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Get Mad Here Thread
So today I started my second KDP free days promo on my first novel. My plan was to promote it on the Facebook groups that are listed here... After I managed to do it on three, I got a message: This post goes against Community Standards.I said it was not so, and got the post back. After a while, all my posts started getting the same notification, and was finally banned from posting on TurdFace groups until Friday.
I still can't tell if the "offending part" is a nude male torso in the pic or the word "erotica". Just posting "Free for Christmas!" and a link to the book made their Commodore 64 epoch-made bots ban it. Even if ShitFace later revokes the decision, my plans are royally fucked up.
I wish LameFace would get swallowed up in the black hole of evolution as something that doesn't deserve to survive.
Haru wrote: "So today I started my second KDP free days promo on my first novel. My plan was to promote it on the Facebook groups that are listed here... After I managed to do it on three, I got a message: This..."Have you read their so-called "Community Standards?" Maybe there's a clue in there. Facebook is a seller of advertising. It's not in their interests to let you advertise there unless they're getting some of the action, so they may tighten their "standards" to knock your ads off. Lower your expectations. I don't even go there anymore. I've done promos there, without great results. On the other hand, I didn't spend much, either.
Yep, and no clue. And I have seen people do the exact same thing I did, spamming all groups for Christmas, but they didn't get their posts deleted. So that's why I believe my posts were "indecent" *rolls eyes*Thank you for the information. I'm willing to give every venue a try, and of course I'm targetting the free ones first. Now I know Faceboodle is out of the question (whether I like it or not).
To be honest, I only use it to like and repost what I blog about here and my deviantArt pics. I just keep it in case I need it for communication and such.
Haru wrote: "Yep, and no clue. And I have seen people do the exact same thing I did, spamming all groups for Christmas, but they didn't get their posts deleted. So that's why I believe my posts were "indecent" ..."Hi Haru, Farcebook is the future, the whole of the future and nothing but the future. We shall all love the future and praise the mighty Zuck. (Unless Amazon takes over, in which case .... (or, Google...))
Ha! Farcebook XDYes, the future... that's where it should stay, out of the present. Haha, and you make it sound like a fanatical religion. Just imagine, millions of people worldwide, attentive all day with phones in their hands to get their social media--
Wait.
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In the meantime, a curse at the over-prudent bots.
And while I'm venting out, next January 11 is the first anniversary of my first novel's release. I've tried free downloads, review groups, VRO, asking "friends", book blogs, EVERYTHING. Not a single fucking review or rating!!!! And I don't even dare go the paid route before I get at least ***ONE!!!*** fucking person that bothers taking ten fucking seconds to tell me how they liked my book! They don't even add it to the 'to read' list! They just grab the book and run away! (oh, no. I actually had one that threatened me with a bad review if I asked them again. A "friend")
I know nobody else is doing THIS badly. Everyone else that has been around this much and knocked on so many doors has at least something. I am as if I didn't even exist. I am always so unlucky.
Anyway, sorry about that. I will keep trying... I always try to stay positive... but sometimes this grief is too much. *wipes tears*
The largest heating element on my electric range/stove/wha'evah blew up two days before Christmas.No. Really. Blew up as in explosion, white-light flash, shower of sparks. As in two or three inches of the burner element being vaporized.
I looked it up online. Apparently, it's a thing. We shut the power off to it from the breaker circuit and have been too afraid to turn it back on. So Christmas food was limited to cold stuff, microwave stuff, and a little Instant Pot stuff.
Happy m*********ing Christmas.
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Just imagine, millions of people worldwide, attentive all day with phones in their hands to get their social media--In their hands? They'll be implants in the back of the neck sometime soon!
Haru wrote: "And while I'm venting out, next January 11 is the first anniversary of my first novel's release. I've tried free downloads, review groups, VRO, asking "friends", book blogs, EVERYTHING. Not a sing..."
Haru - I feel for you, we've all had the experience of sharing our books with friends who may not even read them, let alone actually review them. However, I went to your Goodreads page and clicked on the Amazon link for your book, Japanese Lessons, and what came up were books on learning to speak Japanese. I went through a couple of pages of Amazon suggestions and did not see your novel among them.
Also, you're writing erotica, right? Not everyone is comfortable with reading that. If you're approaching book bloggers, I would make sure they accept erotica. I've looked at the websites of a few of them (I write historical fiction under a pen name) and some of them specifically don't want that. I don't know if there are bloggers who do, but you might google it to see if you can find some.
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I've been writing all my life. Sunday will be the first time in fifty-two years I shove one of my stories at my parents and say, "Read this. I wrote it for you." And I believe it will be the first thing of mine they'll ever have read.
