30 % of all e-books are self-published. What goes into self-publishing?

Hello, and welcome to the blog of a self-published author. Today I would like to discuss what exactly that means and entails. I think a lot of people don’t realize the amount of time, work, and effort that goes into self-publishing, needless to say the anxiety of having your work out there in the public domain for everyone to see. But hey, that was the point of self-publishing right?

Writing the book – First the book needs to be written. An idea comes. For me, my story was inspired by dreams and mist. I was wondering if you could travel to another world. In that world, you would have dreams that led you to your destiny. My character’s destiny is to free the white wizards from their stone prisons. How did the wizards get trapped in stones? This is one of the questions I needed to answer. I am a bit old-fashioned so I start with a hand-written outline, and then handwrite the story with good old pen and paper. As I type the hand-written story up, I embellish and make any necessary changes.

Edit the book – The next step is editing. It is always suggested that an author gets someone else (a co-worker, friend, a fellow author) to assist in this process. I had my son look over my book. I also hired a professional editor.

Rewrite, Rewrite, Rewrite – At this point, I go back and fix any mistakes with grammar, storyline, or things that just don’t “flow” right.

Format the book– The book needs to be formatted to the size that many self-publishing companies desire, including Amazon.

Get a book cover– This was actually one of my favorite aspects of writing the book. I worked with a great graphic artist for a cover of my book. I love how the cover gets the feel of the mist, and of course my main character Miranda. I feel that in draws you in, and the it is just beautiful to look at. Plus, if you look carefully you can find the symbols for all six wizards depicted on the cover.

Market the book – I worked with book bloggers, book reviewers, and my fellow writing community to help get the word out about my book. I also visited the Boys and Girls Club and the Girl Scouts. I did a writing presentation along with bringing copies of my book. I was also very blessed to have support from a local book store in my area. I entered an online library program and was able to get my book into the local library in my area on the e-book site of the library. This is the most tricky part and I am still learning, and navigating my way with this.

Keep up– This is an area where I have been a little lackluster. On average, a self-published author sells 250 copies, and 90% sell less than 100 copies. Last I checked, I was at the 200 count. These statistics are from this online article:

Self-published Books & Authors Sales Statistics [2022]

As you can see or read, self-publishing is a lot of work, but I have had a lot of fun with it. I met some really cool people, sold some books, and gained a world of knowledge I did not have before.

If you would like to check out my book series here is the website: https://mlmurraymurray.wixsite.com/mirandasdreams

Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment or contact me with any questions.

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Dream Walker Land of Mystica Series A to Z I

Today we tackle the letter I.

I is for the Ice Caves. The Ice caves are a beautiful and mysterious place.

I is for Ichra. Ichra is an Ice Person. You can read about his adventure in Ichra’s Quest, a land of Mystica short story available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.

I is for Icicle, Ichra’s animal friend. Find out how they find each other!

I is for I love hearing from my fans, bloggers, reviewers, and cosplayers. Send me a note, question, or anything on your mind!

I is for invention. I came up with the land of Mystica based on mists and dreams. The original idea was to have the wizards playing second fiddle to my Dream Walker. I hope I succeeded!

I is for idea. I loved creating Dream Walker, and hope you enjoy it too!

Next is the letter J stay tuned!

 

There is a reason

A poem there is a reason written by Michelle Murray

this poem is copyrighted and cannot be copied or used without written permission

there Is a reason

people come into your life

there is a reason

For suffering and strife

call it fate

call it destiny

things have a way of working out

Even in the darkest hour

 

 

 

 

Places I’d like to visit on Mystica

Five Places In Mystica I’d Like to Visit

                I love the world of Mystica. Of course I created it, so I’m a little biased. When I created the world of Mystica, I pictured castles, dragons, caves and forests. A world full of mist, magic, and wizards. I trapped the wizards in stones. It is up to my heroine Miranda, the Dream Walker to find and release the white wizards from their stone prisons. You will have to read the books to see how the dark wizards escape.

                If Mystica were real instead of just on paper and in my imagination, here are the top five places I would like to visit:

                Number 5: The Ice Caves: Though I’m not a big fan of ice and snow, there is something magical and beautiful about the Ice Caves. Blue globes, ice crystals, and of course the small ice people. I would love to sit at their table and have dinner with them. The frozen waterfall would be a wonder to see.

                Number 4: The castle, especially the library. What fun it would be to roam the halls of the castle! I would look at all the tapestries, grand halls, and the throne room. I would eavesdrop on the conversations of the servants, and the King’s meetings. I would sit in the kitchen and just watch them make the grand dinners and listen to the hustle and bustle of creating it. Last, but not least, I would explore the grand library. When not writing, I enjoy reading. I think of all the stories and legends stored there, and it just makes me want to spend hours there.

                Number 3: The Temple of the sun The temple of the Sun is built for the Goddess of the Sun. It is beautiful inside and out with its’ golden bricks, high cathedral ceiling, and the statue of the Goddess herself. The architecture is grand with the arches and cobblestone entrance. It would be inspirational to see such a sight. I would stand in awe, and just listen to the songs of the Priestesses honoring their Goddess. Their voices would echo through the empty corridors. I would light a candle at the feet of the statue, and stare at her features and the two suns depicted over her outstretched hands. I wonder if I would hear her bell like voice?

