eBook and Kindle Templates for Text-Based Books for Authors and Self-Publishers

Introducing Warriors of Virtue eBook and Kindle Templates for Text-Based (Reflowable) Books.

Finally, easy-to-use templates (for both MAC and PC users) created for authors and publishers who do not speak HTML Markup language and CSS. Basic computer skills are the only requirement. Essentially, all anyone needs to know to use these templates is how to copy and paste content. That's it!

Warriors of Virtue ePub and Kindle Templates for Text-Based Books package includes:

• ePub Template (for eReaders)
• Mobi Template (for Kindle devices and App)
• Step-By-Step PDF User Guide
• Creating an ePub Checklist
• Converting an ePub into a Mobi Checklist

Since I first got into digital publishing in 2014, I dreamed of Templates like these, but I could not find anything to fulfill my needs; simple to use and easy to edit. The most affordable professional I could find to fix my books charged $100/book -- with additional chargers if there were any changes to be made!

As a new publisher with a limited budget, I did not have that kind of money to spend. Instead, I decided to go back to school and learn what I need to know.

In 2016, I excelled at University of Ryerson's Digital Publishing and Design Course. I learned how to build and publish books like a professional and have created these templates to use for my fantasy series Warriors of Virtue.

Remembering the torture I went through to publish my digital books, I decided to provide these templates to my fellow authors and publishers at a low -- affordable -- cost. If you are asking yourself: "Why are you charging us at all? Why are these templates not free?" Well, it's because I spent a lot of time and money learning what I needed to know to create, build, and perfect these templates. I also spent additional three months testing them with my own books.

The one thing I can promise you is that this will be a one-time purchase. If Amazon or IDPF makes changes, resulting in me having to make changes to these templates, you will get the following version for FREE.

I was thinking of charging $100 for my Templates, because that is how much the professional wanted to charge me to create a single book.

Instead, I decided to be generous and sell these Templates for less than 1/2 of that cost: $45.

Then it occurred to me that this is a new product, so I decided to charge even less -- a sort of introductory price: $30.

However, because it is the holiday season, I decided to have a bit of fun.  I came up with a pricing tier: The first 5 people to get the Templates can do so for $5, the next 10 for $10, the next 15 for $15, the next 20 for $20, and during this holiday season (until January 15th 2017), everyone else will be able to get the templates for $25.

You can find out more about the Templates here, as well as download and view my ePub and Kindle samples.

If you have any questions, that's what the comments section is for.

Happy Holidays!

Mili Fay

© 2014 CDC Photography

Mili Fay, an award winning artist, trained as a classical animator at Sheridan College, but when computer animation took over the field, she decided that she loved drawing more than animating. In November of 2011 she created Mili Fay Art determined to support the world one artwork at a time. Today, she passionately creates imaginative artwork and stories, always graced with a humorous modern twist.

Currently, Mili is working on an epic YA fantasy series, Warriors of Virtue, about a reluctant princess, Lauraliee Lumijer, who grows into a queen as she defends Ardan from dragon people (people that change into dragons) and a hermit dragon prince, Diamond Pendragon, who is forced to rejoin Ardanian society and reevaluate his convictions.

Mili Fay Art Fan Club

"Together we support the world one artwork at a time."

Shop Mili Fay Art

Facebook: Mili Fay Art

Twitter: @MiliFay

How to create a Kindle Book from scratch and WofV Episode 1

I have just recently published my first Kindle book, Warriors of Virtue Epic YA Fantasy Series Episode 1, from scratch. It was quite a lengthy process for me to figure out. However, I am a perfectionist and I did everything I needed to do to make sure that my Kindle looked better than most trade-published eBooks I found in my library.

To find out more about this process, and what you can do to create your own Kindle book if you have no XHTML markup experience, read the following post on my official website's blog.

Best wishes,

Mili Fay

© 2014 CDC Photography

Mili Fay, an award winning artist, trained as a classical animator at Sheridan College, but when computer animation took over the field, she decided that she loved drawing more than animating. In November of 2011 she created Mili Fay Art determined to support the world one artwork at a time. Today, she passionately creates imaginative artwork and stories, always graced with a humorous modern twist.

Currently, Mili is working on an epic YA fantasy series, Warriors of Virtue, about a reluctant princess, Lauraliee Lumijer, who grows into a queen as she defends Ardan from dragon people (people that change into dragons) and a hermit dragon prince, Diamond Pendragon, who is forced to rejoin Ardanian society and reevaluate his convictions.

