Rebelious rules by Kristina Gallo

A few times I got a request to show someone how to write books. I should explain to someone the writing process, but without a fee. It should be voluntary work to inform someone how to write a book. The Internet is full of selfish people. Even if someone tries to hide their personality, it will pop up with their actions. Do you expect something from strangers, not offering anything to return? The root of writing is inspiration. There is no pattern in how to write. This is a feeling you wear inside, and an inside voice that leads you to throw words on the paper. You must understand the difference between the desire to write and the ability to write. Some will attend workshops or pay money to learn the basics of writing, but writing without passion is like a song without music. Hemingway had a lot of typing errors but his work was a masterpiece.  Today is a problem that everyone thinks he can write a bestseller. A successful writer is one who has reached the audience. The Internet wi...

When you are reading a book, you will wonder how the story develops. Did the author know from the start how the story will look alike? Two types of authors who writing stories: Plotters - they know how the will story looks from the start to the end Pantsers - they are spontaneous and have ideas, but they don't know how will story develop and what will be the end I am the second type. Writing a new book for next year, I have 6.500 words and shaped characters, but I don't know many things. I don't know the end, what will be the plot, or whether will there be new characters and surprises are possible. I am walking on the street and suddenly new ideas come to my mind, and then I am writing a draft, a reminder of what I will write next. It happens I am deleting some sentences when I see a logical error, and some things are not matching. Sometimes I am in a trap, there is a void in my story. When the bulb turns on, I know how to get out of it.  All my books are written in this wa...

Every author needs a reader's circle that stays. It means loyal readers who will follow you and read every new book.  It is not always the case, especially with indie authors. It happens that someone read your two or three books and there it stops. It happened to me also, I did not hear a word from some people for a long time.  Readers are swamped with a bunch of books. They are like kids in a candy store, the offer is too big. If you want to keep the reader's attention, you must be the best. What happens if a reader rejects you? How to react? To keep a reader, you must give them some benefits. Offer them a discount or ARC copy. Show gratitude. If a reader rejects you for any reason, back off. Accept it as it is. Find a new market. Being ignored is not the end of the world. Still, you have many options to research, and instead of staying on the same point, you have a space for new people.  After some people rejected me I focused on new ones and did not regret it. I learne...

If you are a thriller author, you must be careful about your book covers. Using a knife in your background means you are supporting violence. But, what if it is a weapon of murder in your book? If you write about murder, you will not post flowers or kittens, don't you? If you are a romance or erotica author, you must be careful not to post nudity. A man with a naked torso in the background, what does it look like? I am not joking, we are talking about algorithms nowadays. You will not be aware if are you breaking the rules, and the community will alert you. The author will not be able to advertise the book if someone reports your post might be deleted because it offended someone's feelings. Do you know what is insulting my feelings? The fact we fought for the freedom of speech and after centuries of burning books and sacrifices, we got back in the Stone Age and in the arms of censorship. Let me write you one example. I had proofread of book and this was my sentence. "The f...

Your book might be a bestseller. Imagine how you sold a million copies worldwide. You are enjoying yourself on the beach after you earn a lot of money. Sound like a dream? This statement is far from reality and it will never be true for the majority of indie authors. When I said I sold ten copies last month, some authors said it is a dream for them.  Speaking about the interaction between authors, many times it sounds like competition or rivalry.  Authors will request you for friendship on social media.  But, what are their intentions? They ask for likes for their pages and for that they need a big number of friends. They ask for readers, and you might be a potential reader. They ask a group to tag their books and spread the word. Recently, I got a friend request from an author who published his statistic, a report about million KENP reads. Should I be honored? I don't think so. It happens that popular authors want a wide reader base, and they want to attract other author...

Being an indie author means a strong character. You should not let anything make you unfocused. Strong nerves and a good stomach must be your label. Otherwise, you will give up too soon.  During these five years as an indie author, I noticed some myths while I promoted my books. 6 myths in indie author's world: An indie author is not a real author. Just because I don't have an agent and I am doing everything alone, it doesn't mean someone should doubt my professional side.  Negative ratings and negative reviews. Checking your books means you will find negative ratings - 1 star, 2 stars, without explanations. Some people simply do that, to ruin your rating. Negative reviews are higher level, they explain why they don't like your book. It is ok if this explanation doesn't attack you personally or have a sense. Sometimes, it could be trolling.  Expectations about sales . It is not weird if you don't sell anything for months. This market is huge, indie authors are...

  J anis Leslie Evans, the “Healing Author,” has been writing since she was a child. Born in Buffalo, New York, she is a first-generation American born to Jamaican parents who immigrated from the Caribbean and Canada. Janis has been a resident of Washington, DC since 1982 when she entered Howard University as a graduate student and received her master’s degree in counseling psychology. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY Buffalo State College. She is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia, is the sole owner of Evans Counseling & Consultation, PLLC, and provides individual and couples counseling services to her clients. Janis has always loved writing poetry throughout her life and was first published at the age of 11 in an annual book published by Buffalo Public Schools, which highlighted the creative writing of its students. Janis continued to write for leisure as a young adult and was chosen to participate in a 2-week journalism workshop for mi...