It’s a decision almost every author is forced to make: to kill (or not to kill) a character. Some authors find it more difficult than others. After all, you’ve created this character, gotten to know them, maybe even come to love them — but sometimes, you’ve got to let them go. Thankfully, you can let them die gracefully by keeping a few points in mind when writing their demise. Here are five things you should do when killing off a fictional character.

1. Tie Up Loose Ends

Sadly, many people die with unfinished business, and your characters are likely to be no different. When you decide one character’s got to go, take some time to consider what unresolved conflicts or issues might remain in their absence. Are there motives or actions that were never fully explained and might leave the reader scratching their head? Are there any things to be said about what might happen to close relationships, like spouses or children? While it’s probably not necessary to address every minute detail, you should at least try to resolve the bigger conflicts that might preoccupy your readers.

Of course, these conflicts don’t need to be resolved before or even immediately after the character’s death. Some motives or actions can be explained later, whether through the insight of a third party, or in something as simple as an uncovered diary entry. And if you’re writing a mystery novel, a dead character probably has plenty of unfinished business that you don’t want to immediately reveal. The point is that such conflicts and issues should be addressed and resolved at some point; exactly when is up to you.

2. Don’t Let Them Die in Vain

This is probably the most important thing I can say about killing off a character: don’t just do it because you can’t figure out what to do with that character. Their death should be significant and drive the plot forward. Unfortunately, it’s easy to slip into writing a character’s demise when you’re not sure how else to deal with them, especially if you’re writing in a genre like sci-fi or fantasy that might leave room for such dramatic events.

You risk two things doing that: first, that readers will be left wondering what the point of that character was to begin with if they were so easily and nonchalantly killed off; second, that readers will have actually enjoyed that character and then were disappointed to have them killed off so randomly. It’ll be obvious if their death didn’t serve a very specific purpose, whether for the plot, other characters, or both. If there are alternatives to killing off a character you’re not sure what to do with, then great, go with those options. Or better yet, consider if that character is even needed in the first place.

3. Make Your Readers Care

There’s no point in killing off a character if it’s not going to impact the reader in some way. Now, you don’t have to get a reader so invested in a character that they literally mourn the character’s death (but if you want to, feel free). You just need to have given them the opportunity to have formed an opinion on this character, which will dictate how they respond to their death. Whether your readers love or absolutely despise the character, they should care that they’re dead.

Go back and check how many scenes this character has appeared in. Have you given your readers ample time to get to know them? Have you given them insight into the character’s motives, background, or qualities that make them worth loving or hating? I had this problem in my sci-fi novel, The Aetherverse. Without giving away any spoilers (I hope), I essentially killed a character off who I quickly realized wasn’t given a lot of attention. I had to add in some more character content in later drafts in order to make the character’s death a little more impactful. It wasn’t meant to be some tear-jerking moment, but without some additional context, that character’s death was forgettable at best.

Also, remember that you don’t necessarily need to make your readers care before your character dies. If you’re writing a murder-mystery surrounding the death of some John Doe, then your readers obviously won’t have a chance to get to know them first, and they don’t need to. You’ll reveal the reasons why the readers should give a hoot about that character’s death over the course of the novel.

4. Don’t Rush It

Just because you love your character doesn’t mean their death should be quick. I’m not talking about their death itself — I’m talking about the language you use to write it. Your character doesn’t have to die slowly (unless that’s what you’re going for), but the scene itself shouldn’t be too short. You want their death to linger in the reader’s mind, and what comes before and after it does matter.

This was another problem I had in earlier drafts of The Aetherverse. When I killed off my previously mentioned character, it was toward the end of a fast-paced fight scene. I wrote the action the way I normally would — shorter sentences, stronger verbs, etc. — but when I got to the character’s death, things were moving so quickly that the actual description of his defeat was only a paragraph at the end of the scene. I realized in later drafts that this was way too brief and made it easy to simply shrug at the character’s death. Expanding that part of the scene ultimately made a big difference.

If you rush it, you risk trivializing their death or simply making the scene too abrupt. You should leave some time for reflection, whether on the part of the reader or, as I’ll mention in my next point, the characters closest to the deceased. The tricky part is when a character dies in a fast-paced scene: you don’t want to slow down the action too much, but things shouldn’t move so quickly that a reader might easily skim through what’s meant to be an impactful death. You’ve got to find the right balance, which is something only you (and maybe your beta readers) can decide on.

5. Leave an Impact

I mentioned earlier that a character’s death shouldn’t be meaningless to the plot. Likewise, their death shouldn’t be meaningless to your other characters. It should leave an impact on the people around them — if it doesn’t, it’s just another frivolous death scene that serves to get rid of a character you didn’t know what else to do with.

A character’s death will affect the rest of the cast in different ways, which is up to you as the author to decide. Some people will mourn their death; others might jump for joy. Of course, you might not be able to show the effects of their death in the same scene, or even immediately after. It might take you the remainder of the story to fully illustrate how their death left an impact. That’s totally fine — the timeline is up to you.

Ultimately, you just want to make sure that a character’s death was significant to those around them. If other characters care, then your reader will by extension. Like all works of fiction, you’re relying on the reader’s innate human sympathy to invest them in the story. And what could inspire more sympathy than the tragic loss of a close friend, even if it’s a fictional one?

Killing a character is hard, but somebody’s got to do it.

It’s never easy to kill off a character, but you’ll probably have to do it eventually as an indie author. To execute it effectively (no pun intended), don’t forget to tie up all your loose ends in the process. Make sure their death drives the plot, and give your readers a reason to care about it. Pace it properly and show how it left an impact on your cast of characters. And while it won’t make killing them any less emotional for you or the reader, it’ll at least let them die the graceful death that any decent character deserves.

Originally published at https://joey-durso.com on April 30, 2026.

Fight scenes aren’t unique to action novels. Many genres can benefit from thrilling sequences that drive the plot and pit characters against each other. However, they can be tough to write if you’re used to slower-paced stories. Here are a few tips for writing a fight scene that really packs a punch.

1. Write shorter

A fight scene should be fast-paced, and the easiest way to do that is to keep your sentences short. Unless your characters are fighting in slow motion, there’s no reason to write long, complicated lines that only delay their next move. If you tend to be long-winded (like me), you’ll have to switch up your writing style when you reach an action scene.

For example, my epic space opera The Aetherverse starts out with a thrilling action sequence — the protagonist, Natharis Ruke, is pursuing a wanted terrorist in the heart of the Colonial capital. In earlier drafts, I wrote like I typically do, which means lengthy sentences with many commas and clauses. I later reworked them into shorter, much more impactful lines that drove the scene forward without slowing it down. The reader didn’t have to work their way through detailed descriptions to see what Natharis was about to do next in the pursuit of justice.

2. Use stronger verbs

A way to trim your sentences down even further is to be more thoughtful about your choice of words. While I’m not the type of author who avoids adverbs at all costs, there’s something to be said for choosing verbs that pack a punch. You don’t have to omit adverbs entirely — language is often too terse without them — but you can write shorter, more efficient lines by using stronger verbs that don’t require a qualifier. They can paint a better picture for your reader and make your writing more impactful.

Rather than saying your character “hit someone hard,” say that they “pummeled them.” And even if your original verb choice didn’t require an adverb, there are often alternative words that simply elicit a stronger emotional response. “Slash” is a stronger verb than “cut,” and likewise, “hurling” a spear carries more weight than simply “throwing” it. Choosing the right words will keep your action scene from sounding basic or bland.

