K. Victoria Chase's Blog, page 15

WHAT'S IN MY WRITING TOOLKIT? GENERAL HOSPITAL

I'm addicted to General Hospital. I just love watching Jason Morgan, Sonny Corinthos, Johnny Zacchara(such a cutie!), and Carly Corinthos Jax. The great thing about a soap opera is it's chalk full of conflict and decisions, decisions, decisions.






It can be hard to bring your characters to a crossroads. What should that crossroad be? What are the two diametrically opposed choices a protagonist can make? It's difficult for a new writer, like myself, to think of crossroads and decisions other than the obvious save the girl/guy or let the girl/guy die.






Enter General Hospital. These characters have to make so many decisions. For example, Johnny kills his Grandfather, then he has to decide whether to tell his girlfriend Carly because they've now made a pack to never keep secrets from each other, and he wants to tell her because the guilt is eating him alive. Johnny decides to keep the secret--if he doesn't, he's sure to lose Carly who knows Johnny's employing Starr--whose fiance and baby died because of Johnny's recklessness in trying to kill his Grandfather the first time--and Carly would see Johnny helping Starr as him placating his guilt and she'd never forgive him for killing a baby, and Johnny has to keep Carly since she'd already dumped him once because he cheated on her and if she found out he's betrayed her AGAIN for keeping this secret... 




And it goes on and on. Layers of issues and choices.




I love it. And hate it, haha.




These stories have been done over and over, but the decisions the characters make are so intricately woven into other characters' lives, and their impact is so palpable it causes a major crossroad for someone else. 




Oh, to be a writer on this show. (Didn't you just love Sonny and Olivia? So brief but so hot!)






Of course, I'd kill off Luke--he's a nuisance--get rid of Lucky permanently--I've never seen a man cry so much, what a sissy--and probably would just eliminate the Quartermaines all together. And Sam. She's such a whiner.




Take some time to catch up with General Hospital (you probably haven't missed much since your last visit) and see if you can't glean some useful storytelling tips.




What shows aid your creative writing juices?

SERIAL GAMES COMING TO PRINT!

That's right!!! Serial Games is scheduled for a print release in January 2013!!!! I know that's a long way off, but to keep yourself occupied, you can enter the contests below for your free copy, check out a new series, The Santiago Brothers , coming early August from Astraea Press, AND (oh, yes, it gets better) read book two in the Virginia Justice series, Marked by the Mob , in November 2012!









   
Not just for readers in the US, but the whole world! In honor of the 5-Star review I received from The Romance Reviews, I'm doing a 5-book giveaway!!! Check out my author page on The Romance Reviews, read the 5-star review of  Serial Games , and enter the contest for July 8-10 or the contest July 10-12 (two happening at once!!!) to win a free PDF copy of Serial Games for your ereader! 


3 chances left to win!!


July 8-10
July 10-12
July 12-14



Each winner will be notified, via email, shortly after the contest end date. Hope you win!!!!




*PS: Please pass this on! Thank you!!!

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN!

 





   
Not just for readers in the US, but the whole world! In honor of the 5-Star review I received from The Romance Reviews, I'm doing a 5-book giveaway!!! Check out my author page on The Romance Reviews, read the 5-star review of  Serial Games , and enter the contest to win a free PDF copy of Serial Games for your ereader! 




3 chances left to win!!




July 8-10

July 10-12

July 12-14





Each winner will be notified, via email, shortly after the contest end date. Hope you win!!!!




*PS: Please pass this on! Thank you!!!

TGIF: SUPERHEROES/DOUBLE FEATURE

There are some heroes coming to town. No, not Spiderman--he's too young. This year, I'm looking forward to: 










Christian Bale




and









We all need a hero, am I wrong? Who is your 'superhero'? Happy Friday!




PLUS




 




   
Not just for readers in the US, but the whole world! In honor of the 5-Star review I received from The Romance Reviews, I'm doing a 5-book giveaway!!! Check out my author page on The Romance Reviews, read the5-star review of  Serial Games , and enter the contest to win a free PDF copy of Serial Games for your ereader! 


4 chances left to win!!


July 6-8
July 8-10
July 10-12
July 12-14



Each winner will be notified, via email, shortly after the contest end date. Hope you win!!!!




*PS: Please pass this on! Thank you!!!

