Gary M. Martin's Blog, page 3
August 29, 2015
Rifts
I would love to wake up each morning knowing that I will have the free time to write. But a full time job as well as other responsibilities just doesn’t allow that. Unfortunately, the money necessary to quit my job eludes me. I would go on and on about this, but I suspect that there are many more indie writers out there in the same boat as myself.
Having started this blog in such a negative tone I have to admit that all is not lost. This weekend I hope to go over 80,000 words on my latest novel. I’m getting closer to finishing it though I suspect that I have another 20,000 words or more till it is complete. I think it will far exceed my previous works. I think. At times I think it might be more suited for the dollar store.
The story is a mixture of genres’. The strongest is probably science fiction, and horror. There is a big piece of spirituality in it as well. The elements are not easily woven into the story, thus the reason for my ambiguous feelings toward the success of my manuscript.
Besides the storyline I am putting a lot of effort into the creation of my characters. I want people to feel as if they know these people. I don’t want readers to see cardboard cutouts in their minds’ eye. I want them to see 3D pictures as if they were standing in front of them. I do hope to find a good balance in the action and the depth I put into the characters. I don’t want to go to the point of boring people.
The tentative title of the novel is “Rifts”. I have a first draft written, but I’m continually adding to it as I write this current copy. If the manuscript should grow much more than 100,000 words I may even have to turn it into two novels. In that event “Rifts” might be only one part of the title.
I can’t say when this will be published. There are too many variables. I will be looking at traditional publishers. If I get any takers that might change everything. Either way I hope to release a publication date when I know.
Having started this blog in such a negative tone I have to admit that all is not lost. This weekend I hope to go over 80,000 words on my latest novel. I’m getting closer to finishing it though I suspect that I have another 20,000 words or more till it is complete. I think it will far exceed my previous works. I think. At times I think it might be more suited for the dollar store.
The story is a mixture of genres’. The strongest is probably science fiction, and horror. There is a big piece of spirituality in it as well. The elements are not easily woven into the story, thus the reason for my ambiguous feelings toward the success of my manuscript.
Besides the storyline I am putting a lot of effort into the creation of my characters. I want people to feel as if they know these people. I don’t want readers to see cardboard cutouts in their minds’ eye. I want them to see 3D pictures as if they were standing in front of them. I do hope to find a good balance in the action and the depth I put into the characters. I don’t want to go to the point of boring people.
The tentative title of the novel is “Rifts”. I have a first draft written, but I’m continually adding to it as I write this current copy. If the manuscript should grow much more than 100,000 words I may even have to turn it into two novels. In that event “Rifts” might be only one part of the title.
I can’t say when this will be published. There are too many variables. I will be looking at traditional publishers. If I get any takers that might change everything. Either way I hope to release a publication date when I know.
June 8, 2015
Posting your free days.
In my last blog I proudly stated that I have created an ebook promotion site. I invited people to submit their book for upcoming free days. My stats for the next few days showed that I was getting visitors, but no one was submitting their book. The service is free so price couldn't be a consideration. Then I figured it might be because the site is small and for now doesn't get a lot of views. But even if a free book only 1 or 2 downloads that would be better than nothing.
Today, still not realizing that something was wrong, I decided to fill out the submission form myself just to see how I would receive the information. I hit submit and it showed several areas that were not properly filled out. That couldn't be right. I went back to the editing portion of my sight. Sure enough it was due to my ineptness. I had improperly created the form. The worst part is I should have made sure everything was working right before I started posting about it.
The good news is I've got one mistake out of the way. That's one less to worry about.
So here's the address again if you have a free day and would like to check it out. The site is still rather basic because it's still only a few days old, but give it time.
https://myebooklist.weebly.com/submit...
Today, still not realizing that something was wrong, I decided to fill out the submission form myself just to see how I would receive the information. I hit submit and it showed several areas that were not properly filled out. That couldn't be right. I went back to the editing portion of my sight. Sure enough it was due to my ineptness. I had improperly created the form. The worst part is I should have made sure everything was working right before I started posting about it.
