Sam Knight's Blog, page 8
September 19, 2017
How to Respond to Reviews
In the last few months, I have seen a lot of things about reviews float by on my social media. Some are about how to get more reviews. There’s not much I can help with there. Some authors are good at getting them, others of us are not. There doesn’t seem to be a secret recipe. Just be careful not to pester people too much for them as you may inadvertently turn off people who were fans. (Never pay for reviews. Never write your own fake reviews. Those things will always come back to haunt you eventually.)
Many of the things I have seen lately are from new authors asking about the right or wrong way to respond to reviews, especially poor or bad reviews.
I say poor or bad because there are two different kinds of bad reviews. One is a review that says your book/product/whatever is sub-par. The other is a poorly written review, whether it is in your favor or not.
Some authors want to know what to say when it is obvious that someone didn’t read their book. Things like “The only character I liked at all was the wizard” when you wrote a science fiction book and there were no wizards in it.
Some want to know how to respond to something like “I give this one star because I got it for free when I ordered a Bass-O-Matic® and they shipped it to me accidentally. They wouldn’t pay me a refund for it even though they gave it to me for free, so ONE STAR you cheap bastards!”
And some want to know how to respond to “I didn’t read or buy the book but I heard from my drunken uncle that his boss said that when they were in Greenland his wife heard from a bartender that the author eats asparagus farmed by slave children in Antarctica who can’t run away because they will freeze to death. I can’t support a person like that. Death to the author!”
Occasionally, someone wants to know how to thank someone else for a glowing review. (Too bad this can’t happen more often!)
Here is the best advice I can give as to how to respond to any of these situations, and probably most others you can come up with:
Don’t.
Seriously.
Now there are some people out there who absolutely thrive on the strife that responding to the reviews causes. They love the hostile interactions that will follow. They engage the trolls and rally their supporters behind them and march into battle, flags held high, earning a few more readers along the way, losing others. Solidifying some relationships, permanently losing others. It seems to give them a purpose in life beyond just writing. Maybe it’s the social aspect of it. I don’t know. I’m not one to judge much, but I know that’s not for me.
Are you seriously prepared to do that?
Because once you go down that road, there is no going back. Once you have a group of people who dislike you so much that all they want to do for fun is slander your name, stymie your publications, ruin your career, and generally enjoy trying to hurt your feelings by threatening you and/or your family and loved ones… Well, once that happens, there is no going back. You don’t get to call time-out or do-over. They will haunt you forever. You may get publicity out of it. You might get some sales out of it. Unless you are one of those people who thrive on it, it will eventually cost you a piece of your soul.
Really. It never ends. It’s you against Legion. You will eventually give up or go down fighting. So I strongly suggest you don’t do it.
But what about the nice people? The ones who said good things?
I’ve got one word for you on that:
Stalker.
Seriously.
Being a public figure is a very difficult thing. Trying to promote yourself while remaining neutral to all the BS in the world even more so. If you are going to pick sides on an issue, ANY issue, you’ve likely done so for life whether you wanted to or not. And switching sides makes you a traitor to those who had once been in your corner. You can never be Switzerland again.
Trying to be nice to people can be hard, too. Some will try to take as much as they can and will get angry when you won’t give any more. They can be angry over small things, like you won’t write them back anymore, or you won’t read their manuscript, or help them find an agent. Or they can make it huge, like you got a restraining order because you don’t want them at your door anymore. Ever read the book Misery? Ever wonder where Stephen King got the idea?
Now, not everyone is like this. These are extreme examples. But we currently live in an extreme world. Everyone wants to tout their latest favorite thing and get kudos for introducing more people to it. That thing could be you! But everyone also wants to publicly kick their latest favorite thing to hate and get everyone else to agree with them that it deserves to be hated. That thing could be you! If you somehow manage to make it into the public eye as a favorite thing, you WILL become someone’s latest favorite thing to hate. That’s just the way the world works right now.
