Well I think my headline says it all.  Sex scenes are almost expected in today’s romance novels, be it paranormal, or otherwise.  I can’t remember the last time I read a romance novel that didn’t have one and to be honest I would probably be stunned if I happened upon one minus the heat.  With that said, no matter how fun or stimulating they are to read, writing one can be a pain in the posterior.

Now, I don’t think a novel has to have sex in it to be successful.  I love reading books that are classified as young adult reads.  The Twilight Saga is by far one of my favorite series (I have a Cullen Crest tattooed on my wrist), and I absolutely love Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies Series.  Neither one of them is heavy on the sex by any means.  Bella and Edward’s long awaited coming together is pretty tame compared to what I find in my paranormal romances and urban fantasies (and what I write) and I thought it was very appropriate for the genre.  So while I can very much enjoy a book without all the bumping nasty, I do think the racy scenes are necessary if the situation and the genre calls for it.

But while I think they are necessary in the right setting, I have the hardest time writing them sometimes.  I found myself either eliminating them all together or leaving them till last.  I skipped ahead and finished Crimson Dawn and let it sit for three months before I found the mojo to write Val and Irulan’s first time together.  Part of it was because I thought that the words I was going to put on the paper wouldn’t do the scene I had in my head justice.  And part of it was because I didn’t know where to start.

There was no lack of personal experiences to draw from, I was just coming up blank.  Once I finally bit the bullet and sat down to write it, I realized that those blanks I kept drawing were because of issues with terminology.  Love scenes have to fit the characters and using the wrong word just kills the mood for me.  Val was opening herself up to a new experience so she wouldn’t use some of the harsher words used to describe…well I hope you know what I mean.  (And if you don’t then drop me a line and I’ll fill you in.  But for this post I’m gonna try and keep it pg.)  But in the same token, she was sure of what and who she wanted, so she wouldn’t shy away from expressing herself.  Her actions and words had to convey both of those points.  I took to Google to find more creative ways to say what I wanted.  I found plenty of blog post and articles but still had trouble getting my words right.

So there I was, still  struggling to write a sex scene and describe my characters bodies and actions without making my novel sound vulgar or trashy, or even worse cheesy as all get out.  I went back and read some of my favorite scenes from books I had read.  They ranged from sensual to spicy to down right scorching.  With all those for inspiration I sat back down and started again with no luck.  Everything I wrote either sounded to silly or too crude for my heroines.  For all my wanting to write the scene and knowing that having them come together was a perfect fit for the story I was telling; I just couldn’t find the right words no matter what I did.

My scene eluded me until I called my cousin one night to pour out my heartache at my inability to write the scene.  I pouted and complained and bashed my abilities as a writer for close to twenty minutes until my cousin finally burst into laughter.  I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I called her, but laughter wasn’t it.  Once she got over herself and calmed down, she reminded me of all the sex scenes that I used to write in high-school and how easily I churned them out. (long story, maybe I’ll tell it to you guys sometime in the future)

I laughed at the memory and remembered how much fun I had coming up with them.  Once I voiced that, my cousin said, “Bingo, you had fun.  Sounds like you’ve tried to hard to make the scene perfect, you’ve forgotten to have fun while you write it.”  And she was right.  I love writing. I sit at my computer with my music blasting and throw myself into a story no matter what it is.  But when it came to that scene I put too much thought into it and made it a chore instead of something fun.

Once I got over myself, the scene, appropriate terminology and all, practically wrote itself.  Once I was done I wondered what all the internal fuss was about in the first place.  I had given myself many a headache for nothing and silly me has gone and done it again.

In my last post I gave readers a small preview of my latest DarkWorld story titled, Faerie Wishes and Jaguar Kisses.  I am very pleased to say that it is 98 percent done and the cover art is almost complete as well.  It’s firmly on track for uploading to Amazon by next Thursday.  Why is it only 98 percent done do you ask?  Well it’s because of a pesky sex scene that refused to come to me.  After jumping that hurdle with Crimson Dawn, I had no problems whatsoever writing the scenes for Ascension, and a few other short stories in between, but once I got to the scene for Faerie Wishes, my brain turned to mush again.  I have written and edited everything twice but the love scene between the two main characters.

I thought that I’d be 100 percent done with it by today but when I sat down to write last week that one last little bit proved to be a headache.  I stepped away from the story for the weekend and told myself that I would start fresh Monday.  Well Monday came and went and the headache only got bigger.  I text my ex and asked her if she thought I should just leave it out all together.  She text me back and told me to quit stalling and get over it already.  And then she, like my cousin a few years ago reminded me to just have a fun and quit thinking so hard.

After I was done texting, I sat back down to write but instead of the scene, this post started taking shape.  I got it halfway done and then went back to my story.  JACKPOT!  It was only after writing this post and reminding myself to remember what I found fun about said scenes, was I able to go back and commit to it.  The 95 percent completion that I had on Friday has grown to 98 and by the time that you read this I will be well on my way towards 100.

Dang gone sex scenes.  Fun to read but a headache to write at times…if a writer lets them become one.

I’ll be back Friday with another preview of Faerie Wishes and Jaguar Kisses.  To read about that story and any other titles in my DarkWorld, including Crimson Dawn: Darklife Saga Bk 1, you can check out my posts here on http://frogenyozurt.com/ or head over to my website, http://www.ronniemassey.com/ .

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CRIMSON DAWN
Book One of the Darklife Saga by Ronnie Massey

Two Women Hunting A Rogue Vampire

Vampire Valeria Trumaine must confront old demons and face new possibilities as she struggles to bring a rogue vampire to justice. Her best friend and powerful Sidhe princess, Irulan, joins the hunt. Valeria will find that Irulan’s motives for keeping her safe are not what she thinks. And soon she is faced with an undeniable attraction that makes her question everything she knew about herself. [Read More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

When I began writing Crimson Dawn, my only intention was to write a vampire novel with characters that I could relate to.  I wasn’t looking at anything beyond finishing that one story and proving to myself that I could write something more than poetry and short stories.  Not only did I finish Valeria and Irulan’ tale, I took a look at a few supporting characters and began to think about their lives or the lives of their races.

Before I knew it, I was working on another novel surrounding David, a young vampire that Valeria saves and eventually takes in.  The motivation behind writing a YA story was my teenage daughter and niece.  Both are becoming avid readers and questioned me as to when they were going to be able to read Crimson Dawn.  I almost fainted.  Crimson Dawn is very much an adult read but it made me feel good to know that they actually wanted to read my work.

I sat down and thought about what could I write but keep it in the same world that I had established so they could experience the characters they’d heard me talking so much about.  David was the perfect solution and so I began Freak Among Freaks.  As Val and Irulan’s adopted son, I could stick close to my initial characters and give readers another view of their personalities as parents.  I’m also able to show the Darkworld through the eyes of a teenager who is just trying to get trying to find his place in a world that dislikes him just because of who he is; a teenage deadborn, which is highly frowned upon.

David’s first outing in Freaks runs parallel with the events in Black Moon Rising and was finished long before I got half-way done with B.M.R.  I wanted to have David stand alone, but also show that he was very much an integral part of the family that Valeria and Irulan created.  Merging the two stories at certain points let me accomplish that…at least I hope.  I guess the readers will be the judge of that in time.

Once I got Freaks established the next character to come under my radar was Valeria’s no-nonsense C.O., werewolf Marcus Daniels.  I love the fact that he trusts his Sentinels judgment even if it doesn’t make sense at the time and really wanted to have him shine in a story but it just hasn’t come to me yet.  So instead of focusing on the man himself I began to look at his family.  I established his nephew and heir apparent Thade in name only in Crimson Dawn so that left me a blank canvas to work with.  But like Marcus, his story hadn’t come to me yet and after writing a male driven Freak Among Freaks, I wanted to get back to a take charge female character.

I came up with a god-daughter that I named Still Waters and Ascension: Wolves of Goose Creek began to take shape.  Still is just as smart mouthed as Valeria but there is an uncertainty about her that Val will never have. The host of a movie review show called Reel Time, Still is an outspoken lesbian who is quick to speak her mind on all things except the fact that she’s a werewolf.  She’s a wolf that doesn’t really know how to be one at times.

Born the daughter of an alpha, Still grew up apart from pack life and thus has no desire to be a part of one. Fate has other plans for my ‘in the closet’ were and before she know it, an accident outs her and turns her world upside down.

Not only does her viewing audience find out she’s a werewolf, Still is forced to move back to the small South Carolina town of Goose Creek where she was born, but has nothing but bad memories of, and has to decide if she’s going to claim her birthright and become the packs first female alpha.   The small town doesn’t exactly welcome her home with open arms and soon Still is challenged in ways she never thought possible.  In the end she has to decide if trying to live up to her family’s name or being true to herself is more important.

The first draft of Ascension is done and once I get Black Moon Rising, book two of the Darklife Saga completed then I’ll start rewrites on it.  After I had a werewolf story established I went back and re-read the parts of Crimson Dawn that dealt with Valeria and Irulan’s time in the FaeLands and knew that I just had to write a full on Fae story.  Something that would showcase the steampunk vibe I wanted to fashion for my Fae.  With two adult titles established, I wanted to craft another story that was teenager friendly.

After some brain storming I began to see a pattern in my works and wanted to come up with a way to explain it all ( I’ll let readers find out what that is for themselves over time).  After lots of idea jotting and erasing, the words of a prophecy took shape.

And the time will come when three will be born who will lead the world down The Road to Was and restore the Earth as it was before The Great Divide.  The sisters three, born of one mother will be recognized as so: one child of man, one child of Sidhe, and one demon kin they will be…Words of the First Morrigan.

Once the prophecy was written the ideas for a trilogy began filling my head.  I would write one book for each sister.  After that trilogy, the importance of not only the sisters but every other major DarkWorld character, would play out in a uber cross-over trilogy; thus bringing an end to all the titles.

The first sister to get a story is Theory Cunningham, the child of man.  Her story is titled the Road To Was and takes place in the mortal realm and the FaeLands.  It sets up for the other two stories to take place predominantly in Faerie.  I’m not going to go into as many details about Theory’s story right now because I feel like I have already given spoilers to my four or five books and the very vague ending of god knows how many.  But I did it for a reason, to show readers and potential writers how much one idea can grow.  Without Crimson Dawn none of the other characters I have created and come to love, would be possible.

With so many titles set in the same world, I have a big job ahead of me making sure there are no continuity issues, but I’m going to thoroughly enjoy the task of making sure they fit together seamlessly.  I hope that my established readers and many new ones continue to follow the adventures of my characters because Crimson Dawn, as I have shown you, is only the beginning.

If you haven’t already, be sure to head over to Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, or wherever books are sold and get the book that started it all, Crimson Dawn: Darklife Saga from Copperhill Media.  If you’re a fan of ebooks and have a reader other than a Kindle (I’m a Nook girl myself), you can find it in multiple formats at http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-crimsondawn-588569-139.html.  Want to give Val and Irulan a quick read before you grab a copy of Crimson Dawn, you can check them out on Smashwords or Amazon in the DarkWorld shorts: Never Again: An Irulan Short and UnSpoken: A Val and Irulan Short.

To read more about Crimson Dawn and most of the works I mentioned, head over to my website http://www.ronniemassey.com/ or check out my other post here at http://frogenyozurt.com/

Now for a treat, here’s a preview of the next DarkWorld story titled, Faeries Wishes and Jaguar Kisses: A DarkWorld Novella.  Allow me to introduce Lawless, a character that will play a big part in the third D.S. novel.  Even though the story establishes a new character, it wouldn’t be a DarkWorld story if my favorite vampire and Sidhe didn’t make an appearance.  Enjoy and look for it to show up on Amazon during the first week of December.

