WHAT A CHARACTER!!

What a Character!!

Can your characters please all readers?

 

  

            Long before I became an author, I was a reader. Have been since I got my first library card at age 8. Now I write books too, but still make time to read. I read 1-2 books a week. Suspense is my genre of choice, and as a suspense reader, I’ve become weary of female protagonists who are all beautiful, have perfect bodies, and either bright green or orchid eyes and male protagonists who are all tall, handsome, athletic, and have every woman they meet willing to drop their panties for them. Sound familiar?

            So when I wrote my second suspense novel, Relative Malice, I created a female detective who wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, had weight issues, doubts about her femininity, and didn’t even have a boyfriend! Shocking, right?  When the reviews began coming in, I smugly sat back and collected their praise for this character. Then I got this one:

AND, why oh why do these self-published authors always portray female law enforcement officers as being so masculine! Even the name, Kendall so all the men can call her Kenny, is masculine. I've known and worked with many females in law enforcement and while, yes, some of them are gay, many of them are not! They wear make up, they're married, they have children. Oy, and every darn one of these chicks jog! Can you say cliche?

 I wanted to develop a character we could all identify with. Kendall is not gay, and during the course of the book, evolves into a woman comfortable with her femininity and male attention.

            I share this with you to illustrate the impossibility of drafting a character everyone will adore. A lot of advice is given to writers to find their “target audience.” In my case, the majority of my readers loved Kendall. 

            John Locke advises independent authors they only need to satisfy their target audience. And he’s right! I have to keep reminding myself of that and not waste time whining about the inevitable handful of one and two-star reviews.

            What I’ve learned about character creation:

1.     Characters need to have individuality. If you must have a beautiful protagonist, give her a foible or two that we can identify with. Perfection is boring.

2.     If your main character is gorgeous, either male or female, be sure not everyone he or she meets wants to hop in bed with them. At least have a few exceptions to their charms.

3.     Readers like variety when it comes to characters. Mix it up! In my first novel, all of my main characters were good looking. When my writer’s group pointed that out to me, I toned their looks down a bit.

4.     This is probably fodder for an entire book, but try to watch your characters' dialogue to be sure they don’t all sound alike. This isn’t easy, but can be as simple as a small difference in the usage of slang, swear words or cliché’s.

Dear readers,

What do you love in a character? Perfection or reality? One of my favorite characters is an FBI agent, Will Trent, Karin Slaughter’s damaged hero, who suffers from a severe case of dyslexia and manages to live with it and still maintain his career. I think the characters we love the most are the ones with imperfections.  I know I do.
The doggie with the big smile is a Staffordhire Terrier, a very loving, happy breed. This one happens to look a lot like my dog, who is half Staffie and half lab. I've never seen her smile quite that big!

Have a great week everyone, and enjoy the spring weather,

Marla

How Many Characters Are Too Many?

How Many Characters Are Too Many?

 Will too many make readers lose interest?

My critics told me my first novel had too many characters. My critique group said the same thing, and during the writing, I actually cut down on them! Even a good friend, who loved the story, told me she had to take character notes. So on book number two, I made sure that particular complaint wouldn’t happen again. Guess what? One person said even that book had too many.

Should authors worry about having too many characters? I write and read suspense. I have to agree that sometimes the use of large numbers of characters gets confusing. But it’s pretty hard to write good suspense or a good mystery with just a few characters. Remember the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series? Yikes! If there were ever books requiring the reader to take notes, those were the ones. A few of the names were even spelled very similarly. And that series was on the NYT bestseller list for years.

            So I had to ask myself, what makes a tolerable character list for readers? Why will they accept dozens from some authors yet complain about too many from authors with 10 or twelve? Readers—we want to hear from you!

            Here are some ways I’ve learned of to keep your reader abreast of your characters:

1.     Do keep characters’ names different. Avoid names that sound alike, look alike or begin with the same letter.

2.     If possible, introduce characters one at a time, with scenes in between the introductions. There’s nothing harder to follow than getting hit with an entire team of law personnel, for example, at the same time.

