Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 10

Authors Should Write Their Own Books Instead of Relying on AI to Do It For Them

I have been giving this matter some serious thought over the past few weeks. Though I have put writing books on the back burner for now, I still like to keep up-to-date on what’s happening in the world of writing. With AI becoming more and more popular, this is going to lead to the debate over whether or not authors should use AI to do the job of writing books for them. When I say “write books”, I mean typing in a sentence or two and then letting AI write an entire scene around it. (An author does enough of these, AI will essentially write the book.) Even if the author tweaks things, it’s still not a story the author is writing.

My primary concern over using AI to write the story (and even in creating the story) stems from how AI is getting the material. AI is not a creative entity. It needs to take material from already published books. I realize AI is not going to take these books word-for-word when it throws out a few paragraphs, but the raw material from other books is still there. This has the potential of leading to copyright lawsuits. What happens when an author with enough money finds out that someone has been using AI to write a book that is “way too similar” to theirs? Sure, I haven’t heard of this being a problem yet, but authors using AI to help them write their books is still new. We don’t know what ramifications could pop up down the road, and I see no reason to take the chance.

In my opinion, authors are much better off writing everything in their story. I can see using AI for help with the minor stuff, but this is stuff we could do during a brainstorming session with other people. For example, AI would be okay if you’re looking for a synonym or antonym for a word. Or AI could work to help with a plot point you’re struggling with. Say, you get stuck, and you’re trying to decide what would happen if a character did X or Y. You could run the scenario through the AI program to help guide you on the best course. (Just as you could talk the scenario over with another person who could give you ideas.) Simple tasks like this should be okay because it doesn’t involve actually writing the story out.

(This is where I ramble…) The main barrier I can see to authors writing their own stuff is the possibility of burnout. If you’re making your living primarily from publishing books, then you need to keep getting books out to stay solvent. This puts a lot of stress on the author. My books have always been my source of income. I never cared to get into making covers or editing because I’ve heard way too many horror stories of the way cover artists and editors got treated by authors who should have known better than to treat these people like crap. (Please treat cover artists and editors well.) There are other ways authors make additional income (kickstarter, workshops, podcasting to name a few), but all I ever wanted to do was write. I am awful at marketing. I guess there is the possibility of hiring an assistant, but would you believe I was quoted, “$30 an hour” with NO possibility of seeing their references? If I’m going to spend $30/hr, I want to know what other authors these assistants worked for. How do I know if these authors benefited from their assistance or not if I don’t know who these authors are? For all I know, these assistants are doing a lousy job and getting paid handsomely for it. (…end rambling.)

I doubt I’m the only author who relies mainly on their writing income to keep money coming in. I have always written my own stuff. I did not hire out ghostwriters, but that was a personal preference. I went into writing because I loved my characters and their stories. If I were to put my name on something I didn’t write, I wouldn’t feel a connection to the book, and it’s the connection to the book that makes it so much fun to go back and reread it. I primarily wrote books I wanted to read. Back in 2006-2007, I searched high and low for a romance author who wrote stories I specially wanted to read but couldn’t find any except for Carolyn Davidson, and she was only one author. I wanted more books. So I wrote them myself. I am a horrible business person because this writing thing is not “business” to me.

I understand for a lot of authors, this is a business. Even if this is a business, I would advise you to not use AI to write the stories. Be careful with using ghostwriters, too. You don’t want to use a ghostwriter who uses AI, nor do you want a ghostwriter who plagiarizes other authors. Vet these ghostwriters. I don’t know how to vet them, but research on how to do it and then do it. We are in the wild west of AI. I can see authors struggling with burnout (like me) and choosing to rely on AI in order to put books out there. I have been in groups where authors celebrate all of the “words” AI helped them “write” that day. While this is exciting on the surface, it has its share of risks.

I think the best thing an author can do is write the book yourself. If you want to hand over the marketing to an assistant to help clear out time for you to write, that $30/hr is way better spent than using AI to get “words” in the story for you. If you can manage it, look for additional sources of income to help supplement your writing income. I have decided to take time off from writing while I recoup from burnout, but not everyone has the ability to choose the path I did. Whatever you do, it’s best to buffer yourself from any problems AI could generate for you down the road.

Also…let’s not forget the emotional (non-business) angle of this equation. I would think that your readers are reading your books because of “you”. There is only one you on the entire planet. You have your own creative spark that brings that special something to your books that your readers love. AI can never replace that spark. No ghostwriter can replace it. I have read ghostwritten books, and they are not as good as the authors’ work. Maybe they sell better, but the quality just isn’t the same. It’s better to write less books with the “need to read it again” factor than to write something that’s only read once.

Yes, the money is nice, but it’s not a guarantee. My writing income has dropped so much over the years that it won’t be long before my family will actually start getting tax refunds again. At first, I panicked over the continual dropping of my writing income, but now I’ve come to accept it. And guess what? I still have those books I spent those years writing, and I love these books. I enjoy them as much as I did when I wrote them. I don’t regret writing them. I chose to write for passion, and it paid off. It didn’t just pay off for me. There are some readers who let me know how much they enjoy them, too, and that’s the icing on the cake that very few authors think about. When you are writing the story, you are crafting something you love. That love shows up in the work. That love can’t be replaced. So write your own books. In the end, it’s worth it.

