News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #91…
Item. PR ploy? Fifty Shades MS stolen? OK, maybe someone wants a bit of the action ($$$ these books make, you dirty-minded people!), so they’ll sell illegal copies on the web. I doubt it. The idea of having two novels, one from the POV of the innocent and gullible victim (those are nice adjectives to describe her) and one from the POV of Mr. Grey, the S & M king (again, nice adjectives to describe him), is purely exploitive—the author and publisher should be ashamed. And I wouldn’t be surprised this is a PR ploy akin to leaking J. K. Rowling’s name as the author of those droll mysteries—the latter’s only redeeming quality is showing what name recognition and branding can do for you. For traditional publishing, it’s all about greed and money, no matter what it takes.
The flip side of the coin is to ask why this schlock appeals to people. Because I’m a writer, I’m interested. I ask readers (both men and women), who say they’ve read at least the first book in the trilogy, what part of the book they liked best. “Give me the juicy details,” I say. A Puritan’s silence follows 99% of the time. 1% admit that the books are terrible, and/or they were just curious. The guys are secretive wannabe Mr. Greys, I guess; and the gals are frustrated wannabe S & M victims? I’ll just write it off as just part of our crazy culture, though. But I sure hope that this series’ readers aren’t avid readers, just people with hidden, prurient interests, because I can’t and won’t write this schlock. ‘Nough said.
Item. Changing genres. To continue with the theme above, romance novels have always been a popular genre, but they’ve become so popular that people like James Patterson and his wrecking crew of associated co-authors are trying to dominate those genres too. Maybe that’s a smart move when you run out of ideas in your original genres and become too formulaic? Or, is it just a way to take a break?
Don’t get me wrong: there are subgenres of that romance genre that contain very appealing stories. Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities (his only novel I can stomach) is a historical romance, after all, as well as being a classic. So is Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables (more 19th century schmaltzy than Two Cities, though). Many thrillers have romantic interludes (not often as steamy as Fifty Shades and other erotica books, though); two recent ebooks of mine, Muddlin’ Through and Silicon Slummin’…and Just Gettin’ By, have some romance—relationships are often part of a character’s life that make her/his life more interesting for the reader.
But don’t worry. I’m not going to become a romantic schlock-meister like James Patterson or Nicholas Sparks. Romance, sex, and violence are just some subthemes a mystery, thriller, or sci-fi writer can use in her/his books. Their use should follow the Goldilocks Principle, not be the be-all and end-all to the story. I’ll stick with my genres and use these subthemes when they advance the story line. I’ll let Patterson and Sparks write the “pure” romance novels (well, Patterson’s writing children’s lit now too). I can’t compete with either one’s writing factories output anyway.
Item. Connections. I started this last week, and it seems like a good idea. Readers can have fun tracing these connections. Here’s this week’s character: Vladimir Kalinin is almost as ubiquitous as Odri the Shipbuilder. The former is a main character in The Midas Bomb, The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan, Full Medical, Evil Agenda, No Amber Waves of Grain, and Soldiers of God—in another words, he’s in two series and two stand-alones. This man, a poor child in Moscow when Yeltsin came to power, is a self-made evil genius who will often surprise you. His Russian nickname is Volodya, but he’s often creating havoc under other names as well.
Item. Be accessible. I hope writers found my elaboration of Steve’s Rule #3 of use. I’m not sure this will help you find readers, but you’ll sure have more fun. I’m more convinced than ever that if you do only one thing, Goodreads is the way to go, and most of it’s free, a good quality for strapped budgets like mine. The website really allows you to reach out to readers. I might even try a Goodreads ad the next time I do a Kindle Countdown Deal—that’s not free, but it can’t be any worse than Facebook ads (see below).
Item. Book reviews. Please write them. Don’t put it off. When you finish an ebook, whether from an indie or traditionally published author, write a little review on Amazon and/or the online site where you bought the book. Your review can be short and still informative for other readers and the author; it can be long too and cover some more technical points. You’re in charge. Among things you can say: what attracted you to the book in the first place (skip if it was because it’s just another 4- or 5-star book—who cares?), what you liked and/or disliked about the book (no “atta boys” or “atta girls” or “this sucks” without explanation), and comparisons with other authors and their books you’ve read. That’s enough to help another reader make a decision about buying or borrowing the book.