Faerie Wishes and Jaguar Kisses: A DarkWorld Novella Preview.

The constant whirr of numerous tattoo gun’s drowned out most of the grunts coming from her customer but with the last poke of her needle, Lawless’s client jerked, putting a sharp dip in her otherwise perfectly curved line.

“Seriously!  What the hell?”  She exclaimed and pulled his arm for a closer inspection.  “You’ve got tattoos covering like forty percent of your body and you haven’t learned how to sit still?” 

Every eye in the colorful building turned to stare at Lawless and her unfortunate client.  It was unlike her to lose patience with a customer.  She was of the opinion that the client is always right, even if they wanted something as asinine as the pledge of allegiance tattooed across their forehead.  

“I wouldn’t have a problem sitting still if you weren’t trying to tattoo my bone,” he barked.  “Everyone I talked with said you were the best around.  I can’t tell.”  The heavily tattooed bald man twisted his arm to get a better look at skull that was little more than half done.  “How in the hell are you going to fix that?”

The three other guns went silent as everyone waited to hear her answer.  Lawless pulled her long braided hair behind her neck and leaned back; adjusting her glamour to hid the red tint that was surly creeping up her honey cheeks.  “It will be fine.  By the time I get done with the outline and shading you won’t even notice.”  She sounded confident and sure but inside Lawless was on the verge of tears.  Running out of a line was a mistake an apprentice made, not the owner of the hottest shop in North Carolina.

Since Mystic Guns opened two years ago, Lawless and her carefully selected artist had made it the destination for every singer, actor, rapper, and paparazzi hounded celeb-utant, to come to and get inked.  They didn’t build that reputation by screwing up tattoos that were little more than generic flash.  In a business where over seventy five percent of your clients came from word-of-mouth, she couldn’t afford even one dissatisfied client.

Her customer repositioned himself in the reclining chair and closed his eyes.  “Remember, I want the flames to come all the way up behind the cross.”

“Don’t worry.  I know exactly what you want,” Lawless mumbled as she eased her foot down on the pedal that controlled her gun.  The thin needle flew up and down in the tube, sputtering black ink onto the paper her ink cap rest on.  She jerked her head and dipped the tip into a cup of water, shaking it back and forth until the water was murky.  Once her gun was free of the ink, she uncovered a small cap that was filled with clear ink and dipped the needle into it.

“What color is that?”  Her less than enthused client wondered.

“It’s not a color per say.  It’s part of the wash,” Lawless answered as she shook the tip free of excess ink and loaded it with black again.

“But you’re not done with the outline yet,” he said with a slight quiver.  He leaned up and tried to take another look at his arm.  But Lawless eased his head back onto the thick leather bound headrest.

 “Just sit back and relax,” she whispered.  “Let me do my job.”  While he wasn’t the customer she’d seen her dreams that was in need of the special tattoo, Lawless was eager to make up for her goof and the man had a nasty case of asthma.  Once she was done tattooing her spell into his skin, his lung function would improve immediately.

That is, if, she got done.  As soon as she began, her mind wandered again and the needle dug into the already nervous clients arm.

“Shit!”  He yelled and pulled his arm away.  “Have you been drinking?  You’ve been drinking haven’t you or worse you’re high.  Jesus H. Christ there’s a stoner working on my arm!”

The shop went silent again and Lawless pushed away, discarding her gun and pulling off her black nitril gloves.  Heavy footsteps got closer, crossing the small wooden connecting bridge between the two workstations that took up one side of the building.

“Are you sick or something Lawless?”   An olive skinned man sporting a buzz cut asked under his breath, trying not to draw more attention to the situation.

“No I’m not sick Becker, but I can’t be here right now,” she huffed and stood up…

…The second Lawless walked through the curtained archway she felt a tingle of magic race across her skin then she heard a bass heavy blast of music.  Her expectations for the club rose a notch.  Most didn’t take the time to incorporate containment spells into the building.  She kept going, rounding a corner until the wide hallway opened into a large expanse that separated by four stairs.  The staircase curved around the width of the dance floor was broken into sections by long marble columns that were at least thirty feet high.

She took one look around and her expectations plummeted.  The walls were painted to look like a humans’ perception of the FaeLands.  There were small dragon fly winged faeries dancing on large mushrooms and leprechauns peeking behind the end of rainbows painted on the walls.  There was even one adorned with a scene of King Author seated at his legendary round table surrounded by his knights.  The themes didn’t stop with the paintings; the staff was fully decked out in medieval regalia.

 The bartenders were wearing hats that looked like they belonged in Sherwood Forest.   Humans dressed like elves that looked like they’d escaped from a Lord of the Rings convention were moving through the crowd taking drink orders.  The music changed into techno heavy tune and Lawless felt something brush against her cheek.  She ran a hand under her eye and pulled it away to find it covered with glitter.

A passerby smiled and pointed towards the ceiling, “Pixie dust.  Isn’t it cool?”

Lawless groaned and almost turned to leave but her reason for coming popped into her head and she sighed.  The inside of the club was a bit much, but she shook off the momentary shock at the over the top décor and made her way to the crowded dance floor.  More than one person grabbed her arm and asked her to dance but she dismissed them and continued towards the bar at the far end of the space.  She wasn’t there to dance; her only concern was finding a body to keep her bed warm and the memories of Irulan away.

Lawless pushed her way through the writhing, sweaty bodies and leaned against the bar.  She didn’t have to wait long for service.  A blonde vampire hurriedly slid the shot he prepared to its owner and moved to stand in front of her.  “What can I get you?”

“How about a Blue Suicide,” she yelled over the roar of the music.

The vampire tilted his head back and sucked his teeth.  “Are you sure you can handle a drink like that little lady?  That’s Everclear, one fifty one proof Bacardi, and Blue Curacao.”

“Little lady,” she said with eyebrow raised.  “I can drink any man under the table on my worst day.  Just fix me the drink,” Lawless huffed. 

Another bartender took notice of the exchange and pointed.  “Bullshit.  A lady like you drinks one of those and we’ll be mopping up the floor after you lose your lunch.”

Lawless clicked her tongue and smiled.  “A lady like me-are you sure about that dead man?”  She asked and clutched her pocketbook tighter.

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CRIMSON DAWN
Book One of the Darklife Saga by Ronnie Massey

Two Women Hunting A Rogue Vampire

Vampire Valeria Trumaine must confront old demons and face new possibilities as she struggles to bring a rogue vampire to justice. Her best friend and powerful Sidhe princess, Irulan, joins the hunt. Valeria will find that Irulan’s motives for keeping her safe are not what she thinks. And soon she is faced with an undeniable attraction that makes her question everything she knew about herself. [Read More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

Book Advances: What Are They Really For? (And Amazon.com Update)

by Irene Watson

Hearing about an author getting a book advance from a traditional publisher, especially from a  major one, often stirs up wishful thinking in first time or unknown writers.  As authors, our ultimate goal would be to land a contract with one of these publishers and get a substantial advance.

But, there are misconceptions that revolve around an advance.  Basically, an advance is just that; it’s an advance on something to happen. Many authors don’t understand that the word “advance” means advance against royalties. This means royalties for the actual sale of books will offset the advance.   The publishers take an estimate on their projected sales for the first year.  As well, they try to estimate how much it’s going to cost them to do the editing, make the cover, pay for binding/printing, and shipping costs. Then they figure out how much the author might make based on the royalty percentage ending up with the advance they offer.  Keep in mind the typical royalty rate for paperbacks is 7.5% although some do pay as much as 10% or even as high as 12.5% if the author is very well known.  Depending on how much the book is sold for, the average royalty could be anywhere between $1.00 to $2.00 per book sold. The average royalty for a hardcover is about 15% for important authors but range between 10% to 12.5% for all the rest.

But, that’s not where it stops.  The huge misconception is that traditional/big time publishers promote authors.  They don’t…unless you have an important name.  When the author gets an “advance” it doesn’t mean the money goes into her or his pocket and he or she can take a trip they’ve always wanted to make.  It means that the marketing/publicity expense has to come out of it.  The author is expected to hire a publicist, attend signings/events (sometimes even arranged for by the publishing company,) travel, stay in hotels, promote, promote, promote, and it all has to come out of the advance. As well, the agent takes 15% off the top.  So, when we hear that an author got $800,000 advance, that’s all it is; it’s an advance for all the expenses and the higher the advance, the higher expectations for promotion by the author will be.

For example, an article in The New York Times  says:
As for his profits, Mr. Eggers’s ”Acknowledgments” provides a rough breakdown of the costs that consumed most of the $100,000 advance from his hardcover publisher, Simon & Schuster. He promised to distribute some of the remaining $39,567.68 by sending $5 checks to the first 200 readers who mailed in a proof of purchase.

The percentage of authors that make a living off writing books is pathetically small unless the names are Brown, King, Evanovich or Steel.  Because of the dismal income in the end it’s one reason many savvy writers turn to self-publishing or, those that do have traditional publishers, keep their day jobs.  After chatting with a few agents about this they all agreed that the authors get to keep less than 10% in the end.  If the author gets $8 – 10,000 out of the $100,000 advance into his or her pocket it’s exceptionally good. But, from what I hear publishers pay an average of $15 – 20,000 in advances but as low as $3 – 5,000 for first time authors.  So…do the math – in the end your take is pocket change and just blows out the window for those unbudgeted incidentals and before you know it, you’ll be dipping into your own pocket to support a book that is published by a publisher you received an advance from.

And remember, no royalty checks will be paid out to the author until the total amount of royalties and other income generated from sales exceeds the amount of the advance. This is called earning out. This means if you have a $10,000 advance, and your royalty statement shows that you have sold enough books to generate royalties of $8000, then you will not get any royalty payments until you have earned an additional $2000 to offset the advance. And, depending on the sales of your book it may not happen.

But, there are possibilities as well. An article in Writers Weekly says:

Many best-selling authors achieved their success by investing their advances in their own campaigns. Hiring your own publicist will cost $10,000. Purchasing mailing lists can cost more. By spending all or most of an advance on self-promotion, an author is banking on his or her long-term future. It’s a common practice – one that publishers are coming to expect. Dorothea Benton Frank spent over half of her $50,000 advance on postcard and flyer mailings to over 80,000 addresses and on her own regional book tour, a strategy which premiered her first novel at number nine on the New York Times best-seller list. She then signed a two-book contract for $100,000 each. 

But that outcome is rare. Peter Lance, a novelist who also began in mass paperback, spent similarly, exceeding his $8,000 advance four times over in order to pay for his own ads, travel expenses, mailings and even a personal assistant. He sold out most of his 55,000 first run quickly, but to little effect. He lost money, and his press was slow to issue a second edition. 

So…yes, an advance sounds prestigious and gives you bragging rights but the reality of it isn’t prestigious at all.  Bottom line: keep your day job.

I’d sure like to hear your comments on this topic here.

PS - Amazon Update
I received an email from Amazon UK last week telling me that we are violating the guidelines and the reviews have been removed.  The only difference from the US Amazon stock email was the writer actually had a last name.

Out of the 15 banned review sites (that I know of) only five of us want to move forward and keep making noise. (AllBooksReviews, BookPleasures,FeatheredQuillReviews, ReaderViews, RebeccasReads.)  Two declined, one has no time to get involved, two originally said they will get involved but we haven’t heard from them since even after several attempts, and the rest haven’t even responded.  I find this extremely frustrating and disheartening. Actually, it’s very discouraging but I guess I have to accept not all of us have the same goal in mind when it comes to providing reviews for authors and the reason we are here.