3. Describe sensations

Like I mentioned in my post about writing less awkward sex scenes, one of the best ways to keep a reader invested is to let them in on the characters’ subjective experience. It’s one thing to describe what an observer would see while watching a fight; it’s another to depict what a character is experiencing in that moment. Like sex, a physical fight will be a sensory experience.

Instead of visually describing the epic punch your character lands, focus on the feeling of their fists striking the opponent’s body. Write about the strain of their muscles as they swing a sword overhead. Describe their heart pounding in their chest, the ringing in their ears after a blow to the head, or the tickle of sweat dripping down their face. It’ll make the action sequence much more real. Your reader isn’t just watching the fight — they’re right in the middle of it.

4. Build tension

Another way to keep a reader interested is to build up some tension before the fight breaks out. Unless the altercation catches your character completely by surprise, you have time to set the scene. There are many ways to do this. You could write some dialog with the character discussing their anticipation of the fight or their friend expressing concern over it. You could also describe what the people around them are doing — do they look nervous, excited, or thirsty for blood?

You don’t always need to have the hero and their opponent engage in lengthy dialog before they start throwing punches, but it can be effective in building tension if executed well. I’ll admit that real-life fights don’t typically start with much conversation — maybe a few choice words, but not much else. However, you’re writing fiction, and sometimes, it’s best to embellish. Giving your protagonist a chance to confront their opponent verbally can really set the mood before the violence breaks out.

5. Describe impact

People feel all sorts of emotions when they’re fighting, whether that conflict is physical or verbal. Just like a sex scene, an action sequence will leave an emotional impact on the characters involved. If your character isn’t invested in the fight, your readers won’t be, either. So, it’s best to show how the altercation is affecting them on an emotional or psychological level.

You don’t necessarily have to delve into this in the middle of the fight — if anything, it’ll probably slow it down if you say too much. But exploring your characters’ thoughts and feelings before or after the action sequence will make the scene much more relevant. Does your character feel betrayed, are they thrilled to finally get revenge, or are they terrified of the thought of losing? By showing that the fight actually meant something to the character, it’ll mean something to your readers as well. It won’t just be a filler scene with no greater significance than writing a bit of bloodshed.

Fight scenes should be thrilling, not bland.

If you’re used to writing slower-paced stories, it can be difficult to write an effective fight scene. Luckily, there are simple ways you can make an action sequence more effective. By switching up your language, describing the physical and emotional impact of the fight, and building up tension, you’ll make the scene just as impactful as any other. It won’t just be a series of punches or gunshots. It’ll be another reason to call your novel a classic page-turner.

Originally published at https://joey-durso.com on July 16, 2024.

Not all bad reviews are just haters hating. Before you let negative feedback stop you from writing, you should try your best to learn from it. While that’s often easier said than done, here are a few things to keep in mind when dealing with bad book reviews.

1. Focus on the positive

It’s easy to let a bad review get you down. Even one negative comment can overshadow all the positive feedback you’ve gotten. Some of us have a hard time focusing on the positive, but when it comes to book reviews, it’s really the best thing you can do for yourself. If you don’t, you could quickly become demoralized and lose confidence as an author. Both your mental health and your creativity could suffer.

If you find yourself dwelling on your less-than-stellar reviews, it’s helpful to go back and read the good ones. While I’m not suggesting you ignore constructive criticism and disregard negative comments entirely, I do think it’s important to keep the positive in mind. It’s a whole lot easier to take criticism when you know you’ve left at least a few readers satisfied.

2. We all have opinions

Another thing to remember is that we all are entitled to an opinion. This might sound obvious, but we often forget it when we go on the defensive. With all the blood, sweat and tears you’ve put into your novel, it’s understandable that you’d be driven to defend it and dismiss negative opinions as unfair. However, just because you put in the work doesn’t mean a reader is obligated to think positively of it.

You should go even further and consider that most (if not all) of these readers paid to read your book. And even if they did get it as part of a free promo, all of them had to spend time reading it. So, whether they paid in dollars or hours, they have a right to say something about it. That also means they’re entitled to tell you you’ve wasted their time and money. So, try to remember that they’re not always spewing hate. Sometimes, they’re just dissatisfied with the product. It’s nothing personal.

3. Don’t be a hypocrite

A little self-awareness goes a long way when it comes to negative reviews. There’s often a certain degree of hypocrisy involved when you get defensive, though in the moment, we’re blind to it. The fact is: you’ve likely criticized others, too.

You might have done more than just offer criticism of someone’s work — you might have condemned it as entirely worthless, just a collection of pages useful only as toilet paper. Who are you to judge a reader for being harsh when you yourself have been just as brutal, even if you were only thinking it? Don’t be a hypocrite when you react to a bad review. Just remember that you’ve probably said some nasty things, too.

4. Take constructive criticism

So, I’ve told you what to keep in mind while sifting through book reviews, but what’s something productive you can do with them? The most important thing is to take constructive criticism when you can. While you shouldn’t let bad reviews destroy your confidence, you shouldn’t dismiss them entirely, either. Many will contain feedback that can help you grow as a writer. Even more so, learning to take constructive criticism will help you grow as a human being.

Even if the reader didn’t directly say what to change, you should think about what elements of your writing might have led them to react in such a way. Identify common themes among these negative reviews and consider how you can apply them to your next novel. It’s better to accept feedback and improve over time than to ignore it and let your writing stagnate.

5. Accept human nature

Of course, there are times when criticism isn’t constructive. Sometimes, people are just plain rude. While many of us are able to keep things civil, it’s in our human nature to occasionally be aggressive, insulting, or judgmental. And when you decided to publicly display your work online, you opened yourself up to that kind of ugliness. Trolls are everywhere, even among readers.

It’s important to know the difference between genuine criticism and blatant insults. If your negative review doesn’t state what left the reader dissatisfied, you can probably ignore it. Equally meaningless are ad hominem attacks that declare you a terrible author without saying why. These are the kinds of comments you should dismiss. However, if they do give a reason as to why they disliked your novel, then you should consider what they’re saying. There might be something to it.

No book always gets 5 stars.

While there are times when “haters are gonna hate,” in most cases, there’s something to be learned from bad reviews. Learning to discern constructive criticism from vitriol is an important skill, both in writing and in life. Also, try to have some self-awareness and remember that you, too, are guilty of criticizing others’ work, sometimes without good reason. But if a reader did give you a reason for their negative feedback, you should keep it in mind when writing your next novel. It’ll help you grow as an author and as a person.

Originally published at https://joey-durso.com on July 2, 2024.

One reason indie books don’t sell is that they lack credibility. First-time authors often have a hard time convincing readers that their books are worth reading. Luckily, book contests offer the opportunity to overcome this hurdle in your self-publishing journey, because an award-winning book is a much easier sell. Here are some of the top book contests open to self-published authors.

National Indie Excellence® Awards

I have a soft spot for the National Indie Excellence® Awards (NIEA) — my second novel, Devils in Sunday Hats, was a finalist in General Fiction for the 12th annual award. They’re now on their 18th year of celebrating high-quality books written by self-publishing authors. The awards are open to any independently published, English-language books that are currently available for sale, though they do have some limitations. Every book must be in print and have an ISBN — they don’t accept ebooks. Books also must have been published within a specific timeframe; based on their 2024 guidelines, the publication date must have been within the past two years (i.e., 2022, 2023 or 2024).