If anyone reading this blog post is in the Omaha area, I will be at the Saint Matthew’s craft show this Saturday

I’ll be in Bellevue, Nebraska this Saturday to help my good friend, Janet Syas Nitsick, to sell her books. This is a picture of Janet and the table we were sitting at during the last craft show we went to in Gretna, Nebraska. It was taken last month.

We have a lot of fun at this craft shows, and it’s some thing I look forward to going to. Though I personally do not sell my books at these shows, it’s so fun to meet people. Quite a few people come looking for Janet, and they ask her if she has any new books out. The good news is she will have a new book by the time we have the next craft show we’re going to in April. But for the time being, if anybody wants to come to just say hi, we would both be thrilled to see you.

If you happen to be in the Bellevue area and would like to try out another local author, we will have a fantasy series available. This series is written by Krystine Kercher, and we met her shortly after I moved back to Nebraska. She dropped off the books with us last weekend, and she signed them. So, if you love fantasy, I recommend you check these out. If you are unable to come by to check out the paperbacks, she does have these books available as ebooks. You can check out the link here. She described the series to me, it sounds interesting, but I have to wait until they are in audiobook form before I can read them.

I just finished listening to Janet’s latest book, The Librarian’s Secret, and it was really good. The hero and heroine are so sweet together. The secret that the hero’s father was hiding surprised me because I didn’t think it was going to be as bad as it was, but I’m glad that Janet took it in the direction she did because the story came together so beautifully with it. In addition to the secret, Janet used other characters in the story to demonstrate that though we are imperfect, we can find grace and forgiveness with the Lord Jesus Christ. I wasn’t sure how Janet was going to make the secret work with a plot, but she did an outstanding job. I highly recommend this book if you haven’t read it yet. It is a sweet Christian romance. I was sorry when it ended. She now has all of her romances available on the Apple Store and audiobook form. I am trying to get her set up on Google Play so she can have e-book and audiobooks over there, too. I think both Apple and Google Play do a really good job of creating digitally narrated books. They both have their different styles, but once you’re in the story, you don’t even think about how the book is being read to you; you only think about the story itself. I know people keep saying digital narration isn’t worth it, but for people who struggle with reading things, digital narration, has opened up a new world to them, which is why I’m a big supporter of this technology. For someone used to listening to human narrators, the digital narration is a bit jarring, but if you continue to listen to it, you really do get used to it.

Anyway, if you’re inclined and able to come to the Saint Matthews craft show on Saturday, please stop by our booth and say hi. Though I don’t have any books on hand, I would be thrilled to sign a piece of paper so that you can have my autograph, I will be the one in T-shirt and jeans sitting next to Janet who will be in a beautiful dress with a nice hat. Just ask if I’m Ruth, and I’ll know that you read this blood post, and we can chat for a while.

Here is the address and times for the craft show:

Saint Matthew Church, 12210 S. 36th Street, Bellevue, NE 68123

Saturday (Nov 11, 2023) 9am-3pm

There is a $1 admission fee, which I can refund for you since you’re coming to see me and Janet and to possibly check out Janet’s and Krystine’s books.

Publishing Schedule for Next Year, Walking Away from Writing (at least for now), and Decided to Quit Bookfunnel

The Earl’s Jilted Bride and Worth the Risk will be out next year

Things have gone to a crawl with the edits. I am relying more on other people to do the edits for me at this point, thanks to my eyes. Both of these books are still in edits:

I am going around the other people’s schedules. They have lives of their own, and the fact that they’re willing to help me out is greatly appreciated. In the past, I did have an editor or two look over my books, along with a couple of beta readers. But the issue with my eyes have just forced my hand. I used to give the book a thorough read through. I can’t physically do that anymore. I have to hand over the reins to others on the entire editing side of things.

So I don’t know when these two books will be out, but I’m planning on them coming out next year.

My eyes are just not able to do the work anymore & it’s been nice to walk away from writing

I was able to go in and modify a scene this morning in Worth the Risk to eliminate a cliffhanger I had put in. Just in case I can’t do another book in this series, I am going to close up any cliffhangers remaining.

After one hour on the computer, I started getting the gritty feeling in my left eye. That’s a sign that my eyes are not liking the strain I’m putting them under. For almost a month, I have been off the computer except for checking my online bank account and doing my bookkeeping for the accountant, and my eyes felt wonderful. I didn’t need drops. They weren’t watering up anymore. I felt normal again.

Maybe it’s the burnout talking at this point, but I have enjoyed not writing anything for the past couple of months. I didn’t realize how bad the burnout was until I stopped making myself go to the computer. The eyes forced my hand on stopping with the writing, but the break has felt like a lot of pressure has been lifted from my shoulders. I still have story ideas. I just don’t want to write them. At least not now. I don’t know if I will ever want to write them. I would rather just let the stories play out in my head at this point.