5 BOOKS FOR 5 STARS GIVEAWAY!!!!

   
Not just for readers in the US, but the whole world! In honor of the 5-Star review I received from The Romance Reviews, I'm doing a 5-book giveaway!!! Check out my author page on The Romance Reviews, read the 5-star review of Serial Games , and enter the contest to win a free PDF copy of Serial Games for your ereader! 




5 chances to win!!




July 3-5

July 6-8

July 8-10

July 10-12

July 12-14





Each winner will be notified, via email, shortly after the contest end date. Hope you win!!!!




*PS: Please pass this on! Thank you!!!

MARKETING MONDAY: HOW TO (NOT) RESPOND TO A BAD REVIEW: SIX TIPS

My first book is out and reviews are now coming in. As an author, you should expect not only the good reviews, but the bad ones. Some people are not going to like your book; no question about it. If you request reviews from readers who post them to blogs or review sites, you run the risk of receiving those low-starred ratings for all the world to see. A scary feeling.





What to do?




Keep a few things in mind.




1. Take a deep breath. You wrote a book! That is an accomplishment.




2. Not everyone will like your book. You can't please everyone. Their opinions are subjective.




3. A bad review doesn't mean sales will cease. 




4. Remember the GREAT reviews you've received. Thank you, fans!!!




5. Read the review objectively and try to glean some takeaways (if you want). If there are any, they may aid your writing. If there aren't any, return to number 4.




6. Most importantly: DO NOT RESPOND TO THE REVIEWER. You will incur a backlash that will be hard to get past. The Amazon forums are filled with consumers eager to voice their concerns and your name may end up on the Badly Behaving Authors thread. You are the face of your product. Don't let your attitude ruin your ability to promote.




Have you read the ratings for the best-selling Fifty Shades of Grey? The kindle edition for book one has amassed about 3300 five-star ratings and 2400 one-star ratings, and some of those one-star reviews are brutal--right up front for all to see. Yet, the book is still selling.




Need more convincing? Read here and here.



Finally, someone other than your mother--thanks Mom!--WILL love your book. 



Question: Have you received a bad review? How did you handle it and was food involved? ;-)

TGIF: EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Remember last Friday's post? Yes, how could you forget. Well, Mommy called me out (not on the blog) about not having any men of color nerds. Out of all the shows I watch, and those I didn't, I couldn't call to mind a single--fairly good-looking--black man that would qualify as a nerd. So Mommy proceeded to rattle off a list of names of actors on shows that she too doesn't watch, and couldn't say one way or the other if they had nerdy qualities (ie: glasses, high IQ, quirks, etc.) The first she mentioned was none other than:




 








Shemar Moore who plays Derek Morgan (see, too hot of a name to be a nerd) on Criminal Minds and empirically one of the hottest black(ish--he's half-and-half) men on the planet.














Mommy said, "Well, he's in law enforcement so he has to be intelligent, right?" I think you could make the argument when you look this good, does it matter if you're intelligent? HAHA, Happy Friday Everyone! :-)

PUBLISHERS LAMENT, FEW P.O.C. SUBMISSIONS (EXCUSES?)

A storm is a-brewing in the writing community over the apparent lack of People of Color (POC) in novels, and not just as secondary characters, but as the protagonist(s). On June 19th, Dear Author had a somewhat expose' (can't figure out how to write that accent) titled 'Cultivating Tolerance: A Multicultural Solution' in which they argue on the side of the publishers as to why readers don't have more interracial/multicultral books to choose from: authors aren't writing any. (I remember writing about this some time ago...oh, yeah, here) Now, the post also addressed the concern the novels being published are sub-par writing because of the pressure on authors to produce more works in a shorter period of time, but this post will examine the former issue.



Perhaps the main point of the IR/MC issue is that "...the mainstream readership has been conditioned to see certain types of books as the norm." In other words, if you don't see it, we won't publish it. This is especially true in the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA). I've heard of no calls for more POC. If the book isn't historical or bonnet, forget about it. The article continues with



"We have all seen reader comments indicating a discomfort with protagonists who are not white. However, we have seen reader comments in the other direction, as well, from those who desperately and vocally want more non-white protagonists in their Romance."       



