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Amanda Orneck liked an update for Sorcery for Beginners

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

This week has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. First, Sorcery for Beginners was placed on NetGalley to solicit reviews. For those who don’t know, NetGalley is a website that gives out books to influential reviewers and readers for free, in exchange for honest opinions. Good reviews lead to positive word of mouth, which hopefully leads to sales. 

So basically, my little word baby that I nurtured for five years and tried to raise as a decent manuscript has just been dropped in the middle of Times Square on a sweltering afternoon in July. Was I worried how people would respond to my earnest, adorably doe-eyed creation? It’s the Internet, you bet I was worried. 

But then a few hours later, less than 24 hours that the book went live on NetGalley, the Inkshares marketing department sent me this:

Amanda Scheel (Reviewer) has just reviewed Sorcery for Beginners. To add this review to the book page on NetGalley, click here: 
https://www.netgalley.com/book/118069/review/418228

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Full Text:
I got this ebook arc copy for free from netgalley and I must say this is absolutely amazing! Fell into the world of magic and after reading this book, I didn’t want to put it down, even when I reached the last word. Such an incredible book, any Harry Potter fan will fall in love all over again!

Links: 
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2065594383

Additional Questions:Would you purchase this book for yourself or a friend? Yes

WOW. Amanda, I can’t thank you enough. I know all the reviews won’t be this awesome, but these words mean a great deal to me. The fact that someone I don’t know enjoyed the book and finished it in ONE DAY is humbling and gratifying. As they say in E.T., I’m glad Sorcery for Beginners met you first.

Oh, and something else came in the mail yesterday:


For the first time, I held Sorcery for Beginners in my hand! My first reaction was how weighty the book is. It has heft, y’all. I think it could stop a bullet. 

We have a couple more tweaks before we send the final final version to the printer, but this thing is real. It is coming your way. And no matter what kinds of other reviews come in, we’re already bulletproof.

mh

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    Amanda Orneck liked an update for Sorcery for Beginners

    Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

    Big news this week. The galleys for Sorcery for Beginners have arrived!


    A "galley" is a printed preview version of the book. What you see above is called an "Advance Reader Copy," or ARC. ARCs are sent to bookstores, reviewers, and libraries to build buzz and help booksellers decide if they want to stock copies. That’s why the back includes marketing information. 

    If you look closely, you’ll also see an amazing blurb we got from Mike Rich, author of the forthcoming Skavenger’s Hunt, which drops in November 2017. Mike wrote the movies Finding Forrester, The Rookie, Miracle, Cars 3, and many more, so it was incredibly kind of him to take the time to read Sorcery and write such a nice blurb. In case you can’t see it, here it is in its entirety:

    "Sorcery for Beginners makes me wish I had this book when I was Owen Macready’s age. The story casts a spell of its own." Thanks again Mike!

    Also thanks again to Juliane, whose interior illustrations can be previewed here:


    We wanted readers to feel like they really picked up a working guide to sorcery, and Juliane’s illustrations went a long way to making that possible. 

    I started writing this book in 2012. Now, five years later, to see a printed version of it is a humbling and emotional experience. This was not a solo effort by any means. At least a dozen people helped it reach its final form, and hundreds more people actually paid money to preorder it. 

    Now it’s real. No matter what else happens, it’s a real printed book that come October 10, will sit on the shelves of bookstores. It exists because of you. I can’t thank you enough. 

    -- mh
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      Amanda Orneck liked an update for Mission 51

      I am still reeling with emotions after the crazy finish of the Nerdist Sci-Fi Contest. It is gradually sinking in that Mission 51 will be a published book and I will be a published author! It feels surreal. I am grateful beyond words for all of you. Inkshares publishes books only with the pre-order "approval" of the crowd. Mission 51’s publication could only happen on Inkshares with the support of wonderful people like you! Thank you very, very much!

      I am truly not quite back to myself yet. I feel off-balance in a good, exciting way. I know this is a transitional feeling. For the past year and a half, I have been focused on writing and preparing myself for exactly this sort of contest. Now I will shift my focus to the goal of editing and publication. It feels like a brand new day full of hope and promise!

      Inkshares has sent me a detailed questionnaire to help them help me through the process of editing, cover design, and marketing. I am to hand it in with my manuscript. I informed them I want to review it one last time and tidy up some loose ends before they start their process. I will let you all know when I have delivered the manuscript to Inkshares. It won’t be long.

      Meanwhile, Mission 51 is now considered an Inkshares "property." I have a page on their "Properties" section, which is available to third parties in the entertainment industry who may be interested in the story. That’s pretty exciting, too! I haven’t completely tweaked that page, but if you are interested in what I have so far, you can check it out here.

      Once I turn in the manuscript, I will join a few other works that have merited publication on Inkshares and are waiting for them to focus their professional resources on editing, layout, cover design, marketing, production, and distribution. It’s a thorough process that will take some time, quite possibly a year. I hope to have a better handle on the timeline once I hand in the manuscript. I will always inform you as soon as I know anything relating to the production of Mission 51.

      Again, thank you for this incredible opportunity. I literally could not have done it without you!

      Peace!

      ~Ferd  👽

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        Amanda Orneck liked an update for Arch-Android

        Good news Sentients!

        After a few false start, the campaign is now officially up and running. (Thanks to Thad at Inkshares for helping me fix whatever was going on there. You’re the best Thad!) I can already see some pre-orders rolling in and it makes the pump that moves blood around in my veins soar with joy. The pump is equipped with artificial emotional algorithms

        So here we go. Arch-Android is now funding. Pre-order your copy(copies) and tell your friends. Let’s get this campaign over with so we can get on with the business of making a book.

        Thanks again for supporting this project.

        JF

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          Amanda Orneck liked the forum thread, Recommending Resources for Writers
          For those who haven’t read it yet, Stephen King’s "On Writing" is excellent. Helping Writers’ Become Authors has a mix of articles (and a podcast).  Writer Unboxed has some excellent articles. There’s also a lot of information on The Creative Penn.
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            Amanda Orneck liked an update for Beyond The Code

            Greetings all my wonderful followers, 

            I apologise for the long radio silence, but I was working hard making Beyond the Code the best it can be. I’ll be it, it has been a long wait and life has gotten in the way alot more then I would’ve liked, but i finally have some news for you guys. With the help of my great and helpful beta readers and plenty of time slaving over my laptop, I have finished my manuscript and have sent it to Inkshares.   

            That’s right.Now all i have to do is get some fancy new cover art made and wait for Inkshares to get back to me with the first round of the cover edit. Exciting! Although, I can’t give you all a timeline yet, I will send an update as soon as i hear news from Inkshares. 

            Things are HAPPENING!! 

            Kelsey Rae Barthel

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