Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 243
November 15, 2010
Get A Free Book That Can Help You Broadcast Your Name And WebSite
If you've read previous posts or know me from Facebook or Second Life, you know my first novel will be published in March.
One thing that's become obvious over the time I've been writing the book is that pre-publication promotion is critical. There are just too many books being marketed to not get out there and do all one can to raise interest, even well before the book is written...
I started my promotion about a year before I wrote a single word of the book. Of course, I had a clear idea of what the book was going to be about and I used that year to mingle with people and get their opinions on the theme--kind of a pre-writing, pre-reader surveying activity :-) Almost all of that year was spent in Second Life--a virtual world completely created by the users. It was in that world that I realized that my "co-author", Sena Quaren from the star system, Angi, had to become even more "real" than the reality most authors will tell you their characters have. I created an avatar for Sena and set her loose in Second Life. Now, she has her own Facebook presence...
But, let me fulfill the promise of this post's title. The free book is a pre-publication copy of the novel I'll be publishing in March. It's with the copy editor now so there will be small changes. Still, I'm fairly certain the plot-arc and character interactions will stay as they are. Unless...
You read the manuscript and give me feedback that makes me change some aspect of the book. I have three and a half months left to get feedback and criticism that could make the book better than it is.
So that's the free book offer. How can it help you broadcast your name and web site?
First, I need to tell you that anyone who makes even a very small comment on the pre-publication manuscript gains the right to have their name (or, alias) placed in a special listing in the book.
It's the folks who give me substantial feedback who earn the right to have not only a Web link in that listing but also a two-line Bio. That's how important this feedback is to me. And, to be real clear, "substantial" doesn't have to mean a whole bunch of words. Some of the best feedback I've gotten so far has been very short and extremely Sweet :-)
Want to read a novel for free?
Want to help an author make it better?
Want to have your name and Bio and Web link circulating throughout the world in every copy of my book?
One thing that's become obvious over the time I've been writing the book is that pre-publication promotion is critical. There are just too many books being marketed to not get out there and do all one can to raise interest, even well before the book is written...
I started my promotion about a year before I wrote a single word of the book. Of course, I had a clear idea of what the book was going to be about and I used that year to mingle with people and get their opinions on the theme--kind of a pre-writing, pre-reader surveying activity :-) Almost all of that year was spent in Second Life--a virtual world completely created by the users. It was in that world that I realized that my "co-author", Sena Quaren from the star system, Angi, had to become even more "real" than the reality most authors will tell you their characters have. I created an avatar for Sena and set her loose in Second Life. Now, she has her own Facebook presence...
But, let me fulfill the promise of this post's title. The free book is a pre-publication copy of the novel I'll be publishing in March. It's with the copy editor now so there will be small changes. Still, I'm fairly certain the plot-arc and character interactions will stay as they are. Unless...
You read the manuscript and give me feedback that makes me change some aspect of the book. I have three and a half months left to get feedback and criticism that could make the book better than it is.
So that's the free book offer. How can it help you broadcast your name and web site?
First, I need to tell you that anyone who makes even a very small comment on the pre-publication manuscript gains the right to have their name (or, alias) placed in a special listing in the book.
It's the folks who give me substantial feedback who earn the right to have not only a Web link in that listing but also a two-line Bio. That's how important this feedback is to me. And, to be real clear, "substantial" doesn't have to mean a whole bunch of words. Some of the best feedback I've gotten so far has been very short and extremely Sweet :-)
Want to read a novel for free?
Want to help an author make it better?
Want to have your name and Bio and Web link circulating throughout the world in every copy of my book?
November 14, 2010
What Readers Want...
The title of this post might make you think I'm going to give you the top ten list of what readers want...
Thing is, I really can't be completely sure; even though it's important to me as a writer. I have many ideas about the topic and I continue to explore the issue. I absolutely need to consider what readers want, whether or not I ever figure it out. I'm a novelist and a blogger and I'd be foolish to never consider it.
Still, discovering what readers want is nowhere near being as easy as determining what dogs want, or what children want; yet, even in those areas, it depends on who the dog or child is.
Sure, there must be a few basic things all readers what but I think most of those are expressed in the negative--not to be bored, not to be talked down to, etc...