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Okay, drifting back to yesterday... car repair shops who shuttle you off to a nearby coffee shop and then kinda forget about you and then indicate they might not be able to come back and get you? Yeah, they suck.
Eileen, thank you for your sympathy. Japanese Lesson is just a preview of a book I will release next month (I haven't even made a cover reveal yet); the one I'm referring to is the first Forbidden. (On a side note, when it does get published, it will be fun when people searching for Japanese lessons find it XD)Yes, I have always targeted book blogs that do accept erotica. I'm very careful with submissions and from my former occupation years I know when something is not a good match the success possibilities are very, very low, so I don't even bother.
My point was about being stuck in square one after a ton of work during a whole year. Today I got feedback from a reader that my writing might be too simplistic, so I wonder if that is turning people away.
I thank you again for your feelings, I'm better now. I'll keep trying and trying until I find something that works. Like Schwarzenegger said, "The wolf in the hill is never as hungry as the wolf climbing the hill", and I am this wolf.
Haru wrote: "And while I'm venting out, next January 11 is the first anniversary of my first novel's release. I've tried free downloads, review groups, VRO, asking "friends", book blogs, EVERYTHING. Not a sing..." I understand what you are going through. I know you are not allowed to mention the name of your book on Goodreads, but can you gift me a copy. I can start reading it and at least give you an idea why you are having trouble. Believe me, I've gone through the same thing.
My email is rsdavisauthor@gmail.com
Dwayne wrote: "Just a reminder, something we have to bring up now and then, friends and family are not a built in audience. If they choose to read and review your work, fine. Don't expect it.I've been writing a..."
In my case it was an online "friend" who had a very tight compatibility in her tastes. Like a custom-made reader for me. And she accepted the book and thanked me. When I asked, after a month, that I needed her review, she gave a reply that clearly showed she hadn't even touched the book (one of the things she said was "I don't know where the story is going." Well... aren't you supposed to read and find out?), and this threat. That's why it shocked me so much.
Haru wrote: "And while I'm venting out, next January 11 is the first anniversary of my first novel's release. I've tried free downloads, review groups, VRO, asking "friends", book blogs, EVERYTHING. Not a sing..."
We've all been there, and many of us will likely be there again. Just keep climbing!
Randall wrote: "Haru wrote: "And while I'm venting out, next January 11 is the first anniversary of my first novel's release. I've tried free downloads, review groups, VRO, asking "friends", book blogs, EVERYTHIN..."
Thank you very much, Randall! I need it so much. I'll send you a copy right away.
Phillip wrote: "Haru wrote: "And while I'm venting out, next January 11 is the first anniversary of my first novel's release. I've tried free downloads, review groups, VRO, asking "friends", book blogs, EVERYTHIN..."
During a whole year...?
Haru wrote: "During a whole year...?"Absolutely. People are fickle, readers especially. They want a recommendation from a trusted person, but that means the same big names continuously get business. Us little people have to work exponentially harder to be noticed. I swore my original lack of sales/reviews was due to not having the full series out. Then, I thought nobody would read past the first book to get the true brilliance of the reveal at the end of it all.
We are our own worst critics. We are also our best advocates. We want to share our babies with the world, so it stings when people don't even acknowledge they exist. However, that also makes it that much sweeter when we do get attention. It WILL happen.
Phillip wrote: "Haru wrote: "During a whole year...?"Absolutely. People are fickle, readers especially. They want a recommendation from a trusted person, but that means the same big names continuously get busine..."
Wait a minute... I remember now that Sherrilyn Kenyon spent ten years trying to sell her first book to publishers. Now I feel really petty -_-
One of the reasons I want to succeed is so I can make the way easier for the future independent writers. So nobody has to spend a whole year without a review like me. So I can pave the way so their success comes easier than mine. I also want to succeed without having a single tree dying because of someone's literary tastebuds, in an era where everyone has a phone, computer, tablet or Kindle, most likely all of them. (That doesn't mean I would never publish a physical book. If someone printed books made from recycled religious texts and Twilight copies, I'd hire them in a heartbeat :D)
Anyway.... XD Thanks for the encouragement. I don't plan on quitting, ever. I didn't expect success overnight, but I didn't expect to stay in square one for a year. But I'll keep trying and trying, writing and writing, until bad luck gives in.
Who knows, maybe next year we'll tell each other "So it finally happened!"
Lark wrote: "I'm still mad about GR Giveaways. I've vented about this already elsewhere but I feel like it's a public service to say again, now and then, that these giveaways are a scam.
First you pay for t..."
