# Work At Home Authors



## th_Wolverine (Apr 15, 2013)

Hey all, If you have a few minutes I'd love for your feedback on a book I've been working hard at for the last three years. The link below is for the sample excerpt, which is the first chapter. I'd love to know what you think!
I don't expect to make a million bucks, but I'd be really grateful to know your feedback so I can see if this is something other people and their kids would be interested in reading!

-Phil

https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1166121


----------



## clovis (May 13, 2002)

You have a way with words! Very good!!

I am curious about createspace. Are there other places to write, and then publish as an e-book? 

I have never been a fan of Amazon, but would suspect that there are competing sites.

Also, is there an option if you ever wanted to self publish this book in print form? Could you take what you've written, and print it out, and have a respectable looking book?


----------



## th_Wolverine (Apr 15, 2013)

Well thank you! It's a long time in the works!

Createspace gives you the option to have print books as well as e-books. It's nice because they print it based on the demand. You don't have to order 200 and try and sell them yourself. You can set your royalty and the price for the books, then someone orders it and they print them a copy and ship.

Cons: you get limited options for size and style on the cover. That's not as big a deal to me, but it is for some people. Also, you have to be your own marketer, driving people to your book. Not as hard now with forums like this and other social media 

I looked into a few other services, but createspace seemed to have a pretty easy setup and saves a lot of the hassle.


----------



## Fetherhd (Aug 16, 2012)

clovis said:


> You have a way with words! Very good!!
> 
> I am curious about createspace. Are there other places to write, and then publish as an e-book?
> 
> ...


I also just published a book through Createspace. and also through kindle. Both are easy to use. It does help if you have Microsoft word though.


----------



## th_Wolverine (Apr 15, 2013)

Does creatspace only do paperbacks? Ive been looking around and can't find any kind of a hardback option


----------



## Alexz7272 (Feb 13, 2014)

Hello fellow writer! You definitely have a very good eye for creating the world around your characters. My advice would be to use less obvious descriptions. 
Ex: "After making sure no *creeping peepers* were 
about to witness her.." _Not sure if this a common phrase in the US, but something a little more refined would fit your story better. (Granted I have only read your first chapter!)_
ex: "Run, it said. *If they catch you, you will be killed!*" _This notion is pretty much implied by your story and seems a bit out of place in the paragraph as you are mostly describing the scene and events within it. Just seems a little out of place. _
Ex: "But conquering powers never stop to ask what 
their *newly* defeated subjects desire." _I think it would be a more powerful statement if you removed the 'newly' part of it. Otherwise, I LOVE this sentence!_ 
Ex: &#8220;Hold still, Ala!&#8221; _Is Ala a nickname for Paige?_
Ex: "It was a *small* medallion containing a portrait of her family, an extremely *small* carving" _A little redundant here _
ex: "Disgruntled, she turned to return to her seat by her mother at the chieftain's table."
"Paige stalked to the chieftain&#8217;s table at the northernmost part of the platform in disgust" _You said this twice in the same paragraph._
ex: " It was cool outside, and hardly warmer inside *because of the lack of walls*." _Too much description here_
ex: "She looked out to her right at the dark forest floor *below*. She thought for a moment that she had seen something flicker *below*,"
ex: "The swords at their waist were decorated with golden snakes, coiled and ready to strike, *on the hilt.*" _That is implied in the beginning of the sentence_
ex: "The soldier was caught off guard, and didn&#8217;t have *time step out* of the way before she hit him." _Maybe you meant to say 'time *to* step out'_

I just finished editing a work of my own, I promise I was not trying to pick yours apart as well. I personally always have issues with finding honest advice from others, so hope you do not mind! I am very intrigued by your story and definitely want to know what happens next. Great job! You should check out http://www.writingforums.org/ if you have not yet. It is a great site with lots of resources! Keep us updated on the process of your story and publication please


----------



## th_Wolverine (Apr 15, 2013)

Great catches I really appreciate it! I for sure will be updating as I get further into the process! I'll probably make a thread just for that book and enter step by steps with my experience


----------



## anne_ke73 (Mar 16, 2015)

I'm with Alexz...overall great work and an interesting story. It always helps to have fresh eyes on a manuscript, particularly to catch redundancies. I have one book on Amazon and another on the way but both are nonfiction and are in ebook format only. Glad to hear about your experience with Createspace. I was wondering just the other day whether it would be worth trying!


----------



## th_Wolverine (Apr 15, 2013)

Thatse awesome! Yeah I've got a few people that are going to read through my manuscript for a Starbucks gift card. If you have some time and are interested in that it would be nice to have someone I'm not closely connected with take a peek at it and give me some feedback


----------



## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

It&#8217;s hard to find people to read your work and offer constructive criticism. Some people just don&#8217;t like to read, or don&#8217;t read your genre. Others are afraid they won&#8217;t like it. Then there are those you address your typos rather than sentence structure and plot devices. I&#8217;m wary of giving criticism because people think you are being mean, but heck, you asked.


----------



## Dust of the Sun (Sep 3, 2011)

My biggest question is WHERE do I write my book?? Must I get WORD and go thru the steep learning curve and write a word document and THEN submit it to Createspace or Amazon Kindle Direct?? I found a site called Yrny where you can write but then there is no format to SIMPLY send it to a service and package the book. So where do you actual authors WRITE and store your book...is there a website or service that will convert your writing into a format that can then be PUBLISHED?? I know I'm not even wording my question well enough...but thanks for any suggestions.


----------

