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WriterSanctuary
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Добавлен 18 янв 2018
Looking to get more out of writing? Then you've come to the right place.
I'm Michael with WriterSanctuary.
It's my goal to share with you everything I've learned over the years about freelance writing, blogging, WordPress, and self-publishing. I've been a freelance writer since 2012 and published my first book in November of 2021. Over the years, I've accumulated a great deal of knowledge and hope I can help you find your own path as a writer.
From writing with content mills like Textbroker to self-publishing books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, I'll do what I can to help you succeed in your writing endeavors.
As a WordPress expert, I also dive into many aspects of operating a blog. Because every writer should have a professional website, I want yours to succeed.
So, let me know what I can help you with today.
I'm Michael with WriterSanctuary.
It's my goal to share with you everything I've learned over the years about freelance writing, blogging, WordPress, and self-publishing. I've been a freelance writer since 2012 and published my first book in November of 2021. Over the years, I've accumulated a great deal of knowledge and hope I can help you find your own path as a writer.
From writing with content mills like Textbroker to self-publishing books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, I'll do what I can to help you succeed in your writing endeavors.
As a WordPress expert, I also dive into many aspects of operating a blog. Because every writer should have a professional website, I want yours to succeed.
So, let me know what I can help you with today.
Taking a Quick Look at Free World Anvil
Is using World Anvil for free worth your time? Aside from the ads, there is a lot of potential for World Anvil. However, all of the really cool stuff is locked behind a paywall. In this video, I show some of the cool things you can do for free in World Anvil.
If you plan on writing a fantasy or sci-fi series, World Anvil can be a great tool for keeping all of your information in one place. Plus, you can use it as a compendium for your world to benefit fans and readers.
My World for the Witcham Series: www.worldanvil.com/w/denaris-writersanctuary
My published books are available on Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/michaelbrockbank
Check out the merch! writersanctuary-shop.fourthwall.com
#WorldAnv...
If you plan on writing a fantasy or sci-fi series, World Anvil can be a great tool for keeping all of your information in one place. Plus, you can use it as a compendium for your world to benefit fans and readers.
My World for the Witcham Series: www.worldanvil.com/w/denaris-writersanctuary
My published books are available on Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/michaelbrockbank
Check out the merch! writersanctuary-shop.fourthwall.com
#WorldAnv...
Просмотров: 68
Видео
How I Built Momentum to Become a Successful Writer
Просмотров 35День назад
Building momentum for yourself can mean a lot of different things. It really comes down to the individual. Today, I'll go over the primary elements that helped me build momentum to become a successful freelancer. It's something I'm taking into my drive to be the best author I can be. My published books are available on Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/michaelbrockbank Check out the merch! writersa...
11 Pros and Cons of Using Fourthwall as an Author
Просмотров 53День назад
Is Fourthwall a good platform for selling merch and memberships? In this video, I'm breaking down some of the pros and cons of using Fourthwall from an author's perspective. Though, I'm sure they'll be the same for any creator looking to make some extra money. 00:00 Intro 00:44 Pros and Cons of Fourthwall 11:30 Ideas for Authors Using Fourthwall 16:41 Outro Fourthwall is probably one of the mor...
Understanding Repetition in AutoCrit and Why It's Important
Просмотров 1514 дней назад
The Repetition reports in AutoCrit are quite invaluable. They will help you tighten your prose while making for a much better read overall. Today, I'm showing the three reports in the Repetition category of AutoCrit and why they're important. Remember, you never want to blindly change something any automated system points out. For example, there are times when repetition is used to accentuate a...
Why "Never Give Up, Never Surrender" is My Motto
Просмотров 6614 дней назад
You never know what you'll achieve by never giving up. In this video, I explain a bit about why I am constantly pushing the mentality of "Never give up, never surrender." I wouldn't be where I am today if I had thrown in the towel when things got difficult. My published books are available on Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/michaelbrockbank Like the video? Why not buy me a coffee or become a memb...
A Step-by-Step Guide from Manuscript to Published Book Using Reedsy
Просмотров 15728 дней назад
Ready to write and publish a book with Reedsy? In this guide, I go over 10 steps to take you from the beginning of a manuscript to the download file to publish your book. The hardest part is going to be the marketing, which will depend on you and your budget. 00:00 Intro 00:22 Sign Up for Reedsy 00:38 Add a Book to the Shelf 01:33 Add a Book Cover 02:23 Use the Planning Board 05:58 Set Deadline...
