Trillian Anderson's Blog, page 4

This Week’s Amazon Scandal in Publishing–October 15, 2015

Things have been generally quiet on the publishing front, except for one particularly interesting article. The Memo has run a feature about the state of the publishing industry, with a focus on the latest and greatest in Amazon scandals.

I saw what I suspect to be the triggering article earlier this week. Unfortunately, I didn’t record the URL for it, so I’m not linking to it. In a nutshell, it was a discussion of how someone printed a book with blank pages and turned it into a bestseller using certain marketing tactics.

The Memo’s feature discusses how Amazon scandals are hurting the industry–and may trigger a resurgence of print publication.

In classic The Memo styling, the article uses a lot of catchy phrasing to make the scandal sound more, well, scandalous.

I’m going to do some disclaimers up front: I am a self-published author. Real Me is SFWA qualified (and a member in good standing.) I use Amazon predominantly as my platform; it’s the easiest market to connect with readers. That innately means I’m biased in favor of Amazon…or am I? You’re about to find out.

Let’s begin with the opener of this article:

As Amazon is rocked by reports of phoney authors and fake reviews, The Memo asks Bookseller editor Philip Jones about the uncertain future of publishing.

Amazon is rocked by reports of phoney authors and fake reviewers each and every day. This is nothing new. This wasn’t new last year, it wasn’t new the year before that, and it certainly wasn’t new in the years before that. For as long as Amazon has been around, people have been trying to game the system.

Absolutely nothing new here. There’s a reason many readers won’t trust 1* or 5* reviews; this is the reason why.

I am going to probably shoot myself in the foot here, but here goes: I don’t cheat. I hate cheating. I do things the hard way. I look for reviewers–honest ones. I want those honest reviews, because I want people to know what they’re getting with my titles. It absolutely infuriates me when people buy 5* reviews.

It is cheating, pure and simple. But here’s the issue: Reviewers are given books for free to review honestly. If you remove Amazon’s ability to allow non-verified reviews, you’ll hurt all authors, not just self-published ones. Traditional publishers use reviewers in the exact same way self-publishing authors do.

I’ve talked about how to use reviews to purchase books before–and the things to be wary of when making selections.

Before you let the tone of the article whip you into a frenzy, remember this: this is nothing new at all. It’s a scourge across all of publishing, not just amazon. It happens on goodreads, too.

I’m going to highlight one question and answer from the article and encourage you to read the rest of it on your own.

Why is it important that people are able to continue to buy ebooks online?

PJ: Sampling e-books is a fantastic way of discovering new books and checking the authenticity of reviews.

Online book buyers also have the opportunity, ratified in European law, to return books they don’t like, and more readers should use that.

We’re book lovers. The legitimate authors among us (which is most of us, honestly) adore books. We love creating new worlds, transporting our readers there, and otherwise promoting literacy. But, here’s the thing: most authors, myself included, are terrible marketers. We really are. That’s why the marketers who are just interested in making money are able to do these money grabs.

Visibility is king when it comes to books. Marketers take advantage of that, get in front of readers, and get seriously terrible books in the limelight–or books filled with blank pages and a funny title.

It isn’t the publishing industry’s responsibility to serve as gatekeepers. We, as readers, have a responsibility to call out the cheats, ostracize them, and continue the hunt for good books–or at least genuine, interesting books. Once again, this plays into what I’ve said before on the blog about a person’s preferences for books. It’s totally okay to love a bad book, especially if it entertains you.

What’s not okay is the prevalence of cheaters. It’s very difficult to know when someone is cheating and when they aren’t cheating. I’m going to make a list of cheating strategies I know of… and a list of ways legitimate authors search for reviews and help boosting their sales.

cheating methods

Buying Guaranteed Good Reviews
Making Sock Accounts (One author creating loads of amazon accounts and reviewing their own book.)
Plagiarism and Intellectual Property Theft. (Fifty Shades of Grey, anyone?)
Fake/Empty Books
Family Members being used as either sock accounts or for guaranteed 5* reviews. (Yes, it’s cheating. It’s even in Amazon’s TOS.)

legitimate strategies

Advertisement purchasing (on major websites)
Coordinated Book Tours (with reviews.) (Tour Group coordinators are paid to match reviewers with authors; reviewers aren’t paid to review the book.)
Approaching fans with ARCs of the books in exchange for honest reviews.
Giveaways
ARCs (Advanced reviewer copies) on places like NetGalley. (NetGalley is paid to hook authors/publishers with reviewers.
Newsletter/Email advertisements.

This is a very small list of the various cheats and legitimate strategies out there. There are a lot more on both sides of the fence.

I want to draw your attention to book tours, though. Book tours are one of the most common tools an author uses to drum up attention for their books. While there are many legitimate tour groups, there are an equal number–or greater–of cheating groups. The only way to know if the tour group you’re using cheats is to look over the blogs they use, find books they’ve promoted, and check the reviews. There are sites that vouch for the tour groups, too.

I use tour groups frequently–and I only use those vetted as legitimate. Now, it’s worth noting that tour groups will try to avoid leaving 1* or 2* reviews. Why? They’re helping an author get exposure. But, these tour groups also ask their reviewers don’t review at all–or get the author’s blessing to post a really low-rated review.

3* are welcome, as critical reviews are prized by the sane authors out there. They hurt, but they’re important. 3* can be damning–and they can be a blessing, too.

To get back on subject, however, this week’s Amazon scandal is nothing new… and I really doubt print books are ever going to die. Too many people love them. However, e-books are here to stay, like it or not.

Readers love reading. I love reading. E-books put books more affordably into the hands of readers. Self-published authors fill a very important gap in the industry: affordable, good books. Sure, finding the good authors can be difficult, but they’re out there.

