Social media is the easiest, and cheapest, marketing tool for Independent Authors

March 7, 2019March 7, 2019Leave a comment

Independent authors are just that, INDEPENDENT! We don’t have a publisher, marketing team, agent or publicist working for us to sell our book. They have to rely on friends, family, and word of mouth. In this day and age, that means social media.

According to Statista, 70% of the U.S. population has at least one social media profile. By 2018, the number of worldwide social media users is expected to reach about 2.5 billion people. With so many consumers using social media every day, this presents a great opportunity for independent authors to reach their online audience.

Social media platforms offer a fun and creative platform to promote you book through videos, GIFs, and creative JPEGs for a broad audience. In fact, according to MarketingSherpa, 95% of online adults ages 18 to 34 are likely to follow a brand on social media. However, when users engage with their social media profiles, it is because they find the content and information valuable. Whether they are looking for deals, enjoy entertaining content, or just want to learn more about a certain brand, social media users are open to engaging on social media channels.

That’s where independent authors can find their niche in marketing their novels. Your social media profiles provide yet another way to get more inbound traffic to your website. This makes marketing through social media an excellent strategy to complement your search engine optimization efforts. Each piece of content that you post to your social media profiles is another opportunity to bring new visitors to your site.

There are different platforms that can provide access for a variety of users. Facebook is one of the best social media platforms, with nearly two million monthly active users. Facebook is the world’s largest social media platform with the most diverse audience. When it comes to age, users of all ages are logging onto Facebook, with the largest demographic being those ages 25-to-34. Owned by Facebook, Instagram is another popular channel that promises to be one of the best social media platforms for small business and entrepreneurs. Instagram has more than 700 million active users who log onto the app to enjoy photos and video posts from their friends, family, celebrities, and yes, even certain brands. In fact, according to BrandWatch, 50% of users follow brands on Instagram.

With an average of about 328 million active Twitter users worldwide, this channel is yet another one of the best social media platforms for your 2018 social media marketing strategy. As one of the top 10 websites in the United States, Twitter is the go-to place for the latest news and trends on a variety of topics. The audience on Twitter also tends to be a bit younger with 36% of users between the ages of 18 to 29. Then there’s YouTube. Founded in 2005 and acquired by Google in late 2006, YouTube has quickly become the second largest search engine in the world, right behind Google. What’s more is that YouTube users are watching a billion hours of video each day and generating just as many views. This makes YouTube an excellent channel for reaching and engaging target consumers by creating and publishing compelling video content.

I have one other recommendation for you. If you plan to cross multiple social media platforms with your posts, I would suggest checking out Hootsuite. With this online program, you can put one post on all your social media platforms simultaneously. It also allows you to plan out your posts days in advance. You can find more, in depth information on the best social media platforms for brand marketing at Lyfe Marketing Blog.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

My writing interferes with my sleep, but in a good way

February 12, 2019February 12, 2019Leave a comment

Most of us get things stuck in their head, from time-to-time. After watching the new Aladdin trailer the other night, for some odd reason the “Prince Ali” song was rolling around in my head the next morning. I couldn’t get rid of it, not even in the shower (which is another whole level of embarrassing) until I put my headphones on, started the Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, soundtrack and got on the metro.

Beyond that, dreams put things in my head that helps me in my writing. The problem I have is that it’s usually four-to-five different things at once. I’ve started the outlines for three different novels in the past month, and on top of that, I had a distinct dream last night that gave me an idea for another project. I love it when the “creative juices” start to flow (it’s better than writer’s block) but it can also be considered on overload.

My dreams have always been a big part of the inspiration I draw on for my novels. I think it’s a culmination of years of playing Dungeons & Dragons and video games, reading comic books and various sci-fi/fantasy novels, and watching anime, Saturday Morning cartoons, and everything from Star Trek to Game of Thrones. All that “input” has to go somewhere and it’s usually into my dreams.