7 Author Goals I Plan On Achieving in 2025
Просмотров 52Месяц назад
What are your plans in 2025 as an author? Today, I'm sharing seven goals I am focusing on achieving in the coming year. The best part is that anyone can follow along if they'd like. They mostly center around promoting myself as an author and taking my writing a bit further than I did in 2024. Keep in mind that when you create any goal, make sure it's something that you have control over. For in...
11 Gifts On Amazon to Give the Writer In Your Life This Season
Просмотров 98Месяц назад
11 Gifts On Amazon to Give the Writer In Your Life This Season
13 Ways I Motivate Myself to Write Books
Просмотров 57Месяц назад
13 Ways I Motivate Myself to Write Books
7 Tough Challenges of Being an Indie Author
Просмотров 29Месяц назад
7 Tough Challenges of Being an Indie Author
9 Big Mistakes I Made While Self-Publishing Kingmaker
Просмотров 101Месяц назад
9 Big Mistakes I Made While Self-Publishing Kingmaker
Using AutoCrit to Improve Strong Writing in Your Manuscript
Просмотров 91Месяц назад
Using AutoCrit to Improve Strong Writing in Your Manuscript
Upping My Social Game with Premium Buffer - How Does it Work?
Просмотров 20Месяц назад
Upping My Social Game with Premium Buffer - How Does it Work?
Why Stephen King is My Idol as an Author
Просмотров 57Месяц назад
Why Stephen King is My Idol as an Author
Why I Prefer to Self-Publish Instead of Querying Agents
Просмотров 82Месяц назад
Why I Prefer to Self-Publish Instead of Querying Agents
Reedsy Added Collaborators to the Book Editor! Let's Set One Up
Просмотров 972 месяца назад
Reedsy Added Collaborators to the Book Editor! Let's Set One Up
Why All of My Books Have a Theme Song When Writing
Просмотров 463 месяца назад
Why All of My Books Have a Theme Song When Writing
Step 3: Editing Shadows with AutoCrit
Просмотров 533 месяца назад
Step 3: Editing Shadows with AutoCrit
Using Autocrit to Scan My Reedsy Book
Просмотров 2553 месяца назад
Using Autocrit to Scan My Reedsy Book
How to Add Various Blocks to Block Themes in WordPress
Просмотров 363 месяца назад
How to Add Various Blocks to Block Themes in WordPress
How to Remove Chapter Numbers and Add Drop Caps In Reedsy Books
Просмотров 2933 месяца назад
How to Remove Chapter Numbers and Add Drop Caps In Reedsy Books
Going to Read Between the Stars as an Author
Просмотров 164 месяца назад
Going to Read Between the Stars as an Author
Step 2: Begin First Edits and Incorporate Feedback
Просмотров 335 месяцев назад
Step 2: Begin First Edits and Incorporate Feedback
11 Pros and Cons of Inkarnate Map Maker as an Author
Просмотров 1435 месяцев назад
11 Pros and Cons of Inkarnate Map Maker as an Author
Why I Prefer Self-Publishing Over the Traditional Route
Просмотров 565 месяцев назад
Why I Prefer Self-Publishing Over the Traditional Route
11 Things to Avoid When Writing Your First Draft
Просмотров 465 месяцев назад
11 Things to Avoid When Writing Your First Draft
Halfway Through the Year: What Have You Accomplished?
Просмотров 375 месяцев назад
Halfway Through the Year: What Have You Accomplished?
Writing a Series: How I Structure The Witcham Chronicles
Просмотров 196 месяцев назад
Writing a Series: How I Structure The Witcham Chronicles
8 Great Ways to Get Story Ideas for Your Writing
Просмотров 456 месяцев назад
8 Great Ways to Get Story Ideas for Your Writing
Hello, sir! I'm glad I found your channel. As a young writer, I have no experience with writing so it's helpful that you're sharing your advice online for people like me. I do have a couple questions that I hope you can answer. How did you transition from content mills to private clients? As in, did private clients find you or did you find them? Also, when you stopped working with content mills, how did you go about doing it? Did you just collect all your income then deactivate your accounts, or is there more to it? Final question: Can Textbroker take money from your bank account or just the account you have with them if you're deemed "inactive?" Thanks for taking the time to read my questions! I hope you can answer them and I'll be checking out your other content for tips. Again, thanks so much!
