by Naomi L. | July 25, 2018 | Blog, Creative Writing |
Hello, dear readers! Yes, it’s been yet another month since I last shared an update on my blog, so you know the drill by now. Here’s a quick post about what’s been going on in the month of July regarding my writing and my blog relaunch. Again, I’ve been pretty busy this month, so I’m excited to share what I’ve been working on!
So to keep you up to date, here are some updates on my writing endeavors in July!
Updates on my Books
In my last update, I mentioned that I finally finished self-editing my three dragon stories! Since then, I’ve been in touch with a designer to help me design a book cover for my new ebook (who also happens to be the same designer working on my new site theme). In the meantime, I’ve been researching how to properly format and export a Scrivener manuscript for Kindle. There’s a lot of information out there; I really should have started researching this sooner! Hopefully it all turns out well!
I’ve also still been working on my 100k-word fantasy novel every day, but most of my free writing time this month has been dedicated to the new short story trilogy I’d like to publish next. More details on that soon! Very exciting!
Updates on my Blog Relaunch and Rebranding Campaign
Since I’ve been focusing on my books this month, there’s really nothing new to report in this area. I’ve still been researching hosting, but my opinions haven’t changed much since June. At this point, I’m really just trying to avoid finding more choices, otherwise I’ll never settle on a hosting provider and get my new blog up and running!
I’m afraid I still don’t have a relaunch date, but because I’ve been focusing on my stories over the past month, September is looking like a more viable option, as I’ll have more time to organize myself in August. I’ll be sure to send out an email and share an update on my blog when I know more!
Reminder: Guest Posts Still Wanted!
And finally, this is another friendly reminder that I’m still accepting guest post submissions to help me promote my blog relaunch! There’s still plenty of space for more posts, so don’t be shy!
If you’re interested in submitting a guest post, be sure to read the guidelines first, then sign up for my list below!
Join My Blog Relaunch Street Team!
You should receive a welcome email plus another email in a few days with instructions on how to pitch me your guest post.
Thanks again to everyone who’s signed up to help me make my book launch and blog relaunch a success! You’re all awesome!
Talk to you again soon! Until then, happy reading/writing!
by Naomi L. | June 27, 2018 | Blog, Creative Writing |
Hello, dear readers! It’s been another month since I last shared an update on my blog, so here’s a quick post about what’s been going on in the month of June regarding my writing and my blog relaunch. I’ve been quite busy this month, so I’m excited to share what I’ve been working on!
So to keep you all in the loop, here are some updates on my writing endeavors in June!
Updates on my Books
The first good news is that I’ve finally finished self-editing my three dragon stories! They may still need one more round of thorough revisions, but “Defender”, “Beastly Pains”, and “The Silver Queen” are just about ready for publication! The last of the three did indeed take quite a bit of work to finish, but I’m confident I’ve addressed most of the points that beta readers have brought up in their notes. Thanks to everyone who read my stories and sent me their feedback!
I’ve also been working on my 100k-word fantasy novel every day, as well as a fantasy saga told in three short stories that I’d like to publish after this ebook. I haven’t yet decided if it will be a series of separate stories on Kindle or a single ebook, but if I opt for the latter, I may offer the first story as a freebie for my mailing list! Very exciting!
Updates on my Blog Relaunch and Rebranding Campaign
The other good news is that I finally bought the domain name for my new blog! Actually, I bought two domain names: one that’s just [my full name].com and one that’s [my full name + author].com. Although I do worry that the latter might be too long since my last name is already long as it is, I’m still leaning toward that one because the “author” keyword would be great for my links. I’ll be sure to share the new domain once my new blog is up and running!
As for hosting, I haven’t yet settled on a provider in the last month, but SiteGround is still the frontrunner so far. A2 Hosting and InMotion are still on the table as well, but HostGator and Bluehost are almost definitely out due to EIG’s terrible reputation. They may be cheaper options, but I’d rather prioritize quality in the long run! Hopefully I can decide by the time my new site theme is ready!
By the way, if you have any recommendations for hosting, please feel free to share them in the comments! Any and all input is helpful! Thanks!
Again, because I haven’t settled on a new hosting provider or site design yet, I still don’t have a set date for my relaunch. At this point, a relaunch in August or September is more likely since I’ll be focusing on finishing and publishing my dragon stories in July. I’ll be sure to send out an email and share an update on my blog when I have a relaunch date!