It’s amazing how this play acts out in my head, but it can also be quite frustrating. I CAN’T GO BACK TO SLEEP! When I wake up from this incredible dream with a story playing out right before me, it’s so damn hard to get back to sleep. That’s especially difficult when I have to work the next day.

How can you compartmentalize your sleep so you can (a) you can put those wonderful dreams to good use, and (b) you can still get a good night’s sleep. Some people suggest keeping a tablet next to the bed. I tried that but I can never wake up enough to write anything down. I’m also afraid that, if I would get up to start doing that, I would never get back to sleep.

I think that’s why I am working toward being a writer, so I can wake up and start writing without having to worry about making the metro on time. It would be great to be able to write whenever these crazy ideas pop into my head. I don’t want to lose what could be a great idea to sleep.

The last time I had a dream like this was this past year. Back in June 2018, I had a simple dream–waking up on a crossroads, nearly dying, and studying magic from a hermit-like caster to become a bad-ass warrior/caster. This led me to the book I just finished writing, The Last Magus. From the original dream, six months later, I had a manuscript of more than 180,000 words. That’s the power of dreams.

I usually get my best ideas from recurring dreams, like my last one, and it sticks with me until I finish writing. So, then I know it was meant to be. I haven’t had a repeat of my dream from the other night, so I’m not sure if that’s one to go with just yet. Even still, when I close my eyes tonight, I will wait and see if another new idea hits me.

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Why can’t they leave great franchises alone?

January 27, 2019January 30, 2019Leave a comment

Why is it that there are no more original ideas? Instead of coming up with something new, people–and by people I mean comic book editors, movie and television executives–decide to reinvent or re-imagine a classic instead of making an original idea. There are so many original ideas out there from the many independent, self-published authors, why do they have to mess with success?

A great, more recent, example is the Ghostbusters franchise. Now, I may get in trouble for this but hear me out. Instead of going with a third movie in the trilogy, they decided to re-imagine it with an all-female cast. Yes, it had some very funny moments and some of the cast were great (Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon were my favorites) but it failed to grab the spirit of the original. Now, Jason Reitman is working to make a third movie with some of the original cast for 2020. That is getting praise from the fans of the original movies, and panned by some who think we didn’t give the reboot a chance. We gave it a chance and we didn’t care for it, enough said.

Another example is Star Trek. It was great to see Star Trek go from the original series, to The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, etc. I was even a fan of the Enterprise prequel. Then we got the reboot with Chris Pine, which was okay but it seemed to be more about bring the “millennial edginess” instead of a way of telling a new story. Even the new TV series Discovery has redefined Klingons different from the original premise. And now, there’s word the Quentin Tarantino will be given a chance to put his mark on Star Trek. Why? Why mess with something that already has a deep-rooted fan base.

Look at the movie 2015 Max Max: Fury Road. Because it was written, directed, and produced by George Miller, the creator of Mad Max, it had the same feel as the original movies. It was visually awesome, great cast, and a decent story. It even won some Oscars, a first for the franchise. You see, they didn’t need to update it because it was good as it is. You don’t need to make wholesale changes to a franchise just to make it interesting.

Another great example is Star Wars. Now, there have been hits and misses with the franchise since the end of Return of the Jedi. The animated series have been top notch, the Rogue One prequel was OUT OF BOUNDS! However, they have not found the original magic from these successes in later projects. The Force Awakens was good, The Last Jedi not so much. Solo was, in my opinion, better than I expected it to be, but it had too many plot holes. I am looking forward to the Mandalorian Netflix series as well as future releases after Episode 9 (which I am patiently holding my breath for) because they will be original movies separate from the Skywalker saga. That’s where they need to go. We don’t need a reboot of the same characters with new actors, but rather, let’s go to another part of the vast universe.

With all these examples, I just want to make the point that there are stories out there that haven’t been told yet, but they need to be done right. Look at Stephen King’s The Dark Tower and how badly it was done. These editors, producers, and directors need to keep the writers in mind to keep the story true to the original intent. Granted, some things may be out of the budgetary range of some movies (though not impossible with today’s CGI technology) but it is from the writer that it even exists in the first place.