Indeed Lark. Plus there are other issues, esp with the Kindle element. You get a blast of 'genre chaos,' in your 'also bought,' list on Amazon which can cripple your product page for months.
The $120 USD I spent on a GR Kindle giveaway was the worst marketing spend of my life.
Felix wrote: "In their hands? They'll be implants in the back of the neck sometime soon!"With a little capsule of neurotoxin that can be injected straight into your brainstem. An 'off,' switch that can be fired for non-conformity.
After all, everyone on Harkonnen has a heart plug.
Haru wrote: "Who knows, maybe next year we'll tell each other "So it finally happened!"I'm adding it to my calendar now.
Marketing is the pits.Seriously, I know I'm a novice but well, have you ever played pitfall? That's what I feel like I'm doing; jumping over pits, falling down holes, climbing back out, jump on a few crocodiles, all to find myself right back where I started.
Rant end.
Haru wrote: "Eileen, thank you for your sympathy. Japanese Lesson is just a preview of a book I will release next month (I haven't even made a cover reveal yet); the one I'm referring to is the first Forbidden....My point was about being stuck in square one after a ton of work during a whole year. Today I got feedback from a reader that my writing might be too simplistic, so I wonder if that is turning people away...."Okay, I read the Look Inside sample text for Forbidden Book 1. You do know how to write. I can't comment much on the story; it's not a genre I read. It's a nice length, opens with an action chapter that ends with a hook--we know there's going to be trouble. You get into the rivalry early, which is good.
Yes, it's a bit "simplistic," with many short or incomplete sentences, a few so terse, they take some figuring out.
Suggestions: the opening section is too long for a prologue. Make it Chapter 1, instead. Read a dozen or so ★★★★★ works in your genre-mix, paying close attention to their style--use of articles, variation in sentence length & complexity, and so on.
Thank you very much, J, for taking time to read and tell me. I quite don't understand what you mean by "simplistic" with the ""s, but I get the cake is tasty while the decoration is messed up in some places. Fortunately, it is a lot easier to fix a bad decoration than a bad cake. It looks clearer and clearer my writing style in that novel does need an upgrade. I do write a bit better now, after having written another.As for the reading... hmm, that will take some time. Namely... my story is more than just romance, while a lot of the romance stories out there are just that. I have heard somewhere that the more convoluted the story, the simpler the writing should be. And a lot of these romances have a very simple story hidden under a ton of convoluted text.
In any case, thank you very much for your help. I really need this info.
Oh, and the prologue... I've been pondering if to name it "prelude" instead. I guess it would work.
Haru wrote: "Thank you very much, J, for taking time to read and tell me. I quite don't understand what you mean by "simplistic" with the ""s, but I get the cake is tasty while the decoration is messed up in so..."Just to explain the quotes ("") around simplistic: The word is in quotes because it is a word that, as you state, was used by another reader to describe your writing. The connotation of the quotes is that I don't necessarily endorse that term.
Re reading: Yes, your book is a multiple genre work, so there aren't a lot out there like it. That, in itself, is something to ponder. I can't say not to write multiple genre novels--I'm writing a Mystery-Romance-Western myself.
More re reading: It's good that your writing is improving with each book you write. But you can improve it much faster by reading in ANY genre. Try reading several paranormal romances.
The more complex the story or format, the clearer the writing should be. That is, the text should be more easily understood. That doesn't mean just short sentences and short words. Terse writing isn't always easier to follow.
The problem with the opening is that it is chapter length, not that it's called a prologue. You can call it anything you wish. If no other chapters are in that character's POV, it's more of a prologue than anything else.
Prologues are good for: (1) material that happens outside the timeline of the book. (e.g., a murder that happens 20 years before the opening scene.) (2) meeting a character we don't see again until, perhsps, the end of the book. (E.g., a narrator.) (3) briefly setting the overall tone or mood of the book. (4) foreshadowing action without revealing it (5) introducing theme or a motif. (6) Establishing the greater setting of the book (e.g., a description of WWII events not part of the story but surrounding it.) (7) some absolutely necessary backstory that doesn't fit anywhere else. (8) Flashing forward in order to open in action. Prologues are best kept to 1/2 page or a page at most.
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Amen to that. If I put the beginning of my first draft side-to-side with the current draft, the difference would be obvious. Between my start in 2015 and now, I've read some 80-ish books and rewrote most of my story, some parts even more than once. Every bit of that helped me improve. I could see a difference from draft to draft.
