Ann Benjamin's Blog, page 294

Deep thoughts.

I know I’m missing out by not tuning into the Night Vale podcast (Tumblr seems to be pretty excited about it), but I saw this tweet and had to share.

 

Drawing comparisons…

So, as I work on my new manuscript (16K whoo-hoo!), I decided to read some books that are similar the the subject I’m tackling (widowhood).  I’d read P.S. I Love You some years ago and have seen the film, but bought the book and will be watching the movie again soon (and will hopefully provide additional reviews).  On the Goodreads page for P.S. I Love You was the suggestion of ‘The Year of Pleasures’ (the title is terrible and the more I think of it, the more horrible it gets).  After reading the description, I thought, “Yes, this is something I should read.”  Given the topic of my work in progress, I’m sensitive of writing something too similar that’s already out there.

Year of something else…

So, I read.

And I cringed.

And to be fair, I highlighted a few passages.

And then I sighed and as I finished the book said, “Really?”

And then I wasn’t worried about my book.

The thing about The Year of Pleasures is that it’s entirely too neat, too clean, too saccharine.  I want my book and character to be messy.  I want my widow’s suffering to be something big to overcome.  Of course the protagonist in The Year of Pleasures is sad and goes through some difficult times, but in reality, her bounce back comes from nearly perfect new friends and old friends that magically appear and want to be in her life in a altogether nauseating series of events.  (I will not even go into the complete out of character experience with her ‘new man.’)

To be honest, the Amazon reviews seem to echo my experience from the book.

“In my experience, recovery from the loss of a spouse doesn’t proceed so quickly or so sparklingly. I know widows’ experiences vary greatly, but I’ve not yet heard the likes of this story in real life.”

As research, it was a good read – the novel is helping shape mine in that I know what direction I certainly do NOT want things to go.

Would I read another book by Ms. Berg?  Based on The Year of Pleasures, probably not.

Probably should’ve done this a bit earlier, but…

Inspired by this post (http://www.terrysfabrics.co.uk/infographic/homes-of-classic-literature/ - which posits floor plans for famous novels) I found myself wanting to set up a digital version of what Room 702 looks like in my head.  Using Homestyler (which I really didn’t have enough patience for), I started a basic plan of the room (no, the flooring certainly doesn’t look like that and I’m missing closets and a hallway, but you get the idea).

The whole thing reminded me of early days with the Sims, and given enough time, I’d like to revisit a finished version of the room – complete with the smallest details.  Until then, here’s the basic set up for the action and conversation of 498 pages that make up Room 702.

Yes.

This is especially relevant to my writing.  While it does say fanfiction, it can also apply to most of my in process projects.  I know some people believe strongly in a well planned outline, but my rough draft is a time to go for it and explore what’s out there.  Knowing the tent poles (beginning, some key scenes and the end) is enough for me to usually come up with 60-80K to fill in the rest.

What works for you?

In which I continually fail at social media.

Let’s consider the Instagram experiment a failure.  Not quite the level of failure that the Tweet was, after all, 600+ people liked the image and a few even bought the book, but again, not worth the investment.

Ann’s face when it comes to thinking of future social media involvement.

In which we try Instagram.

I think this is a good thing.

So, as I am approaching being an Old, I’m quick to adopt some trends, but others seem to pass me by.  I still don’t get Twitter and while I had joined Instagram, my account only has 4 photos (2 of which were posted by my sister).  Ironically, it was while I was on Tumblr, that I happened across the ‘hotel tips’ Instagram account (someone I follow had reposted a particularly gorgeous picture).  I contact those who run the account and asked if they would give Room 702 some coverage.  While they weren’t able to do it for free, the price was reasonable and within basically a 3 day period, I was able to get the above image posted.