I’m not sure what to make of all of this. In writing circles, it’s all about writing and publishing and promotion. If you aren’t writing all the time, you’re not a “real” writer. If you’re not producing books to sell, then you aren’t a “smart business-minded” writer. If you’re not making money, you’re not worth listening to because you don’t know what you’re talking about. And it’s like once you do establish your “brand”, you’re expected to do this for the rest of your life. It feels like you can’t quit because if you do, you are either a failure or you’re letting people down. I’ve been struggling with a lot of guilt over the fact that I don’t want to write anymore. At least, I don’t want to write right now. I don’t know if that will change or not. A part of it’s scary. And I don’t know what to do.

So I guess I’m taking a pause. I will let those books go through edits because they’re done, and I want them out there to complete the Marriage by Obligation Series. But I have decided to stop working on any other books, at least for the time being as I allow myself to decompress from the past decade where I did little else but write all the time. I started writing these romances back in 2008. It’s 2023. I realize that “real” and “serious” writers never quit, but if I am not considered a “real” or “serious” writer after getting over 100 written and published across the total amount of books I’ve done, then I will never be a “real” or “serious” writer. I’m exhausted, so I’m going to walk away from writing indefinitely.

I’m not going to worry about Bookfunnel

The main perk of Bookfunnel seems to be the ARCs, the newsletter swaps, and the part where you give away a book to have someone sign up for your email list. Since I have no plans to publish books beyond The Earl’s Jilted Bride and Worth the Risk, I see no value in being on Bookfunnel. I am going to close my account with them. I can’t do social media and do the newsletter swaps with other writers. My eyes won’t let me on the computer to do that. I have no intention (at least right now) of continuing my “writer business”, so there will be no more emails to send out to readers and no need to worry about ARCs. I was under the impression that Bookfunnel let you sell your books over there, but all Bookfunnel really does is let you do a link to a store you already have elsewhere (like Payhip). I’m done wasting my time on places that don’t do me any good.

Question for those of you who use BookFunnel

I recently signed up to be on BookFunnel, but I am not sure what to do with it. There’s so much, and I’m feeling overwhelmed. For those who like my books and use BookFunnel, what do you go there for?

When I look at this poll on my computer, I can’t see the options. When I look at it on my iPhone, I can see it. In case you can’t see the options, where they are:

ARCs (Advanced Review Copies)To view the books offered in the group promos with a variety of authorsTo find new books to BUY at other retailers (this would be paid books, not free ones)To see samples or chapters of an author’s bookTo sign up on an author’s email list (so you get a free book in exchange for signing up on their list)

The button in the lower right side says “submit”.

I assume this is an issue only I am dealing with, but just in case, I typed all of those out. Just click the one button that best describes you. Then click the submit button.

You can leave a comment instead if you wish.

Should you create audiobooks?

Today’s post has been dictated with a microphone I have on my computer. So please be understanding if there are errors that pop up in this post.

For the past month, I have been having a conversation with another author keeps asking me about whether or not audiobooks are worth it.I thought I would address this question in this blog post today for any authors who may be reading this. When deciding, whether or not to create audiobooks, it all boils down to one simple question: how important is it for you to get your books out in a format that is easy for people to listen to? (Note: I mean “listen” to. There are people who can only listen to books. They can’t physically read them.)

Not everybody is able to physically read a book. I am one such person. If I spend more than 20 minutes, reading anything, my eyes will give me a lot of grief. I get a headache. My eyes water up. My vision gets fuzzy for a minute. It’s not a comfortable experience, which is why I stopped reading unless I had to. There are other people like me out there in this world who exist, but they aren’t the majority of people out there. If you think to yourself, “There’s no point in making audiobooks, if I can’t make money off of it,” then that’s a fair argument for not creating audiobooks. I won’t pretend that money doesn’t matter. It does matter.

But, to play devil’s advocate, let me ask you this: how much money do you make off of ebooks? How much money do you make off of paperbacks? If you’re not making a living doing this with ebooks and paperbacks, why do you keep making them?

Perhaps, and this is just a thought, the main objection to creating audiobooks could stem from the fact that Amazon is not allowing digitally narrated books on their site. When it comes down to it, I think a lot of authors are still obsessed with Amazon. I think authors decide that if they can’t do something on Amazon, then it’s not worth doing at all. Personally, I think it’s just a matter of time before Amazon will set up a program like Google play has where you can upload your file and get a converted into an audiobook using digital narration. At this point in time, I expect a lot of authors to jump on this. But for now, the question really is whether or not you think having your books an audio form on a platform that is not Amazon is worth it. And a lot of authors will say, “No it’s not worth it.”

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know what I think about Amazon. This is one company that has treated authors like crap. Ever since 2011, I have had problems with Amazon. I have had more problems with Amazon than I have had with any other retailer. That is why I never go into Kindle Unlimited. I have stayed wide this entire time, and I will continue to do so. Even if I end up, making no money at all on my books, I will not jump in the Kindle Unlimited. I will not be under the thumb of a company who has the power to destroy my entire author career. The safest bet is to be wide, to be in as many retailers as you can. If something does happen on Amazon, you have other places where your readers can find you. You don’t have to start from scratch and hope you can build a platform on those other retailers. It’s easier to just do it from the beginning, even if the money isn’t as great.

