Achieving the Perfect Length—The Good, the Bad and the Fugly

You know you wonder about it, sometimes it even keeps you up at night, doesn't it? Are you inadequate, over-compensating or are you one of the rare anomalies who might just have too much of a (hopefully) good thing?

You know how it goes, how thick is just too thick? How long is just right and how long is 'ouch!'? How short is 'blah' and how short is a nice tease?

You do realize what we are talking about here, don't you? Length, thickness, it all boils down to the same thing---

WORD COUNT!!

Hehe, you should see your FACE! ;)

Anyway, now that we have a handle on things, let's move along.

What is the perfect length anyway? Is there such a thing? Do you abhore short stories, regurgitate at the thought of novellas or choke on the thought of an 800-page novel? What is just right to some will no doubt be uncomfortable for others, and vice versa.

Hermione's idea of light reading might make some weak at the knees, for instance.

Writer's Digest
has this to say about standard lengths of Adult Commerial & Literary Novels.



In short:
80,000 – 89,999:       Totally cool
90,000 – 99,999:       Generally safe
70,000 – 79,999:       Might be too short; probably all right
100,000 – 109,999:    Might be too long; probably all right
Below 70,000:           Too short

110,000 or above       Too long


Where do you fall on this scale? Is it all good, you know the old adage, it's not the size of the ship, but the motion of the ocean?

Personally, I fall firmly on the side of it's the skill, not the length. With a few exceptions, of course.

In novels, it truly does make no difference to me as long as the story is served. Short & Shorter is a good blog on the subject, she defines the standard lengths of stories outside of novels:

Short Story = 3,500-7,500 words

Novelette = 7,500-17,000 words

Novella = 17,000-40,000 words

I will also add 2 other forms, 

Super Short = 1,500-3,500 words

Flash fiction = under 1,500 words

In these forms, things get a little dicey for certain genres.

Horror lends itself beautifully to all these forms, romance, not so much.

Literary also works well with all forms, as do sci-fi, UF and fantasy.

Are there exceptions to these rules? Yah, sure. But you show me a writer who can do a good flash fiction romantic suspense and I'll eat it. Stephen King can get away with movies being made of his short stories —Larissa Ione, not so much.

I write primarily paranormal romance for publishing at the moment. It is important that I understand what works for my genre. I think novellas can be done in romance, particularly PNR or fantasy-based romance, but you have to be careful. Readers are properly wary of the shorter forms in romance. It is difficult, at best, to flesh out a meaningful relationship arc in less than 100 pages.

My novella, Phoenix Rising accomplishes this because the 2 MCs are former lovers, brought back together by violent murder. This allows me to take a short cut on the whole 'met and fall in love' bit. Miles and Kelsey have already met, already fallen in love 10 years before the novella even starts. The story has more to do with betrayal and trust and how broken people and relationships can be made whole. I think it works, but like I said, it's tricky. Phoenix Rising doesn't nearly match my standard-length novel, Smoke in Moonlight  in sales or freebie days, and I have come to the conclusion, word count is probably most to blame for that. 

Where do you fall on the whole length thing? Or do you gobble up anything and everything?

It's worth thinking about, whether you are a reader or a writer, because what people like and buy drives the market. In the end, size DOES matter.

How Dirty is TOO Dirty?

If you are a romance writer...or reader, you know the drill, right?

Some people think romance isn't about the plot or the characters, it's just about the sex. Which in some cases, let's face it, it IS! But how much is too much, and how little is too...well, little.

Hmmm, obviously like most things, this is a matter of personal preference—to a point. Here is a guide recently posted on one of the boards I follow on Goodreads, (taken from  allromanceebooks)

1 flame- Stories will either not have consummated love scenes, or if the loves scenes are consummated detail is not given.
2 flames- Stories will have some love scenes. These will be more sensual then graphic and will mostly rely on euphemism.
3 flames- Stories will have sensual, yet more explicit love scenes, and the language used to describe them may be more graphic and direct.
4 flames- Stories have frequent love scenes that are explicit and described using graphic and direct language.
5 flames- Stories have a high frequency of love scenes that are explicit, described using graphic and direct language, and/or contain subject matter that some readers may consider objectionable.