What’s even more disheartening is that individual reviewers are being removed/banned.  I got an email from an individual that had posted 200 reviews but isn’t connected to any site or blog. He Googled and found my article about the issue and contacted me.  In fact, he was even a Vine Reviewer (special invitation by Amazon) and got removed for “violating the guidelines.”  However, like everyone else he isn’t told what the violation is.

I also got an email from an author that posted a book trailer she had made on an author’s book page.  She received an email from Amazon.com indicating “Our posted Guidelines prohibit Paid review sites from submitting reviews. As a result, we’ve removed the reviews for these titles. Any further violations of our posted Guidelines may result in the removal of your title from our website.”  That is a blatant threat!!!  And, oh, the tagline for the signature is “Your feedback is helping us build Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company.”  Huh?  A what?  An Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company??  Well…[you fill in the rest.]

Backstory on Amazon.com fiasco.

My first book

Let’s just say it upfront: I don’t promise success; I just shoot out ideas. What you make of it, is entirely up to you. On the other hand, I don’t ask for money.

I know there are many people out there who are unemployed and desperately searching for a chance to create some extra income. Many of them fall for Internet scams promising them easy money, and they all lose their money. I wrote about these scams, and I can proudly say that I saved a great number of people from being scammed. They were smart enough to search the Internet for more information, and that’s how they found me.

That is also the reason why I try to provide free advice. I report about these scams, but I missed to provide the most-wanted information: how to actually make money online. I will try this now, but be warned. Financial success comes only through hard work and it will take blood, sweat, tears, and time, time, time.

You Need A Product Line

In my personal opinion, these days you can only create online income through selling a product or product line. The following concentrates on technical literature as a product.

Selling Technical Literature

So, here’s the idea that worked for me: Back in 2005 I wrote my first technical book titled “A Comprehensible Guide to Controller Area Network” (see image above). Yes, it’s a dry technical topic, but since then the book sold about 500 copies a year. I wrote three more technical books, and in total I sell between 1,500 to 2,000 copies a year, through Amazon.Com and through my own website as eBook (PDF). The monthly income is not bad, but not enough to pay the mortgage, groceries, and other luxuries, meaning I still have a daytime job. It’s kind of ironic, because I don’t have enough time to write as much as I would like to, because I have my job. If I had all the time in a day, I could write more books faster and create more income. This is the point where reality kicks in.

Nevertheless, if you have the time, the skills, and the resources, you can build a steady income. However, let’s do another reality check: Your success depends on a great number of factors like, just to name a few, popularity of the topic to write about, marketing, promotional activities, and more.

Necessary Resources

Fortunately, this is the easiest part, because the majority of us owns a computer with word processor. Plus, most of us have access to the Internet. And here you have the essentials for writing and publishing technical literature.

Why Technical Literature?

Yes, many of us maintain that dream of becoming a famous writer, because, as I mentioned before, we all have that computer, a word processor, and a fast Internet connection. Been there, done that, didn’t work out, meaning I wrote two novels, but in terms of sales numbers it’s a waste of time. This has nothing to do with lack of talent, but with a vast competition in the market, considering millions of new books published per year in the US alone.

The same is true to a certain degree with non-technical nonfiction literature. In general, nonfiction sells much better than fiction, simply for the fact that your readership is easier to define and to target. That simple fact is even more amplified when you write technical literature. In layman’s terms, it’s easier to find buyers for a “John Deere Lawnmower Repair Manual” than for “Buddie the Vampire Slayer.” The offerings of vampire novels is overflowing the market  these days.

What Should I Write About?

Again, there is no secret formula that will excel you into writers’ heaven, but your best bet is to write about something unique. If you have an idea, check out Amazon.Com to see what the “competition” is. If the competition is vast, try something else, unless you think that your approach separates you from the competition. My approach, for instance, was that my books are “comprehensible” and I make sure that word is part of the title. I also use a lower price than the competition.

However, my books are appealing to a niche market, which makes it easier to promote, but I won’t be selling millions of copies, either. The approach of a “John Deere Lawnmower Repair Manual” is not  bad at all, because it does appeal to a much greater audience (I haven’t checked the potential on Amazon, though).

My suggestion would be to look into repairs and maintenance topics. Millions of Americans do need such information.

How Do I Sell?

Besides the more cumbersome ways of finding a publisher or getting into self-publishing, I have two major keywords: Amazon Kindle and Smashwords.Com. Check out the corresponding websites and check out their publishing options. It’s easy (and free) to sign up and post your eBooks. And the beauty is, you don’t need an ISBN for your book.

In terms of required length of the book, it doesn’t really matter when you post eBooks through Amazon Kindle and Smashwords. Naturally, it should reflect in the price, meaning a very short book should cost only $0.99 where the price is higher for larger ones. I do recommend, though, to start with low prices.

Basically, we are talking about a product – the book – that nobody knows, by a manufacturer – the author – that nobody knows, and a quality – the writing style – that nobody knows. The simple solution is a low price and promotion, promotion, and promotion.

The idea behind this concept is that you should write constantly and publish as many books as possible, and, again, Kindle and Smashwords make that easy for you.

How Do I Promote?

This question cannot be answered right here and now. There are literally thousands of books available on the topic. However, the first, absolutely essential step is to establish a web presence, meaning you need a website. If you don’t have the funds to pay for your website try WordPress.Com, which I consider the most effective free website service. If you can afford roughly $120 per year, see my section on running a website, Professional Blogging, where you can also find a free (Really, it’s free) download of a book I wrote on the topic. Also, see my Facebook page where I will post more information, among others, on making money from home.

Book Sales Are Nothing to Write Home About: What is going on?

by Irene Watson

What IS going on?  Every day I get at least two emails from authors expressing concern that their books aren’t selling. They’ve done everything right:  marketing, publicity, social media, blogging, website, signings, promotion, promotion, and more promotion but it just isn’t happening.  It’s very discouraging.  Some blame it on economy and others blame it on availability of cheap (99 cent) or free e-books.

The economy may have something to do with it – I don’t know.  In a recent discussion with author Theodore Jerome Cohen on this topic he said:

It’s difficult to say. But if ePublishing is the future, and it’s so easy to bring a book to, say, Kindle, the market will be flooded…with junk! Without good reviews, the ‘indie’ book market will flounder as readers abandon it and move to the more established writers, where there is some pedigree.  Not a good thought, is it?! I certainly don’t want to put out the effort and money in the future if the response to my latest book, House of Cards, which has only seen moderate sales, is what I have to look forward to. My earlier novel, Death by Wall Street, had a much bigger jump in sales right out of the gate just a year ago. Importantly, its release was heralded by reviews on Amazon.com from Reader Views, Pacific Book Review, and Feathered Quill. Now, these three reviews have been removed by Amazon management, and no such professional reviews, though available, have been allowed on Amazon.com for House of Cards. Which doesn’t make sense, because if my books don’t sell, neither Amazon nor I make money. 

I can’t disagree with Ted, but I’m also wondering if sales are down due to the fact that we are just inundated with books right now.  For example, in 2010 near 3,100,000 (yes, that’s three million) titles were published.

In 2005 the total was 282,500. Comparing that to 2010 it’s eleven times more over a period of five years. It will be interesting to see how many titles have been published this year because it almost tripled from 2009 to 2010.  Will we see four or five times more for 2011? It’s very possible. Could it mean if we published in 2011 we are in the mix with 6 to 9 million other “new” titles?  If that’s the case, it’s not much wonder sales are low.  We end up being a tiny pebble on a huge beach and it’s only by luck that we get picked up because someone notices us. (The stats are available from Bowker.)

Not long ago I saw a book on Amazon.com that was ranked over 8 million so that means they have cataloged over that many books for sale.  But, not all books are on Amazon.com.  There are many online sites that offer e-books not available on the major sellers’ sites because they haven’t been converted for Kindle or Nook. So, taking all that into account it’s possible there could easily be 10 million or more books on the market right now.

So, what is the alternative? How do we get noticed? Is it really worthwhile publishing a book when there are no readers for it? I sure would like to hearyour comments here.

PS – Update – Removal of Reviews by Amazon
Well, this is getting from worse to worser.  (Yes, that’s a word!)  To my knowledge, as of this writing, there are 15 review sites that were victims of Amazon.com’s purge of reviews and reviewers.  I know that individual reviewers have also been removed/banned but it’s hard to know exactly how many.

The “worser” part is that Amazon.com has ceased sending response emails to queries by authors,  reviewers, and publishers except in one instance.  Norm Goldman, Book Pleasures, was the latest victim and one of the authors he did a review for contacted Amazon by phone.  He was told Norm removed the review and “They explained that any reviewer can remove a review within the first 3 months and it was done right at the 3 month mark.” What?  That’s a new angle.  I wonder how much these outsourced people get paid to make up stories.

I’ve contacted all the banned reviewers and suggested we band
together to take this to a higher level, e.g. press release to media.  Seven have responded saying they want to pursue this further, two declined to be involved, and I haven’t heard from the others. I suspect they aren’t interested. One of the reviewers is posting blog posts all the over the Internet and one has contacted the FTC.  One even suggested we create a petition.

And, we ask you to keep making noise…we want your voices heard.  Please continue to send emails to Amazon and contact FTC and your politicians.  And, if you’d like to get on board with us please let me know.  We can use all the help we can get because, as reviewers, we are busy reviewing books and maintaining our sites as support for authors.  We need help.  (Back story.)

PSS – Update – Books for Soldiers
Donations:
3363 Books
252 music CDs
15 T-shirts
16 movie DVDs
1 playing cards, 1 puzzle
2 envelopes full of drawings from children
53 pounds of candy
$10 donation to buy candy
$100 donation toward shipping

So far we’ve donated 121 boxes of books to the VFW for shipping to soldiers in Afghanistan and 21 boxes to individual soldiers or troops/chaplains requesting books through Books for Soldiers. 

And, yes, we are still accepting books! So if you have books to send, go here for the information.

And how many of you just hung your heads in horror and said, Why why why why?? FOR GOODNESS SAKES, not another social media site that I HAVE TO contribute to in order to succeed, or else risk disappearing into the great abyss known as failure.

I mean really? Doesn’t all the pre-existing social media already suck the life and soul out of your day? Do we really need another added to our endless to do list?

I am very unhappy about Google +. I just don’t have time for it, as well as for everything else !!!!!!

Annabelle

A Life Lived Ridiculously
When a girl with obsessive compulsive disorder falls in love with a sociopath, she must fight for her sanity and her life.
http://www.ridiculouslife.net/

Blogging can certainly be fun if that’s all you’re doing it for. You get to put your emotions into words, perhaps get a debate going, even learn a thing or two from someone you’ve never met and probably never will meet. But if suddenly your intentions change so that you are blogging for readership, credibility, or some other reason where the difference between success and failure becomes an issue, then blogging switches from being fun to just plain old hard work with little reward.

Most depressing is when you have taken the time and trouble to write something that you are certain is interesting and provocative, but the response is minimal to say the least. Insult is then added to injury when you open your daily newspaper to see paid journalists regurgitating the same tired nonsense, while you remain forever trapped in obscurity and dogged by feelings of failure.