3.     Try not to switch points-of-view within a scene. This is a basic “rule” of writing style, however, I’ve seen some famous writers breaking it when doing dialogue between two main characters. Unless you’re in their league, I’d stay away from it. It’s difficult to do it effectively without confusing the reader.

4.     Find creative ways to remind the reader of who a character is and how he fits into the story when he or she hasn’t been mentioned for a while. Keep in mind every reader won’t be reading the book straight through and will need to have his/her memory refreshed.

5.     Always be sure each character is necessary to your story. Characters, like words, may need to be cut if not relevant to the plot line.

Dear Readers,

As always, I’d love to hear from you. I hope some of you are enjoying spring! We’re still waiting for it here in upper Wisconsin. Amazingly, there are still ice-fishermen on the lake in front of my house, which I’ve heard is going to be a record breaker this year! They seem to be pulling a lot of fish out of the lake, while the eagles are circling, patiently waiting for their opportunity.

            Have a wonderful week,

Marla

Do Your Sample Chapters Outshine the Rest of Your Novel?

Do Your Sample Chapters Outshine the Rest of Your Novel?

How perfect sample chapters could hurt your book sales

  

            In my last blog, as we discussed the prevalence of eBook returns, I was informed that often books are returned because the sample chapters were polished and professional, while the rest of the book lacked the same effort.

            Writers beware. I know we read everywhere how important those opening words are for our sales. But as eBook authors, we have to remember, we need return readers. The more product we have out there, the more each book or story helps sell the others. If a reader buys your first book because the sample chapters made him want to read it, he would have felt cheated when the rest didn’t match the beginning. Even if he doesn’t return it, you end up with a reader who will never buy another of your books, or worse, write you a scathing review.

            Word of mouth remains the best form of advertising. Don’t let a disgruntled reader spread the word that your work is not professional. It is up to you to make your writing captivating all the way through.

Two important reminders:

1.     Be sure your entire work is free of spelling, grammar, typos and formatting errors before you publish. It’ll save you a lot of work later!

2.     Everyone knows not to add too much back-story to the first pages of your novel.  But you also don’t want to leave it out of your opening chapters, and then dump it on the reader all at once. Add it when the storyline warrants it, but as frugally as possible!

Dear readers,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments on the topic of eBook returns. After considering them all, my personal opinion is that rather than shorten the time during which they can be returned, it might be fairer to limit the number of returns any individual could make in a given year.

            I was dismayed to hear that writers actually published books having perfect sample chapters without an entire book to match! I thought addressing that might be worth talking about.

            Thanks to all of you for your continued support,

Marla

eBOOK RETURNS

eBOOK RETURNS

The Newest Scam?

  

             I admit I tend to be a negative person. To use an old cliché, I always see the cup half empty and tend to read the worst interpretation into anything I perceive as a slight. When I look at my eBook sales and see returns, I immediately leap to the conclusion that people are using Amazon’s generous return policy to read my books without buying them.

I got used to seeing a few returns among the sales of my first book. It seemed to happen the most after I’d run a free KDP promo. Annoying, but understandable. People apparently thought the book was still free. I didn’t stop to think that even though they asked for and received their money back, they still had the book on their Kindle. How could they possibly return an eBook?

When my new book, which has not had a free promotion yet, began to have returns, the practice began to concern me. The book has not gotten a huge  number of sales yet, so returns are very obvious to an author who keeps an eye on daily sales. I decided to go right to the source for answers.

Here’s what I found out when I contacted KDP.

1.                    Amazon’s return policy on eBooks is seven days. If you purchase an eBook, you get your money back as long as seven days after the day you bought it.

2.                    Amazon has the ability to remove the book from your device once you’ve returned it.

3.                    After the second email, I was informed that was the last communication they would give me regarding the subject.

