S.M. Boyce's Blog: My Journal, page 34

Neat feature of the day: Boyce’s Lichgates (Grimoire Trilogy #1) featured on Centsible eReads. Listen to an excerpt!

[image error]So this is cool.

An up-and-coming site called Cents-ible eReads asked me to read an excerpt aloud so that they could feature Lichgates on their site.

Cents-ible eReads is a really cool site designed to feature authors with top-quality work at a low price (or free!), so I’m honored they asked me. I really like the neat idea to have authors read excerpts from their work. It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed the opportunity.

Go check them out today if you have a chance and subscribe to their features. It’s a great way to find free books and awesome deals.

 

Too Cool for Words: Self-Publishing Success Stories Featured on CNN

This is neat.

On Wednesday, September 12, CNN ran an article on self-publishing, inspired primarily by Amazon’s latest series of kindles. In the article, author XX talks about indies—and their successes.

Amazon apparently mentioned that 27 of its top-100 books are by indies. One of the indie authors Amazon mentions is Hugh Howey, who is best known for his Wool series. While I personally hadn’t heard of him until yesterday, he’s doing pretty well—he says he usually makes six figures a month. He’s apparently been approached for book deals with traditional publishers, and he has no interest in them because he wants to keep the rights to his work. And hell, it’s not like he needs the help.

When asked about digital publishing, Howey apparently said:

“The stigma is gone…Publishers will pick up a self-published work if it does well. Readers are really just interested in good stories.”

Success stories like Howey’s occur more and more in the indie world. While not everyone rakes in that sort of cash, it is possible. Success as an indie author is all about learning the ropes, writing quality work, using targeted (not blast) marketing, and—the most important part of all—taking the time to do it right.

This won’t be an overnight adventure, but each of us has the potential to one day say, “I’m a full time author, and I love what I do.”

You. That can be you.

Stay awesome.

—Boyce

The 3% Rule: Why some of your book’s reviews don’t even matter

I’m currently reading The Indie Author’s Guide to the Universe by Jeff Bennington. A review is coming soon, but I had to step up and mention something he said. It struck me as something that needed to be shared.

He says 3% of your reviews do not matter. At all.

Bennington claims this stems from a little something called the 3% rule. According to his book, businesses use this rule to monitor their customer satisfaction. In business, you’re always going to have customers who will never be happy. You just can’t please them. So instead of trying to get your ratings to 100%, the goal becomes 97%. The closer you are to 97%, the better.

The problem? I can’t find any research on the 3% rule as it relates to statistics or customer service. At all. Maybe someone can point me to a hidden part of the internet I missed.

While I can’t prove his 3% theory, it does ring true to me personally. The fact is you will never make everyone happy. That’s just common sense. Some people really do just rate or review to be mean. I’ve seen it. It sucks for everyone involved, from the author to the readers. Is this rating method logical? No. Mature? Nah. Does that matter?  Nope. It happens anyway.

Let’s give Bennington’s 3% rule a chance, but as a theory and not a rule. I do like the number. From my experience analyzing reviews, it sure sounds right. So check out this quote from the book:

Businesses use the 3% rule to determine when it’s okay to let customers go, as in drop them from their mailing list, or to determine if [the company is] doing something wrong. In other words, the closer a business’s customer satisfaction rate is to 97 percent, the closer it is to perfect. The further away it is from 97 percent, the greater the chance it needs to make some changes.

Bennington claims authors can use this rule by evaluating their own customer satisfaction rate to see where on the scale they sit. If you’re low, you need to hire a new editor or maybe do a full rewrite.

But if you’re close to the 97%, you can stop beating yourself up over every low rating. Seriously. Stop it. You can’t please everyone…that’s what this whole post is all about.

To be honest, he wasn’t clear on how he did the math for this. He kind of skimmed over it, and I don’t wholly believe you should actually throw 3% of the ratings out of the equation like he suggests. Maybe I misinterpreted what he said, but I doubt it.

So here’s what I did:

Group your ratings into 2 groups: “thumbs up” or “recommended” (3-5 stars) and “thumbs down” or “not recommended” (1-2 stars).
Take the total count of the reviews in your “thumbs up” group.
Divide the value from step 2 by your total number of reviews.
Get as close to 97% as possible.

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I added a little equation for funsies, in case some of you are like me and need a visual.

