History Buffs United discussion
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If you have received 3-4 reviews on a dozen free books, Sandra, I'd say that's much better than average. Even Goodreads doesn't expect that you will get more than a few reviews from a giveaway where you may have hundreds of entrants.I'm not yet at a level where people are discussing my books independently of me, so I can't comment on the rest of your post. I have received unsolicited good reviews from strangers, but so far, that's as good as it gets.
I've gotten 4 wonderful reviews. 'Don't know how I got them. They were a wonderful surprise. I understand these are just plain hard to get so I really enjoy them when the show up.I gave 2 1/2 free days on KDP some months ago. Hundreds of downloads. As far as I know I did not get a single review from those.
I've had no discussions on amazon and only a few responses here and there on line. I have lots of lurkers on my web site but can't get them to respond or comment. Lot's of people 'like' my FB page and a couple have told me they liked it. Most of these came from 'trading' likes on threads from places like Goodreads.
I've tried to open up conversations on the books of others and I see some of that here.We do discuss historical eras where we share an interest. Usually the dark ages, the middle ages and eastern Europe/Russia. Can't get much interest in the Civil War even on the civil war groups.
Still no secrets for getting any balls a rolling on discussions that seem to do the job. Maybe you and I both can learn some from those in the group that seem to have the magic touch. There are a lot of those.
Our Sandra's at a more advanced stage than I am, but as far as my knowledge stretches, I think she's doing pretty well. I'm happy with a climb in visitor numbers on my website, but nobody comments.
Giveaways, phooey. Mine are running at 30% for paperback and for ebook, expect a very low percentage.
I think Bryn is holding out on us. I see here all around Goodreads.Bryn, You are a great conversationalist and discusser. What can help Sandra (and I) get more from others?
Steven -- you must mean I can't shut up? That's true. It's because I can't write at the moment. I have a whale of a time on Goodreads, in the groups. But I'll tell you upfront, as a mate, that hasn't resulted in a lot of traffic to my books. Only in the last month have a couple of people from my biggest group tried my book. So... although other writers I know have had far more activity than this, I can't tell you to expect it, guys.
And Steven, I can count on my fingers the number of people I KNOW have read my book. That's simply sad after a year. There may be hundreds I'm unaware of -- if you want to be an optimist.
I received my first negative review yesterday. I think it might have been from someone who took advantage of one of the free days I offered earlier this month. I gave away over 1400 books and only generated a 1 star review. She said she found it boring. Looking at her other reviews leads me to believe she was hoping for a a bodice ripper and instead picked up a love story about a medieval saint. At least she didn't say it was poorly written. ;o)
Steven,You and I will have to chat about the Civil War. My knowledge is very specific; the First Minnesota regiment. But I am enthralled by those boys and will bore anyone to death who is foolish enough to ask me about them.
Additional. I was guilty of exaggeration -- as I often am. That's fingers and one toe.
2nd Texas Infantry here. Maybe my ancestors and yours looked down the barrel at one another. I don't know about any of those boys boring their townsmen with their stories but I sit enthralled reading their stories.My wife is from Minnesota. She has forgiven me my unrepentant ancestors.
Just to cheer you up, I have a writer acquaintance whose single hf novel, about a year old, now earns her more than her job. She did nothing towards that than chat away on Goodreads, simply as a community member. Maybe it's her topic, maybe it's her self-called 'commercial' style of fiction, maybe it's dumb luck. Another writer -- of the indie novel I most admire, as in fantastic quality -- is slow as a wet weekend, though not quite as poorly off as me, as far as I can determine. Almost.
No, it's not the boys of the First who are boring, not by a long shot. The only ancestor I had who fought in the War was fresh off the boat from Germany. He fought in an Ohio regiment; not sure which one.So your wife's a Minnesota girl. Which town?
Bryn wrote: "Steven -- you must mean I can't shut up? That's true. It's because I can't write at the moment. I have a whale of a time on Goodreads, in the groups. But I'll tell you upfront, as a mate, that ha..."
