Dorian Box's Blog, page 8

Super-Reader Spotlight: Jason Denness

By Amy Holland and Dorian Box

We’ve done author interviews here at DorianBox.com, as do many writing and publishing websites, but what about those unsung heroes of literature: the people who actually read the books?

Less than half of Americans (47 percent) report reading a novel in the previous year, a three percentage point drop from 2008 to 2012 according to a report by the National Endowment for the Arts. (This article in Market Watch offers a thorough explanation.)

Of those who still read fiction, most are women. A 2014 Huffington Post article went so far as to state that “[i]f, as a demographic, they suddenly stopped reading, the novel would nearly disappear.”

This is dreary news for the rapidly growing number of indie authors and publishers seeking an audience.

But just when one is about to lose faith, a figure emerges from the literary shadows who gives hope to authors everywhere. His name is Jason Denness, a 37-seven-year-old resident of Basingstoke, Hampshire, United Kingdom. We crossed paths with Jason on Goodreads while promoting Psycho-Tropics. If you’re a Goodreads member, you know that Goodreads sends news updates whenever one of your friends takes a literary action. When you’re friends with Jason, this means you get news every day because Jason is a reading superstar.

Jason Denness in disguise, now that he’s been outed as a superhero.

Typical updates:

“Jason added 5 books today.”

“Jason added 12 books today.”

“Jason added 492 books today.”

Okay, exaggerating a bit, but this is a guy who consumes novels like chain smokers suck down cigarettes. He doesn’t just “add” books. He reads and reviews them, at a pace that seems almost supernatural and is bound to make any of us who consider ourselves to be avid readers feel like complete slackers by comparison.

Intrigued and astounded as to how he does it, Box and we asked Jason if he’d be willing to sit down (virtual style) and answer some questions:

Q.  Jason, first off, how many books would you estimate you’ve read in 2015?

A.  I am a few shy of 150 books for this year, pretty confident that I will reach 150 before the year ends.

Q.  Wow, that comes out to twelve and a half books a month. Any way to peg a rough lifetime estimate?

A.  I’ve only become a big reader over the last few years, but I guess in my lifetime I’ve read one thousand books.

Q.  Help solve the mystery: How in the world to you do it? Tracking your Goodreads news updates, it appears you’re usually reading several books at the same time. Is that accurate?

A.  I usually have three books on the go at once, two at home and one at work. The two at home I jump between them, I can’t remember when I started doing that, but it’s how I read. I don’t get lost or confused. Sometimes I seem to pit the two at-home books against each other, sometimes one is so good I will focus on that one.

Q.  That one-half of the American public who haven’t picked up a novel in the past year often give as a reason that they’re “too busy.” Where in the world do you find the time to read so many books? Are you a speed reader? Can you read in your sleep?

A.  I’m not a speed reader. I’m quite quick though. I’m also not one of those people who skim read. I find that really odd. Why buy a book if you’re not going to read it properly? I take in every word, spotting spelling errors along the way. I read a lot at work too, working on computers means I spend the odd ten minutes waiting for the computer to finish what it’s doing, so I use the Kindle app on my phone to read a bit. It all adds up. At home I spend a lot of time reading whilst the family are watching their programs on TV. I find that if you give a book a go and you like it, you’ll soon make time for reading it.

Q.  You seemed a little surprised when we contacted you about an interview regarding your voracious reading habits. Were you not aware that your peers in the reading community find it incredible that you read so many books? Surely we aren’t the first ones who noticed.

A.  I’ve read a lot of interviews with authors, but had not seen a reader interviewed before. I have had a few comments on the number of books I read. I guess the biggest surprise is that I see people on Goodreads who have read far more than me, so I considered myself a moderate reader.

Q.  We’ve spent a year now on Goodreads marketing Psycho-Tropics and it’s become obvious that the vast majority of readers out there are women. In a typical Goodreads Giveaway, for example, 90 percent of the people who sign up for a chance to receive a book are women. What do you think explains the gender gap?

