R.J. Blain's Blog, page 84

An Open Letter to Publishing Houses Small and Large

(c) JordyR (Creative Commons – Flickr)

Dear Publishers Small and Large,

I love reading books. I really appreciate what you do. I love the fact that you can take a novel and find an audience for it. I love that you provide services — good, necessary services — to your authors.

I love that I’m your audience.

I love that you made me, when I was young, start to read good books. I love that I can go to book stores or online, and look for a trusted brand of publisher, and find a book I’ll enjoy. I might not love the book, but that’s okay. I’ll enjoy the book, and that’s what’s most important to me.

We’ve been friends a long time, Publishers. Sure, you might not know me, but you know my money. I’ve certainly spent enough of it over the years. Remember that one order at Amazon.com where I spent almost $1,000 on books in one order? Yeah. That was me.

You’re welcome.

But lately, it feels like we’ve been getting distant, Publishers. There are a lot more of you out there, now. I love this. That means there is more variety! There are more books out there for me to enjoy. With you, I don’t have to search as hard to find a really good book. A great book, in fact. I can find great books with your help. When I want excellence, I search for you, trusted Publisher.

But something has changed. These small fries — and some of you large ones — seem to have forgotten something really important. You’re still releasing good books, and I get that. Really, I do. I keep throwing my money at you, after all, don’t I?

I haven’t forgotten about you. There’s more competition, though. I just don’t feel like I can trust you as much as I once could. This hurts me. It hurts me a lot.

I love the memories of going to the library and browsing the shelves, putting faith in the fact my trusted, beloved Publishers were producing books that are good. I might not like them for various reasons, but they’re still good books.

They didn’t have noticeable errors. If they did, I could count them on one hand. They had the major elements of good books. They, even if I didn’t like the specific book or a character, were strong, solid stories.

What went wrong, Publishers?

Why am I buying books by Publishers Small and Large with so many errors?

Your job is to produce strong, solid stories that are free from errors. I shouldn’t find missing words from sentences — or a sentence cut off midway through. I shouldn’t find excessive formatting errors. I shouldn’t see exclamation points coupled unnecessarily to commas. I shouldn’t see spelling errors.

Every book has flaws — I understand this! Even the best proofer will miss something. It happens. I get that. Believe me, I get that. I don’t pay much notice to these errors at all — not when they’re just a little handful. A little handful is fine. A handful, for those of you who are curious, is five. 

But, in the back of my head, I’m counting. I’m counting the number of words you butchered, the number of errors within, and the number of times you failed your authors.

If I reach ten, I get this sinking, unhappy feeling in my stomach. I start turning pages looking for the errors. I start fearing them.

They take away from the story. They make me wince. They aren’t enjoyable. They ruin good books. They make what might have been a great book into a good book.

It motivates me to make sure my books are even better in the future, though. So thanks for that, it’s appreciated.

But, seriously. Sit down. Let’s talk about this, Publishers.

You are supposed to be an example for all of us. You charge more for your books than indie authors. You boast having editorial staff to help your authors produce the best novels possible. You pay your authors less in exchange for editorial services, advertising services, cover art, and so on.

You expect readers to pay a premium because your books are supposed to be better than the rest.

I don’t care if you’re large or if you’re small, Publishers. Don’t let scale be an excuse. Where are the really good books I trust you to provide me?

Why am I picking up novels with more than five noticeable errors in them? Why am I finding many books produced by you, Publishers Small and Large, with more than ten errors?

Errors happen. But there should be limits to how many errors there are in a single novel. I can understand just not liking a plot as much as some others. I’m a picky, picky reader. I love new, exciting things. I like characters who grab me by the throat and don’t let go until they’ve taken everything they can from me.

You often provide me with this sense of wonder and discovery.

But you’ve lost your magic touch, Publishers Small and Large. Why?

Why should I lower my expectations for really good books just because the market isn’t as kind as gentle to you as it once was? I understand — good staff is hard to find on a budget. Authors have more burden on them to do their own proofing. I understand.

But when I look at a book on the shelf, where you have smeared your brand, your name, and your logo on the cover, the onus is on you to make sure that book shines.

The author has to play by your rules for so many things.

The burden is yours to make sure all of the errors are gone from these novels before they’re published. I shouldn’t be acquiring books by you — no matter what your size — that is full of editorial errors. I shouldn’t be picking up novels with formatting errors. I shouldn’t be picking up novels with sentences cut off halfway through them.

I trust you to hook me up with good books.

Your books just aren’t as good as they used to be. There are a few of you who are the Dark Knights of the Publishing World. Every recent title I’ve picked up by you has been error free or far within the five-error threshold I have. For that, I thank you.

But, as for the rest of you — the real reason you’re struggling in the modern world of novel publication isn’t because of the self-publishing competition. It isn’t because Amazon is scalping you. It isn’t because you have many more other people to fight against for consumers.

It’s because your books just aren’t as good as they used to be.

If they were, readers would trust you to still provide them with the best books. They wouldn’t feel the need to explore the indie novel market to get the good books they once trusted you to produce.

Independents are charging less for comparable works. Some indies are growing the courage to charge the same for their comparable works.

Don’t blame Amazon for your struggles.

Don’t blame independent authors for your struggles.

Don’t blame your authors for your struggles.

Don’t blame your agents for your struggles.

Don’t blame anyone but yourself. You have a job, Publishers Small and Large. That is to create good, error-free novels. When you started letting those errors creep in one by one, when you started relying on unpaid interns who know they won’t have a real chance to get into your house as an editor, when you started underpaying your proofing editors, when you started trusting your authors to provide you with proof-perfect (despite knowing an author can’t 100% proof their own books) novels, you failed. You failed your authors.

You failed your readers.

You failed me.

So, what are you going to do about it, Publishers Small and Large? The burden certainly isn’t on me to fix your mess. You made the bed, you made a mess on the sheets. Get out from under the covers and fix what you’re screwing up.

Don’t act so shocked and surprised that you’re crumbling at the foundations — because the foundation of your business has always been the quality of the books you produce and select.

Readers can tell the difference between a sparkling diamond and a stinking pile of refuse. We’re not stupid. Sometimes we like mindless drivel. We want to rot our brains on novels with no literary merit. You cater to us when you find the best of that type and bring it to us, your audience.