No matter what, keep supporting your favorite authors. They need you. Leave honest reviews, leave them often, and don’t be afraid of hurting an author’s feelings. You are the solution to the problem of cheaters. The real readers, the true lovers of books out there–you are the ones who hold the reins.

While readers sure could use the help of the industry as a whole–and that means traditional and self-published authors and producers of books–the publishing industry as a whole can’t exist with you, the readers.

So, how can you help?

Buy books. Return them if you’ve been scammed out of legitimate material. (You have 14 days to return e-books on Amazon.)
Review the books you buy and read. Be honest–even if you’re reviewing a friend’s book or a favorite author’s. Be honest, be honest, be honest. Please, be honest.
Share the book with others. Word of mouth is the best advertising platform ever. Love a book? Share it around. Don’t let shit books by marketers win. Your recommendation is worth more than a marketer’s ploy.
Cry wolf. You see a shit book with a strong marketing ploy? Call out that wolf and let other readers know about it. Preventing people from falling prey to sleazy tactics helps everyone.
See 1, rinse and repeat.

To conclude, I’d like to discuss returning books. If you’re returning a book because it’s that bad, leave a review to inform other readers about it. Explain why you returned the book.

Authors do not get feedback on why books are returned on Amazon.

This hurts everyone–especially the authors. You leaving a negative review and the reason you returned a book is invaluable. From my personal experiences, returned books are almost always some jackass pirating the book. I’ll see a return hit in amazon, and sure enough, within 12 hours, the title returned is being pirated on a new pirate site.

Come on, people. If you’re going to steal my stuff, at least give me the royalties from the book being stolen. But no, they buy, download, rip the book, and return it. It’s very frustrating. So, if you’re returning a book… do the author a favor.

Tell them why, because Amazon isn’t–no one is… and if you’re net savvy and know how to use google, it’s very easy to tell when a return has turned into a pirated novel.

Thanks for reading, book lovers. You’re the reason we write.

Author Spotlight: Diana Pharaoh Francis

Author: Diana Pharaoh Francis
Genre: Fantasy
Sex: Series dependent. Diamond City books contain explicit romantic sex.
Violence: Moderate.
Reading Level: Moderate.
Adult Subject Matter: Moderate.
Language: Dependent on series, generally light to moderate.

My first foray into Diana Pharaoh Francis‘s work was her Path trilogy. Path of Fate, to this day, remains one of my favorite books. First, I have a serious thing for birds of prey. I love reading about them–especially when they’re partnered with people in fantasy. Birds of prey come second only to horses and other magical equines, including unicorns and pegasi, so it really doesn’t surprise me how much I loved this series.

When I first read these books long ago, I was drawn to the series by the first book’s cover. Woman protagonist, bird of prey? Take all of my money! I was out of the book store in record time with my new acquisition. I’ve since gone through numerous replacements of the paperback title. Some died due to bathtub reading. Others were worn out. It’s just a series I keep returning to, which is great.

There’s always room for a favorite book.

I haven’t gotten a chance to read her latest series, although they’re high on my to-be-read list. I have the first of the Diamond City novels on my kindle, so as soon as I have reading time, it’s going to be read. I’m really looking forward to it.

What I really like about Diana Pharaoh Francis‘s writing is her characterization; in her stories, I really read for the characters. While the plots are interesting, the characters always come first, which I really appreciate as a reader. If I enjoy the Diamond City books half as much as the Path books, they’ll number among my favorites. (And yes, I know the Diamond City books contain explicit sex because I asked. I like going into novels prepared for whether or not it contains explicit sex. I don’t mind it in books; I want to know if it’ll be there before I get started, especially if I think I’ll be around younger kids while I’m reading.)

Happy reading, book lovers!

Hunting for Good Books: Judging Books by Reviews

A while back, I discussed judging books by their covers and how cover art influences out decision to purchase books. I have also discussed my approach for writing reviews. What I haven’t discussed is how I use book reviews to help me determine whether or not I’ll be interested in purchasing a book.

Everyone is different. This is my approach, and being completely upfront, I really have no expectations others will benefit from my method of hunting down a good book. That said, there are a few things I watch out for, and I think it might be helpful for those who aren’t confident in picking out which reviews are legitimate and which ones have been purchased.

I’m going by Amazon reviews for this. Goodreads has a different reviewing system, and honestly, when I’m looking to purchase a book, I don’t use Goodreads. I’m browsing Amazon, actively looking for a title to one-click purchase. Goodreads reviewers often skew towards lower reviews, which doesn’t help me pick books as easily.

I have only one piece of advice to give, yours to keep or discard as you want: read the sample first. If the cover and description attract you, open the book and read the first page. If you’re undecided after you have read a bit of the sample, move on to the reviews. It’s a bit more time consuming, but let your first impression of the book be formed by the merits of the book. Reviews are a great tool to help decide if you want to invest in the entire book or not… but they’re a tool.

They’re not the book. If the sample doesn’t grab you, the reviews aren’t going to make that much of a difference. Really, they won’t.

The rest of this post, as always, involve opinions–my opinions. They probably won’t match your opinions. If you find my perspective useful, great! If not, toss my ideas out with the trash. What works for me won’t necessarily work for you, and that’s a great thing. We’re different people. While I hope this helps someone, it may not–and that’s okay, too.

amazon’s star ranking system

Generally, 5* equals the reviewer loved the book. 1* equals the reviewer hated the book. 3* is an average book.

3* is most typically a critical review, detailing why a reader liked and didn’t like the book. However, some people view the 3* category as a place to be noticed by reviewers. It can be a mixed hat, but if you want to see what readers didn’t enjoy about a book while still liking the title, you’ll want to go over the 3* reviews.

