Gary M. Martin's Blog
September 5, 2025
THE STORM that fizzled out.
Not long after my book THE STORM came out I started getting some bad ratings. I couldn't understand it. Never had I gotten so many bad ratings. I received a 5 star and then a four star. Then I got 4 2-stars and 2 1-star ratings. My first book I wrote got better ratings.
I was very disheartened and frustrated. I spent a great deal of time on this book. Something was wrong.
This book is the first book is in a series. I am working on the second book, about 12 chapters completed.
I decided to entice refers to my next book was to put a cliffhanger at the end.
I finally found out what the problem was when I got a nasty review and not just a rating. To para phrase the reader thought the book was good until it just ended. He was angry because he didn't know whether one of the characters caught in an explosion lived or died. What happened he asked. Did the author die or something?
Looking into this further a lot of people thought this was a stand-alone book. It's on Amazon as a series but it's not very clear. It says book one of one.
Ive made corrections. A preview of the second book is now at the end of book one. It wraps up some loose ends. On my description page I make it clear this is a series book.
It's going to take some time to get my ratings up. I'm hopeful it will over time.
I was very disheartened and frustrated. I spent a great deal of time on this book. Something was wrong.
This book is the first book is in a series. I am working on the second book, about 12 chapters completed.
I decided to entice refers to my next book was to put a cliffhanger at the end.
I finally found out what the problem was when I got a nasty review and not just a rating. To para phrase the reader thought the book was good until it just ended. He was angry because he didn't know whether one of the characters caught in an explosion lived or died. What happened he asked. Did the author die or something?
Looking into this further a lot of people thought this was a stand-alone book. It's on Amazon as a series but it's not very clear. It says book one of one.
Ive made corrections. A preview of the second book is now at the end of book one. It wraps up some loose ends. On my description page I make it clear this is a series book.
It's going to take some time to get my ratings up. I'm hopeful it will over time.
August 8, 2025
The Storm
I have just published my newest novel, "The Storm When Worlds Collide". It is now on Goodreads. It is the first book in "The Storm" series.
The book is a science fiction novel with elements of drama and mystery. One thing in particular I've strived for is interesting characters. In my opinion, great, believable characters are the glue that holds the story together.
Check out "The Storm when worlds collide" among my other books and see what you think.
I hope to have the second book out by early next year. It will have an entirely different plot. So far, I'm 15 pages into it.
The Storm: When worlds collide|239564435]
The book is a science fiction novel with elements of drama and mystery. One thing in particular I've strived for is interesting characters. In my opinion, great, believable characters are the glue that holds the story together.
Check out "The Storm when worlds collide" among my other books and see what you think.
I hope to have the second book out by early next year. It will have an entirely different plot. So far, I'm 15 pages into it.
The Storm: When worlds collide|239564435]
October 12, 2023
Free eBook Oct. 13 and other news.
The old man and the girl is Free on Amazon October 13, 2023.
This is a Christian fiction book, but the story is something that should appeal to every person. It is the story of a young girl who goes out of her way to help out an angry, bitter man who is hurting inside. A man who is often ignored by the church.
I've been told on several occasions that I should write another Christian book. I thought that was a good idea. I started several times, but unfortunately the stories didn't seem to have the magic the first one did. I couldn't seem to get that spark back. Maybe I was only meant to write the one book ... for now.
Currently I'm writing in other genres, mostly science fiction.
This is a Christian fiction book, but the story is something that should appeal to every person. It is the story of a young girl who goes out of her way to help out an angry, bitter man who is hurting inside. A man who is often ignored by the church.
I've been told on several occasions that I should write another Christian book. I thought that was a good idea. I started several times, but unfortunately the stories didn't seem to have the magic the first one did. I couldn't seem to get that spark back. Maybe I was only meant to write the one book ... for now.
Currently I'm writing in other genres, mostly science fiction.
October 1, 2023
Unpublished books
I have books on this sight that I have unpublished and have no plans to republish them. But Goodreads won't take them off the sight.
When I first started self-publishing my books, I made a lot of mistakes. My writing wasn't very good. It wasn't terrible, it was consistently over 3 stars but 4 plus stars is the gold star standard for readers.
After working hard making my books better I now have several books over 4 stars. I'm probably being petty but putting the unpublished books that didn't do so well with my newer books kind of diminishes the whole lot. Or am I making too much of it?
Anyway, I just thought I'd put my venting onto paper.
When I first started self-publishing my books, I made a lot of mistakes. My writing wasn't very good. It wasn't terrible, it was consistently over 3 stars but 4 plus stars is the gold star standard for readers.
