Wade Garret's Blog, page 7

Amazon Giveaway!

Ok, so the last one went in about a day and a half....wasn't expecting that.
This one I hope to last a little longer.

We'll see :)

Link


Thanks ahead of time for all who enter,

Wade

Sale!!!!!

New Low Price at Amazon

Was $25
Now $18+


Hope this drives more readership.


Thanks,

Wade

AmazonUk Reivew *Aren't linked to AmazonUS* Stupid

Hazel Butler -                                                                                                                                      This review is from: Genesis: Book One of the Kingdom Come Series (Kindle Edition) "I found this novel to be a rare gem. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting when I bought it, but it came up on a search while I was researching something for my own book and, after a quick look at the blurb, I decided to order it and see what it was all about. Man am I glad I did! I wasn't entirely sure I was going to like it initially, but after the first couple of chapters I literally could not put it down. The characters are incredibly well drawn, with real depth. I became incredibly fond of Jak, and have been eagerly awaiting the next book since I closed this one. The worldbuilding throughout is particularly noteworthy - there are few world that have this kind of detail sustained through each and every area and level of the world. Massive thumbs up from me and highly recommended for anyone who enjoys intelligent Science Fiction."

7 Simple Edits That Make Your Writing 100% More Powerful by Shane Arthur

There are some bloggers who seem to have a natural gift when it comes to writing. Some bloggers seem to be naturally gifted writers.
They manage to get their ideas across clearly and economically, which means that readers can easily follow what they write. Readers devour their clear, economical prose.
Not only is there a lot of respect for what they have to say, but also the way that they say it. People respect what they say – and love how they say it.
Whenever they publish a new post on their blog, it always gets dozens of comments and hundreds of shares. Every new blog post attracts dozens of comments and hundreds of shares.
It would be great to be as successful as they are, but you don’t know what you need to do to make your writing better. You’d love to emulate their success, but you don’t know how.
The good news is that there’s a secret you can easily learn which will improve everything you write from now on. Fortunately for you, a simple secret can transform your writing forever.

The Unfair Advantage Popular Writers Try to HideYou know your writing heroes? Would you be shocked to learn that their writing is no better than yours?
Sure, the end product is better, but the first draft is just as clumsy, flabby, and downright difficult to read as any of your own writing efforts.
What popular bloggers know that many people don’t know (or don’t want to believe) is that a post isn’t finished simply because they’ve said everything they want to say. In many ways that’s just the beginning.
Think of your draft as a rough diamond. Value is hidden inside it and you need an expert gem cutter to reveal its beauty and clarity.
Which is why many top bloggers hire a professional editor to transform their rough diamonds into gleaming jewels. That’s right – someone else is helping them.
Somewhat unfair, right?
No wonder their writing seems so much better than yours. And even those bloggers who don’t use an editor have simply learned how to edit their own posts like a pro.
Fortunately, editing isn’t rocket science. If you have someone to show you how.
So let’s break down the rules that’ll help you transform your unremarkable draft into a perfectly polished post.
7 Editing Rules That Will Totally Transform Your Next Post1. Don’t Pad Your Prose with Empty Filler Words(Or: Avoid Using Grammar Expletives)Grammar expletives are literary constructions that begin with the words it, here, or there followed by a form of the verb to be.
(Expletive comes from the Latin explere, meaning to fill. Think smelly literary landfill).
Common constructions include it is, it was, it won’t, it takes, here is, there is, there will be.
The problem? When it, here, and there refer to nouns later in the sentence or – worse – to something unnamed, they weaken your writing by shifting emphasis away from the true drivers of your sentences. And they usually require other support words such as who, that, and when, which further dilute your writing.
Let’s look at an example:

There are some bloggers who seem to have…

The there are expletive places the sentence’s focus on some nebulous thing called there instead of the true focus of the sentence – some bloggers. And the writer must then use another unnecessary word – who – that’s three unnecessary words in one unfocused sentence.
Train yourself to spot instances of there, here, and it followed by a to be verb (such as is, are, was, and were) and adjust your sentences to lead with the meat and potatoes of those sentences instead.
(Tip: Use your word processor’s find functionality and search for there, here, and it and determine if you’ve used an expletive).
Other before-and-after examples:
It’s fun to edit – Editing is funIt takes time to write – Writing takes timeThere are many people who write – Many people writeThere’s nothing better than blogging – Nothing’s better than bloggingHere are some things to consider: – Some things to consider are:Caveat: If you previously described an object using there, here, and it, you’re not guilty of an expletive infraction. For example:
I love editing. It’s fun. (This is not an expletive construction since I previously described what it refers to.)2. Don’t Weaken the Action with Wimpy Words(Or: Avoid Weak Verbs; Use Visceral and Action Verbs Instead)Not only does to be conspire with it, there, and here to create nasty grammar expletives, but it’s also responsible for its own class of sentence impairing constructions.
Certain uses of to be in its various forms weaken the words that follow. The solution is to replace these lightweights with more powerful alternatives.
Let’s see some before-and-after examples:
She is blogging – She blogsPeople are in love with him – People love himHe is aware that people love him – He knows people love himOther verbs besides to be verbs can lack strength as well. Use visceral verbs or verbs that express some action. Let’s edit:
Give out – OfferFind out – DiscoverMake it clearer – ClarifyI can’t make it to the party – I can’t attend the partyHe went to Mexico – He traveled to MexicoThink of a blogging strategy – Devise a blogging strategy3. Don’t Cripple Your Descriptions with Feeble Phrases(Or: Avoid Weak Adjectives)Weak adjectives sap the strength from your writing just as nefariously as weak verbs. Use the best adjectives possible when describing nouns and pronouns. And be mindful that certain words, like really and very, usually precede weak adjectives. Take a look:
Really bad – TerribleReally good – GreatVery big – HugeVery beautiful – GorgeousEven if you don’t have a telltale really or very preceding an adjective, you can often give your writing more impact by using stronger alternatives:
Dirty – FilthyTired – ExhaustedScared – TerrifiedHappy – ThrilledEven worse than using weak adjectives is using weak adjectives to tell your readers what something isn’t as opposed to telling them what something is:
It’s not that good – It’s terribleHe’s not a bore – He’s hilariousHe’s not very smart – He’s ignorant4. Trim Flabby Words and Phrases(Or: Avoid Verbose Colloquialisms)Today’s readers have limited time and patience for flabby writing. Their cursors hover over the back button, so say what you mean as concisely as possible before your readers vanish:
But the fact of the matter is – But (Avoid flabby colloquial expressions when possible)Editing is absolutely essential – Editing is essential (Absolutely is redundant)You’re going to have to edit your work – You’ll have to edit your work or You must edit your work (Going to and going to have to are flabby expressions)Due to the fact that editing takes time, some people avoid it – Because editing takes time, some people avoid itEvery single person should love editing – Every person should love editing (Single is redundant; and shouldn’t married people love editing too?

New Goodreads Review!

Goodreads:Darlene Cruz rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Well written and sucked you into the abyss of Sci-Fi. Each character is a character because of the detailed descriptive narrative. Entertaining and intriguing to say the least. Wade Garret caused a confusion here and there switching between characters and gracing us with each characters "going on." but he managed to keep me focus on the storyline and it was well worth it. A bulky book but a good read. Thank you, Darlene Cruz I won this book from Goodreads First Read Giveway."

The REAL Radagast The Brown

Paul Stamets

The Future is Fungi

Goodreads Review!

Brien O'Raighne's
4 of 5 stars Read in February, 2015
Pretty good book. A lot to wade through initially as the explanations are abound for what the Areht does. Some parts of it seemed a little complex for the average reader to follow.

Once the action picks up, it us full throttle from there on. Then, you see how the characters interact and why.