Personally, I like a heat level of at least 3 flames or higher. But I am someone who reads pure erotica on occasion, so obviously my tastes may be somewhat extreme for some. I am not a vanilla person, though I have nothing against it, per se. But to me, when I read romance, I expect SOME sex, and if I don't get sex, I am going to be disappointed. The same way if I read a horror book that isn't scary, or a fantasy book that lacks imagination, I am not going to be a happy camper.

As a writer, how does this affect me, do I tone stuff down intentionally, so I can appeal to a broader audience? The answer is yes, sometimes. Though less and less lately as I become more confident of where I am headed. For one thing, you simply can't please everyone, and you really shouldn't try.
The exact same book can get a review whining that there was way too much raw sex  and then the very next  review can say there wasn't nearly enough sex and what there was, was bland.

So in other words, the best policy is just to be true to yourself, write what you love and write passionately about it and like-minded hordes will hopefully flock your way.

Unless, of course you're into spaghetti bondage, or IDK, latex suits and oil. That could be a narrower audience, just saying. But I don't judge, to each his or her own, No fighting here.

Books do seem to have been getting a hell of a lot steamier since FSOG came out. There is a trend towards what is ultimately erotic romance. I am good with this genre as long as its written well and there are either strong characters or a strong plot along with the pages and pages of sex. In other words—

This

Not THIS

Because bad writing is still after all, bad writing. If you can't write, no matter how much or how little sex you put in your writing, it is still going to suck.

So then, HOW do you write good sex? How do you make it natural, but hot? Steamy and not goofy?

Again this can be a matter of personal preference,. For instance, check out A Rose, by any other name 

While I agree with some of this, others kinda of lost me. I have used 'swollen nub' and 'nether lips'. Not a lot, but honestly, I don't know what some readers expect. YOU try coming up with a dozen clever names for cock and pussy and see where that leads you. There is only so many words in the English language, people! And for that matter, what about pussy? Is that too crude? Mostly for me, yeah it is. I don't think I have ever used that term in my books and I doubt I ever will, except maybe as dirty talk, not a euphemism. 

But I have read other writers who used it successfully, even the dreaded cunt has worked in some books I have seen. Also remember what is taboo in one country can be somewhat 'meh' in another. For instance that c-word is usually considered vile in the US, in the UK it's far more acceptable.

Still, the best policy is to go with what feels natural, if you have to force it, it probably won't be good. And know your audience, if you write fluffy contemparies with frothy sex, a foray into grtty PNR with a back alley fuck is probably not going to go over too well. But can you push it a little?

Sure—I hope.

For instance, my series Celtic Elementals starts with Smoke in Moonlight which has its fair share of steam and darkness, but is positively sweet compared to the upcoming sequel, Blood in Fire. But the far darker, more wordly and damaged characters demand it, so it works. Will some readers be turned off by the racier tone? Absolutely. But I will have to live with that. 

And some readers will undoubtably love the darker, more explicit feel, so it all works out. Alrighty?!

I got a review for Phoenix Rising , my vamp/psychic ex-lovers novella that complained there was no story, just all sex. But when that book went through beta reading, I was critized because there was no 'real' consummated sex scene, so I actually added one at the end. Which gave the 82 page book a grand total of TWO sex scenes. Go figure.

To climax, go with what turns you on, whatever that may be, but don't be afraid to mix it up a little, in writing AND reading. You are only limited by your own mind, after all.

Happy reading!

**yes, I had fun with silly double entendres in this blog, bet you can't spot them all! hehe

Support-Not Just For Bras and Briefs Anymore

Speaking of bras, funny story. A friend of mine has a highly precocious 5 year old boy. Awhile back, she left her bra on the bed while she was doing something and the kiddo happened to notice.

"Mom!" he said. "You left your boobs on the bed!"

IKR?! So cute...I mean the story, of course. And Martin, Martin is very cute....imisssherlock, imissfargo, imisssherlock, iMISSsherlock...

Oh sorry, got distracted. Where were we again?

Support, yeah that. Not only good for boobs and other dangling bits, it is so important for indie writers.

So important. Did you get that?!