I want to read a book I will love, so I tend to wade into the 5* and 4* sections first. 5* I skim to find out why people loved this book so much. (I know some people will argue 5* are biased reviews. They are, in the sense the reviewer loved the book. But I want to read a book I will love. There’s nothing wrong with using biased reviews to help me figure out if the book might be up my alley. If I see a lot of “great sex! hot!” reviews, I am probably going to skip the book… unless I happen to be looking for an erotica at the time. (This is not usually the case.)

I look for things like great characters, fast-paced reads, and so on.

4* reviews come from people who still really enjoyed the book, but it wasn’t their absolute favorite. These often have tidbits of critical information in them, so they’re really useful.

But, let’s face it, a truly stellar book isn’t going to have a lot of lower-star ratings… and they shouldn’t. So, how do you tell when an author is just really popular versus having written a great book? It’s hard, it really is. You’ll have to use your judgment.

There are a few ways you can determine what sort of review you’re looking at, however, which can help simplify getting the most out of book reviews.

verified verus non-verified purchases

Authors rely on book bloggers for reviews, especially debut authors or experienced authors launching a new pseudonym. I fit in the latter category. I have relationships with several book bloggers. These people receive advanced reviewer copies of my novels (ARCs) in exchange for an honest review.

They are never paid for the review. My involvement with them typically follows this process:

I inquire if they want to review my title. Depending on their reviewer guidelines, I may send along a copy of the cover art and the back-of-book blurb.
If they are interested, I send them an ARC.
They review (or don’t review) the title and post their review on Amazon (and often their website.)

Now, here’s the problem with non-verified reviews. While there are a lot of legitimate book bloggers, there are those who pay people for fake reviews. These reviews often tell nothing about the book (or reference things from the book’s blurb) and are meant to boost a novel’s star rating on Amazon.

I find this practice extremely unethical. In short, it’s cheating. It’s one thing to approach bloggers, fans, and readers to ask for reviews, but another to give ‘reviewers’ money to review your book–usually without them ever having read the title. The good news? It’s usually easy to tell these reviews from others. They’re often short, they don’t say anything about the book or the reader’s experience with it, and thy are very generic.

These ‘reviewers’ don’t actually love books, and it shows when they review.

Now, there’s one caveat with this. A lot of readers simply aren’t comfortable leaving reviews. Some will just say, “I loved this book!”

That’s where verified reviews come into play. This is when Amazon verifies a customer has paid for a title before placing their review. Generally, especially if it’s a book costing $2.99+, if the ‘verified’ tag is there, there’s a good chance the review is genuine. It would get extremely expensive for an author to pay a fake reviewer $2.99 per review plus the reviewer’s fee for posting the review. Now, some people are willing to do this, but they’re few and far between.

While there are cheaters out there, many authors aren’t.

it’s okay to love books.

The main thing to remember here is that you shouldn’t automatically discard 5* reviews. Maybe you won’t use them to determine whether or not you’ll buy a title, but remember this: the people behind honest 5* reviews loved the book.

We’re all book lovers, and we go into a novel wanting to love it. When our expectations are met and a book is great to us, it’s appropriate to leave a 5* review.

You loved the book. The same applies to those leaving 5* reviews. When I love a book and want to read it over and over again, I rank it at 5*. So, yes, 5* reviews are biased. The reader loved the book.

I check out the 5* reviews to find out why.

If I’m suspicious of the 5* reviews, I will check out the 1-3* reviews to find out more about what might be wrong with the book.

Beware of 1* reviews

I almost never look over 1* reviews. I don’t want to go into a book hating it, and those who leave 1* reviews hated the title–or its author. I don’t find this very conducive to finding a book to love. So, beware of them. Real Me has received several 1* reviews, and quite a few of them were people with personal grudges against me. As an author, I disregard 1* reviews, usually without reading them.

They hated the book, and nothing I can do will change that. In some ways, it’s easy to want to treat 5* and 1* reviews the same, but here’s the key difference:

We buy books to love them, not to hate them. For that reason alone, 5* reviews, at least, are worth skimming. If you want to go into a book to hate it, by all means, 1* reviews are definitely a useful tool to use to set a bad first impression of the title. But, here’s the thing: if you’re so unsure about a book you want to look over the 1* reviews to see if you might hate it, you probably won’t enjoy the book. Move onto the next title and find something you’re confident you’ll enjoy.

Happy reading, book lovers!

Preorder Available: The Dawn of Dae, Dae Portals #1

The Dawn of Dae, Book One of Dae Portals, is now available on Amazon for pre-order!

The chance to attend college is just what Alexa Daegberht needs to break out the mold of her caste. If she can become a Bach, she can escape the poverty she’s endured ever since her parents died when she was five. Only through education can she rise above her birth caste–and she knows it.

All of her plans fall to dust when she opens a portal within her refrigerator, turning her macaroni and cheese casserole into a sentient being. By dawn the next day, the mysterious dae have come to Earth to stay. Hundreds of thousands of people vanish into thin air, and as the days pass, the total of the missing number in the millions. Some say it’s the rapture of the Christian faith.

Alexa knows better: their dae ate them, leaving behind nothing more than dust as evidence of their hunger.

As one of the unawakened, she doesn’t have a dae, nor can she manifest any forms of magical powers. She’s lacking the innate knowledge of what the dae are and what they mean for the world. Now more than ever, she is an outsider. Her survival hinges on her ability to adapt to a world she no longer understands.

Unfortunately, one of the dae has taken notice of her, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. Alexa’s problems pile up as she’s forced to pick her allegiances. Will she submit to the new ways of the world? Will she become some monster’s pawn? Or, against all odds, can she forge her own path and prove normal humans can thrive among those gifted with powers once the domain of fantasies and nightmares?

from chapter One…

My first real memory of my parents was also my last.

It was the refrigerator’s fault I remembered. I should’ve known better than to expect new appliances in my new apartment; I was lucky to have appliances at all. I sure as hell couldn’t afford to buy new ones.