One recent article particularly irked me. It was published in a mainstream newspaper by a journalist complaining bitterly about the noise from her young neighbor’s apartment. I certainly agreed with her that she shouldn’t have to endure someone else’s loud music, and had I spotted this in a blog, would most likely have responded with my utter sympathies. But this was published in a mainstream newspaper with a readership of almost 1.4 million. The article was neither clever nor original, though I’m sure that her insightful statement that “85 decibels of Led Zeppelin seeping through your walls are unwanted nerve-frying babble,” would have elicited one or two nods of agreement from the general public, though most probably from frustrated bloggers who’s mission in life is to get you to read and comment back on their equally unoriginal thoughts.

As it is, our journalist did blog about her noisy neighbor and boasted that she received a “wave of messages and comments agreeing” with her. Well if she thinks that everyone enjoys the same blogging experience, then she is blissfully deluded. Without the luxury of the mainstream media at one’s fingertips, blogging may start off as fun, but will rapidly escalate into a full time battle against your own insignificance.

I have been blogging for about four months, and what started out as a fun experiment has rapidly escalated into a nagging reminder that I am at best, mediocre. I don’t believe that I am the only one to experience it this way. Bloggers have become so desperate for validation that they join blog farms and discussion forums where every subject line is entitled “follow me and I’ll follow you.” This is clearly the work of people who have crossed over from blogging for fun to blogging for results. And there is nothing fun about that.

So do you get bogged down by your bogs? I think the answer is yes, absolutely. Unless you are able to achieve an enormous readership (whether or not you deserve it, as in the case of our journalist) or you have a very thick skin.

AnnabelleRC

A Life Lived Ridiculously
When a girl with obsessive compulsive disorder falls in love with a sociopath, she must fight for her sanity and her life.
http://www.ridiculouslife.net/

Ok we get it, spam is bad. No one wants their newsfeed clogged with thousands of irrelevant adverts, or even relevant advertising, but a thousand times a day. We get it!

But I also think many people are taking their loathing of spam too far…

Let’s say you’re a writer with a new book about to come out. You may join writer’s forums. And let’s say your book has a heavy rock-climbing theme, so you’ll probably also join rock-climbing forums. And in all these forums you’ll talk to hundreds of like-minded people who’ll be happy to learn all about you… all that is except for the fact that you’ve written a book!

The moment you so much as hint at your achievement, bam the petty police (we all know who they are, every forum has at least one) send you hostile and bitter emails that this forum is not the place for self promotion.

Well if you’re a writer in a writer’s forum, then, one should be surprised if you DIDN’T have a book up your sleeve.

As mentioned before (this needs to be repeated, lest some self-righteous petty betty who didn’t read the first paragraph, says something asinine about spam) there is a difference between alerting relevant parties of your new product and bashing them over the head with it in the form of spam. A huge difference!

My editor put out a press release in which she explained that thanks to her fabulous editing, my book has found a publisher. Well of course I shared it to all my social media. It appeared on my Facebook wall (once) in relevant Facebook groups (once), on twitter, stumbleupon and LinkedIn (all once), among others. For the most part people were receptive and offered congratulations. But then there was the bitter mafia, who accused me of everything, from spamming to even faking the press release. One group member said that my publisher wasn’t sufficiently well known for me to claim that I had found a publisher, whilst another said that the press release contained “too much extraneous capitalization,” which made her suspicious.

The best was the sour puss who wrote “is this self promotion or are you advertising the services of your editor? If it’s the latter then fine, but if it’s the former then it has NO place in this forum!” Then what exactly is this ‘writer’s forum’ for, you sad, miserable witch?!

By the end of a day that had started upbeat and full of hope, due to the arrival of the press release, I was totally deflated and broken by so much hostility and plain nastiness. I must add that my book exists purely for entertainment purposes. I am not trying to sell anyone on a concept or a product, so I don’t see the harm in letting people know that it’s out there.

So what promotes this apparent aversion to other people’s attempts to make something of themselves? Is it envy, the desire to see someone fail, or the fear that someone might succeed? And if that is the case, then don’t worry petty police, by the time your done muzzling and breaking the spirits of people you’ve never even met before, many I’m sure will have given up hope and abandoned the project.

As for me, I’m still fighting the good fight, trying to navigate the increasingly strict rules of social media and the oversensitivity of petty people.

Because I may or may not have a have a novel coming out. I’d love to tell you more about it, but can’t in case it offends someone. So I’ll just say this, the title begins with A. Also I have a website, but you can’t have the link because giving someone a link is a major spam crime.

So if you want me you can find me on Facebook and LinkedIn, talking about everything and anything, and always diligently avoiding mentioning that I may or may not soon be a published author.

Oh, and if another person tells me to join google+, I’ll throttle them – I get abused on enough social sites as it is.

Annabelle
(PS, in case anyone is wondering, the most vicious petty betties live on LinkedIn, so beware…)

 Annabelle

A Life Lived Ridiculously
When a girl with obsessive compulsive disorder falls in love with a sociopath, she fights for her sanity and her life.
http://www.ridiculouslife.net/

Review Removed From Amazon? Instructions for Posting Reviews under Editorial Reviews

by Irene Watson

Further to last week’s editorial indicating Amazon’s removal of reviews and violating their own guidelines they have ceased to communicate with me entirely.  I’ve been sending a daily email and haven’t had one response for over two weeks.  I’m assuming the email address has been flagged or maybe even blocked.

There is an alternative way that you, as an author, can post the Reader Views review on your book page.  You wouldn’t be able to post the entire review but certainly you will be able to post an excerpt through your Author Central Account. (See previous editorial about Author Central and the advantages of having this account active.)  When doing so, please be sure to include the caption “Reviewed by [reviewer name] for Reader Views.”

This is what you do:

1. Sign into your Author Central account.  If you don’t have one, you can do so on: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/

2.  Once you’ve done that, look on the left hand column under “Your Books” and click on “Editorial Reviews.”  This will take you to the page that gives instructions on how to enter the review.

If you don’t have your review handy, you can access it on the Reader Viewssite and do a search by the title or author last name.  Once you have the review you can just copy/paste the excerpt and reviewer acknowledgement.

If you have trouble placing the review in Editorial Reviews there is a button on the page to contact Amazon. I’m hoping that department’s customer service is much more responsive than the ones I’m trying to deal with, including the CEO himself.

In the meantime I’m not giving up in standing up for the unjustly treated authors and will continue to do what I can to bring justice and fair play.

Read blog entry: Ethical Standards and Reviews on Amzon.com by The Big River Review

Read post:  Bad or Late Review? No Problem!

Last night I received the email that I expected, but did not look forward to reading. It was from one of my authors. The background is that I was on a mission to remind a few of the authors I publish that they need to promote their works, namely their novels.

I had made it clear from the beginning that the promotion of an author’s debut novel is one of the most difficult tasks in the business world. Basically, we are talking about a product – the book – that nobody knows, by a manufacturer – the author – that nobody knows, and a quality – the writing style – that nobody knows. The simple solution is promotion, promotion, and promotion.

As a business man I am intrigued by the challenge. As a publisher – officially a micro-publisher – I need the continued support from my authors. I run a small publishing business, and the return-of-investment point comes quickly, due to a low overhead, but the passiveness of some of my authors makes even that difficult.

Coming back to the email I received, let me share the first line: “Wow! You must be having a really grouchy day today.”

Okay, what is this? Phobia? Ignorance? Apathy? In the business world you call it suicide.

I wanted to respond to that person that my reminder was not an emotional fluke; instead, I write this post. His passiveness resulted in zero sales during this past month, and I will most probably remove his book from my listing.

In contrast – just as a reference of a proper response – let me quote the answer from another author: “This sounds good. I think I’ll try and send you something soon.” Sure enough, this morning she sent me the requested information.

The catalog of very obvious and easy-to-accomplish book promotion activities includes:

• Maintain a website and update frequently
• Maintain a Facebook account and update frequently
• Whenever you add a post to your website, mention it on your Facebook page

There is nothing special about this list, and I am sorry to disappoint everybody who expected a secret formula. Be also aware of the fact that there is a myriad of promotional activities, and there is no guarantee that either one of them will work. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. However, you can apply common sense.

One of my previous authors started to focus on promoting his novel to Hollywood movie studios and agencies, and, basically, there is nothing wrong with that. Another author concentrated merely on submitting his work to writers’ contests. And yes, everybody is allowed to dream, and, heck, if the dream comes true, I, being the publisher, will gain as well. However, don’t forget about the real life. The real life showed that their dream of greatness was not backed by the sales numbers. My assumption here is, regardless of whether the book makes it as a movie or wins first prize or is short-listed, that if the book has such potential, it should reflect in good sales numbers.

As a publisher I produce press releases and hire review services. In addition – and I believe, this is our strongest marketing tool – we maintain a strong web presence. Our flagship is this very website, FrogenYozurt.Com including its British version FrogenYozurt.co.uk, where we promote not only our authors, but a number of external guest writers (See http://frogenyozurt.com/guest-writers/apply/). A look at the statistics tells us that we enjoy a readership of roughly 2,000 unique visitors a day.

I give my authors the unique opportunity to post directly on this website. I provide them the opportunity to potentially reach 2,000 readers a day. Yes, this number is hypothetical, but frequent writers on this website reach easily up to several thousands of reads per year. Add to this that they are allowed, even encouraged, to include a hyperlink to their website and Facebook account. Also realize how hard it is to create such a daily readership with your own website.

In general, my business model works well. It is just sad that I need to deal with remarks like “”Wow! You must be having a really grouchy day today.” Remarks like this have the potential of making it a grouchy day, but, now that I am finishing this post, I feel much better now.

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The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

This morning I received an e-mail from one of my authors, Joy J. Kaimaparamban:

Dear Wilfriedji,

How are you?

I received a mail from a new international publishing house, JustFiction! Edition. They wrote they are interested in my novel, ‘The Wildfire’.

I wish to know your valuable advice regarding this matter.

The mail was from Evelyn Davis (Evelyn Davis)

Note: Yes, he addresses me as Wilfriedji, which I consider an honor.

But getting back to the matter at hand: JustFiction Edition. The e-mail he received, was:

Dear Mr Kaimaparamban,

I am writing on behalf of a new international publishing house, JustFiction! Edition.

In the course of a web-research I came across a reference of your manuscript The Wildfire and it has caught my attention.

We are a publisher recognized worldwide, whose aim it is to help talented but international yet unknown authors to publish their manuscripts supported by our experience of publishing and to make their writing available to a wider audience.

JustFiction! Edition would be especially interested in publishing your manuscript as an e-book and in the form of a printed book and all this at no cost to you, of course.

If you are interested in a co-operation I would be glad to send you an e-mail with further information in an attachment.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards
Evelyn Davis
Acquisition Editor

Just Fiction! Edition is a trademark of:
LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing GmbH & Co. KG
Dudweiler Landstr. 99
66123 Saarbrücken
Germany

Phone: +49 681 3720-310
Fax: +49 681 3720-3109
Email: e.davis@justfiction-edition.com
www.justfiction-edition.com

First of all, JustFiction Edition is a legitimate business based in Germany. Their very professional looking website contains a writing style that definitely has some slight “Germlish” elements. I should know; I am German. My thought was, if they are serious about a professional appearance, they should hire a professional whose native language is actually English. Heck! They could hire me, and I would do a better job…;-)

As I wrote, they are a legitimate business, but I strongly advice not to fall for their scheme! Remember: If it sounds too good to be true then it probably isn’t good at all.

Let me just make my case:

Most importantly, it is highly suspicious when a publisher approaches an author, saying they are interested without even having seen the manuscript.