There is no way to overstate this. Publishing companies are big for a reason. They have hundreds, sometimes thousands, of writers under their unbrella. This gives them mega wads of cash and influence, which makes it a whole lot easier to that whole advertising and marketing thing.

Indie writers, we're all alone.

Umm, yeah, moving on.

Alone, except for our fans! That means you. (I hope!)

If you wonder why indie writers are always whining about reviews, reviews, reviews, I'll tell you why. Listen up, k? Highly technically information follows:

Amazon's rankings process is a tangled mass of bullcrap.

It IS! And it is an awful intimidating slope for newbie, indie writers to try and climb (think Cliffs of Insanity with no Andre the Giant in sight!) 

Every click on our links, every view, every purchase, every review is pure ambrosia for us! Seriously, it is the nectar of life. Being pushed even into the top 100,000 garners tons more exposure, being thrown up into the top 10,000 is no less than a godsend and going into the top 1000?!?

Pretty much winning the Mega Millions.

The ranking system is how Amazon decides how many people see our stuff, fall in the ratings and you slump for days, maybe weeks, months and forver(if you don't work like hell to get back up).

Get a bump in the ratings and that exposure can lead to a good week or two of sales, just from 1 review or two or three purchases!

Why is this important to readers? Because if you really love our stuff and the diversity and low prices brought to you by having indie authors in the mix, you need to feed us, keep us from starving. This business is brutal and so discouraging at times that great writers drop by the wayside daily.

Did you hear that?

DAILY!!! 

Never to be heard from again. Hopefully that makes you sad, it sure makes me sad.

So PLEASE review, retweet, share, blog, gush, rate and like! SAVE the indie authors!!

So in that vein, what can indie authors like me do to help other indie authors? I AM a fan and a reader after all!! And really, all good indie authors are, too.

So do I put my $$ where my mouth is? 

Most definitely.

If I read a great indie book (4-5 stars) I rate and review it on both Amazon and Goodreads. Sometimes, if it is especially awesome I mention on my fb. I also use bitly and Twitter to do a little thing most Sundays that I call 'Diamonds in the Rough'. I post bitly tweets to all the best indie books I have been reading. 

If you don't know what bitly is, it is just a site that shortens long URL links to manage Twitter nibbles. 

BITLY

But now ONLY does it give you shortened links, oh NO. It also lets you track how many people then click on those links you've created. SO I can see how many times my tweets actually made someone check out a book I recommended. Obviously, that doesn't guarntee it was purchased, but it is gaining exposure and certainly a few purchases, considering the numbers I see. And as my Twitter account grows, so do the numbers.

I also recommend pages of authors I like, like their Amazon autho pages(if they have one) and mention their books in posts and blogs, like this one!!

One of the best YA(young adult) series I have EVER read(and yes, I am including Hunger Games and even Harry Potter in there!!) A UF (urban fantasy) with awesome world building and nail biting action and edge of your seat climaxs, these are books you will race through, forgetting to eat or sleep.

They are that fantastic, Jennifer's editing can be a little rough(like mine sometimes, sob!) but her writing is so damn good you will barely notice, trust me! This trilogy is AMAZING! I adore Lyric, she is one of my favorite heroines EVER.

Veilwalker #1

http://Veilwalker #2

Veilwalker #2

Veilwalker #3

This was my first really good indie read, and it was a doozy!

A total unique UF based in an alternate universe London(London!! yes!!) it deals with zombies and hags and this utterly cool world I wish I had thought of. Super, incredibly fresh writing!

The Secret Dead

Another writer I would place under the bright pink unbrella of fresh and unique is Zoey Dubois

She is also a British writer, like SW Fairbrother above, but Zoey writes comtemporary romance with a wonderful vibe that will make you feel like you have been transported to the UK.

Her book Inheritance was so damn good I had a book hangover for like a week after finishing it.

This is an explicit, somewhat dark read, so maybe not for everyone, fair warning, but I loved it!!

Here is my gushing fan girl-esque review Fangrrrling

And the link for Inheritance

I also read this phenom little novella last week. UF/PNR. More great world building, (more jealousy that I didn't think of something like this!!) A world where faes, vampires, weres, etc are all represented and regulated by the Coterie, a rather menacing organization. This novella is a great intro to the world, through the eyes of a man kidnapped and pressed into sexual slavery by the Fae as a child. 