We can all hope that will change. Maybe it will. But it’s not going away anytime soon.
So now that I’ve gone off on this tangential tirade on the current state of our society, how does this apply to responding to reviews?
Consider responding to reviews the “gateway drug”.
It won’t seem like a big deal. You’ll think that you will do it just this once, to this person you really feel the need to respond to. Only this once…
One of two things will happen. It will either blow up in your face and you’ll regret not taking my advice or it will go fine. If it goes fine, guess what? Six months from now, there will be another. And you’ll think to yourself, “It went fine last time. Maybe just once more…”
Don’t dip your toe in the water.
Let the reviews go. Let them be.
If you get a really bad one, like “I’ve never read one of her books and I never will! She’s a pedophillic Nazi who eats puppies and skins kittens. She needs to be killed, who’s going to help me?” Then you need to contact the websites and ask to have them taken down. Maybe contact a lawyer for lander, libel, or death threats. But NEVER engage back. You will lose in any kind of public confrontation. Even if you win, you will lose in the public eye. Once upon a time the world loved an underdog. Today the whole world thinks it is an underdog and they all want to crush someone down to make themselves feel powerful and in the moral right. Don’t give them the opening. They’ll find enough ways to get to your as it is.
Trust me on this.
August 27, 2017
Science Fiction Trails 12: Where Science Fiction Meets The Wild West
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I am excited to announce I have a story in this, and it is out NOW!
Science Fiction Trails 12: Where Science Fiction Meets The Wild West
Barbara Randall is a bounty hunter, of sorts. Her latest capture was no big deal, but transporting him back by train isn’t going to be quite as easy as she thought, especially when the train enters a tunnel in the middle of the Kansas plains–where there are no mountains.
Going to Hell on the Noon Train
August 26, 2017
Two chances to win a free Kindle book!
Two chances to win!
All you have to do is follow me on Amazon. No big deal. It’s like one click! (okay… one MORE click after you follow the link…)
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This is a Children’s Book written by Sam and his son, Owen.
How much do you love your family and friends?
More than a dead fly?
More than a dried up worm on the sidewalk?
More than Brussels sprouts?
You should really let them know.
You know they want to know.
How much do you love them?
Your imagination is the only limit!
https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/c9ce3b10a1479f0a
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Straight Outta Tombstone
Come visit the Old West, the land where gang initiations, ride-by shootings and territory disputes got their start. But these tales aren’t the ones your grandpappy spun around a campfire, unless he spoke of soul-sucking ghosts, steam-powered demons and wayward aliens.
Here then are seventeen stories that breathe new life in the Old West. Among them: Larry Correia explores the roots of his best-selling Monster Hunter International series in “Bubba Shackleford’s Professional Monster Killers.” Jim Butcher reveals the origin of one of the Dresden Files’ most popular characters in “Fistful of Warlock.” And Kevin J. Anderson’s Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., finds himself in a showdown in “High Midnight.” Plus stories from Alan Dean Foster, Sarah A. Hoyt, Jody Lynn Nye, Michael A. Stackpole, and many more.
This is a new Old West and you’ll be lucky to get outta town alive!
https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/2f9f5195d8472dfc
And if you enjoy my story in Straight Outta Tombstone, you might want to check this out:
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Blazing Uncanny Trails
Lizard Men, Thunder Birds, Ghosts, Gods, and Monsters live in the Wild West.
May God have mercy on those poor souls unlucky enough to run into them.
9 Weird Western short stories by Sam Knight, including one co-authored with Rhye Manhattan and two new, never-before published stories!
August 18, 2017
Blazing Uncanny Trails- an anthology of Sam Knight’s Weird Westerns
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I am excited to announce a collection of nine of my Weird Western stories, including 2 never before published! Available for pre-order now, releasing on 8/31/17, in e-book and print versions, including a Hardcover Edition and a LARGE PRINT Edition for those of us who hate our reading glasses! (The Large Print Edition has been discounted at Barnes&Noble!)