But you fail us with each and every editorial error you allow to slip into your novels.

There is no reason — no excuse — for a multi-person team of novel producers to allow such things to happen.

You have the edge on independent authors. You have resources. You usually have funding. You have reviewers who would be happy to point out errors in a novel if you, as some publishing companies do, put a notice in the ARC with simple, easy directions on who to report an error to.

As a reviewer, if I see such a notice, I will gladly mention any errors I find in an ARC. But a lot of you Publishers Small and Large have too much pride. You don’t include those notices.

And the Publishers Small and Large who do include those notices often don’t have errors in their novels — even in the pre-release ARCs. What does that tell me? Some publishers still care.

So why don’t you?

Independent authors get skewered if there are editorial errors in their novels. We’re expected to be up to your level. But your level is a sinking ship.

Independent authors aren’t destroying the publishing industry.

Amazon isn’t destroying the publishing industry.

Reviewers aren’t destroying the publishing industry.

You are destroying your industry, all because you don’t have the same qualities of standards you once did.

You have let people understand they can get equivalent novels from independent authors for the same price or cheaper. People are branching out. People are starting to — or have already lost — your trust.

Do you want to be the top dog again? The prime example of what novel production should be?

Act like it. Fire whatever incompetent proofers you currently have. Hire new ones. Pay them reasonable amounts per book. Make them care about the quality of the manuscript being released from the wilds. Draw on your wide pool of reviewers to catch the things you missed — because reviewers love books, and if you ask nicely, most of us would be happy to help you produce even better novels.

We want novels that shine.

You’ve heard this before. It’s been smeared all over the internet for years. Usually by dissenting independent authors who will no longer buy your books because they don’t believe in you.

How do I differ from them? I still believe.

I want you to succeed. I want your authors, your books, and your industry to do well. I want my industry to do well. We’re in this same ship together.

Most of all, I love good books.

By releasing novels with so many errors, all you’re saying is that you’ve forgotten that — that in the effort to make money as quickly as possible — you no longer love those books.

Go ahead, get offended. I know a lot of editors and agents who work many long, hard hours on their projects, trying to ensure the careers of authors. But, by allowing basic errors — you do know the difference between there, they’re, and there, right? — you are sending a message:

You no longer care.

And with that message, you sink your own ship. You turn an empire into ruins. You ruin the hopes of your readership. You lose your audience.

Publishers, I still love you. You’re not broken. Sure, you’re a little bent right now, but you can be fixed.

Start with your proofing department. Let the flaws in a novel be with the characters — and let those flaws be with the opinion of the reader. Let the flaws in novel be with the plot — and let those flaws be with the opinion of the reader.

Don’t ruin great books. Stop ruining great books.

You are an example for all of us. Start acting like it.

Those independents you so fear won’t hold back. Amazon will continue to grow. You could use amazon as a great tool to connect with readers. You already do it. You could be so much more than you are now.

But, until you fix the problem with your editorial staff and your proofing staff, your house is burning down around your ears and you paid the firemen to go on vacation to Antarctica.

Independent authors have learned this less already. Freelance editorial is surging, because independents want to be as good as you. But, there is another problem.

They aren’t just striving to be as good as you.

They want to be better.

Your hull is leaking, and it isn’t because of independents, because of amazon, or because of the crumbling brick and mortar book stores. It’s because of you.

Sit down, Publishers. You can get your panties in a bunch later. Right now, you’re being reviewed by those who love books more than they love you.

You have a huge problem, Publishers, and it isn’t with your readers, independent authors, or amazon. I trust you see where I’m going with that, right?

You, unlike many independent authors, have budgets. If an independent author can afford good proofing editors, why can’t you?

Why am I finding independent novels with the same professional — or better professionalism — that you are supposed to be the trophy, showcase example of?

I’m patient, Publishers Small and Large, but my patience wears thin. My attention wanders — I check even your samples now for quality. I didn’t used to feel like I had to.

What are you going to do about it?

P.S.: I still love you, but we all have to grow up at some point. Give me a reason to believe in you as I always have.

Orangeberry Book Tours – A Review of Many Parts – Part 1

In November of 2013, I decided I wanted to try some promotional marketing for myself. I started looking around at the various book tour groups online, trimming down to a list of four or five. These all had one thing in common: They accepted indie authors.

A lot of the larger book tour companies don’t. This doesn’t surprise me, as many of the blogs and review groups associated with the blogs are interested in professional work only. It’s a bit of an unfortunate truth that there are many more amateur indie authors out there than professional ones at the moment.

I went with Orangeberry Book Tours. This group has a reasonably large tour blog pool, allowing up to 90+ day long book tours. In the interest of testing out the viability of a book tour service, I wanted a group that could support that many ‘stops’ (or visits to various blogs.)

What interested me about this touring group includes three things: Their twitter services, their rafflechopter organization, and their book club. Book reviews tend to be a part of most touring groups, but few tours I have seen use a stable pool of readers in the form of a book club. It is my hope that because the reviews will be coming from a book club group, they’ll be more serious than standard customer reviews.

The impact of their reviews, rafflechopter, and twitter Services, however, will be a discussion for another post of this review of Orangeberry’s services.

Today, I want to focus on the preparation process for the book tour. Due to the extensive size of my book tour with them — which has blog stops scheduled into the third quarter of next year — there was a great deal of preparation work needing done.

I’m going to break this up for you, step by step, so you know what was needed, why it was needed, and my thoughts on whether or not this is an effective marketing tactic.

 

Guest Posts

 

Guest posts are a big part of a book blog tour. Some of you are probably nodding at this point. I get along really well with guest posts, especially about writing and reading. I took to this like a fish to water. I started with 20 some unique 500 to 1,000 word guest posts on a variety of different subjects.

Orangeberry Book Tours provided a master list of subjects I could write about, with the additional perk of allowing me to create my own subjects to write about. This pleased me quite a bit.

In February, I will be writing additional guest posts, as I want every blog to have unique content.

This is something that many people have complained about: There are a notable amount of authors who do not want to invest the time to make a unique post for each blog. This hurts your success at a book blog tour. I emailed back and forth with one of the organizers at Orangeberry Book Tours, and she confided to me that many of the authors who participate on the tours will do the absolute minimum. This hurts their tours.