There are over 100 literary categories, and each has only one winner. However, each category has multiple finalists, so even if your book doesn’t win in its genre, there’s still the chance of it being recognized. Both winners and finalists may use the NIEA medal on their book covers or website, highlighting their achievement to potential readers. One nice thing to note is that all submitted books are later donated to schools and libraries and not simply discarded.

The current entry fee is $75 per category. If you decide to enter your book into multiple categories, you’ll have to send a separate copy to NIEA for each. Because the awards are only open to printed books, physical copies must be sent by mail.

Next Generation Indie Book Awards

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards boast that they’re “the largest international awards program for indie authors.” They’ve been around for 18 years and are presented by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (IBPPG). The awards are open to all self-published authors and independent publishers, but your book will have to be written in English and published/copyrighted in a specific date range. (For the 2025 awards, books must have been released or copyrighted in 2023, 2024 or 2025.)

Books are “judged for their content,” but the contest website doesn’t give specific criteria. However, it does state that the judges include “expert editors, writers and publishers.” It gives awards in 80+ literary categories. Books may be entered into multiple categories or genres, but you’ll have to pay an entry fee for each. While each category has only one winner, the contest does select an overall 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner for fiction and non-fiction independent of category.

Award winners receive gold award stickers or graphics to display on their books and an invitation to attend the contest’s Gala Awards Reception in Washington, DC. Even better, winning books will be reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen, whose agency will then consider for possible representation. (However, you can choose to opt out if you desire.)

To enter your book, you’ll have to pay an entry fee of $75, plus $60 for each additional category. As for sending a copy of your book, you can either upload a digital version or mail a printed copy upon submitting your application.

IndieReader Discovery Awards

Recommended by Reedsy in 2022 as one of the best writing contests available to indie authors, the IndieReader Discovery Awards (or IRDAs) not only seek to celebrate self-published books, but also to make those books a success. Unlike the other contests listed here, the IRDAs have no restrictions on publication dates, so it’s always an option regardless of when your book became available to readers.

Judges include “PR professionals, journalists and media people, publishers, and book reviewers.” Books are evaluated based on writing quality and originality; production quality and design are also considered, but they’re not the primary criteria. There’s a first, second and third prize winner for both fiction and non-fiction, while each of the 50+ sub-categories have only one winner. Should your book be chosen as one of the top three for fiction or non-fiction, you’ll win a cash prize and be considered for representation by the New York-based Dystel, Goderich and Bourret Literary Management. If you’re a winner for one of the sub-categories, you’ll be able to display an award sticker on your book cover.

A major benefit to entering the contest is that every book receives a “verdict” whether it’s a winner or not. If your verdict is positive, you can use it as promotional copy or a blurb for your cover or product page. So, even if you can’t claim the title of winner, you still have a shot at getting a glowing review that you can use to sway potential readers.

The current entry fee is $150, making it one of the more expensive book contests to enter. You can either mail in three physical copies or your book or upload a digital copy; per the IRDA website, a digital copy is preferred, because many of their reviewers are based outside the US.

The Best Indie Book Award®

The Best Indie Book Award® (often abbreviated as BIBA®) is an annual literary contest for self-published and independently published authors. As long as you retain the publishing rights to your book, it’s eligible for entry. BIBA® is international and accepts entries from all over the world, but it’s only for English-language books.

According to BIBA®, books are judged on a set list of writing skills, like “story-telling ability,” “ability to engage the reader,” voice, dialog, grammar, and punctuation. Their website makes it clear that books are evaluated purely on their literary value — cover art isn’t taken into consideration. If you’re an indie author who’s struggled with finding the perfect cover, BIBA® might be a good contest for you.

With 35 literary categories to be judged, it’s likely that your genre is included. Books can be entered for multiple categories. There’s only one winner for each, and every winner is awarded a BIBA® Emblem to put on their book cover or website, a physical trophy, and continued promotion of their book on social media and online advertising.

When it comes to submitting copies of your book, BIBA® allows you to upload or email a digital version rather than mail a physical copy. Currently, the entry fee is $75 per literary category.

Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards

Since 1998, the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards has celebrated the creativity and hard work of self-publishing authors. Any self-published book is eligible for entry, but it must have been published in the previous year. According to their website, the judges include “professional editors, booksellers, and librarians,” who evaluate titles by “editorial excellence,” quality of production, originality, and “the value the book adds to its genre.”

There are 56 genres to choose from, and each has one winner and multiple finalists. Winners and finalists will see their books promoted in the print and digital editions of Foreword Reviews, as well as on social media; they also receive official seals to be used on their book covers. After completing the submission form online, you can either submit two copies of a physical book by mail or upload a PDF version. Regardless, you’ll pay an entry fee between $99 and $119 (depending on how early you enter your title). Should you submit your book for multiple categories, you’ll pay a fee of $79-$99 per additional category.

Book contests can boost your credibility.

If you’re a first-time author, it can be tough to convince readers to buy your book. After all, they don’t know your name yet, and it’s easy to dismiss an author with no credentials. However, readers will be much more likely to buy a book from an award-winning author, even if they’ve never heard of them. Indie book contests can give you the opportunity to boost your credibility and, by extension, your sales. With any luck, such recognition might take you one step closer to being a household name.

Originally published at https://joey-durso.com on June 18, 2024.

Authors automatically own their books’ copyright. The second you put your ideas to paper, they’re legally your intellectual property (1) However, some authors might choose to go a step further and register their book with the U.S. Copyright Office. Here’s how to formally copyright your self-published novel.

1. Decide if it’s necessary

If you’re new to copyrights, there are a few things you should know before registering your work. The first is what rights are granted by copyright ownership. As the copyright owner, you have exclusive rights to your novel. That means you — and only you — have the right to reproduce it, distribute it, adapt it, and publicly display it. Even if you’re self-publishing with a print-on-demand company like KDP or IngramSpark, you still own the copyright. You authorized them to reproduce and distribute it, but it’s still yours.

Second, you can register your novel for copyright both before and after publishing. Its availability is irrelevant. Even if you’ve already self-published it and it’s up for sale, you can still register it with the U.S. Copyright Office. After all, you hold the automatic copyright whether readers can buy your book or not. The option of formal registration will always be there.

Third, you should know that some of your personal information will become public record. Anyone can do a quick online search through the official Copyright Public Records Portal. Your name, address at time of registration, and year of birth will all be publicly visible. Of course, someone will have to specifically search for your work to find that, but it’s worth mentioning. Not everyone will want that information out there.

Fourth, registration isn’t free. You’ll have to pay to register your work. The U.S. Copyright Office charges a fee of $65.00 to submit an application for a given book. As such, you should factor that into your self-publishing budget if you plan to formally copyright your novel(s).

Finally, it’s important to understand that registering your work is entirely optional. An author owns the copyright to their book once they’ve created it and fixed it in a tangible format, whether it’s digital or in print. You don’t need to officially register your novel with the U.S. Copyright Office to have legal protection. Registration simply enhances it.

2. Create an account

If you decide that you want the added protection of registering your work, the first step is to create an account with the U.S. Copyright Office. Simply head to their online registration portal, the Electronic Copyright Office (eCO). To create an account, you’ll have to provide your name, email address, street address, and phone number. Once you’ve entered your information, you can immediately sign in and register your book.

