We are a group of Fantasy & Sci-Fi writers who have banded together to help promote each other’s works, share each other’s social media posts and try to help each other create a healthy following of readers on all our social media platforms.
Once in the alliance, we will loop you in on follow trains for relevant platforms and postings to help promote you and your fellow alliance members’ works. You can join the trains or share the posts at your discretion, but the more you give, the more you will get from the experience.
Here are some trains we’ve done so far on Instagram, and currently doing one on Twitter.
— Douglas W.T. Smith (@DouglasWTSmith) July 20, 2022
The hope is to create a network of like-minded writers who will be able to:
Length the reach of our social media,
To draw in more followers across platforms and
Ultimately, improve all of our success as writers.
Anyone who is a writer in the Fantasy and/or Sci-Fi genres will sign-up, all that is needed is at least one social media account. It is encouraged to have at least the big three of Instagram, Twitter & Facebook to get the maximum effect.
If you are a part of an Indie Publisher, you can also sign up your social media accounts to be linked into the alliance network.
No information that is provided on this form will be shared outside of the usage stated above, and will be kept in a secure location. This information will be provided to other alliance members so that they can help support you and share your accounts and works.
SHADOW OF THE WICKED IS UP FOR NOMINATION FOR THE INDIE INK AWARDS 2022!
I’m so excited by this news. When I chose to self-publish and become an indie author, I never would have thought SotW would be in the running nomination for anything. I produced this novella thinking it would gain little noticed but I’m so thrilled even if it doesn’t win an award.
But now, it’s up to you. You need to vote for my book. It has been nominated in several categories and the more votes I get, the more chance I have to win.
The link is below.
Please nominate for the categories: Best Morally Gray Character, Best Villain, Shadiest Character, and Best Debut.
Books by marginalized authors, self-published books, and books by small presses often get overlooked. The Indie Ink Awards is a unique event that brings together the writing community to celebrate books that have made an impact on us. This is our way of highlighting the future we want to see in books–by uplifting those that shine.
The Indie Ink Awards will begin with nominations. In July 2022, you will be able to nominate your favorite books for over 30 different awards. All voting will take place right here on IndieStoryGeek.com.
We have two categories: the “Best In” awards and the “Writing The Future We Need” awards. The “Best In” awards should exemplify the chosen category. We are looking for exceptional inclusion and diversity in works nominated for “Writing the Future We Need” awards. Readers can nominate books for as many awards of either category as they think fit.
Only self published/small press books will be considered, AND they must be on Indie Story Geek.
Those published by a subsidiary of the Big 4 are not eligible. If you’re an author and your book is not on Indie Story Geek, you may create an account and submit your book. You are not allowed to nominate your work, but you are encouraged to let your readers know that the Indie Ink Awards are taking place so they can nominate and vote.
Once the nomination period starts, books will go through a process of elimination. The contest has four phases:
Nomination phase – July 2022 – books are nominated by anyone with a Indie Story Geek account.
Voting phase – August 2022 – the top nominated books will be listed by award for readers to vote on. The top ten in every category will move on at the end of this phase.
Authors of selected books are contacted in September 2022. Authors may provide a digital ARC for our judges to review if they wish, or they may opt-out of continuing in the competition.
Judges review selected books in their assigned category from October 2022 through February 2023, utilizing a rubric for increased objectivity.
Winners will be announced in March 2023 at our awards ceremony!
Interesting in reading as a judge? Fill out our application here!
Writing the first chapter is equivalent to a first date. First impressions are everything and you, the writer, are subject to some intense scrutiny. But how do you know if you’re dotting all your i’s and crossing all your t’s? Chapter one will make or break our book. If we get it wrong, the first chapter might be the only chapter of our book anyone reads. Here’s a guide for what to include in your first chapter.
In speech, filler words are short, meaningless words (or sounds) we use to fill the little pauses that occur while we decide what we’re going to say next. They’re the ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’ and ‘ers’ that litter our conversations, whether or not we like it. But although these brief filler words don’t add any meaning to your statements, they perform a function in speech. They allow you to take a second and think about what you’re going to say next. They let others know that you’re not quite finished speaking yet, even if you’ve paused for a moment.
Before I continue with Filler words, I want to share with you something outstanding. I am an affiliate for ProWritingAid. What does that mean for you? For a limited time, you can sign up FOR FREE and if you choose to proceed with it, you can get 20% OFF ALL PURCHASESwith the code: HONEY20 (even monthly subscriptions with the option to cancel at anytime). What are you waiting for? Click the link below to cut out those filler words.
Filler Words in Writing
Filler words take a distinct form in writing. Few of us actually write out “uh” or “um” when we’re composing an email. Instead, those little pauses manifest as unnecessary adverbs and empty phrases that add length but not substance to what you’re trying to say. Fortunately, written communication gives us the opportunity to edit ourselves before we send our message out to the world.
Filler words are words that add no meaning or value to a sentence and simply “fill” the space. They can be removed or replaced, but often inadvertently creep up in writing since we’re so used to using them in our speech. Having too many filler words decreases the readability of your manuscript, making it hard for the reader to engage in the action, plot, and characters of your story.
Below are examples of the most common filler words, according to InfusionMedia.
