Horror Aficionados discussion

Robyn wrote: "Hi, everyone! I'm curious what everyone here likes to write. Short stories, novels, flash fiction, poetry, nonfiction? Do you write horror or something else? A little of this a little of that?

I ..."

Hi Robyn, I write high octane, action packed, urban fantasy thrillers... I use some horror elements, but it's not my main theme. I have huge respect for those who can write genuine terror inducing horror.

@Deborah - I also find self-promotion difficult.

Graeme wrote: "@Deborah - I also find self-promotion difficult."

I'm going to pay for an advertising campaign in the spring. I waste so much time self-promoting and not writing.

I have a question and I hope that is it alright to ask here. I'm writing an historical suspense/horror - 1880. Where can I find English slang for barkeeps, women of the night, etc. My research has lead me to believe that modern readers do not want to read heavy - Dickens style slang but I need a few words to finish my dialogue.

Deborah wrote: "I have a question and I hope that is it alright to ask here. I'm writing an historical suspense/horror - 1880. Where can I find English slang for barkeeps, women of the night, etc. My research has ..."

I can help you there, Deborah. It depends on where you're setting your story but if in London, for example, the pub landlord was the one running the public house. he could be referred to as the 'guv'nor' or 'gaffer' (East London slang for someone's house was - and still is in some cases - is 'gaff'). there are a whole host of terms for 'women of the night' - again many are regional.

Here's one site for a selection of regional and British slang of the Victorian era https://sites.google.com/site/motman/... (includes some Cockney)

If you want to message me with specific examples - and importantly where you are setting the story, or where the character(s) is//are from, I'll do my best to help. :)

Catherine wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I have a question and I hope that is it alright to ask here. I'm writing an historical suspense/horror - 1880. Where can I find English slang for barkeeps, women of the night, etc. ..."
Thank you very much. It's Canada 1871, many are from England or Ireland ... I just want the dialogue to sound genuine. Should I try "The Scoundrel's Dictionary of Thieves". I will most definitely message you. Thank you very much for your support.

Deborah wrote: "Catherine wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I have a question and I hope that is it alright to ask here. I'm writing an historical suspense/horror - 1880. Where can I find English slang for barkeeps, women o..."

Hi Deborah. That book was published in 1754, so it's a bit early if the characters are immigrants arriving in 1871 or thereabouts, although there will obviously be words and expressions still in use in the mid to late 19th century. If you want too message me with some specific dialogue extracts, I'll be happy to give them a quick 'butcher's' (London - Cockney rhyming slang - 'butcher's hook' =look) :)

Catherine wrote: "Deborah wrote: "Catherine wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I have a question and I hope that is it alright to ask here. I'm writing an historical suspense/horror - 1880. Where can I find English slang for b..."

You are wonderful. Hubby's home so I will be busy putting up the Christmas tree this weekend. I will touch base first of the week. Many thanks!

Deborah wrote: "Catherine wrote: "Deborah wrote: "Catherine wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I have a question and I hope that is it alright to ask here. I'm writing an historical suspense/horror - 1880. Where can I find E..."
My pleasure, Deborah.

This is a great idea. I'm an indie author and don't spend enough time on GR, but I'm a firm believer in writer cooperation and how that relates to genuine benefits for readers.

Anyone here ever do Nanowrimo or Camp Nanowrimo?

Robyn wrote: "Hi, everyone! I'm curious what everyone here likes to write. Short stories, novels, flash fiction, poetry, nonfiction? Do you write horror or something else? A little of this a little of that?

I used to have a leaning toward novels, but have recently rediscovered the joy of shorter stories, both as a reader and writer. The horror genre can be so broad that I don't currently feel any need to go beyond it.

I have a problem that another self-publishing author might be able to solve. I've just published my latest book but Amazon lists the ebook and the paperback on different pages. On Goodreads its easy to combine different editions. Does anyone know how to do this on Amazon?
Ebook
Paperback

Hi Perry,

Via Authorcentral.

https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/h...

Actually just checked your links - ahh... that's perfectly normal. Each book has the other format listed which is the same for all the other books I'm looking at.

Graeme wrote: "Hi Perry,

Via Authorcentral.

https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/h...

Actually just checked your links - ahh... that's perfectly normal. Each book has the other format ..."

At the time I posted my comment, the two versions were not linked as they are now. Reviews for the ebook did not appear appear on the paperback page. Glad to see it's been corrected.

It can take about a week for Amazon to link your books.

Hello all! I am a first time author looking to release my first book. I have to talked to a few publishers but they have all wanted money upfront before they do anything. I've been considering Amazon since they don't seem to make you pay upfront. I thought maybe some more experienced authors might have some advice on this.

Clint wrote: "Hello all! I am a first time author looking to release my first book. I have to talked to a few publishers but they have all wanted money upfront before they do anything. I've been considering Amaz..."