Throwing Away the Good

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, a very dark, gritty, VERY explicit little treasure. Romantic suspense like it has NEVER been done before. The hero is, hmmm....well, IDK how to describe Rushe, but you sure as hell won't forget him. This book is a knock out. Highly graphic, though, so again--fair warning.

Explicit Instruction 

So there you have it, now go forth and SUPPORT your indie authors(and don't leave your boobs lying around, alrighty, bra?!?) 

:D

Long Time, No See

Long time , no see and all that jazz.

I really am not the most consistent of bloggers, sorry about that. But this whole self-promotion thing can get a little draining for me and I have had a lot on my plate since June.

First off, Smoke in Moonlight, the first off my Celtic Elementals triology released in mid-June.

Smoke in Moonlight

I love this book, it is near and dear to my heart, as I have always been obsessed with Celtic myth and Ireland since my first taste of Morgan Llywelyn. It's also on sale til midnight tonight(8/3/14) so if you haven't picked it up yet, now is a fine time.

Here's a snippet of Ronan, an Irish werewolf cursed for centuries by a devious Celtic goddess and Lacey, a stranded American tourist swept into his world by the same goddess.

With a snarl, he whirled on her. He wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and lifted her to him bodily, her toes dangling a good foot off the floor as he ravaged her mouth. His teeth nipped her lips sharply.

Lacey gasped and his tongue swept inside her mouth, delving into every curve and corner with irresistible purpose. When her tongue met his onslaught tentatively, he nipped it too, just enough to make her whimper before sucking it softly.          

He did things with his mouth she'd never even considered before. It was a brutally thorough kiss. Lacey was clinging to him weakly when he finally ended it.

"Do ye nae taste it?” he whispered, lowering her feet to the rug and peeling her hands from his shoulders.

"What?" Lacey asked, seeing him through a haze of shock...and desire.

"The darkness."

She stared, transfixed by the depth of pain in his eyes. The pain he was letting her see. More than anything, Ronan dropping his guard stunned her silent for several long moments.

"Yes,"  Lacey admitted finally, watching his shoulders shudder once at her words. Then she reached up and pulled his head back down to hers, so they were eye to eye. "But that's not all there is to you, Ronan."

He laughed bitterly, starting to twist away. "Do nae be so sure, lass. I'm not." She wouldn't release him, though they both knew he could have forced her to.

"I want you," she whispered. "I'm sure of that." For a moment, Lacey was thought Ronan was going to break her hold and stalk away.

Again.

Instead he just closed his eyes briefly, before picking her up and walking to the bed. He tossed her onto the vast velvety comforter before giving her a grim smile.          

"Be careful what ye wish for."

 I am currently writing the 2nd in this series, Blood in Fire, and I can't wait to share it with you. I am estimating an October/November 2014 release.

Then, just a few days ago, I released a novella, Phoenix Rising about two old lovers: Miles, a powerful vampire and Kelsey, a talented psychic. Ten years after she betrayed him in Paris, Miles is forced to come to Kelsey for help investigating a series of vampire murders.  This is a fast-paced dark story about murder, betrayal, vengeance and a psychopathic killer.

Phoenix Rising is also currently 99 cents and will stay that way due to the novella length of about 83 pages. Here's a taste;

Miles flung her back, away from him, and stood. Kels met the empty space where her chair had been and sank to the floor with trembling legs.

“We are done.” He gestured between them in obvious frustration. “I cannot do this. Merde. I thought I could, but…. Obviously I was wrong.” He looked down as she grasped the edge of the desk and got shakily to her feet. His nostrils flared. “You’re bleeding.”

Kelsey looked down and saw several long thin scratches beading scarlet just below her collarbone, where the splinters from the desk had caught her skin. Unthinkingly, she touched the blood, watching it stain her fingers as the sting of pain began to register. Miles grabbed the folder, his face an unreadable mask as he moved toward the door. “Bill me for the desk. It was a mistake to come here.”

“I’ll do it.” Kelsey’s voice was a pale whisper, barely more than a thought, but Miles heard her.

He slowed, but didn’t turn. “No.”

The word had the sound of a shudder.