The refrigerator, however, was a problem. Every time I looked at it, I remembered—and my first memory of my parents was how I, Alexa Zoe Daegberht, had killed them with a wish.

It was the same refrigerator, right down to its smoke-stained, pebbled surface and its loose handle. The years hadn’t done the damned thing any favors, and I wondered if the door would fall off its hinges when I opened it. Then again, they had built things better when I had been a child.

It was too bad I hadn’t been built a bit better. A lot of things would have been different. It wasn’t my father’s fault no one could touch me without irritating my sensitive skin. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t kiss my cheek like other fathers could with their daughters.

It was his fault he had forgotten; if he hadn’t, my face wouldn’t have been itching and burning. If he hadn’t forgotten, I wouldn’t have run to the fridge, using it as a shield against his touch. If he hadn’t forgotten, I wouldn’t have parroted what he too often said while fighting with my mother:

If you walk out that door, don’t you ever come back.

Because I had believed it, had wanted it, and had prayed for it, wishing on a shooting star that night, I had gotten exactly what I had asked for. My parents had walked out the door and left me behind, never to return.

The ocean didn’t like giving up its dead, and planes smacking into the water didn’t leave a whole lot to salvage.

I dropped my bags on the kitchen floor, spat curses, and kicked the refrigerator.

It won; beneath the plastic was metal, and it refused to bend. All I did was crunch my toes, and howling, I hopped around on one foot. Through tear-blurred eyes, I glared at the offensive appliance.

“I’ll end you,” I swore.

Maybe I could spray paint the damned thing pink; it’d be at least four years before I earned my degree and rank as a Bach, and until then, I was stuck with it. Once I became a Bach, I’d be elevated to a better caste—a caste with a future, and a bright one at that. Once I was a Bach, I could afford to buy my own appliances, and I’d never have to see that make or model of refrigerator ever again. If I scored well enough on the exit exams, I had the slim chance of being accepted for Master training.

I had an entire life ahead of me, and it would be a good one. There was no way I’d let a stupid refrigerator take that from me.

I kept telling myself that, but I didn’t believe it.

I gave up and went for my last ditch resort; if macaroni and cheese couldn’t make things better, nothing could.

Order your copy of the Dawn of Dae now!

Author Spotlight: Sherwood Smith

Author: Sherwood Smith
Genre: Romantic Fantasy (and a sidedish of Epic fantasy*)
Sex: Off page.
Violence: Light.
ReadingLevel: Easy.
Adult Subject Matter: Occasionally.
Language: Safe for work.

I have pretty varied tastes, and Sherwood Smith writes a lot of stories. While she has written an epic-styled fantasy, I have only read one of those books. It wasn’t what I was looking for when I bought it, as it was substantially different from her romantic fantasy fare. So, the above rating is for her romantic fantasy novels, not her epic fantasies. Her epic fantasy includes course language, adult subject matter (including rape and torture), and is rather violent–I can’t remember if there’s romantic sex in it or not.

When I first was introduced to Sherwood Smith, I was looking for something light, romantic, and fluffy. I had come off the heels of a couple of really dark epic fantasies, and feeling a bit burned out, I need some happy feelings. I saw one of her titles as a free giveaway and decided prince and princess romance was exactly what the doctor ordered.

I don’t read romance or fluff very often. Giving this stuff to me is either a recipe for me spending the next two or three hours making fun of what I’m reading, or I am in the corner, giggling like a maniac while my husband worries he should be calling someone for help–or taking the book away. I become a totally different person when I need a happy high after a soul-crushing epic fantasy.

It frightens the cats, to say the least.

The Trouble with Kings is one of my favorite light and fluffy Sherwood Smith novels, although I find it’s far easier to identify the ones I didn’t like. There aren’t many of them.

In a way, it pains me to admit this, but the reason I like Sherwood Smith’s stories so much is that they are easy reads and it’s very easy to just escape for a bit in stories that are generally happily ever afters. If you’re looking for innovative and creative, you won’t find much of it in these novels. That said, there are some really clever uses of magic and a unique magic system, which does add nice flavor to the stories. Generally, that’s all it is, though–flavor.

So, your mileage will definitely vary on this one, but if you’re looking for a fun, easy ready, romantic without being smutty or erotic or overly sexual, Sherwood Smith may be up your alley. This is the sort of book I’d leave around for a eight year old to find, because it paints men and women in good lights on an emotional level. There are bad guys, sure, but there are as many good guys–and girls–to serve as role models.

Best of all, Sherwood Smith tackles bullying and social issues face on–in a way suitable for children. They’re meant for the teenage crowd and the young adult crowd, but if you’re an adult looking for escapism–or you want to show a younger teen or pre-teen some good fantasy stories with good messages about relationships, have a look-see at this.

Note: Once again, the epic fantasy (Inda, The Fox, and stories of that series) do not fall under these guidelines. Don’t leave those books out for kids. Some of the subject matter is disturbing.

In the romantic fantasies, most of the protagonists range in age from teens to young/new adult. As one warning, she has a mix of traditionally published stories and self-published stories; she has published some of her really early works for fans. You can really tell how her writing has matured and polished over the years. This isn’t a criticism, as I personally enjoy seeing how authors improve and enjoy seeing the early works, but those who want perfection in fiction won’t get it with some of her titles.

Author Spotlight: Kristen Britain

Author: Kristen Britain
Genre: Traditional/epic Fantasy
Sex: Low.
Violence: Present, not particularly gory.
ReadingLevel: Moderate, easier than many other epic fantasy novels.
Adult Subject Matter: Present.
Language: Low-key, some present.

It has been a long time since I’ve delved into the world of The Green Rider, but this book was, for a very long time, one of my absolute favorites. I’ve always been a fan of fiction with good horses in it, and Kristen Britain managed to create a series where the horses were as much characters as the actual people.