Amazon is often the best way for amateur authors to go. It's free and relatively simple and you get to set the sale price. However, you'll need to do ALL the promoting yourself.

Unless you're Graeme Rodaughan, that last bit can be intimidating.

Hehehe... LOL - now I'm an expert?!

Hi Clint, Amazon is a perfectly reasonable place to start. Esp, if you are a US author.

Join KDP Select, ensuring that your books are available via Kindle Unlimited.

There are a bunch of groups on goodreads dedicated to helping indie Authors. One good one that I belong to is at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Pretty much every issue you could think of will be threaded there and discussed past death.

Check it out and good luck.

Hi Clint,

Kudos to you for not falling for the vanity (or sometimes difficult-to-categorize hybrid publishers).

While I agree with Graeme and Perry as to the power of Amazon as a publishing and distribution platform, it would be worthwhile in the long-run to understand the lay of the publishing landscape.

In another group, I wrote up a thread that basically references Jane Friedman's article on "How to Self-Publish Your Book":

https://janefriedman.com/start-here-h...
(Updated on 12 June 2017)

This is an all-encompassing, must-read article that "is an introductory guide to how to self-publish (both print and ebook), and how to choose the right services or approach based on your needs and budget."

It covers:

1. A Quick History of Self-Publishing
2. The Most Common Ways to Self-Publish Today
3. Self-Publishing: The DIY Approach I Recommend
4. How Ebook Self-Publishing Services Work
5. Creating Ebook Files
6. How to Self-Publish a Print Book
7. Investing in a Print Run: Yes or No?
8. Print-on-Demand Recommendations
9. Maximizing Your Book Sales
10. More Resources

There's even a video as well as a link to trad and other types of publishing.

Who is Jane Friedman?
"Jane Friedman has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in digital media strategy for authors and publishers. She's the co-founder of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and has previously worked for F+W Media and the Virginia Quarterly Review. She has been interviewed and featured by NPR, PBS, The Washington Post, the National Press Club and many other outlets."

https://janefriedman.com/about/

Great links Alex.

Hi Clint, Alex is right. There are a few scammers out there to watch out for.

There are also plenty of legitimate resources that can help you enormously.

Wow thank you so much for the advice and information I'm going to look into every link posted!

Hi, I just wanted everyone to know what I write and have written.
I am currently writing a supernatural/horror, but I have written Daily Devotionals. I know that may seem weird, but it is what it is, I prefer horror in movies, books, short stories everything.
I have a free devotional on my website, and I'm in the middle of another one, but my horror isn't finished yet. I started the horror in November of 2017 and it is about 80k+ words just working on revisions now. And I just started another horror. I do have 2 websites to keep them separate, that only seemed logical.

Has anyone else done this, had 2 completely different genres they felt they HAD to separate? How did you deal with it? Did it work?

April wrote: "Has anyone else done this, had 2 completely different genres they felt they HAD to separate? How did you deal with it? Did it work?

Are you talking marketing-wise or creative emphasis?

I'm writing gamelit but the horror aspects from the shorts that I wrote (but alas were not accepted at any of the short fix venues last year) seem to seep into my current gamelit--for some weird reason. But Right now I'm solely focusing on gamelit.

Two genres isn't untenable as long as you're finishing stuff and publishing it over a period of time that makes you feel like you're accomplishing something worthwhile, then It's up to you as the individual artist.

In addition to the two different websites, Are you also doing two different pens?

I'm writing a zombie apocalypse book with Christian characters biblical references in it. I am a Christian and not ashamed of it and I am a huge zombie nerd and not ashamed of that either. In my opinion horror is just a form of entertainment and not a lifestyle.

I finished the first draft of my novel (Revenge thriller) not to long ago, and have about a third of a second one (science fiction/thriller). I've written many sorry stories and my favorite genre is to write is horror and dark fiction. I've joined a couple critique groups in the past that were helpful and was a member of a writing group for years where you just went to write and meet other writers. I haven't found a good virtual group yet.

@Alex I have, though they aren't that different. I also forced myself to do short fiction with the nycmidnight contest where you get a short period of time and are given a genre and writing prompt. I found it was difficult but good practice. The worst genre I got was romantic comedy.

Brian wrote: " I found it was difficult but good practice. The worst genre I got was romantic comedy. "

Ha!

How about a story that centers around a fulfillment center employee who discovers that a match-making app has mysteriously been installed on his phone. The Cinder app comes with a virtual angel AI agent tailor-made to the user to guide them to the partner of their dreams. But how virtual and angelic is the agent?

This sounds interesting, I am a horror author, although I am not convinced the books are genuine horror :).

I write Mythos / Lovecraft related tales which link together and am about to release the third in the series within the week (not promoting just saying).

So this sounds like a good place to get together with other like minded peoples, aliens and other.

Right now I'm working on a Ghost Story and I could use a set of fresh eyes looking it over.

The fun part of this story has really been writing the local urban legends during the blog entries.