I’ve been dying to share this news. I has been quite the process and I initially wanted to share it as a 1 year anniversary for the publication of Shadow of the Wicked but due to timing and the narrator (which he did an amazing job and was worth the wait) it took longer than planned.
So here it is. Link below to all available audiobook platforms.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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Are your sentences overly long and confusing? In this post, I’m going to share 6 ways 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.
(more…)Before I begin, I want to remind you, that if you want to support me as an author and receive SHORT STORIES, MERCHANDISE, and PERSONALIZED WRITING ADVICE, go to my PATREON to sign up.
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.
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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.
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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.
#DouglasWTSmith #Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/douglaswtsmith
I’ve been writing this blog on and off for several years. I admit I go through waves of regularly pushing content and total absence.
Throughout blogging, I always start with the ‘why’. Why did I start my blog? Usually, the ‘why’ is what helps me push out content. The answer typically falls into these 8 points as to why I started this blog. If you’ve been on the fence about starting a blog, see if any of my reasons below can help you decide
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As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been working on the final edits (I hope) of my book, To Wield The Stars, and during this process, I’ve learned a lot about how to prepare the manuscript so my editor can focus on the content.
Before I jump into it, I want to remind you that
SHADOW OF THE WICKED is available for $0.99 for a LIMITED TIME, so if you haven’t got it, below is the link to download your copy today.
Douglas W.T. Smith 
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