Google Play, and Apple are offering readers like me, who struggle with reading a book, the option to listen to them. Authors do not have to be exclusive to Amazon, to do a human narrated book where the author hast to split the royalties with a narrator. When Amazon does this, Amazon also puts the price tag on the book. And these books can be expensive compared to e-books. With Google Play, I get to set my own price. Since this is done with digital narration, I don’t have to pay an aerator to do this, and to be honest, I could not afford to pay an aerator, because I no longer make the kind of money that would allow me to do that. The only way I can get my books into audio form. These days is to have a retailer like Google, let me do it for free on their platform. Google takes a cut of the sale when I sell an audiobook and I get the rest. I use draft a digital to get my books and the audio form on apple. Draft 2 Digital takes a cut, and Apple takes a cut, I get the rest. In this case, I suggest a price, and I do suggest a price or I have the e-books for that, but Apple and Draft 2 Digital price it a bit higher. I have no control over that. It’s a small price difference from Google Play, but it’s still cheaper than what you would find on Amazon. I’m not making big bucks over there, but it’s more important to me that I am able to listen to my own books because I cannot longer physically read them. I got into this writing gig so I could read my own stuff. I wasn’t thinking of sales. I am my own customer. The decisions I make about my books, or whether or not, I get benefit from it as a reader.

But your reason for writing may be different from mine, and if it is, then you have to decide whether or not making audiobooks is worth it to you. If it’s not, don’t do it. But please do not ask people like me, who have trouble reading, to read your books, because we can’t physically do it.

What Dictation Looks Like & Reflections on Being a Writer

On my laptop is a feature that allows me to dictate what I’m saying. This is on the laptop which I bought in February of this year. On the F5 key is a microphone, and when I hit this microphone, I am able to speak the words you are reading right now in the sport post. As you can see from the previous sentence, this is not perfect. I did not say sport post. I said blog post. Obviously, clarity and how I speak plays a role in this.

Well, I don’t expect this feature to be perfect, I am left wondering how much of this is a viable option when I am dictating a story using my word program. For example, I did not start the last sentence with the last word “well”. I started it with the word “while”. “Well” and “while” sound similar. Words like this will make it harder to know what I was really saying. Sure, the fact that these words came at the beginning of a sentence, makes it easier to decipher what I was trying to say, but there will be times where these inconsistencies occur in the middle of a sentence. That can change the whole meaning of a sentence. I am not sure I can even go back and reread what I spoke in order to clean up these messages. Messes such as the one that just occurred at the beginning of the sentence and at the end of the last sentence. I did not say “messages”. I said “messes”, and I had to physically type “messes” in because no matter how many times I said, the correct word, the program did not understand it. These are the kind of errors that makes dictation a huge pain in the butt.

Other errors likely to occur will be incorrect spelling of a word. The English language has some words that have the same sound, but based on their meaning, they will have different ways of spelling them. While this program does a good job of picking out most of these, nothing is perfect, and this could end up being a nightmare for someone who reads through this and tries to clean it up to edit it in order to get it ready for publication. Let’s say, I mean the word “discrete”. But I meant DISCREET, not the word that just came up in the last sentence. Granted, I have been known to make this mistake while typing, but those mistakes would be few, and far between because most the time I will get the right spelling for the word.

While the technology is impressive, it cannot compensate for every mistake. Someone has to go over the words to read them. I cannot just speak the book and have it ready for an editor. I would have to have someone come in and clean it up. That would take considerable time. The way I figure it, it will take anywhere between 30 minutes to 1 hour to do one chapter. I cannot expect anyone to do this amount of work for free. I don’t think my eyes can tolerate doing this work without substantial breaks and time. I just got through editing, the Earls jilted bride, and my eyes needed a break for well over a week after that. The longer the book, the more intense edits are. It gets even more complicated when you have to look at punctuation, because even though I speak the punctuation as I’m saying it, it doesn’t always come out correctly.

The average cost of an assistant is $15 an hour. Sometimes it’s more if the assistant has more experience. I figured that it would cost me anywhere between $350-$500 to pay someone to go through and clean up the Dictation on my book. That is in addition to the other expenses that go into publishing a book. One of the most frustrating things writers have to deal with is this idea that it’s so easy to write a book, and because it’s so easy, the book should be free. I don’t mind offering a free book from time to time. I have quite a few books that are permanently free. But I, like other writers out there, cannot offer every single book free. In order to keep writing and publishing books, writers have to make more on the book then it cost to produce the book. And right there in the last sentence, the “then” should have been “than”. Yet another error that has to be compensated for when someone is reading over what I dictate.