3. Complete your application

Once you’ve logged in, you’ll see your registration dashboard. Under “Register a Work,” click the link for the “Standard Application.” From there, you can start your registration. The application has 11 sections, but for most of them, you’ll only be entering basic details. It’s not as long as it looks.

Type of Work: First, you’ll choose from a dropdown list what category best describes the type of work you’re trying to register. As a self-publishing author, you’ll be putting “Literary Work.”

Titles: Next, you’ll enter the book title exactly as it appears on the cover. When you click the “New” button, you’ll be prompted to select the title type, which will be “Title of work being registered.” You’ll then type out the exact title of your novel.

Publication/Completion: Here you’ll specify whether your book’s been published yet. If it’s been published, you’ll enter the year of completion and the date of first publication; you’ll also put the nation of first publication and its ISBN (if you have one). If you haven’t published your novel yet, you’ll simply put its year of creation.

Authors: Now’s the part when you get to credit yourself. You can list either an individual author or an organization — clearly, you’ll use the former. Interestingly, your name is not required, though I would imagine nearly everyone would put it. Then you’ll indicate whether your contribution was a “work made for hire” — in all likelihood, it wasn’t. The next required fields are “Citizenship” and/or “Domicile.” Choose from the dropdown list of countries and select yours. If you want, you can include your year of birth. If you’re writing under a pen name, you can include that as well under “Pseudonym.”

You’ll then specify your contributions to the work. Check all the boxes that apply — for most of you, you’ll only be selecting “Text,” but if you created any artwork for your novel, you should put that, too. Finally, click “Save.”

If you wrote your book with a coauthor, you can add them as well. Just click “New” again to include additional authors or contributors.

Claimants: Now you’ll indicate who claims the copyright. According to U.S. law, the author is the original copyright claimant, and that’s what you’ll be putting here. After clicking “New,” you’ll enter your details, and it’ll ask for more than what was required under the previous section. You’ll have to put your name and street address — remember, this information will become publicly available. Once you’re done, click “Save.”

Limitation of Claim: Most of you will leave this page blank. This is where you’d exclude any preexisting material from your copyright claim. The U.S. Copyright Office requires that you identify any material that is (1) previously published; (2) owned by another party; (3) in the public domain; or (4) generated by AI. This material can be text or artwork. If any of that applies to your novel, you should indicate which. If not, move on to the next section.

Rights & Permissions (Optional): Here you’ll provide contact information in case someone wants to reach you regarding copyright management or permission to use your work. This section is optional. If you do decide to enter your information, you’ll include your name, email, phone number, and/or address.

Correspondent: The U.S. Copyright Office needs to know who to contact if there are any issues with your application. They’ll ask for a name, email address and street address. Most of you will have to put your own information. If someone is doing the registration for you, they could put their own. This section doesn’t affect copyright ownership.

Mail Certificate: This is where you’ll indicate where you want your registration certificate to be mailed. You’ll be putting your name and street address.

Special Handling (Optional): You’ll probably skip this section. If you meet certain requirements, you might qualify for expedited service, or “special handling.” It’s unlikely that any of these scenarios will apply to you as a self-publishing author. These situations are: (1) pending/prospective litigation; (2) customs matters; or (3) contract or publishing deadlines. While the last option might sound applicable if you’re registering your book for copyright just before its expected publication date, it’s doubtful that you could claim you require expedited service. Because formal registration is optional, a pending application won’t affect your ability to publish.

Certification: Finally, you’ll have to certify that you are the author and copyright claimant and own the exclusive rights to your work. You’ll enter your name as your electronic signature.

Review Submission: Before you submit your application, you can review all the information you entered. If it looks correct, great! Go ahead and submit it. If you need to make changes, simply go back and edit your details.

4. Pay the application fee

After you’ve reviewed your application, you should click “Add to Cart.” If you’re submitting applications for multiple books, you can add them to your cart as well. In your cart, you’ll see a list of cases and the fee due for each. To register a book, you’ll pay a fee of $65.00. Enter your credit card information (which isn’t kept on file) and then submit your application.

5. Submit a copy of your book

Upon paying the application fee, you’ll be prompted to submit a copy of your book. For an ebook, you’ll be uploading a digital copy. For print books, there are two options. If you haven’t published your book yet, you’re allowed to simply upload a digital copy. If it’s published and up for sale, you’ll mail a physical copy to the U.S. Copyright Office. Luckily, the registration portal allows you to create a mailing label. Click “Create Shipping Slip” and enter the required information. You can then print the label, slap it on a cardboard box, and ship a copy of your book.

6. Receive your certificate

Now it’s time to wait. Once everything has been received and your application has processed, you’ll get your official registration certificate in the mail. It’s hard to say how long this will take. The U.S. Copyright Office states on their website that the average processing time is about two months. For my novels, it took just under a month, but I may have gotten lucky.

Keep your certificate in a safe place. I also suggest you scan it or take a photo as a backup. However, if you lose your certificate and don’t know your registration number, you can always look it up online. Just search for your title in the Copyright Public Records Portal.

The U.S. Copyright Office offers additional protection.

By registering your self-published novel with the U.S. Copyright Office, you’ll grant yourself additional legal protection in case you run into an unfortunate case of copyright infringement. If you ever plan to sue someone for violating your copyright, you’ll strengthen your case with an official registration. While it’s an issue I doubt many self-publishing authors will face, it’s always a possibility. Officially registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office will give you additional peace of mind. Remember: you automatically own the copyright. But a little added confidence is worth considering.

Originally published at https://joey-durso.com on June 11, 2024.

All printed novels need an ISBN. For self-publishing authors, there are two ways to get one: either your print-on-demand company offers a free one, or you buy your own. Paying for an ISBN has its advantages (check out my previous post to learn the basics), so if you decide to invest in one, you’ll have to do it through Bowker, the exclusive issuer of ISBNs in the US. Here’s how to assign your book’s ISBN with Bowker.

1. Create a Bowker account

The first step is to create an account with Bowker. You’ll need to provide your first and last name, a street address, as well as a phone number and email. You also have to choose an organization type. Most of you will be selecting “Self-Publisher.” If you’re not self-publishing as an individual and instead decided to form your own LLC or other corporation, you’d select “Publisher,” but again, that’s not common. Finally, you can list your author website. Once you’ve provided this information, you can create your account and buy your ISBN(s).

2. Buy an ISBN

Here’s the part that no one likes — you’ll have to buy an ISBN from Bowker, and they’re not cheap. I’ve said before that buying your own ISBNs is expensive, and if you choose to go this route instead of receiving a free, assigned ISBN from your print-on-demand company, you should factor it into your self-publishing budget. It’s cheaper to buy in bulk, so if you plan on releasing your novel in multiple formats or self-publishing more books in the future, it’d make sense to buy a pack of ISBNs instead of just one. But whether you choose to buy one or multiple ISBNs, once you’ve made your purchase, you can start assigning an ISBN to your self-published novel.

3. Assign your title

Now that you have your own ISBN, you should go ahead and assign your title. On the Bowker dashboard, head to the tab labeled “My Identifiers” — you’ll then see a list of all the ISBNs you’ve purchased with your account. Click “Assign Title” next to the ISBN you want to use for your novel, then you’ll be able to assign all your book’s title data to that ISBN.

You have the option of viewing the submission form as either “short” or “expanded.” The short form is the default selection, which will only display the most important data fields. If you select the expanded form view, you’ll be able to enter much more information about your novel. The choice is completely up to you. For the adventurous among you, I’ll be covering the expanded form.