They are interested in publishing your work as eBook. Well, go to Amazon Kindle and smashwords.com, and you’ll get the same thing. As that woman wrote, it won’t cost you a thing. Zip. Zero. Well, wait, JustFiction Edition takes their profit share on top of Amazon and smashwords.com…

The JustFiction Edition website contains virtually no information in regards to author compensation or even general terms & condition (there is a brief blurb regarding plagiarism, though).

Here comes the catch: I checked out their offerings, i.e. the attached e-commerce website. The first book I found (no specification whether it was an eBook, paperback, or hardcover; no information on book size) contains 208 pages for roughly 20 Euros. That is roughly 28 US dollars for a mere 208 pages! Even if this book is, hypothetically, a hardcover (I doubt it, though), it is definitely overpriced.

Each author should be aware that your chances of being successful as a writer are effectively terminated by such an obscene pricing policy. Remember, as an aspiring author, nobody knows you, nobody knows the product you provide, and nobody knows what quality to expect. The obstacles are high, however, not unsurmountable. But add an obscene price to the scenario, and you’re outta here.

Yes, I do believe, they will publish your book and list it at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, and other online bookstores (Their cost for an ISBN is probably under $1 per publication). However, they are nothing else but a POD (Print-On-Demand; they call it PTO, but it’s the same thing) publisher with a LightningSource (an Ingram business unit) account. Nothing wrong with that. I do the same. But I don’t make it sound like it is a unique and absolutely wonderful feature.

JustFiction Edition copied their business model from PublishAmerica, however, with a European touch (big deal!). They will publish virtually everything; good or bad, who cares? Their focus is high-volume sales. If you can’t find a few authors with great potential like a traditional publisher, you hire a myriad of authors with low or even non-existing potential. With a 100,000 authors at hand, selling in average two books per author per month, you sell 200,000 books per month. You make roughly 10 Euros (~US$ 14) profit per book, which translates into (now I need my calculator…) 2 million Euros (~2.8 million dollars) per month!

Well, I don’t believe, they have 100,000 authors at this time, but I am sure, they’re working on it. Even if they have only 10,000 they make an annual profit (after costs of goods sold) of 2.4 million Euros (~3.4 million dollars). Believe me, that number is not unreasonable. PublishAmerica (according to their website) rapes almost 50,000 (fifty thousand) authors. After all, you now got the picture of their business model.

The side effect for you, the author, is that they don’t give a damn about you and your success.

I wrote back to Joy:

I would not try to hold you back in case a traditional publisher offers you a contract and possibly a downpayment, but in this case I suggest that you do not sign up with them. If they were, in fact, a trustful business, they would provide you more information upfront.

That being said… Stay away from JustFiction Edition! It’s a rip-off!

By Irene Watson

I got this email a few days ago:

Is it still “very bad form” to put info onto a review book that might hurt the resale value? Right now I paperclip my business card in but I’m thinking of getting a stick-on business card holder and attaching it to the inside front cover.

I addressed this issue in a previous editorial but would like to chat about it again.  I’m not going to regurgitate everything I said but will address some of the concerns: reselling and donating to libraries.

I know there are still many authors that will deface a book because they fear the reviewer will sell the book.  There is no doubt that reviewers do sell the books. This is an excerpt from a self-publishing forum to prove it:

According to an email I received from Midwest boss Jim Cox, the reason Midwest wants finished/final copies is that the reviewers “get paid” with books that they can sell after writing the reviews.
Michael N. Marcus
– author of “Become a Real Self-Publisher: Don’t be a Victim of a Vanity Press”

Perusing the guidelines I find Midwest Book Review requires two copies of the title. I’m not sure why other than selling one or both copies because it only takes one book for one review. Many reviewers feel the sale of their review copy is compensation for time spent reading/reviewing the book and I certainly can’t disagree with them.

Pete Masterson, Author of “Book Design and Production: A Guide for Authors and Publishers” on the same forum recently said:

Review copies you send out are considered “gifts” to the reviewers (whether they review the book or not). So there is nothing practical you can do about review copies that end up being offered for sale online… When review copies show up for sale, it’s best to have a positive attitude about it and hopefully the buyer of such a copy will be pleased and recommend it to several friends.

It boils down to a two-way street called “Give and Receive.”

But, let’s take a look at another reason not to deface, or in the case of the person writing the email above putting a stick-on business card holder inside the cover.

Many reviewers, after the books are read/reviewed, donate them to their local library.  We, for one, donate books that have not been reviewed to local libraries.  According to the librarians I talked to, the chance of the book ending up on the shelf in a library is much greater if it’s not defaced or has stickers on it.  Those that are defaced or have “review copy” on them are rejected.

There was a rumor going around one time that libraries will not shelf autographed books because they get stolen.  I called two libraries we donate to and was told they don’t have this concern.  I also asked several of my reviewers if books they donate get rejected because the book is autographed and the answer was no.  However, what I did learn is they are apt to keep the book in their personal library if the book is autographed to them personally.

What are your thoughts about defacing a book before sending it out for review? I’d like to hear from you here.

PS - Books for Soldiers Update
as of Sat. Oct. 1st we received:
1408 books
24 music CDs/6 movie DVDs
33 pounds of candy for packing
15 t-shirts with book logo
$10 donation to buy candy

Thank you to all the doners! And, yes, we are still accepting donations on an ongoing basis.

By Irene Watson

A reviewer wrote me:

I was concerned that the book synopsis did not mention the part of the story that the author is dealing with his homosexuality. I read the book and am not reviewing it.

Every so often I get emails from reviewers indicating the synopsis didn’t specify adverse, to them, content.  In some cases the synopsis even looked like it was written by someone that didn’t read the book because it didn’t reflect what was inside the covers. This could be a huge issue for the readers, especially if they aren’t expecting something that turns them off.

There are a number of topics that must be disclosed in the synopsis and my suggestions are:

*profanity/expletives - even though our society is very lax in this department many are still turned off
*homosexuality - either your own experience (as above) or any homosexual encounters
*sexual orientation - anything to do with BLGT themes
*politics - especially if you are slam-blasting a party/establishment or pushing your own views
*religion - especially if you have a strong point of view on a specific religion and denounce others
*erotic sexual scenes - anything that would be censored or for adult reading only
*necrophilia - many readers would consider this as objectionable or inappropriate
*kinky sex - BDSM, menage, and such – stuff to be done behind closed doors
*horror - blood/guts/beheadings – yikes! – need I say more?
*paranormal - many don’t believe in this and could be upset if it comes up unexpectedly
*and basically, anything that could be go against a person’s beliefs

This list comes from my own experience with reviewers as well as reading reviews by others that gave negative reviews.  Non-disclosure could certainly be grounds for a negative review.

If you can’t quite fit the disclosure into a synopsis then I believe a warning would be just as effective.  I have seen some authors place this just below the synopsis:

Warning:  Contains expletives

The specific reviewer I quoted above refused to write a review but I’ve had reviewers that chose to write a review and mention the adverse content in the review.  Both are in their own right.  Some reviewers feel they need to warn potential readers so they wouldn’t be surprised or turned off the same as they are, or some just refuse to even participate in giving what turns them off any energy and writing a review.

The interesting part is I tried to find something online about what to disclose in a synopsis and couldn’t.  There are thousands of articles on how to write a synopsis but doing a cursory look none of them addressed disclosure. This topic IS an issue so it surprises me there isn’t more buzz about it.

So…what turns you off in a book but it wasn’t disclosed in the synopsis?  Do you have any others to add to the list above?  I want to hear your comments here.

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THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

One of the advices I have for the aspiring author is to let your work sit for a week or so and re-read it. This method provides you some distance to your own writing, and it helps you to analyze your writing more effectively. I used this method when I started writing, and at times I shook my head about myself. I also learned that I didn’t want to waste my time with writing a bad novel, and re-write and re-write… Ideally – dreaming is allowed – everybody wants to pass at the first attempt.

So, what to do? The answer is simple: Write, write… and write. Also, read, read… and read. Yes, the keyword is “practice.”

My focus today is on the writing part, because here comes the next question: What should I write about? After all, I want to write about something meaningful, something that will attract readers. And, yet again, the answer is easy: Yes, you can write about anything that comes to mind, but I personally was looking for a challenge. That challenge came in form of short stories and creating the title first before I even had an idea what the story was about.

I looked at a number of Tom Waits song titles, and, as a first choice, I picked “Cemetery Polka.” The result of this little project can be found on this website at http://frogenyozurt.com/2009/12/cemetery-polka/. I also published it on AuthorsDen.com and Scribd.Com. When you write a short story, you should always look for ways to share them.

My next project is in the works, and the title is “Warm Beer And Cold Women,” soon to be seen in this theatre…;-) Again, at this time, I have no idea what it will be about. I will wait a few days and think about it, and then I will write. Not much more than 2,000 words. That should do.

And, just to tickle some thoughts, here is a list of more intriguing Tom Waits titles:

• Jockey Full Of Bourbon
• Tango Till They’re Sore
• I Hope I Don’t Fall In Love With You
• Little Drop Of Poison
• Hang On St. Christopher
• Yesterday Is Here
• Just Another Sucker On The Vine
• Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis
• Drunk On The Moon
• God’s Away On Business
• You Can’t Unring A Bell

Feel free to use any of them. I have enough work for the next months. And, if you feel inclined to do so, please send me your story, and I will publish it on this website. Log on to http://frogenyozurt.com/contact/article-submission/, fill the information, and submit it.

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THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

Click on image to buy from Amazon.Com

The second book in the Write Great Fiction series, Plot and Structure offers clear and concise information on creating a believable and engaging plot that readers can’t resist. Written by award-winning thriller and suspense author James Scott Bell, this handy instruction guide provides: Easy-to-understand techniques on every aspect of plotting and structure, from brainstorming story ideas to building scenes, and from using subplots to crafting knock-out endings; Engaging exercises, perfect for writers at any level and at any stage in their novel; Practical and encouraging guidance from one of the most respected writers publishing today; Full of diagrams, plot brainstormers, and examples from popular novels, mastering plot and structure has never been so simple.

About the Author

A former trial lawyer, James Scott Bell is the award-winning author of numerous thrillers, including the Ty Buchanan series (Try Dying, Try Darkness, Try Fear). He is also the author of two other popular writing books: Revision & Self-Editing, and The Art of War for Writers. A frequent teacher and keynoter at writing conferences, he resides in Los Angeles.

Review

Bell starts from the assertion that anyone can learn to craft a good plot. Whether you prefer to plan every detail of your stories in advance or fly by the seat of your pants, you can still learn all the elements of an engaging story and use them to draw your reader in. Bell has spent a great deal of time analyzing the plot structures of those books that consistently draw people in, and he has come up with a number of systems, theories and exercises which he shares in this book.

Bell addresses just about every aspect of plotting I could think of, from “What’s a Plot, Anyway?” to generating ideas, dealing with beginnings (and middles, and endings), handling individual scenes, crafting complex plots, integrating character arc into plot, different systems of crafting plot, revising plots, plot patterns, plot problems, cures for plot problems, and even checklists to go through to make sure you’re remembering everything as you write your book.

One of Bell’s major contributions to plot theory is his “LOCK” system, which stands for Lead, Objective, Confrontation, Knockout. In order to have a gripping plot you must have a lead, he must have an objective, there must be confrontation, and the ending must have “knockout power.” There are a million-and-ten possible variations on this simple structure, but this basic idea alone can help a struggling writer to get a grip on the basics of plot.

