Men and Monsters is now in the editing stages, and I’ll have eARCs and paperback ARCS available months before publication.
And I have decided to give eARCs to everyone who has reviewed Kingdom of Ashes on Goodreads!
The rules are very simple: Continue reading
Exciting news! I have the Men and Monsters cover, and I’ll be ready to share it with you very soon! The cover reveal is coming on February 2nd and is hosted by Betwixt the Pages. If you’re unfamiliar with the heap of penguiny goodness which is this book blog, you’re missing on so much.
To celebrate the reveal, I’ll be running a giveaway for a signed Kingdom of Ashes paperback, signed character cards, and other bookish gifts. Stay tuned for more!
Also, in case you missed it, Men and Monsters now has a draft blurb:
The stakes have changed. For fifty years, Prince Vladimir has tolerated the Resistance, but now they threaten what he holds dear. The vicious vampire will no longer hold back. A plan he has been working on for decades will finally reveal itself and entangle everyone standing on the way.
For the first time after the Nightfall, the Resistance holds a true bargaining chip. For the first time, they have a chance to tip the scales of the war and ensure humanity’s survival. But Myra has made a promise, and breaking it will destroy all that is human in her. She is loyal to the Resistance, but nothing is black and white. Long-buried secrets emerge, teaching her that vampires can be more honorable than humans, and humans can be more monstrous than the beasts.
A desperate nobleman, fighting to save a doomed culture. A reclusive poet, choosing art over immortality. A vampire, rejecting her raw nature. Past and present weave together in an action-packed tale of power games, hopeless fight for survival, and the indestructible human need to create art.
Happy reading! ❤
Nightfall: Kingdom of Ashes is now available for pre-order on Amazon!
You can pre-order the book now for 0.99 USD. After release on Oct. 30th, you will be able to purchase the book at the regular price of 3.99 USD.
EVERYONE who pre-orders will receive a signed character card! In addition, all pre-orders will enter a lottery and be eligible to win one of the following:
OPEN WORLDWIDE
Also, I always include a small bar of luxury chocolate with each paperback / gift I send
So how does it work? Go here for more information.
Happy reading!
~Elena
If you decide to self-publish, editing your work is the single most crucial step you cannot skip. You can get away with a self-made cover, website, blurb, and interior design, but editing is one area you need help, no matter how good and experienced you are.
Every author benefits from a fresh pair of eyes, but many indie writers skip editing because of budget constraints. Others want to edit their books, but have no idea how. Traditionally, this has never been something authors had to worry about – agents and publishers were the ones to guide writers through the process. However, if you are self-publishing, you are in charge of the whole production process – from the rough draft, through all editing and formatting stages, and up to the final product.
In this post, I will cover the different kinds manuscript editing. Continue reading
If you are anything like me, then you:
and
Luckily, this is where my personal superhero, TheSwanMaindeN, comes in.
When you get an artist to illustrate your characters, you can take different routes. You could describe in detail what exactly you want to see, you could give them complete freedom, or you could go anywhere in between.
When I asked TheSwanMaideN to illustrate my book cover, I gave her a detailed description of what exactly needed to be there. However, when it came to Armida’s portrait, I decided to try something different and to give her only a vague idea about the character. “You are great at drawing hair,” I said, “and even better at drawing dresses. Go for it.”
This was one of my better decisions because – surprise, surprise! – it turns out her imagination is way better than mine. What I got was this:
You’ve written a book, but don’t know how to go about publishing it? Let’s take a look at the options you have.
In this post I’ll examine the pros and cons of working with a traditional publisher vs. publishing your book yourself. Some authors strongly dislike one or the other, but I believe both have merits.
Traditional publishing
A traditional publisher will offer you lots of support in all necessary areas and will help you turn your rough draft into a polished final product. Some of the great services you will get for free include: Continue reading
So far I have covered the simpler, faster, and cheaper ways to get a beautiful ebook cover – a DIY or a premade cover. Unfortunately, for many authors these option’s don’t work. You may have something specific in mind for your cover, and no single stock image or a premade template captures it. In that case, you’ll need to work with a designer or an illustrator.
Designers
Designers work like this:
– You share your vision of what you’d like to see on the cover, including key elements and general mood
– The designer picks one or more stock photos, manipulates them to create the desired image, and adds a genre-appropriate font. Usually designers are subscribed to a stock image supplier and can download an unlimited number of photos at no additional cost for them
– There are several rounds of revisions, where you can give back your cover and request changes Continue reading
In the first part of this post, I covered the DIY methods of creating an ebook cover – using your own photo, creating a simple cover yourself, or buying a stock photo and adding text. If your are not confident in your designer skills, or you just want something more, you’ll need to hire extra help. The good news is, you can get a professionally designed ebook cover for as little as $30.
Photo vs. Illustration
One important decision you need to make is if you want a photo or an illustration on the cover. As I researched book covers, I saw many claims that photos sell better and that photos create more powerful images. Coincidentally, all of these claims were made by designers of photo-based covers.
I am happy to present the stunning Kingdom of Ashes ebook cover by the talented Nadica Boshkovska (aka TheSwanMaideN on DeviantArt):
Kingdom of Ashes 