To get back to my point, however, this idea that authors are greedy for asking for money for their work is tiresome. We do a lot of work when we write our books and get them ready for publication. It takes time and effort to produce a story that people will enjoy. Books don’t magically pop up out of nowhere. There is a lot of work people never see that goes into making a book. The love of storytelling is what propels us to do this, but we can get burned out because this is not an easy job to be in. For one, it doesn’t pay very much for most writers. I know there is a lot of bragging from the six-figure authors, but keep in mind that most authors are not making that. Most authors aren’t even making enough to pay their bills. The worst part is that it seems that no matter how much we do to create a professional product, we can’t please everybody. There’s always someone out there, who will have a complaint, and no matter what the complaint is, the customers always say this right, so the writer is left to just suck it up. And on top of that, you have to worry about people, stealing your work, and publishing it as if it’s their own. So no, it is not wrong for us to ask to be paid for book. In order to be able to afford producing a book, we have to make the money. In order to have a viable business, we have to make a profit. In short, I don’t think I can afford an assistant to go over all of my chapters in the book that I dictate. The cost is too great. I am not making the kind of money I used to make.

And this brings me, in a roundabout way, to my point of this entire post. My eyes just may not be able to handle this. I have been off the computer for three days now. My eyes have felt like normal. I had a headache around my eye, but I think that stem more from stress than eyestrain. I have a lot going on in my personal life. It’s not necessarily bad, but I do pretty much run around from sun up to sundown every day, and that’s not even time on the computer. During the course of dictating this post, I have made an effort to clean up some of the errors the dictation is making. I guess at the moment, when I feel fine, but I have had some interruptions along the way, so I have been on the computer for a total of two hours on and off. If writing is like this with a Dictation software I just don’t know if I’m up for this. It’s more than dry eye. It’s eye strain. I have seen the ophthalmologist and optometrist. There is nothing structurally wrong with my eyes. I have the narrow tear ducks, and my eyes don’t produce enough oil, which is why I’m having dry; however, I really do believe all of the years I sat in front of a computer screen hour after hour, day, after day, month, after month, without any sufficient breaks, has contributed to the condition I am currently in. This is something that I don’t think most people will see in writing groups.

In writing groups, authors are encouraged to do whatever it takes to get those words on the page. There are books about writing 5000 words in a day. Sometimes are books about writing your first draft in a week. I think that is horrible advice. By advice to writers, is it take care of your eyes. Maybe you’ll be fine. Maybe you can’t go for a long period of time and not be affected the way I have been, but if I could go back in time, I would have told myself to slow down and to take those breaks. Have a feeling that my future self would tell my current self to take those walks, to spend the time cooking meals that are high in nutrients instead of taking a shortcut and getting prepackaged, pre-processed foods. I do not want to end up on medication, and I don’t want to end up going to a doctors office all the time. I am currently in good shape except for my eyes. My priority is going to be my health. My second priority is going to be my family and my friends. My kids are on the cusp of adulthood where they will start moving out. I want to spend as much time with them as I can while they are still here. I am lucky that I have friends in that I can spend time with. And, so let’s not leave him out, my husband needs some time and attention too. He and I have been married for 23 years, and we still date. I think that’s important. I don’t only love reading and writing about romance, but I have been very lucky to have the kind of marriage that I like to portray in my books. Relationships need to be nurtured, just like our health.

I am going to end a post here. I did my best to edit the errors I found, except for the ones that I wanted to point out. I will say that I was going back quite a few times to correct things so that people could understand what I was saying. However, I am sure there are errors that I missed along the way.

Thanks for the feedback…and an update on my eye situation and my game plan going forward.

I appreciate the feedback I received in the poll I posted close to two weeks ago. There’s so much information out there on the internet telling authors what to do. Given my limitations, I can only do so much. There’s no point in wasting my time on avenues no one here is interested in.

Ebooks

I already have been doing this, but it’s nice to see where people prefer to get my books so I know where to focus my efforts. I have had no real interest over at Payhip. I will start linking BookFunnel to new releases on Payhip. I don’t know if the couple of people who said they were interested in BookFunnel are interested in buying through BookFunnel at Payhip. I did add Secret Admirer to BookFunnel as a “direct sale”. I will address this more below in the “BookFunnel” portion of this post.

But in the meantime, I will continue to keep uploading my books on as many retailer sites as I am able to, and I’m very happy to see that a variety of retailers were selected in the poll I ran.

Paperbacks

It’s going to be a slow process because I have so many books, but I have found someone to help me with making the paperback covers look better. I am focusing my efforts on the new books and will slowly go through the old ones. I had to stop using Amazon’s dashboard to make paperbacks. I switched everything to Draft2Digital, and they use Ingram’s printing system. The books can still be sent out to retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If I think about it, I’ll add links over here on my blog as I get these new additions up. (I might forget, so if there is a specific paperback you want to buy, let me know either in a comment on this blog or by filling out this form: https://ruthannnordinbooks.com/contact/ from my main website.

Audiobooks

I’m happy to see interest in these. These days, I can only “read” books that are in audio form unless they are short stories. I have everything up on Google Play and some on Kobo. I don’t know if anyone is interested in the Kobo audiobooks. I know I have an interest at Google Play because I can see that in my dashboard. I can only put audiobooks on Apple through Draft2Digital, and right now, I only have Secret Admirer and Midnight Wedding in that dashboard. The other romances are on my Smashwords dashboard. As for Audible and Amazon, that is all through ACX, and at the moment, they do not allow AI (or digital) narration. When they open that up to authors and allow me to use their AI technology to create audiobooks there, I will do so, BUT only if this option allows me to be wide with the audiobooks. I will not be exclusive to any retailer. I want my books to be widely available because not everyone wants to use the same retailer.