I understand it is important for Amazon to give the customer excellent service. But, to me, seven days is excessive. It is easy to read a book in seven days. And, Amazon gives the customer a significant amount of the book to read which should be all the reader needs to make the decision to buy.

I'd love your input on this subject!

Readers, do you feel the 7 days is necessary even thought you have the ability to read at least an entire chapter of a book? Do you believe the increase in returns are all innocent errors?

Fellow authors, are your eBooks being returned? How frequently?

Dear friends,

I had a hard time deciding whether to address this topic on my blog. Personally, I hate dwelling on things I cannot change. I respect Amazon for the many things it does for self-published authors. The 7-day eBook return policy, however, is one thing I wish they would change. I don’t think eBooks should be returnable unless a person hits a wrong button and immediately contacts Amazon. My real fear is a burgeoning practice of read-and-return.

Here’s wishing all of you a glorious Easter, and hoping to hear from you.

Thanks for joining me,

Marla


3-31-13

I've just been informed that there is a petition circling on trying to get AZ to change their eBook return policy. Go to Change.org. You will have to sign up in order to sign a petition there, but it is a simple process. Then do a search for "Amazon eBook return policy." I was surprised to see that there are more than one in the works! Let's hope they help.

  

How to Stay Out of Twitter Jail

There’s No Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card for Twitter Jail!

How to stay out of Twitter’s overuse jail.

          After I published my first book, She’s Not There, it wasn’t long before I became overwhelmed by how many social media sites there were and how many I was “supposed” to be active on. It quickly became frustrating trying to keep up with  with them all.

Then I found a book recommending that an author, rather than do a poor job on all of them, pick two and do them right. This spoke to my state of angst, and I quickly settled on doing the two things I actually enjoyed: Twitter and blogging.

I clipped along on Twitter for more than a year, acquired 5000+ followers and a long list of folks I regularly exchanged RTs with. It became a comfortable routine.

Imagine my distress the first time I received a Twitter message informing me I’d gone over the allowed transaction limit and wouldn’t be able to tweet or RT for an undisclosed number of hours—a dilemma quickly dubbed “Twitter Jail” by someone much more clever than myself.

 Twitter “tweet allotment” facts:

1.    Twitter allows an individual user 1,000 tweets a day. Sounds like a lot, right? Well, not really.

2.    Those thousand tweets permitted, which include RTs, are broken down into semi-hourly intervals. What does this mean to the user?

3.    You cannot use more than the amount allowed for a semi-hourly break down without risking having your tweeting ability frozen for hours. If you use automated tweets, they will not be run.

4.    Twitter doesn’t give exact details, but if you divide 1000 by 24, that means roughly 41 Twitter transactions allowed per hour.

5.    To be safe, I limit myself to 20 every half hour since Twitter’s descriptor is “semi-hourly,” which defines as twice per hour.

What this means for authors who practice a regular RT exchange with other authors and readers, is you can’t sit down at your computer in the morning, run a huge number of RTs, and consider yourself done for the day. Not if your own scheduled tweets are important to you! By scheduled tweets, I’m referring to those that you set up on sites like Hootsuite and Gremlin.

The only way to beat the system is to stagger your RTs. Don’t groan, I know it’s a lot more work. On days I’m home, sometimes I set a small timer to remind myself to do my 30-minute RT allotment! Unfortunately, the end result on busy days is I just don’t get to give back as many RTs as I would like.

Use your transactions wisely. When RTing for someone, find one that will help his or her cause. And if you want people to RT for you, make sure you have something there you’d like RT’d, other than a long list of thank-you’s.

Dear Readers,

I decided to address this topic because I’m often disappointed that I cannot always RT for everyone who does it for me. There is just not enough time in a day to do it with the new restrictions. Hope this helps you understand Twitter Jail--I've been there--the food is awful!

Have a great week,

Marla

Selling eBooks - How to get lucky

SELLING eBOOKS

Is it all about luck?