‘If you had any other options, Miles, you wouldn’t have come here. I can help you. And I will.” Her voice shook, but she knew she had to do this. She had to help him. Some things could never be made right. Kelsey knew that. But she also knew you had to try.

“I will probably kill you first.” There was no threat in his voice now, only a kind of dull certainty.

“Maybe I deserve it.”

He turned around and faster than thought was right in front of her. Her blood-stained hand was still half-raised in the air between them, and his gaze dropped to it, then back to her face. His pupils were blown wide, night almost swallowing that gorgeous summer blue. His fingers curled around her wrist again, lifting her hand to his face so he could breathe in the scent of her blood. For one long slow second, Kelsey thought he would draw her fingers into his mouth and she trembled.

“Maybe, Kels?”

Then he was gone.

But he had left the folder on her desk.

Phoenix Rising

So that has been what's up in my writing word, whew! Also I am getting ready to release Shivers, my short story collection on Nook, now that my KDP exclusive limit has run out. I will definitely let you know how that goes. Oh I have also read some AMAZING books the last two months, I will get in a blog about that soon and also how to PROPERLY support indie writers. 'Cause you know we all need that, lol.

Take care, yous. I will talk to you soon...really!!  I promise!!

CHOOSING WISELY, I hope!!

Yes, I have been bad about both blogging and tweeting lately. I deserve 20 lashes with a wet noodle. I know.

Okay, okay 40 then! 

Anway, I have just been going a little cross-eyed with other things (family, end of school year for the kids, my son’s big trip to Europe at the end of July, et cetera, et cetara) Not to mention all kinds of writing, editing, research and creating covers. Oh and speaking of that, this article is PRICELESS, absolutely PRICELESS.

*CREATING BOOK COVERS*

Wonderful amazing advice and technical help that allowed me to create two GORGEOUS covers I am totally proud of, all for zip. Nada. ZILCH!!!

Here's another good site for the whole cover images thing, they give 20 free credits up front and that was enough for me to get images to make both my new covers.

iStock

After the freebies, you can pay in $20 increments to get images. 

I also recommend DEVIANT ART, which can be pricey but a lot of their artists will give you permission to use their stuff for free(just credit them, of course), or you can find artists you like under another site with a free creative commons. 

I particularly love dreadpiratefluffy's work, AWESOME!!

Also I learned how to download and install fonts this week! Yay!!

INSTALL fonts for PCs

Cool Fonts

And I had to make some choices.

HARD choices.

Ahhh, decisions, decision, DECISIONS.

Meh.

See I have two books near and dear to my heart that are both only about 2 weeks from being completed. 

The first, and the one I have been hyping more is PHOENIX RISING, a PNR novella about Kelsey, a paranormal psychic with a broken past and an incredibly powerful French vampire, Miles de Rousseau. Kesley and Miles are ex-lovers brought back together by a string of gruesome murders and forced to deal with the betrayal that tore them apart a decade ago. And face a psychopathic killer who is gunning for one of them. I love this story, I love the darkness and fury of it and getting to write about Paris, of course.

The other is the full-length novel, SMOKE IN MOONLIGHT, which also leans heavily PNR . The start of a trilogy seeped in Celtic mythology, this first installment deals with a dark curse gone wrong and lives tangled up in a web woven by ancient gods and magic. 

I love everything about this book, from the fact I get to write about Ireland and Celtic myth, both of which have been an obsession of mine since WAY before I first read the books of Morgan Llewellyn-he just made my obsession grow exponentially!-not to mention the entire cast of characters are some of my faves. 

Ronan Fitzpatrick, a man who bears a terrible curse and his amazingly wonderful family. Lacey Ryan, a laid-back, go-with-the-flow kind of woman who finally takes a chance on a life-long dream and gets waaa-ay more than she bargained for. This book also introduces, Aidan O’Neill. Aidan is....well, Aidan is simply the best character I have ever created. Viscous, loyal, sexy as hell and a little unhinged. A vampire prince who turns his back on his title and who harbors a burning desire that just may send the whole world straight to hell.

Not to mention Aine, a scheming, petulant Celtic goddess and all her crazy, sexy, violent kith and kin. It is a wild Irish ride.

But…

Which to choose?

