writer in progress

HELLO FRIEND. Honestly, a little bit lost, but I'm trying to make my way! Trying to occupy myself with coding portfolio, working on my WIP draft whenever able, and I just recently started Dune Messiah.

I'm going to be hopefully studying some tagalog in my free time! I found a textbook and so I'm going to focus on some basic grammar, hoping to find one or two tagalog speakers to message me now and again to keep me motivated, but that will come with time.

HELLO FRIEND. Honestly, a little bit lost, but I'm trying to make my way! Trying to occupy myself with coding portfolio, working on my WIP draft whenever able, and I just recently started Dune Messiah.

𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 : 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐍

Strange in a world of gods and humans, it had been the gods who learned to keep their heads down.

He dared not stare at anyone as he walked down the street, hands tucked in his pockets, shoes hardly making a sound with each step he took toward the hospital. Things had become worse than ever in a matter of weeks. The Revolutionists, humanity’s righteous brigade of scientists, soldiers, and supremacists, was gaining traction in multiple countries now. Should Quinn, God of Stars, behave as if he were divine, as if his blood ran any color but red, he’d risk the same fate as the dozens of gods who’d disappeared. Dozens just gone—and they were the fools.

Fools to go on pretending, to register themselves on the humans’ whims, to stifle their powers and refuse to use them because it was asked of them. After all, they were the aliens here, the foreigners. Immortal, godly, and yet they were hated by the very creatures that had once devoutly praised them.

As if he could judge his fellow deities. He’d stayed, and he was still staying. From the moment he arrived thousands of years ago, the first empires of Earth falling, he’d stayed.

But Quinn had been wise not to register himself. To pretend as if, when Omne signed the Heavens Act, he’d never existed. Only a decade ago had he resurfaced to continue his work. Even despite all their technological advancements, many of which being thanks to his kind, humans were still fragile things. He still had use, even if he couldn’t use his title. He could still save people.

Ignoring the latest propaganda being spat out by the Revolutionists, the maroon and scarlet poster glaring up at him, he raced up the steps to the hospital entrance.Things were quiet this late at night. It left him to his own thoughts as he finally reached the top-most level of the hospital. He slipped out of his jacket and into his lab coat, catching the faintest glimpse of his scar as he did so. Quinn never did know where it’d come from. When he awoke from his creation, guarded by a ring of stars—the greatest wonder of the now dead Phantom Empire—he had it. Not for millions of years did he bother questioning it. 

There is a lot of discourse going around about why authors shouldn't say they hate social media because it gives off the wrong impression to readers (that we hate them and interacting with them) and it's actually things like this that contribute to my general anxiety. I am a person that vibes snarky, blunt and pessimistic. I'm a Daria girlie. I'm a hater and my friends like me that way. But having to constantly second guess if other people who might conflict with that personality type will consider me malicious makes navigating my profiles a minefield.

Now I can't just post the way I used to, I have to be wary that readers might think of it as a reflection of me and my brand. That level of hypervigilance is deeply uncomfortable for me. And I recognise that's kind of how it is when you become a businessperson but it is exhausting and I like being able to let off steam from time to time because I'm British and we are cultural complainers. It doesn't mean I hate my followers, every so often I think it's a shame I don't get more engagement but I don't discuss it very much because I don't want it to seem like I'm fishing for people to talk to me more. I want to have a community but I also want to be authentically me and this is feeling increasingly at odds because I don't have a base default that vibes sunny and friendly. It's to the point where I think maybe I am better off if I engage less and become more impersonal.

We're excited to announce Moon + Seraph's newest event...

Words into Potions (or, WIP!)

Join us this March 1st - 31st for a month-long writing challenge, where any and all types of writing goals are welcome! Use our event to draft a whole novel, outline a new WIP, finish a short story, or accomplish anything writing-related!

We have lots of exciting freebies to help you along the journey!

Track your milestones on a free, downloadable map

Collect digital writing-themed badges

When you reach your goal, randomly pull 1 of 12 digital tarot-inspired cards

Plus, to celebrate our birthday and the event finale on March 31st, we encourage you to post an introduction of your WIP(s) and a wrap-up of all the progress you made. Tag us and we'll reblog your post!

Optionally, join our Discord server to get more out of the Words into Potions writing challenge!

(Learn more about the server here.)

Earn special Discord roles by doing writing sprints

Participate in a weekly writing marathon, where we collectively try to reach a larger goal

Weekly WIP question trades, where we talk about each other's stories and encourage each other to keep writing

Share links to any progress updates you post on Tumblr in our dedicated event promotion channel, and we'll reblog them here

For a sneak peek at our free rewards and more details, read on below!

