Self Publishing - Tumblr Posts
What if it was ZuTara but adult, spicy, dark fantasy, and there’s a dragon?
Kingdom of Ash & Shadow by Lindsey Elizabeth on Zon/KU
Also, yes, this is how I’m making my return back to tumblr after I don’t know how many years - a new account cause idk the login I made when Sherlock was still new.
Anyways, I write spicy dark fantasy books now, so if you like reading or writing, art, graphic design, or the marvel universe we should definitely be friends.
Were you the one who did a post a while back talking about cover art? If so, could you take a look at the cover art I designed for my fanfic and give me your feedback? Thanks,my friend. I love your blog!
I myself have not authored a post on cover-making, but I have shared them.
How I Make Book Covers + Tips For You!
Book Cover Design: A Definitive Author’s Guide
[Quick Analysis of Professional YA Covers]
Create Unique Covers for Your Wattpad Stories
300+ Fool-Proof Fonts to use for your Book Cover Design
Wattpad/eBook Cover Ideas & Resources | HEY, Writers! Pinterest
[FREE USE IMAGES!] Book Cover Ideas | HEY, Writers! Unsplash
As for reviewing your cover, this enters the realm of “review my writing and give me feedback,” which I do not offer.
If you have a Wattpad you should post your cover in the CoverOffs for feedback from other readers/designers. It’s generally best to enter more than one version of your cover so viewers can compare.
That thread appears to be discontinued, but surely there are other places and ways to gain feedback. Instagram or Twitter, for example, might have hashtags for image/cover feedback.
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+ Please read my Ask Policy before sending in your ask. Thank you!
+ If you appreciate my updates and replies, please consider sending a little thank you and Buy Me A Coffee!
+ Follow HEY, Writers! other social media for visual inspiration and samples of my writing: AO3 - Wattpad - Unsplash - Pinterest
Any Interest in Muscle TF Story Books?
I have over 2000 followers here on Tumblr now. How many of you would be interested in buying some muscle TF stories and anthologies compiled from my archives and potentially some from my P at reon? I’m considering selling some on Amazon, but I’d like to know how many of you would actually buy them and rate them/tell friends to buy them. Please let me know in comments and likes. please also retweet for maximum coverage/exposure so I can see just how wide an audience I have for if/when I choose to do this.
Thank you!
Hey everybody, my mom's ebook is up for pre-order on Amazon. It's titled: "Forever Burning: The Evil Within" by Amy Olinger. It would mean a lot to us if you would check it out and maybe get you a copy. Or if you'd like to have a physical copy, she should have that available on October 8th, 2024!!! If you can't buy a copy or don't want to, please consider sharing my post to try to reach more of an audience. Thank you!
https://a.co/d/dI5gBcd
{The above link will take you to the kindle version that's available for pre-order.}
--------♾️🔥--------
**TWs: SA, Mentions of abuse
**CWs: blood, adult content/adult themes, violence, gore
--------♾️🔥--------
**BOOK DESCRIPTION:**
On top of losing her job, depleting her savings, and selling her furniture to buy food, Amelia faces eviction from her landlord. On her last day, with nowhere to go, she receives a call from a friend with a job offer, giving her a glimmer of hope. She moves to a small town, seeking security for herself and her daughter. However, what she finds is much more than she expected—a world full of mystery, magic, secrets, and horror, but also love and family. If you enjoy A Discovery of Witches and True Blood, this story will surely be a perfect fit.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read all of this! I appreciate you all and hope you have good luck on your reading and writing journey! Sending you all hugs and love! 💜
-Thepoetickitten
New writing server I just opened!!
Discord Servers Updates:
Dear Fox Den Members and Followers!
As every story must come to an end, so too must The Fox Den.
Life has a way of pulling us in different directions, and lately, I’ve found myself overwhelmed with responsibilities, studies, and the inevitable dramas that come with managing online communities. As much as I’ve loved nurturing The Fox Den, I’ve realized that I’ve lost track of my own writing and creative journey. It’s time to refocus, turn the page, and start a new chapter.
Why the change? The Fox Den has been a wonderful place for creativity and connection, but the time has come to let it go. Between balancing life, getting back into my studies, and dealing with the ups and downs of managing multiple servers, I’ve realized that I need a fresh start. A space that not only supports others but also allows me to reconnect with my own passions.
That’s why I’m closing The Fox Den and opening a new community: The Phantom Quarters.