BookFunnel

I already put my ebooks on multiple retailers, but the one place I haven’t done that garnered interest was BookFunnel. That one will be slow going because I can only be on the computer a couple days a week. I have given this thought and have decided I will focus first on the books I currently have available for free since ARCs and the group promos are the most popular features on that site. I did set up a sales page for Secret Admirer over there at this link if anyone wants to see it. Ironically, the only way I can do a “direct sale” on BookFunnel is through Payhip, and I already have my books available over there. I don’t know how beneficial adding a “purchase direct” option is. This is the link for that. I am new to BookFunnel. Perhaps there is an easier way around this, but at the moment, I am having trouble making this easy to find within BookFunnel itself.

My guess is that I have to join group promos to be easy to find over there.

I haven’t tried to run an ARC or post a landing page over there yet. I can only handle one thing at a time. My priority is getting new books out there, and I’ve been struggling with this. I do want to figure out how to run an ARC campaign, but right now, I haven’t had the time to scroll through the information on doing this.

Regarding my eyes and my plan moving forward:

I went in for an eye check with an ophthalmologist last week to compare the results with what the optometrist found. The results didn’t find much difference, except that in addition to the narrow tear ducts, I also don’t produce enough oil under my eyelids. While this is good news, I have to figure out how to best take care of them.

One thing I am looking into is altering my diet. I believe that the healthier I am, the better my eyes will be. While eye drops are an option, I would rather not rely on them if I don’t have to. (By the way, the ophthalmologist warned against eye drops for “red eye” like the Visine I used to take. Those particular drops damage the eyes. So avoid anything that takes care of “red eyes”. You’re better off with something like Systane Complete.)

My second plan is to restrict all screen time. This will mean writing less books, and I am pretty much done marketing in any meaningful way. Getting off of social media was a smart move. I was slow in responding to emails before, so I feel bad that I’ll be even slower now, but even screen time on the phone has it’s problems. It all strains my eyes. Reading things on paper or in magazines also strain my eyes. I just can’t do these things like I used to. If I can’t listen to it, it’s pretty much out of the question. This is a challenge since I have always been more of a visual learner. For example, when I could read the Bible, I understood is so much better than I am now that I have to listen to it. Fiction is easier, and I can get engaged well with those in audio. But nonfiction, like the Bible, is something else.

My third plan is to incorporate a lot of outdoor time to my schedule. I have found that going out for walks has had a great impact on improving my eyes, especially when it’s warm and sunny out. Thankfully, I am in state now where there is a longer summer season. In Montana, it got cold around early October, and I was not able to start back up with my walks until some time in April. In Nebraska, the length of time for walking extends longer. I was able to start walking this year in March, and there were days in February where it was warm enough (with my coat on, of course) where I could get out.

My goal will be publishing three books a year.

I think I can make this happen. Last year, I was very slow. This year, I have been slow, too. I think my new pace is just going to be three books a year. I used to handle six to eight, and while a part of me is disheartened that I have to slow down, I’ll have to adjust to this. Even dictating won’t change this. I stumble with talking a blog post or a book just like I stumble at listening to nonfiction. It doesn’t come easily to me. Also, in dictation, there are errors that pop up that require more editing time to resolve. I might find I’m better off typing slower instead of having to edit something that’s been dictated. Whatever is the easiest way, I’ll do that. I’m sure there will be some trial and error on this front as I proceed forward.

I am going to aim for three days a week on the computer. I used to do five. Those five days were also fit with about five hours (on and off as I did chores). Now I am going to limit myself to three hours on my computer day. This includes writing, editing, marketing, emails, and stuff for the accountant. That will make things tighter on how much I can get done. I am not sure how I will balance all of this yet. My son isn’t really all that interested in helping me out, though he has been my “eyes” in the last blog post and in a few emails. He was also the one who told me what features BookFunnel had before I signed up for it. But this isn’t a passion for him like it is for me. I can’t even begin to describe how “excited” he was to read The Earl’s Jilted Bride for me so I could edit it through him. I had to keep asking him to slow down and speak up since all he wanted to do was get it over with. My husband has even less interest in it. These are initial edits, and initial edits are where rewrites happen. So it’s not a simple proofread.

I was hoping to get The Earl’s Jilted Bride out in September. I think I’ll have to wait for October now. Worth the Risk is planned for January. My edits used to take one month. Now they are going to two months. I admit this is frustrating, but I need to remember the quality of the book is more important than speed, and it’s not worth damaging my eyes more than I’ve already damaged them with all of the screen time I’ve put them under for the past 15 years.

What avenue(s) would you like to see my books published in?

I’ve been listening to different articles and podcasts on the many places authors can put their books and what formats authors can use to get their books out into the world. There are a lot of options out there, and it can get quite overwhelming. I am not interested in trying to reach out to the entire world. My main concern is reaching you, the readers of this blog. Below, I am going to place a couple of polls. It would help me out a lot if you would answer them. It’s possible that I am missing something, so feedback in the comments would be most appreciated.