Mili Fay Art Fan Club

"Together we support the world one artwork at a time."

Shop Mili Fay Art

Facebook: Mili Fay Art

Twitter: @MiliFay

Warriors of Virtue Episodes 1-9 YA Fantasy Rough Cover Art

I'm currently seeking fans of fantasy who would like to read Warriors of Virtue in exchange for an honest review. If you liked The Lord of the Rings, Sailor Moon, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and love mythology and fairytales, contact Mili Fay Art.

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To watch time-lapse videos and receive free full-resolution artwork join Mili Fay Art Fan Club. I only write to keep you in the loop and to send gifts. I hate spam and will never share your e-mail address.

     

 

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If you are new to this blog, I have been writing and sketching a fantasy series, Warriors of Virtue, since I was sixteen years old. Currently the text is with my editor, and I've been illustrating the entire series while I wait. However, after speaking with several fans who cannot wait for the illustrated edition, I've decided to release a limited text-only edition. This edition will feature more realistic cover art appropriate for a YA audience. Each episode features one of the main characters.

Episode 1: Featuring Cornelian and Artemis

Rough sketch showing Cornelian and Artemis looking inside The Cauldron. I was inspired by some Arabian designs for the cauldron. This moment is the catalyst for the entire series.

Cornelian the Great is great because he helped defeat the Dragon Lord Malachite approximately 150 years ago. He is the greatest wizard in Ardan (the land where the story takes place), and a catalyst for Warriors of Virtue. When writing Cornelian I was inspired by Gandalf the Gray and Merlin from Disney's The Sword in the Stone. Cornelian has a quite complicated story of his own that I may write in the future, in this series he serves as our heroes' teacher and guide.

Artemis is a descendant of Athena's Little Owl. He's lived for millennia, is immortal, arrogant, and brilliant. He did something terrible to anger the gods and has been sent to serve Cornelian as punishment. However, by the time this story takes place, Cornelian and Artemis are friends, colleagues, and companions, not master and servant. Artemis loves tea and manicures.

Episode 2: Featuring Lauraliee as Nenya

Lauraliee as the Water Warrior, Nenya. Lauraliee at sixteen has a freakish talent with a sword. She has not been defeated in a swordfight since she was fourteen.

Lauraliee Elizabeth Vickomtessa Lumijer (I have included her full name but am excluding all the exalted titles) is the sixteen-year old main character of the story.

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Warriors of Virtue is written in the third person omniscient point of view, follows the point of view of many characters, but if Lauraliee is in the scene the reader is focused on her experiences.

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Lauraliee is a reluctant princess, who knows that one day she will become Queen, longing for an ordinary life. However, she has also been raised well by her mother, the reigning Queen Dragana, and takes responsibilities of her stations seriously. She is the eldest child in her family, and strives to set a good example for her sister and cousins. Lauraliee loves to read and paint, and has an unusual talent with the sword. She has not been defeated in combat since she was fourteen.

As the story progresses, she becomes Nenya, the Water Warrior.

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Warriors of Virtue (originally there were five: Nenya/Water, Narya/Fire, Viliya/Air, Terrya/Earth, and Mettya/Metal) were created by Mistress Nature (creator of Ardan) in the Great War to stand against Lord Malachite. Malachite killed the Earth and Metal warriors and managed to capture the spirits. As our story begins, there are only three Elemental Spirits free: Water, Fire, and Air.

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Episode 3: Featuring Vladimir as Narya

Vladimir at fifteen is the Fire Warrior, Narya. Even though he does not use the bow and arrow (in the first volume he only uses darts), he is superior in archery.

Vladimir Nicholas Alexander DePompier is Lauraliee's fifteen-year-old cousin. His mother is Queen Dragana's sister. His father's family is famous for breeding fire-steeds, horses of brimstone and living flame. Vladimir is a quick-tempered, charming prankster. He's been living at the Empyreal Castle most of his life, and is more like a brother to his two cousins. He's in love with Anuck, the only child of chief Muhawaka. Vladimir loves Mushwaki and often argues with Nikolina over games. He is also a talented archer.

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Mushwaki is a sport played in Ardan similar to soccer but at a certain point before scoring a player must continue the game keeping the ball of the ground (without using his hands). The ball is smaller, and the goalie must prevent its entrance by using a racquet-like instrument.

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He becomes Narya, the Fire Warrior.

Episode 4: Featuring Nikolina as Viliya

Nikolina (fourteen years old) is the Wind Warrior, Viliya. She has the ability to speak with animals.