Being totally honest, the wait time between the books is often so long I forget about this series. I waited years for the second book to come out, and while I enjoyed it, I never quite felt it lived up to the first book–probably because I enjoyed the first book that much. The series is now up to five books long, but I’ve only read the first three.

Here’s the thing: the enjoyment of books is so founded on a reader’s personal tastes; book one hit my sweet spots for a lot of things I love in books, but I found books two and three strayed from what I was hoping for and delved into less of the adventure I really liked and more into the politics of kingdoms and people than I wanted. They were decent books, just not up my alley so much as that first introduction to Britain’s world.

For readers new to the series, I don’t expect you’ll find the writing world-class; this is Britain’s debut series, and her writing matures from book to book. While I think The Green Rider was great, unless you’re a younger person who truly loves horses, you may not agree. When I was first introduced to this book, I was at the age where that’s what I was looking for in fantasy fiction–and I got it in this one. This book was also one of my first introductions into epic-styled fiction written by someone who openly declared her status as a woman. Note: The Green Rider originally released in 1998. Your mileage will vary.

Happy reading, book lovers!

P.S.: Yep, those fancy affiliate links were used again–surprise, surprise!

This Week in Publishing – September 28, 2015

While most of my posts are meant for readers, I know a lot of readers are also writers, so I’m going to try to make a post once a week for the interesting articles I find on the internet. I’ll pick a few new and a few old interesting articles meant for those who want to explore the often murky world of novel writing and publication.

Hopefully, you’ll find these interesting, even if you aren’t a writer!

Source: Services4Authors
Type: Quick List of Tips
Article: 5 Horrible Mistakes Self-Published Authors Make

Self-Publishing is tough. The Guardian (see article below) recently reported on the median incomes of self-publishing and traditional authors. The story is terrifying–and, in my opinion, a fairly accurate indicator of what career authors face.

This article has a few interesting points. Pay close attention to point one. This is really the most important one. Not being able to afford help sucks, but you’d be surprised how many helpful and skilled people there are out there. If you can’t afford to pay an editor, barter with one. These people do exist. Some authors recruit fans who are sticklers for grammar and spelling.

No matter how you go about it, get help. Your book will thank you.

Number three is the reason I chose this article for this post. This does not mean a fan newsletter. This means forming relationships with book bloggers and reviewers. You want some people who will post reviews of your book on your opening day. Having the marketing power of a for-fans newsletter is great–but it is not necessary! Having a stable of readers who will review your book on opening day is important.

Alternatively, you can hire a book blog tour for reviews. This is a great way to reach out to bloggers you otherwise don’t have access to.

Number five is a trap. You need some self-confidence, but too much is a bad thing. You need motivation to do better each and every book. Going with five is as much of a trap as ignoring it. Be wary.

Source: The Guardian
Type: Financial/Business of Publishing Article
Article: Income for US Authors Falls Below the Poverty Line

If you’re considering becoming a career author, self-publishing or traditional, you need to read this article. This is something many authors have talked about before, but the Guardian does an excellent job of breaking down the numbers for those who aren’t aware of how challenging writing is as a career.

Note: Averages are not used because of the outliers; JK Rowling on her own makes so much money she skews the global average. The median is where the highest concentration of authors fall, which limits the affect the super-earning outliers make.

Yes, if you score big, you score really big as an author, but these numbers show you where the majority of authors land. This is the median, or where the highest concentrated number of people is at. Medians are useful for removing outliers, including multi-millionaires, and providing a realistic view of the reality of the every day author looking to make a living at their career.

It’s not a pretty picture. In the interest of full disclosure, Real Me is above median for self-publishing authors. Real Me is a member of the SFWA through the self-publishing branch, and in order to qualify, you pretty much have to make higher than median. Qualifying requires earning $3,000 in royalties on a single title in a 12 month period of time. Most self-publishing authors do not make $3,000 in royalties on their first title in a year. The next article is an eye opener about the hard facts of book sales–and why reaching $3,000 is pretty difficult nowadays.

It took Real Me three novels to qualify for the SFWA.

Source: Kameron Hurley
Type: Financial/Business of Publishing Article
Article: The Cold Publishing Equations: Books Sold + Marketability + Love

This article posted on September 17, 2015. I’m listing the date because I feel it’s of importance–and may not be valid in a few years, although I suspect it will be.

My perspectives come as a self-publishing author, but I found Hurley’s traditional background actually translated pretty well to paid sales. Many self-publishers have to account for free book giveaways, but here’s the thing: the paid sales are what make or break us, not the free books tossed around.

I went over my book numbers, compared them to Kameron Hurley’s and walked away with some interesting insights. Note: While I’m linking to the article and discussing it, it doesn’t mean I agree with everything in the article–but I definitely think it’s worth talking about.

In no particular order, I am going to highlight two of the more important bits of this article:

The average book sells 3000 copies in its lifetime (Publishers Weekly, 2006).
The average traditionally published book which sells  3,000 in its entire lifetime in print only sells about 250-300 copies its first year. (Hurley goes on to state indies have a more difficult time selling books. I am inclined to agree, most indies will struggle getting 250-300 sold in a year. Print is more difficult, because print has a five year lifespan, roughly. Most indies are digital only.)

Here are some facts from Real Me’s financials. Note: Sold means someone paid money for the title. In most cases, between $3.99-$5.99 per copy. Real Me loves giving away books, especially to people who can’t otherwise afford to buy them. Real Me has, to date, given away 20,000 books.

SFWA qualifying novel has sold 1,400 copies. This title is a year and a half old.
Second ranked title has sold 700 copies. (This book should qualify this year, not that it matters now.(You only need to qualify once for lifetime entry.)) This title is less than a year old.

