Post your question topics here!

[J.A.]

Dale, always game for an interview - message me and we'll set something up.
Cool!
JAC

[Amy Eye]

Congrats on the book release!! It's an exciting time, but nerve wracking all at the same time!!

[Dale]

Yeah, oodles of nerves over here!

[Dale]

Still working on my Journel Store formatting!

[Cambria]

Dale wrote: "Cambria and JA...if either of you want to do an interview on my blog, and flip it so I interview on yours, I'm game! My book just came out on amazon.com and I need to start going to market. Ew. THe..."

Great! I will let you know!! Can you put up a link so I can check out your brand new book?? I would need to read it first....I am sure it is great!
Let me know and congrats. Take the "M" word one thing at a time and it will go great!!

[Cambria]

P.S. if you already posted a link I apologize....LOL. I don't always see everything.

[Amy Eye]

Dale wrote: "Still working on my Journel Store formatting!"

Let me know if you need any help with it!! :)

[Lyle Scott]

Readers bring to a story their own experiences, beliefs and knowledge.

My conceptual editor is into language, so she dinged me on a couple instances in my novel where I was dismissing the language barrier almost as though one didn’t exist. Subconsciously, I probably knew this was a flaw just waiting to be noticed. Thankfully, her observation helped to give credibility to the main character’s adapting to new languages.

A writer friend, who is into romance and weddings, dinged me for marginalizing a relationship, suggesting it’s growth was too quick and lacked the proper courtship. Since this element was only serving to create tension between the main character and her friend, I wasn’t as quick to agree with this observation. I couldn’t see the point of giving more of my ink and the reader’s time to confirm the credibility of this piece of back story.

Have you ever read a review of your novel that dinged you for something you had no prior comprehension of? Did you find it fair or not?

[C.S. Splitter]

Lyle Scott Lee wrote: "Readers bring to a story their own experiences, beliefs and knowledge.

My conceptual editor is into language, so she dinged me on a couple instances in my novel where I was dismissing the langua..."

It can happen, but as you pointed out, some "dings" are only opinion.

I have had reviewers indicate that they wished the characters had made different decisions. I get where they are coming from. They really want to like/hate a character and when that character zigs when the reviewer wanted them to zag, the reviewer can get a bit frustrated.

There are several ways you can take those sorts of "critiques" by a reviewer.

The first is deciding that the reviewer is right. "Aw, heck, I should have had the character remove the screen before sneaking out of the window!"

The second is disagreeing with the reviewer. "You didn't justify what that character did!" You have to decide then if, in your mind, the reviewer is right. If you have an answer for their critique in your own mind, move on.

You also have to consider the background of the reviewer if you know it. Do they have personal agendas? In the example you gave, the person who dinged you on the relationship is into romance and weddings...the want those things in the story more than other things YOU were trying to accomplish.

Is that reviewer wrong? We don't know. See what others have to say. If most people DON'T buy the validity of the relationship, you have a problem. If that reviewer is the lone voice of dissent, maybe you have a problem and maybe you don't.

I follow Jim Butcher on Twitter. He recently got DINGED by a reviewer claiming his depiction of a certain part of Chicago was racist. That's a pretty heavy accusation. They went back and forth for a while, but Butcher eventually decided he was right because he was writing fiction and not every detail had to match reality.

The lesson I took from watching that exchange was that reviews should be taken seriously, but not all of them are correct. You take what they say, analyze it, and decide for yourself.

Splitter

[J.A.]

I think you're right in that, Splitter.

I've had a few reviews mentioning that my book ends too abruptly and that it has too many characters. Considering that, I came to the conclusion that it's a fair point re the ending - which I can address as it's a series, by amalgamating book 1 and book 2 in omnibus edition. As for having too many characters, it does have a lot of characters but then as a fantasy series it needs to, and most of them do. Looking at my reviewers, I'm starting to think that the ones who read a lot of fantasy or historical fiction are already used to fiction with a large case; whereas the ones who read more romance or paranormal romance expect two or three main characters and then background people.

I can't really make the books have too few characters as it would restrict the story too much, and given that it is starting to look possible that the issue is the readers' expectations being thwarted, after some discussion with a couple of the guys who gave me that feedback, I've come to the conclusion that the correct way to address that problem is not to alter the story but to alter the blurb. If the blurb clearly states that there are main characters but they are set in the midst of an ongoing tapestry of events and individuals, it makes it clearer that this is not going to be a three-man plot!

As Splitter said, the other issue is that some readers may want a happily ever after or a romance or a poignant ending that would not fit with the plot that you're writing. You have to be confident of what your plot is about and what are the important bits of it; the rest is worth considering, but there will be certain core points and values that need to stay in there.