And if so, how to get lucky!

During March, the month of four-leaf-clovers and little green leprechauns, we celebrate the luck of the Irish. We’re all Irish on St. Patrick’s Day and we can all have that luck! The word luck, beaten and bastardized, gets tossed around like a day-old doughnut whenever we discuss our success (or lack thereof) in selling our books.

            The first time I took advantage of KDP’s Select promotion and placed my suspense eBook, She’s Not There, free on Amazon, I only had 8,202 downloads at the end of the two days, compared to a friend’s 26,000 downloads using the same promotion. She told me, for her, there had been a lot of luck involved, and it was due to the fact that a popular eBook site noticed her promotion and highlighted it for their readers. I know firsthand her success is not all due to luck. She’s a devoted marketer, and spends every available moment maintaining her book’s sales’ momentum. Me, I’m addicted to things like Spider Solitaire, playing bridge and watching The Young and the Restless; my marketing ethic is not nearly as fierce!

Luck is more likely to happen to those who go after it.

How to get lucky:

1. Expect the Best

Lucky people believe they will be successful. Research shows that if you believe you’ll succeed, your odds of hitting a lucky streak go up. There’s no magic involved—expectancy is a real driver of behavior. Expecting something as opposed to wanting or hoping for it, will affect your decision-making and you’ll put in more of an effort than you may normally have.

 Writers—find ways to stay positive and expect success—it works!

2.    Notice What Others Miss

Lucky people are more open to random opportunities. They notice chance situations and act on them. Lucky people are flexible in their thinking, and it’s that relaxed, open attitude that allows them to see what other don’t.

         Keep your eyes open for opportunities—they’re out there!

3.    Say “Yes”

 Lucky people do not remain passive. Instead, they seize opportunities as they come without endless second-guessing.

   When chance encounters occur, don’t overthink them, act on them.

4.    Switch Things Up

Lucky people increase their chances of getting opportunities by meeting new people and trying new things. Luck won’t come looking for you or knock at your door.

      The more you put yourself out there, the more likely it is you will find luck.

5.    Practice Bouncing Back

Lucky people don’t let one failure sidetrack their road to success. When you let a bad break get you down, you close the door on new situations that could lead to a lucky break. Closely linked to the first trait, expecting the best, bouncing back means you will have a greater chance of success with each failure, because you’ll be trying more often.

     Regard every bad break as an opportunity to find the right course for you!

           

Dear readers,

            Although I didn’t spell out detailed ways these traits apply to the self-published author, I’m sure their relevance is obvious. So many of us, myself included, wait for that magical “break,” that will mean success for our novels. You know what magical thinking does, it delays success. Practice the habits of lucky people; they work!

Have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day,

Marla

Readers - What Will You Pay for an eBook?

Readers - What Will You Pay For An eBook?

The high and the low of eBook pricing.

When I put my first novel up as an eBook, I priced it high because of its length. Now that my second novel, Relative Malice, has just been released, I’m wondering once more about what to charge for it.

Do I reduce novel #1 now that the new one is out? Should I bring down the price of both books? Many people advise not charging more than 2.99 for an eBook, and many readers say they will not pay more than $2.99 for one.

I need your help. I’d love some input from both authors and readers on the following questions.

1.     Do you believe $2.99 is as high as any eBook should be priced?

2.     Are you only wiling to pay more for a book written by a famous author?

3.     Should older releases by an author be priced lower than newer ones?

4.     Do you pass up books priced at 99 cents for those that are free?

5.     Are free books worth a look-see?

6.     How often do you find a gem among the free offerings?

Dear Readers,

Please take a minute to express your opinions. Pricing is an issue many authors are struggling with. My spouse keeps telling me that a quality product should be priced accordingly, and I keep telling him the eBook market is a new dog on the block. No one knows for sure what it is or how friendly it’s going to be!

Hope all of you had a loving Valentine’s Day.