Nikolina Katherine Marissa Lumijer is Lauraliee's fourteen-year-old sister. She is extraordinarily beautiful, sweet, and kind. However, she is not afraid to get in a skirmish with her cousin. She is a tomboy, who loves exploring nature and can speak to animals. She adores her sister and cousin, but just because she's the youngest does not mean she will let them get away with anything.

Nikolina becomes Viliya, the Wind Warrior.

Episode 5: Featuring Srdjan

Srdjan knows how to use a wooden staff. He also has more Earth than he should and becomes Cornelian's Apprentice.

Srdjan Jović's parents are court ambassadors. When he and Lauraliee were seven they met, got into a fight, and became best friends. He moved into the Children's Tower and has been tutored by Cornelian with his new friends. He has a talent for wielding a staff, and has more Earth in him than any human should, eventually becoming Cornelian's apprentice.

Episode 6: Featuring Vert

Vert Swiftwing is Prince Diamond's best friend and Captain of the Guard. He can transform into a green dragon of Swift class.

Vert Swiftwing is Prince Diamond's Captain of the Guard and best friend. He is about 200 years old but appears to be twenty. This is because dragon-people age slower than humans. Vert can transform into a green dragon of the Swift class. He has no issues with humans, but must follow Lord Malachite's orders. Unlike Diamond who never ventured far beyond Storm Rock, Vert has spent his life exploring Ardan. He is witty and charming. His weapon of choice: throwing daggers.

Episode 7: Featuring Diamond

Prince Diamond Pendragon was a ruler of the dragon people for hundred and fifty years. He does not know whether to believe his father when he says that humans are evil.

Diamond Pendragon has ruled his people in a hermit kingdom at Storm Rock after the defeat of his father, Lord Malachite, since he was five (or should I say fifty) years old. He witnessed his father's imprisonment (and—he thought—death) at the hands of the Warriors of Virtue. In the hundred and fifty years of his rule, he never returned to the council of Ardan, keeping his people to themselves. After his father's miraculous escape, he argues with him against a war on humans. However, what if his father is right and humans are a plague that will destroy Ardan in the end? Diamond wishes he had bothered to find out more about humans when he had the chance.

Episode 8: Featuring Lady Avalon

Lady Avalon is an accomplished witch and in the author's opinion a total nutcase.

Lady Avalon Starshine is Diamond's Aunt, twin-sister of his mother, Elonway. Daughter of a dragon nobleman and a star, she's extraordinarily beautiful and well-versed in magic. She practices all kinds of magic, including Dark Magic, but she is not as powerful as Malachite, Cornelian, or Mistress Nature. She loves Malachite Pendragon, but is not particularly fond of her nephew.

Episode 9: Featuring Lord Malachite

Lord Malachite has a very good reason for hating humans to the point where he wants to exterminate them.

Lord Malachite Pendragon, a.k.a. the Dragon Lord, is the ruler of the dragon-people and Diamond's father. He learned to hate humans and has spent the last portion of his life trying to exterminate them from Ardan. He hates humans so much that he tried to get rid of his own human side with Dark Magic, but instead managed to get stuck in a form neither human nor dragon. Malachite is the most powerful sorcerer in Ardan, only Mistress Nature can match his magic and she's a goddess. His goal in life is to destroy every human in Ardan, thus saving all the non-human residents, and rule as his people have ruled for generations.

Well, there you have it: the first nine YA covers. Let me know what you think in the comments, and if you are interested in reading the first 9 episodes in exchange for an honest review on Amazon and Goodreads, please contact me.

All the best!

Mili Fay

© 2014 CDC Photography

Mili Fay, an award winning artist, trained as a classical animator at Sheridan College, but when computer animation took over the field, she decided that she loved drawing more than animating. In November of 2011 she created Mili Fay Art determined to support the world one artwork at a time. Today, she passionately creates imaginative artwork and stories, always graced with a humorous modern twist.

Currently, Mili is working on an epic YA fantasy series, Warriors of Virtue, about a reluctant princess, Lauraliee Lumijer, who grows into a queen as she defends Ardan from dragon people (people that change into dragons) and a hermit dragon prince, Diamond Pendragon, who is forced to rejoin Ardanian society and reevaluate his convictions.

Mili Fay Art Fan Club

"Together we support the world one artwork at a time."