Even though I won't ever know exactly what readers want, I have one reader that I must always satisfy--Me :-)
If I don't like the way I'm writing this blog post or if the manuscript for my book isn't satisfying to me, then I have to make it better.
From my study of psychology and the many trips around the Sun I've made, there's a bit of wisdom in looking to take care of the needs of Me-the-reader--we all are more alike than we are different. And, if my writing can satisfy some of the things that make us the same, I may be forgiven by other readers for things they'd rather not see in my writing.
I've been very busy promoting my novel (due to be published in March). One thing I'm focusing on is giving away free pre-publication copies of the book and hoping that some of the readers will tell me what they like and, most importantly, what they don't like. I'm so in need of this information that I'm willing to place a reader's name (or, if they choose, an alias) in a special listing in the book. And, if certain readers give me significant feedback, I'm more than willing to add a two-line Bio and a Web link to their listing.
So, I'm hoping I can anticipate some of the things the future readers of my book will want. But, I can't leave this topic without at least indicating the ferocious battle that I wage between pleasing the reader and being true to my vision as an author. But, that's a topic for another day :-)
Thing is, I really can't be completely sure; even though it's important to me as a writer. I have many ideas about the topic and I continue to explore the issue. I absolutely need to consider what readers want, whether or not I ever figure it out. I'm a novelist and a blogger and I'd be foolish to never consider it.
Still, discovering what readers want is nowhere near being as easy as determining what dogs want, or what children want; yet, even in those areas, it depends on who the dog or child is.
Sure, there must be a few basic things all readers what but I think most of those are expressed in the negative--not to be bored, not to be talked down to, etc...
Even though I won't ever know exactly what readers want, I have one reader that I must always satisfy--Me :-)
If I don't like the way I'm writing this blog post or if the manuscript for my book isn't satisfying to me, then I have to make it better.
From my study of psychology and the many trips around the Sun I've made, there's a bit of wisdom in looking to take care of the needs of Me-the-reader--we all are more alike than we are different. And, if my writing can satisfy some of the things that make us the same, I may be forgiven by other readers for things they'd rather not see in my writing.
I've been very busy promoting my novel (due to be published in March). One thing I'm focusing on is giving away free pre-publication copies of the book and hoping that some of the readers will tell me what they like and, most importantly, what they don't like. I'm so in need of this information that I'm willing to place a reader's name (or, if they choose, an alias) in a special listing in the book. And, if certain readers give me significant feedback, I'm more than willing to add a two-line Bio and a Web link to their listing.
So, I'm hoping I can anticipate some of the things the future readers of my book will want. But, I can't leave this topic without at least indicating the ferocious battle that I wage between pleasing the reader and being true to my vision as an author. But, that's a topic for another day :-)
November 13, 2010
Revising Your Life...
Many readers never consider how many revisions a novel needs before it takes them on a journey.
The novel of my life has undergone nearly constant revision; and, some parts of me-the-protagonist just refuse to be changed. This doesn't mean me-the-writer-of-my-life doesn't get in there and attempt revision.
ReVision...
In art or life, if the Vision isn't clear enough, the story resists changing its texture.
In my novel {get a free pre-publication copy}, one of the planets is completely corporate. There are no citizens, only employees of the corporation. The corporate heads use implanted chips (inserted at birth) to mess with people's emotional states. They also give them free access to "simulated recreation" to help them "moderate" the effects of the emotional tampering.
Those nasty chips also record a person's condition. And, certain employees interact with the data by "Playing Plots". All the outcomes of all the Plots are then analysed to guide decision-making.
I think I created this bizarre society because of my life-long internal Plot Playing; essentially, writing and evaluating "scripts" for proposed action. I've often wished I could just interact with life without all this internal story-making. In fact, my internal plots are often radically revised by what other people do :-)
I think the world would be a better place if more of us would share our internal Plots--share our proposed stories--and willingly collaborate in communal revisions...
The novel of my life has undergone nearly constant revision; and, some parts of me-the-protagonist just refuse to be changed. This doesn't mean me-the-writer-of-my-life doesn't get in there and attempt revision.
ReVision...
In art or life, if the Vision isn't clear enough, the story resists changing its texture.