I highly recommend “Plot & Structure” for anyone who writes or plans to write fiction. It’s been a while since I sat down to write fiction, but this book makes me want to sit and work on a novel right this moment. It’s clear, coherent, practical, and immensely useful to any student of the craft. – H. Crove, Amazon.Com Customer Review

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AMERICAN MALE PROSTITUTE

How I (Almost) Got A Book Deal Through Sex, Lies, And Deceit

Stuart Martin Berry has only three months left to find a publisher for his first novel. In a desperate attempt to reach his goal he leaves his home to live in New York. His wife has given him free rein to do whatever it takes to get a book deal. Her only request was not to give her any details on how he got there. If he fails he will be forced to give up his dream of being a famous writer and take a regular forty hour a week job. For Stuart this is sufficient motivation to start a three month adventure full of sex, lies, and deceit, without losing focus of the ultimate goal. When he finally reaches the finish line, he has evolved and become a top expert in the publishing world.

The question remains, what does it take these days to get a book deal with a traditional publisher? What do you do when, hypothetically, you are running out of time and mere talent is not the be-all and end-all?

Stuart Martin Berry has found the answer: If you can’t impress them with your talent, baffle them with your bull-shit. [Read more, including an excerpt]

American Male Prostitute is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

Click above to download the FREE PDF document - No questions asked...

Let’s Write A Novel: The Monty Python Code

By Wilfried F. Voss

Author of The Bleeding Hills and American Male Prostitute – How I (Almost) Got A Book Deal Through Sex, Lies, And Deceit

A Practical Guide To Writing Your Own Novel
Tips & Advice from the real Writing World

Download the PDF document by clicking on the image to the left. Downloading is absolutely FREE, and there will be no entry form asking for your email-address, etc.

For further Information check out these websites:

http://www.wilfriedvoss.com

http://www.themontypythoncode.com

So, you had an idea. You want to write a novel. The story line is already in your head, and you are itching to get your hands on that keyboard. In your mind, you have already sold thousands of copies, and you are thinking about who will play the lead role in the movie version. Been there, done that, and still like it…

The harsh reality is that most aspiring authors never finish the first draft of their novel, and some start a second before the first one is not even close to completion. I personally managed to finish my first novel and publish it, but I also started writing my third novel after the second was only half finished. The major problem is that we all have too many good ideas, and it is hard to focus on one story, especially when writing it turns out to take more time than we estimated. I once calculated that, due to abundance of ideas, I could (theoretically) write four novels per year… if only I could write eight hours per day. In reality, I do have a daytime job and a family. The thought of quitting my job and leaving my wife and son didn’t appeal.

Before I explain a solution to the problem, let me add more obstacles to this Mission Impossible:

First, a good novel should have at least 60,000 words, and that will take time. When your work is finished, you need to hire an editing service to review and improve your work. Otherwise you won’t have the hint of a chance of being accepted by agents or publishers. Editing will cost you $800+.

I have written numerous posts about the daunting task of finding an agent or publisher, or, in case you self-publish, market and sell your first novel.

Promoting and selling your first novel is the most difficult task in the business world. Even traditional publishers won’t help you there, unless you have a definite Dan-Brown-Potential. So, writing should not be your only talent.

The solution to the problem is first of all perseverance, focus, and a major investment of time. And don’t ignore the much-needed blood, sweat, and tears. You may notice that I did not add talent to the formula. Talent does definitely help, but all aspiring writers believe they have it, and I won’t judge who has and who does not.

From my personal experience I can say that writing my first novel was nothing short of exciting. It was a trip into a different dimension, a different life and time. I had a good outline of my story, but it also took some surprising turns that I did not expect. A story develops while you write it, and that simple fact is absolutely fascinating. For that experience alone it was worth writing it.

So, here, based on my personal experience, are some tips:

• Don’t expect your first novel to be a bestseller. I always say that the best marketing tool for your first novel is the release of the second.
• Write for yourself, not for commercial success. Have fun!
• Write plenty! The more you write the better your style will be in the end. You don’t necessarily need to write on your novel all the time. Watch people or events and write a story about it. Post it on your blog.
• That being said, run a blog!
• Read plenty! Read online versions of the New York Times, Washington Post, etc. Read from Hemingway to Sarah Palin (Yikes!). Reading will help improving your style.
• Pace yourself to 3,000 to 5,000 words a week (some do better, some do worse).
• Don’t edit your own writing over and over. You’re losing too much time. Keep the editing for the time after your first draft is done.
• Find a place and time to do your writing on a regular basis.
• Last, but not least, download my document “Let’s Write Novel”!

Learn how to get from:

Igor Feldman kills student Hillary Pinton
Scene in a basement. Hillary is tied to a chair, blind-folded. Igor uses 20-inch knife to pierce her heart.

to:

The Monty Python Code – Chapter One

The full moon of a bitterly cold January night shed its eerie glow on the scenery in the smelly basement of the 19^th century villa on Elm Street in Grand Fenwick’s most noble neighborhood. A blindfolded girl, still dressed in her cheerleader uniform, the pom-poms lying next to her on the dirty floor, was tied to an old, wooden chair, and she started crying. If they, whoever they were, would not release her like within the next two hours, she would like miss the party at Margaret Hatcher’s house, and that was just not fair. She could lose her status as the coolest girl in college. After all, she was Hillary Pinton, daughter of Horatio Pinton, owner and editor of the Grand Fenwick Observer.

She listened to the noise around her, the groaning of the old house, the howling wind from outside, the barely noticeable tapping feet of rats looking for food, but there was nothing that would reveal a clue of what was going to happen. Then, suddenly, she felt the presence of another person in the room.

“Hello?” she called out. “Can I like go home, please? I don’t wanna play anymore.”

The short, ugly creature, dressed in a filthy black robe with a large hood hiding his blemished face, shrugged his shoulders and skillfully wiped his runny nose with his long tongue, but he did not respond to his victim’s plead. Igor Feldman was not in the mood for a conversation.

The master will be pleased, he thought. I will do what he asked me for, and he will grant me my wish.

The sweat running from his back had caused his hump to slide, and, angry about the inconvenience, he groaned and started adjusting it.

“I really need to go home, like soon,” he heard Hillary again. “It’s like late, you know.”

“In time,” he calmed her with his raspy voice. “In time, my dear.”

He weighed the twenty-inch blade, an ordinary kitchen knife he had stolen from the house, in his hands, and, dragging the black shoes over the worn basement floor, he limped toward the chair.

Pretty she is, he thought as he cocked his head and curiously watched the young woman for a few seconds. He took a deep breath as his right hand went under Hillary’s sweater, and he started counting the ribs until he found the perfect spot.

“What are you doing?” Hillary giggled.

Feldman’s pulse accelerated in anticipation as he positioned the head of the knife, maintaining an accurate ninety-degree angle to her chest.

“Ooh,” she swooned. “You pervert! I guess, we have like time for a quick…”

Using swift and powerful force Feldman thrust the cold steel into her heart. Hillary’s body surged for a fleeting moment within the restraints of the tight ropes, and then it slumped back into the chair. The killing had been fast and effective, and, besides the hissing of air leaving her body, not a single sound had left her mouth. The eyes under the blindfold were open wide, filled with terror as if she were still alive

Feldman felt her blood streaming down his wrist, warm, red, rich, and tasty. He pulled the knife as swift as he had during the killing, and he held it close in front of his face. His long tongue caressed the cold steel, and he moaned with pleasure. Then he looked at the dead body

Maybe I could, he thought, but he mastered the growing desire, suspiciously scanning the surroundings. The master’s eyes are everywhere. He knows everything.

Igor had accomplished the task as he was asked, and he was confident the master would reward him generously.

###

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AMERICAN MALE PROSTITUTE

How I (Almost) Got A Book Deal Through Sex, Lies, And Deceit

Stuart Martin Berry has only three months left to find a publisher for his first novel. In a desperate attempt to reach his goal he leaves his home to live in New York. His wife has given him free rein to do whatever it takes to get a book deal. Her only request was not to give her any details on how he got there. If he fails he will be forced to give up his dream of being a famous writer and take a regular forty hour a week job. For Stuart this is sufficient motivation to start a three month adventure full of sex, lies, and deceit, without losing focus of the ultimate goal. When he finally reaches the finish line, he has evolved and become a top expert in the publishing world.

The question remains, what does it take these days to get a book deal with a traditional publisher? What do you do when, hypothetically, you are running out of time and mere talent is not the be-all and end-all?

Stuart Martin Berry has found the answer: If you can’t impress them with your talent, baffle them with your bull-shit. [Read more, including an excerpt]

American Male Prostitute is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

###

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The Bleeding Hills

A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

For a short time after my failure, literary agents, snobby bastards that they are, treated me like I was the carrier of a deadly disease. But they turned around and started kissing up to me as soon as I got my job as editor for the above-mentioned magazine. Until then, during an intense three-month period of shamelessly promoting my book, I had learned my lesson on persuasive bull-shitting.

Suddenly, if you believed my job description, I was not a failed novelist, but an accomplished author, who had decided to share his knowledge with the aspiring writer, to provide advice and encouragement. These days you see my photo in various publications, printed or online, identifying me as a top expert on all aspects of fiction writing. My job included, among many other things, writing about writing without being allowed to write something substantial like, let’s say, a novel.

Another essential part of my work as an editor was keeping up a fantasy world for the tens of thousands of wannabe-writers who made the mistake of subscribing to our magazine or the even more useless online forum.

Let me explain to those not familiar with the publishing business, a writers’ magazine cannot exist without the vast number of delusional writers who will never have the slightest chance of ever being published. In order to have your book published, you need to be talented and, as I was told from day one, the vast majority of our subscribers weren’t.

I was also directed to keep the information in my articles at a fairly superficial level and use ample motivational nonsense to keep our readers happy, everything to convince a dying man that he will live a long and prosperous life.

My personal favorite was an article series on dealing with and recovering from rejections, and you can bet, most of our readers have been rejected numerous times by agents and publishers alike.

Besides advertisement, we made our main revenue through online writers’ workshops, and the depthless articles filling our magazine ad nauseam were the best marketing tools. And for God’s sake, I was not to write anything that might interfere with the dubious business of the sharks that paid substantial fees for full-page advertisements in our magazine.

All that wasn’t difficult for me. As I said, bull-shitting was one of my acquired talents.

Jilly Cooper once said, the male is a domestic animal, which, if treated with firmness, can be trained to do most things. I am living proof to validate that statement.

Well, the bull-shitting life is finally over, and, honestly, I hated every single day. Deep in my soul I am an honest guy. Unfortunately, honesty doesn’t pay the bills.

Fortunately, though, about four weeks ago, my wife Sophie had accepted a job offer for a $150,000 annual salary plus benefits, and I had offered to be a stay-at-home Dad.

Our daughter Magda is now almost two years old, and my wife was itching to get back to her former job as the head of the Human Resources department of a leading insurance company based in Washington, D.C.

I have not yet decided what I will do during the copious spare time between play-group-mornings and afternoon walks in the park. I still maintain my blog and make a few bucks on the side with online advertising, just enough to cover the operating costs. I might start writing paid literature reviews or even start an editing service. With my connections to the publishing and writing industry that shouldn’t post a problem.

Llysha, another aspiring author and a dear friend of mine, had jokingly suggested starting our own publishing business, and she touted BBS, Inc. as the business name. BBS stands for “Baffle them with your Bull-Shit”, and, believe me, the name alone was a guarantee for success in the publishing industry.

To stay with the truth, I am done with writing. I am with Groucho Marx who once said, “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.” Nevertheless, I am burning to take a final hit at the system. It deserves it.