Even in comic books, story lines are now being rewritten to accommodate the way they were done in the movies. Really? So, the original stories aren’t good enough anymore? Sorry, but that’s just being too damn lazy to be creative and original.

I have had the great opportunity to meet, talk to, and read the books of other independent authors like me through our connections on social media. There are a lot of great stories out there, worthy of a movie or series. That’s where the inspiration for the next big TV series or blockbuster movie should come from, not someone’s idea of the next reboot should be. Quit re-imagining things and let’s be original for a change.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniversepublishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

Writer’s Block is a pain in the ass and my personal demon from Hell

January 23, 2019January 23, 2019Leave a comment

I know I’ve already addressed “writer’s block” in some of my previous blog posts, but I really need to vent right now. I have been fighting this demon for weeks and it’s starting to get the best of me.

To briefly explain, I am one of those “unessential government employees” currently furloughed by the partial government shutdown. I have been out of work for over a month now. In that time, I have written maybe 6-8 pages. I have been so frustrated with everything I just can’t focus and write. There’s no inspiration, no joy.

Normally, I would relish in the idea of being off, taking the time to spend on my stories rather than doing what I do at work. It’s what I dream of doing, how I really want to spend my life. But for some reason, it’s not happening.

I’ve tried all the tricks of the trade to get past my writer’s block… Go for a walk, read a book, exercise, listen to music, etc. The problem is it’s hard to “eliminate distractions” when the biggest one is staring me in the face… paying my rent and other bills, buying groceries, etc.

Now, I’m not going to get political here. Personally, I blame ALL of them! These politicians don’t give a damn, no matter what they tell the media. To be honest, this is why I want to be a full-time writer… So I don’t have to worry about things like this anymore.

I just want to write my stories without the nagging frustration hanging over me like a rain cloud. I want to walk through the fantasy world in my head that I created without the “demon” called the government shutdown looming in the darkness.

Sorry for the rant this week. Like I said, I just needed to vent. Any helpful hints or suggestions would be appreciated in the comments. Thanks.

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Forever Avalon’s 2nd Edition is now LIVE as a paperback and ebook!

October 18, 2018October 24, 2018Leave a comment

This is going to be short and sweet today. I am happy to announce that Forever Avalon has been rereleased as a 2nd Edition via Amazon. My first publisher, James A. Rock & Company Publishers, went out of business after the death of the publisher and owner a few years ago. Since I retained the rights to my work, I did a rework on the story and published a 2nd Edition via Amazon Createspace online program (now a part of Kindle Direct Publishing) as both a paperback and an ebook. As a reminder, here’s a quick summary:

“Stephanie Drake and her three children were glad to be alive after a sudden storm slammed their boat onto an uncharted island, but it’s not where they think. They found themselves in another world, frozen in time. For more than 3,000 years, the magical island of Avalon remained hidden from the outside world. It was a place of eternal magic, where the descendants of King Arthur ruled over a land filled with magical creatures, wizards, Elves, Dwarves and dragons. On Avalon, Stephanie and her children were being hunted by bounty hunters, thieves and brigands. They found themselves caught in a power struggle between Lord Kraven Darkholm, a powerful wizard descended from the sorceress Morgana le Fay, and Lord Bryan MoonDrake, the Gil-Gamesh of Avalon. The people of this magical isle have been protected for centuries by the Gil-Gamesh, a descendant of Sir Percival Peredyr, the last Knight of the Round Table. But who is Lord MoonDrake and how does he know so much about Stephanie and her children? Now, it’s a race against time as the Gil-Gamesh must protect these Outlanders—as they are called—and get them home to the outside world. All the while, Kraven Darkholm continued his schemes against the people of Avalon, vying to achieve his ultimate goal of becoming ruler of this enchanted island.”

First off, I want to praise Createspace for being easy to use, a helpful staff, and quick action on everything from my queries and questions to shipping proofs. They are great to work with and, to be honest, a Godsend for independent authors like me.