I didn’t make that mistake. I provided enough guest posts for the first 30 day tour to have unique posts. In the beginning of February, I will be giving Orangeberry Book Tours additional guest posts so that blogs can have unique content.

At the end, I suspect some blogs will share content. It’s extremely difficult to write a minimum of sixty unique blog posts in a short period of time.

If you decide to participate in a book blog tour, invest in yourself and your book. Write unique posts for the participating blogs. It makes them happy, and it’ll make you a lot happier with the results at the end of the day.

 

Interviews

 

In addition to guest posts, interviews are a part of the standard Orangeberry Book Blog tour. Interviews were done in an interesting way with them — and I understand the reasoning for why. It’s really hard to coordinate that may direct interviews with blogs. So, to solve this problem, the Orangeberry coordinators give authors a massive list of questions and ask them to answer as many of the questions as possible, once again with a set minimum of questions needing answered.

Orangeberry then compiles the questions into interview batches to give to participating blogs. This is an effective way to ensure each blog gets a unique interview without adding a lot of additional overhead. Being a fan of running interviews on my blog, I know just how much time it takes for me to get one interview done.

So, from a blogger perspective, I can see how this would be a huge relief — and a major saver of time.

Like with the guest posts, I went overboard with the questions. Unique content is king, and considering you only need to write 50-100 words per question, there is no reason an author can’t answer a lot of questions, making sure their interviews are unique and interesting.

I had a lot of fun with the interview questions. Like with the guest posts, I added some questions of my own to the list to add a little spice to it.

 

Excerpts

 

In addition to the guest posts and interviews, excerpts are used to help generate interest for a book. Orangeberry uses blog posted excerpts and bookbuzzr to handle excerpts.

If you’re in KDP Select, like I am, you have to be extremely careful about the excerpt selection. In KDP Select, you cannot post excerpts from the novel outside of the sampling section listed on amazon.com. Not many authors are aware of this. (Orangeberry was very clear about the limitations on excerpts in regard to KDP Select, as it is in their better interests to make certain their clients do not violate KDP Select rules.)

This was quite appreciated by me, as it shows that Orangeberry does, indeed, care about making certain the authors are aware of potential issues with their novels and the excerpts.

I selected the minimum number of excerpts for the tour due to the fact that I am enrolled in KDP Select, and I was struggling to find good excerpts of the appropriate length that didn’t include major spoilers for the novel.

 

Twitter Blasts and Twitter Interviews

 

One of the more interesting services that Orangeberry offers is their twitter promotions. Orangeberry has some 100,000 followers, making it a good place to get your name out there. I definitely noticed a surge in followers following the twitter blasts and interviews.

Twitter blasts are snippets of the book and the book’s blurb, links to the book, and brief quotes and other things of interest from the novel. The twitter interviews are a series of questions pinged out by Orangeberry over the course of the interview date(s).

 

Rafflecopter

 

An optional component of Orangeberry’s tours is the addition of a rafflecopter. I opted to do one for a $25 amazon gift card. These raffles give users a chance to win a free gift card. In order for them to participate in the raffle, they have to do little tasks. This can be tweeting about the book, following my twitter account, or liking my facebook page.

Rafflecopters are a way to get additional exposure. If you’re dishing out for the tour, I personally recommend you add the extra $25 for the raffle. It has a synergistic impact with the book tour, draws additional attention to the novel, and helps with branding.

Orangeberry set up and maintains the raffle, which is a huge relief for someone like me who has no idea how to set one up and get it posted without help. (I’m sure with some effort I could figure it out, but I like that it was a free service — I just paid for the gift card.)

 

BookBuzzr

 

One of the more frustrating parts of setting up the Orangeberry tour was setting up the bookbuzzr feed. This feed allows users to start reading your book, much like the amazon’s sample reading. KDP Select users must ensure that the sample is the same length, or shorter, than what is available on amazon.com.

Setting up the bookbuzzr was a little more complicated than I like, but considering that each of the book blog posts includes this feed plus links to buy the book, it was well worth the frustration and the headache to set up.

 

Time Investment

 

Orangeberry asks for at least six weeks to prepare a book blog tour. This gives them time to coordinate with their various blogs, find out if their club members wish to review the book, and so on. During the first four or five weeks of the wait period, authors are expected to write up their guest post content, answer interview questions, and prepare the excerpts.

Use this time wisely. These posts do take time to write up, and the responsibility is all on the author to make sure the posts are in good shape for the blogs.

Blogs reserve the right to reject content that has errors or is lackluster.

I expect I spent at least 30 hours preparing for the book blog tour. But, I view this as time well spent, as it is invested in making certain that my book gets the best exposure possible.

The most important thing I have walked away with from the preparation process of the tours is the fact that you really get out of the tours what you put into them. If you want your tour to do well, write the best posts and content possible for them.

That’s how you get the attention of potential new readers.

 

The Branding Potential of a Book Tour

 

One of the reasons I decided to start with a book blog tour is the fact that I want to brand myself and my novels. That means spreading word about my books (and links to amazon) around the internet. With a tour of this size, I will be able to increase the relevancy of my name to my novels. This doesn’t have an easily-calculated value, although it’s valuable all of the same.

More to come, as I experience the tour in full, and have a change to gather some data on how the tour has impacted my novel’s performance.

Killing Your Darlings

I don’t remember which post on Google+ jarred my brain on this subject. It isn’t something I think about very often. I don’t go around chanting “Kill them! Kill all of the darlings!” when I edit — either for myself, or for my clients. I don’t even keep it in my subconscious. It isn’t a factor when I look at one of my novels — or at the novel of a client.

For some reason, I feel like I’m poking at a bee nest with this subject.

As always, these are just my opinions, written up in my straight forward sort of way.

What Does Kill Your Darlings Mean?

My understanding of it is this: Never become so attached to a scene, a phrasing, or a character that you are not willing to remove it from your story.

In application, I’ve seen a lot of writers (and by a lot, I really do mean a lot) take it a step further, making it mean “If you really like it, cut the darling to improve your story, because it obviously can’t be that good!”