One blogger noted in her response, that yes, there would be a discomfort because in truth, "Many white people have a problem connecting with black people...their problem with multicultural romance; IT'S NOT ABOUT THEM." (emphasis and bolding NOT mine) Now, I've never had a problem 'connecting' with white people in books--they are characters, plain and simple. If people walked into a Lifeway and saw a significant amount of Christian fiction not necessarily of the African American sub-genre, but with other ethnicities on the covers, would there be a problem? Well, we may not ever see that happen because of the aforementioned 'conditioning' to the present books. You could argue CBA readers prefer historicals and bonnets based on sales data--that is what they want to read. But I've argued before, bonnets weren't always there; they had a beginning. Can't IR/MC have one too? In the CBA??



Well, authors need to write them. That is the solution given in the DA article. Yet, the majority of authors are white. 88% of the books reviewed by the New York Times are written by white authors. I don't mind if white authors write IR/MC; this is the industry we are in--most authors are in fact, white. It may be that in order to bring an awareness to these types of stories, white authors will have to pave the way. That same blogger predicts in the next year, there will be a bestselling MC written by a white author featuring a white and/or biracial heroine with a black man "slathering" all over her because despite the many MC books already out there featuring this type of couple--and the black authors writing them--"What they really want are books by white authors."



If readers "desperately and vocally" want more non-white protagonists, why don't they buy books that feature IR/MC? This question was posed in the DA article. Sales for IR/MC are poor compared to 'traditional' romance couples. So, which is it? Do publishers really want it? I doubt it if sales are low; we know editors and even agents won't touch something that doesn't sell. I guess that means the amount of readers who would pick up an IR/MC are grossly underestimated. This also means I'm in a pickle; what I write is unacceptable to agents, the CBA, and mainstream publishers--even Dear Author.



"For mainstream reconditioning to occur, however, more books that challenge the status quo have to be published, and they have to be published within the Romance mainstream. That authors like Suzanne Brockmann can sell non-white protagonists also suggests to me that popular, seasoned authors need to be leading the charge to write more books that challenge the status quo, because those authors’ fans are legion, and their inclination will most likely be to read those books. And publishers need to stand behind these books, as well – to market them as Romance, plain and simple, and to market them along with books that already have mainstream acceptance. "




Since I'm new and relatively unheard of, few readers will take a chance on my books. Instead, they'll get behind a well-known author and until the masses are conditioned, I should expect...what exactly? Poor sales for titles I have (and am having) published? Continued rejection by agents and editors for new titles I'm writing? Other authors are saying they and their author friends ARE submitting IR/MC works to publishers (Carina Press has been cited as seeking--but how many IR/MC titles do they have????) but they aren't being accepted. Why is this?



Speaking of acceptance, DA contributor Jane Litte (whom I've read being referred to as a staunch critic of publishers) has been noted as saying that due to the meager numbers of IR/MC titles, DA doesn't review many of those books and on top of that, they are poorly written, citing both Kimani (Harlequin) and Loose ID. Well, I submitted my book, Serial Games, for review a little less than a week ago--mine is neither a Kimani or Loose ID title. I received top ratings at both The Romance Studio and The Romance Reviews. Was I accepted? No."I don't have a reviewer for the book at this time." Now, I'm not saying this statement isn't true; one writer on a Goodreads forum pointed out that DA doesn't appear to review any romance with a religious theme, even though on their review page it states, "the site is primarily devoted to the romance genre." Devotion only goes so far, of course. It also reads, "...around 40% of the reviews we give are C and below," with most receiving a B- so maybe it's a good thing I got rejected. Another member of a Goodreads forum was asked by her friends why she even sent her book to DA since they have reputation (against) black authors. She is still waiting on a review sent in January--she doesn't expect. Yet, if reconditioning is to occur, we can't put the burden solely on the authors' shoulders. DA--a well-known/trafficked site--should review more of the IR/MC titles out there. There has to be a well-written one, right??? ;-) Is this really the only reason???



Well, this post is long enough. Conclusions? Hold your breath for more titles from K. Victoria, because I'm going to keep writing! I understand I may never walk into a Lifeway and see my title on their bookshelves, but maybe I can be on the USA Today or the New York Times bestseller list. :-)  Thank goodness for epublishers! If they didn't exist, I wouldn't be published now, and my next book, The Snake Murders, wouldn't be slated for an August 7th release, but would still be languishing in the inbox of an agent (now 21 weeks--should I email that it's under contract? Probably would be a waste of time...) waiting to be granted representation and further submission to CBA publishers who most likely wouldn't publish it anyway.