The reason I’m bringing up this 3% rule/theory is to make you understand that you will never make the whole world happy. There are just some people who want to complain. Some people are “one hit wonders” and leave only one review—a negative 1 star berating you and your first born and all others unfortunate enough to share your bloodline. You know who I mean.

Do you get to respond to those reviews?

Don’t even. No. Don’t even start with me. You know better. You don’t respond to reviews…especially negative ones. Ever. Stay away from the drama. Breathe in, breathe out, and shake it off. Big kid pants and all that.

So, okay. Does that at least discount all your negative reviews?

Hell no. Many negative reviews have perfectly reasonable points that you should listen to if you want to improve as a writer. The key is learning the difference. Check out my recent post on this to see what I mean. You can also read this wonderful guest post on the subject.

With today’s entry, I want to point out that some people like being unhappy. It’s the weirdest thing I’ve heard of lately—even after watching the republican and democratic conventions—but it’s true.

I do recommend you get The Indie Author’s Guide to the Universe—mostly, though, if you’re new to this game and have only one or a couple books. This is an intro…a broad overview. But more on that when I write up the review. Give me a week or so.

Have you heard of the 3% rule before? What do you think of it? Throw your input into the pot. I’m looking forward to discussing this one!

So, Why Exactly Are Negative Book Reviews Helpful? Guest blog by Rainy

This was originally blogged over at Rainy of the Dark, which is a fantastic blog for writers. Rainy said I could reblog her post because it’s so true. It really needed a spot on the Indie How-To Index.

 








So, Why Exactly Are Negative Book Reviews Helpful? (via Rainy of the Dark)

Since there has been a lot of controversy (again) about book reviews, I thought I’d talk a little about why some authors will say they aren’t too concerned about negative feedback. Are they just pulling up their big girl (or boy) pants? Are they just fluffing up harsh reality to make it more comfortable…

 

Hey!! Watch Where You’re Putting That Thing! (Why Genre Matters)

Thomas Winship is the fantastic author responsible for the Vaempires Revolution series. He’s great fun and always adds just the right amount of snark to any conversation. So take it away, Tom!

 

“Hey!! Watch Where You’re Putting That Thing!”

How many times have you heard that before?

Perhaps you heard it as a harsh whisper creeping down the hallway from your parents’ bedroom after they’d gone to bed early, or as a shout echoing across a parking lot when someone jammed in too close to a rear end. Regardless of the situation or circumstance, there’s one thing that was likely:

It wasn’t going to end well.

Hello everyone. I’m so excited to be S.M. Boyce’s guest today! I’m Thomas Winship, author of Væmpires: Revolution, Væmpires: White Christmas, and the upcoming Væmpires: Zombie Rising.

Now, before you get all hot and bothered, please let me clarify. This isn’t going to be a post about adult toys and safe words and various scenarios that a human body simply wasn’t built to withstand … this is going to be a nice, clean, G-rated post about writing.

I’m sorry to disappoint the deviants among you.

You see, the uninitiated believe that being a writer is all about ideas and creativity and the power of the written word and following your heart and all kinds of new age-y mumbo jumbo, when the reality is that writers are faced with more rules and regulations than your average recent-college-grad-turned-submissive is.

There are rules about word counts and sentence structure and perspective and … well, more crap than you care to know about.

Then there are rules for each genre.

If you just said, “Are you f*in kidding me?” and looked disgusted, then you are my hero. I bet you sparkle in the sun. I mean, truly, you’re my Rue. Only, you know, still breathing.

Anyway, enough gushing. She was in the movie for roughly five minutes.

Understanding genre rules is important if: 1) an author intends to write in a genre; and 2) an author intends to successfully write in a genre.

If you’re an author and you don’t fit into #1 or #2 above, congratulations on your MFA!

Let me share a tale of woe to illustrate my point.

I wrote my first novel about five years ago. It was a spectacularly grandiose novel (150,000 words) about murder, betrayal, obsession, and human nature. I labeled it a mystery/legal thriller and shopped it to agents. For more than a year, it elicited feedback (on occasion). I wrote revision after revision, plugging along like a fool until someone actually took the time to point out one obvious flaw.