The good news is I've got one mistake out of the way. That's one less to worry about.
So here's the address again if you have a free day and would like to check it out. The site is still rather basic because it's still only a few days old, but give it time.
https://myebooklist.weebly.com/submit...
June 2, 2015
New ebook website
I finally did it, good or bad. I have just published an ebook promotion site. Like many of the other sites I am offering free submissions for those with free books, such as with Amazon’s free days. For those wanting to sell their books (under $3.00) they can submit them to the site as well, but for a fee. Since this is a new site it’s only $15.00 for a 30 day period.
I have several tentative goals for this site. I say tentative because at this time I can only estimate, and guess, how much work and time I will have to put into this site to make it successful. Not to mention any unknown obstacles I may face. Anyway, here are my goals: 1) Have a site that is good for both the reader and author. For the reader I want to be able to offer a large variety of good books that are either free or inexpensive. 2) For the author I want to create a site that offers good exposure for their book(s) whether their book is free or inexpensive. I also hope to offer tips and tools for authors. 3) Yes. I do hope to make some money off the site. But I hope to keep any fees low and offer services that will be more valuable to the recipients than the fees.
Changes to the site will come over time. I still have a lot to learn and will be looking to the bigger sites for ideas on how to make my site beneficial to all.
If you would like to check out the site, here it is: http://myebooklist.weebly.com/contact...
After all the info goes through google typing in the whole address shouldn’t be necessary. I also just noticed that this address takes one to ‘contact’ on my website. I’ll see about getting that redirected to home.
I have several tentative goals for this site. I say tentative because at this time I can only estimate, and guess, how much work and time I will have to put into this site to make it successful. Not to mention any unknown obstacles I may face. Anyway, here are my goals: 1) Have a site that is good for both the reader and author. For the reader I want to be able to offer a large variety of good books that are either free or inexpensive. 2) For the author I want to create a site that offers good exposure for their book(s) whether their book is free or inexpensive. I also hope to offer tips and tools for authors. 3) Yes. I do hope to make some money off the site. But I hope to keep any fees low and offer services that will be more valuable to the recipients than the fees.
Changes to the site will come over time. I still have a lot to learn and will be looking to the bigger sites for ideas on how to make my site beneficial to all.
If you would like to check out the site, here it is: http://myebooklist.weebly.com/contact...
After all the info goes through google typing in the whole address shouldn’t be necessary. I also just noticed that this address takes one to ‘contact’ on my website. I’ll see about getting that redirected to home.
May 13, 2015
Bad book reviews?
Like any author I get my share of bad reviews. I think for the indie author this especially hurts. A bad review can bring you down and even make you rethink your goal of reaching that coveted best seller’s list, even if it’s just in a category on Amazon. Bad reviews can bring down your rating, which everyone looks at. Sales will suffer. Bad reviews can only be covered over by good reviews. For the virtually unknown author, however, getting reviews can be a difficult task in itself.
But what about the best-selling authors, surely their reviews aren’t that bad? If they were than their rating would drop along with their sales and ranking.
HERE ARE A FEW REVIEWS I LOOKED UP:
77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz Rating 3.1
The storyline was weird. The suspense was lukewarm. Character development was pretty much nill.
This is one of the worst books I’ve read in a long time.
The ice dragon by George R.R. Martin …….Rating 3.5
It was slow to develop any kind of goal… The narrative and dialogue were clumsy …
Revival by Stephen King ….Rating 3.9
It was slow. It was boring, and I couldn’t figure out where it was going. Once I found out where it was going all I could think was “really? Is that all? Is that all there really is to this story?”
The finisher by David Baldacci Rating 3.5
The finisher has some very strange word choices. I’m having trouble thinking of what kind of reader would really like this one.
Gray mountain by John Grisham Rating 3.7
I kept waiting for the excitement to begin … it never happened.
This was the most boring book I’ve read in years.