When I got a snap of the picture, there were 433 likes.  In the time it took me to get this post together, that number rose to 453.  Will all of them buy the book?  Of course not!  However, I think this is more what I had in mind for when I spent the money to tweet with the Luxury Travel group.  With the paid tweet, the interaction level was quite limited.  While more ‘eyes’ technically might have seen the tweet, I like the visual element of Instagram.

I’ll follow up tomorrow or the next day with the (hopeful) bump in sales.

Hotel Chatter…

It’s a start!

So, getting any coverage on Hotel Chatter has long been a goal of mine.  When I noticed my comment was ‘above the fold’ in this week’s Newsletter, I was pretty pumped!  Who knows, maybe that article on my book is next?

 

 

 

I’m not dead!

My new job is taking up all my time and most of my energy.

For a quick update:

1.  A fellow author, awesome artist and general amazing person did a review of my book AND created a watercolor based on Room 702.  Flattered much?  Also, I love this sentence, “If you enjoy hotels, travel, and the creative jolt of a luxury-induced identity crisis, you’ll want to read this book.”

Artwork by Maria Elena Sandovici

2.  I started writing a new book!  This makes little to no sense given where I am on current projects, but I’m hoping to make some progress this Spring with all my spare time.  I hope to give some updates soon.

3.  I’m going to try advertising w/Instagram.  Clearly, I’ll try anything once!

When moving, don’t forget…

This is the third country move for Hubs and I.  While we essentially moved the difference of a 1 hour plane flight, being without all of our worldly possessions for 2-3 weeks is a bit of an inconvenience.  In an attempt to potentially make the next move easier, here is a list of what I’ve found helpful to have on hand.  (FYI – we are staying a small, furnished 1 bedroom / 1 bathroom apartment while sorting out the lease for our new place).

1.  A towel (yes, Hitchhiker’s Guide was correct – NEVER leave home without one, in fact, having dish towels has also proven helpful).  In addition to drying off after a shower, the towel has been used for: a bathmat, a makeshift blanket, and a liner for the cat in her kennel.

2.  A power strip, helpful when charging essential electronic goods.

3.  Boxes of kleenex (a helpful household item that is ubiquitous in the Middle East, we have one in all rooms and the car).  Uses have included: blowing ones nose, napkin, paper towel, toilet paper.

4.  Deck of cards.  Never be bored again.  Hubs and I have a 10 year rummy game that has been added to this week.

5.  A good show to watch.  Or a long book to read.  There will be downtime.  In my case – lots of it.  While I’ve been busy editing a book, working on short stories and exercising, I’ve also enjoyed catching up on some of my shows (thank goodness the new Sherlock has been released).

6.  Patience (I never have enough).

7.  A sense of humor.  Because if making dinner out of an airfyer for over a week straight isn’t funny, I don’t know what is.

8.  Optimism (another thing I always run out of).

So, what can’t you live without?  Anything that’s made your move easier?

Lesson learned.

Research before you commit to anything!  Given I’ve had a few weeks off and nothing to do, I wanted to get some of books that were not in print available as paperbacks (via CreateSpace).  I actually have no sound business case for doing this, but I did somehow manage to sell more physical copies of my books in December than some of my digital copies…so maybe print isn’t dead?

Either way, as I have zero patience for formatting and the gentleman who formatted my manuscripts for digital release was available to format two books for print at a reasonable price, I contacted him and sent the funds through.  The first book was uploaded and when I arrived at the pricing page, I was happy to see that it fit in exactly where I wanted it to ($8.99 – which is identical to the pricing of my other YA books).

Room 702 was not so lucky.  In fact, the very cheapest I can list it for is just over $17.  Now, I love my book and think it’s wonderful – I just don’t think it’s worth $17.05 (not including shipping).  Had I done a modicum of research, I probably would’ve realized this was a silly decision and saved myself the money.  Now, I’ve wasted someone’s time and my money for a printed version of my book that I doubt will ever sell a single copy.  At least for future books, I’ll know this is not an option.

Sigh.

Just keep swimming.