I've been using world anvil for a while myself. the trail period allowed me to make many more than just 45 articles, and I made a bunch. now that the trail period is over I can't make more right now. I'm not fussed about it at the moment because I'm working on alot of background stuff in my world building project that won't all be posted on world anvil, and it will be a while before I get through that leg of work and back to stuff I would be posting. at that time though I will likely get some paid tier or another so that I can make a ton more articles. it has so far been a great tool for organizing my thoughts and ideas, as well as timeline events and and various chunks of information that I might not have a way to neatly tie together at this time.
That's one of the biggest benefits for me, I think - organizing my thoughts. Since I plan on turning the Witcham series into something much bigger, it's nice to have all of those ideas and plans on a platform that'll help me remember what I was trying to do. lol Getting too old to remember a lot of the details. 😂
@@WriterSanctuary definitely. my memory isn't great either, I can't very well reach back and pull ideas that I haven't thought about for a while from the hazy ether of my mind. but if I can look through a list of topics and find some mention of the idea, that can be enough to bring it back to me. there are several ways to categorize, group, or divide articles and such so that I can find whatever I need easily. it is also nice that you can link various articles, timelines, and others within an article, timeline, or other places. so you can easily make a space for all your various ideas and then later link them together in a few ways.
@@nonya-bizness Absolutely.
Thanks this is interesting.
You're welcome. I'm looking forward to really diving into it soon.
Pessimism is my middle name; nevertheless, I do admire your positive attitude.
@@philip-at-tube I'm positive, but often a cynic. 😁
Hi there! How did you get dark mode?
I use the Dark mode extension available for Chrome. Atticus has said that dark mode will be available in the future, though.
@@WriterSanctuary Thank you! :)
@@ThePhoenixTail You are very welcome.
Great video, thanks. You have a very natural & clear style of teaching this kind of stuff. I hope you'll sometime make some videos about marketing of self-published manuscripts; that would be interesting to watch.
Actually, that is a lot of what I want to cover in 2025. It's going to be a big year, I think. :)
@@WriterSanctuary I look forward to watching any how-to videos you may make about marketing issues.
My problem is I like learning more than I like actual writing, lol
Yeah, there are times I get sucked into an educational rabbit hole for hours. lol
Thank you, this was really helpful. 🤩
You are very welcome. Glad I could help.
You had me at tote bag. I'll wait❤
@@neosoulwriter Yeah, gonna play around with 4th Wall this week. 😁
@@WriterSanctuary 4th wall?
@@neosoulwriter It's a print-on-demand/membership service, kind of like if T-Spring and Buy Me a Coffee had a love child.
Yes throw in Despair 😂
@@neosoulwriter 😁
I forgot a goal - get a real camera for the video content!
The camera from the monitor counts as real. You want a different camera ❤
@@neosoulwriter Well, something better than the web cam, anyway. lol
@WriterSanctuary you're going to be spoiled when you get the new camera. More pics and videos
@@neosoulwriter Yeah...plan on doing a lot with it as soon as I get one.
very helpful thanks
You are very welcome.
Agreed…spreadsheets are awesome😂. More people need to get on board😅. I feel you on the derailment. Four-legged or two-legged, they could care less what your plans are. Thanks for sharing your insight. I was on the fence about Reedsy as a viable option for my writing, but your videos have helped clarify the issue for me.
@@ladonwilliams1333 Glad I could help. 😁 Spreadsheets FTW! 😂
Good tips.
Thank you. :)
Thank you for the overview. I’ve been setting my goals and intentions these past few weeks as well and something you mentioned briefly here was a spreadsheet. I’ve been trying to think how I can create something like that, that is creative and tractable. I use Airtable as my spreadsheet organizer, but if you could share what you use and how you use it, I would appreciate that…thank you
Well, I have this spreadsheet that I use for everything I do throughout the day: ruclips.net/video/rLCLmQAoFXY/видео.html Is that the one? I am also setting up the content for next year in a content strategy spreadsheet.
Very useful brother, thank you!
@@designbookInc You are welcome.
I agree with the list. Yes, Barnes and Noble has a great selection of journals.
One of the first places I go to when walking into a Barnes and Noble, actually. lol Loves me some notebooks.
This was way helpful and to the point, and thank you for not spending extra time talking about nothing to get a few more pennies from youtube--I'm completely exhausted with that trend, and being told to subscribe before anybody gives me a good enough reason to. I actually did subscribe just now, by the way. You earned it 👏🏿
Thank you. And I'm glad I could help.
I feel silly that I hadn't figured this out after using Reedsy for nearly a year. Fantastic video...thanks for all you do! Subscribed.