A.  I’d never really noticed that before, but thinking about it, the majority of my Goodreads friends who read lots are female. I can only guess that the popular books out there are pushed towards women, all sexy vampires and werewolves and bondage. Maybe men don’t like those things as much. I know quite a few males who read a lot in real life and they don’t see the point in joining Goodreads, I’ve got a couple of them to join, but they soon got bored with it. Maybe reading and socializing are more female things.

Q.  What’s your favorite genre of fiction? What about nonfiction?

A.  It’s probably easier to say what I don’t like: Romance and Biographies of so-called “Celebrities.” I love finding a book that has an author who’s trying to do something original or pushing the limits on what is in good taste. I recently read a book where one chapter was in the style of a Punch and Judy show (old fashioned puppet show over here in the UK), I’ve also read a nasty book about cows. If I were forced to pick a favorite genre, I would have to go with Transgressive, mainly ‘cause it is a huge genre and I can fit loads of books into it. It’s also the genre in which I have made the most contact with Indie authors. I enjoy chatting with them and reading their books.

Q.  What’s your estimate as to the break down percentage-wise of books you read as between fiction and nonfiction? Estimates are that nonfiction books comprise about 70 percent of the book market compared to 30 percent for fiction, and, going back to the gender gap, data shows men favor nonfiction, while women favor fiction. You seem to turn those numbers on their head. Any speculation as to the origins of your preference for novels?

A.  I think I read one non-fiction a month. Fiction books are easier for me to get into, I start reading and drift away into the story. Non-fiction demands all your attention. I do enjoy reading non-fiction, as there is so much to think about after you have finished. I enjoy history, nature, and travel books. I recently read a book on the history of cycling and now I’m saving up for a bicycle. I have a few nonfiction books lined up for next year including a book on Vikings and one on Squids. I read a lot of technical books too. I came across a book from the 1950s on power supplies. I’m finding that one interesting, but it has no ISBN number so can’t add it to my Goodreads list.

Q.  Let’s back up a bit. How and when did you develop your love of reading?

A.  When I was at school I was really put off reading. All we did in English lessons was stuff like Macbeth. Poetry was made into a chore and I don’t think anybody liked it. The only book I can remember getting out of the school library was the dictionary of slang. I’d read a few books I’d been given as presents, but not much. I got a big wake-up call was when I was a scout and doing some fundraising. I did a book sale and received loads of donated books. That was when I realized just how many books were out there and how amazing they all sounded, so I bought all the Stephen King, Dean Koontz and James Herbert books and that’s when my love of reading started.

Goodreads has helped too. All those lists of books help me to find new things to read, I have three Top 100 lists that I’m working my way through. In my latest act of rebellion against my English teachers I have got into poetry this year. After reading The Stone Hotel by Raegan Butcher, I finally get the appeal and have been trying to find as many poets as possible to read.

Q.  Do you remember your favorite book as a child?

A.  Easy one. The Worst Witch. Loved it and still own a copy, recently read it to my daughter and she loves it too. Can’t believe how much J.K. Rowling ripped it off.

Q.  You’re from the UK, as are several of our other Goodreads friends. What did you think about the fiction reader demographics and the general decline in readership mentioned here in this post? Do you think the same applies to any specific areas of the UK, or the UK in general?

A.  I work at a school and I can see that the kids read a lot, many of them always carrying a book. My daughter has to keep a book in her bag at all times, as they have to read for a bit every day. Books like Harry Potter and the Hunger Games are getting children, and some adults, into reading big time (having a movie based on the book seems to help). I hope this means that reading will start to pick up again. I did read today though that lots of libraries are being shut down and mobile libraries are being stopped. It feels like our Government is trying its best to make us illiterate. I am hoping ours stays, as my kids enjoy trips to the library.

Q.  Are there any time-management tips you could give to those who would like to read more for pleasure, but feel as though they’re restricted by the time constraints of daily life (i.e., working and parenting) and other priorities?

A.  Audiobooks and the Kindle app. I know a lot of dog walkers who take an audiobook with them whilst walking the dog. I don’t use audiobooks myself as I find I don’t listen hard enough and miss what has been read. Use the Kindle app whenever you have spare time, have a little read, and the time will fly by. Also read to your kids. I read to my youngest and try to read to her a book I want to read, but sometimes she wins and I’ll have to read about mermaids … again.