                Number 2: The Dwarf Mountains. I would have fun digging jewels with the dwarves. Legend says you must do one day of work for one stone. They dwarves are jolly creatures, and they sing while they work. They have flashlight lanterns they wear over their heads to see in the dark caves. The caves are narrow and dark, but still it would be an interesting sight. As long as you follow their rules, you would find an enjoyable trip. However, don’t try to take one of their stones. They will turn mean and fight tooth and nail for their precious gems.  They have hardened muscles from digging and chopping away at the rock walls. I would not want a fight with them!

                Number 1: Dragon Mountain, the Dragon Mountain is where the dragons eat, sleep, and play. Here they raise their young, until they are old enough to fly away. How fun it would be to watch the baby dragons learn how to fly! I would sneak around the small inlets in the mountain and see the dragon’s treasure. I would listen to the dragon’s roars and screeches as they flew overhead. I hope I would catch a glance of my baby blue dragon Skye, whose color matches the sky.

                Honorable mention: I can’t write a blog about the places of Mystica without mentioning the bookstore where it all started Rainbows and Dreams. This is where Miranda finds out she is a Dream Walker. This is where Kate spies on her. Rainbows and Dreams is full of potions, spell books, and various tables of magical items. I would love to go there and just browse around, and touch the same items Miranda touched.

The land of Mystica is full of wonders, and different people and lands. I have enjoyed creating it, and writing about it. I hope you enjoy the books as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.

What land or people would  you like to read more about?

Comment and you will be entered to win an autographed copy of  the first book in the series The Dream Walker, Land of Msytica Series Volume one.

Also, I have two events in the month of October you won’t want to miss. I am hosting a Halloween costume contest. Dress up as any character from the Dream Walker Series, and post your picture on my facebook page www.facebook.com/dreamwalkerseries and you will be entered to win all of the books in the series: Dream Walker, Dream Walker Returns, Dream Walker’s Destiny, and my short story Ichra’s Quest. Pictures must be posted by Halloween October 31^st. Also, one dollar from every book sold during the month of October will be donated to the American Cancer Society in honor of
Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

 

 

Dream Magic

The dream magic showed the dream walker places to go, spells to say. It gave her the tools to set things right. It was up to the Dream Walker to use it correctly.

the dream magic choose a dream walker when the balance between good and evil were threatened. It always looked for a pure honest soul to carry it. It was a blessing and curse to be a dream walker. The magic stayed with the dream walker as long as she stayed true to her good spirit.

when she finished her quest she was allowed to rest in the dream cloud.

 

The dream magic allowed the dream walker to understand most languages as you never knew where she was going to be needed.

it was a silvery essence made of light, hope, and star dust.

read more in the dream walker land of mystica series available on Amazon

 

Mirandas purple robe

In the dream walker land of mystica series Miranda receives a purple robe. Her robe is magical.  It is purple with white clouds around the hem. She is the only dream walker with a purple robe.

She learms more about the robe in Dream walkers fight the fourth book In the series.

I would imagine the purple robe to be soft and velvet something she can put on with ease.

the purpose robe has come to be one of the symbols people remember about my books and characters.

I’m trying to think of a logo maybe a purple robe with a dream catcher on it?

I’d like to stick with the dream theme and of course purple lol.

stay tuned to see what the dreamwalkerseries logo will be

 

 

Creative art

One of the things I’ve really enjoyed about writing my book series The Dream Walker Land of Mystica Series is seeing all the creative art that people have created

Seeing my characters come to life in pen. Paper, you tube videos, aND even a cosplay is very fun and rewarding.

I love seeing the interpretations of my characters from the written word to paper and a cosplay custome.

Above is a sketch of Midnight.

 

are you  the creative type? If so I’d like to see your work.

Character names

When writing my book series, the dream walker land of mystica series I had to come up with character names. I knew I wanted the main character’s name to start with the letter M.  I wanted to play on alliteration, the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent words. My name has two Ms Michelle Murray. The land I was creating was based on dreams and mist, so it’s name was to be Mystica.

So I pondered M names looking for something that struck me. I always liked the name Miranda as it was kiND of unsual, but not too much so. Madeline also seemed a possiblity. For some reason Miranda resonated aND it went well as a tag line “enter mystica with Miranda”. Miranda it was. It fit my character perfecfly.

for the wizards,  I wanted names that denoted their personality right away. The reader should be able to get a sense of them just by reading their names. For the white ones, I choose bright light objects Lightning,  silver, I got stuck on the third one  but I loved seeing the stars at night, and remembered how they guided sailors and such. Polaris was born! Polaris is the brightest star in the bear constellation.

for the dark wizards, dark objects were used. Midnignt, Shadow, and Spyder. Though I suppose spiders can’t help they are dark colored lol.

I hope you enjoy reading about my characters as much as I enjoyed making them up.

You can find the series The Dream Walker Land of Mystica Series on amazon.

The Dream Walker Land of Mystica Series

Promo Tour – rainbows and Dreams – Michelle Murray

RAINBOWS AND DREAMS by Michelle Murray OFFICIAL GENRE: general poetry Rainbows and Dreams is a collection of poetry that will touch you with its colors and dreams. Ever have a bad day? A love loss?…

Source: Promo Tour – rainbows and Dreams – Michelle Murray