Shallow characters, unresolved issue.
Zoo by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge Rating 3.2
Is full of point-of-view errors, sloppy dialogue, one dimensional main characters.
Ugh. This plot is nonsensical.
A big waste of time and money.
Here’s a couple of notable things. 1) Gray Mountain had a 3.7 rating, but is #241 in the Kindle store. 2) Zoo had a rating of 3.2 and had almost as many 1 star ratings as 5 stars, but still ranked #135 in Kindle store.
I guess you have to have a couple best sellers before the bad reviews don’t matter so much.
But what about the best-selling authors, surely their reviews aren’t that bad? If they were than their rating would drop along with their sales and ranking.
HERE ARE A FEW REVIEWS I LOOKED UP:
77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz Rating 3.1
The storyline was weird. The suspense was lukewarm. Character development was pretty much nill.
This is one of the worst books I’ve read in a long time.
The ice dragon by George R.R. Martin …….Rating 3.5
It was slow to develop any kind of goal… The narrative and dialogue were clumsy …
Revival by Stephen King ….Rating 3.9
It was slow. It was boring, and I couldn’t figure out where it was going. Once I found out where it was going all I could think was “really? Is that all? Is that all there really is to this story?”
The finisher by David Baldacci Rating 3.5
The finisher has some very strange word choices. I’m having trouble thinking of what kind of reader would really like this one.
Gray mountain by John Grisham Rating 3.7
I kept waiting for the excitement to begin … it never happened.
This was the most boring book I’ve read in years.
Shallow characters, unresolved issue.
Zoo by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge Rating 3.2
Is full of point-of-view errors, sloppy dialogue, one dimensional main characters.
Ugh. This plot is nonsensical.
A big waste of time and money.
Here’s a couple of notable things. 1) Gray Mountain had a 3.7 rating, but is #241 in the Kindle store. 2) Zoo had a rating of 3.2 and had almost as many 1 star ratings as 5 stars, but still ranked #135 in Kindle store.
I guess you have to have a couple best sellers before the bad reviews don’t matter so much.
January 28, 2015
December 16, 2014
I got burned by an online publisher.
I’ve been self-publishing for a couple of years now. My sales have been slow overall. I could write a whole page of things I’ve done wrong as a promotor. That is why I jumped at the first opportunity to have my book published by an online publisher. The publisher was McNew publishers. The advertisement in www.listmyebook.com said that if you published with them they would do all the work of promoting while you –the author—could spend the time on writing. That sounded good to me. Incidentally, Elizabeth McNew is the sole owner of McNew publishing and www.listmyebook.com.
It started out great. My novel “The coming of dark” moved up the ranks of Amazon very quickly. A few times it ranked in the low 3,000 in the Kindle store. For two months it averaged about 5,000.
The site said that authors would be paid 60 days after publication. Since my book was published the first of September I expected to be paid the first of November. When it didn’t happen I started emailing Elizabeth McNew. When she finally got back to me she tried to explain why it ended up 90 days, but it made no sense to me. But, I figured I could wait another month.
December came. No royalties. She kept putting me off with one excuse after another. After some begging, pleading, and even threatening she finally said that she would pay me. She told me to send her my bank information so she could make a direct deposit. I did. More time passed. After some angry emails from me she said the problem was she didn’t know how much my royalties were and if I had my sales reports to send it to her. I only had September and October, but at this point I would have been happy to get something. I mailed her the reports.
…I didn’t hear anything from her for several days so I emailed her again. I complained that I thought I would hear from her and that I also did not like the fact that all the money from the sale of my books ( I had added the book “Nexus” at the end of September) were going to her. She emailed me saying that she would un-publish my books giving them back to me. She also said that she was just now looking at my sales reports.
Days later, nothing. Since then I have emailed her numerous times with no response. Today my royalties are 46 days overdue. The money totals nearly a thousand dollars. I had hoped that I could settle this with her, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.
At this point I’m not sure what my legal options are. I don’t want to spend more money than I’m able to get out of her.
