The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing

Fed up talking videogames? Why?
User avatar
McCoughlan
Member
Joined in 2018
AKA: AnOpenCasket
Location: Earth

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by McCoughlan » Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:16 pm

I like Darren Shan but he's definitely not on that level!!

Here's a quick one. A lot of school kids are asked to write "A Day in the Life of a Pencil." This is the story I wish I had handed in.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PENCIL

Hi. My name is Toobee the Pencil. I live in a pencil case.
This is the story of one day in my life.
I was in the pencil case. It was very dark in there.
I was never taken out cause who uses pencils anymore? Definitely not the guy who owned me that's for sure!
It was a very dull day. I cried.
The End.

Yes I'm bored AF right now!

User avatar
DarkRula
Member
Joined in 2018
Contact:

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by DarkRula » Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:21 pm

Art students use pencils... sometimes...

Image
Image
User avatar
shy guy 64
Member
Joined in 2018

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by shy guy 64 » Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:56 pm

LightWanderer wrote:I like Darren Shan but he's definitely not on that level!!

Here's a quick one. A lot of school kids are asked to write "A Day in the Life of a Pencil." This is the story I wish I had handed in.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PENCIL

Hi. My name is Toobee the Pencil. I live in a pencil case.
This is the story of one day in my life.
I was in the pencil case. It was very dark in there.
I was never taken out cause who uses pencils anymore? Definitely not the guy who owned me that's for sure!
It was a very dull day. I cried.
The End.

Yes I'm bored AF right now!


evidently school has changed quite a lot since i was there

DarkRula wrote:Art students use pencils... sometimes...


speak for yourself i used them all the time

Image
Join me on Sam Radio, Tuesdays at 4pm and Wednesdays at 3pm https://samradio.org/listen-now/
User avatar
McCoughlan
Member
Joined in 2018
AKA: AnOpenCasket
Location: Earth

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by McCoughlan » Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:00 pm

shy guy 64 wrote:evidently school has changed quite a lot since i was there


I haven't been to school in six years, and this particular essay was from a title I got given sixteen years ago. Just feeling nostalgic.

User avatar
shy guy 64
Member
Joined in 2018

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by shy guy 64 » Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:07 pm

LightWanderer wrote:
shy guy 64 wrote:evidently school has changed quite a lot since i was there


I haven't been to school in six years, and this particular essay was from a title I got given sixteen years ago. Just feeling nostalgic.


well its been even longer since i was at school

Image
Join me on Sam Radio, Tuesdays at 4pm and Wednesdays at 3pm https://samradio.org/listen-now/
User avatar
DarkRula
Member
Joined in 2018
Contact:

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by DarkRula » Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:10 pm

shy guy 64 wrote:
DarkRula wrote:Art students use pencils... sometimes...


speak for yourself i used them all the time


Did you not use charcoal and such at times? There was fun to be had when things moved away from using a pencil for a day.

Image
Image
User avatar
shy guy 64
Member
Joined in 2018

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by shy guy 64 » Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:49 pm

DarkRula wrote:
shy guy 64 wrote:
DarkRula wrote:Art students use pencils... sometimes...


speak for yourself i used them all the time


Did you not use charcoal and such at times? There was fun to be had when things moved away from using a pencil for a day.


ive used them all, charcoal, chalk, pastels, paint, watercolours, pens, pencils

Image
Join me on Sam Radio, Tuesdays at 4pm and Wednesdays at 3pm https://samradio.org/listen-now/
User avatar
DarkRula
Member
Joined in 2018
Contact:

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by DarkRula » Sat Jul 13, 2019 10:55 am

So, I'm pretty sure I've shared here that despite having four books on Amazon, the sales have been non-existent. Well, for as long as I've been publishing them, I've also been on the fence about using a site called Online Book Club to get a review. There's a large cost involved to get one [as is the case with near all professional reviewers], but I felt confident with Space Race Championship to get one.

It's been an agonising two and a half month wait, but the review is now live on the site - with three out of four stars. As stated before, it has been marked down owing to a few errors of editing, but I'm happy with it - even if a few of the details in the description of the story itself are a bit confused.

