M.P. McDonald's Blog, page 8

Oh Look! Another Rant Against Self-published Books! *Yawn*

Every day it seems, there's a new blog post from someone with ties to traditional publishing lambasting self-published books. It's not a new phenomenon, but lately, it's like someone dialed up the frequency of these articles to where I'm now I'm reading  three to four new ones a month. The posts are getting old and tiresome. I guess that's why one ranter felt the need to shake things up by putting authors in classes, like mail or plane passengers. Or comparing us to cattle to be culled. Seriously...he did. I'm not making that up, but I won't link to the blog post. He's had enough attention already.

When I began self-publishing, reading those articles got me so worked up, but now they are reduced to background noise for the most part. I applaud those who go in and stand up for indie books but really, I think our books and our success will be the ultimate defense.

Another reason I can't get too worked up anymore is that lately, the direction of the rants, and replies to them, seem to imply that we should *do* something about those horrible self-pubbed books. As if because I self-publish, I must also bear the responsibility of making sure all the other self-pubbed books out there are up to standards. Whose standards hasn't really been determined yet, but certainly not the readers. They are left out of the equation in these rants. Or if they are mentioned, it's in the guise of protecting them from the avalanche of terrible writing, plotting and cliched characters.

Just as I can't take credit for Hugh Howey's success, I shouldn't be blamed for Random Author's bad book. Does Stephen King get blamed for Twilight? Did we blame Cormac McCarthy for Fifty Shades of Grey? Yeah, seems ludicrous but that's the kind of attitude indie authors are subjected to by people with ties to traditional publishing.

I am not responsible for anyone's books but my own. I do the best I can and publish them and hope readers enjoy the books.  I'm not bullying anyone into buying my books. I'm lucky if people even know I have books to buy!

I barely have the energy to work a day job, write, market and take care of a family, let alone police the indie ranks for sloppy books. Even if I had the time, who am I to tell other people that their books don't deserve to be published? If asked my opinion, I might make some suggestions, but if I'm not asked, I'll just shrug and get on with my own business.

My thoughts are that the surge in rants is fueled by the fears of some desperate people worried that their jobs will no longer be relevant. Only time will tell. Or, like the kids say, 'Haters gonna hate'.

Gatekeepers Wanted...

I just read an interview with David Gernert of The Gernert Company over on Poets and Writers. It was an interesting interview about how he got into publishing, became an agent, and most importantly for writers, tips on how his agency decides who to represent. Four years ago, I'd have been soaking up all of the information like a drunk soaks up whiskey. Now it's just...well, it's not relevant. Kind of like when I was pregnant with my kids, how I wanted every detail about pregnancy, childbirth and caring for an infant. Now my kids are grown and I skip those articles in magazines. If I hear a story, it brings back fond memories, but I not looking to relive those days. I've moved on. (Okay, there's one exception--that is the impending birth of my first grandchild--I want to know all about that! :-))

A few questions in the interview touched Mr. Gernert's views on self-publishing. Here's his response:

I am not a fan of self-publishing in general. It removes the gatekeepers from the process, and if we come to a point where every person in America who is writing a book can “publish” it, it becomes much more difficult for readers to find the good ones. A lot of what is self-published is awful.

I would cite Malcolm Gladwell as a particularly eloquent speaker on this, but many people have made this point: At a time when we are bombarded with information from all sides, we need more gatekeepers, not fewer. What you need as a reader is someone to find and tell you about the best books, whether it’s a diet book or a crime novel or a book about Thomas Jefferson.

Obviously, I don't agree with him. He's implying that people won't be able to find anything good without someone like him giving his stamp of approval. That's his opinion, but I don't share it. It's not just because I'm an indie author, but mostly because from the late 90s on, I have had a terrible time trying to find books that I want to read. Apparently the agents and publishers in NY don't have the same tastes as I do. I should have taken that as a sign that querying my book--which isn't like any book I've read before--that those very same agents wouldn't like my novel. However, luckily for me, I've found readers who DO seem to have the same tastes as I do. Not only that, but as a reader, I've found many self-published books that I've enjoyed. 

Everyone will acknowledge that there are stinkers out there in the self-published world, but guess what? I will say the same for the traditionally published world. In fact, I had to read a stinker as part of a book club. It was a bestseller, so apparently other people have different taste from me (I know, hard to believe, right?) but I HATED the book. The writing was terrible, with overuse of certain phrases--as the the author only ever heard this one bit of vernacular from that era, and so used it every other sentence just so readers wouldn't forget what time period it was set in.

