Jade Varden Official Blog

The self-publishing game moves pretty quickly. Bowker statistics show that around 391,000 self-published titles were published in 2012 alone. Since 2007, self-publishing as an industry has increased by a mind-boggling 422 percent. So if you want to stay in the game, you have to publish frequently. There's just one problem: it takes a long time to write a book. But you can still stay in the game. Start selling in-between books. On Again, Off Again Indies have to play the perfectionist game. You'll spend more time editing than you spent writing the darn book, and lots of editing is second-guessing and fact-checking and plot-managing (and, if you're like me, frustration). Factor into this the fact that you have a day job, and time starts to get pretty short. Let's not forget that you are also human, and must spend time eating, sleeping and not working (because if you don't relax a little you're no good as as a writer).  When all these factors come ...

Indie authors have to promote their books all the time. They spend time on social media, they browse forums, they blog. But as an indie author, you should also be asking for reviews -- every chance you get. Soliciting Indies have to court the book bloggers, and it's a great way to get reviews. Keep sending your requests out every week. Keep using forums to find potential reviewers and swap opportunities,  if you do swapping. But don't stop there. If you want to get reviews, start asking for them:

Figuring out the correct use of the word there gets confusing enough, but when you start adding verbs it can become a grammatical nightmare. Do you know how to use there is and there are the correct way? Don't answer too fast. I thought I knew how to use them, too, until I caught myself making the same mistake over and over again.  To Be or Not to Be Why is it so hard to know the difference between there is and there are ? For starters, is and are are both forms of the same irregular verb, and nothing's worse than irregular verbs . They're both forms of the verb to be . For example, I might say that Sheila is pretty , or that We are polite . Both sentences use a form of be (Sheila be pretty; We be polite).  Confused yet? If you weren't confused about there is and there are before this post, you probably are now so my job is half done already. But I'm also going to get it all cleared up.

Many stories are basic at the core: hero vs. villain, good vs. evil. But life isn't always so black and white...so books can't be, either. Not all main characters are heroic. Some, in fact, are just the opposite. Bette Davis Eyes In literature, heroes are good guys. They are honest, or noble, unselfish maybe, and caring of others. They're designed to be lovable. Not so with the anti-hero . This character is barely likable. They make bad decisions and wrong choices. They lack admirable qualities and maybe even do really dumb things. 

Is it still cyberbullying when it's perpetrated by a mega-million-dollar corporation? Maybe. Lots of self-published authors are weighing in on the debate between Amazon and traditional publishing, represented in this particular dispute by Hachette. So let's examine the issue and ask the hard question: is Amazon being a bully? Goliath and Goliath Believe me, I get it. Defending Amazon, and anything they do, has become a bit of a knee-jerk reaction for indie authors. Amazon gave them a platform, a voice and for a few, millions of bucks. So it's easy to jump to Amazon's defense, particularly when one hears that they're in a good old-fashioned standoff with publishing giant Hachette. Put in that context, I almost want to grab a pitchfork myself.  But that's just one facet of this complicated mess that's being carried out right now, this very moment. Amazon and Hachette did not see eye-to-eye on the price of ebooks. The two companies could not ...

Pollyanna is a hundred-year-old book, but it's a classic story that left a mark you can still find in pop culture today. As you may know, Pollyanna has become synonymous with any overly-optimistic person who sees only sunshine no matter how much rain there is, a sheer goody-goody who always has something nice to say. But before it was a term to tease your friends with, it was one of the most memorable literary characters ever to grace a page. The Book Eleanor H. Porter wrote Pollyanna way back in 1913. It became so popular it launched an entire series of "Glad Books," and if you know the character you understand the title.

Often, authors feel insecurity. You'll doubt, and second-guess, and wonder...and you'll worry. And I know it's tempting to share ideas,  plot points, even whole chapters with close confidants. But you shouldn't. If you're writing a manuscript,  wait to share it. Finish it first . Other People's Opinions Even authors are only human, and you're going to be influenced by other people. In fact, as an author you should be. Reviews are most beneficial not to readers but to authors. They provide honest feedback, and that's what every author needs. That's why it seems like such a good idea to solicit advice from those closest to you. But if you start getting that advice before the book is done, it's could change the course of your story. You could be influenced by others, and then it's not wholly your story anymore.

What do you want? Chances are, you've got at least one answer to that question. Everyone wants something. That means your characters should, too. Yearning Everyone has desires. It's a fact of the human condition that no matter what you've got, you want something else, or maybe something more. In order to make your characters real , they ought to long for something, many things even.