In my novel {get a free pre-publication copy}, one of the planets is completely corporate. There are no citizens, only employees of the corporation. The corporate heads use implanted chips (inserted at birth) to mess with people's emotional states. They also give them free access to "simulated recreation" to help them "moderate" the effects of the emotional tampering.
Those nasty chips also record a person's condition. And, certain employees interact with the data by "Playing Plots". All the outcomes of all the Plots are then analysed to guide decision-making.
I think I created this bizarre society because of my life-long internal Plot Playing; essentially, writing and evaluating "scripts" for proposed action. I've often wished I could just interact with life without all this internal story-making. In fact, my internal plots are often radically revised by what other people do :-)
I think the world would be a better place if more of us would share our internal Plots--share our proposed stories--and willingly collaborate in communal revisions...
November 12, 2010
Just Because...
This is a Non-Off-Topic post.
It's not about Reading, Writing, or Publishing...
But it is about the necessary conditions for all three of those activities, if...
We really want all our Brothers and Sisters in our Human Family to have a decent life.
It's simple.
Watch this video, then...
Do something about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take careful note of the lyric: "What won't kill you will make you strong."
It's not about Reading, Writing, or Publishing...
But it is about the necessary conditions for all three of those activities, if...
We really want all our Brothers and Sisters in our Human Family to have a decent life.
It's simple.
Watch this video, then...
Do something about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take careful note of the lyric: "What won't kill you will make you strong."
Read Me A Story ~ Help Me Dream
Long after I became an adult, a friend persuaded me to lie on the couch and let her read to me. What a wonderful experience--not like an audio book at all--as she read and I mmm-ed and oh-ed and she added sweet asides...
I think that experience gave me the courage to, many times since, become a child again--approach experience with temporarily untrained eyes, ears, and heart...
The work on my novel (due to be published in March and available as a pre-publication freebie) took me back to that unique reading experience. I became the reader and the read-to. I commented to myself and made replies to those comments and it all happened in my mind and heart...
I feel the author of a book is the first reader of that book--in more than the obvious way--the raw physical process of visible perception modulated by the brain--the author is the first reader to cast an interpretation on the words. If you ponder that idea for a bit, your brain will start gyrating--rather like what happens to me when I write :-)
Many are saying that the experience of reading is under assault by e-readers. Many praise the e-reader as a tool to train writers to re-think their craft. Many say much, most of which is pure speculation.
The writer/reader relationship is ancient and, like all things on Earth, under constant evolution.
This writer recently read another writer's words about the evolution of the reading experience... I have to say it's the first article on the subject that's made me enter the reader's swoon as the author flirts with my mind :-)
What do you, as the reader, expect from an author's words?
What do you want the words to do to you?
What was Your Favorite Read??
I think that experience gave me the courage to, many times since, become a child again--approach experience with temporarily untrained eyes, ears, and heart...
The work on my novel (due to be published in March and available as a pre-publication freebie) took me back to that unique reading experience. I became the reader and the read-to. I commented to myself and made replies to those comments and it all happened in my mind and heart...
I feel the author of a book is the first reader of that book--in more than the obvious way--the raw physical process of visible perception modulated by the brain--the author is the first reader to cast an interpretation on the words. If you ponder that idea for a bit, your brain will start gyrating--rather like what happens to me when I write :-)
Many are saying that the experience of reading is under assault by e-readers. Many praise the e-reader as a tool to train writers to re-think their craft. Many say much, most of which is pure speculation.
The writer/reader relationship is ancient and, like all things on Earth, under constant evolution.
This writer recently read another writer's words about the evolution of the reading experience... I have to say it's the first article on the subject that's made me enter the reader's swoon as the author flirts with my mind :-)
What do you, as the reader, expect from an author's words?
What do you want the words to do to you?
What was Your Favorite Read??
November 11, 2010
Social Media Blues...
I'm sitting here listening to one of my most favorite Get-Up-and-Out-of-The-Dumps songs...
I've been studying book promotion; and, social media is the core of that study.
A blog post by Elana Johnson, Dear Self: Social Media, got me up to the top of the ravine of self-hyping "experts" and listening to that song is helping me walk away into the meadow of relaxed and tranquil Web-interaction.
Self-published authors absolutely have a lot of work to do to get their books noticed. But, it certainly doesn't have to be some excruciating and torturous endeavor.