Maybe I’m being cynical. Maybe I’m being a hard ass about it. Some might venture that I’m taking a rather bitchy stance on this. Frankly, I prefer my interpretation: Be willing to remove scenes, phrases, and characters that don’t work in the story in order to strengthen it.

I want to flip this on its ear for a moment. I want to take a look at the consequences of blindly cutting favored things in the effort to improve a novel.

Disclaimer: Sometimes it really is necessary to cut a favorite thing from a book. I’ve done it many times, because favorite doesn’t mean necessary.

This is a discussion on the over reliance on this mentality to ‘edit’ a novel.

The Risks of Cutting Your Darlings

After editing a lot of fiction in the last year, there is one thing I can say with confidence: It’s often easy to tell when someone truly loved what they were working on. It’s easy to tell when someone was in the groove, and they were able to create their writing in a mindset where darlings are formed.

The writing is often a step up from other scenes. The characters are more vibrant, more lively. The scenes are better in general.

These darlings, as they are, often create the entire atmosphere of a novel.

Cutting them would be slashing a knife to the novel’s throat and letting them exsanguinate. Sometimes they need adjusted. But to remove them? It would cut away the life from the novel one terrible stroke at a time.

I’m of the mindset that novels can be improved — including the darling scenes.

Improvement, however, is not killing. Killing is a term to remove, to cut away, to destroy.

And by having the mentality of approaching edits and writing with the intent to kill your darlings, I’m growing into a firm believer that you’re running the risk of killing that ‘something’ that makes a novel appealing.

Don’t kill your darlings.

Groom them.

When is it Necessary to Kill Your Darlings?

Sometimes, killing off a favorite scene or chapter or character is necessary. Sometimes, the phrase you so loved just doesn’t work anymore due to how things prior in the novel have changed.

These darlings must go, if they no longer fit in the novel. This is much different than purposefully going out of your way to attack those favorite scenes in a fit of insecurity.

There is a large and notable difference between a necessary but painful cut and wallowing in insecurity. 

Because you like a scene, a character, or a phrasing doesn’t mean it is bad. I am astonished each and every time that a writer cuts something like this for no other reason than it was a darling, and because someone posted a quote out of context on the internet, they have to cut this darling.

It sounds a little ridiculous when I type it out that way, doesn’t it? Well, I guess that is because I do think it’s a little ridiculous that someone would actually cut phrasings, sentences, entire scenes, and characters on the grounds that they are overly fond of them. That this driven creativity, born of love and self-appreciation, is a bad thing in a novel.

Next time you go to kill your darlings during editorial, please take a minute — take an hour’s worth of them, even — and ask yourself this: Why am I cutting this darling?

Here is a handy little mental checklist I use to determine whether or not a character, scene, or phrase needs to be changed or cut:

Does it fit with the flow of the story?
Does its inclusion make the story stronger or enhance the atmosphere or intangibles of the novel?
Does it add clarity to the scene, the chapter, or the story as a whole?
Does removing the scene harm the flow or clarity of the story?
Does removing it alter your characters? If so, does the removal benefit the novel on a whole?
Why do I like this scene, this character, or this phrase so much? (Then I ask myself: If it stays, does it harm the story? If it doesn’t harm the story…. it stays!)

Because there are those who watch me because of my editorial work, here is how I handle obvious darlings in a client’s novel differently:

I don’t handle them differently. I make comments as I see them — if the darling works (and often, I see the dramatic increase of quality when I’m in a darling scene) I tell them how to make the darling better. If it doesn’t work, I try to point out the things an author might do to, well, make the darling better.

Darlings can get better.

Groom Your Darlings

Maybe it’s the glass half-full approach. Maybe its the fact that I see too many authors disparage themselves in the effort to follow this sort of writing advice without being able to understand that darlings are a good thing in a novel.

Maybe it’s my belief that darlings help make the story shine.

No matter what the psychological reasoning might be, I’m a huge fan of taking something good and making it great. There is a reason that phrase, that character, or that scene is a darling. Cutting is easy.

Bringing something to life, making something good into something great — that’s hard.

Maybe I believe that ‘Killing Your Darlings’ isn’t the right way to approach it, but rather to ‘Change Your Darlings’ is more of how I think novels should be approached. Change isn’t a bad thing — it turns good books into great books. It can turn flawed, lackluster books into good books.

It all depends on how the author approaches their editorial. Some authors can naturally go about finding and improving their darlings to make them shine.

Others cut them, because that’s the only thing they know how to do — because cutting to trim down can be perceived as a way to improve a story.

Sometimes it is necessary. Sometimes I will sit down with a client and tell them that a scene just doesn’t work. I’ll tell the client why, and make recommendations on how I think they could improve on what they have and fix the weak sections to turn their book into a better book.

I don’t like telling clients I think they need to cut things. It happens often enough. And sometimes, the darlings are on my short list of things to be cut.

Some authors choose to cut, and give birth to new, better darlings. Some authors choose to keep the scenes, the characters, or the phrasing, and find a way to turn their darling into a important part of their novel.

Both ways can be right.

But, and this is only my opinion of course, those things were darling to you for a reason.

It often shows to readers.

Disclaimer: This is not advice to leave your darlings alone. This is my opinion that darlings, like the rest of most novels, do need edited to shine. But I do not believe that cutting for the sake of cutting, or because some internet quote told you to, is really an answer.

Grooming darlings can turn them into stars, though. If you cut them, they’ll never get a chance to shine.

Give your darlings a chance. They might surprise you.

Sometimes they won’t, though. That’s when the axe needs to come down for the sake of your novel.

A Reviewer’s Responsibility

Last year, I wasn’t the most responsible of reviewers. When I agreed to review a book, I would do so, though it would usually take me a month or two longer than I hoped to do it. Granted, none of these reviews were on a deadline, but it did make one thing apparent to me: I wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, a professional reviewer.

This year, I’m trying to be a professional reviewer. If I need to have a review done for a tour or release by a certain date, I prioritize that book. I’m more likely to be leisurely on a book where I don’t have a specific date it must be reviewed by, though I don’t want to sit on a title for more than three months. I am now trying to partner book reviews of four stars or higher with author interviews as well. Why? If I believe in a book enough to give it four stars, I believe in the author enough to want them to succeed in their careers.