You are very welcome. And thank you. 😁
How do you keep yourself motivated to hammer out your story?
I only recently discovered Reedsy, it seems like a good alternative to Scrivener but I wasn't sure which is better. So your video is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a lot. And your cat is adorable!
@@mistamixSD You're very welcome. And thank you, she's in quite a few videos 😂
Thank you for posting this informative video.
@@philip-at-tube You're welcome. 🙂
I'm not very good at making longer-term plans.
@@philip-at-tube I think I started doing it in 2013, when I became a full-time writer. Now, it's almost second nature. 😁 Then again, I am a huge dork when it comes to spreadsheets and tracking goals. 😂
@@WriterSanctuary I'm a lot more vague with myself - do more creative stuff because it is probably good for me. (Also, at least try to be a bit less self-centred, lol).
@@philip-at-tube That's always a good thing. lol
Mistakes only help you learn and grow. Use them to give yourself a better chance of success on the next attempt.
LOL on the map! Maps are essential and let me tell you why: I spent roughly 2 days figuring out which direction (and then changing it again and again) my characters needed to go for resolution. N, S, then in one scene they are going S when they were supposed to go N...etc. They even spun around and started going E at one point. It was driving me bonkers to remember which direction they were supposed to be going! So I stopped and hand drew a map...not just of the world but a MapQuest map. It made everything so easy after that! Yea, maps are essential. I agree with advertising and putting money aside - am also doing that for my next book. And ordering print PROOFS! I wasted money on prints...all excited ya know...then when they came in, it was awful. I had to learn so much about margins (and why they matter)...but it's all good. I now have a print that I'm happy with and learned a heap ton for Book 2.
@@Odontecete I feel ya. I spent three days calculating the distance a horse could travel in a specific amount of time and distance. A map would have drastically made a difference. 😂 That's ok, though. We learned a lot, which will only make the next book far better. 😁
@@WriterSanctuary 15-20 miles/day given adequate food and water with a moderate load and flat ground. :D Yep, already did that math. LOL. Helped that I know horses so it wasn't too much of a struggle.
The Strong Writing report is great, but always verify changes are necessary.
Have you done a step by step how to on using the Reedsy writing app? I'm trying to discover how to get rid of the titles Reedsy has put on the front matter pages. They're not applicable to my book and I have different front matter pages than they have put in.
@@readMEinkbooks I have a series Playlist for using Reedsy, one of which was adding pages and such. m.ruclips.net/p/PLKiglROgDB3MKxX_ue8dYz2eo9CufoMHD I plan on making more in the near future. I hope this helps.
Thank you! I am wondering if you have a video showing how to set up an Author's Profile so i can add my books?
@@truthboundpublishing I don't think I do. I haven't done much with Goodreads lately as I've been focused on a few other sites. If I remember right, the profile set up after getting accepted was quite easy, though. Sorry I'm much help this time around.
I hate Steven King, but I can tell you're cool. 😎
@@InkRavenLion Thank you. 😁
As the late Eddie Van Halen said, I'd rather fail with my own $h*t than succeed with someone else's. I will never query an agent. I'd rather find my own way. I'm a hybrid author with some self-published works and some works published in small press anthologies. I really appreciate your videos.
@@CaraHTheRealCie I'm glad you liked them. And I agree...I'm going to write the stories I want to write. 😁
I'm always finding new reasons to hate the idea of trying to be trad published the old-fashioned way. I'm a hybrid author who has self-published a novella, a novel, and several poetry volumes. I also have stories in some small press anthologies. I can't even stand the idea of opening social media until the election is over. I like Buffer, but I use the free version.
@@CaraHTheRealCie I was using the free version of Buffer for a very long time. For most, the free version is probably all that you need. But I agree, at the moment, a lot of social platforms are a dumpster fire. 😁
I loved Four Past Midnight! Especially The Langoliers.
I used to have Four Past Midnight, but I can't remember if it's in storage, got ruined by one of three floods, or if Dad has it.
Any reason why it wont upload to kdp once I exported it?
Not off hand. There could be a number of things preventing it from uploading.
@ I managed to get it to work with kindle create. Not the same aesthetic but good enough. Thanks for replying anyway.
@KainBaker You are welcome. Hope everything goes well for you.
I am SO guilty of this!!!
@@bymegangrant Heh...I forgot this short was even live. 😂
Going the self-publishing route (& self-marketing), does this not mean that traditional bookshops & libraries would not actually be able to stock your book?