I found a sweet list of pre-publication tasks and, though it may look daunting, it can be pursued with confident exhilaration, if you decide that book promotion is a job that can be fulfilling and comforting.
We all need to stay positive and let our free will choose to be happy :-)
How do you, whatever your necessary tasks are, stay above the muck of negativity?
I've been studying book promotion; and, social media is the core of that study.
A blog post by Elana Johnson, Dear Self: Social Media, got me up to the top of the ravine of self-hyping "experts" and listening to that song is helping me walk away into the meadow of relaxed and tranquil Web-interaction.
Self-published authors absolutely have a lot of work to do to get their books noticed. But, it certainly doesn't have to be some excruciating and torturous endeavor.
I found a sweet list of pre-publication tasks and, though it may look daunting, it can be pursued with confident exhilaration, if you decide that book promotion is a job that can be fulfilling and comforting.
We all need to stay positive and let our free will choose to be happy :-)
How do you, whatever your necessary tasks are, stay above the muck of negativity?
November 10, 2010
Rules? Whose Rules??
I just posted a link about mistakes fiction writers make on my Facebook page. I agree with most of what it says, but...
I'm fairly sure you've heard it said before...
(Pick One)
* Rules are made to be broken
* Break rules intelligently/creatively
* Don't cling to a rule if it's making you break another rule
All of those rules assume that the rules are right. But, who decides if the rules are right?
The professor?
The editor?
The publisher?
The genre?
How about the Reader?
I think this is where most "good" rules come from--many authors interacting with many readers.
Sure, there are the grammarians and their buddies but one simple example blows most of their rules to shreds:
"Paul turned and said, 'With what will you do it?''" -- Wrong!
Sorry, but Paul doesn't talk like that.
I'm super curious. What do you think are "good" rules? Who do you think has the "best" rules? When is it cool to break a rule? Why did people come up with rules in the first place?
I'm fairly sure you've heard it said before...
(Pick One)
* Rules are made to be broken
* Break rules intelligently/creatively
* Don't cling to a rule if it's making you break another rule
All of those rules assume that the rules are right. But, who decides if the rules are right?
The professor?
The editor?
The publisher?
The genre?
How about the Reader?
I think this is where most "good" rules come from--many authors interacting with many readers.
Sure, there are the grammarians and their buddies but one simple example blows most of their rules to shreds:
"Paul turned and said, 'With what will you do it?''" -- Wrong!
Sorry, but Paul doesn't talk like that.
I'm super curious. What do you think are "good" rules? Who do you think has the "best" rules? When is it cool to break a rule? Why did people come up with rules in the first place?
November 9, 2010
In The Writing *Mood*...
Writers do all kinds of things to get their mood flowing just right:
- Always writing in the same place at the same time
- Always writing somewhere new
- Waiting to write till the mood arrives
- Ingesting various substances to induce the mood
- Reading certain works to ignite the mood
Then, there are those writers, like me, who listen to music...
I've recently been contemplating the writing I'll be doing after my work-in-progress
is published and that contemplation synchronistically found a very good and very
old friend--the rendition of Steely Dan's Kid Charlemagne that I first heard many
years ago, when it became my Theme Song.
They've done the song many times and each has its own flavor but the guitar solos
in the original are the perfect Gettin'-In-The-Mood music for me.
This video has that version and mashes it up with images of dust jackets and spinning vinyl--just like the old days :-)
So...
I better get this post posted and let the video take me back so I can write on..............
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What gets you in just the right mood??
- Always writing in the same place at the same time
- Always writing somewhere new
- Waiting to write till the mood arrives
- Ingesting various substances to induce the mood
- Reading certain works to ignite the mood
Then, there are those writers, like me, who listen to music...
I've recently been contemplating the writing I'll be doing after my work-in-progress
is published and that contemplation synchronistically found a very good and very
old friend--the rendition of Steely Dan's Kid Charlemagne that I first heard many
years ago, when it became my Theme Song.
They've done the song many times and each has its own flavor but the guitar solos
in the original are the perfect Gettin'-In-The-Mood music for me.
This video has that version and mashes it up with images of dust jackets and spinning vinyl--just like the old days :-)
So...
I better get this post posted and let the video take me back so I can write on..............
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What gets you in just the right mood??