The lesson: The online publisher must have been in business for a long time. I would check with the authors she is representing to see how happy they are with her.
PS - I love emails. All that I’ve said can be backed up by her own emails to me.
It started out great. My novel “The coming of dark” moved up the ranks of Amazon very quickly. A few times it ranked in the low 3,000 in the Kindle store. For two months it averaged about 5,000.
The site said that authors would be paid 60 days after publication. Since my book was published the first of September I expected to be paid the first of November. When it didn’t happen I started emailing Elizabeth McNew. When she finally got back to me she tried to explain why it ended up 90 days, but it made no sense to me. But, I figured I could wait another month.
December came. No royalties. She kept putting me off with one excuse after another. After some begging, pleading, and even threatening she finally said that she would pay me. She told me to send her my bank information so she could make a direct deposit. I did. More time passed. After some angry emails from me she said the problem was she didn’t know how much my royalties were and if I had my sales reports to send it to her. I only had September and October, but at this point I would have been happy to get something. I mailed her the reports.
…I didn’t hear anything from her for several days so I emailed her again. I complained that I thought I would hear from her and that I also did not like the fact that all the money from the sale of my books ( I had added the book “Nexus” at the end of September) were going to her. She emailed me saying that she would un-publish my books giving them back to me. She also said that she was just now looking at my sales reports.
Days later, nothing. Since then I have emailed her numerous times with no response. Today my royalties are 46 days overdue. The money totals nearly a thousand dollars. I had hoped that I could settle this with her, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.
At this point I’m not sure what my legal options are. I don’t want to spend more money than I’m able to get out of her.
The lesson: The online publisher must have been in business for a long time. I would check with the authors she is representing to see how happy they are with her.
PS - I love emails. All that I’ve said can be backed up by her own emails to me.
August 9, 2014
Websites for writer free days
My last giveaway for my ebook “The coming of dark” was a productive one. After the giveaway I received one review, which was a five star, as well as a rise in my book sales. The sales were not enough to make me rich, but it sure did make me feel good to know that a few people out there must have liked my book well enough to recommend it to others.
I’m hoping this current giveaway will be even more successful. If it is then I have to give some credit, and thanks, to the sites below for allowing me to submit my book.
For writers. I hope this list will also help you in your own promotions.
http://www.pixelofink.com/sfkb/
http://freebooksy.com/for-the-authors/
http://indiebookoftheday.com/authors/...
http://ebookshabit.com/for-authors/
http://bookpraiser.com/submit-book/
http://bookgoodies.com/contact-us/
http://www.theereadercafe.com/p/autho...
http://www.frugal-freebies.com/p/subm...
http://bookangel.co.uk/submit-your-book/
http://contentmo.com/submit-your-free...
http://www.armadilloebooks.com/submit...
http://bookdealhunter.com/submit-free...
http://www.justkindlebooks.com/submit...
http://www.ereaderperks.com/authors/
http://www.freebooks.com/submit/
http://readcheaply.com/advertise/
http://kindlebookpromos.luckycinda.co...
http://listmyebook.com/list-your-free...
https://ohfb.com/kindle-book-advertis...
http://bookfreebies.com/free-submissi...
I’m hoping this current giveaway will be even more successful. If it is then I have to give some credit, and thanks, to the sites below for allowing me to submit my book.
For writers. I hope this list will also help you in your own promotions.
http://www.pixelofink.com/sfkb/
http://freebooksy.com/for-the-authors/
http://indiebookoftheday.com/authors/...
http://ebookshabit.com/for-authors/
http://bookpraiser.com/submit-book/
http://bookgoodies.com/contact-us/
http://www.theereadercafe.com/p/autho...
http://www.frugal-freebies.com/p/subm...
http://bookangel.co.uk/submit-your-book/
http://contentmo.com/submit-your-free...
http://www.armadilloebooks.com/submit...
http://bookdealhunter.com/submit-free...
http://www.justkindlebooks.com/submit...
http://www.ereaderperks.com/authors/
http://www.freebooks.com/submit/
http://readcheaply.com/advertise/
http://kindlebookpromos.luckycinda.co...
http://listmyebook.com/list-your-free...
https://ohfb.com/kindle-book-advertis...
http://bookfreebies.com/free-submissi...