With that review done, it will now be featured on the site for two weeks [there's different tiers depending on how fast you want it out and how long you want it featured], so I'm hoping it can give a boost in sales not only to SRC, but the other three as well. And hopefully that will translate into sales for future books too.

Image
Image
User avatar
shy guy 64
Member
Joined in 2018

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by shy guy 64 » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:55 pm

DarkRula wrote:So, I'm pretty sure I've shared here that despite having four books on Amazon, the sales have been non-existent. Well, for as long as I've been publishing them, I've also been on the fence about using a site called Online Book Club to get a review. There's a large cost involved to get one [as is the case with near all professional reviewers], but I felt confident with Space Race Championship to get one.

It's been an agonising two and a half month wait, but the review is now live on the site - with three out of four stars. As stated before, it has been marked down owing to a few errors of editing, but I'm happy with it - even if a few of the details in the description of the story itself are a bit confused.

With that review done, it will now be featured on the site for two weeks [there's different tiers depending on how fast you want it out and how long you want it featured], so I'm hoping it can give a boost in sales not only to SRC, but the other three as well. And hopefully that will translate into sales for future books too.


congrats man

Image
Join me on Sam Radio, Tuesdays at 4pm and Wednesdays at 3pm https://samradio.org/listen-now/
User avatar
Tafdolphin
RETURN POLICY ABUSER
RETURN POLICY ABUSER
Joined in 2008

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by Tafdolphin » Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:55 pm

You paid for a review?

I... Um. That sounds a bit dodgy.

EDIT: Having had a brief look apparently the site is legit. Didn't know paying for reviews was a thing...

---------------------------
Games wot I worked on:
Night Call: Out now!
Rip Them Off: Out now!
Chinatown Detective Agency: 2021!
EXOGATE Initiative: Early Access Summer 2021
t: @Tafdolphin | Twitch: Tafdolphin
User avatar
DarkRula
Member
Joined in 2018
Contact:

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by DarkRula » Sat Jul 13, 2019 1:50 pm

shy guy 64 wrote:
congrats man


Thanks.

Tafdolphin wrote:You paid for a review?

I... Um. That sounds a bit dodgy.

EDIT: Having had a brief look apparently the site is legit. Didn't know paying for reviews was a thing...


Paying for professional reviews for anything is pretty standard, just not common knowledge [I don't think].

Image
Image
User avatar
Tafdolphin
RETURN POLICY ABUSER
RETURN POLICY ABUSER
Joined in 2008

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by Tafdolphin » Sat Jul 13, 2019 1:52 pm

I...would like to see some figures on that one. The inherent conflict of interest alone means I can't imagine it being widely practised outside of the hobbyist arena.

This isn't to belittle your review, 3/4 is cool! It's just I can't quite get my head around the idea of it all.

---------------------------
Games wot I worked on:
Night Call: Out now!
Rip Them Off: Out now!
Chinatown Detective Agency: 2021!
EXOGATE Initiative: Early Access Summer 2021
t: @Tafdolphin | Twitch: Tafdolphin
User avatar
McCoughlan
Member
Joined in 2018
AKA: AnOpenCasket
Location: Earth

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by McCoughlan » Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:10 pm

Congrats Chris!

User avatar
shy guy 64
Member
Joined in 2018

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by shy guy 64 » Sat Jul 13, 2019 3:55 pm

LightWanderer wrote:Congrats Chris!


err i think more than one of us might be called that

Image
Join me on Sam Radio, Tuesdays at 4pm and Wednesdays at 3pm https://samradio.org/listen-now/
User avatar
McCoughlan
Member
Joined in 2018
AKA: AnOpenCasket
Location: Earth

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by McCoughlan » Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:40 pm

shy guy 64 wrote:
LightWanderer wrote:Congrats Chris!


err i think more than one of us might be called that


DarkRula

User avatar
DarkRula
Member
Joined in 2018
Contact:

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by DarkRula » Sat Jul 13, 2019 5:33 pm

Tafdolphin wrote:I...would like to see some figures on that one. The inherent conflict of interest alone means I can't imagine it being widely practised outside of the hobbyist arena.