As I mentioned above, Real Me is above the median. Real Me wrote books that hit into a desired genre at a good time. In short, Real Me got lucky.

For the record, I decided to disclose this information because I find the secrecy of surrounding so much of the publishing world prevents new, aspiring, and talented authors from understanding what they’re getting into. There’s a reason most authors suggest against quitting the day job. If you make it as an author, you make it big–but most people never make it, and that’s a cold, hard truth every author needs to face.

And since I sense I’m about to get a lot of flack for presenting these numbers, I’d like to point out one final thing:

The publishing industry is tough, but it’s worth every minute of it. Nothing is quite as rewarding as bringing a book to market and connecting with readers and other lovers of books. That up makes it worth all of the downs–and the expensive risks writers take to publish a title.

For my last article, I present to you a way you can help your favorite author succeed.

Source: Huffington Post
Type: Tips for Readers
Article: 10 Ways To Help Your Favorite Author

This is an older article from 2013, but it still applies–with a few oddities that make me scratch my head. I’ll address each point (for no reason other than I can.) Readers, this is so important. I know some of these items are a little scary (like leaving reviews) but they really do help.

Yes. Your financial support is huge. Last reasonable statistic I saw on book buyers showed each reader buying (and consuming) 12 novels a year. That’s a lot of competition.
Reviews are really important. Doesn’t have to be long, just honest. You let other fans know the book is worth buying or worth avoiding–that’s important, too.
This ties in to number one of this list a lot–I’m far more likely to buy a book a friend recommends.
Yes. This is a great way to help your author and give the greatest gift ever. (Because books are great.)
This one is really pushing it… book parties are strange to me. The only time I go to them is at conventions, and that’s only because I had nothing else to do at the time. I guess they could work, but… I’m not sold on this idea, personally.
Could definitely work, if you’re in such a position–or if you’re big enough of a name. Exposure is nice. Personally, this idea horrifies me, but I’m your average author. In short, I’m shy. This sounds a little bit like my worst nightmare come to life.
Yes. This is a fantastic way to help an author, tying into points one and two on this list.
I’m really not sure on this one. See my reasoning for point six.
This needs to be approached with a lot of caution. Subject matters. Handing out erotica to a group of business men won’t really work so well. Audience matters. This is a bit of a stretch. Okay, it’s a lot of a stretch.
Yes, please. This is a great way to get involved with an author and help them out.

Evolution of Books

Books have evolved a great deal since their inception thousands of years ago.The Sumerians are credited with the first literary title. That was approximately in 26th century B.C.– yes, 2,600 years before the Birth of Christ. People have been writing long before paper existed, including cave art found around the globe. Carvings and engravings on stone were commonplace as well. When most people think of ancient writings, Egypt’s hieroglyphs (2,400 B.C.) often win the prize. The well-known early Epic of Gilgamesh didn’t come around until 2,250 B.C., something that surprises many. For an addendum, the Epic of Gilgamesh spans a huge chunk of time in terms of history. 2,250 is only the beginning of the Gilgamesh recordings. The later part of the Epic of Gilgamesh was recorded up to three hundred years later. Wikipedia has a good (and reasonably accurate) listing on the history of ancient literature. It’s a bit dry, but it’s definitely an interesting read, especially if you’re into that sort of thing. I am, in case it wasn’t obvious!

To give an idea of just how ancient these writings are, the Odyssey and Iliad didn’t come around until 800 B.C.

What isn’t known is exactly when the very first person picked up a paint brush, a chisel, or a pen and went to work. What we do know is the invention of literacy would forever change our world. At first, most texts were religious teachings, hymns, and elements of life–to these people, non-fiction. Fiction came around later–thousand of years later.

Today, books are evolving again. We’ve progressed from stone painting, carving, and natural materials. We moved to parchment–and yes, even skins of animals and people, to writing exclusively on paper.

The digital era has begun, and it is here to stay. Books evolve; it is their nature to do so–and the nature of those who write them to encourage such evolution.

The New York Times posted an article about the decline of e-books. It claims print titles are here to stay while the digital era of books is coming to an end. I’m rather of the opinion this is an entire load of crock. I have one reason for this.

The article completely excludes the existence of self-publishing authors. Yes, when the traditional publishers hike the price of e-book copies to a buck or two below the price of hardbound books, people will choose to buy the print editions of those books over digital copies. By excluding self-published authors from the article, the New York Times is presenting a flat image of the publishing world.

There has never been a point in history where books have been so accessible to the average person. Self-publishers are offering titles for substantially cheaper than their traditionally published counterparts. To make the slope even more slippery, the day of quick profits for self-published authors is over. That I will not argue with.

In order to succeed, self-published authors must produce books just as good as their traditionally published counterparts. You, readers and book lovers, are not stupid people–and you know how to find and judge quality fiction. The self-publishers who tell the sorts of stories you want to read are being found. They’re working just as hard as their traditionally published counterparts. yes, some good books do get lost in the cracks, but the playing field has dramatically changed in the last ten years.

And you are being just as hard on them as you are on the traditional publishing houses. It shows in the reviews left on amazon and goodreads. It also shows in what gets spread via word of mouth. Don’t get me wrong: a good book doesn’t need to be a literary masterpiece; it does need to be a title that captures the heart and imagination of its readers, though. That’s for readers to decide.

We all have opinions, but I think there’s one important thing we need to remember. Books are here to stay, and no matter how they evolve, what is truly important are the words, not the medium.

Maybe you like print books. That’s fantastic. But don’t look down your nose at the person who enjoys reading on their phone while they really should be going to sleep at night.

The words they are reading are exactly the same. If you both enjoy The Hunger Games, just because your copy is in print does not lessen or remove the enjoyment of another reader who is enjoying their copy as an e-book. It doesn’t matter how books evolve.

