Hey all, I’m back with another BIG update for Akin Minds. Big news—Tellwell is finally gone!! Akin Minds has broken free from the grip of a vanity publisher, and it’s finally getting the treatment it deserves!
You can now grab the updated version here—new, improved, and finally free of the giant Tellwell mark on the back cover! Some quality-of-life edits have been made, including some grammatical fixes, a pronunciation guide, a book list, and a preview of Book Two: Embers of Orden!
The next books (Embers of Orden, Stormwrought, and Ruinbound) will all be coming in the next few months. Each will be carrying the same improvements. Embers of Orden and Stormwrought will include previously cut scenes, as well as brand new covers! Ruinbound may also be getting the same treatment – if the new covers are immensely different, it’ll have to get a new one to blend in.
Since I did all the formatting myself this time around (with the thankful exception of Ruinbound), e-books aren’t quite finished yet and will hopefully be following shortly.
Additionally, to make room for these new covers, the official release date of Ruinbound, May 21st, may be postponed… but more news of that will come closer to the time. We’ll see how long it takes for the new covers to roll out, but I’d like to have the renewed Embers of Orden and Stormwrought out before Ruinbound’s full release. I’m also tackling an issue with Amazon’s printing press concerning the quality of ordered books lately, so there’s a lot to iron out before all four of my books see their proper release dates in full glory.
As an added note, to any authors, aspiring writers, or anyone who has intent to get published in the future… PLEASE stay away from vanity publishing houses like Tellwell! Being in the throes of both, I can officially say that Tellwell overcharges MASSIVELY for things that anyone can now do with relative ease! Publishing on KDP and via IngramSpark is totally free, and it costs you less per book than a vanity publishing house would love to charge you! Hire an artist to make your book covers, or do it yourself. Same with book formatting, book trailers, promotional materials… you can do it all yourself, and at a fraction of the cost!
At the point I was publishing Akin Minds, I was already escaping another (even worse) vanity publishing house. Tellwell had much more reasonable costs in comparison, gave me much more control, and honestly handled my first project fairly well. Turned out that was a rare case! My next book was BADLY botched by them, and to this day, I know they hurt potential sales with their mishandling. I thought it’d be easier than the task of self-publishing, which looked like a massive undertaking and nearly impossible at the time. But now that I’ve done it, I know ANYONE can do it with a little determination!
If you’re thinking about publishing your own work, learn from my journey—it’s not easy, but it’s much more rewarding than handing control to a company that doesn’t care about your story like you do. And honestly? I think the exact same thing about traditional publishing houses, but I won’t get into that… yet.
For now, stay tuned for more updates on the Sovereign Soul series! If you’re an author too, what has your experience been with KDP and IngramSpark? Have you battled with the devil-in-disguise that is vanity publishing? Share some of your war stories in the comments, and together, let’s prevent anyone else from giving them their business!
Sovereign Soul 