April 30, 2014
Dean Koontz
This was first published on my website blog at www.gmmartinbooks.com
I joined Twitter recently and I really love it. I don’t know why I haven’t tried it earlier. I think it can be very beneficial to my writing career. I did learn quite early, however, that I need to watch what I say.
I follow several established writers. One of these writers is Dean Koontz. One day I posted a comment to him. I said that I thought he and Stephen King should have a duel to the death. I was kidding, of course. I even said I thought Mr. King could take him even though he was somewhat older. I thought it was a funny comment and didn’t think much of it.
It was two days later when I spotted a black limousine parked at the curb outside my house. My first thought was that it was Publisher’s Clearing House coming to tell me that I had won. But when I stepped outside onto the porch to investigate the car took off. I was very disappointed. I really could have used the money.
That evening I had gone to Walmart to throw away some of my money. When I came out of the store I saw that same limousine taking off. I thought that was unusual, but not as much as what I saw when I got to my car. There sitting on the hood of my car was a Dean Koontz book. Watchers. The word on the cover was highlighted in yellow. Something told me then that something was wrong.
When I got back home I saw scraps of something strewn across my front lawn. It was paper. I figured some neighborhood kids must have thrown their trash in my yard. Maybe I had ticked some kid off because I wouldn’t give him his baseball back after it had gone through my window. On closer inspection I saw that it was the ripped and torn pages of a book. Actually more than one book. And then it hit me. I felt cold shivers run down my spine. These were the pages from two of Stephen King’s books.
I ran back into the house. I didn’t leave for two days. I didn’t get on the Internet at all. It was several days before I felt safe again. Since then there have been no more instances, and I have learned my lesson.
I joined Twitter recently and I really love it. I don’t know why I haven’t tried it earlier. I think it can be very beneficial to my writing career. I did learn quite early, however, that I need to watch what I say.
I follow several established writers. One of these writers is Dean Koontz. One day I posted a comment to him. I said that I thought he and Stephen King should have a duel to the death. I was kidding, of course. I even said I thought Mr. King could take him even though he was somewhat older. I thought it was a funny comment and didn’t think much of it.
It was two days later when I spotted a black limousine parked at the curb outside my house. My first thought was that it was Publisher’s Clearing House coming to tell me that I had won. But when I stepped outside onto the porch to investigate the car took off. I was very disappointed. I really could have used the money.
That evening I had gone to Walmart to throw away some of my money. When I came out of the store I saw that same limousine taking off. I thought that was unusual, but not as much as what I saw when I got to my car. There sitting on the hood of my car was a Dean Koontz book. Watchers. The word on the cover was highlighted in yellow. Something told me then that something was wrong.
When I got back home I saw scraps of something strewn across my front lawn. It was paper. I figured some neighborhood kids must have thrown their trash in my yard. Maybe I had ticked some kid off because I wouldn’t give him his baseball back after it had gone through my window. On closer inspection I saw that it was the ripped and torn pages of a book. Actually more than one book. And then it hit me. I felt cold shivers run down my spine. These were the pages from two of Stephen King’s books.
I ran back into the house. I didn’t leave for two days. I didn’t get on the Internet at all. It was several days before I felt safe again. Since then there have been no more instances, and I have learned my lesson.
April 8, 2014
Giveaway
Another giveaway.
I really appreciate Goodreads! When I published my first book I knew hardly anything about the internet. I didn’t even know there were such things as reading sites. At first I was unsure about joining any such site. What do you do on a reading site? I looked around, investigating other sites to see what each offered and how they compared to each other. Goodreads looked the most professional and seemed to have the most to offer. I’ve learned a lot since joining and think this site is by far the best.