Another reason, even more simple than the one I’ve already given, is that I care about books.

I think reviewers forget one very important thing.

You are being paid to review books.

You are not receiving a cash payment, but you’re being paid. You’re being paid in the royalties that would have gone to the author and would have gone to the publishing house (if there is one.) By US Tax law, you must pay taxes on the value of the books you receive for reviewing purposes.

Reviewing is a job. You are paid.

Book reviewers forget that. You’re being paid to give an opinion on a piece of literature, not for the author of the literature, but for the potential customers who may want to buy this book.

You aren’t being paid to give false praise of the book, but you are being paid.

That also means if you are approached by an author or a company to review a book, the burden of commitment is on you to fulfill the terms of your contract. If you are asked to review a book by a certain date, and are given a copy of the book, you are being paid to review that book by a certain date.

Reviewers, get off your high horse. You are not above the author who wrote that book. You are not above the company who provided that copy of that book for you. You aren’t above anyone at all.

Your job is to help customers decide if a book will be a good read for them.

You are not there to help the author.

You are not there to act like a creative writing class student giving a book report.

You are not there to make the author or publisher feel warm and fuzzy inside.

You are there to help readers buy books.

You are a marketing tool. You’re there to help guide customers — readers — into knowing whether or not a book will be enjoyable for them or not. You need to understand the different types of readers. You need to know the difference between your personal tastes and the merit of the book.

You need to be able to say who would enjoy this book even while you are saying why you didn’t enjoy the novel. The same thing applies in reverse.

You are being paid to review books.

That author or publishing company is relying on you to do as you said you would. They paid you to review those books. If you buy the book of your own finances and accord, you are more than free to do whatever the hell you want — reviewing it two or three years late, if that’s what you want.

But, when an author or company pays you to review a book — the payment being a review copy of the book — you are the one at fault if you do not meet up to your word.

Authors and publishing companies are more than in their right to ask that you review their book by a certain date. They are paying you for that right.

Books aren’t free, reviewers. If you’re reviewing books just to mooch free titles, maybe you’re part of the reason that many reviewers are looked down on. Maybe you’re part of the reason that the quality of reviews has decreased.

Maybe you’re part of the reason that people don’t trust reviewers to help guide them in book purchases.

You can be critical. You don’t have to lavish a story with praise if you do not believe that story deserves praise.

However, if you were paid to review a book, you are the one who has to live up to the payment. When an author gives you a book, they’re paying you out of their own pocket.

You are being paid to review books.

You are not above that. Remember that the next time an author or publishing company gives you a book. You were paid.

Treat them with the professional courtesy they deserve. Don’t add to the reputation that reviewers are book mooches who only want to read books at their leisure. If you want to read books at your leisure, buy the book and read it at your leisure.

Review copies are taxable because they’re considered by law to be income.

Consider that the next time you want to get upset that an author or publishing company wants your review within a certain time frame. It’s a part of the job. If you don’t like it, I really recommend you stick to reviewing books you bought with your own money.

Book Reviewing is a Service

Your customers are authors and publishers, but your audience is readers around the world. This shift in perspective, for me, made me realize that if anything, I’m a middleman at best.

I want to help people buy good books. I want to help people avoid bad books. I want people to enjoy reading. I want to make sure I understand that just because I did not enjoy a book doesn’t mean there isn’t a great market for that book.

My job is to know the difference and to write reviews accordingly.

Ultimately, I want people to buy books. I currently review both books I’ve bought on my own and that I was paid to review. And yes, by paid I do mean I was given a copy of the book, for free, for the purpose of reviewing.

Why do you review books?

I’ll leave you to think about that question on your own. Me? I review books because I love books. Books are an integral part of my life, whether I’m writing or reading them.

A Rambling on my Writing Process

It is 6:03 am, and I wrote 1,911 word ‘today.’ Today happens to be the period I was awake, albeit ‘today’ is currently Sunday.

That’s about 1,911 words more than I usually manage on a Saturday, so I’m extremely pleased with myself. The scene I was working on turned out better than I thought.

Here is an update on estimated word counts and progress on Inquisitor. For those of you who don’t follow me on Google+, I have been sharing my progress on the drafting and editorial of one of my novels I’m releasing in 2014.

Average transcribed words per page (real): 257.63

Original estimated transcribed word count per page: 228

Original estimated transcribed manuscript total: 82,308

New estimated transcribed manuscript total: 93,004

This demonstrates an interesting part of my writing process: I add a lot of things when I transcribe. I flush out scenes. I modify the tension, the pacing, and the general development. I try to accomplish the tone of the reading while I transcribe.

The first draft — written in my moleskines — is rarely ‘copy perfect.’ I am constantly adapting what I write. My moleskine writing captures the essence of the scene.

The transcription, where a massive amount of editorial takes place, is capturing everything else. I don’t want to say I’m capturing the beauty of the scene, though it’s definitely where I take the spark of creativity forming in the moleskine and give it life as I add it to the computer.

This is what people may find interesting, though. When I work on the moleskine, I usually write one page in 15 minutes. 10 minutes if I’m having a really, really good day. Usually, 15 minutes will sack me around 175 actual words on a moleskine page.

This transforms to 250 words when I transcribe.

Transcription is where the majority of my editorial takes place. Yes, I do copy and line and proofing edits after transcription, but the bulk of my developmental editorial happens during the transcription phase.

The true bulk of the work happens during transcription.

The irony, such as it is, is the fact that I love the transcription process almost as much as I love writing in my moleskine journal. It isn’t just copying words.

It’s writing.

It’s taking something lackluster and trying my hardest to make it something beautiful. This is why I love editing.

The Impact of Diet on Productivity

People say a lot of things about me, but I’m often told (or accused) of being a machine for how productive I can be. It’s true. When I’m on my A game, I can edit several chapters of a client’s work plus write several thousand words of my own fiction.

To those who struggle to write, I guess it does look like I’m some sort of automaton, doesn’t it?

I’ve been asked in the past what my secret is. I’ve always said something along the lines of “I sit down, shut up, and work.”

There is more to it than that. And it wasn’t until I started trying to eat better and live healthier that I realized what it was.