Most filler words are adverbs and adjectives. How do we cut them from our Manuscript? Use William Zinsser’s technique and read your sentences aloud. Note the rhythm and sound. Do your adverbs and adjectives overpower your verbs? Then get rid of the adverbs and adjectives. The action is what’s important.
Wordy: For all intents and purposes, this project will be outsourced.
Concise: This project will be outsourced.
Wordy: Needless to say, I think we should get grilled cheese.
Concise: We should get grilled cheese.
Basically
Basically is a filler word that appears both in speech and writing. We often use basically when we’re exaggerating for effect or making a statement that is generally true but may have some rare exceptions. Sometimes basically is an important qualifier, but often, it’s clear from context that you’re not making a claim of absolute truth.
Okay: Basically, I could eat ice cream for any meal. Better: I could eat ice cream for any meal.
Just
Check out some of your recent emails. Do you tend to use the word just a lot? Is it just a way to make things sound more polite? Do you like to just follow up on things? Is there anything you were just wondering? Try deleting this one from your sentences and seeing if there’s really a difference in meaning. Most of the time, you’ll find there’s not.
Okay: Could you just send me that file when you have a moment? Better: Could you send me that file when you have a moment?
If you want a personalized editing critique on your manuscript, I have an option for that on my Patreon! Click below to get the editing support you might need, along with a lot more content!
Very/Really/Highly
We reach for adverbs like very, greatly, and highly to add intensity, but the truth is that these words are so overused that readers tend to gloss right over them. You’re better off picking a more vivid word to describe what you’re talking about.
Okay: The new pizza place downtown was very busy this afternoon. Better: The new pizza place downtown was bustling this afternoon.
Needless to say
If it’s really needless to say, why say it? If it does need to be said, don’t undercut yourself!
Okay:Needless to say, my haircut looked awful. Better: My haircut looked awful.
For what it’s worth
We tend to fall back on this phrase when we want to make a point but we’re not sure if others will be happy about it. Leave it out and your sentence will be more concise and sound more confident.
Okay:For what it’s worth, we could test our idea with a focus group before moving forward. Better: We could test our idea with a focus group before moving forward.
Read your book aloud. It stops the skimming over filler words and slows down the reading pace to let you find those filler words. Below, I have a list of other filler words to spot in your manuscript. Until next time, keep your words sharp and sword sheathed.
If you like what you read, if you have questions or ideas, make sure you post your comments below. If you think someone has an interesting point of view, a question, or an answer, please invite them or share this post with them.
You’ve finally decided to start writing a book, and you’re pumped about it. You’re confident your book is going to be one of the greatest written works in literary history. But when you consider actually starting the process, you feel stuck. Now what?
Everyone has their distinct writing style. Some gush out words to create a lengthy and very rough draft, while others agonize over every single word and sentence. Certain writers start at page one, while others create the body first and then fill in the intro later. Some aren’t even sure what genre they want to follow until they’ve hashed out several pages.
You’ll run into obstacles as you embark on your writing journey, so here are 8 Tips To Start Writing Your Book.
Are your sentences overly long and confusing? In this post, I’m going to share 6ways to improve your writing.
Long sentences can be dangerous. When our sentences are too long, we tend to lapse into the passive voice and we risk making tense and punctuation mistakes.
Run-on sentences also distract the writer and the reader. We tend to veer off course and forget the purpose of our communications. They also force the reader to work harder.
When you go to start your novella, remember it’s important to appreciate the form. It would be premature to start to craft your own story without first reading a collection of novellas and taking stock of elements that appeal to you. Once you feel like you have a sense of the form, it’s time to start writing. Below are SEVEN TIPS that helped me and hopefully, they help you finish your novella.
Last year I self-published my novella, Shadow Of The Wicked, since then I’ve had a lot of readers asking me why I chose to write a novella, and how to write one. I’ve created a quick and general guideline for writing a novella. I say generally because, like all writing principles, they are subject to change.
I’ve been pondering the idea for a while and I’ve wanted to try to involve and give my viewers/readers/writers extra content but I don’t have the time around my work life–well now I do.
If you haven’t heard of Patreon it is a membership platform that connects content creators with fans and supporters. Mainly, it offers financial tools that let supporters subscribe to projects that give creators a predictable income stream as they continue to create content.
The membership is based on Tiers. Below are my Tiers. If you click the image it’ll take you to my page and you can see what else is offered for each Tier.
Patreon enables creators to establish multiple membership tiers. The number of tiers and the subscription rate at each level is left up to the creator. This can encourage casual fans to pay a low rate – perhaps as little as $1 per month – while more dedicated followers can subscribe upwards of $10 or $20 per month. Higher tiers grant funders access to premium and exclusive content not otherwise available to supporters at lower levels.
As you can see, my tiers start at a low price but obviously the higher you commit, the more content you’ll receive from me.
I look forward to building a stronger relationship and engagement with you by producing more content.
It’s been very quiet here on my blog, but I assure you, I have been busy with projects outside writing.
Over the past couple of months I have been mostly working, renovating our home and spending quality time with my family. I also took a step back in my marketing plan for Shadow Of The Wicked to see how the organic sales, as I felt like I had done a lot of the ground working to keep the sales trickling in.
I only send one letter on the 4th of every month, so it won’t overload your inbox. But it will give you the first insight on my books, as well as early or exclusive access to content, which I am happy to announce some really big news but you have to subscribe to my newsletter to receive it.
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