Shop Mili Fay Art

Facebook: Mili Fay Art

Twitter: @MiliFay

Mili Fay's Best Writing Tips: The Idea, Writing, Editing, and Going Public

MILI FAY'S BEST WRITING TIPS

The Idea, Writing, Editing, and Going Public

I love to read articles where famous writers discuss their writing. I always anticipate a grand revelation that will take me from a mere writer to an amazing writer. Such gems are rare and precious. The most precious of 2015 was reading Stephen King declare war on adverbs. The man hates adverbs, and I could not understand why, since I used them often. The key word there is: used. It turns out that adverbs are facilitators for all that “telling” and not “showing”, which you (as a writer) know is the death knell of the written word.

That is all the explanation you will get, because I’m not an editor and this article is not about writing style, but H.O.O.T.’s of Wisdom on writing. If you would like to read a great article that blew my mind on editing, please read Sharon Miller’s Self-Editing Tips: Part 1 and Part 2.

On Writing

The Idea

What the inside of Mili Fay's head looks like sometimes. Inspired by Pixar's Inside Out.

I find that when I create I get two types of ideas:

1. Ideas that amuse me.

2. Ideas that consume me.

The less scary of the two is the first. These are simple ideas that belong to themselves. They come from life; someone would say something, I would see or dream something, read something,… They usually begin with: What if…?

Such an idea resulted in my first artwork book, Animals In My Hair. I heard my mother tell my father that he should get a haircut, because his hair was a forest! (This is a common Serbian expression.) I was doodling in my sketchbook and translated from Serbian into English, then asked myself: What if our hair really was a forest? Surely there would be animals living in the hair. But, why would animals be living in someone’s hair? Because, people have destroyed their habitats and they needed a place to hide! Several years later, I published a book about a little boy who goes for his first haircut and endangered animals tumble out of his hair.

The second kind of idea frightens me, because it is not contained in itself. This kind of idea keeps changing as I grow and change, until sometimes the world I am creating seems more real than the one I live in. It is the kind of idea that can tip a creative mind into madness.

Warriors of Virtue, my fantasy series, grows from such an idea.

Prior to Warriors of Virtue, I was doodling comics with my own and mythological characters inspired by Greek/Roman Mythology and Sailor Moon. One day, I was watching Anne of Green Gables the Sequel. There is a scene where Gilbert tells Anne that she should write about people she knows. I thought that would be fun. So, when I read The Lord of the Rings instead of creating fictional super-characters, I added my cousin, sister, and myself to the story. Eventually, my story outgrew Middle Earth and I created the land of Ardan. Ardan is populated by creatures I have never seen before, and have no idea where they came from. Every character has a life. If I would think about a character, even a minor character, glimpses of their memories would come through. All the pain and sorrow I’ve felt, some characters felt. The fears I’ve had, some characters lived. The meaning of life is revealed in a way that makes logical sense to my own meaning of life. A few years later, the characters that started out as myself, my cousin, and sister, took on lives of their own. Sometimes, I feel as if I’m a conduit to a parallel world, and sometimes I wonder if this world will consume me in the end. Warriors of Virtue is everything that I am and that I wish to become. The stories keep tugging at me. One day, will I forget to tug back?

I fear that greatness or madness is the result of such ideas. I treat them with caution, because only time will tell where I’ll find myself.

Writing

Publishers and teachers recommend writing outlines.

I write outlines… Well, sort of...

When I’m writing a formal paper outlines are essential. They keep me from repeating myself and help me organize the paper in a logical, scientific, manner. I find that writing fiction is different.

Once, while I was still seeking a trade publisher, I tried to write a detailed outline showing my characters’ motivations, conflicts, and resolutions on their journeys. Then I realised that for me, outlines are a waste of time. These days I write a roadmap. I know where my characters are, I know where they’ll end up, but I have no idea how or why they will end up there. I leave that bit of the story fluid, letting the characters take me on their journeys. Often, they surprise me, taking me down paths I would rather not travel… at least not without an invisibility cloak.

Once I have the idea and the roadmap, I write.

At this point I become a filmmaker. All the characters are living their lives. Where do I place my camera? What angle of the story do I show? What do I reveal? How much do I conceal?

There is so much to show, that I have to keep telling myself: LESS IS MORE.

Given half a chance, I would go in and focus on the pale morning sunlight kissing the budding leaves of a powerful oak tree. Unless a character is about to pop up from behind one of those leaves, there really is no point to write about the tree at all—is there?

While writing, I also remember Hitchcock who said he shows the audience only what they need to see.

I write, letting everything pour out of me without stopping, because I know editing comes later.

I also write beginning to end. I may note down bits of scenes to come in a journal, but I never write chapters out of order.

