2021 and Done

2021 and Done

by benmweilertNo Comments
No, I'm not quitting. It is wild to think another year has passed as I consider everything I accomplished. There were tough months, and there was the return of conventions (which was a great boost to my self-esteem). I had to pivot on Buried Colony again but have found This is Not a Drill is selling pretty well as my first children's picture book. On top of all this, I taught myself how to successfully get an audiobook into Audible, which was quite an undertaking. Overall, I met most of my goals from January, so let's look back on the... 2021 YEAR IN REVIEW First Name Basis (10th Anniversary and Audiobook versions) It's amazing to think that my first novel came out 10 years ago in May. I enjoyed making the 10th Anniversary edition of First Name Basis, which includes character sketches by Robin Childs and the portions of the Fluxion Trilogy appendix that help explain the references in First Name Basis. In...
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Audible isn’t the only way to distribute an audiobook

by benmweilertNo Comments
Over the last two months, I've covered how to create noise-free audio files and what it takes to produce said audiobook. However, the best voice acting and production values in the world won't mean a thing if nobody has a chance to purchase your audiobook. As with most things on the internet, the de-facto place to get audiobooks is Amazon. More specifically, the Amazon-owned Audible service. Amazon's Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) is the one way for self-published authors to get their books into the ears of Audible listeners. Still, it's not the only way to distribute an audiobook. Having never created an audiobook before, I was worried that my recordings wouldn't meet the quality standards of ACX. I knew First Name Basis was a test to determine if I could successfully self-publish my book via Audible, but what if they didn't accept it? I had put in a lot of work to make sure I had created an audiobook I was...
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What it takes to produce an audiobook

by benmweilertNo Comments
After years of people asking me, "Is that in audiobook format?" I finally broke down and recorded my first novel and published it as an audiobook. Last month, my post about this process mostly revolved around creating the cleanest audio to submit to sites like Amazon’s Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX). This month, I'd like to explain the process of actually recording and producing an audiobook. It's a bit more complicated than you might think. For those who read last month's post, you might be wondering why I used a Christmas tree box to prop up a tablet and hold the microphone. First off, using a tablet with my manuscript on it, I could easily scroll through the pages of my book using my finger on the screen instead of flipping pages on an actual book. Not only did this remove any page-turning noises in my recording, but the seamless manuscript prevented any unnecessary pauses that might occur between pages. Recording an audiobook?...
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How an iPhone, a comforter, and a Christmas tree helped me record my first audiobook

How an iPhone, a comforter, and a Christmas tree helped me record my first audiobook

by benmweilertNo Comments
Ten years ago, I had just released First Name Basis and was excited that my book was in a physical format. I could grab a paperback copy of my book and flip through it just like any other big-name author. However, when I tried selling this book, most people would ask, "Is it in eBook format?" This question confused me because I figured anyone could make an eBook. It takes a bit more effort to produce a physical product like a paperback. After finally caving and creating an eBook for First Name Basis, everything was fine...for a few years. Now, everyone asks if it's in audiobook format. *sigh* Don't get me wrong; I understand the appeal of audiobooks. The majority of the books I read each year are in the audiobook format because I can multitask something menial while also absorbing a book. For self-published authors, the problem with audiobooks is that they are significantly more complex to create than an...
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Commissioning Art for Your Book

Commissioning Art for Your Book

by benmweilertNo Comments
Most people judge a book by its cover. It's the first thing they'll see, and it should give them a sense of what to expect inside. If you can't clearly communicate the title and genre with your cover, it's likely your readers will be disappointed with what they have purchased. Astute readers can easily recognize when a book uses a cover creator with stock footage, which is an easy indicator to weed out authors who don't invest some money into their book. While I certainly started with these cover creator covers, I've made an effort as time goes on to try and commission art for the covers of my books. A few months ago, I wrote about some of the costs associated with self-publishing a book. One of these costs is hiring an artist to create art for your cover. While this sounds simple, there is a process that you'll need to follow. Sometimes it's so exciting to see the art...
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Why I like Self-Publishing

