My Personal Blog
Recent Posts
By Ivan May on
Writing your first novel is more of a Herculean task than many aspiring authors realize. We’ve all had those days when sitting in front of the laptop ends up in three hours of you staring at a blank page, wondering how to start. You might write a paragraph, delete it, and spend another 30 minutes pondering what to type next.… Continue reading "7 Tips for Self-Published Authors – How to Write Your First Book"
By Ivan May on
Being an author comes with a lot of mixed feelings. You’re passionate about your writing and thrilled that you got published, but you’re also a little disappointed that your book hasn’t reached Best Seller status and hasn’t made it to Oprah’s Book Club. There’s no doubt about it: selling a book can be hard. There’s so much competition out there.… Continue reading "5 Book Marketing Ideas For the Aspiring Author"
By Ivan May on
Do you have an idea for a comic book but don’t know where to start? This brief guide gives you the steps you need to take to create your first strip, book, or graphic novel. It’s easier than you think. You can realize your dream of capturing your imagination on paper with the right resources and assistance. Comics offer readers… Continue reading "How Do I Create a Comic Book? A Brief Guide"
By Ivan May on
Business can be all good with customers coming and going or making orders and having them delivered. However, the headache comes when you have to prepare an invoice. All those PDFs and spreadsheets start stressing you out, primarily if you work with clients worldwide, making currency conversion more like hell on earth. Consequently, you need an invoicing app to ease… Continue reading "10 Best Invoicing Apps"
By Ivan May on
Whether you’re an editor, a writer, or you’re looking for any other type of freelance work, having an effective project proposal is an absolute must. A professionally written, comprehensive, and well-designed proposal may be all that you need to impress prospective leads, land new clients, increase your success, and boost your income. While there’s no doubt that project proposals are… Continue reading "Demystifying Freelance Project Proposals"
By Ivan May on
You’ve come up with an incredible idea for a book. You’ve dedicated countless hours, tons of energy, and a tremendous amount of effort to develop the plot, storyline, characters, climax, and conclusion. You’ve painstakingly edited and revised your drafts, and finally, you have an impeccable manuscript and a story that you can’t wait to share with the world. In order… Continue reading "Self Publishing is the Best Idea You’ve Ever Had"
By Ivan May on
As an independent author, trying to determine what you should be doing and when you should be doing it in regard to your publishing your books can seem like a daunting, time-consuming, and often stressful task. Despite the many benefits that are associated with self-publishing, there’s no denying that it can be tedious. Trying to figure out what tools are… Continue reading "Best Self-Publishing Resources"
By Ivan May on
The idea that creativity flows naturally and effortlessly is one of the biggest, most harmful myths out there — because it can really hurt you if (correction: when), during a creative writing project, you instead find that writing is hard, painful, and boring. You might feel like you’re not really meant to be a creative writer, because if you were,… Continue reading "The Stages of Creative Writing (and How to Make the Most of Them)"
By Ivan May on
Have you ever felt an emptiness after finishing a book and the need to continue reading about that world, or have you been dissatisfied with the end of a story and would like to read another? Often times the last page of the book is the most bitter-sweet moment of the entire reading experience. Well, the solution to your problems… Continue reading "The World of Fanfics (A Guide for Beginners)"
By Ivan May on
A General Recommendation for the Length of a Novel Word counts is something that a lot of new authors tend to overlook. They are so involved with their ideas and just want to get their ideas out on paper. However, while you certainly want to let your ideas flow and don’t want to be constricted, it’s a good idea to… Continue reading "A General Recommendation for the Length of a Novel"