despite dreaming them so vividly.

Characters.

Character appearances or names can come to you in dreams. Rocky was one of my dream characters that I put in several books before he found his place in Elemental Dragons.

Plots and subplots.

Although dreams can be crazy and unpredictable, some can give you a rough idea of a plot. You can then rework this so it fits in with the book or characters.

Writing blocks.

Sometimes we get writer's block, which is okay. Usually it's temporary and just puts us in a writing slump for a while. However, if you're thinking about your book a lot while you're awake, you might just be able to dream up a solution.

Covers.

As authors, we often spend far too much time thinking about what our book cover will look like. A specific colour or theme could come to you while you sleep.

Book names.

As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, Blood and Water wasn't the first name of my book. More like the third or fourth. I came up with half the name, water, while I was dreaming. If I hadn't then it might still be going through name changes today!

Book ideas.

A lot of my book ideas have come to me from dreams, which I have then changed to fit in with a story. The Curse of Anubis series started out as a dream about zombies, and has now turned into a four book series.

Sequels.

Dreams can often give you ideas for sequels, which you can then choose to write if you wish. Some ideas may just make no sense when you try to put them together, but at least you've tested out the idea instead of just jumping straight in.

That's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed the blog post, see you next week!

Subjects to Add to Newsletters

Hi all!

Many authors who have a website have a mailing list attached to it. They might give away a free Ebook or marketing code to entice people to submit their email addresses. Anyone who signs up to my mailing list will get the free ebook: Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection, as well as getting monthly emails containing my newsletter.

Here's a link to sign up, and in return you get a free ebook!

https://www.subscribepage.com/jessicaturnbull

The cover for the Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection

Some authors are unsure of what to add to a newsletter, so I thought I'd talk about a few examples. Some of which I use, others I don't:

News.

Updating your subscribers with monthly news is a good way to get interaction. You can ask them questions and also talk about events you might be attending in the future.

Blog posts.

You can use your newsletter as a way of reminding subscribers of any blog posts they might have missed. I add my latest four blog posts to my newsletter with links and pictures.

Cover reveals.

Using a newsletter is a good way to reveal book covers to subscribers before everyone else. You can give them a reward for signing up and also ask them what they think of the cover. If you have multiple covers you can run a poll to see which one your subscribers like most.

Writing excerpts.

Every month I add an excerpt of a short story or novel that I'm working on for my subscribers. Some of them I don't post online, so they are usually the only ones to see it. They can see my writing style in different genres and characters I might use again in the future.

Announcements.

If you have an announcement about a book coming out or a discount, you can let your subscribers know first. As fans, they may be able to drum up excitement for you.

Giveaways.

Hosting a giveaway will get you easy audience interaction. A signed copy of your book will garner a lot of interest and your subscribers could be the lucky ones to win it.

Posters.

For each Elemental Dragons book I will have a poster that I will use for marketing. I add these to the bottom of my blog posts and emails as a reminder to the audience that they can purchase a copy.

Events.

If you attend an event or are hosting one, you can let your subscribers know first. Some of them might be able to attend and meet you. If you're hosting an event yourself, your subscribers can help you get the word out.

Word of mouth.

A recommendation of your book is a great thing as it means that you can find more readers. If subscribers like your books, they will be more likely to tell other people and get them to buy them.

Book recommendations.

Recommending books to your subscribers gives another author exposure while also sharing what you like to read with your audience. I use this to recommend my favourite books in no particular order.

Advanced readers.

An advanced reader is someone who gets a copy of your book before the release date and gives honest feedback through a review. Emailing your subscribers to ask if they would be interested is easier than posting on social media. You know these people are your fans and would love to help you.

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

Genres I Would Like to Write in the Future

Hi all!

NaNoWriMo started on Friday so I am currently trying to reach a word count goal of 2K a day. This won't mean that I'm not writing any blog posts, however.

This week I'm going to talk about genres I would like to write in the future. As many of you know, I mainly write YA, fantasy, sci-fi and horror. But, I would like to write in other genres if I can think of a good enough story.

New Adult.

New Adult is the age group in between Young Adult and Adult Fiction. I would like to try New Adult as I think it would be a good middle ground if I ever wanted to write Adult books. I also think that the jump from YA to Adult is quite big, so NA is a nice middle ground so I can hone my skills while still having a bit of fun with teenage characters.

Paranormal.

Although at one point I had an idea for a Paranormal book, I scrapped it because I just didn't like it enough. If I were to one day write Paranormal it would probably have elements of horror mixed in. I like reading ghost stories, so I would love to one day be able to write a Paranormal book.

Mystery.

Mystery is a genre that I've never attempted before, but would love to try out. It would probably have elements of Sci-Fi or fantasy mixed in. I'm not planning on writing mystery for a while though, as I want to give myself time to research and improve my writing skills.

Crime.

Another one I've not attempted before, but would probably have elements of fantasy mixed in. I don't read many crime novels, but the ones I have read I absolutely loved. This is at the bottom of my list as I don't have any ideas for this genre, however.

Monster/Creature.

I'm a huge fan of monster films. I love watching films like Godzilla and King Kong, and I would love to one day write a book about a giant creature. Again, I don't have any ideas or plans for this as of yet.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed! I also want to wish all the NaNoWriMo participants luck in hitting that 50K!

Why Authors Need Reviews

Hi all!

As I have now published Blood and Water I wanted to make a post about reviews and why they're so important to authors.

Advertising.

The more reviews a book has, the better. This is because it gives the reader a chance to skim through what other people think before buying. Also, to market on certain book sites you need to have a certain number of reviews. Some ask for five, some ask for twenty or more. If you review the book, the author is one step closer to being able to market it on certain sites.

Feedback.

Authors get lots of feedback from reviews, good and bad. This can help them see what people liked or didn't like and whether there is something about the story, cover or formatting that could be improved upon.

Amazon exposure.

The more reviews a book has on Amazon, the more likely Amazon is to recommend it to others. It also contributes to the overall sellers rank, so if they get enough sales and reviews they can break into the top 100.

Goodreads rating.

On Goodreads, you can rate and review a book if you wish. This is good for authors to see how well their book is doing. If your Goodreads account is connected to Amazon, you can review on one site and have it posted to both. This saves you time while also giving the author a boost.

Balance.

Unfortunately there will be people who deliberately leave bad reviews. Some don't even read the book, instead they just rate it badly because Amazon recommended it to them or they think that by rating others badly their book will perform better. By reviewing, you can balance out the bad review and give the author some confidence.

Authors loving hearing what people think.

Putting a book out there is scary, and when people review the book it shows the author that not only are people buying it, but some are enjoying it too!

Blood and Water's first review.

Encouragement.

By reviewing, you can encourage the author to keep writing. This is good for books in a series, if you're invested in the characters and are desperate to know what happens in the next book, say!

Covers.

Some authors like to post good reviews on their covers to try and attract more readers. This shows they appreciate their feedback.

Social media.

As with covers, some authors like to post their best reviews on social media. If you review, you might see your review reposted on one of their social media profiles!

If you have read Blood and Water and have enjoyed it, please leave a review! I'm grateful for any feedback I can get as it's my first book and I want to know what people think.

I hope you enjoyed this week's blog post, see you next week!