Second, I want to thank artist Dennis Supatra. Dennis did some great character drawings to represent the characters in my first book. He followed that up with a redesign of the cover and interior artwork for the 2nd edition. Check out his work!

This is a big addition to the series, even though it’s my first book republished. It allows people to get into the series again from the beginning. And, as a writer, I’m happy to go through it and correct my mistakes from before. It’s easy to miss a spelling error here and there. Word of advice to any budding authors out there… Spellcheck is not your friend! It doesn’t catch everything and, when you don’t have the money for a professional book editor, you have to do things on your own.

When I first published Forever Avalon in 2009, I sent copies of it out to my entire family. Within a month, I received an email from my mother with two pages detailing spelling and grammer errors she found. That was quite a humbling experience. It also cost me an additional $75 to make the corrections. For a self-published author, that’s adds to the financial burden when you’re just starting out.

So, if you’re interested to start at the beginning (and I hope you are) I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Forever Avalon. And, if you do, help out an author and leave a review! That’s an independent author’s bread and butter! Thanks!

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How does a married, over-50 man write a love scene between 20-somethings?

October 10, 2018October 10, 2018Leave a comment

When I was a young Sailor, deployed overseas for more than six months as a time, I wrote the occasional dirty letter to my wife. It was a release to, shall we say, “keep the home fires burning” while I was gone. Trust me, she wrote some sizzling ones back to me, which made for plenty off cold showers in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Now, as a 55-year-old man, I am writing fantasy stories that include love scenes between young men and women, half my age. The problem is, it’s difficult for me to put that same fire into my stories that I once wrote to my wife.

You envision your love scenes like you would see in the movies or a romance novel, but it’s not the same when you’re doing it yourself. It’s like being a voyeur or cheating on my wife with someone else. I know that sounds wierd, but true.

As a writer, you have to imagine the situation you’re writing about to make it real for the reader. To be honest, I don’t think of myself as a sexy man anymore (although my wife says I still am). That’s what makes this hard (ignore the pun) for me. Sure, I could watch porn or read a dirty magazine for inspiration, but it’s not the same. I want the romance, the seduction, the lovemaking, not graphic sex, in my stories.

It’s especially difficult when you have daughters the same age as the characters your writing about. It makes me feel like a dirty old man watching girls at the beach behind mirrored sunglasses. So how do you do it?

For someone like me, it involves lots of sleepless nights. When I’m writing, the story I’m working on occupies my dreams. I’ve been working on this love scene for more than a week now. I replay it in my head at night, re-read it on my computer screen several times to make sure it feels right. Like I said, sleepless nights.

Unless romance is the backbone of your writing style, it’s not easy to pick up on. The best advice I can give is to trust your instincts and give into your own feelings of love, passion, and romance. You can’t go wrong.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

It’s no wonder I can’t sleep with the constant storytelling running in my head

September 6, 2018September 6, 2018Leave a comment

“Writing is literally transformative. When we read, we are changed. When we write, we are changed. Its neurological. To me, this is a kind of magic.” — Francesca Lia

Some people find it hard to write. It’s called “writer’s block” for a good reason. I seem to have a different problem. I have multiple storylines running in my head, like a Broadway play on steroids.

These storylines are for two different books I’m currently working on. I see them in my sleep, when I’m walking my dog, waiting in the elevator, or riding on the metro. It’s a constant barrage of ideas and they won’t stop.

At times, it can be maddening. Paul Goldman said, “Closing my eyes, the scene within unfolds as it has for thousands upon thousands of years.” That’s what it feels like inside my head at times. Even when I’m doing the simplest of things, like eating dinner or watching TV, I still find my mind wandering into my stories.

I think that’s the curse of being a writer. Maybe ‘curse’ is too strong of a word, but it’s accurate. I am a storyteller. My job is to tell people the wild and wierd stories, flights of fantasy, that stirs the imagination of my readers. It’s what drives me to be a writer. I love it, no matter how much it bugs me, I absolutely love it.