I found a few if the scenes jumbled but for the most part I found this book ocerall enjoyable.       —Thanks Brien. Love the "full throttle" bit.   Appreciate it. Wade

4 Lies Book Publicists Will Tell You, by Barb Ross

Hi. Barb here. At home in Somerville, MA, but venturing to Maine early next month.
My experience is that, if you write fiction, whether you are a new author, or a mid-career author adapting to the brave new world of publishing, there are people around who will give you incredibly terrible advice.
I don’t mean your mom. (“Why don’t you go on Oprah, dear?” “Gee, thanks. I never thought of that.”) I mean people who make their living publicizing books. Publicists you pay, “experts” in the field, even your assigned publicist at your publisher. And since these people have conversations with your editor who has conversations with your agent, there are many, many channels through which bad advice can reach you.
Of course, I don’t mean all publicists, experts, editors and agents give bad advice. Many will give you great advice. Others will give you honest advice–i.e. they will say, “I have no #$%^ing idea.”
Most of the people who give bad advice don’t mean you any harm. They believe what they are telling you. They give you poor information for the following reasons:
1) Nobody really knows the answer. There is not, nor has there ever been, a magic formula that turns books into bestsellers. If there were, every book would be a bestseller.
2) Nobody really understands the brave new world of publishing. It’s too new and changing too fast. To quote William Goldman, “The only thing anybody knows is that nobody knows anything.”
3) Marketing, in general, is an ill-understood activity. John Wanamaker (1838-1922) famously said, “I know that half of my advertising dollars are wasted … I just don’t know which half.” When you generalize from advertising to all of marketing, and when you look at both dollars and effort, I think you’re talking more in the range of 90% wasted. Huge corporations that have millions to spend on focus groups and other semi-scientific ways of judging their marketing still make horrible missteps. And waste a whole lot of effort. But remember, 10% of it works.
So given these challenges, there’s a huge tendency for people to over-generalize. To desperately take whatever worked last time and apply to something new, even if the situation is different. Or to try to reverse engineer success. “Well, this book was a huge success, and the author did A, B & C, so therefore, everybody do A, B & C!”
I don’t have an issue with this. What I have an issue with is the advice that is damagingly bad, and that goes around and around and around. So herewith is my assessment of publicity advice you should absolutely ignore.
1) Don’t waste your time marketing to other writers. You should be focused entirely on readers.
Of all the stupid things people say, this is the stupidest. It’s true that as you come up through the writer ranks, you’ll get to know a lot of fellow authors, both established and aspiring. Sometimes it will feel like all your Facebook friends and other social media followers, all your blog readers and all the people you hang out at conventions with are fellow authors. But authors are incredibly important to you from a marketing perspective.
Most authors are voracious readers first and foremost. They read books and they talk to their friends about books. They hang out in places where people read books and talk about books. Leaving aside the psychological benefits of having a supportive network of friends, having a buzz about your book among writers is priceless. They will recommend you for speaking gigs. They will blurb you. One of the most common questions writers get when they do presentations is, “So who do you like to read?” There’s a reason almost all the reviews in the New York Times Book Review are written by writers.
Whatever you do, please, do not go wandering the earth looking for a lost herd of “readers,” and ignore the very readers it is easiest for you to find, your fellow writers.
2) Readers aren’t interested in writerly stuff.
I actually believed this one, which is sort of a corollary to the above. So when I did “Reader” events I talked about things I thought would interest readers, things about the setting, characters and mystery elements in my books.
But whenever Q&A time rolled around, someone always put up his hand and asked, “So do you write in the morning, or in the evening, or what?”
I know. I don’t get it, either. But I’ve observed this now at lots of writer events, including really famous writer’s events. Some of the questioners are aspiring writers, sure, but others are not. It’s just something the kind of dedicated readers who read writers’ blogs and websites and magazine interviews and who come out to events want to know. They also want to know, do you have a special place where you write? Do you plan a whole book first? All that stuff.
3) Fiction writers need to develop a platform of thousands of Twitter followers and blog readers before they get published.