While we’re at it, my name is not Stuart Martin Berry, and events and names have been changed to protect my family, specifically my wife. I will tell you about that grotesque period of three months, during which I tried to find a publisher for my book. My wife had given me totally free rein to do whatever it would take to get a book deal. Her only request was not to share any details of how I got there.

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AMERICAN MALE PROSTITUTE

How I (Almost) Got A Book Deal Through Sex, Lies, And Deceit

Today’s publishing world is divided into two principle sections. First, there is the exclusive pool of traditional publishers, and, second, the help-yourself shark tank represented by the so-called vanity publishers.

Vanity publishers have a significant edge over traditional publishers in regards to brutality, business sense, and profitability. They ruthlessly pursue the infinite supply of aspiring writers who, in turn, are rejected by traditional publishers or literary agents. Ironically, in the world of traditional publishing, authors are rejected not necessarily due to lack of talent. Vanity publishers accept everybody and everything. No questions asked. Just pay your bill, but don’t come crying to them when you can’t sell a copy of your book.

The question remains, what does it take these days to get a book deal with a traditional publisher? What do you do when, hypothetically, you are running out of time and mere talent is not the be-all and end-all?

Stuart Martin Berry has found the answer: If you can’t impress them with your talent, baffle them with your bull-shit. [Read more, including an excerpt]

Click on image to download...

As the title of this book implies, the author delivers a concise description on setting up a professional blog – using WordPress – without wasting time convincing the user of the reasoning for creating a blog. The approach is “quick and dirty.”

In his foreword the author does not conceal the fact that all information in this book in freely available through the Internet, or through many, more detailed books, but reading this book and following the instructions will save the user a great deal of time and, after all, aggravation.

This book will provide a crash-course in setting up a web site that goes beyond a basic blog. In this sense, the author added many exciting features such as slide shows, cool navigation tools, social network connections, integrating videos and cartoons, and even an e-commerce system. He also puts an emphasis on search engine optimization (SEO), creating web traffic, and protecting the blog from being spammed. In addition, the author shares his experience with creating income through blogs without promising a “new path to riches.”

Note: The information in this book (PDF Download) refers to an old version of WordPress, and the author has decided not to update. The information herein is, nevertheless, helpful for everybody starting his or her new blog.

The download is, in fact, FREE, and it will NOT require the submission of additional information. No questions asked; just click on the image and download!

More information on Professional Blogging

For additional information not covered in the book, please see our section Insights Into Professional Blogging With WordPress on this website.

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Crimson Dawn

Book One of the Darklife Saga by Ronnie Massey

Two Women Hunting A Rogue Vampire

Vampire Valeria Trumaine must confront old demons and face new possibilities as she struggles to bring a rogue vampire to justice. Her best friend and powerful Sidhe princess, Irulan, joins the hunt. Valeria will find that Irulan’s motives for keeping her safe are not what she thinks. And soon she is faced with an undeniable attraction that makes her question everything she knew about herself.

CRIMSON DAWN by Ronnie Massey is not just another vampire novel. Yes, the story line includes the favorites of all young adults – plus those who stayed young-at-heart – such as vampires, werewolves, witches, and fairies, but they represent a framework that is seamlessly incorporated in a captivating story that is well worth to be characterized as extraordinary. [Read More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

Click on image to buy from Amazon.Com

Some of the most important verbal messages we craft are also the shortest: headlines, titles, sound bites, brand names, domain names, slogans, taglines, company mantras, email signatures, bullet points. These miniature messages depend not on the elements of style but rather on the atoms of style. They require microstyle. Branding consultant Christopher Johnson here reveals the once-secret knowledge of poets, copywriters, brand namers, political speechwriters, and other professional verbal miniaturists. Each chapter discusses one tool that helps miniature messages grab attention, communicate instantly, stick in the mind, and roll off the tongue. As he highlights examples of those tools used well, Johnson also examines messages that miss the mark, either by failing to use a tool or by using it badly. Microstyle shows readers how to say the most with the least, while offering a lively romp through the historic transformation of mass media into the media of the personal.

Editorial Reviews

What do Oscar Wilde, Steve Jobs, and Jello Biafra have in common? Each has mastered microstyle. With this riotous and readable book, Christopher Johnson helps you join the club. In no time you’ll be coining witty epigrams, imagining unforgettable brands, or crafting a distinctive identity. (Constance Hale, author of Sin and Syntax )

With advice for writing compelling blogs, pitches, ads, slogans, and social-media postings, Johnson’s sophisticated, richly referenced, and example filled microstyle guide is distinctive, instructive, enjoyable, and inspiring. (Donna Seaman - Booklist )

Review

I bought Microstyle after reading the NY Times review, and found it to be an interesting but slightly repetitive survey of short marketing messages and funny one-liners.

Most of the examples in the book are advertising slogans, mixed in with far too many fake headlines from The Onion and selections from Twitter Wit and the FakeAPStyleGuide. I kept waiting for a discussion of more substantive micro-communication. There was no mention of Iran, China, or other places where people have been experimenting with short bursts of text to organize, communicate with the world and avoid censorship. Surely the author has seen instructive examples of that type of communication, and I think the book would benefit by moving beyond branding, marketing and humor.

Highlights were the three short chapters on rhythm, poetic patterns and sonority, but in general this book made me want to re-read Strunk & White. For a more elegantly curated collection of microstyle, try Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style.

(As an aside, I bought the Kindle version because I could not stand to look at the book jacket. Microstyle applies to graphic design as well, and the jacket design is a clunky and nonsensical mixture of metaphors: ruled notebook paper, two kinds of typewriter text, digital type and a stylized magnifying glass, which might also represent a search icon. The author is able to elegantly dissect mixed metaphor in text, but his insights should have been aggressively applied to the cover.) – Jonathan C., Amazon.Com Customer Review

‘Microstyle’ Marketing: Slogans For The Self

NPR Book Review – August 1, 2011 (Excerpt)

In another age, Christopher Johnson’s Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little might be called “How to Succeed in Advertising.” But it comes now, and might then be called “How to Succeed in Advertising … Yourself, In the Age of Personal Branding.” Johnson, a former aspiring poet turned name doctor and author of The Name Inspector blog, has written a book about taking the tactics of advertising, poetry, puns and lyrics so that you too can get RT’d, starred, “liked,” +1ed, hired, loved, famous, followed.

Have you heard about the noise of the culture, and how it’s drowning out everything inside of the culture? Johnson aptly names this “the verbal attention economy,” a place where we are all readers on high-speed Internet with multiple browser windows open, clicking “close tab” as soon as we get bored, perhaps, but also when we get suspicious. We are, Johnson insists, a much warier public, and we are slowly warming to the idea that we are all brands. Johnson wants to show you how to survive and thrive.

Johnson’s thesis as to the importance of his book, an awkward open proposition for any intro, is that the age of the Internet has us writing more than ever before, and reading more as well. But we write shorter in each of the messages. As we move our now impossibly strong and agile thumbs across our tiny keyboards, texting, writing status updates, commenting on threads on other status updates, Tweeting, Facebooking, Google+ing, Johnson proposes that the average American writes in the aggregate more than he or she ever has. The way to the next job, relationship, networking connection or contract might just be a Tweet, and are yours good enough? [Read the full article...]

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Boiled Peanuts

A Novel by John Patrick Doyle

A Peeping Tom Goes Nuts Over A Blind Girl

Paul Kirk is a librarian and one of his town’s quirkier residents.  In a childhood home lacking parents (his mother dying of MS and his father an alcoholic) Paul had imagined himself a member of the neighboring family. Now in his late twenties, Paul vicariously participates in the households of his community. His peeping-Tom proclivities express his awkward need for social bonding.

Then Paul meets Bronwyn, a counselor who is lovely, independent and blind. She has inherited her Aunt Phyllis’ house and is newly arrived in town. When Paul first sees Bronwyn at church, he knows he wants to be part of her life. As the mystery of Aunt Phyllis unfolds, Bronwyn and Paul become more deeply involved as they learn about Phyllis’ secrets and how they relate to Bronwyn and her past, but Paul’s peeping ways may ruin it all. [Read more...]

Boiled Peanuts is available through Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

Click on image to buy from Amazon.Com

Are you stumped by split infinitives? Terrified of using “who” when a “whom” is called for? Do you avoid the words “affect” and “effect” altogether?

Grammar Girl is here to help!

Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, is determined to wipe out bad grammar—but she’s also determined to make the process as painless as possible. A couple of years ago, she created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. The podcasts have now been downloaded more than twenty million times, and Mignon has dispensed grammar tips on Oprah and appeared on the pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.

Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing covers the grammar rules and word-choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. From “between vs. among” and “although vs. while” to comma splices and misplaced modifiers, Mignon offers memory tricks and clear explanations that will help readers recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules. Chock-full of tips on style, business writing, and effective e-mailing, Grammar Girl’s print debut deserves a spot on every communicator’s desk.

Editorial Review

Are you a fool for mnemonics? If so, you’ll fall head over nubucks for Mignon Fogarty–a.k.a. the Grammar Girl–and her handy new audio guide to writing and speaking well. It’s chock-full of smart little anecdotes and memory tricks for felling the most common grammatical foes (who can ever remember the difference between “nauseous” and “nauseated” anyway?) and at just an hour long it’s the perfect turn-to resource for students and professionals alike. I didn’t try too hard to stump Grammar Girl in our Q&A, but with her eagle eyes she spotted my grammatical (typographical?) misstep without missing a beat! –Anne Bartholomew, Amazon.Com Review

Review

I didn’t have expectations about this book from the podcast because I only discovered Grammar Girl a few days before the book was released. I like books about usage, and I enjoyed this one. It’s organized in chapters of related usage problems and the rules for the most frequent cases. For many issues, the book gives not only the right way to do it, but demonstrates common wrong ways too, and clearly labels them so you won’t pick up the wrong way if you’re skimming. Many of the entries include memory devices to help you remember what to do next time.

The drawings and examples were cute, but sometimes the references to Squiggly and Aardvark felt like inside jokes, but fortunately not to the point where I felt like the joke was on me. I didn’t know if there were personalities for the characters that would have given me a deeper understanding of the examples they demonstrated, or if they were just generic illustrations.

The voice is consistent, and the delivery is short and sweet, or as the author puts it, quick and dirty. Nothing is belabored that shouldn’t be, but each issue is adequately covered for most situations. If an item is controversial, the book mentions the controversy and gives an overview of the major arguments. Matters of style are also identified, even if the author has a strong preference for a particular way.

The last chapter, “Work It,” is an unusual chapter for a usage book, and especially valuable. It gives writer-oriented tips for interviewing people, generating ideas, fighting writer’s block, and proofreading. Some of the tips it gives are excellent, and in the right situation, may make the difference between success and failure. I would love to see that chapter expanded into a book of its own. – Ronald King, Amazon.Com Customer Review

Affect Or Effect? ‘Grammar Girl’ Is Here To Help

NPR Book Review – July 7, 2011 (Excerpt)

Further versus farther, compliment versus complement, affect versus effect — the ever-complex, often-irregular English language is full of traps and pitfalls. But don’t despair! Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty has come to the rescue of America’s befuddled masses.

Fogarty is the grammar guru behind the weekly Grammar Girl podcasts, which offer tips and lessons on proper English usage. Her latest book, 101 Misused Words You’ll Never Confuse Again, is a gentle guide for those of us who can’t seem to remember the difference between disinterested and uninterested.