I write and I save often. Then I copy my work in case something happens to my computer.

I also keep an Encyclopaedia of characters, places, magic spells, powers, etc. I’m amazed how faulty my memory of my work becomes… Well, just as faulty as real life memories. However, when writing I need to know that my character wore a blue gown on a particular day, so I would not write about her lovely pink outfit. If my characters go on a journey, I need to draw a map and keep track of their days. If it takes human characters 6 days to reach the Forbidden Mountains on foot, how long will it take the Dragon-Prince Diamond to fly to the Empyreal Castle and back to the Forbidden Mountains?

At one point, I was developing the Ardanian language. However, I decided not to bother, because the language can be gibberish and still add interest to the story.

Editing

Writing is rewriting, and rewriting, and rewriting,…

I wrote Warriors of Virtue when I was sixteen as a 30-page short story for my English class. My teacher nearly had a heart attack; my classmates submitted short stories that did not exceed five pages.

Shortly after, I wrote the second part of the fantasy series (currently titled, Cured by a Rose, a name I will change because it sounds too girly). The second part was about 200-pages long. Then I decided to expand upon the clinical-like precision of Warriors of Virtue.

After sixteen years of rewriting, Warriors of Virtue is about 600 pages in length.

I wrote the original in the past tense. The current novel is in the present tense. There is an excellent reason for this that involves the Three Fates, but I’ve deleted the intro bit that explains why the story can only be written in the present tense, because I wanted the reader to get to the meat of the story sooner in the fantasy series.

I hope I’ve made my point: writing is rewriting.

After I’ve written the first draft, I no longer think of my work as writing, but editing. A great tool that helps me edit my own work is the “Text-to-speech” feature. I’m currently using Microsoft Word, but I’m sure that all writing programs have this feature. Though the computer voice is flat and monotone it helps me pick up on typos and the rhythm of the language.

I would edit my work, then I would turn on the text-to-speech feature and edit the work again. After that I may leave the work for a few weeks, or if time allows months. Then I will edit the work again.

While editing I keep aware of my audience and ask myself: Do I need this to communicate my ideas? Most of the time my work is shorter after I edit, though sometimes it can be longer. People are taught early to connect the dots.

For example: “What do you mean?” He asked bewildered. These two sentences are overkill. The question mark indicates that he is asking (or inquiring, or wondering,...). The sentence itself makes us understand that he is bewildered. Therefore, the sentence in quotation marks can stand on its own.

When writing, I also try to keep my language as simple as possible; I use “talking” instead of “confabulating”. As a writer, I want to make sure that my audience understands what I’m trying to say, instead of impressing them with my handy thesaurus.

Ever since the “congealing dust” incident, I use Google often to define words. I want to make doubly sure I know the meaning of the word I’m using. Google also helps me find adequate synonyms when I find I’ve repeated a word too often.

Another lesson I’ve learned is to avoid descriptive passages. I love descriptive passages. Tolstoy is great when it comes to descriptive passages. However, the reality is that people today have more visual information than people prior television. Think about this for a second. When Burroughs wrote Tarzan of the Apes, he wrote passages and passages describing the jungle. Today, all you need to write is “jungle”, and everyone who has ever seen a jungle travel or nature program knows what a jungle looks like. As an author today, my job is to set the mood of the scene, and that can be done in a couple of sentences. I do not need to go on and on about the crisscrossing vines and broad leaves, sunlight fighting through the foliage,… Unless, the description is important to the character, I leave it out. For example, there is a scene in Warriors of Virtue when the main character stares at herself in a mirror. I could leave most of the character’s description to the reader’s imagination, but in this scene the description is important. The character overheard one of her friends say to the other that she is not pretty enough for a princess, and the character studies herself in the mirror trying to determine if her friend is right.

The sad truth about editing is that it does not matter how many times I go through my work, I always find something I can change to make it better. I must have edited the first three chapters of Warriors of Virtue at least sixteen times in sixteen years. My editor went through the work, and at my last attempt I found bits and pieces to delete. An important part about editing is learning to let your work go, because if you do not stop, you will never publish.

Yes, your writing will improve with time, and you will cringe at the work you have done only a few years ago, but that is all part of a writer’s life. I know I have to accept that what I have done is the best that I can do at this moment in my career. Then I need to trust my editor to see the mistakes I’ve missed. After, the public will let me know if my book is worthy or not.

