The truth about being a self published author

my current book rankings. Warded Mage rank 11 in epic fantasy, Branded Mage rank 77 in epic fantasy, Inexperienced mage rank 79 in epic fantasy, Broken mage rank 81 in epic fantasy
all four of my reawakening saga books are in the top 100 of epic fantasy. For how long I don't know, but in the end it doesn't matter because right now they are. To many of you on here you don't understand what I mean about the rankings to others who know they think its amazing. to me it's........indescribable.
In my youth I was all over the place. I just could not get myself to stay in one spot. I have traveled all over the country on a spur of the moment decision. In fact most my choices in life have been done that way. I never was one to give much thought to anything I did. My writing is much the same way. Most the time I don't even reread what I wrote I just keep pushing forward and trust in my instinct. I don't do first second and third drafts I just go with the flow and more or less let the story write itself. it seems to work well for me.
If I was ever asked what the key to my success was I would have very little to say. write what you enjoy, don't over analyze everything, love your characters as much as you do your family and in the end pray for a lot of luck. hundreds of books are uploaded everyday both traditional and indie and getting noticed is nearly impossible for a starting author. every time you put out a new book you hope that it will be the one to catch attention , to rise to the top. 
in the past you used to have to send in your manuscripts to big publishers and hope an editor found it interesting, then you had to wait for it to go through all the editorial boards and in the end only a select few were chose to be published. Now with self publishing you can simply put your book up but its not as easy as it sounds. Now, instead of editors choosing to see if your book will live or die its the readers who chose. In the end you have 30 days to grab attention and say "here I am!" So to all my fellow authors and the ones aspiring I say keep trying and may lady luck be on your side. to my family friends and readers I say thank you for your support, without it I wouldn't be where I am right now.

A good read

hello everyone. I ran across this book and thought it was under appreciated. I think it sis well worth the read so if you got time on your hands check it out. its easily a 4 star book to me.

here is the link to it on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Eye-God-Fall-Erelith-ebook/dp/B00E5R8Y2A/ref=la_B00EA5VH6M_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385093663&sr=1-1

The Next Big Thing

I have been tagged by fantasy author Deborah Jay author of "The Prince's Man" http://deborahjayauthor.com/about/

What is the working title of your next book?
Stranded Mage

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I tend to have very lucid dreams. not to mention I day dream a lot and this story just happened to be one of those dreams. I sometimes think that it might be possible that our dreams link us to a different reality, and that maybe somewhere out there my world and characters really exist, and I am simply telling their story.

What genre does your book fall under?
Broadly speaking, Epic or traditional fantasy
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What actors would you choose to play the characters in a movie rendition?
That's a hard one and honestly I can not think of an actor for my characters.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
overcoming the odds, fighting to get back home with a devastated heart.

is your book represented by an agency?
No

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I don't do first drafts. whenever I overthink a story and go over it more than a few times I end up tearing it to shreds and what's left is not worth reading. I prefer to trust my instincts.

What other books would you compare this to within your genre?
Not sure I want to compare, but I would like to think it could stand up on its own against a few of the bigger names out there.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
my family, especially my sister who has supported me a great deal while I have been writing.

What else about this book might pique the reader’s interest?
this story unlike many of my others will be a lot more involved. you will get to see a side of Thad you haven't got to see before.


If you’d like to be tagged for The Next Big Thing, let me know. I will be tagging and adding other authors very soon.

The Next Two Books

As everyone knows one of my main problems with writing is my books tend to be shorter than I want and most of you want. Originally the Reawakening Saga was intended to be 7 books but I decided to condense the last three books into two books. This will hopefully make for two longer books Stranded Mage and Master Mage.

For those of you who don't want the story to come to an end don't worry it really isn't. this is simply the first arc in a three arc story. I have decided that the Reawakening Saga will be the brand of my world a lot like they do on forgotten realms and dragon lance. I haven't thought of a name for the next arc but I do have the story well in mind and it will be a lot more fun as the world will already have its foundation. other than that I am also working on side stories both in the world of the Reawakening Saga and outside of it.  I even have a few started that have nothing at all to do with the fantasy genera.

to all my readers thank you for taking the time to read my works and I hope you continue to support me. any time you want feel free to email me or leave a comment on the blog I will do my best to answer you. and if I ever make it on the new York times ebook best seller list I will throw one hell of a party with an open invitation, to well everyone. in the end an author can do squat without the readers.

time for me to get back to work on Stranded Mage. hope everyone has a good book to read and a happy thanksgiving.  

A thank you to my fans.

My new book Warded Mage is doing great and has stayed in the top ten in epic fantasy for the past few days. So I would like to say to all my readers thank you. with the millions of books out that you could read you have chosen mine and I am eternally grateful for that. Thanks to everyone who purchases my books I am able to spend my time doing what I love, writing. I know there is little I can do to show my thanks other than to continue to do what I am, but I just wanted to show my appreciation. I also want to say a special thanks to my beta readers who are the reason the quality of the books have risen to where they are. I am a people person so I love to talk to my fans so if you ever want to say hi just drop me an email at dwjacks01@yahoo.com

Fellow Author

As I have said before I spend a great amount of time talking with other indie authors. here is one who has a pretty interesting blog.
http://www.josephine-sanchez-vanner.org.uk/

Veterns day.

I know I normally keep the log about my books but today I want to do something different even if it is the release day for my fourth book. here are some pics of my friends who I've known or served with over the years. On a side note still go pick up the book and leave a review if u haven't had the chance. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GLBQN3K

Warded Mage is out

book 4 is out. here is the link for those who are having trouble finding it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GLBQN3K/ref=cm_cd_asin_lnk

updateing

Sorry for the delay in posts. For some reason every time I've logged into my blog account it was messing up on me. my computer is doing the same thing no my good reads account. the next book will be released on mon the 11th. my beta readers have done a great job and have really put me to work. tue morning I will start on the next book and try and have it ready asap.