Q.  There are so many indie-authors out there desperate to find readers and reviewers. We don’t want you to have to change your name and go into hiding, but are you open to Goodreads authors contacting you and offering to send you a copy of their book? If so, what would be the best way for them to do that? Any preferences or restrictions on what not to send?

A.  More than happy.  They just need to check out my profile and see if they think their book is something I would like, then just send me a message offering the book. I don’t mind being contacted. The best books I’ve read this year were discovered that way. For a while, on my Goodreads profile I had a message saying I was open to reviewing books, but nobody responded so I took the message down. My friend, Alison, then put a message up on her profile saying the same, and mentioning me too. She got a response from an author and we both got copies of his book.

That would be a great change that the Goodreads admins could make.   Provide a box you can tick if you don’t mind being contacted by authors. That could do a lot to promote new authors and help get people into reading more.

Q.  Great idea!  Jason, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us, virtual style, and, of course, for reading and reviewing Psycho-Tropics.  We’ll let you get back to reading now.

A.  My pleasure.

The post Super-Reader Spotlight: Jason Denness appeared first on dorian box.

Getting Bang for Your Indie Book Bucks: E-Book Promotions

By Dorian Box

Among the hardest decisions for indie writers and publishers is figuring out where and what to invest in on a limited budget to promote one’s book. In a series of posts, I’ll be talking about, respectively, our experience in promoting Psycho-Tropics by investing in: e-book promotions. (An earlier post examined our experience with Amazon ad campaigns.)

In November, borrowing advice from Andrew Diamond (author of Warren Lane) set forth in this excellent blog post, we decided to follow Andrew’s strategy by running multiple e-book promotions for Psycho-Tropics. By e-book promotions, I’m referring to the many available services that, for a fee, will send out an email blast and post your book on their webpage (and maybe Facebook) advertising a discounted price for a limited period.

We weren’t as organized as Andrew, and started too late to take advantage of some promotional services, which were already filled up for the dates we wanted, but we still sold 100 copies of Psycho-Tropics in four days at the discounted price of 99 cents. That is a whole lot more books than we usually sell in four days.  So, it works!

The accompanying photo lists the services we used and the cost of each. An additional service we used that’s not on the list is JustKindleBooks, which charged a fee of $50.

Andrew’s blog post lists and links to these and other services. Once you get rolling, it takes about 10 to 20 minutes to sign up for each. To speed things up, we followed Andrew’s advice of collecting any and all submission info we might need (e.g., ASIN numbers, book length, synopsis) in one document to make it easy to cut and paste, and also used PayPal to avoid having to share or enter credit card info again and again.

Like most promotional investments for an indie book, this one is not a money-making strategy, but it is a reasonably priced method for getting your book out to a much larger group of readers without having to actually give it away. Will these 100 people read Psycho-Tropics and post reviews? That would be nice, of course, but from Andrew’s experience and ours so far, discount sales don’t seem to generate that result. Speculating, it may be that a lot of people are willing to drop 99 cents on a book without feeling compelled to get the return on their investment by reading it, and, of course, only a small percentage of readers post reviews in any event.  (This KDP forum thread has some interesting information on how many and what kind of readers post reviews.)

Still, we rate e-book promotions two thumbs up in terms of “bang for the book bucks” because of their effectiveness in generating sales as weighed against their relatively modest cost.  Consult Andrew’s much more detailed post to maximize your investment.

The post Getting Bang for Your Indie Book Bucks: E-Book Promotions appeared first on dorian box.

Getting Bang for Your Indie Book Bucks, Part I: E-Book Promotions

By Dorian Box

Among the hardest decisions for indie writers and publishers is figuring out where and what to invest in on a limited budget to promote one’s book. In a series of posts, I’ll be talking about, respectively, our experience in promoting Psycho-Tropics by investing in: e-book promotions, book award contests, and print ads. (An earlier post examined our experience with Amazon ad campaigns.)