Lizard Men, Thunder Birds, Ghosts, Gods, and Monsters live in the Wild West.
May God have mercy on those poor souls unlucky enough to run into them.
9 Weird Western short stories by Sam Knight, including one co-authored with Rhye Manhattan and two new, never-before published stories!
Includes:
Old Snorter
Moshito Masquine
Working the Salt Mine
Uncle Benjamin’s Triple ‘T’ Tonic
Tracking Old Mose
Running from the Thunder
From Out of the Storm
The Offspring*
The Dead Moon*
*never before published
e-books available at
Smashwords Nook Kobo Kindle iBooks and more!
August 15, 2017
Gasper the Ghost Hunting Goldfish
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I am excited to announce the inclusion of one of my stories in J.A. Campbell’s new Anthology, Ghost Hunting Critters, based upon her Brown the Ghost Hunting Dog series! It is up for pre-order now in e-book form, set to release on Sept.1st. The print edition should be available at around the same time.
My story is in good company with stories by Laura Hargis, Carol Hightshoe, J. D. Harrison, Shoshanah Holl, Rebecca McFarland Kyle, Jessica Brawner, Jamie Ferguson, Dana Bell, Boom Baumgartner, J. L. Zenor, and, of course, J. A. Campbell
Gasper the Ghost Hunting Goldfish
That’s right, a ghost hunting goldfish. I’ve always been a fan of J.A. Campbell’s Doc the vampire hunting dog and Brown the ghost hunting dog series, so when the opportunity arose to add my own touch to her world, I couldn’t resist!
Set in the Old West, this story is about Gasper the goldfish, and Charley the ringtail, and how they protect a small town in the middle of a catastrophe. You’ll have to read it to beleive it!
August 11, 2017
Two Stories in One Anthology!
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Last year I was fortunate enough to have two(!) of my stories selected by the Story of the Month Club. Unfortunately, last year ended up being the last year of the Story of the Month Club. (Hangs head in moment of silence).
The good news is they have put out their 2016 anthology, and you can now read both of those stories, along with 11 other great stories, even if you weren’t a member. Yes. I know that adds up to 13. The Story of the Month Club was generous and tended to provide a baker’s dozen of stories each year.
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A Little Bird Told Me was a short story originally written for a charity anthology that unfortunately failed to come to fruition. A magical fantasy set in another time and another place, it was supposed to be representative of women overcoming addictions and becoming the stronger for it. It was published by The Story of the Month Club, May 2016.
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The Thing in The Bush was one of my favorite stories to write. A bit on the horror side, a bit for children, it was hard to find a home for it. But I did. It was published by The Story of the Month Club, October 2016 and republished in Woe and Wonder: 2016 Story of the Month Club Anthology, January, 2017
The idea for this story came from an experience my sisters and I had when we were young. Every morning, as we would leave for school, and every afternoon when we came back, something in the big evergreen bush by our front porch steps would rustle around as we passed by… eventually we came to consider it part of the family. My sister dubbed it The Thing in The Bush.
It was still there when my parents moved out of the house nearly 20 years later.
August 7, 2017
Straight Outta Tombstone Multi-Author Signing Event!
Straight Outta Tombstone: The Weird Western Showdown
A Multi-Author Signing Event!
Join Bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Kevin J. Anderson, Sarah A. Hoyt, Peter J. Wacks, Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Naomi Brett Rourke, David Lee Summers, Sam Knight and editor David Boop as they discuss the genesis of the anthology, reminisce about their careers, and sign their books.
Lots of fun and a few surprises! Mosey on down and celebrate this amazing anthology!