Thanks for your help,

Marla

FIVE WAYS CUTTING CAN IMPROVE YOUR NOVEL

FIVE WAYS CUTTING CAN IMPROVE YOUR NOVEL

“I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.”—Truman Capote

My first novel came in at more than 100,000 words. After editing, it went down to 93k. After it’s final proofing, it lost another 300 words. Painful? You bet!

But what I’ve come to realize, is without exception, anything I’ve sliced and diced has become a much more polished work.

Tightening and trimming can be a difficult lesson, but after my second novel was edited, I actually had to add a few things.

Things I learned the hard way:

1.     If you’re writing fiction, there is only so much the reader wants to know about technical issues, and, in general, background information about geography, art, science, whatever. Unless it’s vital to the story line, ( and sometimes even then ) you should keep it brief. Avoid the self-indulgence of overloading the reader with your own knowledge of a topic.

2.     Backstory.  As a reader, I hate it. I don’t tolerate excess, and will skip over it and only check to make sure I’m not missing anything germane to the story. When adding backstory that is necessary, try to intersperse it where it’s relevant rather than dumping it on the reader all at one time. When fine-tuning your manuscript, remember when it comes to backstory, succinct wins over wordy.

3.     Check and double check for repetitions. Occasionally the reader does need to be reminded of something that happened a few chapters ago, but unnecessary repetition is annoying. Cut it.

4.     Run-on character descriptions. Like backstory, keep descriptions short, and break up details of the description with dialogue or action. Better yet, have your characters' actions describe something about his appearance.

5.     Dialogue – Leave out any that’s unnecessary. The reader doesn’t want to hear small talk! Break up any long speech with details about the speaker or the listener.

Dear readers,

I enjoy hearing all of your comments. Please share your own experiences with cutting your work. If you’re reading this in a climate like Wisconsin, stay warm! I advise curling up with a warm cat, a cozy throw, a glass of wine and a good book.

Thanks for visiting,

Marla

The Author Photo

The Author Photo – Silly or Significant?

         Do readers really care about an author’s photo? Everyone know it’s the cover, the description and content that sell a book, right? All true. But in today’s book-selling marketplace, unless your name is James Patterson, Jonathan Kellerman, or another NYT best selling author, you have to do your own marketing.

Where do you do this?

The Internet. You take advantage of popular social media sites, like Twitter, Facebook, Google plus, Pinterest, and Goodreads. You go begging for reviews and interviews that will appear on other people sites.

What do people see first on these sites? Not just your book. Your face!

            Yes, your mug makes the first impression. If you’re an author trying to market his/her books, I recommend getting a professional shot. My father used to tell me, “If you want to be successful, you have to look successful.” I always suspected that was how he justified the new cars he drove and the expensive clothes he wore, but it remains good advice.

Have your photo done, and look the part of an author who’s already achieved fame.

1.     Before you book a photographer, check out his/her work.

2.     Don’t be shy about having your face digitally improved! You want to look like you, but make sure your photo represents the very best you.

3.     If you can’t afford a professional, have a friend take some shots for you. Take a lot of them, in different poses, clothing and with different backgrounds. Then you’ll be sure to have one that works.

4.     Unless you’re writing erotica, I’d advise staying away from sexy clothing or poses. Once more, the aim is to look professional.

5.     If you’re trying to build an online platform, all the more reason for the professional photo. Pictures of your kids, your wedding, or that fun shot you took in a photo booth send a different message. Reserve those for Facebook or your website. You’re an author, look like one.

Dear readers,

I’m sorry my posts have been erratic, but I’ve been busy getting my second novel, Relative Malice, up and running. 

I was advised early in my writing career to get a professional photo done. When I saw the proofs, my first thought was, “Who is that old woman?” Luckily we’d taken enough shots that there were a few that flattered me!

Whether we like to admit it or not, we make judgments about people by our reaction to their faces. Everyone does it. Show people a face they'd like to get to know.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!