What is "The Phantom Quarters"? The Phantom Quarters is a new Discord server inspired by the dark academia aesthetic, with a dash of inspiration (let's be honest, a LOT) from Taylor Swift’s "The Tortured Poets Department". Imagine an old, candlelit library filled with whispers of untold stories, where creativity is nurtured amidst the shadows with classmates as passionate as you. This is the atmosphere I'm trying to create.
In The Phantom Quarters, you’ll find:
- Writing Prompts & Challenges: With various themes, brainstorm sessions and more! - Workshops & Feedback: A supportive environment where you can share your work and help others grow. - Events & Discussions: Engage in book clubs, themed events, and deep conversations. - A Close-Knit Community: A place where every member, whether a seasoned writer or a curious observer, is valued and encouraged to explore their creativity.
The Fox Den will officially close soon enough, but I hope this isn’t the end of our journey together. I invite you to join me in The Phantom Quarters, where we can continue to explore, create, and inspire one another in a fresh and focused space!
Thank you for being a part of The Fox Den. Your stories, support, and creativity have meant the world to me. Let’s take this next step together and see where the shadows of The Phantom Quarters lead us.
With appreciation and a renewed sense of purpose, Daisy
Where should I put my stories?
heya fellow writers on Tumblr, I got a semi serious question, or at least it feels semi serious at the moment. I'm making a lot of progress with this short story and I was wondering where I'm supposed to put it?
I know I could try self-publishing it, but that requires people caring enough to pay for it
I could enter it into a contest, but that requires it to be small enough, and I don't want to constrain myself
I could put it in Wattpad, but I know they're very heavenly romance and fan fiction which this isn't
Same applies to AO3, which I know a lot of people on Tumblr like
I could try just putting it straight in Tumblr, but that didn't work last time
I could record an audio book of it and put it on YouTube, but I don't have the money for recording and such
I could do maybe something else?
Just kinda need a little bit of help
Things I learned during my first year as a self-published author
Hello, hello, hello.
Here at the end of 2021, my debut year, I’ve published two books, with the third coming in spring of next year and the fourth in fall. I spent the last year and a half treating self-publishing as my only career (which it is), and let me tell y’all, it’s been far more work than the retail job I had prior to the pandemic. I wanted to reflect on some things I’ve learned:
#1: Prepare to make sacrifices.
And I don’t mean blood to the old gods, although I’m sure they’d appreciate a few drops. If you’re seriously considering a career as an author, you’re probably already aware of how much time writing takes out of your day-to-day life. But when you’re self-pubbed, everything is on your shoulders. Not just writing, but all the elements that go into producing your book, plus all the elements that go into publishing, marketing, and building your platform. If you’re one of a rare species of industrious writers, this may not be much of a challenge for you. But if you’re anything like me, you’ll find that there are not enough hours in a day to tackle all the things you require for a successful career (whatever that means to you). This might mean certain activities, tasks, etc., get cut…often many, many times.
#2: If you don’t have patience, you won’t get far.
Let’s face it: many of us don’t have sizable platforms or fanbases. I sure as hell don’t. So when I went to publish my first book back in June, I felt demoralized. After my launch week, things went dead. And I mean dead. But I pressed on, because I realized something: regardless of whether your debut is wildly successful, it’s still the first brick laid on a lasting foundation. There is plenty of time for people to discover you and your books. Me? I’m only just starting to see interest pick up for my work, but I’m in this for the long haul.
#3: Hook yourself up with author friends or groups.
This one in particular has been making all the difference. Surround yourself with like-minded writers—especially writers who write in a similar genre as you—and boost each other’s work. I’ve found Twitter to be more reliable in this regard, as many writers over there are published/about to be. You can also gain a lot of traction by participating in chats, recommending books you enjoyed, and coordinating group giveaways.
With that said, socializing as a self-published author is hard, at least for me. There’s not enough time in the day to juggle your own career/daily tasks with keeping up with hundreds of other writers. To be honest, this is why I have a hard time keeping up with the Writeblr community. While there are many beautiful WIPs to be enjoyed here, I only have so much mental energy to invest in others’ projects, and it’s easier to invest in projects that are completed/published. However, I very much look forward to the day when I can gush about y’alls completed works!
#4: Prioritize self-care above everything else.