I had a genre problem. It didn’t meet the genre rules for a mystery or a legal thriller. I guess I could say that I swung both ways, but, man, could that be misconstrued, misinterpreted, misrepresented, and all kinds of mis-somethingorothers … all of which would be bound to get me into hot water with some special interest group.

But, seriously, realizing that I was in a genre predicament was an unpleasant realization. Not quite as unpleasant as visiting the doctor for the first time after you’ve turned forty and realizing you’re about to become closer than you ever anticipated … but unpleasant, nevertheless.

The novel now sits in a box in my office. Who knows if I’ll ever muster the energy to do right by it?

So, with some important lessons learned, I approached my væmpires novels from an entirely new perspective (lie #1). I researched genres until I found the one I intended to write in (lie #2), studiously learned them (lie #3), and carefully adhered to them (lie#4).

Okay, the truth is that I wrote the first damned book in the series and then asked someone else to tell me which genre it best fit in. *shrugs* I never said I was wise.

Luckily, Væmpires: Revolution slid very snugly into the urban fantasy genre. It’s like they were made for each other. It was like a hand in a velvet glove or a juicy hot dog in a warm bun. It just felt like … home.

Actually, it was better than home. It was like a home-away-from-home, or your coworker’s home, or anyplace where infidelity occurs when you least expect it (but what the heck were you doing there, anyway?).

I like the urban fantasy genre. It lets me play with the supernatural side of things without being forced to focus on romance. When it comes to romance, I want to live it, not write about it! It’s kinda like that old saying about teaching: those who can, do; those who can’t, write.

I’ve got vampires and mutated vampires (væmpires) battling for supremacy in a post-apocalyptic world. There are kings and princesses, heroes and villains, enhanced abilities and super powers, revolutionaries and terrorists, and I even threw zombies into the mix for kicks.

Let me bring this train to a close with a few words of caution: even meeting the genre rules doesn’t guarantee you’ll do well. I had a person refuse to finish reading my book because he/she objected to one cuss word I used.

One. Word!

Can you imagine?

Moral of the story is that you’re better off picking a genre that you like and understand than you are flying blind. So take the time to figure out where your Work in Progress falls on the genre & age labels scales.

And the next time you hear, “Hey!! Watch where you’re putting that thing!” pay attention. It might be the voice in your head.

 

Connect with Tom

Website | Blog | Goodreads

Amazon Author Page | Twitter | Facebook

Grab Your Copy of Vaempires: Revolution

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Goodreads

Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

 

Grab Your Copy of White Christmas

Amazon (US) | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble

 

The Discussion

I’d like to offer a very special “thank you” to S.M. for inviting me to her site. I hope everyone enjoys the post. I’d love to hear what you think of it and/or answer any questions you may have. Post comments or questions below and I’ll be sure to respond.  

Feel free to stop by my website and reach out. I’d love to hear from you if you check out Vaempires. 

International Cover Reveal of the Re-Released Edition of Lichgates (Grimoire Trilogy #1)!

It’s here! Today, on blogs across the world, I’m doing a cover reveal for my formal re-release of Lichgates. Te new edition will have a bunch of bonus features and a gorgeous new cover. Check it out!

 

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Lichgates  New Features

The Lichgates re-release is going to be snazzy. I’m so excited. Here’s what you’ll get with the new edition:

New cover.
Re-polished narrative.
New Prelude chapter. This is an entirely new short that gives insight into Kara’s life before she found Ourea.

 

The re-release date is currently set for some time in September. Be sure to sign up for the Grimoire Trilogy VIP list to be the first to know when the date’s set!

 

What’s cooler is that its sequel, Treason, will come out just a month or so later. You can sign up for the VIP list to learn more about that the second news becomes available or apply for an Advanced Review Copy (ARC).

 

Whatever you do, make sure you add the full Grimoire Trilogy to your Goodreads TBR list!

 

Lichgates  Reviews

“This would make a great movie. A great TV show. Great everything. I mean, Boyce sells it at the concept, but she doesn’t stop there. She delivers.” —Rebecca Hamilton, author of The Forever Girl series

 

“Boyce’s storytelling is so rich and deftly executed that I found myself bouncing between pure amazement, unadulterated enjoyment, and absolute, perverse envy. She is that good.” H—Tom Winship, author of the Vaempires series

 

“This is fantasy at its best!” —The Story Seekers Reviews

 

“The writing is flawless. The kingdoms and surrounding landscapes breathtaking. The Grimoire is a piece of imaginative genius that bedazzles from the moment Kara falls into the land of Ourea.” —Nikki Jefford, author of the Spellbound Trilogy

 

…and those are only a few reviews. Check out Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads to hear what has people grabbing copies and salivating for the sequel.

