Julia Benally's Blog, page 9
October 23, 2020
Me, Covid-19, and Halloween
I saw a post about dealing with COVID-19 and the holidays.
Personally, I'm totally excited.
The last time I went trick-or-treating, (I was taking my younger siblings--I was getting candy, too. Shoot, why not?) I got charged by an evil dog. Some wretches never tied up their dogs. I ran into people who'd been chased down the road. On the reservation, everybody has a dog, and not everyone ties them up. Actually, nobody ties them up.
One year, I saw some people walk into a yard and the dog barked and growled at their heels all the way to the door. It then followed the group all the way to the gate. There were kids under eight in that group.
Trick-or-Treating is life and death sometimes, and it's not always in the candy.
This year, we have decided to do a little family party involving only the members we're quarantined with. Some people out in the world are isolated, but I have a big family and we ended up being quarantined in the same tiny house. Here, there's not enough isolation. At least we didn't end up like the Donner party, you know?
We're gonna dress up, maybe have a cook out, light the giant candelabra my sister owns, play "Horrified," which is a monster board game, and watch The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and buy Halloween candy like there will be trick-or-treaters, and keep it all for ourselves. We might even run up into the mountains in our costumes and prance around like freaks under the aspens and at the edge of cliffs.
October 20, 2020
Working with KDP vs Author Central on salvaging reviews
All right, so yesterday, I had contacted both KDP Customer Support and Author Central about salvaging book reviews.
Author Central answered me first and said I could save my reviews even with a different author name and different cover with a different title. I spoke to Author Central twice before KDP even answered me.
I sent the old and new ISBN numbers to Author Central. My old reviews from "Pariahs" were saved and are now on "Nri Kryne's" sales page. All this was done before KDP answered me back with a "you can't save your reviews because they're different products even if the content is the same."
If you want to salvage your reviews, DO NOT go through KDP Customer Support. Work with Author Central.
If you really want anything done, go through Author Central. They're the ones who put my book on more categories than the two you have to pick on publishing your book.
October 19, 2020
Salvaging book reviews after you've had to republish a book
Since "Nri Kryne" came along, I've lost my reviews for "Pariahs."
There is a way to get them back, but the help center on Amazon isn't helping. I asked two very specific questions and they sent me a copy and paste answer. I know, because I had both e-mails from them. The e-mails were word for word.
Anyway, I don't know what robot is working the help center, but if you send them the ISBN for the old book and the new book, they can put your reviews back on.
The problem is that the copy and paste answer talked about the same title and content. When I asked about different title and same content, they sent me the copy and paste.
This was in the kdp.amazon.com help. I've heard Author Central is better. Maybe they don't have robots. So I've also written to them. Maybe a human will answer me this time and help me get things sorted out.
Also, I have four reviews for Nri Kryne now, but you can't see two of them. Three of them appear in Author Central, but the fourth is nowhere to be found. I know it's there, because the reviewer sent me a screen shot.
Last time I got an international review, it took a whole year for it to appear.
That said, Amazon claims authors are quite beloved to them.
If that were true, wouldn't they take better care of us? They wouldn't be snatching two of my sales out from under me and then put them back on two months later, that's for sure.
My sales dashboards would be correct, too. In one dashboard, I have sales, in the other, a straight up zero.
This is SO frustrating.
I think I'm gonna go visit my planet for a while. You can come, too.
Pick up your star ship to Ilo here: https://www.amazon.com/Kryne-Monsters-Demons-Mara-Duryea/dp/B08GV97VHF/
October 14, 2020
Crow got smacked and then his buddies ate him
One day, I was driving along down the highway. I was going to the store. Some butthead almost ran into me thirty seconds out and I was jittery.
Several crows were eating a dead animal on the side of the road.
As I approached, for some funky reason, one of the crows took flight and flew straight for my windshield. I screamed as the bird went BAP! Its giant wing left a shiny imprint on the glass. Yeah, it was shiny. I don't know why it was shiny. Maybe it got a hold of some shoe shiner.
The bird went flying off to the side of the road.
