Debbie Bennett's Blog, page 13

Google's Author Information

Came across an article tucked in the back of this month's Writers' News. To be honest, I don't really understand it, but in the hopes that some of you more internet-savvy people might get a grip on it, I thought I'd explain a bit.

Apparently Google is trying to come up with a way that internet content such a blog posts can be verified and attributed back to an author. It uses an HTML tag rel=author to do this. This tag links your post to your verified Google+ profile.

Now this means you have to create a Google+ profile. I did one a while back, but never went any further with Google+ (Circles? What are they all about, then?)

Setting this feature up may mean that Google will rank anything by a verified profile higher in its search engine, which may mean your posts are more easily visible and your content more accessible.

Check the link out for more information on how to set it all up. I think I've done it, so will have to wait a bit and see if it works with Google searches.

Write what you know?

Well that's just plain wrong, isn't it? Write what you know? Personally, I've never been on a spaceship - does that mean I can't write science fiction? And I doubt whether Agatha Christie was a closet mass murderer or Tolkien had hobbits and elves at the bottom of his garden.

Flip it around. Know what you write. Now that sounds better. How can you write a convincing murder trial if you've never seen a court except in films or on tv? They only show you the interesting bits on television and not the hours of tedious apparently irrelevant questions designed to trip up a witness. I once spent an entire day giving evidence for the prosecution - it might sound exciting, but in reality it consisted of endlessly reciting serial numbers of pieces of computer equipment that I'd taken from a house somewhere during the course of an investigation. Presumably defence counsel hoped I'd get a number wrong at some point and they'd then try to convince the jury that all the rest of my evidence must be mistaken too.

But most courts are open to the public. You can sit in the gallery and watch the proceedings and hopefully write your novel with an edge of authenticity. The smell of the place, the tension, the expressions on the faces of the victims and witnesses. The old lady juror trying to stay awake, the coffee machine and the airport-style security.

So you can't find a local spaceship pilot to show you around? Then research. The internet is a marvellous tool - or cheat a little and see how other authors have done it. One of the best novels I know which describes spaceflight is Stephen Baxter's Ark . Although I was less than impressed with the shoddy formatting of this novel in its conversion to an e-book, the story itself is impressive in how Baxter describes spaceflight - both the physics and the more mundane aspects of actually living long-term in close confinement on a spacecraft.

Vampires? Or other paranormal creatures? They may not exist, but there is an accepted tradition now, certain tropes of the genre to describe their behaviour and habits. You can go with the flow and your readers will follow - or you can break out of the mould and take a new sparkly approach. You have a choice.

I've done some weird things in my life so far. I can accurately describe heroin down to texture, smell and taste. But I can do the same with horse manure and cow dung, having walked through the streets of Chester liberally coated in the stuff as a teenager (the Chester raft race still goes on. I participated as a teenager with the Wirral Sub Aqua Club).

And when all else fails, there's always imagination. Use it. Be there on that distant planet or that dark alleyway and your readesr will be there with you.

A Recent Review

I don't think I've ever posted one of my own reviews - but J Wilkin just so "got" what I was trying to achieve...

This novel, with its frightening plot of teenage sexual and drug abuse is taken to the limits. I admit, I was out of my comfort zone entirely; not my usual genre. And yet...I was drawn right down into the dark underbelly of the seedy side of the city. We know it's all there; the drugs and the rent boys, but what makes this book exceptional is the way the author has taken the victim - a nice middle class lad who could be anyone's son, brother, boyfriend - and thrust him into the worst case scenario one could imagine. My heart was thoroughly wrenched.

The author's personal criminal knowledge shines through, the characters are skillfully drawn and it is well paced, leading to a most dramatic finale. It is explicit, but it is real and very chilling.

Thank you!

Writers on the Web

If you're an indie and/or self-published writer, you may have heard such terms as authonomy, ywo, webook or bookcountry bandied around blogs and facebook posts. What are all these weird and wonderful things or places, what do they have in common and what use are they to you?

They are all writers' critique sites, peer-review systems variously sponsored by publishers, arts councils or other sources of funding. The idea is that you upload a portion of your work-in-progress and receive feedback, in return for which you offer feedback on other writers' work. The big shiny carrot is often the "chance of publication" by one means or another; although many may appear to be misleading and offering false hopes to writers, it's often more the case that writers view these sites through rose-tinted glasses and expect (or feel entitled to) a great deal more than is actually on offer. Having said that, some of the sites below may offer assisted publication of one sort or another, or links to CreateSpace and other print-on-demand suppliers.

So are they any good? I guess that depends on what you want to get out of them - and what you are prepared to put into them. And whether you want or need feedback or comments on your writing. Each site is subtly different in terms of user demographic, quality and quantity of feedback offered and operating rules.

