Dwayne’s Comments (group member since Apr 01, 2017)

Dwayne’s comments from the Support for Indie Authors group.

Frankly, I'm still in love with the image in message 51, but I kinda like these, too.

Peter wrote: "One idea that got me a few reviews is to send promotional copies to friends, family members, and other interested parties. The caveat is that you request they read it and post a review afterwards."

The problem with that is, most readers, like myself, don't really care if your Great Aunt Martha is proud of you and loves your book. I want to know what your organic readers think. I expect your friends and relatives to say they like your book, whether they do or not. Amazon's not real fond of friends and relatives of writers padding their reviews, either, and will take the reviews down if they know that's what you're doing. The upside is, savvy readers can tell when your favorite uncle is padding your reviews, because the reviews often come across as trite and full of fluff.

How do those words generally appear in respected dictionaries? With or without accents? Go with whatever the dictionary says.

Mike wrote: "I don’t qualify my honesty. No need to. It’s the truth."

Hey, Mike. You put all this garbage in our fun folder. It's self-promotion. It's meant to cause political stir here. It's not fun. Cut it out. And that, sir, is the only truth that matters in all of this crap.

Hannah's been fun to wrestle with (not literally, she's fifteen). At first she was SO much a Mary Sue I hated her, so I had to give her some bad habits and make her a little less intelligent. Then she got sassy and a bit too tough. So, I had to give her some fears. She gets all, "Bring it on!" the first time she has to fight monsters, but they're Kobolds and in this "world" Kobolds are relatively weak. When she meets up with a creepy Spider-thing, she gets nervous, even though the thing isn't attacking her. Then she sees an evil witch and freezes up, much to the annoyance of her partner.

More than likely it's nothing more than a rumor, Leslie, and more than likely untrue. Amazon is very guarded as to how their algorithms work and it's safe to assume anything you hear about it is speculation at best.

It could be fun, but my writing process is pretty unconventional and far from based on words per day. It's complicated, but it works for me.

Ann,

I've been pretty guarded as to what happens in the novel, but I'll tell you this. The main character is lazing about in a small clearing near her home and reading. She reads "Uprooted" and hates it. I've never read it, so her opinion is not mine. The reason she hates it is because she sees it as another "chosen one" story and she's tired of "chosen one" stories.

Later in my novel, she realizes she's a chosen one and her reaction is, more or less, "God damn it. Why am I the chosen one? This is so stupid."

Ann wrote: "'Uprooted' by Naomi Novik"

Funny you should mention that book. My central character reads it in the first chapter of my novel.

There is a one cover of that novel that I like and maybe could do something similar. It looks like a woodcut picture of a village.

Randall wrote: "It's just too over the top. Looks like you are attempting to send a chill into your possible readers..."

Thank you.

This is pretty mild compared to at least one of the covers I was painting.

As writers, our primary objective is to make readers feel something. If the cover gives someone the chills or scares them a little, that's not a bad thing. I am glad for your comment and some others here. I honestly don't find the cover scary at all. Slightly creepy and a bit whimsical. When I first posted it I was afraid people might find it too goofy.

A scary cat wouldn't necessarily make me want to buy a book, but it might get my attention and make me want to take a closer look, depending on how the cat is rendered.

There is a movie poster for Pet Sematary that's pretty cool. I think it's for the Italian version of the newer film. An image like that might work for this book.

B.A. wrote: "Coming from a person who doesn't really appreciate creepy or horror, I found the cover and title unusual enough to want to pick it up and read a few pages... Let me know when it comes out, Dwayne. I'd love to read it."

I'm curious now as to what you would make of it. I know you've read some of my other work and were a great help. This one... you might like it, you might hate it. It's creepy, maybe too creepy for you. It's hard to say. Some scenes are pretty crazy freaky.

It's like a lot of my stuff, though. You'll be reading, reading, reading, thinking your safe, that it's actually pretty mild stuff then... all Hell starts breaking loose.

I love writing like that.

Randall wrote: "I think this cover will turn people off. Based on this cover I wouldn't buy it. Of course that is only my opinion - maybe others will see it differently. Do you have some other covers to look at?"

I have two others in this thread and a couple partially painted that I'll share when they're done.

Can I ask what it is that you don't care for about this one?

Nicole wrote: ""

Interesting you should think the fun folder is for bookwhacking. It's not. Links, bookwhacking, begging for reviews... all of this is against the rules and it's not fun. Please don't do this again. Thanks.