After that, I was driving like an old lady all the way to the store, and then I played passenger on the way home. I was wondering what had happened to the crow.
I saw the same group of crows munching on their buddy, because they preferred fresh meat. What a way to go: diner to dinner.
A new story!
For the last few months, I've just been writing and editing my book for the third installment of the Monsters and Demons series. I haven't had any new inspiration for a while.
I didn't mind, because all my focus was on the book.
The other day, I went out into the woods. It was so silent and beautiful out there. It reminded me of my grandma's house when I would come to visit when I was little. The aspen leaves were raining in the light breeze like golden droplets.
As a writer, I am constantly looking at computer screens and working with electronics. Being out there without all that mess was rejuvenating.
After I got home, I was able to pick up my cross stitch and start making something for Christmas.
Just a few hours ago, a new inspiration came to me!
And it's a story that involves a monster. I am now in the process of making it.
In the past, I'd gotten a few tickles in my brain for stories, but this one really took hold, so I'm excited to write it!
October 13, 2020
Was it legit, or was it a sex trafficker?
So last Thursday, I got a message from a dating site saying I had a private message. If you read that post, you know I had shut down all my accounts due to one million year old men trying to rob my cradle.
I had lots of accounts, so I missed one. When I got the message, I was like, huh? Then I remembered this site had given me a free account because they felt sorry for this here sap.
Because of this, I could actually read the guy's message and answer back. So, I have been really tired lately and not thinking straight. I attribute this to my answering him back. On top of it all, the guy was actually around my age.
I said hello.
The conversation stretched from Thursday to Sunday, but I only sent one message a day since we were in different time zones. In real time, we had only spoken for about a minute.
In that minute, he became extremely aggressive to the point where I felt marked to be his wife, or whatever it was he had in store for me.
He spoke of being outside the US, but would return in two weeks to come visit me. He never mentioned quarantining himself, and he's also in a country where the virus is not only really, really bad, but where other horrible diseases lurk.
I told him no.
I looked up the country and found they also have level 1, 2, and 3 danger zones for civil unrest. The website said if you're thinking of going there today, RETHINK YOUR TRAVEL PLANS. IT'S NOT OUR FAULT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU.
His reasons for looking for a wife sounded more like a business proposition. He needed a wife so he could keep his daughter in the states when he finally brought her. His background was so good it was too good. The situation with his daughter was utterly perfect. The mother wanted nothing to do with her.
From there, he spoke of taking me to his country where hopefully I would love it so much I would "never want to go back to the states."
Why go through all the trouble of bringing his kid here when he plans to go back to his country permanently?
Terror hit me in the pit of my stomach.
So Sunday night, I closed that account down.
October 12, 2020
Wear earrings and lipstick every day
Back in high school, I wore earrings every day. In college, I wore earrings and lipstick every day. Every day, my earrings were different. I had boxes of earrings and I picked and chose which I would wear from day to day.
One day, this girl asked me where I'd gotten my earrings, because there was a set of them she really loved. I don't know what she thought I was going to say. I guess anything besides, "The dollar store." She just gave me this weird stare like I'd given her a major shock. She never talked to me after that.
It was kind of like when I was playing volleyball, and I was the only person with the sense to cover her major wrist arteries with her sweater. After the game, the other girls were showing each other how red they had become. When they saw my arms, they were just as white as ever. When one of the girls asked why, I said I had covered my arms. She wouldn't talk to me after that and kind of backed away.
Maybe these two weirdoes were related.
Anyway, sometime after college, I went into a depression and stopped wearing my earrings and my lipstick. Now that I've bounced back, we have to wear face masks. Isn't it always the way? The lipstick industry is suffering, I hear. Earrings get in the way of the elastics that slip over the ears.
And so, I have come up with a plan! I wear the lipstick under the mask and the elastics just have to make a longer trip around my ears, especially when I wear dangly earrings...all my earrings are dangly.
October 9, 2020
Growing a little forest on my nose
I can't sew for crap, but I can sew a face mask. I can't sew those fancy ones where there are a lot of curves on them, though. When everyone started talking about wearing face masks, I got to work and sewed one for myself and for each of my family members. There were no elastics at the time, so I used yarn I got from a little old lady whose house I cleaned the year before. She literally had a whole closet full of yarn and she had given me the whole closet.