Method in Storytelling: Adding Layers to Your Work

I recently watched the movie Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Upfront, I’ll warn everyone that this is a really dark story. It’s classified as horror, and yes, there are some “icky” moments, though it’s not really a slasher kind of film. There are strong psychological elements that dominate over the physical gore, and it’s these psychological elements that make the story a good one. There are several posts a person could write about this particular movie, but I want to discuss the value of adding layers to a story because this movie does that in a brilliant way.

Before I go into that, I’ll sum up the story. Years ago, there was a barber named Benjamin Barker who had a wife (Lucy) and baby daughter (Johanna). A judge happened to lust after his wife, so he convicted Benjamin of a crime he didn’t commit then sent him off with the hopes Lucy would be with him. The movie opens with Benjamin’s return, except now he calls himself Sweeny Todd, and he looks for his wife and daughter, only to be told that Lucy poisoned herself. Meanwhile, Johanna is now the judge’s ward. Sweeny vows to get his revenge on the judge by slitting his throat.

That pretty much sets the stage for the movie.

Spoilers ahead…

I will be spoiling this movie as I dive into the layers I discovered while watching it. Keep in mind that not every story will be able to incorporate these layers. It might be that only one layer will work. It might be a layer I didn’t mention here will work better for your specific story. Each story is unique and should be given the layer(s) best suited for it. Never try to force a layer into your story that shouldn’t be there. The best stories are organically written. You don’t want to force the story to be something it’s not intended to be.

Some layers to consider in storytelling that I found in the movie:

Put in something that readers won’t know until the end that changes the entire reading experience when they read the book again.

The best compliment a reader can get is that their story was so good that someone read it again. After watching this movie the first time, I had to go back and watch it again because I knew that if I watched it a second time after knowing the “twist”, then the movie would be a different experience. As stated above, not every story will have this twist in it, but it is a layer that is effective. But if you can use that “twist”, it will change the reading experience the second time around. Below, I’ll explain what I mean.

In this movie, there is a homeless woman who pops up from time to time. She doesn’t have a large role. She seems to be an “add on” that is just there, like wallpaper in a room. For most of the movie, I even kept wondering why she was even there. It turns out that this woman was Lucy. You don’t find this out until the final scene, and the moment I found out this homeless woman’s identity, I knew I was going to have to watch the movie again so I could put that piece of the puzzle into the story. At the beginning of the story, Mrs. Lovett tells Sweeny Todd that Lucy poisoned herself. At the end, we find out Mrs. Lovett didn’t add that Lucy survived the attempted suicide. Now it makes sense why this homeless woman was outside the judge’s house watching Johanna in the window and why this homeless woman knew the house was locked up tight (hinting that Lucy had made attempts to get her daughter out of there but was unable to.) Now it also makes sense as to why Mrs. Lovett is constantly telling the boy to “throw the woman out” every time the homeless woman showed up in her shop. Mrs. Lovett knows who Lucy is and is determined to keep Lucy and Sweeny Todd apart. So it’s really fascinating what little things you notice the second time around that you didn’t notice before.

It was fun to go back and pick out these details, and I suspect readers would have a fun time doing the same in your story if you can manage to put something or someone into the story that works like this.

Have characters doing the same thing but in different ways.

I think of this technique as a compare and contrast sort of strategy in storytelling.

In the movie, it doesn’t seem like it from the start, but it turns out that Mrs. Lovett is just like the judge. While you know the judge is corrupt and driven by lust from the beginning, you are led to believe that Mrs. Lovett, while amoral, sincerely has Sweeny Todd’s best interest at heart. It’s not until the end that you realize both the judge and Mrs. Lovett are doing the same thing in different ways. Both want to keep Sweeny Todd and Lucy apart. While the judge sends Sweeny away for life on a trumped up charge, Mrs. Lovett simply chooses to let Sweeny think that Lucy is dead. So the goal is the same. The methods are different. And this adds an interesting layer to the story. While Sweeny knows his enemy is the judge, he thinks Mrs. Lovett is his friend.

Again, this can’t be used in every story, but if you can use it, then it’ll add another layer to the story you’re telling.

Have characters say the same words but make those words have different meanings.

Another layer I found in this movie is that Sweeny’s “love” for his blades is mirrored by Mrs. Lovett’s love for him. This is best appreciated while watching the way the two actors perform the song “My Friends”. It’s obvious he has no interest in her while she shows an interest in him.

At times, they sing the same lyrics. For example, “You’re warm in my hand” and “splendors you never have dreamed all your days” have different meanings to him and to her.

A fun storytelling technique is having characters the same thing that only the readers knows conveys different meanings. This is the benefit of third person point of view, by the way. In first person, you can’t get this duality because you’re only in one character’s head through the entire story. But in third person, you’re able to get into two or more characters’ heads, and that can help you use this particular layer if it fits what you’re doing.