by benmweilertNo Comments
Ten years ago, I learned how easy it was to self-publish. Not only was it "free," but I was able to hold a physical copy of the largest thing I had ever written. I have since written larger books and expanded into eBooks and hardcovers (and maybe audiobooks in the future). I did try to get into traditional publishing to see if I could do it, but I found the systems in place too bizarre for me to continue pursuing it. This meant I was left with the first choice I went with when I published First Name Basis: self-publishing. Since I don't make a living off my writing, I consider it a fun hobby to do in my spare time. After a few weeks of therapy to get over imposter syndrome and my unhealthy focus on sales, I've come to love what self-publishing allows me to do: hold a physical copy of a story I created. Granted, I still want...
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The right way to ask for reviews

by benmweilertNo Comments
It’s weird to think that I’ve written more than 600 reviews since I started my website back in 2016. Of course, as I cross-post these reviews to various sites like IMDb, Goodreads, and Amazon, I started receiving requests for reviews relatively soon after I started gaining some traction from my posts (my reviewer ranking is above 23,000). I’ll ignore the requests clearly from Chinese sellers trying to manipulate their Amazon rankings, but I do have a soft spot for authors. Unfortunately, (as I've written about before) most authors don’t know how to interact with reviewers—especially when sending a request via e-mail. They all understand the value of reviews, but they don’t take the time to ensure they’re making the best first impression. After all, reviewers are people and sending a review request is much like pitching an agent: you want to show you’ve done your homework. As a result, most reviewers will ignore these requests or send them to their spam...
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Why self-publishing isn’t “free”

by benmweilertNo Comments
I have always said that one of the main benefits of self-publishing is that there is no financial barrier to entry. Anyone can write a book and have it published without paying a cent to anyone. Granted, this is also the reason why many people look down on self-publishing. With the costs of self-publishing being non-existent, there are no quality checks to ensure the content being published is good enough for readers to spend their money to buy it. Sometimes, this can result in backlash with angry readers leaving negative reviews. Often, not investing in a written work doesn't produce the sales an author would like to make (and is the main reason I don't make a living with my writing). Over the years, I've learned that self-publishing isn't just writing a book. Instead, self-publishing is editing, formatting, cover design, marketing, and any number of other tasks that combine to create a polished product. Depending on an author's skill level, some...
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Why you shouldn’t ignore creative burnout

Why you shouldn’t ignore creative burnout

by benmweilertNo Comments
Working on creative projects takes a lot of effort. When things are running smoothly, it’s easy to ignore how many tasks need to be done, especially if you’re trying to accomplish this project alone (as I’ve written about before). But when does it become too much? When can a creative endeavor cross over from pleasure to work? Part of the problem of accumulating creative projects is the desire to work on all of them at once. For some, it’s how they pay the bills. For me, my creative pursuits are meant to be enjoyable hobbies. I understand that some aspects of these hobbies (like editing) aren’t the most enjoyable, but they still need to happen if I want to produce a product I’m proud of. There are plenty of ideas I want to see come to life, but I don’t have the time to work on them all simultaneously. Sometimes projects overlap. I’ve recently recovered from a bout of creative burnout. I pushed...
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The Benefits of Fanfiction

by benmweilertNo Comments
Anyone who has consumed a significant amount of media can tell you that there are no original ideas. Most stories merely borrow ideas from their predecessors. The fact that most stories can be categorized into a handful of core concepts proves that everything has already been done before. And yet, people keep writing stories. Part of what makes a story original is how it mixes its influences to create something new, even if the foundation is recycled. Then, there's fanfiction. Some stories are told so well that the characters and settings are adopted wholesale into a different author's new work. While this form of creative writing could be considered intellectual property theft (especially if the stories are sold without consent from the original creator), it can be used as a stepping stone for writers who want to improve their craft. Alternatively, experienced writers can find the weak spots in famous stories and re-write them to fix plot holes and character inconsistencies....
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