How AI is slowly trying to gain popularity

Hi! Dominique Gibson is back with another post. So, I was just recently browsing on the internet as usual and I came across something very interesting. There was an article that talked about a scientist who wrote a sci-fi novel using AI (Artificial Intelligence).

Now I have heard of AI trying to come through when it comes to nonfiction but the topic of AI writing a novel is still up for debate. It’s not that I am disturbed by this news when it comes to writing the book, this book won an award on top of it. Even though this took place in another country, this begs the question if AI will continue to grow to other countries and start winning awards around the world as well.

If you want more information about this topic, click on the link below for more information. Happy Holidays!
Dominique Gibson

Link to the article down below:

https://amp.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3245725/chinese-professor-used-ai-write-science-fiction-novel-then-it-won-national-award

My Trouble with Bookfunnel

Hi! Dominique Gibson is back with another post, this time about bookfunnel. I have been paying a subscription to bookfunnel for a while now, trying my best to figure out what I am going to do with it. I have sent out a couple of short stories to some people the old-fashioned way (email with a PDF) but decided that I wanted to give bookfunnel a try. I have heard that a lot of indie authors swear by it because of them doing landing pages and uploading ebooks and short stories on there to get people to sign up for their newsletters.

The problem? I can’t figure out what to upload on bookfunnel.

As I stated, I have written two short stories based on the characters from the first three books of the Truson S.E.T Series. I have also wrote a holiday novella that features a different hybrid than the ones in the main books. I have also considered whether I want to give Courtney’s Redemption away as a free ebook while keeping the paperback version on Amazon. As you can see, I have come up with many different ideas on how to distribute my stories. I know that I would have to rewrite whatever story I choose to upload on bookfunnel. I just don’t want to rewrite the wrong story or rewrite the story I only feel somewhat passionate about (Only because it’s a short story and NOT a novel).

Decisions, decisions. Even a veteran writer like myself has to go through these things sometimes.

See you soon.

Dominique Gibson

My struggle with Ingramspark

IngramSpark - Self Publishing Simplified

Hi! Happy December! It’s been busy around here, especially with the holidays approaching. I had originally intended to do a different post today, one where I would talk about the latest book I am reading or the latest book I am writing about (Or should say rewriting about), but I decided that I wanted to do a post about my frustration with IngramSpark.

I guess I now understand why people are getting so upset when it comes to Ingramspark. I just recently went on IngramSpark to correct a mistake I had made about two weeks ago. I seemed to be successful when it came to publishing the hardcover copy of An Orman’s Revenge. I even managed to get a few sales on the hardcover edition of the book. However, when I decided to do the paperback version of the same book, I ran into some issues, including trying to change the book cover of the book. Thinking that I would be able to use the same cover for the paperback as I did with the hardcover, I uploaded it to my IngramSpark dashboard and waited.

Unfortunately, my book didn’t upload to IngramSpark. The reason? The margins for the book cover didn’t match for the paperback version of the book. Now, they have stated that they wanted me to do a book cover template to upload the cover. Do I have a problem with this? Not really. I have been experimenting with trying to do the book cover for a while now on Canva. I guess it would be time for me to figure it out and upload it to see what happens.

But I still had a gripe with them because they do not have a feature where you can delete the book and start over, something in which I wanted to do considering the book cover looked terrible. I searched everywhere but yet, I couldn’t find the feature anywhere. With Amazon, I am able to have the option of deleting my book whenever I want. What a difference a book distribution makes.

Oh well, I guess I will have to start back at ground zero when it comes to IngramSpark….after they approve or disapprove my changes.

See you soon.

Dominique Gibson

Being Sick and working a full-time job…it’s a juggling act

Hi! I’m back. I haven’t been able to post as often as I should. I had so many ups and downs when it comes to my full-time job (still doing lesson plans, observations, etc.) along with some sort of mysterious sickness going around that the doctors can’t quite put their finger on at the moment. At this time, I am still on the self-editing phrase of Courtney’s Redemption. Although I am trying my best to do this on my own, I am still struggling when it comes to seeing my own work through a different perspective (as an editor) and is still in that phase of ‘Oh my book just sucks’ category. I am now reading chapter eleven and will have two more chapters to go when it comes to taking notes on what I need to improve on in this story. Since it’s been a while since I relied on new self-help books in order to improve my writing skills, I thought it would be a nice opportunity for me to explore some new books when it came to me rewriting the novel. One of those books has been circulating around the internet for a while and it’s something that most indie authors swear by when it comes to writing the first (or tenth) novel.

So, lately I have been reading Save The Cat writes a Novel by Jessica Brody and I will admit that it’s quite interesting. They talk about the beat sheet and what elements you might need in a novel that would make the story more interesting to read. After reading a couple of chapters, I have decided that I am going to follow the instructions and exercises that are in this book and maybe do a blog and a video about the overall progress when it comes to doing the exercises in this book. I don’t know what the final result would be when it comes to this considering my books center on romance and sci-fi but it does give out some examples on the more popular genre books like Twilight and The fault in our Stars. She also goes on to do ‘beat sheets’ on certain books that talks about the beats you would need in your novel to make the reader want more.

I will be sure to keep you guys posted on my updates when it comes to my discovery when it comes to using the Save the Cat book on the fourth book of the Truson S.E.T. Series, Courtney’s Redemption. If you will excuse me, I think I will read and take notes on one more chapter before I call it a night.

Dominique Gibson

Fall is here and…I’m still working on Courtney’s Redemption

Hi! I know it’s been a long time since my last post. I have been super busy when it comes to moving things forward in my personal life and it’s been a real struggle to balance everything out. I will be posting periodically throughout the website and my social media posts about me looking for some clients for my book coaching program between now and December of this year. In addition to that, I am still working on Courtney’s Redemption. I have gotten started on the rewriting process (self-editing) and I must admit that I am having a few moments where I go:

Why in the h*** did I write this?

Please keep in mind that I have written a total of five books within the past five years. There are some authors out here who think that what I do gets easier every time I write a book. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Just by reading what I wrote, I can already tell why my book was on the short end of my word count and why it was longer than I thought it would be. This made me realize that I wasn’t truly done with my work in the first place and that it needed a lot of work for it to be where I wanted it to be.

I am currently reading chapter seven of Courtney’s Redemption and wonder if it’s going to be ready in time for Christmas. As much as I want it to be ready, the juggle between me having a full-time job, finishing my classes as a book coach, and having other personal duties filling up my plate at the moment doesn’t make it easy to publish the book like some people think. It’s even more of a struggle because of my constant promotion on Booktok to reach more viewers so that in return, they will be able to buy my books.

While I will admit I did have some level of success when it came to giving away my first book for free during the month of September, I know that I still need to write, publish and promote more books. But with the little money I have every week from my job, it is getting harder to find editors and beta readers to take a look at my work for a cheaper price.

But I am determined that I will get it done. It’s just a matter of when…

Dominique Gibson