Title & Cover

Most of the application is self-explanatory, and only the fields marked with a red asterisk are required. The first section is Title Information: your book title, any subtitle, and an optional description of your book (personally, I used my Amazon product description or back cover blurb). You can also put the original year of publication, your book’s language, as well as the copyright year. This can either be the year you started writing it, or, if you decided to register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office, the year you obtained your official copyright registration number. If you also decided to get a Library of Congress Control Number, you can enter that as well. Finally, you can upload your book’s cover image.

Contributors

On the second page, you can add Authors & Contributors. Bowker allows for multiple contributors, and they don’t have to be listed as an author. You’ll put a first and last name, an optional biography, and then the contributor’s function. Most of us will simply be listing ourselves under the “author” role, but you can also choose from “editor,” “illustrator,” as well as a long list of other possible functions. If you need to list more than one contributor, simply click “Add Another Author/Contributor” and enter their details.

Format & Size

On the next page, you select your Medium & Format. The title medium can be audio, ebook or print. Remember: you’ll need a unique ISBN for each version of your self-published novel, so the ISBN you’re currently assigning can only be used for one of them. After selecting your medium, you’ll have to choose from a list of applicable formats.

For print medium, you’ll choose either paperback or hardcover format (there are additional options, but they won’t apply to most self-publishing authors). You can also select details about that format, but this is optional, and I recommend leaving it blank, as most are irrelevant; if you select anything, it’d probably be “Trade paperback” (either US or UK), but again, it’s not required. The next two fields are “Packaging Description” and “Trade Catalog” — honestly, just skip these, as they’re unlikely to apply to you. Finally, for a print book, you can enter the size details. You can get these details from your print-on-demand service: weight (and units), number of pages, number of illustrations, and carton quantity (i.e., the number of books that fit in your POD company’s standard shipping container), as well as the book’s length, width and height. KDP won’t give you all these details, but a service like IngramSpark will. If you don’t have those details, don’t worry — they’re not required.

An ebook medium has its own format options. For format, you can choose either “digital online” or “electronic book text” — I had to do a little research to figure out the difference, but you should go with “electronic book text” for a self-published ebook. You’ll then have the option of choosing an ebook file type, though this isn’t required. If you do decide to enter it, you have many file types to choose from, but I suggest simply putting “EPUB” to cover all your bases, since it’s the most common file format for ebooks.

The last section of this page is your book’s Subjects & Genres. You only have to put one, but you can list up to two. Click the dropdown list and select the appropriate genre(s) for your novel, then move on to the next page.

Sales & Pricing

On this final page, you’ll enter your book’s Sales & Pricing details. You’ll choose the exact date of publication (month, day and year), as well as the title status, which should be “Active Status,” meaning it’s available for sale. You then select your book’s target audience, which for most self-publishing authors will either be “Trade” or “Young Adult Audience.” If you want, you can set an appropriate age range for your intended readers, or their academic grade. There are also additional sales information fields, like title ship date, on-sale date, or if your book’s returnable, but I personally skipped these with my ISBNs.

Finally, you’ll enter the United States Price Data, which is mandatory. You should set an exact dollar amount, and the price type “Retail Price.” As for price availability, you should choose “Manufactured on Demand (POD)” for print books, while for ebooks, I’d just leave it blank. If you want, you can add the price for additional markets (i.e., countries other than the US), but I didn’t bother to.

Once you’ve entered all the pricing details for your desired markets, you can go ahead and submit your completed form. When you head back to your ISBN dashboard, you’ll see your ISBN’s status as “pending.” Once Bowker has processed your submission, it’ll be listed as “assigned” with a green checkmark. That’s it — you’ve officially assigned your book its ISBN!

It’s easy to assign your book’s ISBN with Bowker.

Not everyone will buy an ISBN through Bowker. If you’re using a free, assigned ISBN from your print-on-demand service, then you won’t have to set up anything with Bowker, because you don’t technically own that ISBN. It’s unique to your POD company, and if you decide to print with another service, you’ll no longer be able to use your previous ISBN. But for those self-publishing authors who do decide to buy their own ISBN (and thereby retain full rights to it), Bowker makes it easy to assign your novel online. After doing so, you’ll be able to take that ISBN to any print-on-demand company you choose to self-publish with!

Book covers can be expensive. For many self-publishing authors, a professionally designed cover isn’t an option; out of necessity, your cover might have to be a DIY project. A quick Google search will give you dozens of supposedly “free” cover generators, but most are, in fact, paid. However, the ones I’ll be mentioning today are 100% free to use with no hidden fees. Here are four free book cover generators available to indie authors on a budget.

1. Canva

Canva is often the go-to for online image editing. With its incredible collection of templates, it’s easy to create all kinds of designs: business cards, social media posts, video thumbnails, you name it. As an indie author, you’ll find many useful designs that can help you market your book. What you might not have expected, however, is the ability to create a book cover.

Canva offers a number of book cover templates, and while some of them require a paid subscription, there are many you can use for free. These templates start out as fully designed covers. They include a placeholder title, an image, and a place for your name. When you find a template you find appealing, you can then edit the text as you see fit — you can change the words, the font, the color scheme, and fully customize it to your liking. If you don’t have an eye for color schemes, Canva will allow you to choose a base color and will then automatically select complementary colors for you. Also, if you like the layout but not the default background image, you can swap it out for a stock image you’ve acquired elsewhere.

An important thing to note is that while Canva offers some beautiful book cover templates, they’re only going to be useful for ebooks. They’re all meant for a front cover — so far as I can tell, there aren’t templates for a print book that include a front cover, spine and back cover. If you decide to release your book in print, you’ll have to find another editor to create a matching back cover and a spine to join them. However, if you’re just starting out with an ebook, Canva could give you the cover you need.

2. Adobe Express

Adobe Express is another free cover generator you can find online. Most people will think of Photoshop when they hear Adobe, but the Adobe Express designer is geared toward people without much graphic design experience. Now, when I think of Adobe products, I often think of a pricey subscription plan, but this one’s actually free to use — no credit card required.

Adobe Express’s setup is similar to Canva in that it presents you with a wide selection of book cover templates, which you can then edit as needed. When I searched “book cover” in its template list, it found 2,149 results — a lot of options for an indie author! Like Canva, some of the cover templates are only available with a paid subscription, so make sure you look out for the crown icon that marks it as paid-only before you get your hopes up. But once you’ve found one you like, you can edit the fonts, reposition the design elements, and customize it until you’ve got the cover you want.

Like with Canva, Adobe Express will be useful for an ebook cover, but if you’re looking to design a front and back cover for a print book, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Hypothetically, you could make a front and back cover separately in Adobe Express and then join them in a separate design, but this might be a little complicated for the average user. However, if you have a little experience with graphic design, you could probably pull it off.

3. KDP Cover Creator

Because KDP’s big selling point is that it’s free to use (unlike its self-publishing competitors), it’s no surprise that they’d offer a free cover generator as well. You can design your cover while preparing your book for publishing. Instead of uploading a premade cover image, you simply click the link for the KDP Cover Creator and design it on the spot.

For the background image, you can either choose from KDP’s gallery or upload your own. You’ll be able to select a layout for your cover, then edit the fonts and text as needed. While I don’t think KDP’s preset designs are particularly stunning, one major plus is that unlike Canva or Adobe Express, you can use the KDP Cover Creator to design both ebook and print covers. It will be a whole lot easier to create all the designs you need to self-publish your book in multiple formats, whether it’s digital, paperback or hardcover. It’ll add a barcode for you and adjust the canvas dimensions to perfectly match your print book, and you won’t need any graphic design experience to use it.

