Daniel MacKillican

Shouting Into the Void: The Indie Author’s Social Media Maze Being an indie author in 2025 means more than writing books. It means becoming your own marketing team, publicist, and digital cartographer.

Shouting Into the Void: The Indie Author’s Social Media Maze

#5amwritersclub #WritersLife #IndieAuthor #WritingCommunity
dannymackillican.wordpress.com/2025/06/14/s...

★★★★★
This is a spectacular example of how the written word is an art form:
it makes you FEEL.

👉 www.amazon.com/dp/B01EO2VI46

#KindleUnlimited #KU #Free #Kindle #horrorfiction #readingcommunity #BookRecommendation

In Defence of the Em Dash (and Other Things AI Didn’t Invent) Writers love the em dash for good reason. It cuts in like a sharp breath. It interrupts. It pivots. It adds emphasis, surprise, rhythm—or just a little space to think.

Writers love the em dash for good reason. It cuts in like a sharp breath. It interrupts. It pivots. It adds emphasis, surprise, rhythm—or just a little space to think.

#5amwritersclub #WritersLife #WritingCommunity
dannymackillican.wordpress.com/2025/06/26/i...

Self-Publishing a Novel and Life as an Indie Author Creative writing and self-publishing can be hard, time-consuming, and, yes, expensive. Here’s a brutally honest look at what it takes to publish a novel yourself.

Creative writing and self-publishing can be hard, time-consuming, and expensive. Here’s a brutally honest look at what it takes to publish a novel yourself—and a collection of free tools and advice I’ve found useful along the way.

#WritingCommunity
dannymackillican.wordpress.com/2025/07/12/s...

#WritersTip:
Get your computer to read your stories back to you. Not only is it incredibly useful for catching clunky phrasing or typos—it’s also so bloody cool.

I’m currently using Piper TTS with the female Alba voice, which has a lovely Scottish lilt.

#AmWriting #WritingTools

True! Most people think of challenges as big leaps, but for me, the real battle is precision; getting every line just right without losing the soul of it. I’m dyslexic, so proofreading’s a personal gauntlet. Not glamorous, but necessary.

Okay, so apparently I lied. I was going to take a break while my next novel’s off being proofread… but the writing bug is fierce. I’ve already started tinkering with the next-next one.

#5amwritersclub #WritersLife #AmWriting #AmEditing #proofreading #WritingCommunity #WIP

Appreciate that! Next step: scream at typos and dyslexic missteps (for a bit) before sorting them out. Thankfully, no plot-holes detected.

Taking a break from writing while my novel is being proofread. Challenges ahead, but the story itself? The feedback so far says it’s damn good.

📚 #5amwritersclub #WritersLife #proofreading #WritingCommunity #GhostStory #WIP

I published my book on Amazon.

Now I check my royalties like it’s a slot machine.

#indieauthor #5amwritersclub #WritersLife #WritingCommunity #kdp #selfpublishing

Thank you.

★★★★★
“Outstanding horror. Although it would be tough I think this would make an excellent movie.”
— Amazon Review

👉 www.amazon.com/dp/B01EO2VI46

#KindleUnlimited #KU #Free #Kindle #books #horror #ebook

Final draft complete.
Now it’s time to let fresh eyes roam the pages… and spot every haunting little typo I’ve missed.

The manuscript is done. The horror of proofreading begins.

#5amwritersclub #WritersLife #AmWriting #AmEditing #proofreading #WritingCommunity #GhostStory #WIP

"The creature moved in short bursts up the body until it reached the head of the cadaver, where it licked the half-closed eyes of the dead."

-From my new novel

#horrorfiction #horror #horrorcommunity #ghoststory #DarkFiction #horrorwriting

Face scans and credit card checks to prove I'm an adult—just to use social media? Not a bloody chance.
It’s a handy tool for self-promotion, sure, but it doesn’t pay my mortgage. If this is where things are heading, the digital void will have to do without my meandering thoughts.

“Here lies 40 of 52 chapters.”

The final round of polishing is nearly complete. One last descent into the dark before this ghost story is ready for its final rites—proofreading.

📖💀 #HorrorWriter #IndieAuthor #5amwritersclub #WritersLife #AmWriting #AmEditing #proofreading #WritingCommunity

Proofreading
Yeah, I'm excited about it too.

#5amwritersclub #WritersLife #AmWriting #AmEditing #proofreading #WritingCommunity

📚 27 of 52 chapters polished. The manuscript’s almost ready for its final proofreading pass. It’s getting close now...

#5amwritersclub #WritersLife #AmWriting #AmEditing #WritingCommunity

A bit rude and spammy to post this here uninvited, don't you think?

Yes! Every scattered word is still part of the celebration. Here's to messy pages and the stories that survive them.

Hello.

Day in the Life of a Dyslexic Writer

Me: “I finally finished that chapter!”
Spellcheck: “Congratulations on your collection of vaguely word-shaped confetti.”

#dyslexia #5amwritersclub #WritersLife #AmWriting #AmEditing #WritingCommunity

📚 Milestone Unlocked
10 of 52 chapters in my new novel have had their final polish. That’s nearly 1/5 of the story sharpened, shaped, and ready to haunt.

Still a long road ahead, but damn—it’s looking good in the dark.

#5amwritersclub #WritersLife #AmWriting #AmEditing #WritingCommunity

"AI art is lazy."
—says bloke whose last creative act was naming his Wi-Fi ‘FBI Surveillance Van’.

Joke, cartoon, and this post created by AI.
Feel free to rant at me in the comments.

#AIArt #ArtificialIntelligence #AIJokes #GenerativeAI #Sora #ChatGPT

🖋️ Final polish... nearly complete.

After years of countless drafts, my new novel is finally starting to behave. The typos are vanishing. The rhythm feels right. It’s not ready for the world just yet—but it’s no longer a stranger to me.

#WritingCommunity #writerslife #WIP

Free on Kindle Unlimited

★★★★★
“This was not an easy read, but so intriguing and thought-provoking that it was often hard to put the book down for any length of time.”
~ Amazon Review ~

Ama is waiting for you.
👉 www.amazon.com/dp/B01EO2VI46

#KindleUnlimited #Kindle #books #horror #booksky #ebook

"Busy Contemplating This Tree"
A poem about being lazy

Written by Daniel MacKillican (Me)
Narrated by Lex, my AI assistant
Visualised with Sora

Queue the anti-AI backlash.
I’m too busy having fun to care.

#PoetryCommunity #ChatGPT #SoraVideo #NaturePoetry #NarratedByAI #AI

★★★★★
“It has stuck with me for YEARS as one of the most gut wrenching, satisfying tales I've ever heard.”
~ Goodreads Review ~

👉 Audible: audible.com/pd/B01GGPL08S
👉 Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4y33DlC1a2p1Sfsrn5VUnn
👉 TuneIn: Tunein.com/podcasts/Ama-p3585119/

#HorrorFiction #readerscommunity

The Big G just offered me help.
All I did was double-check the term self-flagellation.
Look, Google—
I’m a writer.
Sometimes I research weird shit.

It doesn’t mean I need help.
(Well… not that kind of help.)

#5amwritersclub #WritersLife #AmWriting #AmEditing #WritingCommunity

Third draft. Final polish, before the proofreading starts.
Still finding typos.
Self-flagellation with cocktail sticks may follow.

#5amwritersclub #WritersLife #AmWriting #AmEditing #WritingCommunity