Going Public

Never let others know you have doubts about the quality of your work. If you let the public know that you do not feel good about what you have done (which I think every author on the planet does) the public will choose another book to pass their time. Never, ever, defend your work (unless you are fighting for your PhD). As an author I have something to say, and if I’ve managed to communicate that something to my readers that is all that matters.

I have days when I think my work is the greatest written piece since Shakespeare, and days when I think I should forget about writing and just focus on being an artist. This is normal.

So far, everyone has loved Animals In My Hair. I do not have a single negative review. This does not mean that I will not get one someday. Negative reviews are perfectly normal. The ones that explain why they do not like the book help improve the work. The ones that are negative just for the sake of being negative are written by Trolls and should be ignored. Creative works by nature are subjective; a question of taste formed by experience, rather than conclusion backed up by evidence. A lot of people loved Napoleon Dynamite. I cannot recall why, but I remember after watching the movie that I wanted those two hours of my life back. This does not mean that the movie is bad. It just means that the movie is not for me. Game of Thrones is insanely popular, but I doubt I will ever read the books or watch the series even though I am a fantasy fan. Why? Because I do not like excessive blood, death, and gore. By reputation, Game of Thrones is riddled with all three. The key when writing is to find a group of people who will love what you do (your audience) and make them happy. I have a small group of such fans, and I’m grateful to them; not only for their support, but because their praise inspires me to be better and gives me courage to take risks.

When you go public, everything you ever write online is online FOREVER. Keep in mind you ARE under public scrutiny, even if you are not famous and no one is reading your blog at this time. Once you find your audience and your work takes off, your fans will look you up online. The moment you become a great success, there will be those who will wish to pull you down. It’s human nature. I never understood why people love to trash and invade celebrities’ lives, but if you went on a rant in your teen years, that rant will find its way to a magazine once you step into the light. We all have our moments, I know I have mine, but there is no reason to “air out your dirty laundry” in public.

Now that Warriors of Virtue is only a few months away from publication, I find I cannot settle. I wrote this series, because I wanted to read this series. Reading Warriors of Virtue the last time, I loved the story. I wrote it and still I found myself shivering and laughing at bits. That must mean it’s good, right? I wrote this story for me, but now I want to share it with the world. Will the public like it? Will they think it the greatest thing since Harry Potter, Sailor Moon, The Lord of the Rings, Avatar the Last Airbender? Only time will tell. I have had my say, the public will have theirs. I believe that most people will enjoy this work, but what I know is that I’ve given everything I have to this story. As an author, at the end of the day, that has to be enough.

H.O.O.T.S of Wisdom

Hire a professional editor. Do not publish unless a professional editor (or at least a PhD in English graduate) with credentials edits your book. It will not matter if you've written the greatest story ever, if you've done so with poor style, faulty grammar, and lots of spelling mistakes. An editor is not where you want to skimp if you are self-publishing. There were books whose ideas I loved, but I could not get through because English was terrible. One of these days, I'll contact the author and beg him/her to hire a professional editor, republish the book, and let me know when the new version is out because I really want to read the story.

Keep a notebook by your bed, and one near you at all times. You never know when a great idea will strike. I cannot count on my memory to remember everything. Can you?

Write out character sketches for every character in your book. Copy and Paste text where they are mentioned with page references. Create your own Encyclopaedia. You can use this in the future to promote your novel.

Think of yourself as a filmmaker not script writer. Instead of telling what your characters are doing, show us how they look, the movements of their hands, reactions to scenes, etc. Every gesture must have a meaning to the story. If a gesture does not reveal something about the character or the story, leave it out.

When you are ready to go public, create a platform for yourself, have a website with your own domain, and a blog where you can connect with your fans. Even if you are not yet famous, think of yourself as a public figure and act with wisdom and grace. Ask yourself: do you want to be a fad or an institution?

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Mili Fay, a Toronto-based artist, classical animator, illustrator, writer, and singer, is an award winning graduate of Sheridan College and Art Instruction Schools. In November of 2011 she created Mili Fay Art determined to support the world one artwork at a time.

Currently, Mili is working on her first ever illustrated Fantasy series, Warriors of Virtue, about a reluctant princess who must prevent a war with the dragon-people, while keeping her mission a secret from her over-protective mother.

Her latest published work is Animals In My Hair; a story about a boy who goes for his first haircut only to find endangered animals falling out of his hair.

Join Mili Fay Art Fan Club to stay in touch with Mili Fay and to be the first to find out of her upcoming books and artworks.

Mili Fay Art: “Together we support the world one artwork at a time.”