So let’s talk about the platform thing. A platform is where you stand so people can see you. It helps people find you, and therefore find your book.
Obviously for certain kinds of non-fiction writers, the platform is huge. If you’re a business guru going around the world doing guru seminars, and you’ve written a book to sell at the back of the room, your platform is everything.
For other non-fiction authors, the platform proves their bona fides. If you’ve written a book about the Civil War and you have a university appointment in a history department where you are the resident expert on the Civil War, that’s important. If you are an award-winning journalist, that’s important, too.
In the modern world, the height of your platform often gets measured in social media followers and blog readers, but those are the results of the platform, not the platform itself. You don’t stand on the audience’s heads. You stand on your platform so the audience can see you.
If you are a fiction writer, your platform is your books. Your books are what cause you have an audience, not the other way around. The single greatest reason people purchase fiction is that they have read the author before and liked (loved) their work. And mystery and thriller writers are the most brand loyal and least adventurous of all. As Julia Spencer-Fleming says, “Your book sells your next book.”
So if you are focused on building a Twitter following instead of spending every moment making your book the best book it can be, stop it right now.
I’m not saying the modern mid-list writer should ignore social media or eschew other promotional activities. Once you have an audience, even a small one, it is your most precious asset. You should find as many ways to reach your readers and cultivate them and keep them interested and get them talking about and recommending your books as you can. If you have a new book out, and someone who love-loves you hasn’t heard about it, it’s a shame for them and shame on you.
But growing an audience without a platform–i.e. without a book, is difficult and inefficient.
And if you happen across a publisher who wants to know how many Twitter followers and Facebook friends and blog readers you have before he will commit to publishing your first novel, don’t walk, run.
4) You should do a blog and build a big social media following about something in the world of your book, but not writing.
This is the obvious off-shoot of all three of the above. 1) You should be cultivating readers, not writers. 2) Readers are not interested in writerly stuff. 3) You need a huge platform. Therefore, 4) you should be blogging about something else.
The main reason this is terrible advice is because building a successful blog is an actual skill. If you have the kind of mad enthusiasm for a topic, distinctive and compelling voice, high energy work ethic and productivity required to build a large and faithful blog following, you should consider becoming a blogger instead of a novelist. Because, believe me, it is equally hard, and the last thing you need is another poorly compensated, all-consuming activity to suck up all your time. You already have one. You’re a novelist.
It’s like telling someone to become a virtuoso rock guitarist so they can play in a symphony orchestra. They’re related skills, but not the same skill.
It’s also crazy inefficient. Say you are writing a mystery set in the world of windsurfing. Brilliantly, you build the world’s most popular windsurfing blog.
The theory is these readers will buy your mystery. Like this.
But how it actually works will be more like this.
Not that I am casting aspersions on the general literacy of windsurfers. At all. And note that I’ve indicated you’ll get 90% of the overlap, except for the few dumb asses who will forget to buy your book, or the ones who steal it from their local surf shop. The reason the circle is so small is because of this:
This is not at all drawn to scale. Because if it was, it would look way, way worse than this. But you get the idea.
Willie Sutton said he robbed banks because, “that’s where the money is.” When you’re starting out, you need to focus your marketing efforts on the highly limited number of people who will buy a mystery from an unknown author. Because that’s where the money is. (Actually, there’s no money to speak of anywhere, but that’s an entirely different topic.)
So why so negative, Barb. Why spend this endless blog telling people what not to do? What should we do?
Stay tuned for Part II.




*Hopefully I come across Part 2 so I can post it.

Amazon Giveaway! Ends 3/28

This is the first time I've done a giveaway through Amazon, hope it goes well.

Enjoy and Goodluck,

Wade

Have you seen this????!!! The Leviathan teaser:

All I'm saying is, with creative people like this, stop giving money to do Indiana Jones and Ghostbuster reboots—not to mention other weak titles. There are some seriously bad ass and creative people out there doing awesome work. Show them some love.