 

The Lichgates  Blurb

The Grimoire turns its own pages and can answer any question asked of it…and Kara Magari is its next target.

 

Kara has no idea what she’s getting herself into when she stumbles across the old book while hiking along a hidden trail. Once she opens it, she’s thrown into Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying beings that all want the Grimoire’s secrets. Everyone in this new world is trying to find her, but most just want to control the new-found power the Grimoire bestows upon her.

 

Braeden Drakonin grew up in Ourea, and all he’s ever known in life is lying. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. He has one question to ask the book—one question that can fix everything in his broken world—and he’s not letting Kara out of his sight until he gets an answer.

 

Kara cannot escape her new life in Ourea. There’s no going back now.

 

The Lichgates  Prelude

I’m going to provide the prelude free online for anyone who has already bought the previous version. Sign up for the VIP list to learn when I post it!

 

Lichgates  Links

Impatient? You can still grab the old edition and read while you wait.

Grab Your Copy

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Learn More

Read the 1st Chapter FREE

Watch the Trailer | Visit the Online Encyclopedia

 

Teaser: Treason (Grimoire Trilogy #2)

Available October 27, 2012

Kara Magari ignited a war when she stumbled into the dark and stunning world of Ourea, and all because of that stupid Grimoire she found. The armies have amassed. The traitors are exposed, and Kara is alone.

The war has started.

VIP List | Goodreads | Get an ARC

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Say Hi:

Blog | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | YouTube

Goodreads Author Page | Amazon Author Page

 

Authors We Love post—Check Out Urban Fantasy Writer Jessica Fortunato

Today I’m joining in Robert Zimmermann’s Authors We Love meme. I think it’s pretty self-explanatory, but here it goes anyway: we write about the coolest authors ever.

 

Jess Fortunato is awesome. Her Sin Collector series takes a fresh look on the old myth that there is a race of creatures who take on your sins before you die so that you can pass to the next life peacefully. The Sin Collector proves that Jess knows how to write an intriguing story with great characters and solid one-liners (see my review for more).

What’s even neater is Jess is great to talk to. I met her through Rebecca Hamilton, who sent her my way when Jess wanted a video review of her novel. I have to say, I loved the book, but I love the author more. She’s just so freaking fun.

I’m really looking forward to seeing where she takes the Sin Collector series, and I can’t wait for book 2. In the meantime, make sure you grab her books and say hello!

 

Connect with Jess

Blog | Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

Twitter | Facebook

Grab Your Copy of The Sin Collector

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)

Grab Your Copy of Thomas

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)

S. M. Boyce is a fantasy and paranormal fiction writer. You can find her novels on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Cover Reveal! Tom Winship’s Væmpires: Zombie Rising

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Væmpires: Zombie Rising

Væmpires have taken control of twelve major cities. Their leader, Vielyn, seeks the atomic weapons that will bring the rest of the world to its knees.The tale of The Evolutionary War resumes in Væmpires: Zombie Rising.

Vampire forces are reeling. As Linq and Ray race to the royal estate to rendezvous with Ca

ssandra and Daniel … the princess is captured and Daniel falls.

With the fate of world shifting to their teenage shoulders, Linq and Ray must deal with tremendous losses while battling a most unexpected—and undeadly—new foe.

 

 

 

Fun Bonus!

Grab Vaempires-themed wallpaper with the covers of all three books!

1920 x 1200

1920 x 1080

1600 x 900

Thomas Winship

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Thomas Winship lives in New York. He holds an MBA in Management from St. Thomas Aquinas College, where he serves as MBA Director and adjunct professor of courses in English Composition, Communications, and Business. He also spent fifteen years working for a global pharmaceutical company, specializing in organizational development, talent management, and train

ing.

Tom writes in his spare time. His first novel, a mystery/legal thriller entitled Tempora

ry Insanity (a.k.a. Case Closed), was a 2008 finalist in a national contest but failed to garner industry attention. He published Vaempires: Revolution last October and a follow-up novella, Vaempires: White Christmas, in December. He is currently working on the next installment of the Vaempires series.