Commentor #239 of DA's article states, "A well-written romance find its own audience." I ultimately hope to improve my craft and find my audience.



UPDATE: DA has reviewed at least ONE inspirational title. Rating: B. Not IR/MC...

MARKETING MONDAY: GOODREADS AD

As a new author not traditionally published (or even so, depending on who you ask or how big a name you are) I have to find ways to get my book in front of readers. One way of doing that is paid advertising. So, here are the results of the cover & blurb ad I did on Goodreads, a major hub of readers/authors/lurkers to find and share books and reviews.



Takeaway: The CPC must be as high as $0.50 to get any real consistent viewing numbers. The Short Ads work better, especially if you change the wording up every so often. The Long Ad received ZERO clicks the entire campaign. Even though the Long Ad had the lowest views, it had the most consistent daily view numbers. Short Ad 1 had the best overall CTR and views.



Start Date: 3/1/2012 (3/5/2012 is actual date ad went live)

End Date: 5/30/2012

Total Funds: $75

Total CTR*: 0.05%   Goodreads Average Range: 0.05%-0.5%  (I'd call my percentage LOUSY).



*CTR: Click-through rate based on the number of views and the actual number of people who clicked the ad.



March Stats (2 Ads, One Short/One Long)




CPC*: $0.10 (because I'm cheap)



*CPC: Cost per click bid. I learned later on that the higher the bid the better shot I had at my ad being viewed and the cost it isn't automatically what you bid.

Spent: $2.10

Views: 65,693 Daily Average: 2433  Lowest Number Viewed: 940  Highest Number Viewed: 5150

Clicks: 21

CTR: 0.03%

Actual Adds to To-Read List:13



April Stats (2 Ads, One Short/One Long 3rd Ad -Short- added toward middle of month)

I'd have to comment; this month was dismal. Look at the numbers below. Plenty of days saw no views and one day had a massive number.



CPC: $0.10

Spent: $4.80

Views:127,330 Daily Average: 4244   Lowest Number Viewed: 0    Highest Number Viewed: 48,352

Clicks: 44

CTR: 0.03%

Actual Adds to To-Read List:10




May Stats (3 Ads Two Short/One Long)




CPC: $0.30-0.50

Spent: $68.30

Views: 494,301 Daily Average: 16,476.7  Lowest Number Viewed: 1731  Highest Number Viewed: 46,149

Clicks: 250

CTR: 0.05%

Actual Adds to To-Read List: 26




Short Ad 1




Campaign Total CTR: 0.05%

Views: March: 65,131  April: 96,189  May: 158,117

Clicks: March: 21  April: 36  May: 101



Ad with Cover: "I didn't want to put the book down." 5*


To stop an escaped serial killer, the hunters must become the hunted.

www.goodreads.com

3 five star ratings »
This title was used toward end of campaign.




Short Ad 2



Campaign Total CTR: 0.05%

Views: March: N/A  April: 25,798  May: 234,471

Clicks:  April: 8  May: 115



Ad with Cover: A Serial Killer On The Loose


Agents Maggie Weston and Brandon Worth must stop a serial killer before he completes his work.

www.goodreads.com

3 five star ratings »
This title was used for as the title first short Ad for most of the campaign.



Long Ad



Campaign Total CTR: 0.03%

Views: March: 562  April: 4597  May: 101,590

Clicks: None



Ad with Cover: Can't Find Clean IR??


FBI Profiler Maggie Weston has a job to do: hunt an escaped killer she put away years ago. A hunky US Marshal makes things interesting.

www.goodreads.com

3 five star ratings »


ACTUAL NUMBERS




There was some sort of lull in April where Goodreads was having trouble with its ads (4/13-4/24). You can see, toward the end of April, I wised up and increased my CPC, but that didn't seem to consistently increase the chances of my ads being viewed.