If you're going to participate or just want to help spread the word, please give this post a reblog! It's very hard for posts to be seen on Tumblr right now, and we really, really want this to find as many writers as possible.

There are threads of this nature going around on Twitter but since I know a lot of prospective authors are not using that platform I wanted to bring some of the advice I learned going indie onto here if there are people who are interested, scared, or on the fence.

MARKETING

This seems to be the big one that scares people off, I certainly know it was for me, so I want to offer some transparency here from what I learned.

You do not have to get on Tiktok. I know, I know. But you really don't! I've been on there since February and only have 200 followers. My sales are fine. I learned that it's not for me and devoted my energy to other platforms I found more rewarding like Twitter and Instagram, and even Tumblr!

You do have to market, sorry. This is an unavoidable truth of whatever publishing route you choose but especially indie. The market is oversaturated and everyone is clawing for attention so do your best to give yourself a fighting chance to stand out. My advice? Pick the platforms you hate the least and grow there organically. Make connections with people. Be casual. Don't take yourself so seriously. Eventually, you'll come across the audience you need.

Appearances are everything. Do your best to learn some basic form of graphic design as people's eyes are drawn to appealing imagery. That includes your cover. Sorry. You don't have to break the bank making your book beautiful and the tools are there to teach yourself but people DO judge a book by its cover. Again, give yourself a fighting chance.

Trope maps, one-line pitches, and comp titles. I know we hate them on this corner of the internet but I can't deny their utility. They're pithy, easy to consume when someone is scrolling by and easy to remember. You can add a summary if you want but this is just to catch people's eyes NOW.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY. You need to have the persistence to keep posting and posting and posting even if you think you're hitting a constant wall. If you know you're due to take a break get used to scheduling content in advance. Marketing rule says someone needs to see something at least 7 times for it to register in their brain. Silence the troll in your head calling you annoying.

Paid ads are hit or miss. I've tried several at this point and I have my pet platforms, I'm open to talking about this more if someone is interested. More expensive =/= better. If you've got even £2-5 to spare on a Pinterest ad that can make all the difference.

Character art is an unexpected marketing push. I see a lot of interest when people post art of their OCs but of course that depends on expenses. But if you have artistic skill of your own that's something you can use to your advantage.

SELLING

I sold 1100 copies of WTSA in under six months. To be transparent, this was a combination of paid advertising and jumping on opportunities when I saw them. Here's what I learned.

Try and hold off on pre-orders until you have a cover reveal. It goes back to the image thing I mentioned, people are more likely to be invested when they see the finished product.

Short pre-order window if possible. You may end up losing steam otherwise but if you have a more fixed idea of your timeline this can vary.

Amazon is king. I went wide and the results have been disappointing. I am still wide with WTSA but I went into KU with TSS and will likely stay there for the promotional opportunities. I still think wide is a valuable endeavour but Amazon has a chokehold on the market.

Genre is queen. The best indie titles are selling mostly if they're hitting the right niche. That doesn't mean you have to "write to market" but it does mean that if you know your title is unconventional and goes against the grain then be prepared to KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Find out where they gather and make sure you're there.

Be on the lookout for promotions. I use the Kobo promotions window frequently, joined a sales campaign and ran my own free campaigns. The biggest one was Bookbub of course but that's the Holy Grail for a reason. It's pricey and it's exclusive. But prior to Bookbub I sold 400 books on my own steam.

REVIEWS

It's fine and okay to be exclusive with ARCs. Readers aren't entitled to ARCs anymore than authors are entitled to ARC readers. It's a marketing tool and it makes sense to narrow in on your demographic.

Don't read them unless you can handle it. Most people say don't read them at all and I'm inclined to agree. But if you really can't control the curiosity then make sure you have the stomach for it. There will be people who will make unjust criticisms about your work and by extension you as a person. You have to let it slide as best as you can.

Bad reviews will not kill your book and GR ratings are not everything. Search up your favourite book and look at the average score if you feel like you've fucked up, it's an instant mood lifter.

Reviews do help the algo but word of mouth is key. You're going to want to help inspire readers to recommend your book and keep talking about it everywhere to drum up interest. This is something you cannot control, however, but being present on social media can help.

DO NOT NEGATIVELY REVIEW ANOTHER INDIE AUTHOR'S BOOK. Just don't. It will breed bad faith between you and colleagues and might kill networking opportunities. Just don't do it.

GENERAL ADVICE

There is still a stigma about self-publishing but it is going away. The success of the giants is indisputable and many indies are going hybrid and getting 6-7 figure deals from interested publishers.

Find your people. You do not have to put up with fellow writers who disrespect you and your work.

You do not have to break the bank to go indie. Seek out connections with fellow authors and ask them what they paid. They may be able to help you out securing a cheaper deal.

It's all going to be okay. 💕