The Art of the RT.

To RT or Not to RT?

 

That is the question.

Many authors use Twitter to make friends in the book industry and to promote their writing. Do endless RT’s, given and received, sell books?

            When I began marketing my first suspense book, She’s Not There, I quickly became overwhelmed by how many avenues were available for promotion. It didn’t take long to come to the realistic opinion that it was not feasible do every type of social media and still have time to write. I came across an eBook by Kathy Lynn Hall called Blog and Tweet, advising authors to focus two things, Twitter and Blogging. This instantly appealed to me, since those were two formats that I actually enjoyed doing. Since then, I’ve accumulated 225 blog followers, and more than 800 followers on Twitter.

            I spend a lot of time RTing for my fellow authors and Twitter friends. While it is impossible to tell if this practice actually promotes book sales, it does do the one thing everyone says in necessary— it helps build an author platform.

            A few things I’ve learned NOT to do when adding RTs.

1.     RTing junk. I only RT a tweet that will aid the other person. RTing something they’ve RTed for someone else, or a piece of a conversation isn’t helpful. Take time to find the right one!

2.     RTing multiple thank you’s I’ll never understand why some people send out thank yous to multiple recipients. Seems like a waste of time to me. And RTing those things? Right up there with junk.

3.     Don’t use an automated RT service. Yikes! These will RT anything, even a simple “Thank You for following.” message. Another time waste.

4.     Don’t do too many RTs at any given time. It could result in a Twitter shut down for you, and you cannot tweet anything for hours. If this matters to you, keep your RTs to about ten every half hour.

5.     When building a following and a group of fellow RT tweeps, it might make sense to focus on authors of your own genre.

Dear readers,

I spend too much time on RTs! In order to get more writing time in, I’ve been forced to cut down. You can set Twitter to email you any time someone RTs you. As your following increases, responding to them all by RTing back can become extremely time consuming. I’ve mainly been returning RTs now with people I’ve known a long time on Twitter, and on writers of my genre, suspense. Sorry, but I can’t promise that RTing will reap huge rewards. It will make you some Twitter friends and get your name out there. Do it wisely.

Have a wonderful week,

Marla

Pitfalls of Writing Books in a Series

Serial killer or Serial Books?

                

What happens after your first novel is published? Is it set aside, thrown into solitary like a serial killer who’s gotten the ‘book’ thrown at him? Or is your first thought the one fan who wants to read more about your characters?

            Serials and trilogies are all the rage. As a reader, I tend to be quite judgmental of them, since they are difficult to do in a manner satisfying to both the people who requested the sequel and also to new readers who have yet to bond with the characters.

            The four major challenges of writing series books:

1.     The easiest to quit reading is the second (or fifth!) of a series that assumes the reader has not only read all the others, but has read it yesterday. The author of a series needs to find the right balance of information for the reader to make each book readable.

2.     Worst is the sequel that spends 50% of the book in a giant laxative dump, explaining every detail of the first book. Again, balance is everything. Add necessary back-story sparingly and when relevant to the plot.

3.     Another terrible-twist is the dreaded killer who manages to survive to make a comeback in every successive novel, managing to be more annoying to the reader than post-nasal drip.

Patterson is fond of this in his Cross series and I’m not sure Patricia Cornwell could write a book without a villain from the past in a starring role, or at the very least, the son, daughter, cousin, mother, father, or adopted child of said killer stepping in to repeat the pattern. Their are always exceptions, but the most successful series are those where the main characters remain the same but a fresh plot is introduced. Jonathan Kellerman does this brilliantly in his Alex Delaware novels.

4.     No matter how well written, unless a reader has read every book in the series, he or she will not have the same connection with the characters and their relationships. Often the relationships feel hollow because of it. One way to avoid this is by giving the relationships new problems, so readers can get involved in the characters' personal lives.
5.  Readers are annoyed by endings that are crafted with the next book in mind. This seems to be true more so in trilogies than series. A reader doesn't like to feel at the end of the story  like he's just been set up to buy the next in the series!

Since, as a reader, I’m so darn picky about them, I’ve been timid about doing a series. I'm working on my third suspense novel, and though not really one of a series, it does star a character from the first book, She’s Not There. My critique group has assured me I’ve added just the right amount of back-story for new readers. Unfortunately, my first beta-reader, even though she’s read She’s Not There, wanted more detail about the past! Proving, once more, how difficult it is to both maintain original readers and attract (and keep!) new ones.