All that the digital era is doing is putting more books in the hands of more people, and that’s something we should all celebrate. Not all of us can afford to buy the latest and greatest. I know readers who can only afford free books due to their financial situations. I know some people who simply can’t afford to make the drive to the library. They download books when they have access to a free wifi center. They download a bunch of free books and read on the cheapest device they can get their hands on–usually a cell phone that serves as their only tech device.

So, before you take off your gloves and begin the tired old battle of what type of book is better, remember this:

We love books.

Does it really matter what format the books come in? I don’t think so.

Author Interview: Marshall Ryan Maresca

Thanks for joining me for a question and answer session, Marshall! 2015 has been an interesting year for the science fiction and fantasy community. A lot of issues among fans and writers has come to light. Among them is gender bias. I’d like to take some time to talk about the prevalent gender bias and what it means for fantasy books now and in the future.

Trillian: Before I dig into the main subject, please tell us a little about yourself and your books.

I’m a fantasy and science-fiction whose debut novel, The Thorn of Dentonhill, came out in February, and the follow-up, A Murder of Mages, came out in July. So 2015 has been a huge year for me, personally, as well as an very interesting one for all of the SFF Community as a whole.

Trillian: When you write a novel, do you actively consider current social issues and include them as themes? Why or why not?

I do, but not in a typical way. I mean, I write secondary-world fantasy in a city that bears some resemblance to Victorian London/19th Century North America, but it’s not a pure copy-and-paste. But I am also in the world here-and-now, so clearly that’s going to have an affect on what I write. Case in point: An Import of Intrigue— the sequel to A Murder of Mages— deals with a murder in the more-isolated foreign enclaves of Maradaine. When I started working on it was right around when the situation in Fergueson first hit the national media. If I’m writing a story about constables interacting with a community that is completely different culture and appearance than their own, of course the current issues are going to bleed into it.

Part of that comes around to what I’m trying to do with race and gender in the Maradaine books, which might not be immediately apparent in the first books. It’s a tough line to walk. Take, as an off-genre example, a show like Mad Men. On one level, it’s explicitly talking about a time when the presumptions of upper-class white male privilege were starting to get chipped away at. But at the same time, it benefits by reveling in those same presumptions. Is the show making a statement about how characters treat Joan like a sex object, or is the show itself treating Joan as one? It’s easy to have your goal be the former but end up doing the latter.

Trillian: How do you think gender bias (in novels) is currently affecting fantasy fiction? What tropes are symptomatic of gender bias among authors and fans?

Are you asking about in terms of characters, or authors? In terms of authors, well… first I should address the elephant in the room: I am a white, straight, non-religious male with a fairly affluent background. I’m pretty much a full card on Privilege Bingo. So everything I have to say about gender bias should be taken with an enormous grain of salt. But it’s something that I do notice all the time. How often do you see a “best of the year” list or an “anticipated for next year” list, and it’s got MAYBE one or two female authors on it, if that? That’s a list from someone who isn’t bothering to open up their skulls. And that affects the books themselves. More books than not in SFF feature a male central character front-and-center. I’m not immune to that.

But it goes deeper than that. I have female author friends who are asked if their books are “YA or Romance”, as if those were the only possibilities. Those presumptions need to be cut out like a cancer.

Trillian: Taking it a step further, how do you think gender bias is currently affecting readers and fans of science fiction and fantasy? What role do you think gender bias plays in the evolution of genre fiction?

Well, look at what I said about lists. As long as putting out lists like that with almost-to-all male authors keeps being common, there isn’t going to be any change. It’s not like there’s a shortage to choose from. Just a short list off the top of my head from this year’s releases: Elizabeth Bear, Stina Leicht, Julie Czernada, Amanda Downum, Viola Carr, Delilah S. Dawson, Carrie Vaughn, Marguerite Reed, Seanan Maguire, Amber Benson, E.C. Ambrose, Fran Wilde, Carrie Patel, Margaret Fortune, Kameron Hurley, Irene Redford, Martha Wells. Martha Wells! Why she isn’t regularly named amongst other giants in the industry is beyond me. But then you also get things like women authors getting fewer reviews and lesser notice in general. They even have more insidious difficulties. For example, it takes longer for women authors to get a wikipedia entry. I’ve heard stories where writers with three or four books out and major award nominations were told they “weren’t significant enough” to warrant an entry.

Trillian: You’re a man who writes fantasy fiction. How does your gender affect how you write women in your novels?

The main thing I do now, whenever I bring in a new character, I ask myself, “Am I making this character male because that’s what they ought to be, or am I doing it because it’s the ‘default’?” But also, I’m asking myself “Am I messing this up?” questions all the time with female characters. Still, I’d rather try and mess up than not try.

To tie it into what I was saying earlier: I wanted to make Maradaine a culture which is problematic when it comes to issues of gender, race, sexuality, etc. I want it to be a culture where change is bubbling underneath the surface. But the danger in doing that is your reader can see that as just an endorsement of the problematic part. To give an example: back when Gail Simone started writing Birds of Prey, she wanted to address the trope of Black Canary getting captured and tied up ALL THE TIME. But in writing that story, and using it to shatter that trope, she starts with that very thing happening, and people freaked out on her for doing the very thing she had previously complained about.

Trillian: The current trend in fantasy fiction is to create women who are tough—so tough she’s a man with breasts rather than addressing the issues real women face. She’s often a rape victim or victim of abuse, and she’s often callous and cold. Why do you think women are written in this fashion as the stereotypical ‘strong’ woman? Do you feel this is a problem for science fiction and fantasy as a genre?

Yeah, this was something I struggled with writing Satrine in A Murder of Mages. I wanted her tough with a rough past, but I didn’t want that to be all she was. I wanted her time growing up on the streets to inform her without defining her. So I also made sure to make her central challenge be specific to that: she wants to provide for her family at the level of privilege they are already accustomed to, in a society that isn’t in a place to let a woman do that. She’s got to forge the path she intends to walk.

