Everly’s Comments (group member since Oct 14, 2011)

Everly’s comments from the Connecting Readers and Writers group.

HERE IT IS: We all say we want to support our fellow self-published author, but we are so busy that it just seems to slip through the cracks. Well, I am here to mentally slap us across the face and say, "Hey, if we don't support each other, how can we expect others too?" I have to say, some of my biggest supporters are other authors who read my work and then recommended it to others.

MY PLEDGE: I pledge to buy, read and review one book buy a self-published author (from this group) each month. I hope that you follow me on this pledge. If you do, please select a book from the bookshelf, read it and then review it. Once you have bought the book, please leave a comment on this thread to let us know you join the pledge, but not until after you buy a book. I was going to say we should announce what book we buy, but I want us to give honest reviews so let's not talk about which book we bought.

A WORD ABOUT REVIEWS: Hold on while I get on my soap box.... I don't believe in trading reviews, or giving people positive reviews just because they are a fellow author. When people do that, they do the author and the potential readers a disservice. That is one of the thing people hate about self-published authors. Readers go to buy a book because it has twenty-four positive reviews, they spend their hard-earned money on it and it turns out to be crap. Do you think they will buy another self-published book? Neither do I. So lets be honest in our reviews. If it's great, shout it from the tree tops and tell all your friends, if it is not, then you need to say that too. You do the author no good by lying to them.

So please join me and then leave a comment to let me know your on board!

I rarely chime in here but my biggest pet peeve is when the book leaves you hanging. You get to the end and start flipping through the back, in case there is a secret passage to the rest of the book or something.

Lani wrote: "Ive been blogging for almost 3 years now. I started my blog way before I ever knew i was going to write any books. I wanted a way to discipline myself into a writing habit and also vent regularly a..."

wow, I could not agree more! Congrats on your blog. Thank you for your useful thoughts.

What character would you most like to meet and why? No, you may not all say Edward from Twilight!

I think I have to go with Thomas from The Maze Runner. I think I want to stop and talk to him between book 1 and 2. I want to tell him that he is doing an impossibly good job and to keep up the good work.

What about you?

What really annoys you about books? This could be books in general or a particular book. We love a passionate rant here at CR&W.

As many of you have noticed, this group has gotten pretty big, which is great! I have done a lot of promotion for this group on my blog, twitter, Facebook and in the back of my books. Why? Because the more people who join this group, the better chance you have at meeting potential readers who will then buy your books. I only know so many people, so I need your help. The more you can do to promote this group and get more readers and fellow writers to join, the better we will all so in book sales. It's as simple as that.

The idea of starting your own blog is an exiting one, but once you start doing a little research, you realize it is also a scary and overwhelming endeavor. Here is an article that breaks down the pros and cons of each of the major blog sites.

http://ellelapraim.com/where-to-blog/

If you have a blog, it would be great if you could share your experience with the sites and let us know what you think.
* This is not a place to promote your blog, just simply talk about your experience to help others.

Julie wrote: "Hey,

What are good questions to ask potential bloggers willing to host you and your book on their site?

Do you only consider those in your genre, or any blog? Does it matter how many followe..."
The bigger the blog, the more exposure you will get. If you just love doing interviews or seeing your work on blogs, then by all means trade with your friends and put articles on any site that asks. But, if you don't have a lot of time, then go after blogs that have a lot of traffic. You need exposure and don't have a lot of time. That's really the best way. If a bigger blog says yes to putting your work on their blog, then don't ask questions, just say , thank you. You can usually tell from the site, how many people probably follow it.
I don't mean to sound like smaller blogs don't matter, I follow a blog that I love and is written by a teenage girl. I am pretty sure me, and her mom are the only ones who read it, but it's great, so I do. Small blogs can be gems, but if you need exposure and don't have a lot of time, then you need to be more selective.

Trolls are people who go around and leave nasty comments on places like Goodreads, Blogs and Youtube, to name a few. Here is an article about how to spot them and what to do when you have to deal with them. Please pass this article along to other authors. The more we all know, the better prepared we are for people like this.

http://ellelapraim.com/what-is-a-trol...

I keep seeing sites that promise free e-books, but they always scary me. I have heard a lot of bad things can happen from downloading free books from random sites. So I thought I would pull together a list of free books for the Nook. Remember, you don't have to have the Nook in order to download them.

http://ellelapraim.com/free-nook-books/

I am just curious as to where you find new indi authors. Do you find them on Goodreads, Amazon, this group, from a friend?
*This is not a thread to publicize your work.

I am currently reading The Maze Runner and it is a trilogy. I have noticed that trilogies seem to be all the rage in YA, sci-fi and fantasy right now. What are your thoughts? Do you like a Trilogy or do you feel like a lot of them are stretching the story out just to make it a trilogy?

I love seeing everyone giving each other such great advice. It is so great o have a group that really supports each other.

Ottilie wrote: "I'm always interested in new authors, but I do have some authors that I absoutly love and really stalk to see when their next book."

I have found I do the same thing. Since so many books are now series, I put alerts on my phone to remind me when the next book in the series is coming out. Wow, that just really showed what a dork I am.

Whenever I pick up a book I think is interesting, I love to read the "About the author." I am always curious as to know more about the person who wrote it. If I read the book and love it, i often go to the author's website to find out more about them. I didn't know if I just do this because I am an author, so that interests me, or if other non-authors do that as well?

When you like a book, do you tend to read several by that author, or do you just appreciate it for what it is and move on?

Here is an article about what we all fear. Your computer crashes and takes your manuscript with it. You might want to read this now, so that you don't want to jump out the window later. This article is long, but it will walk you through everything you need to do in order to get your award-winning book back from dead space.
http://ellelapraim.com/recover-data-a...

Mary wrote: "Elle, read Collette Scott's Hannah's Blessing if you are looking for well-written romance. I often want my life back after I read a romance, but that one was worth it! [bookcover:Hannah's Blessing|..."

Thanks for the suggestion Mary!

I thought I would chime in and answer my own question. I am a sci-fi and fantasy writer. I have a hard time writing romance, so I have been reading a ton of them in the last few months. I think it is starting to scare my husband. I do think it is helping though!

I have a question.
How many of you, predominantly read books in the genre in which you write? Who feels like it's best to branch out?