In November, borrowing advice from Andrew Diamond (author of Warren Lane) set forth in this excellent blog post, we decided to follow Andrew’s strategy by running multiple e-book promotions for Psycho-Tropics. By e-book promotions, I’m referring to the many available services that, for a fee, will send out an email blast and post your book on their webpage (and maybe Facebook) advertising a discounted price for a limited period.

We weren’t as organized as Andrew, and started too late to take advantage of some promotional services, which were already filled up for the dates we wanted, but we still sold 100 copies of Psycho-Tropics in four days at the discounted price of 99 cents. That is a whole lot more books than we usually sell in four days.  So, it works!

The accompanying photo lists the services we used and the cost of each. An additional service we used that’s not on the list is JustKindleBooks, which charged a fee of $50.

Andrew’s blog post lists and links to these and other services. Once you get rolling, it takes about 10 to 20 minutes to sign up for each. To speed things up, we followed Andrew’s advice of collecting any and all submission info we might need (e.g., ASIN numbers, book length, synopsis) in one document to make it easy to cut and paste, and also used PayPal to avoid having to share or enter credit care info again and again.

Like most promotional investments for an indie book, this one is not a money-making strategy, but it is a reasonably priced method for getting your book out to a much larger group of readers without having to actually give it away. Will these 100 people read Psycho-Tropics and post reviews? That would be nice, of course, but from Andrew’s experience and ours so far, discount sales don’t seem to generate that result. Speculating, it may be that a lot of people are willing to drop 99 cents on a book without feeling compelled to get the return on their investment by reading it.

Still, we rate e-book promotions two thumbs up in terms of “bang for the book bucks” because of their effectiveness in generating sales as weighed against their relatively modest cost.  Consult Andrew’s much more detailed post to maximize your investment.

The post Getting Bang for Your Indie Book Bucks, Part I: E-Book Promotions appeared first on dorian box.

99 Cent Kindle Deal for Psycho-Tropics Running Now!

Gearing up for the Holiday Season, we’re running a Kindle discount promotion for Psycho-Tropics.  Get a copy for only 99 cents (discounted from the regular $3.99).  Hurry before time runs out.

Reviews:

“An engaging thriller with plenty of humor, good characterization, and a memorable villain …” — Kirkus Reviews

“Marrying humor with suspense is not easy, but it comes across masterfully …. A truly enjoyable read.”  Judge, 23rd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards (2015 Award Winner in Genre Fiction)

“Psycho-Tropics is like riding Pipeline with a hangover. It’s jaw dropping, heart thumping and addictively exhilarating, but with a hint of disorientation, dizziness and an unsettled stomach. But by the end you’ll be smiling ear to ear and bursting to tell your mates how good it was.” — Andrew Norton, Surfer Dad UK

“A genuinely creepy sadist is the high point of Box’s dark thriller set in Florida in 1995.” — Publishers Weekly

“PSYCHO-TROPICS effortlessly captures the wonderful eccentricities of life in South Florida (not to mention in other parts of the state) and offers a dose of oddball humor.” — IndieReader Reviews (Official Seal of Approval)

The post 99 Cent Kindle Deal for Psycho-Tropics Running Now! appeared first on dorian box.

Psycho-Tropics Nears Perfect Score in Writer’s Digest Contest

We were thrilled to get the news that Psycho-Tropics won a Writer’s Digest award in Genre Fiction in the magazine’s 2015 23rd Annual Self-Published Book Awards contest.

Yesterday the  judge’s full review arrived.  Psycho-Tropics received 24 out of a possible 25 points.  (The book got dinged one point for not having a more complete author bio and because of a technical issue with the bar code.)  Here’s the judge’s complete analysis:

SCORING:

Plot and Story Appeal: 5

Character Appeal and Development: 5

Voice and Writing Style: 5

Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 5

Production Quality and Cover Design: 4

The story opens with an audacious line. Soon we realize we are in the mind of someone who is criminally insane. We want to keep reading to understand (if we can) why this happened and what’s going to happen next. When we meet Danny, we think this is a typical guy regretting last night. Until we find out he’s a lottery winner. That kind of twisting off the unexpected path is what will keep readers reading.