Reminder: Guest Posts Still Wanted!
And finally, this is another friendly reminder that I’m still accepting guest post submissions to help me promote my blog relaunch! There’s still plenty of space for more posts, so don’t be shy!
If you’re interested in submitting a guest post, be sure to read the guidelines first, then sign up for my list below!
Join My Blog Relaunch Street Team!
You should receive a welcome email plus another email in a few days with instructions on how to pitch me your guest post.
Thanks again to everyone who’s signed up to help me make my book launch and blog relaunch a success! You’re all awesome!
Talk to you again soon! Until then, happy reading/writing!
by Naomi L. | May 23, 2018 | Blog, Creative Writing |
Hello, dear readers! I know it’s been a month since I last posted on my blog, so I thought I’d share a quick update about what’s been going on in the month of May regarding my writing and my blog relaunch. To be honest, I really miss being active on my blog and in the writer community, so I’m working hard to return as soon as possible!
So to keep you all up to speed, here are some updates on my writing endeavors in May!
Updates on my Books
Right now, I’m just about finished self-editing the first two of my three dragon stories: “Defender” and “Beastly Pains”. The former was fairly easy to edit as it didn’t require much more work, while the latter took a bit longer because it involved extra writing to address some beta reader notes.
Meanwhile, “The Silver Queen” may take the longest to edit since it’s received the most constructive feedback, but I’m optimistic that my book will be fully edited, formatted, and ready for publication soon! Thanks again to all the beta readers who sent me their feedback!
On a side note, I’ve also been steadily editing my 100k-word fantasy novel every day. Since finishing the first draft last year, I’ve realized it’ll take way longer to finish and publish than I had expected (rookie mistake, I know), so I’m also planning a shorter series of fantasy stories to self-publish first under my new author name. More details on that later!
Updates on my Blog Relaunch and Rebranding Campaign
As far as preparations for my blog relaunch, I’ve already picked out a new domain name, which will be revealed later along with my new author name. As for hosting, the jury is still out while I research the best options for what I need, but so far SiteGround seems to be the frontrunner. Then again, my preference seems to change every week, so it’s still a toss-up at this point!
Other options I’m seriously considering are A2 Hosting and InMotion. HostGator may be a good choice too, especially for the price, but I’ve heard their hosting only gets really good at the cloud tier or higher, whereas shared hosting should be enough for my blog right now. Hopefully I can make a final decision soon!
By the way, if you have any recommendations for hosting, please feel free to share them in the comments! Any and all input is helpful! Thanks!
In other news, I’ve been working with a website designer to update the look of my blog. Since she already knows me personally, she’s had some great ideas for designs that will really fit my personality and author brand! We haven’t settled on a final design yet, but I’m excited to share the new look when it’s ready!
Because I haven’t settled on a new hosting provider or site design yet, I still don’t have a set date for my relaunch. It would be nice to have everything ready by July, but realistically, it may still be as late as August or even September. I’ll be sure to share another update on my blog when I have a relaunch date!
Reminder: Guest Posts Still Wanted!
And finally, this is a friendly reminder that I’m still accepting guest post submissions to help me promote my blog relaunch! I’ve already received a few submissions so far, but there’s still plenty of room for more, so don’t be shy!
If you’re interested in submitting a guest post, be sure to read the guidelines first, then sign up for my list below!
Join My Blog Relaunch Street Team!
You should receive a welcome email plus another email in a few days with instructions on how to pitch me your guest post.
Also note that I’ll be traveling next week, so I may not have reliable access to wifi for several days. You’re still welcome to send me a pitch/post; just be aware that it may take me a while to get back to you!
Again, thank you to everyone who’s signed up to help me make my book launch and blog relaunch a success! You’re all awesome!
Talk to you again soon! Until then, happy reading/writing!
by Naomi L. | April 18, 2018 | Blog, Creative Writing |
Hello, dear readers! I’m back with another weekly notice for you all! Seems even after two weeks since announcing my upcoming blog relaunch, I still can’t go a week without blogging! Don’t worry, though, I promise this will be brief! So on to the announcements!