Dear readers,

Please keep in mind the above suggestions and commentary are from my point-of-view as a reader. I’ve been an avid reader all my life, long before I became an author, and still find time to read. So, many of the above comments are personal opinion. Please give all of us the benefit of your thoughts and expertise on the topic by adding a comment.

            Hope you are all finding time to enjoy the wonderful fall weather.

Till next time,

Marla

Festivals and Fairs. A good place to sell books?

FESTIVALS AND FAIRS

A good place for authors to sell books?

Driving home from the Hayward Fall Festival yesterday, I began dwelling on the profit/ loss aspects of  selling books at this type of event. 

        I set up a tent with two other authors for the one-day festival. Note that our sign should read, "Book Signing," but due the wind, that was the only way we could secure it!

       The Festival drew a huge amount of people, and I sold about 16 books, which is the most I've ever sold at a festival or fair. I counted my money and thought, "Yes, I made a decent profit!" But I couldn't keep my mind from straying to what the drawbacks were despite the profits.

        I've devised a list of considerations for anyone contemplating doing something similar:

Drawbacks

1.    You can never predict the weather! We were fortunate to have hit a pretty good weather day, but it's always possible to have your day totally ruined by extreme weather.

2.    The amount of people attending can never be counted on!  These things have less attendance every year. I believe there are just too many of them, as every community wants to get into the act .

3.    It's a lot of work and time spent for the amount of profit made. It takes time to order books, pack everything, buy bookmarks, postcards, and on and on. I left home at seven, which meant getting up at 5:30. The day before was spent preparing. It was about a 75 minute drive each way, so gas is another cost item.

4.    You need to buy a state seller's permit.

5.    You have to pay for a space. Ours cost $90, and we split it three ways.

Advantages

1.   We all made a profit selling our books.

2.    Many people, although not buying books, took cards.

3.    Some of these will buy eBooks.

4.    In general, events like this provide exposure for the authors.

      5.  It's always fun to get together with fellow authors.

I have an author friend who believes it is more advantageous to sell by yourself. While that may be true, it is a lot easier to sit for the day with company. Or to take a potty break or go to pick up some lunch. Our tent was not a one-person set up, either! An outdoor event is definitely easier with more than one.

Dear readers,
In case you're wondering, in the above photo I'm the one on the right wearing my trademark black fedora, oblivious to the fact that with my sunglasses on, I'm a ringer for one of the Blues Brothers! We had a fun time at the festival, and met many interesting people. 
I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful fall weather we've been having. The air has been cool and crisp here, the leaves just beginning to change.
Till next time, wishing you good health and good times,

Marla

Choosing a Title for Your Novel

Choosing a Title for Your Novel

How Important Is It?

            I need help. I’m about 2/3 through my third suspense novel and I cannot decide on a title. I’ve asked my writer’s group and they think it would be easier to decide once they’ve read the entire thing. I don’t agree. My baby needs a name and I’m asking for your help.

           I believe a title needs to be three things:

1.     Reveal the Genre. This is most important because, along with the cover art, the title is what the potential reader/buyer sees first. This is a critical fact for eBooks, where the reader will not even bother to read the blurb if the title and cover do not seem to be the genre he’s interested in.

2.     Original. This is tough. But think about how many books with punchy titles are on the bestseller list. Gone Girl comes to mind and it’s been on the NYT list for more than a year now.

3.     Simple.  We could all point to bestsellers that have long, complicated titles, but they are the exceptions. We might need to save those for authors who have already made their niche.

I know this is a difficult task without knowing the storyline. But with genre

in mind, suspense, which one would make you want to read the blurb?

Lethal Liasons                                                 Tragedy

Nocturnal Liasons                                           Illicit

Illicit Liasons                                                   Trespass

Deadly Liasons                                                Night Travels

Incident                                                            Thy Neighbor’s Wife

Behind Closed Doors                                       Swapped

In Dark Houses                                                Illegal Entry

Deadly Seductions                                           Illicit Malice
Lust Struck                                                      Seductive Justice

Carnal Malice                                                  Carnal Justice

            I’m leaning toward a one-word title. Unfortunately, my favorite is Illicit, and someone else just published a book by that title. However, since mine won’t be out until 2014, I’m thinking that might not be a problem. I also like Carnal Malice, but another author is doing a “Malice” series and I wouldn’t want us to be confused with each other. So, you see, I really need help!