I’ll be honest: I was tempted to leave this one out. Personally, I don’t think that the KDP Cover Creator will give you the professional-looking cover you’re hoping for. However, the fact that you can design a print book cover and not just an ebook was enough of a reason for me to include it here. If you choose your own stock image for the background and select the right fonts (KDP’s default font is awful), then you could probably get yourself a decent cover, but relying exclusively on KDP’s image gallery won’t get you an eye-catching design. In the end, though, any cover is better than nothing — plus, you generally can’t self-publish without one!

4. Wepik

Wepik is your fourth option for getting a free book cover. Its interface is similar to Canva — almost identical, in fact. You can choose from Wepik’s collection of covers and layouts and then customize your cover as needed. The available templates might not be as flashy as Canva’s, but for an indie author who wants a clean, simple cover, you might very well find what you’re looking for.

Once you’ve designed your cover, you can export it in multiple formats depending on your book distributor’s file requirements. You can save your cover as a high-quality PNG, a JPG, or a PDF. However, just like Canva, it’ll only be suitable for an ebook cover. Wepik actually has a gallery of templates that’s geared specifically toward Wattpad books, so clearly, it’s going to be more useful for the digital edition of your novel. Many self-publishing authors start with just an ebook, so if you’re not tackling your print edition yet, Wepik might be just what you need.

5. Honorable Mention: Coverjig

I’ll start by saying that Coverjig is not free. That being said, I feel it’s worth mentioning. Most of the cover generators I’ve listed don’t allow you to design a full print cover, but Coverjig does, and it’s more affordable than you’d expect. You can purchase your design as a bundled ebook and print cover for $24.99, and there are no hidden fees. If you’re willing to invest a little money, Coverjig is a great option.

Coverjig will have you enter your book’s title, your author name, and the genre in order to guide you toward the right stylistic decisions for your novel and its audience. You can either upload your own cover image or choose from Coverjig’s collection; the images you can choose from will change depending on what genre you’ve selected. If you’re designing a print cover, you can input the trim size, paper type and page count, so your cover file will perfectly fit the dimensions of your novel. You can even preview your cover as a 3D image to better visualize what it’ll look like in print.

Overall, while Coverjig isn’t free, it’s affordable enough for me to give it an honorable mention. If you find that the free options aren’t giving you what you need, then check out Coverjig. It’s cheaper than the other paid cover generators out there, and if you’re not design-savvy enough to make a print cover on your own, it’ll give you a much better product than its free competitor, the KDP Cover Creator.

Book covers don’t have to break the bank.

If you’re not in the financial position to pay for a professionally designed book cover, don’t worry. There are a number of free resources online that will help get you the cover you’re looking for. You can do this without ever having dabbled in graphic design.

Of course, these free cover generators have their limitations. For the most part, you’re only able to create ebook covers. If you want a full design for a print book (i.e., front cover, back cover and spine), you might have to use a paid cover generator like Coverjig, or you’ll have to create your front and back covers separately and then join them in another image file. You could probably use Canva or Adobe Express to do this — just create a new project with dimensions matching those given by your print-on-demand company, then add your front and back cover with space between for a spine. It’s not super-advanced graphic design, but it’s not going to be as simple as choosing a template and changing the text.

Ultimately, readers will judge your book by its cover, whether it’s fair to do so or not. It’s simply in our nature. But if you secure yourself the right cover for your self-published novel, you’ll greatly increase your chances of catching a reader’s eye. One glance is all it takes for a person to become curious or dismissive, and a book cover generator can help you make the right impression.

Everyone talks about diversity in fiction, but what could be more diverse than a world full of fantastic creatures? Sci-fi and fantasy are “big tent” genres where all races are welcome — especially non-humans. If you’re working on your next sci-fi or fantasy novel, you might want to include some non-human characters as well. Here’s how to write a fictional species entirely from scratch.

1. Habitat and adaptations

When writing a sci-fi or fantasy species, their natural habitat is a good place to start. A species will adapt to its environment or face extinction; yours will be no different. You can get a lot of ideas about their appearance, senses and behavior by considering what adaptations would be beneficial in such an environment. Their traits won’t be arbitrary — they’ll make sense from a biological perspective.

For example, the alien Vehisipen in The Aetherverse are described as dwelling in mangrove swamps. I even depicted such a planet in an accompanying short story, Warriors of Vega. The Vehisipen are well adapted to such an environment, having developed a semi-autonomous set of tendrils for propulsion through the water. Because the swamp water is murky and dark, the Vehisipen’s vision functions entirely within the infrared spectrum. I drew inspiration from their environment and wrote an alien race accordingly.

You can invent fictional organs and senses that allow your species to thrive in their natural environment. Maybe they developed some specialized respiratory organ to filter an otherwise toxic atmosphere, or they possess some protective exoskeleton that shields them from cosmic radiation. Whatever the adaptation, you can create a convincing sci-fi or fantasy species by using their habitat as a foundation.

2. Lifecycle

Now that you have an idea of your creature’s physiology, you can go ahead and think about their lifecycle. All living creatures grow and develop from immaturity through adulthood, and yours will likely be no different. First, decide the length of their average lifespan: do they live for centuries, or are they simpler creatures that live only a few years? If you’re not sure, you can use their environment and physical attributes to determine an appropriate lifespan. Habitats with high levels of predation or scarce resources often lead to shorter lifespans, while stable environments can encourage greater longevity.

Once you’ve settled on their lifespan, you can plan their development accordingly. Perhaps they’re like humans and acquire secondary sex characteristics later on, or maybe they’re more similar to butterflies and undergo metamorphosis: the larval stage, pupal stage, then adult. Sci-fi fans will be familiar with the xenomorph’s lifecycle from the Alien movies: they start with an egg, from which emerges a “facehugger” that incubates its eggs in a living host, which then burst from the host’s chest to develop into a fully mature xenomorph. You can come up with similarly complex stages of development.

Lifecycles also include reproduction. Species with exceptionally long lives usually reach sexual maturity at a later age, while those with a very short life expectancy will achieve fertility much younger. Of course, reproduction doesn’t necessarily have to be sexual. In The Aetherverse, the alien Crystallines have a unique form of asexual reproduction: when an individual dies naturally (i.e., not from injury or disease), its silicate matrix collapses, leaving only 1–3 “reproductive nodes,” which grow into new individuals when exposed to sufficient levels of radiation. Evidently, a Crystalline can only reproduce once. Your species may be might more fecund than that, and the decision is entirely yours.

3. Associated species

A species rarely exists in isolation. Whether they’re food, threats or friends, other creatures will somehow be involved. While you don’t have to fully flesh out these “side species,” you’ll want to at least give them some thought.

In my bonus article about the Vehisipen, I describe the symbiotic relationship between their race and a particular species of bog algae in their natural habitat. These algae — the fictional Foetoritalla paludosa — protect their hosts from environmental toxins through the production of a viscous biofilm. The Vehisipen then defend the algae cells against predation by harboring them on their bodies. I had no reason to mention this in The Aetherverse, but I did cite it elsewhere as the reason behind the Vehisipen’s putrid odor, which I had described several times in the novel.