This kind of inspiration is what drives me to be a writer. It fills my pasion, forges my imagination, and makes my life worth doing. I need to be driven to write even better. Whenever I speak to groups about writing, there’s a story I tell about where the Forver Avalon series comes from. I’d like to share that with you.

I joined the U.S. Navy in 1983. Back then, we didn’t have the internet, video games, or satellite TV. Many Sailors spent their off duty time playing board or card games. Me… I played Dungeons & Dragons. My friends and I would seal ourselves away in the #4 aircraft elevator mechanical room late at night and spend our off duty time playing D&D. It helped pass the time when you’re deployed for more than six months from your wife and kids.

dnd5 For me, these late night D&D sessions fueled an already active imagination. Combine that with missing your wife and newborn baby daughter and it can lead to some rather strange dreams. During my first deployment, I started having a recurring dream of being with my wife and daughter on an island of fantasy and magic, lost in time and space. That dream evolved and grew with each of my deployments and subsequent birth of my other children.

In 2001, I was deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (yes, lucky me to have served on my favorite starship’s namesake!). Although I wasn’t playing D&D at this time, the dream stuck with me. However, it was more detailed and elaborate than ever before, so I decided to start writing it down. I spent my off-duty time writing my story, putting it together in a cohesive story. By the time my deployment was done, Forever Avalon was born. My story was complete.

The funny thing is, after I finished writing the book, I stopped having the dream. It disappeared completely. It served its purpose, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. D&D helped me develop my imagination and writing has given me an avenue to use it. Its who I am, in my heart and in my soul. I am a writer. So let the band play on. It just fuels my passion.

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The Dark Tides is heading to Germany!

August 19, 2018August 19, 2018Leave a comment

This past week, I received a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to have my second novel, THE DARK TIDES, displayed and marketed at the 2018 Frankfurt International Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany, Oct. 10-14. This is an incredible honor for an independent author like me.

The Frankfurt International Book Fair is a major cultural event: around 7,300 exhibitors from over 100 countries, more than 275,000 visitors, over 4,000 events, around 10,000 journalists and around 2,400 bloggers make Frankfurter Buchmesse the world’s largest trade fair for publishing every year – and Frankfurt, the metropolis on the Main, the centre of the international media world.

Just thinking about the thousands of people who will get a glimpse of my book gives me hope that someone like me has a chance to make it as an author. I’ve been writing stories since high school–the early eighties, yes I’m old–but I didn’t become published until 2009.

I’ve struggled, as I’m sure many independent authors have, with the cost of artwork, editing, publishing and marketing. This is a huge event, but it’s also a risk that one book like mine could stand out among millions.

I want to thank LitFire Publishing for seeking me out and believing in my novel for this event. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be heading to Germany.

For those who may be unfamiliar with my novel, here’s an excerpt from THE DARK TIDES, explaining a bit of the background of the story in a conversation between Sir Percival, the first Gil-Gamesh, and Bryan Drake, the new Gil-Gamesh.

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Bryan’s dream were jumbled, filled with pain. He watched Donegal fall into an endless black void. His deathly screams caused Bryan pain. He also saw others floating in the darkness; a variety of men, women and creatures he’d never seen before. They writhed in anguish, as if their souls were being tortured by the darkness within sword.

Then his dream shifted; he saw a knight standing on a hillside surrounded by an eerie mist. The early morning sun began to rise in the distance. The man wore the two swords Bryan had used earlier around his waist. He turned around as Bryan walked up to him. He was an older man, dressed in plate mail armor, with brown hair and a beard, flecked with gray. He smiled at Bryan, putting him at ease.

“Greetings Bryan Drake, we have been expecting you,” he proclaimed.

Bryan was confused. “We?” he asked. “What do you mean?”

Appearing out of the mist were other knights like him, each wearing a different type of armor, clothing and hairstyles, as if he were looking at a timeline of history. The only thing similar about them was that they all looked very much alike, as if they were related in some way.

“Where am I?”

“I am Sir Percival Peredyr, first Gil-Gamesh of Avalon. We …” he exclaimed, motioning to the others, “… have been the protectors of sacred Avalon for thousands of years.”