Marla

Is There a "BEST" Time for a Book Release?

Is There a “BEST” Time for a Book Release?

  

What’s the best time to release a new book? Having missed my release deadline for my new suspense novel, I’ve been doing a lot of pondering on the subject. I released my first book in July, and was hoping to get the second one on in December, in time for Christmas gift giving.

Now it’s back to decision time.

Some thoughts on when to release:

1.     Summer – People are busy during the summer. There are so many things to do, that reading may be at the bottom of their list. But there are vacations, right? Nothing better than a good book while lying on a chaise next to the pool!

2.     Spring – Again, a time when everyone’s thinking about their yards, weddings, graduations, etc. But also, they are planning vacations. Might be the time for buying those vacation books!

3.     Winter holiday season – This might seem ideal, but once more, people are stressed out with everything they have to do, and may be putting books and reading on the back burner. But books as gifts may change the equation, right?

4.     Post-holidays – What better way to laugh at cabin fever than with a good book? Not as many things going on, may be the perfect release time.

5.     Autumn – Everyone’s favorite season. A great time for reading? Could be perfect if you’re writing horror or suspense. Anything tied to the occult, too. Bring it on in October!

6.     October and February - I’ve added these months as a multi-published author recently touted those as the best months for a book release.  

            What’s the answer? Well, one could get the book ready early, then choose to wait until December (or October or February) to release it, but who among us authors wants to wait once our “baby” is ready?

            Tell us, what do you think? Is the holiday season the best time for a new release?

Dear Readers,

I really wanted my new suspense novel, Relative Malice, to be on Amazon as both an ebook and print book before Christmas. I figured books would be peaking in sales at that time. I didn’t make it.

            I’ve consoled myself, thinking maybe a January debut would be even better. People would have more time with their shopping done, parties over, and company gone home. Sour grapes? Hard to tell. And personally, the Christmas season is not the best time for an author. Add the stress of everything that goes into getting a book ready to release to that of preparing for the holidays, and it makes a less than joyless season for a writer!

            Suggestions? I’d love to hear them!

Marla

Eek! It's Christmas Week

 Eek! It’s Christmas Week 

(And I’m feeling fat already.)

      Trying to follow my own tips, I’m fighting to eat less on days there are no parties, no company, or 

dining out. And during those eating events, I’m savoring the things I really love without (almost 

without) overindulging.  I’ve managed to pass up the things that aren’t favorites and the desserts when

I’m already stuffed. 

      Doesn’t seem like much, you say?

      Then you most likely have never had a serious weight problem and shouldn’t be reading this blog! 

But seriously, it is the small changes that make a big difference. 

I’m having company this week for Christmas. Here some tips for serving guests. 

1. If possible, put prepared treats far out of sight and reach unless they’re being served to everyone.

2. Don’t give up the things you love. Give yourself permission to indulge, but only on the things you 

enjoy the most. Pass up foods you can live without.

3. As host or hostess, serve things that are not your personal favorites. 

4. When entertaining, have holiday containers and wrap on hand. Send leftover temptations home with your guests. Be assertive!

5. At a party, fill yourself one plate of the things you enjoy the most and savor every bite. DON”T stand at the buffet and nibble.

7. Always have a mental plan before a food event. Then stick to it. This battle is all about awareness.

8. If you do have a bad day or two, follow up with two good days and forgive yourself.

Please feel free to comment and leave any additional tips that work for you!

Dear readers,

So far, I’ve managed not to gain weight during the holiday season. It’s been especially hard as I’ve been doing the final proofing on my next book and all of you writers know how stressful that can be. And for me, food is my first choice as a stress-sedative!

Here’s wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas week! If you’re driving, drive safely, free of alcohol and cell phones. We want to see you next week!

Merry Christmas to all,

Marla

P.S. Sorry about the formatting above! For some reason, Blogspot is not recognizing my edits this week.