PancakeMcKennz Pimps His First Book

I grew up loving shows like Sailor Moon and Power Rangers, and it sounds cliche when I say this, but the idea for this Magical Girl novel really did come to me in a dream. It was in late 2008 and that was when I began jotting down ideas. Character names, settings, plot — stuff like that. From June '09 to May '10 I wrote the book and in between school and work, I did re-writes and edits. I did and re-did everything from the cover to the interior formatting and finally, I'm ready to throw my hat into the ring as a (self-published) author. I know I haven't written the new Iliad and I wasn't trying, but I'm proud of this thing.

And I REALLY REALLY REALLY want my fellow tropers' opinions so I know what I need to work on for the follow-up on which I'm currently working. (I know. Jumping the gun, right?)

Please check out my Troper Works page for my work — Pretty Killers. There, you can download a free PDF of the whole thing and get the link to the purchase site if you like it.

Ooo...is this YA? It doesn't look targeted to boys, but I'll try to take a look later.

Also, nice work getting to a "published" stage of sorts. Not a lot of people can claim that.

Yeah, it's YA. And it's written for all types of people to enjoy.

I'll put it on my list, but I make no promises if I suffer a writing attack of my own.

That's fine. Peruse a page is all I ask.

I'm only up to the first few pages in Chapter One, but as a major observation, I felt that the prologue was a little too...heavy handed. I hate to repeat this oft used comment, but there was too much information in the introduction, and I didn't have enough investment to pay much attention to most it.

That said, I'm going to continue to read it. I'll give more detailed (and helpful) comments for Chapters One and Two.

edited 23rd Oct '11 3:27:20 PM by BetsyandtheFiveAvengers

What exactly do you mean by "self-published"? How big a print run did this book have, and is it available anywhere other than online?

Okay, noted and understood. The good thing about the prologue is that it's not too integral to the story for now . It's just a little primer so you understand more about the protagonist's abilities. But much of what happened in there is explained on the Tropes page. And once again, thank you.

For clarification, when I say self-published, I mean I didn't go through a major publisher to release it. I had family help edit, I designed the cover and did all of the formatting. Then, I went through Amazon.com's CreateSpace service for distribution. And they call it "self-publishing" by using their service, so I use that term as well.

No, it is not available in any brick-and-morter stores. That kind of distribution costs money and since I am a less-than-nobody in the literary world, I do not want to spend any money without having some kind of assurance that I can make a percentage back. Books are printed upon purchase which ensures low cost for all parties involved. No one ends up with a bunch of unsold inventory on their hands.

Technically, my "publisher" is CreateSpace.

edited 23rd Oct '11 7:06:02 PM by PancakeMckennz