I have a theory--an emperor's new clothes kind of theory-- that some agent thought it was cool, or maybe a friend of the agent wrote it, since it seems knowing someone in the publishing world is a big leg up, and a publisher went along with it. Once it was published, people read it, all the while trying to figure out the deep underlying meaning. Btw, this bestseller was also a movie, and it did terrible at the box office. Heh. 

Luckily, once I self-published, I found that there were readers out there who have the same taste in books as I do! How cool is that? Are you one of those readers? Not sure? Well, here are a few questions to ask yourself: 

Do you search for books with a reluctant hero? Do you secretly love a little paranormal/magical twist in a book? Nothing too huge--the rest of the story has to be realistic, but just enough of a supernatural twist to be able to see yourself dealing with a magical ability? Think time travel, psychic ability, or mental telepathy. Do you love to get right into the heads of the characters and *feel* what they feel? 
If this sounds like something you would enjoy, I invite you to become my gatekeeper. Applications can be found  Here, Here, Here and Here. If you'd rather only deal with one application, go Here.

If interested, job requirements consist of only one duty:
Telling other readers about my books. That's it. Simple, right? 

Whatever Your Needs--Amazon Has it Covered

I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon. Mostly normal stuff like books, boots, clothing, etc. The craziest thing I ever bought was Poo-Pourri. (Which has the best marketing video ever!) I was reading an article about Amazon and their newest idea to provide items to you before you even realize you want to order them. I've bought popcorn from Amazon, and that actually sounds like a cool idea. A few months after I order the popcorn, another jar of it arrives on my doorstep. I look at the one I ordered previously and find out that, yes, it is almost empty. Brilliant!

However, what if Amazon sent me some of the following items? Hmmm...

Disaster Body Bags  Yes. You can buy these on Amazon. With Prime shipping, if the need ever arises, you can get your order in just two days. However, here's a review from someone who likes to plan ahead: "I always keep six or seven of these under the kitchen sink and a couple in the car just in case... just in case." *Also available in blue.

I have no idea what the purpose of this Gender Neutral Asian Doll is. Can you imagine the brainstorming it took to come up with this? I mean, the doll itself might be a good idea for an under-served market, but why specify that it's gender neutral? My daughter had dolls and some were boy dolls. I don't recall any anatomical detail--we knew it was a boy because it had blue clothes.

Sky Pro Automated Window Washer system Live in a high-rise and can't stand dirty windows? Here you go! It's a bargain at just $33,000--maybe your neighbors will split the cost.

Playmobil Security Check Point Because it's never to early to introduce your children to TSA security procedures. What a fun little playset!

Canned Dragon Meat Warning! Eat at your own risk! From a review: "I was a little disappointed that there was no warning label on the can alerting consumers that after eating this that they would sh#t fire for three days. On my last trip to the bathroom the shower curtains melted and the wallpaper caught on fire, quickly spreading into the attic. I managed to throw a wet towel around my seared bottom and crawl to a neighbor's house where I called 911." 

Emergency Underpants Dispenser If the Dragon Meat gets you and you don't make it to the bathroom in time to use your Poo-Pouri, these could be the perfect solution.

Post-Holiday Craziness: Two Free books!

I must have had too much eggnog over the holiday because I went and did a strange thing. I made my first two books free! I know! Crazy, right?

From the most recent Amazon review of Mark Taylor: Genesis: "This prequel was a pleasurable introduction to the Mark Taylor series. And to think it was sitting on my kindle unnoticed and unread for months! Yes, I did kick myself & then promptly read the next two books in the series. Love the characters and MP McDonald's writing style flows beautifully. Thoroughly enjoyed myself and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this author and the series."

From an Amazon review of No Good Deed: "All I can say is WOW. This was such an unusual book in so many ways. You really have to look underneath the horror of man's abuse of man to try and see the man, Mark Taylor and his effect on the other characters in this book.I could not put this down once started. I amdefinitely recommending this book to any adult who needs a big jolt of reality.Not a read for young people unless exceptionally mature."~Jennie Lynn

I'd like to give a shout-out and huge thank you to Pixel of Ink for posting No Good Deed in their Pixel Picks today (12/28/13). Much appreciated!