Even though we move through different scenes and time periods rather quickly in the first pages, we don’t lose the plot thread. The flashback relates to the reunion and Danny’s decision to go. Additionally, it’s well done and entertaining. The middle and ending of the book have many twists and turns that keep the reader guessing right up until the end. The ending ties up all the loose ends and is emotionally satisfying.

Though we start in the head of the murderer, who is insane no less, we truly are seeing the world through his warped sense of reasoning. And with a touch of humor. When we meet Danny, he’s not a typical band-playing surfer dude. He’s a lottery winner who gives money to charity and doesn’t expect to outlive his lottery earnings. Keeping your characters multidimensional is what keeps readers coming back for more.

The writing is clean with no errors.

The front cover is great, giving us a slightly whimsical view of paradise. The title makes us want to turn it over to see what the book is about.  The back cover copy does a great job of letting us know the plot and the main characters. The author bio is good but an author photo would also be nice. Readers like to connect with authors. The interior design is nicely done.

You are also missing the price and the BISAC, which is the code that tells booksellers where to place your book. You can find more information on that here: https://www.bisg.org/complete-bisac-s....

Marrying humor with suspense is not easy but it comes across masterfully in your voice. A truly enjoyable read.

The post Psycho-Tropics Nears Perfect Score in Writer’s Digest Contest appeared first on dorian box.

Enter Goodreads Giveaway for Psycho-Tropics

To celebrate Psycho-Tropics receiving a Writer’s Digest award for Genre Fiction, we’re running a Goodreads Giveaway, from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30.  Sign up today for a chance to receive one of 12 free, signed paperback copies!

Goodreads Book Giveaway


Psycho-Tropics
by Dorian Box

Giveaway ends November 30, 2015.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

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Good Books for Halloween – Psycho-Tropics

Tired of the same old Halloween movies? Great as they are, we’ve seen them a million times, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Scream …

Read a scary book instead!  Here are 13 classics listed by Goodreads.

Then, of course, there’s always Psycho-Tropics.

Some classify Psycho-Tropics in the “horror” genre, although it’s not, or at least not intended to be.  It’s a mystery thriller, a love story even.

On the other hand, Psycho-Tropics does feature graveyards, embalming techniques, and cheerful psychopath Jaxon Kempler.

If you’re looking for a chill up the spine or a laugh in the dark, check out Psycho-Tropics. Meanwhile, “Have an ‘above-average’ Halloween!  Haaahaaahaaa.”  (Sorry, Kempler slipped that in.)

The post Good Books for Halloween – Psycho-Tropics appeared first on dorian box.

Publishers Weekly Reviews Psycho-Tropics

Publishers Weekly reviewed Psycho-Tropics in its October 26, 2015 issue.  Here’s a link to the review, which is actually more of a synopsis.

So far, we’ve heard from readers naming the following characters as their “favorite”:

Danny Teakwell (protagonist)

Sari Hunter (Danny’s lifelong love)

Bennie “Fink” Finkel (Danny’s pill-popping lawyer)

Jessica Jewell (seven-year-old embalming expert who assists in the case)

And then, of course, there’s Jaxon Kempler, the cheerful “above average” psychopath, lover of 70s pop songs, quality consumer products (especially those useful for murder), and things divisible by three.

Publishers Weekly is an apparent fan: “A genuinely creepy sadist is the high point of Box’s dark thriller set in Florida in 1995.”

The post Publishers Weekly Reviews Psycho-Tropics appeared first on dorian box.

Writer’s Digest Award for Psycho-Tropics!

Excited to hear the news that Psycho-Tropics received an Honorable Mention Award from Writer’s Digest as part of the legendary magazine’s 23rd annual Self-Published Book Awards.

Psycho-Tropics was recognized in the Genre Fiction category.  This year’s awards haven’t been posted yet, but last year there was only one First Prize and eight Honorable Mentions in the broad category of “Genre Fiction,” so we’re psyched in the tropics.

The post Writer’s Digest Award for Psycho-Tropics! appeared first on dorian box.