I've been a member of all 4 above at different times with varying levels of participation. Bear in mind that these are just my opinions based on my own participation - sites change and evolve and you may have altogether different experiences.  

YouWriteOn started up in 2006 with Arts Council funding. It's a quid pro quo system - you review a randomly-assigned book and earn a "credit" which you can spend to get a review of your book. You read your assigned extract, write a review of a minimum length and then answer author-set questions (designed to "prove" that you have actually read the extract, although it's really very easy to fool the system by copying the text into word and searching for key terms). You also have to award stars for different elements of the book (characterisation, plot, dialogue etc). Pros: It's hard to game the system or mutually-inflate your mate's book, since you can't choose what you read. Cons: You can't choose what you read. Also, in the time I was there, there were dubious levels of consistency in the stars awarded. Carrot: Review of top-scoring books by leading publishers/agents. 

Authonomy started in late 2007 in beta with 100 users, then opened to all in 2008. Owned and run by HarperCollins UK. Here you can read, comment, vote and shelve what you like when you like - and others can do the same for you. Books move up the chart on a complex algorithm based on how often your book is on how many bookshelves and the "talent-spotter" rating of the shelf-owner! Pros: Feedback can be very detailed and constructive. Cons: Easy to game system, plus feedback can often be little more than variations of "Loved it. Shelved it. Can you please shelve my book too?"  Carrot: Review by HC editor for top books, and several books from site have been picked up by HC and other publishers for traditional publication.

Bookcountry is Penguin's offering. Similar in operation to authonomy, you can read and comment on whatever you wish. As an author you can set topics for feedback and get stars awarded for these topics. Books become buzz books and favourites and top-scoring books are featured on the site. Pros: A good place to maintain a presence to attract readers. And feedback can often be detailed and useful. Cons: No real "charts" to climb, if that's what you're after. Carrot: Various agents and editors allegedly scout the site.

[image error] Webook. I'm not entirely sure who owns and runs this. It's very different from the first three in that it consists of several rather-complex "rounds". You post a single page and people vote 5* (elevate to next round) down to 1* (toss in bin). Based on a length of time/number of votes, your piece may make it through to the next round, when you can post a chapter for the same fate. And so on. It's a bit like being an agent, I guess. And there's also a list of participating agents you can submit to via the system. Pros: Excellent lesson in what really does work in a first paragraph/first page. Rate 20 first pages in quick succession and you can see your own work in a new light. Cons: It costs $3.95 to enter each piece of writing and your work can score highly then bomb for no apparent reason. Carrot: You can "win", though I don't know what winning means...

Most of the above sites have forums of a sort. Authonomy is the only forum I've participated in to any extent. It's most definitely toxic at times (but then I'm seeing more and more internet flame-wars these days, particularly where writing is concerned), but I have to say I've made some wonderful friends there, many of whom I'm sure will remain friends for a long time. Many of them are also talented writers, whose work I have enjoyed reading.

And if you're a reader, but not a writer, these sites are still open to you. Feel free to look around and comment on other peoples' books. Pure readers are often like gold dust - they have no ulterior motives and nothing to gain by giving good or bad reviews so are often seen as far more honest than the writers.

You have nothing to lose except time!

Tales From the Closet

Are you a secret writer? Or do you shout about it at every opportunity?

I work at Cheshire Police Headquarters. It's a big lovely new building in Cheshire with excellent facilities (restaurant, sports hall, gym). There's a large workforce - both police officers and staff and inevitably there are a few writers amongst us! Back in March last year, I got together with a few of them and we had a table in the corner of the restaurant selling books - at least they did. Since I only have ebooks, I just had some cards and sat there and tried to look like I knew what I was doing.

One of the guys writes thrillers like I do. He frequently posts on our intranet bulletin board advertising his books. I don't. Quite apart from the fact that I don't have any actual physical goods to sell, I just can't bring myself to do it.

I mean what if people I know actually read my books? I'm not overly concerned with whether or not they like them, although obviously it'd be great if they liked my stories and thought I was a good writer. But if they read my books, they'll read the whole story - and there are some bits that really aren't very nice. I don't write chick-lit, or fluff, or romance - not that there is anything wrong with them and I do occasionally read them, but I couldn't write them. No, I write some dark and nasty stuff and I do wonder whether people I know start looking at me differently, wondering how I could dream up such stuff, never mind commit it to paper/computer file. It must be the same for erotica writers - many of them write under pseudonyms for precisely that reason, because otherwise the people in the office would think they were just, well, maybe a bit kinky?