No, actually. Instead, you'll have to do much of the legwork yourself. You'll have to contact them directly. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that you cannot use the free ISBNs from Amazon and Barnes & Noble for the books. But you can still get bookstores and libraries to stock a self-published book.
@@WriterSanctuary I imagine this would be a lot of legwork because there are so many bookshops & libraries (in the world). By contrast, going the traditional LitAgent>Publisher route simply avoids all this legwork because they do all of it for you... well, that is assuming that one can ever actually get through 'the narrow door' of a LitAgent (with their strong focus on 'market forces').
@philip-at-tube Probably not as much as you'd think. A lot of them use certain distributors. Not to mention that not every book store carries every book. Sure, agents and publishers might be able to get the book in certain stores, but it's not a guarantee. It's why you'll find one book in a Walmart but not in a Barnes & Noble, or vice-versa.
@@WriterSanctuary Do you have any videos made about this process i.e. how to get into bookshops & libraries without going the traditional LitAgent>Publisher route ??? I'm a long-time subscriber of yours, but I haven't been very active on your channel recently, though; my sincere apologies for that. However, this issue has caught my attention because I have a book to publish. I have been getting some really nice & encouraging rejections from LitAgents - they often say things like "your book doesn't quite fit with 'my list' but otherwise it's really good, and I strongly encourage you to continue in your search for a LitAgent". I mean, that is nice, and I really do feel encouraged, but I also think 'what will I do if this doesn't work out?' What is the alternative? It seems like you have some ideas about an alternative way of going about this. Well, sorry if this comment a bit long, I sometimes have a tendency to ramble on a bit; getting older, lol. Anyway, in essence: Do you have any videos made about this process i.e. how to get into bookshops & libraries without going the traditional LitAgent>Publisher route ???
@@philip-at-tube I don't have any videos on it yet, but I've been talking with other authors and planning out a blog post and video about getting physical copies into various locations. In fact, it's part of the series I'm make for publishing my next book. I'm going all-in on this one and have quite a bit planned for the future. I'm sorry I'm not much help at the moment. I can say this, though, attending my first book event as an author in person was an incredible experience. 🙂
The cats definitely made this video amusing and memorable. Lovely intro - I was thinking about joining Inkitt (although I know some of their past contests were kind of predatory).
Thank you. My cats love being on camera. I don't know much about the contests, but I would like to finish the story I have on Inkitt at some point. Then, I can do a thorough review of the platform. It's on my ever-growing list of things to do. lol
@@WriterSanctuary Lol. I'm sure the cats will be there to un-help you every step of the way!
@crystalscherer_author oh yeah...they're a bundle of unhelpfulness...lol
DO NOT USE THIS SOFTWARE! The file backup system splits your files into two a saves them separately! I LOST HUNDREDS OF HOURS!
So, by the sound of it, just having my own blog is more useful. That's a bit disappointing.
Unfortunately. If you have your own website, you'd be better off spending that time working on it than using Vocal. It might be a good platform for those who don't have a site. But for someone like me, who has too many at the moment, my time is better spent working on those sites instead of my Vocal account.
Do you often review editor/writing apps? I've been developing one for the last 1.5 year and would love some feedback on it.
@@GC-jm9bt I'm always interested in trying out new apps. However, I'm also hyper cautious, especially when it looks like a bot came up with a RUclips username. 😉
Which generator do you like the best and which generator gives you the most unique ideas?
@@Arctya For me, I'd have to say the Reedsy Plot Generator. You can lock certain ideas and re-roll the others and choose from a few different genres. Though, some of the others aren't bad, I just prefer Reedsy.
The music is competing with your voice. It's awful! Please get rid of the music, normalize your voice, and reupload
What type of formatting standards does Reedsy use? I’m wondering if they can be changed or adjusted depending on your market.
Unfortunately, Reedsy doesn't have much in terms of making changes to the formatting of the book. It uses a small, medium, and large font size option and one of three font styles when exporting. It's good for those who want to write a basic novel, but not for those who need more customizable options. I show the options in this video, if you'd like to see what I'm talking about: ruclips.net/video/LenWS_MwkvE/видео.html I hope that helps.
@ thank you!
@@thepaperoracle You are very welcome. 🙂
It is too expensive. They could have made a plan for half the price that didn't include Inspiration Studio and AutoCrit Story Analyzer. I you want AI support, something like NovelCrafter is much better.
Feels like watching a gaming review.
@@nelsontragura1441 I'm not sure how to take that, actually. 😂