Another layer that isn’t in the movie but I find fun is this:

Have something that only the reader knows. It can be that only one character (or even none) know something, and during the course of the story, it’s never reveals to another character. I’ll give an example. I wrote a story years back where a secondary character is believed to have murdered his wife, but it’s only when I gave a flashback scene from that character’s point of view that the reader realizes her death was an accident. That secondary character ended up dying, and the other characters went on believing he murdered her. So it’s a secret only the reader gets to discover. You can use this strategy in many ways, and in some cases, it can change the way the reader views the character or the story, even even both. It depends on how it fits into the storyline.

My point is that not every single thing needs to be spelled out on the page. There doesn’t always need to be this “big reveal” moment between two characters for the story to be effective. In fact, sometimes it’s what the character doesn’t say (or doesn’t even know) that makes the story better.

Show the struggle between good and evil within one character.

Another layer I found in the movie is the struggle between grief (and the “good” side of Sweeny) vs. the need for vengeance (the “evil” side of Sweeny). The song Epiphany best shows this, though we do get other hints at it during the movie. I’m sharing the song because it makes this struggle stand out the best. Sweeny goes back and forth in this song from mourning his wife’s death and the fact that he can’t see his daughter versus the need for revenge, which he believes will give him peace.

The evil side wins in this movie, which it must if there is to be a movie with this kind of plot. It’s only at the very end where Sweeny comes to his senses, as it were, and realizes he’s turned into a monster. The theme of this story is how revenge ends up ruining you, and the story does this theme very well.

Maybe your story will call for the evil to win out, too. I write romance, so good always triumphs in the character, but there are stories that must go the other way. It depends on the story’s purpose. As a writer, you’re going for the biggest impact because the biggest impact is what makes the story strong. Strong stories are memorable stories. They might not be the ones that sell the most, but they are the ones that have the biggest emotional impact on those who enjoy them. Though tragic and dark, I love this story. I keep going back to it to dive deeper into the storytelling elements I found, and there are more elements than the layers.

Regarding the emotional struggle within a character, you shouldn’t have every character in your story struggle. You need some, like Mrs. Lovett and the judge, who remain constant in order to best appreciate the struggle that one character is going through. If every character struggles in the story, then the story gets convoluted. Then the story loses its impact because the reader has to experience “angst” for a bunch of characters. Keep it simple. Sweeny is the only one who struggles in this movie, and, as a result, it makes him a more compelling character.

***

A final note:

I don’t suggest you watch the movie if you don’t have the stomach for it. It contains blood and a nod toward cannibalism. These are not easy subjects. It’s definitely a mature movie. But if you want to see what good storytelling is like, this movie is an excellent example of it. For one, each character has a purpose. Two, the main characters are well-developed. Three, there are no loose ends. Four, the ending delivers. Mrs. Lovett dies. The judge dies. Lucy, though innocent in all of this, dies, but it’s through her death that Sweeny realizes he’s become a monster, and that final moment of clarity is satisfying to see. It’s proof, I think, that there was a piece of Benjamin still left in him. Once upon a time, I read that a tragic ending can be the best ending for a story if it satisfies. Typically, tragedies don’t deliver, but this one did.

Midnight Wedding is Now Available!

This is the 2nd book in the Marriage by Obligation Series!

(To view all of the books in this series, go to this link.)

Guy Milton, the Earl of Quinton, has been kidnapped in the middle of the night by a beautiful blonde lady and her two redheaded brothers. If you’ve read The Cursed Earl and Secret Admirer, then you’ll recall Guy never does anything without carefully consider all of the consequences. So imagine how he must feel being forced out of London in the middle of the night and taken to a country estate filled with all sorts of things the spell doom.

This romance mixes the gothic genre with humor. Other gothic romances I’ve done have been in the Marriage by Fairytale Series. (These books included The Marriage Contract, One Enchanted Evening, The Wedding Pact, Fairest of Them All, and The Duke’s Secluded Bride.) Other comedic romances I’ve done are Kidnapping the Viscount, Nobody’s Fool, His Reluctant Lady, and Taming the Viscountess. If you enjoyed those books, you should enjoy this one, too.

Characters featured in this book are as follows:

Guy Milton (Lord Quinton) – He’s our hero and a firm believer in superstition. He doesn’t do anything without carefully considering his options.

Lydia Hamilton – She’s the heroine. With her family’s estate teetering on bankruptcy, she’s desperate to marry someone. To her brothers’ bafflement, she picks the one gentleman that no other lady would approach with a ten-foot pole.

Felix Hamilton (Lord Roland) – Lydia’s older brother. Not given to superstition, he has to spend the next month stuck at his country estate while Guy looks for bad luck in every nook and cranny. This is not a task that is easy for someone who values reason and logic…except when it comes to monsters.

Oscar Hamilton – Lydia’s younger brother. Besides, Lydia, he is the most unaffected by Guy’s “quirks”. Guy would like to say he’s not affected by Oscar, but Oscar is a sloppy eater who would be happy working alongside rats if Guy didn’t insist he set out some traps.

If this sounds like your type of book, you can find it here:

Ebook Version:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Apple

Google Play

Smashwords

Scribd

Radish

Audiobook Version (Narrated by AI):

Google Play

*I will post a link when this is on audio in the Apple store.