date, views, clicks,    ctp,  ecpm,  spent,

03-05, 3781, 2,       0.05, $0.00, $0.20

03-06, 5150, 1,       0.02, $0.00, $0.10

03-07, 4380, 3,       0.07, $0.00, $0.30

03-08, 1112, 0,       0.0,  $0.00, $0.00

03-09, 940, 0,         0.0,  $0.00, $0.00

03-10, 971, 0,         0.0, $0.00, $0.00

03-11, 1147, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

03-12, 1043, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

03-13, 1044, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

03-14, 1025, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

03-15, 1628, 1,       0.06, $0.00, $0.10

03-16, 4281, 2,       0.05, $0.00, $0.20

03-17, 4221, 2,       0.05, $0.00, $0.20

03-18, 1116, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

03-19, 2661, 2,       0.08, $0.00, $0.20

03-20, 4069, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

03-21, 1878, 1,       0.05, $0.00, $0.10

03-22, 4533, 1,       0.02, $0.00, $0.10

03-23, 2115, 1,       0.05, $0.00, $0.10

03-24, 1228, 1,       0.08, $0.00, $0.10

03-25, 4551, 2,       0.04, $0.00, $0.20

03-26, 1055, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

03-27, 1918, 1,       0.05, $0.00, $0.10

03-28, 4569, 1,       0.02, $0.00, $0.10

03-29, 3229, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

03-30, 825, 0,        0.0, $0.00, $0.00

03-31, 1223, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00 






04-01, 1056, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-02, 1059, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-03, 1561, 1,       0.06, $0.00, $0.10

04-04, 4121, 1,       0.02, $0.00, $0.10

04-05, 4248, 3,       0.07, $0.00, $0.30

04-06, 876, 0,         0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-07, 2666, 3,       0.11, $0.00, $0.30

04-08, 5896, 2,       0.03, $0.00, $0.20

04-09, 1111, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-10, 489, 0,         0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-11, 5931, 2,       0.03, $0.00, $0.20

04-12, 4600, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-13, 0, 0,             0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-14, 0, 0,             0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-15, 0, 0,             0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-16, 0, 0,            0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-17, 0, 1,            0.0, $0.00, $0.50

04-18, 0, 0,            0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-19, 0, 0,            0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-20, 0, 0,            0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-21, 0, 0,            0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-22, 1087, 1,      0.09, $0.00, $0.10

04-23, 420, 0,        0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-24, 614, 0,        0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-25, 48352, 19,  0.04, $0.00, $1.90

04-26, 17221, 4,    0.02, $0.00, $0.40

04-27, 2194, 0,      0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-28, 1631, 0,      0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-29, 2098, 0,      0.0, $0.00, $0.00

04-30, 20099, 7,    0.03, $0.00, $0.70 






05-01, 3355, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

05-02, 9778, 2,       0.02, $0.00, $0.20

05-03, 2861, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

05-04, 10350, 6,     0.06, $0.00, $0.60

05-05, 13609, 4,     0.03, $0.00, $0.70

05-06, 27490, 13,   0.05, $0.00, $2.60

05-07, 2545, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

05-08, 12872, 9,     0.07, $0.00, $1.80

05-09, 21873, 16,   0.07, $0.00, $3.20

05-10, 23321, 7,     0.03, $0.00, $1.40

05-11, 21280, 10,   0.05, $0.00, $2.00

05-12, 3323, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

05-13, 5003, 1,       0.02, $0.00, $0.20

05-14, 40631, 23,   0.06, $0.00, $4.60

05-15, 22392, 8,     0.04, $0.00, $1.60

05-16, 46149, 23,   0.05, $0.00, $4.60

05-17, 1731, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

05-18, 7358, 1,       0.01, $0.00, $0.20

05-19, 21855, 10,   0.05, $0.00, $3.50

05-20, 3206, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

05-21, 3039, 0,       0.0, $0.00, $0.00

05-22, 29802, 14,   0.05, $0.00, $4.90

05-23, 7887, 1,       0.01, $0.00, $0.35

05-24, 21830, 16,   0.07, $0.00, $5.60

05-25, 31526, 23,   0.07, $0.00, $8.00

05-26, 10327, 1,     0.01, $0.00, $0.35

05-27, 28740, 24,   0.08, $0.00, $8.00

05-28, 24702, 25,   0.1, $0.00, $8.00

05-29, 18308, 5,     0.03, $0.00, $1.90

05-30, 17158, 8,     0.05, $0.00, $4.00 

SAVE THE DATE - AUGUST 7, 2012

Remember the post about the story I was working on and was asked by a Harlequin imprint to rewrite the whole thing and resubmit, only to have them reject me? I promptly sent that story off to four new publishers and I'm happy to say that in seven days, Astraea Press offered a contract. Their reader "fell in love" with The Snake Murders, book one of The Santiago Brothers series. This series is about hot Latin men and the fiesty women who help reform them. Inspriational interracial romantic suspense. Look for its release on August 7th!!!