I was going with PHOENIX because honestly, I figured it would be easier and quicker to get out, but I finally decided to go with S.I.M first.

Why? Part of it’s a gut thing, I think I need to make a stand and show what I am capable of  outside shorts and novellas (90% of the feedback I got from SHIVERS was that the shorts were too...SHORT. People wanted more, more, MORE!) 

So I am going to oblige. ;) And hope it is the right call. What do you all think?

I will have a firm release date for SMOKE IN MOONLIGHT by end of next week or so, stay tuned!!

And PR will def still be coming out, likely in July, maybe early August. And we will see what we see from there. *crossing fingers and toes*

Now back to the editing room--oh and SPEAKING of that--what is the thing that super cheap me would actually recommend you blow your epublishing budget on?

PROOF READING!!

This is the number one thing that separates self-pub from the biggies, other than editing, of course, which is a whole 'nother kettle of worms. (yes, I did that on purpose, a good editor would know that, see!!)

Oh, I hear the murmurs already---, hey,  I am a WRITER, I ACED English, I don't need no proof reader.

Bullcrap.

So did I, you know. A+++ in English, and English Comp. And I still don't make a LOT of spelling or grammar errors, except for me, maintaining tenses can be a slight weak spot.

However, every one of those pesky little mistakes will make you ILL when you find them after your book is already out. Sometimes we just look at our stuff over and over soooooo much, it blends and our eyes just skim right over little mistakes. 

I would def put proof reading as the number #1 place to put your $$$.

I like this lady's site, and will use try her services out when I get the moola and let you know what I think. 

Proof reader

And NOW--

let's get to writing, allons-y!!!

NEXT time--research, languages, and more details.

Critics, Critics EVERYWHERE!

"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how it's done, they've seen it done every day, but they are unable to do it themselves."~~B. Behan

We like that quote, don't we? Gives us a giggle and makes it (somewhat?) easier to ignore critics. But...

Should we?

Well, yes. 

And, no. Let me 'splain.

There seems to be two camps in writer-land. Either people say they never listen to their critics and critics are just failed writers anyway, so who gives a hoot? Or they are of the 'one hint of criticism and I shall shut myself from the world and die a lonesome painful death and never write again' mindset. Like most extremes, both are kind of lame.

Not everyone is going to love your stuff. Yes, some people hate just to hate, but, heads up, Pollyanna- that doesn't mean some of what they say ain't true. And some will SAY they love it, 'cause they love you, but that isn't helpful either. Personally, I don't mind constructive criticism, but I also think you should take it with a grain of salt. Don't change your writing based on every review for goddsakes, but don't ignore it if everyone and their second cousin are telling you your dialogue sounds sounds more canned than an '80s sitcom laugh track.

Now about GETTING critics, 'cause baby, you need critics, because you NEED reviews. 

The more of ^^those you get^^, the more you will sell, that is just the cold hard truth. But for newbie, self-pub writers reviews can be....shall we say...hard to come by????? 

But it is NOT impossible. You just have to work it a little. First off, friends and family, friends and family are good. We love them and they love us(most of the time, right?!) But to be honest, people can spot BS pretty quick. So no gushing, lovey-lovey goofage. If they offer, wonderful. Certainly asking is fine, hey, we are all a little desperate here. But if you go that way, choose a reasonably honest friend/family member who will give a review some thought and care. 

Hopefully, you already have a couple of friends/aquaintances/coworkers who have read your stuff and liked it. This is good, because hard-core readers can spot hard-core reader's review a mile off(that's one of my peeps!) So these are awesome first reviews. 

Other options, the ARC. Here's another acronym, Grasshopper, learn it well, you will see it EVERYWHERE! Most commonly this is Advanced Review Copy. I have also heard it called Advanced Reading Copy, Author Review Copy, yada yada. Bascially, you give someone your book for free and they agree to review it, honestly. 

   First off, the mechanics. How do you give away an e-book copy? Well, there are formatting sites that will convert your ready-to-upload to KDP Word doc into a .mobi or other ereader friendly file and you can send that to said-interested-party. You can also, if your book is already in KDP, gift a copy. (the royalities go back to you anyway, so your out-of-pocket is minimal).