“Gil-Gamesh? What is that?”

Percival placed his hand on Bryan’s shoulder and walked him through the ranks of knights. “It is a name I heard on my quest for the Holy Grail for good King Arthur. It was the name of a great hero in ancient Persia. It is the name I took as the champion of Avalon.”

“Avalon? You mean the mythical island from the King Arthur legend?” Bryan questioned him. Percival grinned with a devilish smirk, something he does from time-to-time.

“Yes, Bryan Drake, this is Avalon. But my story doesn’t begin here. It begins nearly 3,000 years ago. I was witness to the death of King Arthur at the hands of his son Mordred at the battle of Camlann. I retrieved his sword Excalibur and was about to return it to the Lady of the Lake when Merlin stopped me.”

“Merlin the Magician? The wizard who advised King Arthur?” Bryan asked. “He’s real too?”

“The one and the same … Merlin told me that with King Arthur’s death, the age of magic was coming to an end. He thought the only way to preserve the magic and all magical beings was to bring them here to Avalon.” Percival explained how Merlin combined his magic with that of Excalibur and opened up a mystic portal. Anyone touched by magic was whisked away to Avalon.

“Touched by magic? You mean like the dragon I saw earlier and the Dwarf too?” Bryan implied.

Percival nodded his head. “Dragons and Dwarves, unicorns and Elves, goblins and trolls … All things created by magic, as well as humans imbued with magic themselves. A new age had begun, but at a great cost.

“Excalibur was shattered, the Knights of the Round Table were decimated and the forces of evil began to gather themselves together. They wanted to wipe us from the face of Avalon forever. To aid in the coming battle, the Elves of Alfheimer and the Dwarves of the Gilded Halls took the broken pieces and forged them into the Twin Swords of the Dragon Moon … Twilight and Dusk.”

Percival drew the swords and showed them to Bryan. “Twilight is the light of Avalon, a shining blade of pure starlight that can cut through anything. Dusk is the darkness within Avalon, a soul reaper that feeds on the souls of its victims to power the ungodly blade. I took up these swords, but not as a king, a champion for justice. I was the first Gil-Gamesh and that honor has been passed on from generation to generation.”

“I still don’t understand what any of this has to do with me?”

“Because, Bryan Drake, you are of my blood … my kin,” Percival told him, “And now you are the new Gil-Gamesh of Avalon.

“You wielded Twilight and Dusk in your battle with Donegal. The swords represent the balance between order and chaos, a balance needed to maintain the peace in our troubled lands. Only a true heir of Percival can wield the swords and become the Gil-Gamesh.”

“But why me and why now? I have a family that needs me. I need to get back to them,” he declared.

“Fate has brought you to Avalon, Bryan Drake” Percival chimed in. “It has always been your destiny to be the Gil-Gamesh. It is up to you to accept your destiny and determine the future of Avalon.”

Percival held out the swords to Bryan, as if to pass on the legacy of the Gil-Gamesh to him. Bryan seemed unsure to take them and Percival sensed his apprehension. “Avalon has been without a Gil-Gamesh for more than 500 years Bryan. The people need you.”

His words rang true—duty, honor and commitment—the same things that made Bryan join the Navy all those years ago. Somehow, someway, he was brought here for a reason. He didn’t like it but it was his only chance to live. Perhaps someday he could find a way home, but now he had to accept his destiny.

Bryan took the swords from Percival. “I don’t know what the future holds for me, but for now, I will do what is right.” The dream began to fade and the last thing Bryan saw before he floated back into darkness was the proud look on Percival’s face.

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Book written… Check! Publisher found… Check! And now, onto the next

July 31, 2018August 6, 2018Leave a comment

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So, the good news is I have a publisher for the third book in the Forever Avalon series, The Outlander War. My manuscript and author’s package has been submitted. They are currently editing the manuscript, creating the cover and interior artwork, etc. Now the fun begins.