Dear Readers,

I hope you are all having a good time reading and writing. My third novel is coming along and I’m hoping to get to the point of editing in a couple of months. Summer has been distracting!

Thanks for reading and for your help in finding a title. It is much appreciated.

Marla

Genre and the Older Writer

Genre and the Older Writer

– Are you writing the right one?

With the advent of independent publishing upon us, Genre is no longer a slave to formulas established by large publishing houses and longtime editors.

You only have to look at titles offered on the Goodreads giveaway list to see that there is a new trend—mixed genre. Along with other favorites like Vampire, Sci-Fi, and Zombie, the mixed genre, often mingling romance or fantasy with the others, tends to be favored largely by the under 30 crowd.
And then there is YA, the Young Adult genre, whose main characters tend to be in the 15 to 25-year-old range and are written mainly for readers in the preteen to under 21 category. Lately there seems to be quite a flux of writers aiming to capture this audience.

            What does all this mean for the older writer? Think before you leap into a genre that is not for you. Considerations:

1.     It is probably best to stick with a subject you’re familiar with. Don’t try to write a Zombie/Vampire/Romance novel unless you are an avid reader of, and familiar with, the genre.

2.     Don’t pick a genre just because it’s one you believe is marketable. Older people read too, and often read mystery, thrillers, suspense, westerns, romance, and also some of the same genres the younger readers enjoy.

3.     When they say write what you know, this doesn’t mean strictly what you know in life experience. Reading a genre exclusively over many years gives you a measure of expertise invaluable when drafting your novel.

4.     If your goal is to become traditionally published, be aware that editors look for certain genre standards and will reject a book that doesn’t follow them. Do your homework and make sure your book follows the expected guidelines.

Dear Readers,

It is truly amazing how genres fluctuate. I read suspense almost exclusively, so deciding which genre to write has been an easy decision. Writing a genre you aren’t familiar with will not only be difficult, but it will be difficult for you to determine what is original and will entice the reader.

Happy writing,

Marla

KDP Quality Notices

 Authors and KDP speak out!

         Last week’s blog on KDP Quality Notices to authors generated a lot of interest. Here are some things I gathered from your responses.

1.     Everyone is in favor of the Quality Notices. The end result will improve the reader’s experience.

2.     A universal concern is that KDP will send them to all authors as needed, not just independently published ones. In particular, everyone feels that big name authors need to receive them equally.

3.     There is a fear that by locating and complaining about a few errors, readers will be able to use that to demand their money back for the books they buy.

4.     Also, there is a concern that complaining about a few errors (which every book has, believe me, and I read about two a week!) will become a way to persecute the author for a grudge held against them.

I contacted KDP and asked if they would please share any information on how they distributed the notices. Here is their response:

Hello Marla,

I can understand you wanting to know how we get to the point of sending Quality notices to our publishers.

When you publish a book, it will be set to "In Review" status for a short period of time so we can ensure that we are providing the best possible eBook experience to our customers. Should we miss something (however small) in this process, our readers can submit feedback, report poor quality or formatting from the book's product detail page on the website.

If we get more of the same feedback from a number of customers about the same book, then we send a quality notice to that book's author.

I hope you will find this information helpful. If you have any further question about this or any other topic please feel free to contact us, we'll gladly assist you with your request.

Thanks for being part of the Amazon KDP family.

Then, in a response to a question about my own books, I got this answer:

Hello Marla,

We appreciate your attention to our recent notification.

Content published through KDP is held to the high standards customers have come to expect from Amazon. To ensure this, we react to reports from readers who experience problems when reading KDP books and perform random quality audits on books in the Kindle Store.

If we confirm the problem within a book negatively impacts the reading experience, we will always notify you of any problems we find and will make sure to point you in the right direction to get the problem fixed.

Thanks for using Amazon KDP.

Not sure why, but when responding to my direct question they only mentioned reacting to readers complaints, and in the other message, they did tell me that random audits were being performed. I think most of us would feel the notices were being handled in a more fair and consistent manner with the random checks. I must say, that KDP has been responsive to my questions and been professional and helpful with their answers.