Think about which species yours will treat as food, which are natural predators, and which are helpful to their survival. Again, it’s not necessary to invent anything other than a name and some basic attributes, but these associated species will not only add more complexity to your creature, but will turn your fictional environment into a believable ecosystem that can capture your readers’ imagination.

4. Communication

All living things communicate in some capacity. Sentient creatures will likely have structured, complex languages, while simpler species might use visual or chemical signals to convey basic meaning. In The Aetherverse, the alien Crystallines communicate via a binary language of electrical impulses, while the Caspians and H’jan use more conventional spoken languages; the Procyon, on the other hand, have a purely telepathic form of communication that can only be rendered in human speech through advanced technology. Regardless of its complexity, the ability to communicate is an invaluable survival tool.

You don’t have to invent a fully functional language for your species. If they use spoken language, you can come up with a few basic words or phrases and sprinkle it into your dialog. (If you do, then make sure your readers can understand it from context.) However, if you do decide to dabble in a bit of conlanging for your species, you can check out some of my previous posts on how to do so. I’ve also posted some tips on how to use your constructed language for your novel. Conlangs might not be necessary for a sci-fi or fantasy story, but they can certainly enhance a fictional universe and the creatures that inhabit it.

5. Behavior and experience

Of all the details you’ll invent, I think this is the most interesting. All lifeforms have unique behaviors, but what’s really fascinating is the internal experience of higher lifeforms. We talk about “the human experience” and what it means to be human: to love, to despair, to long for something greater. There are subjective experiences that only humans will know. We all share them in one way or another. Your fictional race will have its own set of shared experiences.

For instance, while I’ve never written anything from a Crystalline’s point of view, I did describe their society as being highly utilitarian; they have no concept of money and base social status on social contributions and capability, not accumulated wealth. Had I written from a Crystalline’s perspective, I would have likely described their feelings of not being useful enough rather than dealing with financial struggles. It would be an experience that many Crystallines share. Your species will have its own.

Your species’ behavior and experience are especially important if you plan to include one as a POV character. Readers are always drawn into character experiences, and what could be more interesting than seeing the world through non-human eyes? Think about what would be important to your species, what kinds of challenges they might face in life, and how they view the world around them. Their lives should be just as meaningful as those of your human characters, and you want your readers to feel the same.

Sci-fi/fantasy worlds are diverse.

A hallmark of the sci-fi and fantasy genres is their inclusion of diverse lifeforms, the likes of which your readers may never have seen. While you might not use all the details of your fictional species in your story, it’s a fun exercise in worldbuilding to invent fantastic creatures to populate your universe. You can post your descriptions as bonus content on your author site or include it as an appendix in your book. But no matter how you decide to use them, your creations will enhance the already complex story you’ve written. You’ll give your readers a living world that’s just as diverse as our own.

Originally published at https://joey-durso.com on April 2, 2024.

Indie novels don’t have to be solo projects. We often work alone and keep our ideas to ourselves, only letting people into our fictional world when we’re ready to publish. But if you have creative friends with an equal passion for writing, it can be fun to partner up and create a fantastic universe together.

I wrote my epic sci-fi novel The Aetherverse with the help of a coauthor: my best friend since college, Eugene Bryan. We didn’t start out hoping to write a bestseller. It was just a fun pastime during summer break, and it was only after hours and hours of worldbuilding that we realized we could make it into something bigger. However, once we decided to turn our hobby into a grand-scale project, it became clear that co-authorship was more than simply bouncing ideas back and forth. Here’s what I learned from writing with a coauthor.

1. Make sure you agree on tone

Of all the lessons I learned from co-authorship, this one proved to be the most important. When you and your coauthor have finished worldbuilding and finally sit down to write, you should both have a clear idea of your novel’s tone.

After my coauthor and I finished the first draft of The Aetherverse, it became clear that we had different intentions for the tone of the novel. Eugene wanted it to be Guardians of the Galaxy; I wanted it to be The Expanse. While he was imagining a sci-fi superhero story, I was picturing something more serious. Upon reading our first draft, I realized that the tone was so inconsistent that it really took away from the story. Random moments of slapstick comedy didn’t fit well with sweeping political speeches, and neither did random sex scenes that served little purpose other than to placate sci-fi fanboys. It was a bit of a mess.

Readers deserve a cohesive novel, not a hodgepodge of disjointed sci-fi scenes, so I knew my edits had to be ruthless. I did my best to make the tone of The Aetherverse more consistent, but it took an incredible number of drafts to do so. I encourage you to learn from my mistakes and decide on your novel’s tone right from the beginning. Come to an agreement with your coauthor before you start your first draft. It’ll save you a lot of time when you’re ready to edit, and your readers will thank you for it.

2. One of you should do the writing

This goes hand-in-hand with what I said about consistent tone. The best way to make sure you and your coauthor create something cohesive is to have only one of you do the writing you intend to publish.

In my experience, the finished product will be better if it sounds like it was written by just one person. If you have different writing styles, readers will pick up on it. This extends beyond tone — it includes sentence structure, punctuation, vocabulary, and what you spend time focusing on. Eugene tends to focus on describing scenery and worldbuilding, while I focus more on character development. Even when I rewrote Eugene’s scenes to use my kind of language, the focus of its content was still there. You’d find one scene with extensive descriptions of the setting, one scene of mostly dialog with little interest in the characters’ surroundings, one scene of inner monologue, all isolated from one another. You’d learn nothing about a character for several chapters, then get hit with a ton of information when it got to one of my scenes. It was obvious that two people had written it — in a bad way.

At the very least, the designated writer should rewrite any scenes their partner had drafted up, but I would go as far as to say that your partner should stick to outlining potential scenes, not writing drafts of them. This will ensure that not only the language is consistent, but the focus of the narrative as well. It’s easier to create a cohesive work when you’re going off bulleted lists rather than rewriting your coauthor’s scenes sentence by sentence.

3. Figure out how to divide the work

That leads me to my next point about division of labor. Writing a novel is a big endeavor, and you don’t want to divide the work in a way that feels unfair. That can lead to resentment, which is a major project-killer.

There’s more to your novel than simply writing it. There’s the planning, the worldbuilding, and the manuscript formatting. You’ll have to set up accounts with the companies you intend to self-publish with, build a website, and market your novel once it’s available to readers. So, even if one of you is doing the writing, there are other tasks to delegate. You’ll just have to figure out how to divide those responsibilities.

For The Aetherverse, I stuck to writing, editing and formatting, while Eugene was responsible for worldbuilding, finances and marketing. We knew our individual strengths and weaknesses; I was clueless about advertising at the time, and Eugene wasn’t much of a proofreader. By assigning tasks accordingly, we made sure we both contributed in meaningful ways that allowed us to finish our project efficiently and without overworking ourselves individually. It greatly reduced the risk of creative burnout, and if we hadn’t, I’m not sure if we ever would have finished The Aetherverse.

4. Be willing to compromise

Co-authorship isn’t for bossy people or control freaks. Like any partnership, it takes compromise. It shouldn’t be a one-sided effort.

There will be times when you disagree, and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean you and your coauthor are incompatible; it just means you’ve got to make some concessions from time to time. You might want a character to be blond, but your partner’s been picturing a brunette. Maybe your coauthor wants another character to be a complete coward, but you’d rather present him as an opportunist — he only fights if he knows he can win. No matter what you disagree on, one thing’s for sure: you’ve got to make a choice, and it’s not always going to go your way.