Why are ”strong” women characters written so much like you say? I think it’s a matter of overcompensation. Like, you don’t want your female characters to be Rescue Tokens and Romance Rewards, so you swing the pendulum the other way entirely. But I think we’re seeing more an more that “strong” women characters involves more than just “can beat up her enemies”.

Trillian: Moving onto some fun & games… if you could change anything about your first novel, what would you change and why?

I would have done better by the female characters. There’s only one significant one (Kaiana) and two minor ones, one of whom literally is a drug-addicted prostitute. I’ve gotten pinged for that in Thorn, and rightly so. All I can say is by the time I realized that I should have done better, it was too far along to do the sort of surgery required to change it. I did make one change at that point, making one of the Aventil street captains female. Her character gets expanded on in The Alchemy of Chaos, as well as several more female characters.

Trillian: Creativity is a hallmark of authors. If you could travel to any time period and take one person with you, where would you go, when would you go, and who would you take with you?

OK, this is oddly personal, but in the 1940s my wife’s grandparents threw these elaborate banquets in Mexico City— her grandfather was a gastronomer, composer and historian, and her grandmother was a performer, pre-Columbian culture expert and linguist. So these banquets included well-researched pre-Columbian Mayan traditions and foods, and poems and music, and were attending by people of all walks of like. So, I would take my wife to experience one of these unique events for herself, since she only got to read about them.

Trillian: Once you are there, you can bring one person or thing back with you. What do you choose and why?

That’s a tough one. Who wants to disrupt the space-time continuum by taking something (or someone) away from where it belongs?

A Murder of Mages marks the debut of Marshall Ryan Maresca’s novels of The Maradaine Constabulary, his second series set amid the bustling streets and crime-ridden districts of the exotic city called Maradaine. A Murder of Mages introduces us to this spellbinding port city as seen through the eyes of the people who strive to maintain law and order, the hardworking men and women of the Maradaine Constabulary.

Satrine Rainey—former street rat, ex-spy, mother of two, and wife to a Constabulary Inspector who lies on the edge of death, injured in the line of duty—has been forced to fake her way into the post of Constabulary Inspector to support her family.

Minox Welling is a brilliant, unorthodox Inspector and an Uncircled mage—almost a crime in itself. Nicknamed “the jinx” because of the misfortunes that seem to befall anyone around him, Minox has been partnered with Satrine because no one else will work with either of them.

Their first case together—the ritual murder of a Circled mage— sends Satrine back to the streets she grew up on and brings Minox face-to-face with mage politics he’s desperate to avoid. As the body count rises, Satrine and Minox must race to catch the killer before their own secrets are exposed and they, too, become targets.

Marshall Ryan Maresca is a fantasy and science-fiction writer, as well as a playwright, living in South Austin with his wife and son. He is the author of The Thorn of Dentonhill and A Murder of Mages, His latest novel, The Alchemy of Chaos, will be released in early 2016. His work also appeared in Norton Anthology of Hint Fiction and Rick Klaw’s anthology Rayguns Over Texas. He also has had several short plays produced.

Visit his Website | Buy The Thorn of Dentonhill and A Murder of Mages | Preorder The Alchemy of Chaos (2/2016)

Thanks for reading, book lovers! P.S.: Special affiliate links were used in the creation of this post. For the books!

Does What You Read Affect What You Believe?

If you’re the ‘Too Long; Didn’t Read’ type, the answer is no. Only you change what you believe.

Several months ago, there was an explosion regarding a tool called ‘Clean Reader.’ This tool took an author’s work, applied filters and changed words, inciting the fury of authors around the world. The creators of Clean Reader were quick to assure writers their copyrights were intact, but the damage was done in so many ways. What this tool did bring to light was the fear that reading material–books–could affect someone’s basic beliefs. In short, the explosion was about how vocabulary could influence readers and turn them into bad people–or worse.

If reading a fantasy novel or a novel filled with fucks, shits, damns, or any other curse word, turns you into either a bad person or an individual prone to possession, the problem isn’t with the fantasy novel. The problem is with you. In short, what you read doesn’t affect what you believe. Only you affect what you believe. If a fantasy novel is at risk of causing possession, it isn’t because of the book. It is because your faith is weak. If a work of fiction can turn you into a (your choice) monster, you’re actually the problem, not the book. Your religion might also be the problem, if they’re teaching people their faith and will is so weak it can’t withstand any works of fiction.

Belief begins and ends with you, so please stop blaming others for the fault in your character.

What about parents with children who don’t want their children reading such things?! What about them?

What about them? A good parent will teach their children the difference between right and wrong. Let’s face it, your innocent sweetheart probably isn’t all that innocent if they have any exposure to adult television–or life outside of the house. They’ve heard the words before. It’s almost impossible to prevent them from hearing these ‘bad words.’ If you raise the children right, it really doesn’t matter if they’ve heard the words before. That’s your job as a parent.

I know a great many religious people who have absolutely no problems with picking up a copy of Lord of the Rings and enjoying the read. They enjoy it, and when they are done, they don’t magically transform into a man-eating orc or a prissy elf. They may develop a fondness for sitting around a table socializing with nice people while playing board games, however. What a scary thing!

It’s really not, by the way.

If you don’t enjoy reading curse words on a page, don’t read those types of books. If you don’t like reading sex on the page… don’t read those types of books. That’s your choice to make. Skip over the sex scenes or discretely skim over the curse words. But, here’s something to think about: the instant you try to take away an author’s right to write what they want, you take away your own right to say what you want as well.

Stop being so weak-minded and weak-hearted. If your beliefs are threatened by words on a page–or defined by them–you are the actual problem… not us writers.

Happy reading, book lovers!