Val Tobin's Blog, page 23
August 9, 2016
This Is The Modern Publishing Business
History repeats itself. Aspiring writers are still getting fleeced. Thank God for sites like Writer Beware and for David Guaghran, who continues to bring attention to these shady practices.
Scammers used to operate at the edges of the publishing business, but have wormed their way into its heart. And the entire industry is in denial.
An unintentionally revealing aspect of the tiresome Amazon-Hachette dispute was a series of statements from an organization purporting to advocate for authors’ rights. One of the heinous crimes Amazon was said to have committed was treating books like toasters.
With such a claim, Authors United was attempting to tap into a current of feeling about the commoditization of literature – as if Amazon was the first company to put a price tag on a book, and writers around the country were hitherto living off laurels and kudos. It’s tempting to suggest that other entities in the publishing business might be doing as well as Amazon if they also treated books like toasters and attempted to sell the bloody things, but I digress.
What this…
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How Jessica Mitford Exposed A $48m Scam From America’s Literary Establishment
Excellent account of The Famous Writers School and how they were exposed for taking advantage of aspiring writers.
Jessica Mitford took on the American funeral industry, the California Department of Corrections, and the Ku Klux Klan, but it was her 1970 exposé of The Famous Writers School which led to Time calling her “The Queen of the Muckrakers.” And if a courageous editor hadn’t reversed his decision to kill her story, it might never have happened.
Mitford had been aware of The Famous Writers School’s existence for some time. Anyone who was a frequent reader of newspapers, books or magazines would have seen its ever-present advertisements, inviting aspiring writers to cut out and apply for the free aptitude test. While Mitford was suspicious, she didn’t have anything concrete until her lawyer husband took on a new client.
Bob Treuhaft was approached by a 72-year old widow, living on Social Security, who had cleaned out her bank account to make a down-payment to The Famous Writers School. On the…
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July 31, 2016
How To Show Your Appreciation To An Author #SundayBlogShare #authors #books
Let your favourite authors know you want them to keep writing.
“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.”
― William Styron, Conversations with William Styron
Ever read a great book and wondered how to say thanks to the author for producing such a wonderful story?
Here are 23 ways:
Tweet your appreciation.
Post your appreciation on Facebook.
Take a photo of the cover and stick on Instagram.
Write the author a letter.
Email the author.
Write a blog post about the author.
Leave a message of thanks on the Author’s Facebook page.
Send the author a #tweethug.
Film yourself saying thanks to the author and stick video clip on social media. (I have been wanting to do this for ages. I do hope my future readers do this about my books. Love video clips!)
Recommend the book to your friends.
Suggest that your local book club reads…
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July 29, 2016
August 2016 is Write An Amazon Review Month! By @TerryTyler4 #AugustReviews…
Join in on #AugustReviews.
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog
#AugustReviews
On Monday 25th July, book blogger Rosie Amber wrote this post encouraging readers and writers alike to post a short review on Amazon for any book they’ve read and enjoyed ~ following this up, Terry Tyler is starting this initiative along with other writer-bloggers including Rosie, Cathy from Between The Lines, Barb Taub, Shelley Wilson and Alison Williams.
The idea is that, from August 1st, everyone who reads this uses their Amazon account to post just one review on one book that they’ve read (but feel free to carry on if you get in the swing!). You don’t even have to have read it recently, it can be any book you’ve read, any time. The book does not have to have been purchased from Amazon, though if it is you get the ‘Verified Purchase’ tag on it; however, if you download all your books…
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July 27, 2016
Injury Available for Free Download Until July 31, 2016
For a limited time, Injury is available for FREE on Amazon. This will be the final promo before its time in Kindle Select expires, and I distribute wide.
After September 8, 2016, it will no longer be available in KU/KOLL.
A young actress at the height of her career has her personal life
turned upside down when a horrifying family secret makes front-page news.
Amazon US
July 25, 2016
4 Quick Ways To Write A #BookReview And Overcome Your Fears #MondayBlogs
Don’t let writing a review intimidate you. This post has some excellent tips.
Authors WANT Reviews
Simple! How many times have you read pleas on social media for readers to write reviews? – Probably Loads.
Does the thought of writing a book review send you racing to the hills? – I can see plenty of you nodding in agreement.
WHAT holds you back?
6 common replies:
I can’t write.
I can’t write paragraphs about a book.
I don’t know what to write.
I’m afraid of what people will think of my review.
I’m an author and don’t want a backlash on my own books.
I don’t have the time.
Let’s turn this around
I can’t write – I bet if you can read, you can write.
I can’t write paragraphs about a book – Good News, Amazon accepts one sentence reviews now as do many other sites.
I don’t know what to write – Ah! Quick Question – Why did you like or Dislike…
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July 21, 2016
The End First
Years ago I had a conversation with someone about books.
Let’s face it, at some point, any conversation I have turns to books. In this instance, the other person is a fellow bookaholic, so the subject came up quickly.
Somehow, we ended up discussing reading the end first. This reader is a peeker. She told me she always reads the end first.
This conversation happened years ago, and I still flash back to it whenever I start a new book.
How can you fully appreciate a book if you know the end before you even begin reading?
I have to admit, though, that in a moment of weakness, I’ve peeked at the end of a novel. In my defense, I’d already started reading the book and the suspense was killing me. I had to know if my favourite character survived and was happy.
Obviously, the author had done the suspense part of the job too well.
After, I regretted the decision. As you might expect, it sucked some of the excitement out of the rest of the story, which is I why I rarely give in to the urge to peek. Knowing the ending detracts from the reading experience.
I read suspense novels for the thrill they provide. Horror is supposed to be horrifying and not knowing who survives is part of the ride you paid for. Mysteries should be puzzling until the big reveal at the end.
It’s a compliment to the author when the reader can’t wait to reach the end . When that happens, lucky reader, you’ve got a page turner. The solution is to squeeze in more time for reading not turn to the end of the book. Waiting for the payoff is far more rewarding.
What do you think? To peek or not to peek? That is the question.
July 19, 2016
Gillian’s Island is A Must Read!
Thank you for the lovely review of Gilian’s Island, Bryan.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I recently had the great pleasure to read Val Tobin’s, “Gillian’s Island”. If I were an award’s show and there were a category for Best Overall Fiction Novel, Val would definitely be getting that award. I was delighted from the very first page, to the very last.
The story centers on Gillian who is forced to sell the island resort she bought with her now ex-husband. As hard as it is for her to sell the resort, it is made complicated by her sudden love interest in the new owner. This situation is further complicated by the locals not appreciating the fact that the whole shebang was sold to an American.
Although there are bunches of reasons to go out and read this book, I have three great reasons which I’ll bring to the forefront of this review.
1)…
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