Very angry. Had to end a 16 year long friendship over something absolutely stupid. So, I got engaged, married, and lost my grandmother after a long battle with congestive heart failure this year. Moved, and started home renovations. With this friend it's always all about her. To the point where she called me on the way to the airport for my honeymoon lamenting that she didn't get a honeymoon and asking me to watch my goddaughter and pay my way on a Disney cruise to be their take along nanny. I told her I'm on the way to my honeymoon.
So, a few months later she messages me angry with me for not posting enough or liking enough of my goddaughter's thousands of photos that she posts to facebook. I called her out on all this and told her I've been really busy this year and am still trying to juggle my writing career on top of this. (I've had two major book signings like three weeks after getting back from my honeymoon and another one ending the year). I don't have time to go through and meet her social media quotas.
She ungodmothered me. I didn't think you could do that. Then, she tells all our mutual friends about this and makes me out to be a selfish B$#%.
So, now I'm preparing the cover art for my three books getting released in 2019 and in one of the books it talks about this toxic relationship that Sylvia goes through and it was written BEFORE THIS INCIDENT. I didn't see some of the parallels. So, one of my beta readers is a mutual friend with this gal and tells her all about this scene. OMG. I'm appalled by all of this. AND I've taken away Beta Reading privileges from this gal.
But the damage seems to have been done. I've done everything I could to analyze my behavior and conversation with this friend. I've even approached her with an apology for how I reacted.
She has completely cut me off and told me she will write negative reviews on every book I publish from here on out. I can't help but feel scared about that. I already get very few reviews on my stuff and she's merciless with this stuff. *Sigh*
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Don't. It may be an empty threat. At worst, your books will have one dishonest review and a bunch of honest ones. Savvy readers can usually spot bogus reviews.
I'd say the worst part is losing out on your godmother status. The best... being rid of this friend. She sounds like a sociopath.
Dwayne wrote: "Kaylee wrote: "She has completely cut me off and told me she will write negative reviews on every book I publish from here on out. I can't help but feel scared about that. "Don't. It may be an em..."
Thank you. I so needed that today. I'm really sad about losing out on being godmother. I mean. I sent stuff to her and was hoping I'd be in her life, but logistically speaking, I can't be there for all the things I want to be there for. We live across the country from one another and it's always me that flies out to see them. I just can't afford to fly out every three months. I have ISBNs to purchase! Lol.
Thank you for the encouragement. I needed it.
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Hi Kaylee, the relationship does sound toxic.If she starts stalking your books just flag her reviews to the platforms for removal.
Graeme wrote: "Hi Kaylee, the relationship does sound toxic.If she starts stalking your books just flag her reviews to the platforms for removal."
I didn't know I could do that! You are the MVP today
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I did once. It didn't help. But, it's worth a try.
Tomas wrote: "J. wrote: "More re reading: It's good that your writing is improving with each book you write. But you can improve it much faster by reading in ANY genre."Amen to that. If I put the beginning of my first draft side-to-side with the current draft, the difference would be obvious. Between my start in 2015 and now, I've read some 80-ish books and rewrote most of my story, some parts even more than once. Every bit of that helped me improve. I could see a difference from draft to draft. ..."
Well done, Tomas. Some kinds of scenes often require multiple rewrites, especially openings, endings, and action scenes. A dozen or even two dozen rewrites are not unusual for action scenes.
But the damage seems to have been done. I've done everything I could to analyze my behavior and conversation with this friend. I've even approached her with an apology for how I reacted. Kaylee
Don't you realize that you have a first class plot for your next book? Just jazz-up the threats, insert some psycho and you'll have a potential best seller!
J. wrote: "Haru wrote: "Thank you very much, J, for taking time to read and tell me. I quite don't understand what you mean by "simplistic" with the ""s, but I get the cake is tasty while the decoration is me..."Thank you for all the explanation! You know, I have heard that advice before, but somehow it doesn't work for me. I much rather write than read. Reason: when I write I do it about the stuff I like, and when I read I could wade through piles of stuff before I can find something I like. I'm the kind of person that when she wants some new clothes will go and peruse what's in the shops, trying on whatever I feel suits me, instead of reading fashion magazines or looking at other people. Difference in personality perhaps.
There's also the widespread belief that you should write every day, and I tried following that advice, but it doesn't work for me either. I work in really intense periods of long hours, sometimes staying up until 5 a.m., and maybe the next two days I play videogames and don't write a thing. My productivity rate is satisfactory (9,000 - 15,000 words a week when I'm not editing) so I'd say it works for me. Who knows, maybe I'm wired differently.
Felix wrote: "But the damage seems to have been done. I've done everything I could to analyze my behavior and conversation with this friend. I've even approached her with an apology for how I reacted. Kaylee
D..."