November 8, 2010
So, Who Am I, *Really*?
In this blog I'm Alexander M Zoltai. On Facebook I'm Sena Quaren. But Sena says I'm her co-author. And, I've been known to say that she's my co-author...
To set things slightly straight, Sena is real--just as real as most characters in works of fiction. She's absolutely as real as any honest author's Muse. And, what makes her even more real is that she believes I'm real...
It's actually a bit more complicated than what I've said so far... I should let her speak for herself. What follows is from the prologue of the book we'll be publishing in March:
"What I say next may or may not be believed but, either way, this story is true—true as fact or true in the way fiction can rise to heights unattainable by mere facts.
"I am a woman from a star system about twelve light-years from Earth. If you choose to believe me, my story is a history lesson—how to achieve unity and peace—a lesson that Earth desperately needs. If you choose to not believe I'm real, my tale is a science fiction story about how to achieve unity and peace—a lesson that Earth desperately needs...
"I'll proceed on the premise that I am real."
Later in that prologue she explains how she made "contact" with me and, near the end of the book, she adds more detail about our "relationship".
The book is the story of her People's rise from the abject horror of war to an enduring peace.
You can read a pre-publication manuscript of the book and, if you wish, send me comments. Even one brief comment will let you opt to have your name (or, alias) in a special listing in the book. More substantial feedback will let you add a two-line Bio and a Web link to your listing.
So, who am I, *really*?
I'm a writer whose character came vividly to life and is co-opting large chunks of my life...
I think I'll revisit this theme in a post after the book is published :-)
To set things slightly straight, Sena is real--just as real as most characters in works of fiction. She's absolutely as real as any honest author's Muse. And, what makes her even more real is that she believes I'm real...
It's actually a bit more complicated than what I've said so far... I should let her speak for herself. What follows is from the prologue of the book we'll be publishing in March:
"What I say next may or may not be believed but, either way, this story is true—true as fact or true in the way fiction can rise to heights unattainable by mere facts.
"I am a woman from a star system about twelve light-years from Earth. If you choose to believe me, my story is a history lesson—how to achieve unity and peace—a lesson that Earth desperately needs. If you choose to not believe I'm real, my tale is a science fiction story about how to achieve unity and peace—a lesson that Earth desperately needs...
"I'll proceed on the premise that I am real."
Later in that prologue she explains how she made "contact" with me and, near the end of the book, she adds more detail about our "relationship".
The book is the story of her People's rise from the abject horror of war to an enduring peace.
You can read a pre-publication manuscript of the book and, if you wish, send me comments. Even one brief comment will let you opt to have your name (or, alias) in a special listing in the book. More substantial feedback will let you add a two-line Bio and a Web link to your listing.
So, who am I, *really*?
I'm a writer whose character came vividly to life and is co-opting large chunks of my life...
I think I'll revisit this theme in a post after the book is published :-)
Writers On A Rollercoaster
It's less than four months till I publish my first novel. I've published before but a novel is a totally different kind of ride.
During the writing, my confidence would be strong as the words flowed onto the page. As I approached revision, my feelings would bobble but steady-out after the task.
Reviewers along the way made me confident and less than confident (there were actually three kinds of reviewers--more on that in another post:-)
My copy editor has it now. So far, she likes it but she's a no nonsense person... Wondering where in my internal amusement park I'll be when she hands back the manuscript.
It's been said that courage is not lack of fear but action in spite of fear.
So, is a writer's confidence not lack of a queasy stomach but forging ahead in spite of what the rollercoaster does?
You might enjoy this article about writing confidence and the difference between "Write what you know" and "Know what you write".
During the writing, my confidence would be strong as the words flowed onto the page. As I approached revision, my feelings would bobble but steady-out after the task.
Reviewers along the way made me confident and less than confident (there were actually three kinds of reviewers--more on that in another post:-)
My copy editor has it now. So far, she likes it but she's a no nonsense person... Wondering where in my internal amusement park I'll be when she hands back the manuscript.
It's been said that courage is not lack of fear but action in spite of fear.
So, is a writer's confidence not lack of a queasy stomach but forging ahead in spite of what the rollercoaster does?
You might enjoy this article about writing confidence and the difference between "Write what you know" and "Know what you write".