Also, I did a last minute promo with bknights on Fivrr and I wasn't sure I left enough time for them to post my book, Mark Taylor: Genesis. I paid for the super-fast one day posting, but even so, it left only about 16 hours--but they did it! I highly recommend them! Since the posting, I've seen the downloads for Mark Taylor: Genesis jump significantly.

Unadvertised Sale

I was lying in bed this morning and trying to think of a way to get into the Christmas spirit with my books and decided a good sale might do the trick. Before I could talk myself out of it, I put my Mark Taylor Omnibus on sale for $5.99! Normally, it's $9.99, and if you were to buy all the books separately, it would come to over $16, so I'd say that's a pretty good deal, right? You get about a thousand pages of reading for that price. Not too shabby!

This is a collection of all four books in the Mark Taylor Series. 

Mark Taylor: Genesis: 
Mark Taylor's life changes forever when he finds an antique camera in an Afghan bazaar. Back home in Chicago, he discovers that the camera has a strange and unique ability--it produces photographs of tragedies yet to happen. What else can he do but attempt to save lives and thwart catastrophe?

No Good Deed: 
Mark Taylor discovers first hand that no good deed goes unpunished when after the unthinkable happened and everyone ignored his frantic warnings, thousands died. Suddenly, the Feds are pounding on his door and the name they have for Taylor isn't urban hero. It's enemy combatant. And, it means they can do anything they want to him. Anything at all.

March Into Hell: 
Mark's life takes a dark turn when his heroism becomes the subject of a newspaper article. The media attention and a harrowing encounter while saving a young woman, puts him in the sights of the ruthless cult leader who covets the secret to Mark's power.

Uncomfortable in the public spotlight, Mark suspects he's being tested by the force behind the camera's prophetic magic. Battling his own self-doubt, he must maintain the secret or risk certain death.

Deeds of Mercy: Book Three: An unexpected visitor from Mark's past brings him unwanted attention from the authorities. Unable to decide who is friend and who is foe, Mark becomes a fugitive from the law, but with thousands of lives at stake, he is forced to put aside his fear of capture, and instead, seek help from his pursuers.

New Book Discoverability Site... ThatPartWhere

I heard about this site a few weeks ago and quickly signed up one of my books, No Good Deed. At the moment, they are free. What makes it different is that the site isn't about book price or even reviews. It's for those readers who really want to get a good idea of what a book is about. With ebooks, you can read the beginning, and read reviews, but you can't browse through the book and find a good scene to start reading mid-book. I know I used to find a lot of books that way. If I found an intense scene while thumbing through a book at a bookstore, I'd almost always buy it. This helps with that problem by including excerpts from beyond the first 10% that Amazon allows.

I asked for help from my readers about what scenes, besides the opening one would be most likely to grab a reader. I had several suggestions for the opening scene where Mark saves the baby from drowning in the bathtub, which makes me glad that it was the scene that hooked so many of my readers, but I decided on two that a reader couldn't find anywhere else except by buying the book. One scene is with Jessie and Jim, the other with Mark and Bill.

No Good Deed on ThatPartWhere

Borrowing Concepts to Create The Mark Taylor Series

I have always been fascinated by the concept of somehow either knowing the future and being able to change it, or being able to go back in time and changing the future by making different choices. For instance, I absolutely loved A Christmas Carol because the story encompasses both concepts. The past influences the future, and if only Scrooge had made different choices, he might have ended up a completely different man than he was at the beginning of the story. Of course, there's the paradox that if he had made different choices, that the story, A Christmas Carol might not exist at all. Mind boggle. 

It should come as no surprise that movies like Back to the Future and It's a Wonderful Life would also be favorites, as well as the television shows Quantum Leap and Early Edition.

In fact, The Mark Taylor Series borrows a bit from the last two. Mark has a dash of Sam Beckett and dollop of Gary Hobson mixed in with my vision of the character. I wanted Mark to have a back story people could relate to, but be more complicated than Gary's or Sam's and neither have any kind of father/son conflict, and I love that twist. Also, the books are quite a bit darker, more graphic than either television show. Plus, neither show has a character like Jim Sheridan. I wasn't even sure who Jim was until I started writing him. He was going to be just the bad guy in only a few scenes, but he refused to be one-dimensional and decided to stick around for the whole series. Instead of a Jim Sheridan, Quantum Leap had Al Calavecci. He was both comic relief but had his own tragic back story--he always had Sam's back. Early Edition had Chuck Fishman, and while other viewers might have loved him, he was just too goofy, in my opinion. While he might have had Gary's back, he didn't have the background to be able to do anything to actually help Gary. I could never understand why Gary was friends with the guy. 