I didn't think about it like that! Woah. I could make the bestseller's list with my friendship drama. I could call it: The Friend Dilemma
I have a new obsession, which I doubt is healthy. Every morning, I wake up and check how many pages were read with Kindle Unlimited. Unlike books sales, with KU I can see exactly how much a person is reading. I know how long each book is and get to perform a happy dance when someone begins books two or three. The problem is when they don't. I drive myself insane wondering if they didn't like my book or are just taking a break for the weekend (or the rest of their lives). I should probably stop, but the thrill I get from seeing pages read dwarfs the disappointment of a reader dropping out before finishing the final book. It's even better than actual book sales, though those make me more money. An investment of time is more precious than a few dollars. In short, I'm mad at myself for constantly checking.
On thing that frustrates me is that writing a novel is supposed to be a work of art. That you write what you want to write and that people should be able to get you.
But most readers want tropes and structure in their novels (especially genre novels). This is frustrating because it limits the kind of novels I want to write.
So what if I want to add hardcore erotica sex in my YA novel? But I can't because that will alienate readers. (I'm not going to add it but just saying to prove my point.)
But most readers want tropes and structure in their novels (especially genre novels). This is frustrating because it limits the kind of novels I want to write.
So what if I want to add hardcore erotica sex in my YA novel? But I can't because that will alienate readers. (I'm not going to add it but just saying to prove my point.)
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So what if I want to add hardcore erotica sex in my YA novel? But I can't because that will alienate readers."
Yep. I was having a discussion about this type of thing with another member in another thread yesterday. The novel I'm working on could work, she feels, as a young adult. Part of me wants to do that as there's a huge, huge target audience. I can't do it, though. There won't be a lot of sex scenes, if any, but one of the main characters is nearly a nymphomaniac, one character is nearly raped by her uncle, another character is a prostitute... This is all based on a novel I wrote back in the 80's and I don't feel right taking the sexual themes out of it.
I say we're Indies, dammit. Let's shake things up and stop worrying about tropes and what readers expect. Let's give them something new and fresh instead of sticking to what's old and tired.
Dwayne wrote: "I say we're Indies, dammit. Let's shake things up and stop worrying about tropes and what readers expect. Let's give them something new and fresh instead of sticking to what's old and tired. "
I agree, we are indie authors for a reason. If we just want to continue with the same tropes, then we can go traditional.
I agree, we are indie authors for a reason. If we just want to continue with the same tropes, then we can go traditional.
Exactly! The whole reason I went indie was so I could be original and not have to change my story to appease a passionless, unartistic publisher.
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This thing I'm working on now is pure fiction. I'm writing it in as an oral history to make it feel more real. Back when I wrote the original draft of it, there was only one novel out written in this style (James Robert Baker's Boy Wonder - which was a heavy influence on this book, not in story, but in style) that I knew of and I knew it would be a hard sell. I just did some research and I can only find one other novel written this way, a Chuck Palahniuk (one of those "I need to read him some day" authors) novel. So, I think even today it would be a hard sell to trad. publishers.
There are so many reasons to be an Indie Author! I know I'll never get rich writing - but that is freeing and allows me to write my very best. I don't have to constantly have in mind what is "hot" in the market or what an agent or publishing house wants regarding content and length. I can experiment with style and genre and write, write, write. Making some sales is validating and pretty darn nice too - LOL - but I'm not letting the money dictate what and how I write
And here I thought I was the only one who disliked the tired tropes of the publishing houses today. Why do I have to have sex scenes in a novel involving a woman on a motorcycle? Not every person on a Harley is in a gang like Sons of Anarchy or promiscuious. When I get I loved your Characters and your premise but it doesn't fit what we are looking for its 's time for me to move into self publishing. Besides rules are made to be bent or broken and I as a reader enjoy the odd novels which don't fit into the little niches ofnthe publishing houses.
Phillip wrote: "I have a new obsession, which I doubt is healthy. Every morning, I wake up and check how many pages were read with Kindle Unlimited. Unlike books sales, with KU I can see exactly how much a person ..."It's very understandable - in fact it's a thrill, as you rightly say. But how do you know it's the same person reading? If there are multiple readers there's no way, as far as I know.
Exactly this.
I would reconsider if it was structured more like NetGalley where publishers can select those readers who are likely to actually read and review a given book.
Or Library Thing, where the publisher doesn't get to pick, but Library Thing adds value for the publisher, because it has an algorithm where reader-participants have a significantly stronger chance of winning the giveaway if they have left reviews for past books they've won. The algorithm has nothing to do with the rating of a given review and Library Thing stresses that is the case...but leaving reviews of any kind, of 25 words or more, rewards the reader with more free books.