  Now the REAL kicker---how do you find these hungry reviewers? Ahhh--that is the question. First off, genre is going to play a HUGE role in this. If you write bodice-ripping romance novels, you are obviously going to find a lot more fish out there than say someone who writes about building cement walls(do people write about building cement walls? IDK, I am tired and that is the best obscure thing I could think of, okay?!?)

  Try various sites, WLC though I haven't been overly successful with that. And I also mentioned STORY CARTEL before, they are a pay site, you buy credits and that earns you the right to request reviews within the community. I believe you can also earn credits by reviewing yourself.

Which brings me to another option on a host of writing/reading websites, and YES, here it comes, yet another acronym. R2R. This is Read to Review. You just basically beg someone to read your book and review, sometimes offering a free copy, sometimes not. There are also R2R exchanges(I read your book, you read mine, we both review). That, IMO, is a little dicey. I am doing this with one person at the mo, but she approached me and I looked up her book and it's actually sounded interesting to me, so I was okay with it. Plus, we are in very different genres, which I view as a good thing. No one can be nastier than a competitor. I haven't started her book yet, nor her mine(I agreed to start this coming week, as I am just a WEE bit bogged down lately) But we will see how it goes. 

I also participated recently in a pay it forward R2R. This one was a little more unusual and interesting. I belong to several groups on  goodreads and one of them proposed that since it is a group of mostly self-published writers, everyone would throw their books into the mix, you could pick two or three that appealed to you and promise to read and review. Everyone would do this, and hopefully that meant everyone would get read at least once. Its a fairly good idea and I have 1 amazing find *GREAT YA urban fantasy novel, if you are interested* to show for it, and also the one I am currently on has been a treat so far, but not done yet-- and a couple reviews for myself and a couple more coming. But...

Oh but.

I had one loverly person buy my book(the agreement was we all bought the books, though mine was free during part of the challenge, and that was no biggie, IMO), but they bought it....then returned it when they were done. Sweet, huh? Personalities and general snippiness or drama can be a drag.

And another thing, is you may find yourself reading some...well, seriously BAD writing. Honestly, nothing I have read so far has been without some merit, other than some really cringe-worthy dialogue. But some of it was not good. Guess what, though? 

Some people may feel the same way about YOUR stuff. (gulp!)

So my advice is be honest, but kind if you go this route. Personally, I like to go for the 'shit sandwhich'. Write what you liked best, tuck your worst criticisms in the middle(and keep them constructive: eg,  'dialogue needs work', 'characters felt wooden', 'paragraphs ran on and on', etc.) I also don't post the rating on Amazon if it is particularly 'constructive'. Then end with the main reason you liked it---even if you have to dig deep.

I haven't had one that was awful yet, but if I did, I would advise a private message to the person advising of your opinion, no hard feelings, and if they want you to go ahead and post it fine, if they decline, so be it. Also if you really loved it, feel free to say that, too. Sometimes, there just is nothing bad to say, so don't dig for it. 

Mull it over and choose wisely. Also, be advised you may not be happy about some of the opinions you get. It's up to you to decide if they have merit or not. If you plan on doing this for any length of time in the real world, critics are not going to go away. If anything, the more you step away from your inner circle and farther and farther into the real world and allowing total strangers who have absolutely NO concern about your feelings to read your babies, the more they may get stomped on. If you feel anything like me about some of your characters, that is going to bring out the mama bear in you. DON'T EAT THE CRITICS, even if they are crunchy and good with ketchup! ;)

And sorry, but we will have to save the #1 secret thing I actually would spend $$ on--if I had it, in self-publishing, for next time.

You all are special to me, but I do need some sleep! :D

Happy writing!

ISBNs, Tweets and Freebies, Oh MY!

Hey there. SO I still kinda have a 3-day freebie promo hangover, forgive me if I wander a bit.

What were we gonna talk about first?? Oh yeah, ISBNs, you know those handy little numbers you can look up every book in the universe by? 

Except mine.

And guess what? I don't care. Seriously. You do NOT need this, at least not at first. Is it a good idea once you have built an audience and the like? Sure. Go for it. Otherwise, fuggedbout it.