I don't have an Al or a Chuck in my books. I have Jessica and Jim. Jessica Bishop has Mark's back, once she figures out his secret, plus they also have an on again, off again romance. Even when the romance is on the rocks, like in March Into Hell, she's there for him. With Mark and Jim, the relationship is very complicated. Are they friends? Can Mark trust Jim? It's still up in the air. 
 One reason I had to write No Good Deed was because both shows were SO close to being my ideal story, but both fell short. They just didn't have enough meat on their bones. One episode would be deep and dark, such as The Wall for Early Edition, or M.I.A. for Quantum Leap, but then it would go back to three or four lighter episodes. Entertaining, sure, but not memorable. I kept watching because there was always the hope that another deeper episode would come along.


I blame network television for handcuffing them, but it could also have been the producers/writers. Granted, not all viewers felt the way I did. I was never a fan of the lighter, comedic episodes and both series had too many of those episodes for my taste. At least in the case of Quantum Leap, those episodes often involved Scott Bakula singing, so I loved those episodes for that reason, but nothing like that ever happened on Early Edition. Maybe that's a good thing? 
At times, the book series is more like the show, 24, which, ironically, was too graphic for me to watch! I know, you're laughing at me now. I can write graphic, but I can't watch it--plus, I don't think what I write is all that graphic--it only seems that way because it's shown through Mark's point of view.
While I loved the concept and the characters of both shows, it wasn't until I had an original idea for a book about an innocent man accused of terrorism and imprisoned as an enemy combatant, that I was able to find a way to put it all together and create my own story. A man wrongly accused isn't all that unusual of a plot, however, I think giving Mark an ability to see the future and with some aspects of a real life 'super hero', but being unable to show this ability to save his own skin, makes it original. Readers know he's innocent, and feel empathy along with outrage. 

Did You Know...

that Amazon started a new program at the end of October that enables publishers to offer a lower price for their Kindle books for those who have purchased a paperback? As an indie publisher, I'm able to participate in the program right alongside the big publishers. 

With Christmas coming up fast, wouldn't it be nice to buy someone a gift of a paperback, and get a Kindle book for yourself for at least half-off? It's win/win! Shopping done and you get to curl up with a good book.  Here are the discounts for my books:

If you buy:  
Mark Taylor: Genesis (Prequel)~ Paperback for $7.59, you get the Kindle edition for 99 cents.
                  No Good Deed: Book One~ Paperback for  $10.79,    Kindle edition for $1.99
                  March Into Hell: Book Two~Paperback for $11.66     Kindle edition for $1.99
                  Deeds of Mercy: Book Three~Paperback for  $12.39  Kindle edition for $1.99

The Mark Taylor Series--Now as Audiobooks!

On AudibleI am THRILLED to announce that three of my four Mark Taylor Series books are now available in audio book format. No Good Deed just went live this morning! March Into Hell and Deeds of Mercy have been available for a few months, but I didn't promote them much because it's hard to promote the last two books in a series when the first isn't available. I know, you're probably thinking why didn't I just have No Good Deed produced first? I have a very good answer to that question and the rest of this post will answer it. If you aren't interested in how my books became audiobooks, I'll just point you to the links on Audible.com and you can listen to the samples.



March Into Hell on AudibleWhen I started the process on ACX.com last January, I posted all four of my books as available for narrator to audition and chose a royalty share option--meaning I split the royalties 50/50 with the narrator. Once I did that, within a few days, ACX chose March Into Hell and Deeds of Mercy to receive stipends. A stipend is a set amount of money to be paid to the narrator on top of the royalties. This money comes out of ACX's pocket, not
Deeds of Mercy on Audiblemine and for an author, it increases the number of narrators who audition by tenfold. Narrators have out of pocket expenses and this stipend helps cover those expenses, plus they have to take a chance that the book they narrate doesn't sell much, so I'm all for them getting these stipends. In fact, I was thrilled about it. It's also a bit of an honor for a book to have a stipend attached. They are pretty selective and I'm assuming they go by reviews and sales numbers (they are affiliated with Amazon, so I'm sure they have access to some of the sales info).