Tell us: Which word pairs confuse you the most? Do you have mnemonics that help you remember which word to use in which context? If English is your second language, which word pairs were the trickiest to commit to memory? [Read the full article...]

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Queen of Misfortune

A Lady Jane Grey Novel by Peter Carroll

A Love Story of Almost Shakespearean Dimension!

Queen Of Misfortune is the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. At the time of her execution a stranger is recorded to have assisted her when, blind folded, she lost her way upon the scaffold. Was it the same ‘stranger’ who was also recorded to have visited her when she was imprisoned in the Tower? Little is known of this unfortunate girl who was beheaded for treason in the 16^th Century. She was only 16. She is omitted from the list of monarchs but was actually queen for nine days. Author Peter Carroll, in his novel, follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover. [More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

Introverted and extroverted are opposites: introverted people like to hang out with a few people, like to be solitary, and overthink.  Extroverted people are outgoing and friendly but don’t stop to think about what they’re doing before they do it.

Sensitive and intuitive people are also opposites.  Sensitive people remember what happens accurately and focus on the big picture but they can’t really see the potential in the unfamiliar.  Intuitive people look at the big picture and then fill in the details but they don’t always act on their multitude of ideas.

Thinkers and Feelers are opposites. Thinkers like to think (surprise, surprise) and be logical, but they are challenged when it comes to emotions.  Feelers are people-pelasers but they have a tendency of being idealistic and don’t always get truth.

Judgers and Perceivers are opposites.  Judgers  like lists and decisions but they are so busy with their noses against the grindstone that they miss new opportunities.  Perceivers are really flexible and get a kick out of waiting for the last minute to complete a task but they can’t make decisions when they need to.

Hope these help with your character development!

For more information go to these links:

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/extraversion-or-introversion.asp

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/sensing-or-intuition.asp

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/thinking-or-feeling.asp

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/judging-or-perceiving.asp

Thanks for reading!

Happy writing!

Ariel Ceylan

Being a publisher and writer and having way too many ideas, but hardly the time to write all books that come to mind, I have developed a list of my favorite, yet unpublished titles. Please feel free to use them. I even gave you some idea what the content could be. If you need more information, and if you need a publisher please feel free to contact me.

My Love Affair With Osama Bin Laden

What? You think the man is not attractive? Read this book, and you will find a few secrets that even the CIA would like to learn.

Diary of an Obsessive Compulsive Bitch

Does bad sex justify murder? Doesn’t it drive you crazy when the service at Starbucks denies you your decaf soy milk latte? How do you get even with a roommate that puts glass chips into your toothpaste? This book addresses social issues not yet recognized by today’s society.

The Poop About Pregnancy

Before you read “What To Expect When You’re Expecting,” and especially before you give birth you should read this book. There are many aspects about pregnancy that your doctor doesn’t want to tell you.

Victoria Beckham’s Interviews With Famous Authors

Yes, Victoria has never read a book in her life, but that doesn’t mean she can’t maintain a conversation (or publish her memoirs). If you are curious about how she weasels herself out of a precarious situation, you must read this book.

All US Interstates Lead To Exit

A US travel guide to almost every town in America.

Do you have any additional suggestions?

Please share them here by commenting below.

Supplement – More of my own titles…

Maintain Your Erection

Now that you have erected the swing for your three-year-old… What? You think the title is misleading? But it sells. Right?

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Queen of Misfortune

A Lady Jane Grey Novel by Peter Carroll

Now Available As Paperback And Kindle Edition!

Queen Of Misfortune is the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. At the time of her execution a stranger is recorded to have assisted her when, blind folded, she lost her way upon the scaffold. Was it the same ‘stranger’ who was also recorded to have visited her when she was imprisoned in the Tower? Little is known of this unfortunate girl who was beheaded for treason in the 16^th Century. She was only 16. She is omitted from the list of monarchs but was actually queen for nine days. Author Peter Carroll, in his novel, follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover. [More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

Of course, you can’t really fulfill what you wish to do in this case, because that person always ends up being in the right place at the right time to hear what goes down.  Of course, you, in need of dispelling your raw emotions do so to that person (you have temporary amnesia of what that person will be like).  Of course, your friend does the one thing you can’t stand in these situations: act like you’re a fool for freaking out and you should just do X,Y,Z, because that’s what your friend will do.

Of course, there are so many problems with your friend’s approach that it is rather frustrating to be around that person:

1)      That person never actually hears the whole story.  That person tends to listen up to a point, of course, this point is right before the crux of the whole issue.  When your friend makes a suggestion, you have to clarify that you haven’t finished explaining the problem yet or that you have done what your friend suggested already.

2)      That person believes that his/her answer will be the perfect solution for you.  Unfortunately, you are not your friend’s clone, so your friend’s solution will most likely not be appropriate for you.

3)      That person always leaves uncomfortable silences in his/her wake.  After you tell your friend that he/she does not understand your issue for whatever the reason, that person always gets quiet.  It’s like your friend can’t handle being wrong and admitting it. (This wrongness comes from not listening to the problem, the whole problem…Naturally, that person’s solution wouldn’t fly)

I wonder, are any of your characters like some people I end up interacting?

Ariel Ceylan

http://ceylanthewriter.wordpress.com

http://www.youtube.com/users/ArielCeylan

http://twitter.com/arielceylan

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ariel-Ceylan/170866596257289?sk=info

In a small way, I’m a house peeper (coincidentally the topic of Boiled Peanuts); I was thrilled to see the Dickens house, hoping some essence from the great old man (he’d be 200 next February, had he lived) would invade me from the ether. I’ve added Shakespeare, Longfellow and Hemingway to my limited catalog, and, I think, Poe. I remember his grave but I’m a blank on the house. Conveniently, there’s a cemetery across the street from my house, it’s an African-American cemetery, but I presume my etiolated (sun denied) writer’s skin will not debar me, and those pilgrims who pay $20 to peek around the house can freely traipse across the road to kiss my tombstone. First, I have to die, but before that I have to find some readers and, darn it, I’ve got to write the books.

John is author of the novel, Boiled Peanuts, http://johnpatrickdoyle.com

Author Peter Carroll

This book had me gripped from the beginning. The author has a true gift in making the characters in the book come to life, and therefore enabling me to feel empathy for them. When reading this book I was transported back through time to the 16th century and found it very hard to put down. All in all it is a very enjoyable, thought provoking book. I would recommend it to everyone as not only is it a good read, it is very informative of how it was to live in those days. Brilliant!!
- Amazon.co.uk Customer Review

Irene Watson, the Managing Editor of Reader Views, once asked me, just out of curiosity, how I find authors for my small publishing business, Copperhill Media, and it took a while to come up with the right answer. We don’t advertise much. Still, we enjoy a constant stream of new authors, just enough to keep our small team busy. At the current rate we publish roughly between five and ten novels a year.

First, there is our “maverick” business model, which appeals to new writers who don’t even contact traditional publishers or literary agents due to their reluctancy to accept authors with less than a Dan-Brown-Potential. Naturally, there are also writers who were rejected too many times. We, in turn, don’t act like a traditional publisher. Neither are we a vanity publisher. We accept literature that meets our standards (a good writing style and a reasonable potential for sales), and we work with our authors to improve their works. We provide the ISBN and the distribution channels, and the author keeps the copyright.

My favorite story is that of Peter Carroll, a 77-year-young Englishman. Born in Barnet, England in July 1933 and with a standard education, he was called up into the RAF in 1951 and served five years as a medic. Since then, until his retirement, he has mainly been involved in accounting and running his own business with his son. Like a cat with nine lives he has survived an air crash, a lift fall and a serious aortic aneurysm and thanks his Karma faith for that. He now lives in beautiful Torbay in South Devon, has been married to his wife Daphne for 51 years and has two children and four grandchildren.

Peter Carroll is the author of Queen of Misfortune, the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. It follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover.

I had the distinct privilege, besides the author and his editor, to be the first to read Queen of Misfortune, and I have to admit I was not prepared for the deep emotions that came with reading Peter Carroll’s novel. Not only is Carroll’s excellent writing style absolutely captivating, but he also manages to convey with ease the intense feelings of love, joy, pain, and grief. As the sub-title (“Life is but a rehearsal for our everlasting love, my dear Lady Jane Grey”) indicates, Queen of Misfortune is not merely a Lady Jane Grey Novel; it is a story of true and unconditional love with almost Shakespearean dimensions. “Romeo and Juliet” comes to mind.

It is quite incomprehensible why such an excellent work of writing has been rejected so many times. After having read Queen of Misfortune I wanted to publish it, and since our first contact in September of 2010, Queen of Misfortune is now available all over the world as hardcover, paperback, and the Amazon.Com Kindle Edition.

As to the question how Peter Carroll found us, please read the story in his own words:

In 1998, whilst visiting relatives in Leicestershire my cousin introduced my wife Daphne and I to Bradgate Park, where one can see the ruins of Bradgate House, the place in which Lady Jane Grey was brought up.

I was particularly drawn to the ‘Lady Jane Tower’ and especially the family chapel which still remains intact.

I felt a certain charisma about the place and was instinctively inspired  to write something about the history there.

But that was not enough, I felt something more – a sense I was being prompted to give an account of how it must have been for the doomed girl who reluctantly became the nine day queen.

I spent a great deal of time researching the scant evidence of her short life on earth and discovered how she was used to promote power to the formidable John Dudley, the powerful Duke of Northumberland, of her relationship  with her tutor, John Aylmer, perhaps the only person in whom she could confide and trust.

Having researched and written the book over a period of approximately three years I wanted so much to get it published, not for the money, the fame or anything like that – but simply for the satisfaction  I could give Jane the prominence  I feel is so lacking .

For the next few years, determined to find a sympathetic publisher, I scanned the internet for those who dealt with history; publishers and literary agents alike, which involved submitting two or three chapters at a time through the post or online.

I discovered one has to be aware of ruthless Vanity Publishers who give high prominence to your work and, for the cost of several hundred pounds, offer to publish and arrange promotion to sell your book.

But the byword for serious writers has to be that if your work is good enough, you were the one who should be paid and not them!

After many, many rejections from British publishers who rarely tell you why, I almost gave up concluding to stick to writing articles and short stories instead which were generally successful.

But as a last effort I looked through  a list of American publishers and the rest is history, a guy called Wilfried Voss contacted me saying he liked my first two chapters very much and to send the rest as soon as possible.

But I guess, having received so many rejections I was very despondent  and replied, assuming he was a vanity publisher, that I want a ‘proper publisher.’

Fortunately he came back and after reading the rest of my novel, offered me a bona fide contract which incurred my not spending one penny.

I felt a burst of new energy and after several exchanges with Wilfried felt I could trust him implicitly.

And the very happy end result occurred, with thanks to Mathew and Sarah of the Torbay Book Shop, and all those who attended the launch of my book, Queen of Misfortune.

Now I feel at last the short life of Lady Jane Grey has been fully justified.

- Peter Carroll, author of Queen of Misfortune

Advertisement

Queen of Misfortune

A Lady Jane Grey Novel by Peter Carroll

Now Available As Paperback And Kindle Edition!

Queen Of Misfortune is the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. At the time of her execution a stranger is recorded to have assisted her when, blind folded, she lost her way upon the scaffold. Was it the same ‘stranger’ who was also recorded to have visited her when she was imprisoned in the Tower? Little is known of this unfortunate girl who was beheaded for treason in the 16^th Century. She was only 16. She is omitted from the list of monarchs but was actually queen for nine days. Author Peter Carroll, in his novel, follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover. [More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.