Yeah, me too. Goodreads is a whale of a good time. Most times being here is due to writer's block. Somethime, however, it is a kind of warm up exercise. I can add a few more toes on my count but it sure seems to me that the new running zombies have eaten all the readers.
Kathy wrote: "No, it's not the boys of the First who are boring, not by a long shot. The only ancestor I had who fought in the War was fresh off the boat from Germany. He fought in an Ohio regiment; not sure whi..."St. Louis Park, where the Cohen Brothers are from.
I know our ancestors aim at each other for sure though they claim to have shot more dumb Irishmen like themselves than they did Germans. Of course, anything in blue would do... ;)
PS let me amend that, I know that my ancestors did in fact face Ohio units and Minnesota Units in at least 4 engagements.They also served in the western theatre (mom's side of the family) and in the Texas militia (those that wouldn't go to 'fight Virginia's war' knowing that the Comanche liked their horses way too much.
See Bryn, you may not be the only one that thinks he needs to know when to shut up.
Never shut up! -- You've seen me and CP about Mongols.
It's more like there were a lot of them. Some went here, some went there, some stayed at home.My father was a geneologist and I know way too much about the family.
Bryn,I have to tell you I'm reading your book and am enjoying it very much. I never would have picked it up if I hadn't joined this group and received such an immediate and kind welcome from you.
Bryn wrote: "Never shut up! -- You've seen me and CP about Mongols."Yeah, that's right. I wish I knew more so as to join in. Most impressive. I can't remember the couple of books I've read that took place there, nor that god awful movie - with John Wayne wasn't it?
Kathy -- there's another of my toes. Lovely news, but you don't have to like it. :}That's truly true, too, because -- as in your one-star -- reviews that say 'I was bored/I was confused' only egg on other readers who think, 'she's an airhead, I won't be bored. /I'm clever, I won't be confused. /She didn't like this and that, but this and that is exactly what I look for in a book.'
As you said above, the only comment to fear, I seriously believe, is 'poorly written'. Even then, of course, famous dead people get 'poorly written'.
Wow! Sandra, see it is not too hard to get a serious discussion going about literature and books and such.I'm not sure this is what you had in mind, but I had fun.
Steven wrote: "It's more like there were a lot of them. Some went here, some went there, some stayed at home.My father was a geneologist and I know way too much about the family."
Tell me about it. I went through a long genealogical phase myself not too long ago. The guy who fought in the Civil War actually came from a fairly prosperous family who could trace their line back to the 16th century and an ancestor who was the chief huntsman for the local petty nobility. He killed the last bear known to roam their forest and hung its carcass on the castle gate.
Steven, I found that John Wayne movie on a secondhand stall the other week and almost - almost --. But they wanted $5 for it. I wish I had, as a souvenir.
My original colonist ancestors, legend has it, stowed away while the ship was in Ireland then jumbped ship in Virginia. Though most likely they (two Brothers) were caught and worked out their passage in the crew. Some of that lineage came from Dal Riada Scots/Irish whose clan came as raiders to Scotland from Ireland almost at the time of Arthur (Kirkpatricks/clan Douglas). They landed very early - could have waved at the Mayflower from the Virginia coast.(My Mom's family married the man who owned I think it's named Brees hill where the actual battle was fought within sight of Bunker Hill.)
Dad stirred loose a pay chit of my forth great grandfather for fighting in the War of 1812. He died soon after and his wife is listed as 'head of household', a rare thing for a woman, in Va. tax records. She migrated to Mississippi and is again listed as 'head of household' soon after the land is ceded to the US.
Her son, my 3rd great grandfather, went west to Texas when it was still a country. You can see my web site for his bio I had published in 'True West Magazine' some years ago.
His son is the Confederate Veteran. His brother-in-law was with the Texas militia. Other rebels on mom's side fought at Vicksburg.
More than you ever wanted to know, yes?
Jeez, i just found out that my POD at Create Space uses my name with initial while the ebook does not so they are not linked. Now, I know how I will spend the rest of my night. Dang!
