Editing is essential

Editing is really essential.

It is essential to have a good editor who can help shape the story. I was lucky to have found a wonderful collaborative editor. I engaged with a book coach called Gail Tagarro from the Gold Coast who put me in touch with my editor Tyrone Couch.

Tyrone worked on book 1 “In the depths of man’s mind “and helped to challenge some of my ideas and structures. This had several benefits

·       It made the story much better and easier to read.

·       He connected the links to parts of the story that I had not realised were required.

·       He helped to make complex over described areas much more consumable and easier to deliver the outcome of the story.

·       He also challenged my thoughts around certain key parts of the story. Arguing the benefits of the change to the merits of the larger picture.

Having someone as invested in the story and willing to push back, ask lots of questions and bounce the ideas of each other has proven to be the secret sauce in teh outcomes of the books so far.

So make sure you have someone who can be that person, even if you are doing the editing yourself always have a sounding board that helps to make the story better.

Lets Begin

Support is a wonderful thing when you are a starting out Author. I have been blessed with great contacts and supportive locations and services that have given me an avenue to bring my stories to the wider audience. Last Monday I had the privilege of visiting my second Harry Hartog location in Maroochydore Sunshine Coast Queensland. I live approximately 2 hours from Maroochydore and it was a lovely experience to meet the wonderful staff and journey to the store to see my book upon the shelves.

I first was given the opportunity to have my book held at the Carindale Harry Hartog bookstore as they support independent authors to sell their books. This is a wonderful experience and engaging with the wonderful staff especially Sophie and Amy who were invaluable to my understanding of selling books. I was also more recently given the opportunity to do a book signing which was a great success.

The ability to have my book available in Harry Hartog Maroochydore as well as carindale just open up the reader ship access to my book. I couldn’t be more appreciative and humbled by the support I have received here.

So if you live in the Sunshine Coast and you have the time to read a epic fantasy novel then make you way down there and ask for “In the Depths of a mans mind”

Map Building

A map is a vital piece of any fantasy novel. It sets the scene for the locations and distances between places. But it has another purpose and that iOS story telling before you get to the story its self. It opens the door for new places to explore, for your imagination to grow.

In the video released on 2 July I showed the process and discussed some of the details around the map building process I take.

As this was a the expansion of the map from the original book 1 map I was expanding around the details of map 1. here is the process I take.

When writing the story I always describe things in North, east, South or west directions,. Then when it comes to creating the map around this I use them aas reference points to locate areas in there right orientation to the map.

• Use find in the document to locate , North , East South and West

• Mark them on the blank page with a simple mark and name the thing I need to draw

• If I am drawing mountains , what are the mountains I need to draw, simple, complex and then seek out those details on You tube and learn from teh experts who have done this before.

• I then (as I showed in teh video) draw the details using those techniques.

The process can be time consuming but ultimately is very rewarding at the end. Once it is complete I send it to my editor who reviews it to see if the locations align with their understanding. He then converts it to a digital image with all lines darkened from pencil to accurate outlines. This is then sent back for review and added to the book on the appropriate page.

Map drawing seems complex but when you break it down into the simple steps and use the resources available to you it works out just fine.

Copies of the book 1 map are available in the store for purchase (coming soon)

Learning new things

Learning new things is important for a number of reasons. As a new independent author and growing my business and brand I need to know how to mark myself and my personal brand. To achieve this I need to learn new skills.

I have worked in health care for over 25 years and during that time I have never had to market myself. I have run an Electric vehicle blog in teh past and realised when doing that that marketing is essential. So last week I enrolled in an online course on how to market through social media better. The process of learning is something I have always enjoyed.

Marketing and sales have always been something I have never educated myself upon before but know it is a vital cog in any businesses wheel house. So creating opportunities to learn new things is something I have always valued.

I found a course online from a gentleman Tyler Tometich called the Viral Strategies. I tested one of his strategies last week and got a reasonable result.

Sometimes it’s not what you learn but the processes that are tried and tested that get the results. So learning from others that have worked through the issues and moved past the barriers and found ways to achieve positive results is a great way to leap frog ahead. Not everyone is genuine so do your homework,

The viral Strategies process is easy to follow, has explainers and steps to show how not is done. As a person who learns faster through visual means this approach has been wonderful.

As a writer I am competing for people time to read my books into the future. It is vital to find a way to give your self an edge to help people find not only your books but you. So being genuine is essential. But what is more essential is getting in front of lots and lots of people.

So find the thing that can help that and get your self in front of the crowd.

Influenced by stories

One of the greatest things about reading is the ability to have others influence you. My writing has evolved over time and through that process I have found a number of authors who I find wonderful writers. Last week I spoke to a number of writers who I have found inspiration and passion.

• JRR Tolkien - The Hobbit

• Raymond E Feist - The Magician

• Branden Sanderson - Way of the Kings, Words of Radiance

• Matt Dinniman - Dungeon Crawler Carl

• Terry GoodKind - Wizards First Rule

The writers have all in their own unique way created epic landscapes and characters that have lead, bled , and journeyed to many and various locations across the lands and stars. They have each influenced my writing in different ways and that influence has translated into my story “In the depths of a mans mind” and into the next many books I will write.

To be able to read or consume art like these above writers and have them translated into other mediums like movies, Tv and different mediums of writing such as graphic novels comics and so on is a reflection of their impact and influence to others over their time.

It is a vision of my books that I too will one day have the same outcome. But until that day comes it is always great to read and reread these amazing stories.