Coauthoring a novel is an exercise in teamwork, and if you’re not used to working with a partner, it might get difficult at times. It’s not always easy to relinquish control over your creative work, and depending on your personality type, you might start to get possessive. If you tend to dominate a project and take on all the work (like I do), you’ll have to do some self-improvement and learn to let go. Giving your coauthor the final say on small details won’t derail your story. What’s important is that you agree on the bigger picture. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

5. Make time to brainstorm

My favorite part of coauthoring The Aetherverse was the brainstorming. Eugene and I spent hours on the phone bouncing ideas off each other — at the time, I was on Long Island, and he was in Florida. I remember sitting outside all afternoon taking notes on my laptop as we developed an unexpectedly complex fictional world. We shared a vision and had a blast doing it.

That’s the thing — brainstorming is more than coming up with ideas together. It’s a way to share your enthusiasm and keep each other motivated. Like I’ve said before, sharing your ideas with others can get you excited about writing if you’re losing interest, and if anyone’s going to be receptive to hearing your ideas, it’s your coauthor. The more time you spend motivating each other while brainstorming, the more likely you’ll be to finish your novel without getting bored.

Think of brainstorming as spending quality time with your coauthor. It was your shared love of writing that got you to team up in the first place, and laughing for hours while brainstorming is a reminder of that. It can lift your spirits when writing becomes a chore. You’ll give each other the motivation to keep on going.

Coauthoring takes teamwork.

So many of us are used to writing alone. It’s rewarding to finish a project on your own, but it can be just as enjoyable to share it with a friend. If you can agree on the important issues, divide your work fairly and be willing to compromise, then you’ve got a solid foundation for successful co-authorship. Your readers won’t just get a glimpse into the mind of one author, but two. And as they say, two is better than one.

Originally published at https://joey-durso.com on March 26, 2024.

Maps are useful way to visualize your sci-fi/fantasy world. They’re helpful for both the author and the reader — after all, an epic universe can be difficult to navigate without one. If you’re an indie author without much graphic design experience, you can use a map generator to create your own. Here are four free fictional map generators available to sci-fi/fantasy authors on a budget.

Inkarnate

Inkarnate is a web-based fantasy mapmaker that’s marketed as being “Ideal for Game Masters, Fantasy Authors and Map Enthusiasts.” It offers users both a free and a paid version, which are distinguished by the number of art assets available, the resolution at which your maps may be exported, the maximum number of maps, and personal vs. commercial licensure. But even without a subscription, Inkarnate lets you produce beautiful, detailed maps that would otherwise be impossible for an indie author with little to no graphic design experience.

When you create a world map in Inkarnate, you start entirely from scratch. Unlike other map generators that allow you to edit randomly generated continents, Inkscape starts you with just an ocean. You draw the landmasses as you see fit, allowing you to accurately replicate any doodles you might have made on paper. You’re given a variety of land textures that you can paint with a brush, like grassland, desert and tundra. You can add a number of physical landmarks using a stamp tool: mountains, forests, forts, castles, etc. The paid version has more of them, but you can easily get by with the stamps and textures available for free.

It’s important to remember, though, that if you use the free version, you’re only granted a personal license for your finished map. That means you can’t use it in your novel, since you’ll (hypothetically) be making money off it. You can post it on your author site, blog or social media, but that’s it. If you want to include it in your novel without violating copyright laws, you’ll need a commercial license, which is included with a paid subscription. Luckily, it’s very affordable — only $25 per year.

Nortantis

Nortantis is an open-source mapmaker that’s totally free — there’s no paid version with extra features. The thing that caught my eye is that it was “created by an author for authors.” Clearly, the designer knows what fantasy authors would need to make the perfect map for their novel. Unlike the previous map generator, Nortantis is a desktop program that’s only available to Windows and Ubuntu users. You’ll have to download and install it to create your maps.

While Inkarnate lets you start from scratch, Nortantis will randomly generate your initial landmasses, which you can then edit as you see fit. Using preset brushes, you can paint oceans, lakes, rivers, and land. You can add features to your map as icons, which include mountains, hills, dunes, trees, and cities. And finally, you can label your map with highly customizable labels. The map you produce with Nortantis is preset to look antique, but you can change the colors if you want something more vibrant.

If you’re a Windows user, Nortantis is definitely a solid option for getting your own sci-fi/fantasy map. You’ll be able to create world maps that look professionally done, and which are well suited for an appendix at the end of your novel.

Mapgen4

Mapgen4 is a simple, web-based resource that renders your maps in full 3D. The maps you produce can be used commercially, which means you could include them in your sci-fi/fantasy novel. While I admit that it’s not the most elegant of the map generators I’ve mentioned, it does get the job done, particularly if you’re only looking to make a map for your own reference while writing your book.

Mapgen4 starts you with a randomly generated landmass, which you can then tailor to match what’s described in your novel. What’s interesting about Mapgen4 is that it’s geologically accurate: it will alter the course of rivers based on the terrain elevation, and the presence of mountains and valleys will affect the precipitation levels of the surrounding landscape. You’ll end up with realistic biomes and erosion patterns, which any geology nerd will enjoy. However, you can’t create a fully fictional climate that doesn’t adhere to natural laws, so it might not match what you’ve described in your novel.

You can’t add a map legend or labels, so you’ll have to do some editing after you save your image. Personally, I think Mapgen4 is useful if you’re just starting worldbuilding for your novel. Because the initial landmass is generated at random and is climatologically accurate, it can give you a realistic landscape to work with as you begin to develop your fictional world.

Azgaar’s Fantasy Map Generator

Azgaar’s Fantasy Map Generator is another web-based mapmaking tool that’s free to use. Because it’s open source, your finished maps will be available for both personal and commercial use, so feel free to add them to your novel. Azgaar also offers some accompanying tools that fantasy authors might find useful, like a heraldic coat-of-arms generator and a gallery of customizable fantasy characters.

You’ll start with randomly generated continents that clearly won’t match the coastlines of your book, but you can manually edit them as needed. Once your landmasses look how you want them to, you can go ahead and add details to your map. You can use various filters on your map to set the right tone, like “Ancient” or “Cyberpunk.” Because the Fantasy Map Generator randomizes the terrain elevation, it will predict the biomes that would arise in each region due to precipitation and variations in temperature. You can even create political entities and their territories to show the ruling powers in your sci-fi/fantasy novel. And if you want to visualize your world in more than two dimensions, you can select a 3D map view, or see your map displayed on a globe.

You can create some really interesting maps with Azgaar’s Fantasy Map Generator, but I think it’s better suited for authors who haven’t come up with a world map in their head yet. While you can edit the randomly generated coastlines, it’s extremely tedious to get them to match a preconceived image of your fictional world. But if you don’t mind putting in the work, you could definitely create a map that beautifully renders the universe you’re writing.

Maps can make your world come alive.

I’ll admit that these map generators are geared toward the fantasy genre, but sci-fi authors will be able to create useful maps as well — they’ll just be limited to an individual planet. If you want to create a star chart or galactic map, you’ll need to use a different resource, which I might review in the future. But whether you’re writing fantasy or sci-fi, a map can be a great way to enhance your fictional world.

You can use a map as a way to stay organized while writing. You can also use maps to help your readers stay oriented as they navigate your novel’s complex and fascinating world. You can include it as an appendix in your book or as bonus content on your website. No matter how you decide to use it, a map is more than just a picture. It’s a guide to an epic universe that will capture the imagination of sci-fi and fantasy readers alike.

Originally published at https://joey-durso.com on March 5, 2024.