Hi all,
I just wanted to give an awesome shout out to you! My loyal readers! This has been Modern Papyrus’ best year ever, with nearly 7,000 views on the blog. I’m loving all your positive thoughts, likes, and vibes, and am honored that you continue to visit here! If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe and get updates in your inbox.
Thanks a million!
– Daniel
A Recap of my awesome book signing event at the Maryland Renaissance Festival!
“Do you like Roman history? Or Alternate history? How about steamships? If you do, this is the book for you!”
I lost track of how often I said that Saturday at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville, Maryland. But I’m excited to share how it went!
Hi Everyone! Just wanted to share that I’ve spent this weekend upgrading the old Brass Legionnaire site. Now it’s looking brand new and contains all the novels of the Steam Empire Chronicles! So check it out to see the entire series (and not just my ramblings on here!)
We’ve hit 5000 views for the year! It’s a record! Celebrate with a new poem!
Salve! Congratulations to the blog, and major thanks to you, the readers of this blog, for your inspiration! To celebrate, here’s a poem called Belief. I wrote it and planned to share it later, but now seems an apt choice for this to be shared. Remember to subscribe and follow along on my writing journey! C&C always welcome!
Five great tips for self-publishing support staff – editors, illustrators, small publishers, etc. Keep your sanity while keeping your clients happy and coming back for more!
By Daniel Ottalini
Hi all, this is a companion piece to my earlier article on how to make sure that your freelancers/self-publishing helpers do their best for you. But what about the flip side? What can you, as a freelance/small business editor, cover artist, etc., do to make sure that you give your customers what they want, keep them coming back, but also make money and keep your dignity in the process? Continue reading “Five Ways to Keep Your Self-Publishing Clients Happy & Coming Back for More”
Should you go with just an Author Blog or both a Blog and Book Website? My take on this tricky question for self-published authors.
Greetings all!
A close friend of mine is in the process of publishing her novel. She asked me whether or not she should create a separate book website similar to mine, to go with her author/personal blog. It’s a great question that I wanted to share with you, my loyal readers.
Pros of Going with a Book Blog and Website
1.) If you ever plan to write about a different series/world/genre, it helps to differentiate. For example, lets say I suddenly decided to write about paranormal fantasy. Most people reading this blog wouldn’t be extremely interested. But I could continue to update my book website with small tidbits and bonus features. Alternatively, I could create a book website just for my new series, and keep this current blog focused on alternate history and steampunk (A much better idea).
2.) Flexibility – different sites offer different capabilities. Some require a lot of money to really stretch the boundaries, or a personal web designer. I also like having a separate site because I can send people to the Wix site via mobile or through my business cards. It looks professional and is topic specific – focusing on the novel, not on self-publishing as a whole.
3.) Fan Support – A book website with a forum can allow fans to discuss and present their ideas on that site, and allow you to monitor your readers’ ideas and input, without having to sift through different areas.
Cons of Going with a Book Blog and Website
1.) Time – You have to make and upkeep two separate sites. My Wix site is still waiting to be updated with Roma Aeronautica’s information. That’s on the agenda for this weekend.
2.) Money – You have to pay to host two websites. Or alternatively, deal with annoying free ads and such. It depends on your own choices too. brasslegionnaire.com is a lot more professional sounding than wix.brasslegionnaire.com after all.
3.) Separation of readers – This is a possibility if you have multiple blogs. You can separate your readership and reduce traffic to each site individually. That being said, you can also allow specific segments of your readership to ignore parts that they don’t care about, and focus more on what they enjoy and like!
So looking back, what would I recommend?
Well, personally, seeing as how I already have two sites and plan on building the world of the Steam Empire Chronicles to include ten different stories, I think a separate site for them is great! Especially when I plan on creating an additional series or world.
Would I recommend two sites to a beginner? Absolutely not. If you want to blog, then you should focus on creating a blog and building that audience faithfully and consistently. Small steps are easier to take, rather than big leaps.
What do you think? One or two sites? More?
Check out the radio interview up on Youtube, and a call for ARC readers of Copper Centurion. Freebies to be had! Check out more in today’s posting.
Hi all,
After fiddling with iMovie and Youtube, I’ve successfully placed the radio interview I did with Global Talk Radio on youtube. If you have a moment, pop over and listen to it!