I do write nice stuff too. Edge of Dreams is YA fantasy and quite suitable for all to read. But it doesn't sell in anything like the quantities that Hamelin's Child does. Maybe because I don't promote it nearly as much, but maybe because it's a better story. Or as a very recent amazon review said: ... a story that doesn't so much hook you as grab you by the throat and force you to keep turning the pages until the very end.

I know people at work have bought my ebooks. I know they've read them. And sometimes I'm in the lift with guys and I'm wondering whether they're looking at me and seeing my books and whether they think I'm a bit weird, if not downright dangerous.

May Update

I've neglected this blog a bit lately. Been busy writing, setting up part of the new AuthorsElectric website and other mostly mundane things. If you look at the Authors Electric blog site, you'll see we've had over 23 thousand hits in the last 30 days. That's a lot of people looking at our stuff! Mostly due to the concerted efforts of those AE members who did a massive free book promotion to coincide with World Book Night.

So - sales of my ebooks are still riding high. I've started thinking about a cover for Paying the Piper - maybe this will provide some much-needed motivation?  JT Lindroos did my covers for Edge & Hamelin and he's kindly agreed to do Piper for me too, so there'll be some continuity and it will actually look like a follow-on novel. Watch this space!

Delivery Deals

"Where's Melanie?"            "Who?" The woman turned in the doorway. She seemed genuinely puzzled.            "My daughter," Amanda elaborated. "Is she here?" In a moment she'd ripped open her bag and tossed the envelope onto the table. "There. Now tell me where my baby is."            "I was going to make coffee." The woman came back into the room. "But you seem to be in a hurry. I don't know anything about Melanie, I'm afraid."            "Do you live here?" Michael asked.            She shook her head, blonde curls bobbing. "On and off." Opening the drawer in the sideboard, she pulled out a tablecloth and spread it half-folded across the table. Then she picked up the envelope. "It's been opened?"            Michael could see dark roots in her hair as she sat down. "I wanted to see what we were carrying. Do you have a problem with that?"            "Depends. Do you know what this is?" She extracted the interior polythene bag. "Of course you do, Michael. After all, you've probably used enough of it, haven't you?"            "Where's your loo?" interrupted Amanda, making him blink and realise he'd been staring at the drugs. Fixating on the drugs. This isn't fair.            "By the stairs." The woman waved in the direction of the other door out of the conservatory. She looked up at Michael. "Have you had any of this?"            "No, I'm—"            "Clean. Yeah, they all say that. Do you want some?" she continued. "Delivery perk. There's distilled water in the fridge. Mum thinks it's for my contact lenses."            This was her parent's house, then. That made more sense. But did rich daddy know what darling daughter was up to? He wondered whether she was a user herself – what the expensive-looking, low-cut but long-sleeved top was covering up.            The scars on his arms were itching.

Sales Riding High!

For some reason, my UK sales of Hamelin's Child are going through the roof this month. I've now trebled my February sales and there are still a few days left in March. US sales are still just ticking slowly along, which is perhaps just as well as I still haven't got my tax ID sorted out - need to ring the embassy in London and check if it's OK for Andy to go on my behalf, since he's often in London for work and I've been once in the last 10 years!

Why are sales so good? What am I doing that I wasn't doing before? I suspect it's one or both of two things. The first is simply that success breeds success. Once sales reach a certain level or a specific number/day or whatever, certain algorithms kick on in amazon and the book starts appearing in "people who bought x also looked at y" type of lists - the ones you see on the screen whenever you browse amazon. The secret of these lists is to get associated with someone who sells hundreds of thousands of books in your genre and tap into their market - I don't think I'm there yet, but fingers crossed!

And then there is Authors Electric: a daily blog by professional UK authors independently publishing ebooks. Now people might quibble over the word professional, but the fact is the majority of the 28 writers involved have been and/or still are published by the traditional print publishers (generally "the big 6" or imprints thereof). Most of these writers are either publishing new work straight to ebook themselves or have the electronic rights to their other books. Remember that it's only recently that electronic rights were even thought about in standard book contracts.

I was lucky enough to be invited to join AE at its inception by fantasy writer Katherine Roberts. Over the past few months, some of the authors have been giving talks at events (I believe some of them will be at the London Book Fair in April) and involving their media contacts - with the result that the site is getting over 7,000 hits per month. It's something I'm proud to be a part of, even though I can never think of anything remotely interesting to blog about on my nominated day of 6th of each month.

Via AE, there is also indie e-book review, run by author Cally Phillips. This is one of a number of new sites aimed at showcasing and reviewing quality indie ebooks. To make it on here, a book must meet a high standard of editing and writing, as well as be a good story and not all books received are accepted for review. Hamelin was reviewed last week and I also review books for the site.