BTW, if the book has more than twenty reviews, don’t waste your time—just about everything that can be said about that book has already been said. Amazon started this practice of reviewing all the products they sale. It’s insulting for authors that they treat books just like any other product (women’s and men’s apparel, for example); it’s insulting for reviewers that they treat book reviews like reviews of any other product too. But once this Pandora’s box was opened, all authors have to play along, especially indies. I know it’s a bit absurd. Book reviewing on Amazon is more like popular voting on American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. That’s where my twenty review limit comes from. If you’re review is #1001, you can be sure that almost no one will read it, so save it for an author who really needs it (assuming you read her/his book, of course).
Item. My book reviews. All that said, not one of my ebooks has reached the twenty-review-level. In other words, I’d like a few more reviews for each ebook. For a limited time, I’ll make the following offer: you can have two free ebooks from my catalog in return for an honest review of one of them. In other words, you’re committed only to review one of those ebooks. Currently you have nineteen ebooks to choose from because I’m counting More than Human: The Mensa Contagion, which will soon be released (see below—you might have to wait a few days for that). Use the contact page at this site to send me an email indicating the two ebooks you choose and the one you commit to review. I need your email to send you the books. This is for all my ebooks but is restricted to Amazon. I don’t have access to all those other file formats designed for other e-readers. Sorry.
Item. My return to hard sci-fi. What’s hard sci-fi? Maybe it’s best to describe first what it isn’t. It isn’t space opera or fantasy (Star Wars, for example, can be described by both). It isn’t about paranormal events, horror, zombies, vampires, werewolves, or a little hungry girl saving the world with her bow and arrow. You might call that speculative fiction, but they’re not even sci-fi (sorry, Margaret Atwood).
What’s left? An extrapolation of current science and technology, either to the past (ancient aliens, for example) or to the future (human beings’ and others’), a story that might teach us something, entertain us, treat interesting characters in unusual settings, and provide some thrills. Many of the original Star Trek episodes were hard sci-fi (because they were based on hard sci-fi stories!); everything else that followed in that franchise was either space opera or fantasy.
My “Chaos Chronicles Trilogy” is comprised of three hard sci-fi novels. I’m returning to hard sci-fi with More than Human: The Mensa Contagion. Here’s the blurb I wrote for it: “People of Earth! You’ve just won a complete makeover of your society that brings peace and prosperity. What will you do next?” “Why, go to Mars, of course!” This epic sci-fi tale relates how an invading ET virus affects Earth’s social structures and subsequent space exploration. Soon to be released, you should watch for it if you like hard sci-fi.
Item. Facebook ads. If you recall, I had a Kindle Countdown Deal and advertised it on FB. Well, I won’t do that again. Maybe it’s not FB’s fault, but I didn’t sell one copy of Angels Need Not Apply. Mind you, it was on sale for $0.99, reduced from $2.99. Possible conclusions: (1) FB sucks at advertising and is a waste of my money. (2) People tolerate FB ads to keep the service free but otherwise ignore them as spam. (3) Readers have their favorite authors, traditionally published or otherwise, and don’t feel like trying anyone new, even when it’s not a costly investment. (4) People just aren’t attracted to my books. (5) Readers want only free, free, free, because they’re cheap, cheap, cheap. I suspect there’s some truth to all these.
Item (4), assuming people looked at the ad, seems to be the case…and also generalizable, I suppose. For whatever reason—subject matter, genre, characters, settings, or others—people aren’t interested in reading my stories. I guess people want erotica, romance, cozy mysteries, fantasy…anything that’s not mystery, thrillers, or sci-fi. But, considering the way Bookbub charges, my genres are popular, so it doesn’t make much sense to me. I’m not disappointed, just mystified. Doesn’t matter either. I’ll just keep releasing my stories. I have fun spinning a good yarn, and the yearly cost to me is about what golf addicts spend (it depends on the number of ebooks I release, of course, and how many putters they throw into the water hazards).
Item (5) irritates and worries me, though, if it’s true. I offer quality entertainment at a reasonable price, but I won’t give my ebooks away. To quote Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” My publishing partners and I work hard to make my ebooks the best they can be so that your entertainment is maximized without distractions from editing or formatting. Maybe TANSTAAFL is more important than Hawthorne’s quote: There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch—at least not here from this author. I’ll prepare you a great feast for lunch, but I won’t give it away.
Other authors might not value their work, but I do. I don’t need to make a living doing this (heaven forbid that authors should want to make some money!), but I’d like to recover some of my costs (to continue the metaphor, have money for a new putter, i.e. release the next ebook). I write and release ebooks with tremendous cost savings that I pass on to you, the reader. If you’d rather spend a few bucks on a McDonald’s dollar meal instead of buying an ebook, I accept that, but McDonald’s won’t give you their product for free…and I won’t either. ‘Nough said.
In elibris libertas….