Tom is an avid collector of books, comic books, music, and movies. His interests are diverse—on any given day, Tom is likely to be found watching a horror movie, attending a hard rock concert, or enjoying a Broadway show.

Connect With Tom

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | YouTube | Goodreads | Shelfari

 

Væmpires: Zombie Rising will be released in October 2012. However, you can view the book trailer and read the entire book during the Dark Mind Book Tours pre-release tour that begins September 10th.

Details to be announced soon!

Freaking awesome blogs: Novel d’Tales celebrates one year

This is my first blog in my Featured Talent posts, but she deserves it!

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Novel d’Tales is run by Hilary, a fun an energetic blogger who loves books, authors, and reading. She always has great interviews and detailed book reviews. She even includes fun kindle tips and tricks for you Amazon nuts out there.

This weekend, she’s celebrating her first year in blogging with tons of posts, events, and a big giveaway. You should definitely check out her blog and enter the giveaway! I added it below, but go to her site, too.

Hilary has so much energy and life in her that you can’t help but be happy reading what she writes. Enjoy her posts, and happy reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Booker Award Strikes Again

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The very kind Christie Rich nominated me for the Booker Award, so thanks girl!

The premise here is pretty simple. This is an award for literary and book-centered blogs. I’m supposed to:

Post my top 5 books of all time
Add the booker award icon, and
Nominate 5 other bloggers to do the same, if they feel like it.

This isn’t easy for any bookworm, but I’m going to try anyway. Challenges make life sweeter, or something. I saw that on a motivational poster once.

 

#5 – The Anybodies by N. E. Bode

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This was possibly my favorite book growing up. I still have a copy of it on my shelf. It opened me to the magic in every book, and it reminded me of the wonder in the most mundane of things. The strongest lesson I got from it, though, is probably that life’s problems very often have simple solutions we simply don’t think to see.

 

The Blurb

“Potter–style magic meets Snicket–y irreverence.” – People Magazine

Fern discovers that she was swapped at birth and leaves her tragically dull parents for an unforgettable adventure with her true father, the Bone. Just who are the Anybodies? You’ll have to read to find out! Narrated by the hilariously intrusive N. E. Bode, The Anybodies is a magical adventure for readers of all ages.

 

#4 – Entangled by Nikki Jefford

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Entangled (and the entire Spellbound Trilogy, for that matter) is one of those books that stole my heart. I swear I’m wrapped around Jefford’s finger. I just love the story, the style, and the magic. I raced through the story. What’s even cooler is that Jefford has become a good friend since I read her book. Knowing that the author is an amazing person just makes this book even more awesome.

 

The Blurb

Two months after dying, seventeen-year-old witch Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body.

Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-hour hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.

The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.

Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection while working out a way to disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.

 

#3 – Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

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Gaiman is one of my all-time favorite authors, but I think I like Neverwhere best. It’s elaborate and simple all at once. It’s dark and witty. And the concept of a group of hidden creatures living on the dark trains in the subway has stuck with me. I can’t ever look at those trains the same again. Gaiman writes the sort of magic that never leaves you.

 

The Blurb

Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinarylife, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.

 

#2 – Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

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This book inspired me on too many levels for me to ignore. So while I never quite wished for my Hogwarts letter, I did fall in love with Rowling’s ability to craft a plot that spans across multiple books.

 

The Blurb

Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That’s because he’s being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he’s really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.

 

#1 – The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

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I mean, come on. This book is straight magic. It revived epic fantasy as a genre and made Tolkien a living legend. It’s just…awesome. And while the Lord of the Rings trilogy is by far more well known, The Hobbit is the series’ humble beginning.

 

The Blurb

 

This four-volume, deluxe paperback boxed set contains J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic masterworks The Hobbit and the three volumes of The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King).

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in Hobbiton by the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves. He finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.

The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the dwarf; Legolas the elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider. J.R.R. Tolkien’s three volume masterpiece is at once a classic myth and a modern fairy tale—a story of high and heroic adventure set in the unforgettable landscape of Middle-earth.

 

H’Okay! My five victims are:




 Nikki Jefford
Rob Zimmermann’s  A Life Among the Pages  book review blog
Tom Winship
Kayla Curry over at the Paranormal Lounge
Jen McConnel