I wash my mask periodically. I wash my face every morning and every night without fail, even when I'm sick. My face was gross in high school and only in college did I really start taking care of it. But whatever stage I was in when it came to keeping my face clean, there was one thing I never had: black heads.
Well, lately, I've been noticing my nose was looking funny. It looked kind of dark, too. When I looked really close, it looked like I had shaved coarse hairs off my nose and they were starting to grow back. What the heck was this? Did I really have black heads? Me?
I grabbed one of those nose strips and put it on for fifteen minutes. When I pulled it off, there was my own little forest. Some trees were black, some were white, some were brown. And my nose changed back to its original color.
How? What?! I realized my mask was giving me black heads. It's been hot enough for a predator to drop out of the sky and start hunting for trophies. I've been sweating into the mask and it just sits there on my nose, which is part of my t-zone.
Quite disgusting.
October 8, 2020
Tired of that one author?
The internet has been going out at the most inconvenient times, because reasons. But, here we are.
Are you a writer who knows many other writers? Are you tired of that one who keeps updating brand new work to all these magazines and publishers? Author X likes to say a certain phrase when he/she has good news, but after the millionth time, Author X can go straight to a nice warm place, along with their favorite celebratory phrase.
Why is it that Author X expects you to come forward first with congratulations before they deign to look at you? Author X won't even congratulate you anymore on your achievements. Why is this? Are you a threat? Are you a competitor for their literary world? Or do they just think you're so far below them that you might as well be an ant?
Are you absolutely tired of Author X?
Do you feel like you're letting your writing community down in feeling this way? Are you afraid you just have the bad case of the jealousies and don't want to admit it?
Well I'll admit it. I'm not ashamed. I'm right there with you. I'm human. Say it, "I'm tired of Author X!"
Ah, now I feel better.
Do you?
Admitting something is better than pretending. Admitting a problem can lead to recovery. One day, you can be that author who really does support fellow authors and not be jealous anymore. Of course it's not today, so just ignore the little wretch until it's all good with you. Who knows, maybe that's why Author X ignores you.
Now, another video from Snarled.
October 5, 2020
One Star Reviews Usually Reflect The Reader
One star reviews suck, but they reflect the reader more than anything else.
One I got from a woman who said she would post her review on Amazon if she gave it a three or higher. She also promised to buy the book, too, after she picked out the books she wanted to read.
She picked mine, but a few months later, she asked if I could send it to her for free. I should have listened to the red flag that went up, but I didn't. The woman was already untrustworthy. I sent her a PDF file.
She went onto her YouTube and complained about my book in the most condescending way. After I got over the stings enough to think clearly, I began to realize she complained about things that weren't true. She said there weren't enough explanations for this or that. Guess what, those things had ample explanations. I realized she didn't even read the book, but skimmed over it. Some of what she said were outright lies.
Luckily her YouTube views could be counted on one hand.
The other review was most hurtful because the guy went straight to me on facebook and told me I was a crappy writer, although he used a worse word. He said this on a facebook group and the moderator did nothing about it. I was already having a really bad time and this piece of crap just decided to attack. Covid-19 wasn't even around yet.
What I found out about this person was that he was a troll, and he loved targeting female writers in all the writing groups on facebook. His attacks were vicious and sank to personal remarks. Soon after he attacked me, the people had enough and went on the hunt for him. I don't know where he is now, but I made sure to block him, cut my ties with that facebook group, and maybe imagine he's suffering on a ventilator somewhere today.
One star reviews usually tell you a lot about the reader than the writer. As the writer, you have no obligation to try and please one star readers.
This is why I don't read reviews about books. I find out for myself if I'll like them. Two hundred five star reviews doesn't mean it will be a five star for me. I might look at it and think, "Well this is fixed, like Halloween Wars last year."
Some people will give constructive criticism. Take those into account and improve if need be. Treat them as gems in the ruffage.