Unless you want to shell out $125, then you can go here Golden ISBN . But for me, I will be honest, I am not in this as some vanity project, nor can I afford to be spending money on things like ISBNs for a book that may never sell over a couple thousand copies. KDP gives you an ASIN number for free, here's mine for Shivers: 

• ASIN: B00JX8U9KG

And even Goodreads, which swore to me when I created my author page over there, that we will NOT add your book without a valid ISBN, mysteriously did list my book by DAY two of my promo. 

**Oh and a quick aside, make an author page on Goodreads, mine is Here. It's not too fancy, but it's important for people to be able to connect and find out more about you. As I said before you would be surprised at how many people LURK. Also create an Amazon author page if you use KDP and sync up your blog feed per RSS, twitter if you so choose and upload a PIC, for god's sake, too. HERE. Sorry, but shameless self promotion is the name of the game. Do I like it?

Hell NO, it's exhausting and sometimes it feels about as effective as trying to shimmy up a well-greased flag pole. I am a unrepentant introvert and pushing my stuff so shamelessly is exhausting and draining for me--- but does it work? 

YES!

Pretty much.

Let me explain. Every time I tweeted during the promo (and mind you, I do NOT have a lot of followers, only about 200), my downloads took a small upswing. I fb'd as well, at least 3 times a day and had friends and fans amazing enough to share my links, one friend alone got me over 150 views!! I put my promo up on my author page on Goodreads as well, and did a few other sneaky things I will share with you.

First off, you can do research for your self, there are a lot of sites that take self-promotions, for a fee. I think I mentioned I am cheap, so I didn't use any of those sites. I DID promote on WLC's freebie page-WLC. You have to create an account to join, but they are worth some(not a lot, IMO) but SOME time. I also promoted on fb pages:

1  2 3

You have to join the groups and be respectful, please of their rules. 

There are also the tweeting services. You will see them on Twitter if you have joined the madness yet. "TWEETing promos, reach thousands!!"And yada, yada. Do THEY work?

Honestly, probably. At least a little. I know I personally have clicked a few of their promos for authors and even downloaded a time or two from links in their tweets. BUT, as warned previously, if you are going to give someone your $$---shop wisely. The one I like the best is 

@TweetYourBooks

They seem the least obnoxious and the most author and reader-friendly. But I didn't use them for my book. Like I said, me cheapskate. I did everything on my own and didn't pay anyone a dime.

Could I have done more? Absolutely. But I am not that energetic. 

And all in all, I completely exceeded my goals. 

I hear of people who downloaded 3-4000 books in a promo the length of mine and some who don't crack fifty. I was somewhere in the (lower) middle of that, but let me tell you, there is NO greater thrill than seeing your book getting dowloaded all over the world! It was a serious high. I had books downloaded as far away as Japan and Australia and Indonesia and while the UK was heavily my 2nd biggest market, I was also shocked by a strong showing in the German/Austrian/Dutch market.

It was extremely, extremely cool and frightening and exhilarating and exhausting. My highest rankings In Amazon's Free rankings were #23 in paranormal romance/werewolves/shifters and #32 in horror and I did crack the top 1000 over all. 

What does that mean? Well not a whole hell of a lot. The #32 in horror is the best one and even that isn't anything to get hugely excited about(even though I assure you I DID!! lol) But it did give me a goal, I want to crack top ten in a PNR catagory with my next release, a novella coming out in June. (pssttt- it's called PHOENIX RISING)

It may seem stupid to give away so many books, but I assure you it is NOT. If you think you are going to become independently wealthy at this, you are almost certainly fooling yourself. I am doing this because I love to write, I write anyway and I want to polish my craft. Do I want to make money?

Hell YEAH! Do I think I will? Ehhh, maybe, someday. But you have to think LONG term. Build an audience, get your book into the hands of as MANY people as humanly possible!!

Even if half those people NEVER read it. Yep, you heard me right.

Some people are just freebie addicts and their Kindles are full of stuff they never look at again. Some people will read part of it and abandon it. Some will hate it, or it simply won't be their cuppa tea. But some....some of the freebie people WILL like it and they will remember your name....

Build on that. 

Next time in blogger land--- critics, critics everywhere. And you already know I am cheap, but what is the one thing I WOULD actually TOTALLY recommend you spend moolah on? You might be surprised......

Until then---