My Diet Matters

I can hear some snorts from here. Some are born of disgust, some of satisfaction. Either way, what you eat and drink significantly impacts your mental capacities.

I learned this the hard way.

Now, here’s the thing. You aren’t me. You don’t have my special blend of issues, nor do I have yours. I’m not a dietitian. I’m not a doctor. I’m an observer of the state of my body.

I’m not you. What works for me may work for you, but at the end of the day, you need to become an observer of your body. Why? Because no one else is going to do it for you. You’re body is your responsibility, and how you take care of it is your choice.

But, here is how the various health things impact me.

About three weeks ago, I checked my weight on a scale and winced. I was up to 190. I was drinking soda daily — usually three or more cans in a day. Cherry Coke is my drug of choice, and it was recently sold in Canada again for $0.50 a can versus $1.00+ a can on the black market.

Yes, where I live, Cherry Coke was a black market item until about two months ago. This is when I gained over 10 pounds in short order.

Sugar, a Horror Story

Sugar is the absolute worst thing I ever did for myself. When I drink sugary products, eat foods with sugary pasta (yes, pasta has a notable amount of sugars in it), and otherwise splurge in the glucose department, my weight starts climbing fast.

With my climbing weight, I lose the ability to concentrate for long periods of time. My 1+ hour focus time deteriorates down to ~30 minutes. I struggle to get the motivation to sit down and work. I have to exercise my will power.

I feel sick. Not with a cold, but not well, either. It’s a constant state of weariness that the winter isn’t responsible for. It’s that sluggish feeling when you get out of bed, not ready to face the world.

In short, sugar sucks.

Cutting back on Sugar

When I start cutting back on sugar, several things happen at once. First, lethargy hits. I mean, knock-me-flat lethargy. I sleep. In quantity. For an insomniac-prone girl, this is both heaven and hell.

Heaven comes from the whole getting sleep thing. Hell comes from the whole getting sleep thing whenever. One second, I’m working. The next, I’m wandering to the nearest soft surface, grabbing a cat, and taking a nap.

Sugar Addiction

I’m addicted to sugar. It’s not a guess, it’s a confirmed thing with me. You cut out my sugar for a day or two, and I am ready to attack anyone and anything, and climbing the walls. It’s not pretty. I’m snarly. I’m grumpy. Lethargy levels go straight through the roof. I crave all of the sweet things like you wouldn’t believe. It’s a textbook case of withdraw.

It’s not fun.

Some people say, ” Just go cold turkey!”

If I had two weeks where I could do nothing but sleep, drink water, and eat foods low in sugar, I would. However, I can’t afford to take two weeks off. Sugar addiction is more than just a craving for sweet things. For me, my body is used to a set amount of sugar intake. It’s too much, and my body doesn’t know how to readily adapt to this resource not coming in. My body is used to hoarding all of the excess sugars and storing them as fat.

In short, my body freaks out if I try going cold turkey. It doesn’t end well. Not for me, or for my short-term health.

The simple truth is, the same thing applies to caffeine. Sugar and caffeine are both stimulants, and amazingly enough, the impact on the brain can be similar. However, caffeine in controlled doses can be quite beneficial.

Sugar, especially the processed white stuff, the stuff added to sodas, and other forms (including high-fructose corn syrup) aren’t good for you. At all.

Even fruit juices and vegetable juices can have an obscene amount of sugars added to them — all of them bad.

Life Without Sugar

At one point, I had cut the sugar completely. I think I went cold turkey. When it happened was a bit of a blur. That was the withdraw. There’s no helping it now.

All I wish is that I hadn’t started drinking sodas again.

But, when I was off sugar, I found my productivity levels were particularly high. I was focusing on single tasks for an hour or more at a time. I was able to drink unsweetened teas and water without feeling unsatisfied or craving something else.

I was able to think faster, think better, and I made fewer mistakes.

Sugar wasn’t the only reason for this, though cutting it out was about 90% of the difference.

The other impact was the fact I was getting sufficient liquids each day. Dehydration does terrible things to the mind — it impacts your ability to think. Drinking water counters that, and encourages better thinking, intellect, and reaction times.

(Seriously. It’s a thing. Go get a medical book or two from the library about the brain and read them, if you don’t believe me. Water + Brain function = significant. Don’t like the fact I’m not linking to this? Yea, about that. Go to the library. That’s what I did for a lot of my basic knowledge. Wikipedia is only good so far, but for things dealing with your health, go to trusted doctors and medical resources… not wikipedia.)

In short, I worked faster, I worked harder, and I worked better. Most importantly, I feel better.

Bonus: I also lost 14 pounds in about 2 weeks as my body shed off the fat and regulated itself once again to normal-people standards.

But only after I conquered the need for sugar.

How I’m Quitting the Sugar This Time

My productivity, lately, hasn’t been nearly what I want it to be. Sleep is in infrequent bursts, ranging from one to four hours at a time. I hate it, and my husband hates it, too. The sugar is, in its nefarious way, slowly killing me.

I have been making concerted efforts this week to cut back on sugar.

Today, I managed to sleep for eight hours in a twelve hour period of time.

After all of that sleep, I crumpled under the weight of addiction and had a hit of Cherry Coke.

It’s okay, though — because I’m not going cold turkey. I’m allowed 3 cans of Cherry Coke in a seven day period of time. I’m not allowed to add sugar to my tea, nor am I allowed to add cream. I’m not allowed to have any sweets or candies, except as a husband-granted reward. (He’s much more reasonable about these things than I am.)

I am not making a concerted effort to remove sugars from my meals.

This is how it’s breaking down. First, I’m trying to eat more reliably. This means a big brunch, or a breakfast and a lunch, depending on how hungry I feel. It also means not eating more than I need to. I’ve always had problems stopping when I should feel full. (I have an issue where it takes me about twenty minutes longer than the average person to feel full, so I have to self-regulate the quantity of food I eat. Ironically, after cutting sugars a bit, and drinking water more reliably, my ‘feel full’ sense has started working better. I don’t know if this is related.)

I’m drinking a lot more water. I bought a rubbermaid bottle with the suggested daily amount of water a woman should drink a day on top of regular foods. My goal is to fill this up with water, or with no calorie, sugar-free flavoring and water, and drink this once per day.

Ideally, I’ll drink two of them.