Publishing is certainly exciting, but it can also be stressful, demoralizing, and overwhelming. There will be many days when you feel like you want to quit or take a long hiatus from writing. You will feel as though your career is pointless or a waste of time. You’ll likely see long periods without sales (I went about three months without a single sale) despite your marketing efforts. If you’re pursuing a full-time author career—and not a casual side hustle type of arrangement—you will have to work consistently. But this shouldn’t come at the expense of your well-being. Work hard, but don’t work so hard that your mental and physical health suffer. Take those breaks. Fill the creative well.
And remember: it’s not a competition.
Hi! How does one go about getting a book published? I promise I don't have crucifix nail nipples in anything I write, though I do lean toward horror.
That depends, are you wanting to go traditional publishing, or self pub?
Trad pub you finish writing and editing, and start shopping around for an agent who will then find you a publisher who works with you through their editing and handles the cost of print and distribution.
Remember: you do not pay agents or publishers. Agents take their fee after they've sold the book and you get your initial payout from the publisher buying the book. After that the publisher takes their cut from sales.
Vanity presses take money from you, avoid them.
For self pub, there are many more steps, so I'm going to list them as bullet points:
Finish your manuscript.
If you can, invest in editing and formatting. If you're not sure what kind of editing you need, developmental vs copyedit vs basic proofing, you might want to ask for a manuscript assessment so the editors can identify any problem areas that they can help you with, or you can work on by yourself before coming back for the actual editing process.
Formatting between ebook and paperback is different, and if you want the finished product to look polished, I'd suggest hiring a formatter-- some editors do this as part of their services. You can also learn to do this yourself. I opted to hire it out.
Cover design. There are places you can buy covers, or you can make them yourself. ebook covers are fairly straightforward, paperbacks/hardbacks will require you to work with a template based on the size of your book (including page count) which places like Amazon and Ingram Spark provide.
Decide where you want to distribute. Amazon is fairly straight forward. You just make a KDP account and follow the prompts.
If you want to go wide, use www.draft2digital.com they will distribute globally for you with a single upload. You should still upload directly to Amazon and Barnes & Noble as they pay better. Otherwise just use d2d.
I'd also suggest reading Let's Get Digital by David Gaughran, who really breaks down the process of indie digital publishing. You can read it for free via his website: https://davidgaughran.com/books/lets-get-digital-how-to-self-publish/
For paperbacks you can use Amazon and Ingram, though Draft2Digital also just launched their paperback distribution service as well. I haven't used them yet, but I will be for the second Phangs book, so I'll report back on how that goes. (They also work with an audiobook distributor if you ever want to do audio.)
If we want to talk marketing and creating an online presence, you should strongly consider having an author website you can send people to to find all your work in one place. If you can't afford to do that, make sure you have a strong presence on your preferred social media platform and make sure your buy links are in a visible place.
If you want to talk more specifics, then I can go into more detail, but otherwise that's kinda it. You need a KDP account, a d2d account and completed files to upload. The rest is marketing and working on new books.
Hope that helps!
Travis Baldree Mar 1, 2022
[...] So, for anyone else thinking of taking the plunge, or in the middle of doing so, I’m going to lay out end-to-end everything that I did, things I discovered, and also cold, hard, numbers. I wanted this sort of information when I was going through the process, and never found it all in one place, or often only vaguely articulated.
I wrote and published a book !!
Publishing for Fun and Profit
So there was a list going around tumblr for a while that made it to my dash of literary journals that accept open submissions (and will pay!), but upon inspection about half of them were closed indefinitely, and I found quite a few other places that looked interesting through further research, so I wanted to post my own list.
I tried to focus on things that paid professional grade (at least 6 cents per word), were friendly to speculative fiction, and specifically encouraged diversity and writing about marginalized groups.
(Please note that as of right now I have never submitted or been published with any of these, so if anyone has experience with them, good or bad, please feel free to message or reblog this with your experiences.)
Speculative Fiction
Strange Horizons — Speculative fiction (broadly defined) with an emphasis on diversity, unusual styles, and stories that address politics in nuanced ways. 8c per word. Up to 10,000 words, under 5,000 preferred. Responds within 40 days. LGBT+ positive.
Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine — Sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc. 7-12c per word. Up to 25,000 words. No response times listed.
Asimov’s Science Fiction — Primarily sci-fi but accepts fantasy and surreal fiction, but no high fantasy/sword and sorcery. Prefers writing that is character driven. 8-10c per word. 1,000-20,000 words. Responds in about five weeks.
Evil Girlfriend Media — Horror and urban fantasy centered on female empowerment and defying gender stereotypes. $100 flat payment. 4,000-7,000 words. No response times given. LGBT+ friendly.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies — Fantasy with a focus on secondary worlds and characters. 6c per word. Up to 10,000 words. Average response time 2-4 weeks.
