Learning the Self-Publishing Industry
Dear Reader,
It won't surprise you to learn I follow a lot of indie authors on YouTube and watch their videos or listen to their podcasts or live streams from Facebook or TikTok and whatever. Anyone wanting to learn how to do something new seeks teachers and educational materials to help them. It's why there are so many universities, colleges, and vocational technical training centers in the world.
In an ever-changing self-publishing industry, I think it's important to learn everything I can from other successful indie authors in the business and attempt to be better at what I do. There are paid online courses, but y'all know. I lack funds for that. It's not as if you can go to the self-publishing company, hire on, and get on-the-job training. Indie authors have to be self-starters and must seek their knowledge. So I follow people like Mark Dawson and James Blatch, Joanna Penn, Michael La Ronn, Bethany Atazadeh and Dale L. Roberts, to name a few.
I saw Michael Robertson, Jr. the other day. He only posts about once a month, so I enjoy catching up on what he's doing. He writes a weekly blog on Substack, and I should get over to it, but I just haven't found the time yet. I said all that to introduce what I really wanted to say, which is: I love how he talks about what books he's reading or listening to. I think it's cool when he discusses hardback versus Kindle. He’s speaking my language. Mr. Robertson even discusses what movies and television shows he watches in the genre. It matters because no matter the format, it’s all storytelling.
I thought about that because I dabble in AI audiobooks and video books. My passion is storytelling. Writing is merely one way to tell a story. So I wondered, 'Could I do something like that?' Then I laughed hard. Tears came. My dragon was surely thinking it was time for one crazy old cat to be carted off to the funny farm.
I don't watch television much. I have two of them, but they’re rarely ever turned on. The last thing I watched on television was a documentary concerning an aspect of the Holocaust which wasn't the mainstream concentration camp video. I teach an Honors Holocaust History course as an elective at the High School. The Rape of Europa was excellent, but that's heavy stuff. I don't think I want to depress all my readers with it.
I see too many Crash Course videos on YouTube and watch AP Classroom tutorials every other day during the work week. If you want to study history, I'm sure you’ll stumble over Captivating History, FreemanPedia, and all the rest on your own, eventually.
And who really cares to know that I read more badly written argumentative essays for my AICE and AP classes than good genre fiction pieces? My guess would be no one. Take my word for it. You don't want to read those.
It's true that providing honest reviews is supposed to go a long way toward helping independent authors network, and reading other works by authors in your genre might even help you craft better stories. But the truth? When you have to work a day job, it may be more than too expensive to afford. I do read and leave reviews which I often make public on the blog, but I take a while, and I lack the time to network properly.
So for the moment, I keep writing, polishing, and improving my stories. When I can, I'll read what strikes my fancy and watch whatever movies and shows speak to me. I won't regret not sharing any horrible high school essays with you, nor will I stress that you'd like to know what movies and shows I watch.
Instead, I shall do what I've always done. I'll speak the truth about my author's journey and give you a laugh about the crazy life behind the scenes of the dream. I'm positive that's far better than talking about documentary films and essays which don't follow any of the rules for good writing.
Shameless Self Promotion
Druid Fox Kingdom Rising Volume 2
A Draoithe Saga Tale
Fox, also known as Duncan O'Sullivan, is a cunning fox who has lived for four hundred years alongside his loyal mate. His extensive knowledge of Druid magic means he possesses a potent tool that could benefit a new pack.
Recognizing Luke Mendez's potential as an admirable leader, Fox offers his aid to Luke and his pack. However, in exchange for his magical knowledge and admittance to the pack, Fox requests sanctuary for himself, his mate, and one companion. There's more to Fox's bargain than meets the eye.
He harbors a few secrets that could pose a significant risk to the pack, and Luke must decide whether the offered deal is worth jeopardizing his group's safety. Above all, the fate of Fox's cherished mate is at stake. It remains to be seen whether a lone fox will ultimately join forces with the pack.
Welcome to the dream…
Urban Fantasy with Steamy Paranormal Romance 18+ HEA! NC! Fated Mates
***Warning: Adult Themes, Fantasy Violence, and/or Explicit Sexual Situations. Intended for a Mature Audience.
Behind the Scenes of Druid Fox
Markee Books did it again. Once again, an old tale finally has the proper packaging it has always deserved. This is the beautiful new cover for Druid Fox, and in honor of the fancy new duds, Druid Fox finally went wide. I still have much love for those of you who support indie authors by buying direct, but I understand the loyalty to your favored reading platforms, too. For those who hoped it might stay exclusive forever, I must note that all good things come to an end. But other good things often replace those lost good things.So keep visiting OpheliaKee.com. It's a dynamic site constantly developing as the dream reading experience expands.
I can't say it's without some sadness that Druid Fox is now wide. The Council, which was how this tale originally published, has delisted. Considering that fact, I must tell you Big Bad Wolf is due for a facelift soon and will receive a re-edit as well as finally go wide.
I agonized over splitting the two stories, but in the end, I felt it was best. While the events of each tale occur simultaneously, they are in fact two different stories. In Druid Fox, we meet Fox and Artie, who have a four hundred-year-old relationship with dangerous secrets. In Big Bad Wolf, we follow Javier and Isabell's new love romance.
While the stories are set against the urban fantasy backdrop of the rising kingdom of Draoithe, which is coalescing to combat a shadowy evil pursuing all the members of the Druid pack, each story involves different tropes. So, although originally written together, it was at a time before I realized my chaotic writing style often shows me scenes from more than one story and not necessarily in the proper order.
I've gotten better at understanding the creative muse and have learned to write the scenes in separate document files until I figure out what order and indeed what story they belong to. It's all normal to me, but other writers are likely scratching their heads wondering how I ever get anything done. Newsflash: the Draoithe Saga continues. So maybe I don't.
In Other News From The Dream
Druid Fox is coming to subscription this week! I'm continuing to add stories to the site as I complete the edits and slowly purchase new covers. I'm excited about building this idea and adding another element to the reading experience of the dream. For only $7 a month, you can simply read the entire saga in the author's suggested read order. Try it out, read all you want, cancel any time. New chapters are being added each month.
Apocalypse Averted is slowly rolling out twice a week on Radish as well. It's slow going as I edit the stories and slowly buy professional covers. But I would like to have the complete trilogy available on that platform by the end of summer. Wish me luck.
On the Technology Front
I always have more irons in the fire than I can juggle. Summer is the one positive upside to the day job, though. I'll have a few precious weeks to sleep and catch up on some of the stuff in the dream, like hopefully crafting the AI audiobooks.
AI is a wonderful tool to help with adding audio to my stories, editing the tales, and helping me write better book descriptions. As ever, my muse is fickle and I have yet to use AI to help me write the stories. So everything in the dream is original Ophelia Kee, human written work. With my baffling writing style, it may always be so. It makes for slower writing, but I can hope AI will one day help with book discoverability, and all the stories will find homes in the minds of readers who enjoy urban fantasy with steamy paranormal romance. Until then, I continue to write and slowly expand the dream experience.
Until AI makes them obsolete, please be kind and leave your reviews when you read. Even if AI makes them obsolete as social proof, the author will still want to know if you enjoyed the story. Reviews will always be precious gifts uplifting the anxious artist. I have to leave this post before it verges on TL;DR.
Until next time,
Be Careful!
Happy reading,
Ophelia Kee
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