This isn't to belittle your review, 3/4 is cool! It's just I can't quite get my head around the idea of it all.


There's no real figures to give. But if you're a nobody and you're wanting a professional-grade review, you have to pay for it. Just the same as if you commission someone to do something, the price is what binds the contract together. You are contracting them to give their time up to look at something, so it stands to reason they'd want something back. But for people under a publisher, I expect that publisher handles such costs.

LightWanderer wrote:Congrats Chris!


Thanking you and Taf.

shy guy 64 wrote:
err i think more than one of us might be called that


Yes, I'm a Chris. I noticed when looking at your stuff we shared the same name. I just didn't share that here.

Image
Image
User avatar
kerr9000
Member
Joined in 2013

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by kerr9000 » Sat Jul 13, 2019 6:48 pm

DarkRula wrote:So, I'm pretty sure I've shared here that despite having four books on Amazon, the sales have been non-existent. Well, for as long as I've been publishing them, I've also been on the fence about using a site called Online Book Club to get a review. There's a large cost involved to get one [as is the case with near all professional reviewers], but I felt confident with Space Race Championship to get one.

It's been an agonising two and a half month wait, but the review is now live on the site - with three out of four stars. As stated before, it has been marked down owing to a few errors of editing, but I'm happy with it - even if a few of the details in the description of the story itself are a bit confused.

With that review done, it will now be featured on the site for two weeks [there's different tiers depending on how fast you want it out and how long you want it featured], so I'm hoping it can give a boost in sales not only to SRC, but the other three as well. And hopefully that will translate into sales for future books too.


I used to write horror books under my real name and erotica under a pen name in Amazon, I made about £400 in total but yeah I think sales are often few and far between and its not easy to get on and get attention. I ended up on something called good reads someone had read some of my stuff and reviewed me on that, no idea who and it was but it seemed to pick up a bit around that.

User avatar
Tafdolphin
RETURN POLICY ABUSER
RETURN POLICY ABUSER
Joined in 2008

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by Tafdolphin » Sat Jul 13, 2019 6:51 pm

Goodreads is huge, a sort of social network for books. I get a lot of my recommendations from friends looking and reviewing stuff on there.

---------------------------
Games wot I worked on:
Night Call: Out now!
Rip Them Off: Out now!
Chinatown Detective Agency: 2021!
EXOGATE Initiative: Early Access Summer 2021
t: @Tafdolphin | Twitch: Tafdolphin
User avatar
DarkRula
Member
Joined in 2018
Contact:

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by DarkRula » Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:14 pm

kerr9000 wrote:
I used to write horror books under my real name and erotica under a pen name in Amazon, I made about £400 in total but yeah I think sales are often few and far between and its not easy to get on and get attention. I ended up on something called good reads someone had read some of my stuff and reviewed me on that, no idea who and it was but it seemed to pick up a bit around that.


Two years with four books and I've only seen about £10 come to me, but marketing does play a large part of it all. If you can find that initial push to get your name out there and get people following you, the name will spread since you'll no longer be the only voice promoting your work. I might have to look on Good Reads, but I assume it's the same thing as Online Book Club except user-generated reviews instead of professional ones, right?

Image
Image
User avatar
Clarkman
Member
Joined in 2008

PostRe: The Writer's Sphere - Share your writing
by Clarkman » Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:38 pm

DarkRula wrote:There's no real figures to give. But if you're a nobody and you're wanting a professional-grade review, you have to pay for it. Just the same as if you commission someone to do something, the price is what binds the contract together. You are contracting them to give their time up to look at something, so it stands to reason they'd want something back. But for people under a publisher, I expect that publisher handles such costs.


Publishing houses don't pay for reviews, my man.


Return to “Stuff”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: floydfreak, Garth, Grumpy David, Hesk, Peter Crisp and 518 guests