When I have my can of Cherry Coke, I will be following up with two of them, because the extra water will help purge the sugars a little faster and limit the amount of damage the sugars are doing to me. (I don’t know the reasoning for this, just that there is a relationship between drinking lots of water after I drink sugar and not feeling as off as a result.)

It also limits the coming down after the sugar high. (Which is never a bad thing.)

Goodbye, Cruel Sugar…!

I just hope this time, after I spend a month or so dumping your lousy self, I won’t fall prey to your deliciously sweet and terrible ways.

I want to feel better again. That means without you, excess sugars.

If I’m slow, lethargic, and reclusive for the next two weeks, you now know why.

The First Days of an Editing Project

Demystifying how I edit a novel for a client is one of my favorite subjects to talk about. I love working on novels for clients almost as much as I love working on my own novels. As I’ve mentioned before in other posts, I find the entire process of working on an editorial project to be extremely rewarding.

I figured since I was starting on a new project today for a new client, I would talk a little about the first few days of editing a project, as well as what is involved in determining if a client is a good fit with me.

First Contact

An editorial job begins with the first contact with a new client. Most of the time, the client contacts me, be it via Google+ or by e-mail. The first thing I do is direct them to my Editorial Services page. This page goes into what I do, how I tend to operate, and my rates.

Negotiation

Once a client has had a chance to go over my rates and what I do, it’s time to talk shop. This is the stage where I’ll send a sample of my editorial if they’re interested in working with me. I have several clients who have agreed to let me share the first chapter of their edits with clients.

I do not edit a section of a potential client’s work as a sample. Why not, you ask? The first part of a novel often represents the most time investment on an editorial job. While I’m very happy to show examples of the work I’ve done for others, giving away a chapter worth of edits just doesn’t work with my editorial style. It takes me a lot of time to work my way through the initial chapters.

I will ask for a basic synopsis of the story (back of cover blurb) and a sample of writing. This is also where there is a discussion of trigger subjects in the novel.

I am an extremely flexible editor; it takes a significant amount to actually offend me, so I will tackle on projects involving explicit material. However, depending on target audience, I may make recommendations on how to tone the subject matter down to ensure the best reception from readers possible.

My job is not to cater to the egos of my client, but to help them strengthen their novels and turn it into a selling story. I also don’t have any attachments to the plot, the characters, and the writing as the author does.

I try to make certain my clients are aware of this prior to working with me.

The Contract

I use a very simple contract to lay out the terms of the editorial agreement. I don’t believe in complex contracts; my client needs to be able to understand the terms without requiring a lawyer. This contract is in place to protect both of us. Once the contract has been approved by both parties, it’s time for the deposit.

The Deposit

I require a 50% deposit before I start working on a client’s project. This mitigates the risk of non-payment for me. It also proves that the client is serious about wanting the slot, too. I request the deposit before I begin work, but after the contract has been agreed upon by both of us.

Some clients opt to pay entirely in advance due to their financial situations. On occasion, I will make special payment arrangements with a client. However, since I have been burned in the past by non-payment for work, I only do this with trusted, returning clients.

Receiving the Novel

Once the deposit is sent and the contract confirmed, I get a copy of the novel, preferably in a word format, as I work on both a windows desktop and an ipad. I confirm the novel file opens and works properly, then file it away until the client’s starting date, which is usually the first of a month.

Beginning the Work

Every novel is different. Every editorial job is different. Every author is different. This is a bit of a mantra of mine when I start editing a project.

One thing doesn’t change, however. I start editing the first page(s) with a vengeance. The opening sequence of a novel makes or breaks a novel when it comes to sales. If the first scene isn’t strong, people won’t be interested in buying the book. If there isn’t that intangible ‘something’ that makes the beginning intriguing, people will turn away and find something else to read.

The start of a novel can set the tone for the entire book. As such, I spend a lot of time and effort focused on the first chapter. So, what do I do when I edit the opener of a novel?

Here’s a list! This is just the start of the list, however. There is a lot of stuff that goes into the first scene and chapter of a book when I edit. This is meant to just give you a basic idea of the things I look for when I developmentally edit for a client.

Does the first sentence intrigue me? Why or why not?
Does the first paragraph intrigue me? Why or why not?
At what point did I become interested in reading the story for pleasure? Why?
Who is the main character and why should I care about them? I both ask this of the writer. I also ask this of myself as I read to determine what is either turning me on or off about a story.
What is keeping me from getting absorbed by the story? Why?
What can be improved in a stylistic way to help capture the ‘intangible’ elements that turn a good story into a great story?
Is the plot interesting? Why or why not? What can I suggest that makes the plot stronger?
Are there any inconsistencies or holes needing addressed to make the story make sense?
Which characters do I like? Why? Who do I dislike? Why?

This list changes depending on the story, too. I will ask different questions for a science fiction versus a fantasy, and a mystery versus a romance. No one set of questions will work for all novels.

One thing that does stay the same is the fact that I have to explain and justify every comment I make. I recently did the first round of edits on a client’s first six chapters of a episodic story. The section in question was approximately 20,000 words long.

My notes were 13,000 words long.

This is why I do not offer samples of the clients work being edited, instead opting to use a portfolio system. I am thorough. I feel that just saying “this is telling” isn’t sufficient. I have to say “this is why this is telling.”

Just as I will ask a writer ‘why’ over and over again, I will answer those why questions of myself as I leave notes. There are times where I say, “I just don’t like this because I don’t like this — personal preference.” That’s okay. We’re all allowed to have our opinions on something. I never expect a client to change anything I recommend, either. They’re paying me for my opinion. What a client does with my opinion is entirely up to them. I just try to do my best to offer suggestions that will strengthen the story.

Most importantly, I try to make suggestions I feel will help strengthen them as writers. I have one of those careers where if I’m doing my job correctly, they’ll learn all of the skills they need to really start developmentally editing themselves, so they only need beta readers and proofing editors.

Some clients will always want someone to confirm their development of a novel. But, I always love it when a client doesn’t need me anymore because they’re telling strong, wonderful stories on their own. That’s my ultimate goal.