One Week Left to Send Beta Reader Feedback for a Free Review Copy of My Book!
First, this is a friendly reminder about my notice from last week regarding my final call for beta reader feedback. There’s still time to earn a free review copy of my upcoming book featuring short stories about dragons!
Continue reading below for a brief refresher, or go ahead and sign up for my beta readers’ list now!
To earn your free review copy of my book:
- Sign up for my beta reader list here or through the form above. Remember to confirm your email!
- Read the short stories you’ll receive in the welcome email. A brief synopsis of each story can be found here.
- Send your feedback on at least one story by following the instructions in the email. Feedback on all three stories would be great, but if you don’t have the time, just one or two is enough. 😉
After I receive your feedback, I will add you to my pre-launch list—regardless of whether your feedback is positive or negative, promise! When my book is ready to be launched on Kindle, you will receive a free copy in your email!
If you’ve already sent me feedback on at least one of my stories, don’t worry about having to send it again. You’re already on my pre-launch list! Thank you! 🙂
If you haven’t sent me your notes yet, the deadline to submit your feedback and earn your free book is Wednesday, April 25, 11:59 pm PDT. Sign up today and earn yours!
Guest Posts Still Wanted!
In case you missed it, my call for guest posts to promote my blog relaunch is still open!
If you’re interested in submitting a guest post, read the guidelines first, then sign up for my list below!
Join My Blog Relaunch Street Team!
You should receive a welcome email plus another email in a few days with instructions on how to pitch me your guest post.
Thank you to everyone who’s signed up to help me make my book launch and blog relaunch a success! You’re all awesome!
Talk to you again soon! Until then, happy reading/writing!
by Naomi L. | March 28, 2018 | Blog, Creative Writing |
It’s been another month since my last update on my dragon stories! Last time, I shared some of the feedback I’d received from beta readers on my first two stories while the last one had yet to be edited and sent out. After sending out all three stories and receiving more feedback from readers, here’s another quick update on my project and where I plan to go from here!
Beta Reader Feedback
So far, all three of my stories have been very well received! Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re perfect, and my beta readers certainly had some great notes to share over the past several weeks!
Based on their feedback, it seems a couple of my biggest weaknesses in writing are passive voice and awkward sentences. This isn’t really a surprise; I’ve caught myself favoring passive voice over active voice more times than I’d care to admit, and even I find some of my own sentences awkward after a few rounds of editing. Despite everything I’ve learned about writing, I still have a handful of bad habits to break!
One thing that did surprise me was someone’s comment that the action in “Defender” was written very well. Action scenes have long been one of the areas I’ve felt least confident in, so hearing that my extra effort paid off definitely put a spring in my step that day! I was also surprised to hear that “Beastly Pains” is very reminiscent of the fable of “The Lion and the Mouse” (not that this is a bad thing, I just hadn’t realized it), and that “The Silver Queen” made one of my readers cry!
Overall, although there have been a couple of comments here and there that were hard to hear, I’m extremely grateful to the readers who have taken the time to read my stories and give feedback. Every comment, both positive and negative, helps me become a better writer!
Final Edits + Publication
Although my stories are technically still open for feedback from beta readers, I’m already getting started on the final drafts. Once those are done, I plan to assemble them into a single ebook and publish it on Kindle!
Now before you say anything, I know this sounds a little crazy. What am I thinking publishing these stories without giving them to an editor first?
Well, as I’ve hinted at before, this isn’t so much a true self-publishing venture as it is an experiment. I’m planning to use these stories to test certain aspects of self-publishing and see how readers respond to my writing so I can learn from the experience. I promise I have no intention of publishing my future “real” books without handing them over to a professional editor first! That would be insane!
The main reason I’m okay with putting this book out there in such a raw state is that I’m going to be rebranding myself as an author soon. This will be the only book I publish under my current name; after my upcoming blog relaunch, I’ll be focusing on a fresh series of stories to properly self-publish under my new author name, hopefully with a little more wisdom about the process!
What blog relaunch and new author name, you ask? You’ll have to wait until next week to learn more. 😉
Thanks again to all my beta readers for your feedback! If you’re not one of my beta readers yet but would like to be, you still have time to sign up for my mailing list! Once my final drafts are nearly ready, I’ll be closing my list, so be sure to sign up soon!
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