After working hard making my books better I now have several books over 4 stars. I'm probably being petty but putting the unpublished books that didn't do so well with my newer books kind of diminishes the whole lot. Or am I making too much of it?
Anyway, I just thought I'd put my venting onto paper.
December 12, 2022
Rambling words about something, something, and this and that and whatever.
Okay, this is just a bunch of random thoughts thrown haphazardly together hoping for a good outcome.
It seems everybody is saying 'if you want people to come to your site you need good content, you need a blog, something that will capture the interest of people'.
Sounds good, but in reality, (at least for me) it's not an easy proposition. My blogs turn out dull and most people turn away after the first couple of sentences. So, what am I to do?
Since I write fiction, I guess that's what I should do. But not with a blog. People expect those to be true. For the most part, anyway.
After visiting a sacred mountain off in a far distant country that no one has ever heard of I met an old, wise Monk whose name I was sworn not to reveal, who told me what I should do.
After being under a vow of silence for the last two years his voice was a little above a whisper. But here is what I was able to make out. "My son, write a short story each week and offer it free on your site so that others will have a sample of your writing style."
That might not be exactly what he said. I only understood a few words, but I filled in what I thought he meant.
So, I did as he said. "Twisted" is my short story for this week. https://www.gmmartinbooks.com/stories...
It seems everybody is saying 'if you want people to come to your site you need good content, you need a blog, something that will capture the interest of people'.
Sounds good, but in reality, (at least for me) it's not an easy proposition. My blogs turn out dull and most people turn away after the first couple of sentences. So, what am I to do?
Since I write fiction, I guess that's what I should do. But not with a blog. People expect those to be true. For the most part, anyway.
After visiting a sacred mountain off in a far distant country that no one has ever heard of I met an old, wise Monk whose name I was sworn not to reveal, who told me what I should do.
After being under a vow of silence for the last two years his voice was a little above a whisper. But here is what I was able to make out. "My son, write a short story each week and offer it free on your site so that others will have a sample of your writing style."
That might not be exactly what he said. I only understood a few words, but I filled in what I thought he meant.
So, I did as he said. "Twisted" is my short story for this week. https://www.gmmartinbooks.com/stories...
October 14, 2022
Finders keepers by Stephen King.
Finders Keepers is the second book of the Mr. Mercedes trilogy. In this book Bill Hodges opens a recovery agency that repossess big ticket items such as airplanes. Several characters from the first book are included.
Author John Rothstein has stored up hundreds of notebooks of stories of his iconic character Jimmy Gold though he has not published a book in years. Morris Bellamy kills John for his notebooks which are very valuable but also the stories mean a lot to Morris.
After being convicted of rape Morris hides the books hoping to retrieve them when he gets out of prison.
Years later someone else finds the stash.
When Morris gets out of prison, he hunts down the young boy who has taken the books he stole. Bill Hodges and his people step in to save the boy.
Stephen King moves the plot seamlessly through the years tying in strands of the first book into this one.
This book has been around for a while and a great many people have read it. But if you haven’t read it, I recommend it.
Author John Rothstein has stored up hundreds of notebooks of stories of his iconic character Jimmy Gold though he has not published a book in years. Morris Bellamy kills John for his notebooks which are very valuable but also the stories mean a lot to Morris.
After being convicted of rape Morris hides the books hoping to retrieve them when he gets out of prison.
Years later someone else finds the stash.
When Morris gets out of prison, he hunts down the young boy who has taken the books he stole. Bill Hodges and his people step in to save the boy.
Stephen King moves the plot seamlessly through the years tying in strands of the first book into this one.
This book has been around for a while and a great many people have read it. But if you haven’t read it, I recommend it.
Goodreads giveaway.
Goodreads is an extensive reading site owned by Amazon. It is a great place for writers both self-published and established bestsellers. The site offers multiple promotional options in advertising and book giveaways. I have used book giveaways before with success.
Recently I entered a giveaway that I had been reluctant to try. The giveaway cost $119. The giveaway started on July 1st and ended on July 31st. During that time people would click on the book to enter the contest. When they did the book would be added to their “to read” on their book list. One hundred entrants would win an eBook of my book “The Entity”.
A giveaway of one hundred eBooks for that price is not a great deal. On my most recent giveaway, I paid $75 to FREEBOOKSEY, a promotional site, and got over 1400 downloads. The reason I went with the Goodreads giveaway was for the reviews. Goodreads encourages all the winners to give a review of the book. Since this is a site for readers with multiple book clubs, I expected to get quite a bit of reviews. Not a hundred. I figured some would still refuse to give a review or even a rating. I figured I would get at least fifty percent, but I would accept twenty-five percent. So, what did I get? After three months I have gotten 3 reviews/ratings. A big disappointment.