Communication

During the first-read edits, I’m pretty communicative. If I’m not e-mailing updates to a client on a daily basis, the client knows what’s going on with me, be it through my Google+ stream or via an e-mail. The second reading tends to be a lot more casual and laid back, because most of the work has been done, so instead of daily communications, it may take me a few days to get back with my thoughts and comments, especially if we’re doing the second reading by chapter. If I get the entire novel for the second reading at one time, I tend to take a few afternoons to mark the entire thing up.

In some rare cases, I can get the turnaround for the second reading done in a day if the novel is really clean compared to the first reading. (These are my absolute favorite moments of editing, too… it’s rare, but when it happens, I think it makes both me and the author feel really accomplished.)

Time Invested

Every client is different. On average, I estimate it takes about 80 hours to complete a project for a client. This varies by client, of course. One client I had approximately 120 hours worth of investment in. Others I’ve done is as short as 50 or 60 hours for a 100,000 word-long piece.

Later Parts of the Editorial Process…

The first three or four chapters often represent the bulk of time investment, as I don’t believe in beating a dead horse. Most stylistic problems in a novel will make an appearance in the first three chapters or so. Once I have dealt with all of the recurring grammar errors and stylistic issues, I can focus on the characters, the story, and the plot line — the hardcore structure of a novel.

Formatting Editorial Notes

I use the comment feature of word and inline editorial to make notes. More often than not, I will use inline editorial, as it’s easier to convert to a list of notes. Once I am done the inline editorial phase, I create an outline for the client.

The outline is used to comment on the scenes as a whole, making important recommendations and suggestions for the scene (or chapter) and also list all of the inline editorial notes so the client has all of the notes in one easy-to-reference location. This way, the author can also see exactly what I wrote for each scene and find things easier, without having to dig through their entire novel file.

That’s about it, folks. I hope this glimpse helps you understand the process of editorial a little better.

The Risks of Taboo Subjects in Fiction

I was asked a very disturbing question today. It was so disturbing that I quickly finished the notes I was working on for a client, stopped, and stared at the question. A mix of horror and dread raced through me as I tried to figure out just how to answer this one frightening question.

Is it legal to write about an adult raping a child in a fictional setting in Canada?

This question is a hard hitter. My first reaction was ‘Oh my god’ quickly followed with ‘That’s horrible!’ and a bunch of other thoughts, each one less pleasant than its predecessor.

I actually had to take a few minutes to think about how to answer this one. First, declaimer time: I am not a lawyer. I’m writing about this from my personal experiences, media exposure of child rape cases, and my understanding of censorship and sexual-related laws in Canada.

To get a good answer to this question, ask a lawyer. If you’re even considering writing a story with this content, you are at serious risk of imprisonment if you are judged to be in violation of child pornography laws.

Written media isn’t exempt from prosecuting laws in Canada.

So, to get back to the main question at hand: Is it legal to write about?

The answer to this is convoluted. I can’t say yes / no. Because yes / no doesn’t cover the entire story here. Is it legal to write about the existence of child rape in Canada?

Yes.

Is it legal to explicitly show the scene in which an adult rapes a child? 

No.

Fictional or factual isn’t what’s important here. The existence of child rape is a very unfortunate reality. Reporting its existence isn’t illegal. Writing a story about a child who has endured this horrible, terrible crime is totally legal.

Showing the instance of rape, however, is a different story altogether.

I can hear the anti-censorship people screaming right now. Fine, scream. But, in Canada, they’re pretty serious about pursuing child pornography. We hear about busts several times a year as these rings are infiltrated and broken up. And each time, the horror and dread associated with the mere thought of a disgusting, pathetic excuse of an adult who would even consider doing this to a child is brought to the forefront.

Rage is a pretty good descriptor of the reactions to the news reports.

While there is a difference between film and photography medium and the written word, the fact remains that by being explicit detail about the instance of this type of rape toes some very unpleasant lines. In Canada, written and illustrated forms of child pornography are banned. It’s illegal. It is punishable in a court of law. ISPs are required to pursue any believed instances of written or illustrated forms of child pornography.

That’s the law.

It doesn’t matter if the situation is fictional or factual. They don’t distinguish between fictional rape or factual rape in pornography in Canada.

I hope that if you’re considering writing a story involving this sensitive subject, you’re smart, you’re wise, and you never even dream of showing the rape.

You can write a powerful story without having to contribute to this disgusting, horrific crime. You can include the consequences of such a terrible circumstance without having to ever show it.

Sale for UK readers!

As most of you are aware, I did a countdown promotions deal for Storm Without End in December. For those in the UK who happen to like my writing, both novels are now on sale for 0.99p!

If you like traditional fantasy with a heavy Roman influencing but with so many twists you might be hard-pressed to find some of the references, you might want to take a peek at The Eye of God. 

If you like action, adventure, and sweeping epics, you might want to take a peek at Storm Without End!

The Reality of Paperbacks versus E-books for Indie Authors

There is an opinion going around that I wish to address. Here it is: Paperbacks provide more value to their author.

I have encountered this several times. A few fans believed that paperbacks are more valuable to me in terms of royalties and exposure.

This simply isn’t true.

I make approximately $1.00 per paperback sale on both of my paperback novels. Their equivalent e-books bag me $3.45 per book for The Eye of God and $4.14 per book for Storm Without End. 

So, why the royalty differences between The Eye of God and Storm Without End? The Eye of God, as my very first published novel, is far more flawed than my second book. Like others, I was learning. I captured a lot of what I wanted to, but I had a lot of fledgling errors. Some I’ve fixed. Some will never get fixed.

The book is also only 80,000 words. So, I priced it at $4.99.

Storm Without End rings in at 100,000 words, and is a far stronger novel, in my opinion. It’s much closer to where I want to be in my storytelling skills. So, I think the price difference matches the novels very well.

Both of these books get me 70% royalties on the e-book versions.

The paperback novels essentially get me production costs minus amazon’s cut, then my cut thereafter. I don’t know the exact figures, because it was something I was giving to my fans rather than something I ever expect to make real money from. That said, traditionally published novelists often get a big, bad $0.25 per printed copy sold. (That used to be the standard. I’m not sure if that still applies.)

Honestly, I included the paperbacks because I felt some people still just love the feeling of a paperback book, so I wanted to make sure I could give that to them.

That’s all.