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

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

As a reader - It depends on how much time I have on my hands for reading. I drift toward shorter books most of the time. But, if I have the time, I prefer meatier books.

As a writer - I don't care much about the length of a book until it's time to publish so I can set a price according to the length. I've published short stories as little as a thousand words. Right now I'm working on a novel that threatens to be three hundred thousand words. All I care about is using the right amount of words to tell the story the way it wants to be told.

As far as a standard on novel length, some sources say fifty thousand words and up, some seventy. It varies, but it seems to usually be between those marks.

J.D. wrote: "What do you think?

This is only a quick synopsis of an idea. "

I think it's off-topic and hijacking. If you have a thread in the showcase, that would be a better place to discuss your ideas for stories. If not, you can go check it out and set one up. Thanks.

Comment deleted for: Self promoting, off topic, and suggesting review swapping.

Comments deleted.

Again, as I stated yesterday, stay on topic. This is not a place to rant about what you find "boring" in other people's books. Thanks.

How many words is it Magnus? I'm deep into heavy edits of my novel and will be beta reading for someone else in November, but if your book is short-ish, I could work it in.

Deleted some comments. Please stay on topic and no negativity. The topic is whether you like to create characters first or plot first, not what TV shows and movies suck. Thanks.

Ah. You suffer from the same problem I usually have. A lot of my stories are uncovered as you move along, learning more about the characters and the plot. I like to surprise the reader with twists. I love stories like that, but it is very hard to write a compelling blurb for them. How do you get people interested when the really interesting stuff is laying as a surprise for later.

T.L. wrote: "Nope, still working on it. This is for my paperback, so trying to really get it spot on.
Please let me know your thoughts on this version..."

A little better than the original.

The tiny spits of information are still problematic for me. I'm not sure why Shakira doesn't fit into Surrey. Is there, literally, a whole "world" in Wales? "Some would call them vampires" is a strange phrase. Why wouldn't everyone call them vampires? If they aren't vampires, why do some call them vampires. If they are, why doesn't everyone call them vampires? What are they?

And so on.

I'll be blunt. I would not expect a "rich" tale from a blurb this thin. All I'm getting is that someone named Shakira thinks she fits in with something that might be vampires, but maybe she really doesn't. It's kind of wishy-washy.

I was lucky enough to stay in a cabin a few days last week. I managed to get a lot of work done on my upcoming work-in-progress.

Justin wrote: "That's when memory needs to do its job. Also we all use our phones..there's an app for that."

I probably would not have a cell phone, but I'm required to have one for work. So, I have a cheapy, basic flip phone that I rarely use. I can't use it for writing.

I doubt you're the only one, Justin. But, when I work on a novel, I generally write the whole thing out with no breaks. About the third draft, I start breaking it up into pieces and every pass after that will will break the pieces more or meld them together, looking for the length that feels right for the book.

I read a lot of Christie when I was in high school and college and I do remember her doing things like that from time to time. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did something similar, having Watson tell the Sherlock Holmes stories. Watson was nearly always there for the events in the story, but wasn't involved any further than being a sounding board for Holmes.

There are chapters in The Grapes of Wrath that viciously head hop. It works, though.

C.B. wrote: "I did it!
I finally managed to do it!

In my latest work there is a chapter that is zero words long! Not even a piece of punctuation. It's just blank.

I couldn't be more happy."

And now someone needs to find a way to have a negative number of words on a chapter.

I take it you're still unpublished, Christine? If so, then Christina hit on a valuable lesson we all must learn before going to far with this: No matter what we do, someone will complain. So, write the kind of books you want to read, not what you think others want to read. If you please yourself, you'll surely please someone else.

On Amazon they have a feature called "Look Inside". It allows you to read a little of the book. A short read should tell you if the book is omniscient or not.

I'm not one hundred percent sure what "VP" means, but if you're looking for books with an omniscient voice, there are tons out there. "Great" is subjective and I don't know your taste. You might be better off browsing the library, a book store or Amazon and find something that suits your taste.

Right now I'm re-reading "The Grapes of Wrath", which is done in the omniscient voice and I love it. But, not everyone appreciates Steinbeck.

Lila,

There are plenty of stock images out there, some are free. You don't have to hire a photographer and a professional model to find a good photo for your cover. Or, perhaps you know someone (maybe even yourself) who is good at photography and some people who would model for you for free or at low cost. I've used my own photos for a few of my covers.

I get where you're coming from, not liking to see faces on covers, but if the trend for covers is going that way, you may need to follow if you want your book to get noticed. I took a glance at some best selling Christian romance covers just now. You're right, a good portion of them show faces. However, search for Love Story by Karen Kingsbury. The cover shows a couple who seem to be in love, but we don't see their faces. Food for thought.

I like the color scheme.

Having spent perhaps a little too much time around Christian self-help books, I have to say, that's what this reminds me of. I don't get "novel" from the image, or even "romance". I get a vibe that it's a book about agape love, especially when coupled with the title. It's a nice image, don't get me wrong, it just doesn't say romance to me.

Lila, is this the cover? If not, I will take this back down.

If so, everyone can start giving their opinions, advice, etc.