John Wayne as Genghis: what's wrong with that picture? :)Sort of like Greta Garbo (or was it Greer Garson?) as Anna Karenina. Or even Audrey Hepburn, much as I love her, as Natasha Rostova. Hollywood just doesn't "get" that Russians, although northerners and often dour on the surface, are not emotionally restrained.
Come to think of it, Keira Knightley. I rest my case. Sophia Lauren, yes. Catherine Zeta-Jones, maybe. Penelope Cruz, absolutely. But Keira Knightley?!
I agree with Bryn: never shut up. Half the fun of this group is the freewheeling discussions.
Welcome, Kathy, if I didn't say so before. Happy to have you. The more the merrier, etc. Besides, Bryn needs a full set of toes.
I hope you counted mine, Bryn. If not, that's two more toes.
John Wayne as Genghis, of course.($5. Five dollars!)
Keira, my gosh! At least she learned to hold her mouth closed some since Pirates and King Arthur.
No, C.P; you already greeted me and were perfectly lovely. I'm so glad to have found this group. Not only have I found wonderful congenial people who share my love for the old gossip other people call history, but I now have lots of new books for my TBR list!
Kathy wrote: "I received my first negative review yesterday. I think it might have been from someone who took advantage of one of the free days I offered earlier this month. I gave away over 1400 books and only ..."Sorry to hear about the review, Kathy. I also received a 1-star review on my first book, just weeks after it was published. I was surprised at how devestated I was.
But Bryn is right: negative reviews actuatlly help your sales. People want to see what all the fuss was about. It also tells them people other than your friends are buying the book. I saw a post somewhere from someone who won't even read a book unless there's a wide range of opinion about it.
So cheer up and keep posting here (which I see you're doing, so good!)
Thanks, Sandra. I appreciate the support. It's hard not to be negative when faced with negativity. But you've all been great. I think I've found a new home. :)
I'll second that: I've seen SO often people say they deliberately read books with savage reviews, to see whether there's an injustice done; or people say they ignore five-star reviews and only take note of two-to-four star reviews, because either one star or five star are obviously biased; or... it goes on. People are funny creature, we know that who write about them. :]
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Anyway, back to Sandy's original questions:
That is definitely good odds. From what I've heard from other people and what I've experienced myself, you pretty much get an average of one review for every ten books you sell. I mean, you can't make a person review a book. It's a courtesy. Of all the giveaways I have done I have only gotten one review from a winner (it was a 5 star review, so that was pretty awesome). My book "On a Foreign Field" actually just got chosen for a group read on one of the groups I'm in so I'm really excited about that because it should generate good discussion and also *hopefully* some reviews in the near future. I've noticed several groups setting up topics for indie authors to promote their books by nominating them as group reads. You give them out for free (at least I the ones I have seen do) but it should have a good effect on your popularity. If they like the book they'll tell their friends.
I'd love to start group reads here, but I really don't have the time to read them or procure books monthly (and I personally hate reading books on the computer because I refuse to buy an e-reader) and then I'd feel silly not reading them. But if you look around, I'm sure you'll find a group who where you could put your book in for a group read =)
Hazel, that's fantastic! Congratulations!There are lots of groups that do group reads. I really don't think we need them here. The fun part of this group (for me) is that it's a place for people who love history and write history to touch base and chat. I'm perfectly happy to keep the group reads (which I often don't have time for, anyway) for other venues.
Kathy, I agree with the others about one-star reviews. Of course, it totally bites when it's your book (read: your baby). But it's just part of getting more attention for your work. Some people will not like it. That doesn't mean that the book is bad.
Just look at all the threads here on GR that start "am I the only one who hated this book?" And these are for books like The Great Gatsby and Peter Pan!
I'd like to hear more about the group reads. Can anyone reccomend some groups I can check out? The only group read I've been part of was on the Rosemary Suttlife group (and even then I just lurked).Congratulations, Hazel! Which group is reading your book?
I'm glad people like this thread, and I'm fine with the direction(s) it's going!
Historical Fictionistas has a lot. I'd start there, as it's a big group with frequent reads and a decent level of discussion.Classic Historical Fiction is a new, much smaller group that focuses on HF written before the 1980s. It's starting some buddy reads.