August 18th, 7pm
Barnes and Noble
960 S Colorado Blvd
Glendale, CO 80246
Call for more information, 303-691-2998 or
RVSP on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/1707384769557439/?ti=cl
Did you read all the way down? You did? Yay! Bonus chance for you to win a Kindle copy of Straight Outta Tombstone and/or a Kindle copy of I Love You More Than a Dead Fly. All you have to do is click on the links below!
https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/551ed76beb82f17b (This one is for Straight Outta Tombstone!)
https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/b4fb382d1bc57544 (This one is for I Love You More Than a Dead Fly!)
Please leave us a review! Doesn’t have to be a “good” one, just an honest one!
July 5, 2017
2 chances to win a Copy of Straight Outta Tombstone!
Fellow author Peter J. Wacks is hosting a giveaway of Straight Outta Tombstone. You can win a copy by following the link on his Twitter post here!
This whole thing has been very exciting for me! I woke up this morning to see this on Facebook from Editor David Boop:
“It’s happened! Before midnight, ALL my authors became Amazon Bestsellers, and I’m a best-selling editor! Shazam!!! “
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Yay! I found this to be very exciting! In fact this was so exciting for me, I decided to host my own giveaway! So, if you don’t win a copy from Peter’s giveaway, here’s a chance to try again, on me!
Just follow this link and see if you win!
Please consider sharing this so someone else has a chance to win, too!
May 30, 2017
Penultimate
Penultimate
Imagine the New York City Marathon. The race kicks off with a bang! The runners sprint outward, some to prove they are the best, others just to prove they can do it.
Around two and a half hours later, the first runner crosses the finish line, arms raised in victory, beads of sweat, mixed with tears, roll down their cheeks.
That person is not the penultimate. Not even close.
Twenty minutes later the second-place winner runs up, grin wide on their face. They’re not the penultimate either. They are closer, but still a long ways off.
About eight and a half hours later, 45,000 people have crossed the finish line. None of them were the penultimate either.
Eleven hours later, it’s dark, nearly everyone has gone home, but one enduring individual is pushing themselves hard to achieve a personal goal.. They know everyone else has already finished the race. They know they are dead last. But they refuse to give up. They refuse to admit they couldn’t reach the finish line. Finally, slowly, deliberately, to the sound of a smattering of applause and shouts of encouragement, they stumble across that line and fulfill their life-long goal of running the New York City Marathon.
Guess what? That person wasn’t the penultimate either.
The penultimate was the person who crossed the line an hour earlier. The second to last person to finish.
That’s what penultimate means. Second to last.
It doesn’t mean the best or even second best. It doesn’t mean the worst or second from worst. There is no connotation of value prescribed to this word.
You can also think of it as next-to-last. Or “there is only one model newer,” or “middle film in the trilogy.” But it doesn’t mean ultimate, supreme, best, or hardly any of the other things most people think it means.
This confusion seems to come from the duality of the meaning of the word ultimate. While ultimate means last, it also means something along the lines of best. Probably because in contest situations, like, oh, I don’t know, things that happen in coliseums with swords, the last one is the best.
So the final standing swordsman (or swordswoman) is the ultimate, and the one lying in the pool of blood at their feet is the penultimate.
The next time you try to convince me your character and their weapons can’t be defeated because they are the penultimate warrior with the penultimate equipment, remember; what you’re actually telling me is they are second best and armed with last year’s models of weapons.
You can find more tidbits in my book on self-editing, Blood From Your Own Pen!
May 26, 2017
Decimated
Decimated
Although it has fallen into common usage as meaning mass destruction, decimated truly means nothing of the sort.
Decimated means one in ten destroyed, not nine out of ten.
If you have a general declare his troops decimated the opposing army, you are actually having him say he ruined 10% of their forces.
If your general were to say something like he only lost one in four of his men while decimating half of the enemy’s army, he would actually be saying he lost 25% of his men to destroy 10% of 50% of the enemy forces, or only 5% overall.
Not really much of a victory after all.
You can find more tidbits in my book on self-editing, Blood From Your Own Pen!
