Category Archives: self-publishing

Blurbing…

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Mark Hayes

The writing of blurbs is a bit of an art form. It is also an art form I’ve never come close to mastering. The blurb, that little smattering of text on the back of a book is supposed to do … Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, Hannibal Smyth, indie, indie novels, indiewriter, novels, opinion, publication, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged #amwriting, #scifi, #selfpub, amwritingscifi, authors, indie, indiebooks, sciencefiction, self-publishing, steampunk, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtip, writingtips | 2 Comments

A not quite cover reveal…

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Mark Hayes

Bitten by a bout of insomnia, and a need to do something creative to tired my overactive mind I decided to work on a new concept cover for my forthcoming Hannibal Smyth novel, ‘A Spider In the Eye’. At 5:30Am … Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, goodreads, Hannibal Smyth, indie, indie novels, publication, sci-fi, self-publishing, steampunk, writes, writing | Tagged #scifi, amwritingscifi, bookblog, bookcovers, books, coverart, steampunk | Leave a comment

Kind words and thanks…

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Mark Hayes

This post is by way of a follow up to ‘The Waiting Room of the Psyche‘ which I posted back at the dying embers of June. To be specific, it relates to a particular part of that post which was … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, book reviews, books, depression, Esqwiths, goodreads, Hannibal Smyth, indie, indie novels, opinion, pointless things of wonderfulness, reads, sci-fi, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged bookreview, mentalhealth, rants, reads, reviews, writer, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

NOT a cover reveal…

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Mark Hayes

This is not a cover reveal (quite apart from anything else, even though it is heavily manipulated by me the artwork isn’t mine) it’s just one of several mockups I have for cover designs. It just happens to be my … Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, Hannibal Smyth, novels, pointless things of wonderfulness, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged #amwriting, bookblog, bookcovers, books, covers, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | Leave a comment

Cover story…

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Mark Hayes

Whats the old adage about judging a book by its cover? Well with that in mind I am contemplating changing the cover design for Passing Place. The original cover was designed, due to a desire on my part to have … Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, books, cider lane, indie, indie novels, novels, self-publishing, writing | Tagged bookcovers, books, covers, opinion, procastination, rants, reading, writing | Leave a comment

Valuing your craft… reprised…

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Mark Hayes

How do you value the results of your craft? It’s one of those questions that’s always hard to answer, and harder to answer as a writer than, for example, as a carpenter. You might want to bear with me here for … Continue reading →

Posted in amwriting, blogging, indie, indie novels, opinion, politics, rant, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged #amwriting, ciderlane, Hannibal Smyth, Passing Place, rants, reading, reads, writer, writers, writerslife, writing, writingtips | 1 Comment

The page count problem…

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Mark Hayes

Wheather you self-publish or go the traditional route page count is a problem for a writer. The reasons page count matters are different, but the result is the same. But for a writer, unless you’re one of those rare ones … Continue reading →

Posted in Hannibal Smyth, indie novels, Passing Place, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged #selfpub, nanowrimo, self-publishing, steampunk, writer, writerslife, writing, writingtip | 2 Comments

The waiting room of the psyche…

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Mark Hayes

I am a little bi-polar, though that is not unusual, almost everyone is to a degree. We all have highs and lows, and our moods swing between them. the truly bipolar are just those for whom the swing between extremes … Continue reading →

Posted in depression, goodnews, goodreads, Hannibal Smyth, insomnia, opinion, Passing Place, self-publishing, writes, writing | Tagged #amwriting, #scifi, amwritingscifi, steampunk, writer, writerslife, writingtip | 1 Comment

Rage against the reviews…

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Mark Hayes

It’s been a while since I had a really good rant. Which is probably a symptom of relative happiness, so the lack of me having a good old-fashioned rant about something is probably a good sign. All the same, there … Continue reading →

Posted in books, goodreads, indie, indie novels, opinion, rant, self-publishing, writing | Tagged amazon, bookblog, bookreview, rants, reviews | 9 Comments

Writing The End…

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Mark Hayes

Back in March, I wrote a post called ‘Searching for an ending’ about the struggles I was having with my latest novel ‘A Spider in the Eye, a Hannibal Smyth Adventure. Since then I have spent a lot of time doing just … Continue reading →