Author Jacob Donley

What are the top 4 Cons that I wish I could go to but probably won't be able to afford in 2013?

Here is the list and a little blurb about them:

JordanCon
JordanCon is April 19-21. This Con is specifically geared for the fans, followers, and any and all Wheel of Time enthusiasts. It was started in honor of the original author of the Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan, who passed away from cardiac amyloidosis on September 16, 2007. The final book in the Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light, will release early in 2013.

I wasn't a fan from the beginning. I found the wheel of time right before The Gathering Storm was released. This was the first book that Brandon Sanderson wrote using notes and other materials that Robert Jordan had compiled before his death. This series is epic in scope and has fans that have been around since the beginning. These are true fans that have fallen in love with the series. In a sense, this Con is for them as much as it is in honor of the masterful Robert…

I decided to put a few samples from my poetry books up on the site. I think it would be good for people to be able to see a little of what's in the book and my style. If you like what you see there, I have A Memory Road for sale on the Amazon Kindle store right now, a link to it is located on the My Books page. It is free until the 12th of October. Feel free to leave comments on anything that I have up on the site. Thanks everyone!

I'm trying to bring back an old look to site. By old, I mean that I've used this template design before a while ago for those of you who have been following since the beginning. Leave comments on this post to let me know what you think. Also, I became aware of a problem with my links to Facebook, goodreads, Twitter, Google+, and Illinois Authors in the navbar yesterday. The links were broke and I couldn't come up with a solution to fix them. So, I have the links along the sidebar at the right of the page towards the bottom. Let me know what you think of the old/new look! Thanks...

I had a great response for beta readers. I currently have four people who are reading Shindarin Rising and going to be providing feedback. I want to thank those people right now. I know that reading a 76000 word manuscript takes time. I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy lives to do this for me. Thank you everyone who is reading the manuscript and for those who have supported me over the years. Cheers!


Jacob Donley

I've added a short-stories section to the website. I'm adding the Chronicles of a Rock Trollstories again. I'm going back through them and going to put these stories up on the website for free. Please feel free to leave comments on the stories. I'm always looking for feedback and will edit the story accordingly if I get some good information on them. Thanks!


Jacob Donley

I've been working on some short-stories here for the past week. I tend to have trouble with the short-story format. I'm not used to the brevity that is needed for writing a complete story under 5,000-10,000 words. I'm doing my best and I'm submitting two that are finished. It's difficult, but I'm plugging away. If nothing else, I'll be getting better with each story. Writing is always a practice. It's like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. No matter if these stories get published, I'll be improving the craft. So, the writing continues, and I'll be doing my best to get some writing in every day. Anyone who is trying to become a writer, the most repeated item that is repeated by every author is to write, write, and write some more.


Jacob Donley

I'm looking for beta readers for Shindarin Rising. If anyone is interested in reading my latest draft, (76000 words), please contact me at mail@jacobdonley.com. At this point, I know the novel is short for the genre. So, technically, it isn't at novel length yet. I think it is in between descriptions. However, that might get fixed through beta reader advice and critiques. It is a fantasy; so, if you enjoy the genre, feel free to contact me at the address provide. I could use the input. Thanks!


Jacob Donley

Wordsmithing Ain't Easy | a blogWordsmithing Ain't Easy | a blog:
Check out the Wordsmithing Ain't Easy blog!
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I'm currently listening to a couple different podcasts right now, The Dead Robots' Society and I Should Be Writing. Both shows give some great advice about writing, publishing, and marketing. One thing that I really like is that both shows have quite a few episodes in which they interview authors, editors, or agents. You really get a great perspective on not only the craft of writing the actual work, but also, there is some great information about the industry as a whole. Another aspect of these shows comes in the way of networking. The hosts of the shows go to quite a few of the Cons (Conventions), such as DragonCon, WorldCon, BaltiCon, and many others. These are great places to meet other writers, editors, and to immerse yourself in the genre that you are interested in writing. I recommend that anyone who is interested in writing, whether for pleasure or profit, should check out these podcasts. Click on the links to go to their prospective websites for contact info and to d…

Podcasts | The Murverse:
Mur Lafferty currently hosts the podcast, I Should Be Writing. She provides tips to writers who are looking to improve and get into the industry. She also, quite often, has interviews with current authors, editors, and agents in the industry. Mur is a very busy woman who is involved with a ton of projects. Her Murverse page has a list of her own books as well as her podcasts, including I Should Be Writing.
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About- The Dead Robots’ Society Podcast:

Check out The Dead Robots' Society for information and podcasts on writing and the current writing industry, both Indie and traditional publishing.
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Chapter 2 is now available to read on the Shindarin Rising page. Check out the My Books page for the link to the available chapters for The Draconis Prophecies, Book 1:  Shindarin Rising!

My first attempt at querying an agent turned out to be unsuccessful. All in all, I'm not surprised. Looking back at my synopsis, I wasn't surprised to get the rejection email. I really hadn't made my story sound like anything new. It sounded boring and old. In the future, I will be correcting that error. In all actuality though, it was a blessing in disguise. Today, I believe that I discovered what I need to do in order to get the word count I'm going to need. I'm going to have to rewrite the first three chapters to initiate the change. After that, I will be adding at least one new point of view. It is going to be just the thing I need to no only spice up the story, but it will also add the type of internal and external conflict that will really give the story life. So....back to the editing phase I go. This is officially the beginning of draft four, where I will reach my goal of 95,000 words and kick my story into full length novel mode.

I hope that my rambling h…

After toiling with the story and coming up short in word count, I decided that my story is my story. I honestly feel that if I continue to try and add to the story that it will become forced. This very well could be because of my maturity as a novelist (or lack there of). However, I decided that my story is where I feel it should be right now. The story simply is and will not be more without making it feel false and choppy. This may change if I get some sort of feedback that is honest and helpful. After coming to that conclusion, I decided to send off my first query letter today. Since this is my first attempt, I guess we'll see what comes of it. For now though, the e-mail has been sent. Wish me LUCK!


Jacob Donley