Fantastic Stories — Speculative fiction with an emphasis on diversity and literary style. 15c per word. Up to 3,000 words. Responds within two weeks. LGBT+ positive.
Fiction Vortex — Serialized fantasy and speculative fiction. $300 for featured stories, $50 otherwise. 3,500 words or less. No response times given.
Shimmer — Speculative fiction with an emphasis on diversity, strong plots, vivid characters, and beautiful writing. 5c per word. 7,500 words or less (will consider longer words with query letter). Usually responds within two weeks. LGBT+ positive.
Clarkesworld Magazine — Sci-fi, fantasy, and other speculative fiction. 10c per word up to 5,000 words, 8c per word after. 1,000-16,000 words. Responds within days usually, gives a tracking number.
Apex Magazine — Speculative fiction of all kinds. 6c per word, +1c per word for podcast stories. Up to 7,500 words, all submissions over will be auto-rejected. Responds within 30 days.
Heliotrope Magazine — Speculative fiction of all kinds. 10c per word. Up to 5,000 words. Responds within 30 days.
Lightspeed Magazine — Speculative fiction of all kinds, with creativity and originality in terms of style and format encouraged. 8c per word. 1,500-10,000 words, under 5,000 preferred. LGBT+ positive. Submissions temporarily closed for their main magazine but is accepting for their People of Color Destroy Science Fiction special.
General Fiction
The Sun Magazine — General fiction, likes personal writing or writing of a cultural/political significance. $300-$1500 flat payment and a one year subscription to the magazine for fiction (also accepts essays and poetry). No minimum or maximum lengths but over 7,000 words discouraged. Responds in 3-6 months. Physical submissions only.
One Story — Any and all varieties of fiction, “unique and interesting” stories encouraged. $500 payment plus 25 contributor copies. 3,000-8,000 words. Usually responds in 2-3 months.
Camera Obscura — General fiction. $1000 for featured story, $50 for “Bridge the Gap” award, no payment for other contributors. 250-8,000 words. Response time vary, running just over two months as of now.
Flash Fiction
Daily Science Fiction — Speculative flash fiction (including sci-fi, fantasy, slipstream, etc.). 8c per word. Up to 1,500 words, but shorter stories given priority. Response times not listed.
Vestral Review — General flash fiction. 3-10c per word depending on length to a max of $25. Up to 500 words. Response within four months.
Flash Fiction Online — General flash fiction. $60 flat payment. 500-1,000 words. Response times not listed.
Novels/Novella
Riptide Publishing — Any LGBTQ manuscripts between 15,000 and 150,000 words. Currently especially interested in lesbian romances, trans stories, asexual/aromantic stories, romances with a happy ending, and genre fiction such as urban fantasy. Also has a YA branch. LGBT+ positive.
Crimson Romance — Romance stories of all kinds, currently seeking LGBT+ stories with a focus on emotional connections and relationships, especially m/m romance. Novel (55,000-90,000 words) or novella (20,000-50,000 words) length. LGBT+ positive.
Kindle Direct Publishing
Kindle Direct Publishing — Allows you to set your own prices, create your own cover art, and make royalties off of each sell. Any and all genres are welcome and if you’re prolific and smart about how you’re publishing you can make pretty good money.
General Guide to Kindle Publishing — Gives a good rundown of the publishing process on Kindle.
101 Guide to Kindle Erotica — Great guide with lots of resources about how to make money publishing erotica on Kindle.
Publishing Comics/Graphic Novels
Here is a list of potential comic companies and what kind of open submissions they accept.
Here is a list of literary agents who accept graphic novels.
Marketing yourself as an author 101:
Have an about and current wips(s) page!!!
Why? Potential future readers can easily figure out who you are and what you’re working on, and are therefore more likely to remember you, support you as an author, and buy your future books.
But I can’t write good blurbs! Tips for writing blurbs. But I’m worried someone will steal my ideas! Why fear shouldn’t stop you. But I tried that and it didn’t help me! More you can do to grow your audience. But tumblr is dumb and won’t show links on mobile! I have no advice for this one, I’m just really mad the staff hasn’t fixed it yet.
I published a novel!!! https://www.amazon.com/Before-Q-There-Was-Z-ebook/dp/B08Q9Q29VM
Get your copy now!!!
I published my Second Novel!!!
...While you're shopping...
I work too hard
Novel No.3!!!