This is why it's good to share this stuff on this forum. To me, the image is not scary at all. I find it silly and a little creepy at the same time. I'd like to know if anyone else finds it too bold for a book that is reminiscent of creepy fairy tales, yet in a modern setting.

I'd like to draw in anyone that is interested in fairy tales, ghost stories, mystery, adventure, fantasy and it would be good if they were to understand there's some nasty stuff going on in here.

For starters, I've always been turned off by being told "if you like this, then you'll like my book". When I don't know the books you're referring to, it's meaningless. Also, there have been times when I've seen books I love being compared to books I hate. There is a possibility that someone out there would love your book, though they hated those others you mentioned. You could be turning away potential fans.

As for the blurb itself, I am not really feeling it. It's lacking a sense of a real story. Paige feels awkward, so she joins a club, and makes a friend. Is that it? Give us a hint that something else happens in the book. Maybe give us a reason to understand why Paige feels scared to be herself. What is the real conflict here? Bullies? Some internal struggle? Overbearing parents? All of it? What is really at stake here?

Don't tell me in the blurb that this is bold, raw, etc. Show it.

(Interestingly enough - and I could be wrong - but I do get this sense that you're a bit like Paige and you're being timid about your work. Don't be. Let us know what it is you've created.)

L.C. wrote: "I have two potential book covers..."

Somehow I missed this one when you posted it. I'm going to close it and delete your message. We have a strict rule against links.

If you want to have people help you choose a cover, feel free to post them directly into your message and post it to the cover workshop.

Thanks.

Julia, the first thing anyone who has read my work will tell you is... I'm kinda all over the place. I typically label my stuff "general fiction" as it doesn't fit easily into any genre. This story is really no different. It could be so many things. I'm trying to go with the genre it is most like. That said, whether I call it fantasy, adventure, fairy tale, etc. there are some deep and deliberate nods to the horror genre in there. Yes, there are some parts that are mysterious and beautiful, but there are certainly some ugly moments, too.

Keep in mind, the early versions of fairy tales were not the soft Disney-esque stuff we see today. I've been reading The Adventures of Pinocchio, for instance. Early in the book, Gepetto is arrested for abusing Pinocchio. Minutes after Pinocchio meets the cricket, he kills it with a hammer to shut it up. I don't recall if I've ever seen the Disney film, but I'm pretty sure that stuff didn't happen in the movie.

I've come to realize, too, that one of the heaviest influences on this book is Stephen King's It, a book I loved until the ending, which was stupid beyond words.

Bottom line, I'm not worried if the cover makes people think "horror" or "ugly". I'm hoping it will draw some people in.

Tolpuddle, Dorset 1834 – A time of inequality and poverty

That could be any time and any place, really.

Elizabeth’s father, brother and best friend are arrested and sent to Australia. Their crime? To have asked for fair pay. Their families left behind face homelessness and starvation, unless action is taken. Elizabeth knows she has to stand up for what is right, and fight for justice.

It's too vague. I don't know who had these men arrested or why such a law existed. I don't know enough about Elizabeth to understand why she believes it's up to her to change things. Who is she going to fight?

The Sheltering Tree is based on the true story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. It is a tale of strength, loyalty and love.

Not everyone knows what this is. To them, this will be meaningless. A little background wouldn't hurt.

‘A perfectly pitched look at the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, backed by thorough research which is worn lightly. Excellent for the pre-teen - but it's a book to enjoy whatever age you are...Fiona Taylor has done an excellent job of bringing this story to life ….The Sheltering Tree is a well-written and enjoyable way of introducing the story which played such an important part in the founding of the trade union movement.’ Sue Magee, Bookbag.

I don't know who Sue Magee is and I'm not sure why her liking it is going to matter to me. Tell me more about the book, don't tell me someone gave it a nice review.

Wow. This is a picture I got from a royalty free site. Pexels or Unsplash. (I'll have to find it again, as I'm pretty sure this is the cover I'm going with). Anyway, I never noticed a face in the eye. I can see what you guys are talking about. I'm not sure if it's intentionally supposed to be a face, but I can see it.

Gail wrote: "I'm thinking way worse than Poltergeist clown or Chucky or that creepy doll movie:)"

Yep. I am trying to refrain from mentioning everything that goes on in this book, but there are witches, some good and some bad. There is a Big Bad Wolf. And lots of other thingies running around, such as ghosts and Kobolds and a scarecrow...