Also, I’m currently in the hunt for some advanced review copy readers for Copper Centurion. If you’re interested in getting a free book, plus an awesome free digital booklet of all the Steam Empire Chronicles artwork, leave me a message and I’ll deliver it right to your door! If you like it, I’d love for you to review the novel and tell the world about it on Amazon, Apple, B&N, your choice 🙂
As soon as I get word back from my illustrators that the illustrations are ready to be inserted into the novel, I’ll be asking for some people willing to do a book tour (I’m thinking April, so keep your schedules open, te-he!)
I’ll be back with more soon,
Ciao!
– Daniel
New Website up and Running for Copper Centurion! Check it out now!
Go ahead! You know you want to indulge yourself with some more Roman-y-Steampunky-goodness! It’s okay! I feel the same way! Click HERE now!
Yes, it’s okay to feel excitement. I do too.
Brass Legionnaire is fully published. Check out amazon, barnes & noble, and smashwords for more details.
Only one day left on the free signed copy giveaway!
Happy Brass Legionnaire Day!
As of this moment, folks, the first novel of the Steam Empire Chronicles, Brass Legionnaire, is published in all formats and available for purchase!
I’ve made a new page at the top of the blog that features all of the easiest ways to purchase my novel. You can also use the links in this post to purchase them as well.
What about signed copies, you say? Well, I’ve got TWO give-aways running. Each one has three signed paperback copies of the novel available for you to win! You can even enter both. (If you win both, I reserve the right to only send you one signed copy!)
So either comment on this post of mine from earlier,
Or check out my Goodreads Giveaway and sign up there as well!
You have just ONE day left to enter and win for both contests!
Here are the links below to each book.
Brass Legionnaire (Print edition and Kindle Edition)
Smashwords (all other formats)
If you aren’t sure about purchasing yet, download the first chapter for free here, or you can sample the first 20% of the book (For more Roman-Steampunky goodness) for free also at the Smashwords link above!
Thanks again for all of my readers and fans out there. The journey started because of me, but it really finished because of your encouragement and positive attitudes. I love you all, and I’ll continue to blog about my adventures in life and self publishing. And yes, there will be more Brass Legionnaire novels to come. Copper Centurion (Due out sometime next Spring) will be even longer and more chock full of airship flying roman legionnaires.
Thanks again! Be sure to subscribe to the blog, Like me on Facebook or follow me on twitter! I keep it pretty interesting, and don’t spam you with a million for sale ads. Hurray!
– Daniel
Book website, Using Wix, Countdown to Publication
Hi everyone,
Background:
So as a reader, I’m a big fan of separating your author blog from your book website. Since I’m planning a series, I put together a website for my series over at brasslegionnaire.com so that people who were interested in the book could check it out. I envision this site growing as each book gets its own ‘branch’ so to speak from the main page. I used Wix to design and host my website
When you first go to the site, you start at a pretty empty page, where you can click on one of two pictures or on the enter button. All the options take you to the same place. As I publish more books, I’ll be able to expand the options and add pages to purchase the book.
Why Wix?
Well, to be honest I stumbled across them and started using their website for fun. It’s very intuitive and simple to use. You don’t have to know about HTML code or anything like that. It’s more like Powerpoint, where you drag pictures around the page and you can upload things to post as well. Although I consider myself a relatively technology capable person, I didn’t want to waste my limited funds hiring someone to make my page, when I had a site like this that I could play with enough to make it myself!
You do have to spend some money to register your site for your own domain name and to eliminate their ads, but you also get some nice vouchers for facebook and google ads that you can use to offset some of the cost (What you spend here, you won’t have to spend there)
Would I recommend Wix?
Yes, I would recommend them based on their simple, easy to use site and the way most people can figure out how to do it if you have a basic knowledge of Powerpoint or Word. They have helpful videos to show you how to set up your site and format things. They offer enough different price packages to give you options for most budgets.That being said, if you’ve got a friend or relative who is really handy with HTML code, it might be better for them to do it for you. But being a finicky person myself, I liked the control I had over every step of the process.
Book Update
The book’s illustrations are now complete! I’ve sent the book and all the other odds and ends back to my format/illustration team and they are hard at work putting it all together for the final event. I’m very excited for you to have the opportunity to read the novel I’ve spent so long in making. It’s been an intense experience these past couple of months. I’ve set a personal goal to publish Brass Legionnaire by mid-May.
If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, follow me to get more updates and sneak peeks!
Ciao!
Modern Papyrus 