For me one of the things that makes it great are the people. I’ve had the opportunity to interact with a few people on the site, and have had some good experiences. I’ve had friends and people in the community review my books and have been very pleased. They have not all given my five star reviews. There have been some criticisms, but they were not done in a hurtful manner. In fact these criticisms have often been very helpful in me creating a better book.
Goodreads offers a lot for authors, but I try to remember that this is primarily a reading site. I enjoy contributing to the many discussions. I was first a reader and still am. My real reading started when I was seven years old and lying in a hospital bed. My mom brought me comic books to keep me entertained. You can see glimpses of this early influence in my books.
I really appreciate Goodreads! When I published my first book I knew hardly anything about the internet. I didn’t even know there were such things as reading sites. At first I was unsure about joining any such site. What do you do on a reading site? I looked around, investigating other sites to see what each offered and how they compared to each other. Goodreads looked the most professional and seemed to have the most to offer. I’ve learned a lot since joining and think this site is by far the best.
For me one of the things that makes it great are the people. I’ve had the opportunity to interact with a few people on the site, and have had some good experiences. I’ve had friends and people in the community review my books and have been very pleased. They have not all given my five star reviews. There have been some criticisms, but they were not done in a hurtful manner. In fact these criticisms have often been very helpful in me creating a better book.
Goodreads offers a lot for authors, but I try to remember that this is primarily a reading site. I enjoy contributing to the many discussions. I was first a reader and still am. My real reading started when I was seven years old and lying in a hospital bed. My mom brought me comic books to keep me entertained. You can see glimpses of this early influence in my books.
March 19, 2014
Amazon KDP
I’ve lost a lot of confidence in the Amazon KDP Select. On the surface it sounds good. Every 90 days the author gets 5 days that he can offer his ebook for free. It is intended as a promotional tool. You give the ebooks away with the idea that a percentage of these recipients will either give you a review, and/or if they like the book, spread the word. Unfortunately, I’m not getting these results.
It could be that my books are just not that good. If this is the case I wish someone would let me know so I could try to fix it or move on to something else.
I think part of the problem is that this program is no longer new. The market is saturated with up and coming self-published authors with free books out there. And then there are readers whose sole intent is to get a free book. That, in itself, doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is that some of these same people have about a thousand or more books in their reader and may not get to mine until I have my own flying car.
If my books were already selling briskly then this might be a great tool to move my sells up another notch. My sells are more of a stop and go. Things start to move and I think ‘alright here we go.’ Then they stop.
I think another part of the problem is that some of these self-published authors are damn good. That makes me mad. Come on now give me a break. Let me in there somewhere.
Another problem is I don’t go to Cheers where everybody knows my name. Maybe if I changed my name to Elvis Presley people would buy my book just for the name. Steven King would just be too obvious.
I’ve lost confidence, but I haven’t given up. Not completely. For now I’ll keep searching for a way to effectively use this Amazon tool. I don’t see too many options.
It could be that my books are just not that good. If this is the case I wish someone would let me know so I could try to fix it or move on to something else.
I think part of the problem is that this program is no longer new. The market is saturated with up and coming self-published authors with free books out there. And then there are readers whose sole intent is to get a free book. That, in itself, doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is that some of these same people have about a thousand or more books in their reader and may not get to mine until I have my own flying car.
If my books were already selling briskly then this might be a great tool to move my sells up another notch. My sells are more of a stop and go. Things start to move and I think ‘alright here we go.’ Then they stop.
I think another part of the problem is that some of these self-published authors are damn good. That makes me mad. Come on now give me a break. Let me in there somewhere.
Another problem is I don’t go to Cheers where everybody knows my name. Maybe if I changed my name to Elvis Presley people would buy my book just for the name. Steven King would just be too obvious.
I’ve lost confidence, but I haven’t given up. Not completely. For now I’ll keep searching for a way to effectively use this Amazon tool. I don’t see too many options.