I’ve been told by my publisher that the process can take up to ten months. I hope to use this time to talk about the publishing process here in my blog. First and foremost, I went with Austin Macauley Publishing. I know I’m going to get some backlash because of all the negativity surrounding them on the internet, but I read through all of that and saw a growing publisher with worldwide outreach.

Yes, I am paying them to publish my book, but I would be paying a cover artist, interior artist, editor, and marketing service to do all the things my publisher is doing for my book. To me, it even’s itself out. We’ll have to wait and see if my expectations pan out.

I tried to submit as “clean” of a manuscript as possible. I went through it a dozen times myself, with spell check, and I had a co-worker edit it as well. I’m hoping it will make a difference. I’ve had some good and bad experience with my previous publishers.

My first publisher, which is now defunct, barely edited my first book, Forever Avalon. They were only looking for punctuation, repeat words, and paragraph edits for layout. After my book was published, my mother gave me two pages of edits that I had to pay $75 to update the print. Harsh!

I had better luck with my second book, The Dark Tides. The publisher, iUniverse, gave me constructive criticism on my writing style, story line, story length, as well as grammar and punctuation. They would have done more, but that costs more money.

That’s the problem with being and independent author, self-published. You are paying out money to get published, editing, artwork, etc., until you get that big publishing contract we all dream about. It’s the old adage politicians and entrepreneurs love… “You have to spend money to make money.”

But writing isn’t about making money. Oh, dont get me wrong, I would love to spend my days writing my stories, and I hope it’ll come to that one day. I’m a storyteller and I love to tell you my stories. In the end, that’s enough for me.

As my journey progresses, I’ll keep you updated on the publishing process, through marketing and book events. Wish me luck!

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

Monsters, myths, and legends are on my pages and in my dreams

July 17, 2018July 17, 2018Leave a comment

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You know how your dreams can seem real, even though you know it’s just a dream? For a fantasy writer, it’s like living with an entire world inside your head. When I played Dungeons & Dragons, it was even more vivid when you played. It was like living in that world, even though you know its not real.

That’s what I love about being a writer, especially a fantasy writer. No matter how bad things are in the real world, all I have to do is sit at my computer and step into my fantasy world. You have to wonder if this is how it was in centuries past. When people sat around and listened to the storytellers spinning their yarns about giants, dragons, and Gods, did they feel the same as me?

I’ve been talking with other writers via social media and we all have the same ideas behind our stories. It’s like there’s a genetic quirk for fantasy writers, or if you like, geeks in general. We all have that same built-in mechanism that lets us close our eyes and open them into a whole new world (no, do not start singing the song from Aladdin!)

It’s crazy, but lately my mind has been totally focused on a new story I’m writing, The Last Magus. Don’t worry, I’m not stopping the Forever Avalon series. I’ve already written Book 4 and I just sent Book 3 to the publisher to begin editing and layout. It’s just an idea that came to me and I’ve been running with it for the past few months. It’s been dominating my mind when I’m walking my dog, sleeping, and writing. The story plays out over and over again in my head, from wherever I’m at in writing it to the end. It’s like it’s on a frickn’ loop.

As its playing out, I’m writing dialogue, creating background imagry, character development, the works. It’s like I’m a movie director and the set is inside my head. I don’t know whether to love it or hate, mainly because it can be all consuming. When you’re at your job, and you’re trying to get work done, and all you can do is think about the next chapter in your story, it can be frustrating. It’s times like this that I wish I could be a fantasy writer full time.

It’s hard being a part-time writer, which I’m sure many others can relate too. You want to spend every waking moment writing, but there’s just not enough time in the day. I think that’s why I spend my nights dreaming about my story. Even when I’m asleep, I’m writing my novel.

I think for some people, this can lead to sheer and utter madness. But for a writer, it’s just another day at the office. We’re already a little mad anyway.

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Mark Piggott | Fantasy & Steampunk Author

Award-Winning Author, Writer-Editor, U.S. Navy Veteran, Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Anime Nerd, & Certified "Geek"

Category: Independent Author