 As wonderful as the stipends were, there are some drawbacks. The stipends expire after about 60 days. If I hadn't found a narrator in that time frame, there was no guarantee that the stipend would remain attached to it. That meant I had to find a narrator fairly quickly, and offer them a contract. Once they accepted the contract, they only had 60 days to complete the book, and that includes time for me to approve it.

I didn't understand some of these limitations last year when I offered the contract to one narrator. He didn't either, I don't think. We bit off more than we could chew and at the end of April, when he had only been able to complete a few chapters of one of the books, I appealed for the contract to be nullified per ACX's terms. It took several more weeks for that to happen.

Surprisingly, when I re-started the process of opening my books to auditions at the end of May, the stipends were still there for March Into Hell and Deeds of Mercy (so maybe they don't really expire? Hmmm...) So, I chose a new narrator and he completed both books by the end of August. The narrator did a good job--especially considering the time constraints--but we didn't quite click as partners in this process. Consequently, I opted to find a different narrator for No Good Deed and Mark Taylor: Genesis. I didn't have stipends for them, so I was worried about it.

I can't quite remember if I contacted Daniel Penz and asked him to audition after listening to dozens of narrators samples, or if he auditioned on his own and maybe he can answer that question in the comments? :) Anyway, he auditioned and I thought he sounded perfect for the book. He was willing to do it without a stipend, but I wanted to see if I could get one anyway. It only seemed fair since NGD is my bestseller. I felt it should have received one instead of either March Into Hell or Deeds of Mercy. I contacted ACX about three times via email and a couple of times by phone. The end result was that No Good Deed received a stipend. Persistence does pay off. However, I'm not going to try with Mark Taylor: Genesis as it's a much shorter book. (stipends pay by length of the book $100/per listening hour of the book.) Despite that, Daniel has agreed to narrate MT:G in January, taking time off for the holidays. Since No Good Deed worked for over two years as the first book in the series, I'm confident that it can continue to work as the starter for the audiobooks as well for a few more months.

Kindle Countdown Deal--Save 83%!

I have my duo book of No Good Deed and March Into Hell, on sale for a limited time for just 99 cents. The book is normally priced at $5.99, so you save 83%. Not only that, but if you were to buy the books individually, you're saving 90%!


The Mark Taylor Series: Books One and Two


Here are a couple of review excerpts from Amazon:

This review is from: No Good Deed: Book One of the Mark Taylor Series (A Psychological Thriller) (Kindle Edition)This book is so well researched and written, it feels true. The author is gifted and we are the beneficiaries...Outstanding.

This is a fantastic story. The basic premise (an antique camera that produces photos of future calamities) is a great hook, especially the doubts that Taylor has about using it. The interrogation scenes are quite disturbing, as they should be, and it is obvious that the author did her homework. I especially liked the romance between Taylor and Bishop; it felt real, without all of the corniness that usually accompanies romantic story lines. The way they finally hooked up, with neither of them sure that the other was still attracted to them, was spot-on. I also liked how totally alone Taylor felt after his release, when he discovered that his home is no longer his. 

For March Into Hell:

M.P. McDonald weaves a brilliant, well researched tale, equally as riveting as her first novel. "March into Hell" will keep you on the edge of your seat rooting for the good guys and hissing at the evil one who is designing a plot to have the power that is inherent in Mark Taylor's unusual camera. It's a great read and one that lives up to its description, "psychological thriller." Just what we need on a cold winter's evening. Curl up and feel your pulse quicken with the fast paced story line.

McDonald's characters are well defined and pulled me into the story right from the beginning. There is no shortage of suspense here and the battle between good and evil is quite compelling. Both this book and No Good Deed: Book One (The Mark Taylor Series), first book in the series, have unusual plots which make for great reads! I recommend that you read the first book before March Into Hell as they tie into one another so very well. Enjoy! I surely did! 

Also, March Into Hell is being featured Wednesday at The Fussy Librarian, a new website that offers personalized ebook recommendations. You choose from 40 genres and indicate preferences about content and then the computers work their magic. It's pretty cool -- check it out! www.TheFussyLibrarian.com