Amazon “Ratings vs. Reviews,” A Contradiction that Matters

By Amy Holland

They’re part of our (“our” being authors, publishers, and publicists) livelihood. Hopes and goals depend on them to a very real extent. We obsess over the ones we already have. We obsess over the ones we’re still waiting to get. I’m talking, of course, about the Almighty Amazon Customer Reviews and, in particular, the coveted 5-star rating.

The Contradiction between Great Reviews and Star-Ratings

Especially in the early stages of an indie-publishing book, emotions run high when you find out a new review has been posted for your book. A positive review is exhilarating, anything short of superlative can be crushing. But nothing drives us crazier than getting a glowing written review accompanied by a star-rating at odds with the review. The contradiction lands on you like an anvil on Wile E. Coyote.

While you appreciate the warm, thoughtful commentary in the actual review and try to stay positive, your heart still sinks because you know that each and every star-rating either boosts or drags down your overall average, affecting, Lord knows,  how many Amazon ranking algorithms.

Since I started promoting Psycho-Tropics by Dorian Box, I’ve noticed a phenomenon where authors—indie and traditionally published alike—not infrequently, receive superlative reviews with contradictory star-ratings. Stumped by it, I decided to do some research to see if I could find some answers.

Misunderstanding the 5-Star System

One possibility is that some reviewers don’t pay attention to the descriptions of each star actually means. Anne R. Allen points out in her post Amazon Reader Reviews: 12 Things Everybody and His Grandmother Needs to Know that even though some reviewers have the best intentions, they don’t realize they’re giving the book a low rating. She shares this example: “One sweet woman … had been devastated to find out that giving a book ‘a gold star’ wasn’t letting people know she liked the book. She thought one star was a good thing.”

Another plausible reason—and probably a more common one—for the contradiction is that some reviewers confuse rating with ranking. Allen points out that especially for non-tech savvy people and older generations, the five-star rating system is much different than what they’re used to. She says, “They assume they’re like TV Guide movie ratings.”

To put it another way, some people don’t think of Amazon book reviewing as giving a product review. Rather, they think of the star-review method as their own literary ranking system, similar to how professional critics might assign stars to a restaurant or film.

“Well, I really loved this book, but it doesn’t compare to Crime and Punishment!” Instead of rating it, they’re ranking it.

Author Rachel Branton touches on this subject in her blog post, Reviews: What Those Stars Mean to Authors (or When Should I Give 5 Stars). Based on her own experiences with reviews accompanied by mismatched ratings, she advises:

[G]ive a 5-star review if the book fulfills its purpose. It doesn’t need to be earth-shattering or the best book you’ve ever read. It just needs to be a good, compelling novel, comparable with a novel of that same genre … [D]on’t knock a good novel down to four [stars] just to say it’s not as good as that brilliant novel. If we all read only brilliant novels, there would be only a few dozen books to read.

Another possible explanation for incongruence in review content and star-ratings is simply an unwillingness by some people to give the top possible rating for hardly anything—whether movies, books, or ordinary consumer products.  This is true even for people who really like the book, as shown by their written review.

If it’s a 5-star system, they’ll max out at a 4; a 4-star system, a 3, etc.  Just part of human nature for some.  The Amazon review of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl rated “most helpful” out of more than 48,000 reviews is perhaps a good example. The headline says “Fiendishly clever mystery novel” and the review is stellar, but the rating is only four stars.

The Problem for Authors: Ratings Matter

Amazon ratings matter, especially for new or indie authors trying to get noticed.  For new authors, each review carries disproportionate weight because of the smaller total number.  A 1-star review can take four 5-star reviews down to a 4-star average, for example.

It’s difficult enough to get readers to post reviews in the first place. So when one does come along—especially if it’s a glowing one—the last thing we want is for it to render an unintentional strike due to a misunderstanding of the five-star rating method.

The explanations offered above probably aren’t the only reasons for contradictory reviews and star-ratings, but hopefully they provide some insight into an issue that frustrates authors and publishers alike.

My next post will attempt to debunk some misconceptions I’ve heard or read about from reviewers, and compile some review tips.

Authors, feel free to tweet this link for your reader audience, post it on Facebook, or even on your own website (just please make sure to give due credit and include the link to the original post here on dorianbox.com)!

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