Dear readers,

I think we all understand KDP notices a little better. Personally, at the risk of sounding whiny and whingy, it seems somewhat strange to spend time reprimanding an author for one or two typos, when all books, even the NYT best sellers, have a few.

What I’m hearing all of you say, though, is that there is an appreciation by authors for having errors pointed out in order to perfect the manuscript. I’ve fixed mine. And am once more resolved to learn how to do my own formatting so I can go in and clean up problems by myself! Probably won’t happen, though. I have little patience for formatting! I’ll have to perfect the proofing process.

Have a great week everyone!

Marla

KDP Quality Notices

KDP Quality Notices

Authors beware!

The latest low blow for Indie Authors – Amazon is sending out Writing Quality reprimands!

            I just received two of the dreaded missives, one for each of my two suspense  novels. According to their message, “readers” complained. What’s seems odd, is that my latest book, which has been professionally proofed, had two errors pointed out. I’ve read others’ eBooks, many which have errors in nearly every paragraph. Are they getting these notices?

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m all for Amazon tightening the reins. In the end it will only improve the quality of independently published books. But it stretches my credibility meter to believe that more than one reader notified KDP to report a book (my latest, Relative Malice) because it contained two typos.

I’m in the process of fixing them. In fact, She’s Not There, my first book, has been re-proofed and it is now being reformatted.

My advice to independent authors is:

1.     Hire a professional proofreader.

2.     Have that person reproof after you’ve made your changes even if you must pay more for this service. If you don’t, you may be inadvertently adding more typos, etc.

3.     If you are a first time author and are thinking about asking a friend or relative to do your proofing, think twice. Unless that person is a proofer by trade, you could be setting yourself up for problems after you publish.

4.     Is there such a thing as too much proofing? No! That may be true for editing, which could easily be an infinite process, but proofing needs to be perfected before sending out the new book notices!

Dear readers,

I have to apologize for yet another post on proofing. But the Amazon notices were very upsetting for me and I’m hoping that sharing my experience will help prevent other authors from getting one of the “Quality” notices. I’ve learned the hard way that it pays to spend the money to make your book a polished product. Apparently, I’m still learning!

Have a wonderful week,

Marla

Summer Slump, 7 ways writers can survive poor sales and heavy distractions.

Summer Slump

7 ways writers can survive poor sales and heavy distractions.

Finding it difficult to stay positive when book sales drop 

and warm-weather activities beckon? You aren’t alone. 

There are five authors in my writers’ group, and one by 

one, we’re feeling the effects of July on our book sales and

 our attitudes. We’ve commiserated and come up with a 

list of ways to stay focused and positive.

1.                    Take a break without guilt. Sit on the porch and read a book, go for a walk, enjoy a parade, a festival, whatever makes you feel good on a summer day.

2.                   Try something new to market your writing.  If you’re one of the many whose sales have gone south since June, try something different. Do an interview on your blog, try a Goodreads giveaway, something you haven’t done before.

3.                   Plan ahead.  Use your time to work on the next big push for your book, a new release, or short story. The most successful events are well thought-out. Be sure your next one is great.

4.                   Don’t omit writing time. Try setting a page goal for the coming week. It’s hard to do a daily commitment during summer, but setting a page goal will keep you using the time you do have. Keep your goal achievable!

5.                   Examine your successes.  Look back on what has worked for you during the past months. Don’t lose sight of the things that you both enjoyed doing and worked well for you. With those in mind, develop a plan for fall.

6.                   Carry a notebook or a small recorder.  Creative ideas can pop into our heads when we’re having fun. Find a way to capture them.

7.                   Misery loves company. Spend some time with fellow writers. Brainstorm with them. You’ll be amazed how much better you’ll feel having shared your doldrums and bounced new ideas around.

Dear Readers,

I try to blog on issues I’m dealing with myself and this one sure fits in that niche, unfortunately. My book sales have gone south, and my attitude with it. Hopefully you’ll enjoy knowing that you aren’t the only one, or even better, share a pointer or two if your summer is going well.

I’m writing this on a hot, muggy day in NW Wisconsin, one in which the bugs and the humidity make going outdoors a challenge! So at least outdoor temptations aren’t too bad. Of course, the screen porch is calling my name right now, with a good novel (Marcia Clark’s latest, Killer Ambition) and a glass of lemonade.

Till next time, hope you had a great Fourth and are enjoying summer,

Marla