So are these the reasons for the books success? I don't suppose I'll ever know for sure. I know that I get some recommendations - old school friend Jane Spence says she promotes me to people we knew at school and for that I am grateful. School was long, long ago and very far away (and probably in a different galaxy), and I'm surprised anyone even remembers me as I don't think I made much of an impression and I didn't keep in touch with more than a handful of people!

Meanwhile I'm just enjoying the ride while it lasts and trying to get some work done on other stuff.

Small Publisher or Pure Indie? Choose Carefully

More and more I'm seeing these small press/publishers springing up. On facebook, I see people announcing the publication of their book by X and Y Publishers and I take a look out of curiosity. I want to be happy for them, really I do, but I read the first few pages on amazon and they are often riddled with errors - missing words, grammar issues and spelling mistakes.

If you self-publish as an indie, you really should hire an editor, or just a proof-reader, or even just a beta reader with a good grasp of the written language. Everything helps. It's not always about money. There are often students who will do this work for free in exchange for a reference, or you do a reciprocal read of another author's manuscript.

If you sign with a small publisher, you can be forgiven for thinking that as they are presumably taking a percentage of your earnings, you are entitled to at least a basic level of editing and proof-reading. Apparently not always. Maybe the publisher doesn't care? Maybe the publisher hasn't bothered to check, or worse still - doesn't spot errors. Or doesn't think their readers will care or notice? But by putting books out there, they are inviting criticism and sooner or later it will come. So why not make the work the best it can be before it is published in the first place?

Don't get me wrong - I have read some amazingly good books from indie authors and small publishers. Books where it's clear that both author and/or editor/publisher/whoever have taken an immense amount of care with every chapter. Check out some of the many blogs and websites that are springing up in an attempt to identify and market these books.

Indie authors - before you sign with a small publisher, please check out their website and other books they have published. The website should be immaculate - it's their shop front - and there is no excuse whatsoever for sloppy writing here. And if you find mistakes in other books, why do you think they will take any more care with yours?

Who Reviews the Reviewers?

I've got a lovely review up today at indie e-book review. It's by crime writer Chris Longmuir and I was impressed by the quality and depth of the review. But it made me think about reviews in general and how they work both for and against the writer and the reviewer.

I've been a "professional" reviewer - in that many years ago I used to get paid for book reviews by national media magazine Starburst . I've reviewed an awful lot of books for the British Fantasy Society and am still on several publishers' review lists, despite the cutbacks. I've even got into the habit now of writing brief reviews on most things I read and posting on Amazon and/or Goodreads - not least because it gives me a more balanced set of reviews, so that when I really have something to say, it gets taken more seriously. I mean do you trust an Amazon reviewer who gives everything 5* and says it's all wonderful? You need a certain amount of credibility as a reviewer before you attain any level of respect.

And that's the problem with Amazon, isn't it? Anyone can post a review (much like anyone can upload a book). And I think that's a good thing - everyone is entitled to their own opinion and really there is nothing wrong with a 5* It's awesome and a plot summary. So long as a) the reviewer doesn't do that with every book he/she reads, and b) the reviewer isn't your uncle/best friend/dad or worse still - another author who is expecting a review on their own book in return.

Reciprocal reviews are all too common amongst indie authors. I'm not sure they work and they are certainly viewed with suspicion from outside. What do you do if the book you are reading is truly awful? I'd like to think I have sufficient writing and editing experience now to be able to read and appraise/review something that may not be my choice of reading material. I've reviewed books I wouldn't have chosen to read - and have discovered some great new authors this way. But I've also tried to review books where the author really needed to engage the services of an editor before publication. And it's hard to know what to do in this case. I once even reviewed a print book by a small press by reading the first ten pages and the last ten pages ...

Reviews have different functions. Amazon reviews are meant to be almost ad copy - to sell more books, whereas Goodreads reviews are often far more discussion-orientated and the reviewer more likely to go into detail and nit-pick over everything. Reviews where you've been sent an advance review copy (ARC) by a traditional publisher are expected to be generally positive, although you can get away with the shit-sandwich style review if you're clever. But many reviews on Amazon are by trolls, disgruntled authors whose books are selling worse than yours, friends of said authors - look on these as a blessing! No, they may not be nice but potential buyers of your book will see them for what they are  and it gives you a far more balanced set of reviews. And anybody who genuinely doesn't like your book is not your intended audience anyway - this simply shows your book is reaching a wider market.

There are discussions around the net (such as here) as to whether review sites will become the new gatekeepers of quality fiction. With more and more books being uploaded onto amazon and other ebook sites, there will have to be ways of finding what you want to read. And I think reviews will become a part of this. Maybe one day, the national press might review indie books too? And then we will know we have arrived!