I would not recommend this giveaway to anyone. Amazon is charging way too much for this. I did get some sales from the giveaway. Unfortunately, I didn’t make enough to justify the cost.
Recently I entered a giveaway that I had been reluctant to try. The giveaway cost $119. The giveaway started on July 1st and ended on July 31st. During that time people would click on the book to enter the contest. When they did the book would be added to their “to read” on their book list. One hundred entrants would win an eBook of my book “The Entity”.
A giveaway of one hundred eBooks for that price is not a great deal. On my most recent giveaway, I paid $75 to FREEBOOKSEY, a promotional site, and got over 1400 downloads. The reason I went with the Goodreads giveaway was for the reviews. Goodreads encourages all the winners to give a review of the book. Since this is a site for readers with multiple book clubs, I expected to get quite a bit of reviews. Not a hundred. I figured some would still refuse to give a review or even a rating. I figured I would get at least fifty percent, but I would accept twenty-five percent. So, what did I get? After three months I have gotten 3 reviews/ratings. A big disappointment.
I would not recommend this giveaway to anyone. Amazon is charging way too much for this. I did get some sales from the giveaway. Unfortunately, I didn’t make enough to justify the cost.
June 21, 2022
Motivation is a temporary condition.
Motivation is a temporary condition. Unless you add something to the motivation it will only be a flame that burns brightly for a short time then turns to ashes. Motivation is only meant to be the spark. One must add the incendiary items to keep it going. Planning: making short- and long-term goals. Discipline: working on your goals even when you don’t feel like it. Education: this could be either physical or mental or both. The more you learn about your goal or goals the better chance you’ll succeed.
Read a book.
https://www.gmmartinbooks.com/books.html
Read a book.
https://www.gmmartinbooks.com/books.html
May 16, 2022
needing beta readers
I've been self-publishing books for a few years now. I enjoy the writing, but I don't enjoy the business part of it. And to be honest self-publishing doesn't feel legitimate. When I meet someone new and tell them I write books they seem impressed. But when I tell them I'm self-published the impressed meter goes down a few notches.
To the point, I've contacted several literary agents. One agent has suggested if I got some good beta reviews it would help my resume. Having said that I want honest reviews. If there is something that needs fixing, I want to fix it.
One more note. My manuscript is being looked at by a mid-size publisher without an agent to begin with. This could take weeks or months to hear back from them.
My manuscript is science fiction. When I am published, I will give all readers a copy. But since traditionally published books take a long time, I will give each person one of my self-published books after the review.
Go here to download the book and get a description of it. https://www.gmmartinbooks.com/the-awa...
Thank You
To the point, I've contacted several literary agents. One agent has suggested if I got some good beta reviews it would help my resume. Having said that I want honest reviews. If there is something that needs fixing, I want to fix it.
One more note. My manuscript is being looked at by a mid-size publisher without an agent to begin with. This could take weeks or months to hear back from them.
My manuscript is science fiction. When I am published, I will give all readers a copy. But since traditionally published books take a long time, I will give each person one of my self-published books after the review.
Go here to download the book and get a description of it. https://www.gmmartinbooks.com/the-awa...
Thank You
November 30, 2021
What's wrong with Goodreads?
Overall, I have to say that Goodreads is a pretty good place. It's more commercialized since Amazon took over but that's not what I'm complaining about.
When I first starting writing it was like an on-the-job training for me. I've come a long way since then. Since then, I've unpublished several books because they are not at the level that I would like them to be. In one case it's the cover. The problem is Goodreads will not take them off. The unpublished books are: Demon, Rifts, and the three editions of Through the forest. The Dark strain cover is ugly. I added the alternate cover that is on Amazon but the first cover is the one that everyone sees.
My wish is that the authors would be allowed to change covers and delete books that are no longer relevant.
Also, a little plug here. A free short story can be downloaded from off my website. https://www.gmmartinbooks.com/show-an...
When I first starting writing it was like an on-the-job training for me. I've come a long way since then. Since then, I've unpublished several books because they are not at the level that I would like them to be. In one case it's the cover. The problem is Goodreads will not take them off. The unpublished books are: Demon, Rifts, and the three editions of Through the forest. The Dark strain cover is ugly. I added the alternate cover that is on Amazon but the first cover is the one that everyone sees.
My wish is that the authors would be allowed to change covers and delete books that are no longer relevant.
Also, a little plug here. A free short story can be downloaded from off my website. https://www.gmmartinbooks.com/show-an...