Ancient and Medieval Fiction has a bunch. That's another big group. Bryn belongs, I think, and can tell you more about it. I checked it out but didn't like most of the books the group was reading and left.
And you have your own group: you could start your own!
P.S. If you join Historical Fictionistas, make sure you read the group rules before posting anything about your own books, because the moderators have very strict rules about what constitutes spamming. Basically, you're allowed to mention the titles of your books once in your introduction (in the introduction thread). Otherwise, don't say anything about them until you have accumulated 25 posts, and then don't mention them by name outside the Author and Promotions folders. Otherwise they move your posts to the Spam folder and ban you from the group.
Ancient & Medieval, a group I am very active in, have a strict policy for authors too. Do not advertise. Also, unlike Historical Fictionistas, indies don't qualify for group reads. It's a matter of library availability.
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That's why I kicked myself off that group :P Seriously, I just don't have time to read that many rules and, sink me, I made a mistake!
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This is the group : http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/6... (this is a really awesome group for indie authors)
By the way, I'm hoping to start another group read for my Rosemary Sutcliff group soon, I've just been so busy lately, but by February I'm hoping things will have calmed down a little bit for everyone =) I know this last week is slammed for me.
Do you find any readers there, Hazel, or is it all indie authors talking to one another? That was the first group I joined, and the first I left, because I had the impression that everyone was preaching to the choir.I guess you could say that about this group too, except that I never feel that way here. I've probably bought more books from fellow History Buffs than any other group on GR, but we talk about lots of things besides self-promotion, and the "buy my book" element doesn't dominate.
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Plus also here, i think is that we all love history so we're more willing to try out each other's books than ones from genres we don't really care about or notice. At least that's my perspective on it.
Hazel wrote: "Sandra wrote: "I'd like to hear more about the group reads. Can anyone reccomend some groups I can check out? The only group read I've been part of was on the Rosemary Suttlife group (and even th..."I'm looking to crack a few Sutcliff books. You guys are responsible for that, by the way. I'm just old school (and old man) enough to prefer those kinds of reads done in dead pine books. She must be good because I haven't found any in stock at my near by B&N (may she rest in peace) nor do you , her readers, ever sell them back into service at my local used bookstores.Given enough lead time to hunt one down I'd probably join in that group read.
When I first came here, I joined and then unjoined a fair few groups that were as C.P. describes -- indies among other indies, most of them too fast-advert for me. Quickly got sick of them, where I found little writerly discussion. But I belong to twenty groups, even if I don't talk in them. Weed them out now and then.
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Go to my profile and find my Rosemary Sutcliff group, I'm hopefully going to send a message out within the next week or so about our next group read. We can vote for one and then give everyone enough time to procure the book. Yeah, they're the kind of books you don't really want to get rid of ;)
P.S.Let us know here or in an email if you think about it.
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Steven wrote: "Hazel wrote: "Sandra wrote: "I'd like to hear more about the group reads. Can anyone reccomend some groups I can check out? The only group read I've been part of was on the Rosemary Suttlife grou..."Steven, you should be able to find her book "The Eagle of the Ninth" under the title "The Eagle" at your local B&N. It was there last year after the movie came out. Hopefully books don't go out of print that fast. (Then again, we don't know how much time Barnes and Noble has left, either). Amazon sells them, although, for reasons I don't understand, some are really expensive, while others are just market price.
Thanks, everyone who suggested groups with readings. I'll be checking them out as soon as annoying things like Real Life stop getting in the way!
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I am hoping to learn any techniques (if they exist) that might increase the number of reviews my books receive, and to generate discussion of them. I've so far given away about a dozen books, and only gotten about three or four reviews (but maybe that's normal; if someone knows, please tell me.)
Of course I would love to get more sales (don't we all!) but more and more, when I check my sales on Amazon, I find myself wondering what people think of what I wrote. I've enjoyed discussing books since I could first read. Discussing my own books (or reading a spirited discussion my readers are having) sounds to me like the ultimate "best of both worlds."
So...how to make it happen...?