Also, most people read for enjoyment, but some are open to experiencing (by proxy) events or ways of thinking that are new to them or that they wouldn't approve of in real life, because they know that they can learn from it. Others (and these seem to be thankfully quite few) read to have their view of the world confirmed, and if your book does not conform to what they believe, will hate it. You can't do anything about that, and when it comes down to it, that's not your problem either. It stings when they leave a stinking review, but in the fullness of time other reviews will bring your average back up again and the stinker will be forgotten.

Lastly, someone told me (and I don't know if it's true) that if you look round Goodreads at the books with the most reviews, they tend to average out about 3.5 or so. I had a bit of a nosey and this doesn't look outrageously inaccurate - there are is the odd one I notice with a lot of reviews and higher averages
(Kristin Cashore, I'm thinking of) but if that is the case, anything over 3.5 is a bonus!

Anyone else heard that?
JAC

[C.S. Splitter]

I don't know about GoodReads specifically, JAC, but that SEEMS to be the case on Amazon.

A few books/series carry higher averages, but a lot of the books seem to hover around 3.5. Some get dinged up a little more because the .MOBI (an eBook format) version was bad or "overpriced".

I'll be honest, when I look at a book, the first place I go is the low ratings. Some of the complaints are just spurious (why was this ebook $12?), but you get a good feel for why SOME people didn't like it. Only then do I read the high ratings because they provide the counterpoint and show me why I might like it.

While the ratings I have received have been more than I could have hoped for, the feedback (email and PM) I have gotten has been all over the place. MOST people send an email instead of posting a review which, while I get a lot out of the emails, doesn't help sales lol.

Those behind the scenes communications usually start with "I loved your book" and then say "but...". The "but" ranges from too much detail given about flying to too little detail given. Too much "action" to pleas for fully automatic mayhem. I took too long to get to the first plot twist or I didn't give enough background.

I look at EVERY review and respond to EVERY question or comment. To me, they ALL have a point because as readers or reviewers, they come from different backgrounds.

Staying personal though, a bunch of them also told me that the first chapter, while exciting, was out of place. I decided they were right but I didn't know how to fix it. It drove me NUTS. Then one BRILLIANT reviewer sent me a PM saying, "If you moved chapter 5 to chapter 1, you might solve the problem."

Bingo! They were right. I now tell new readers to read chapter five first and then start at the beginning. When I publish the second book, I'll go back and revise the first one with that change.

All of that to say that an author SHOULD listen to the fans. You'll never please everyone all the time, but all feedback is important and sometimes, when a bunch of reviewers agree on something, they are more right than you, the author, were when you wrote the book.

Here's me talking like an expert lol. I'm NOT. I am learning too and just relating my thoughts and what I have been through.

Splitter

[J.A.]

Heheheh you and me both, Splitter! But it's so useful to compare findings and help.

Let me tell you a tale: many years ago, we had a very illtempered cat. My mum told both me and my sister not to pull its tail because it would scratch us. My sister pulled its tail and it scratched her. As a precocious (and possibly horribly superior) child, I looked at my sister, waaahing like a good'un and waving a bleeding hand around, and I looked at the cat, which was hissing and growling, and decided on the spot that I wasn't necessarily set on making my own mistakes, and that learning from other people's would suit me just fine!!

It's a sensible and very economical way to do things so I do try to do just that - but the flipside is that when I *do* make my own mistakes (and I do it with style and no sense of moderation on those occasions!) it's only fair to pass on what I've learned for everyone else to profit by too.

So for an extra bonus point, never refer to yourself as any kind of animal in Italian, especially when in Tuscany, as you may find you've just told someone you're a nymphomaniac.
I kid you not.
JAC

PS BTW, How far are you on with your second book, Splitter, and have you done a hard copy yet?

[C.S. Splitter]

"So for an extra bonus point, never refer to yourself as any kind of animal in Italian, especially when in Tuscany, as you may find you've just told someone you're a nymphomaniac.
I kid you not.
JAC

PS BTW, How far are you on with your second book, Splitter, and have you done a hard copy yet?"

ROFL, I'm guessing you were quite popular in Tuscany lol.

Now see, there is a difference between us. I WANT them to think I'm a nymphomaniac! Ok, never mind, I hit the big 40 and can't deal with that kind of pressure...

I am also the type who, when you tell him the stove is hot, will automatically touch it to see for himself. "Darn! Yeah, you're right, it's hot."

The second book is about halfway done. I have 20K words that I like. Mostly. And another 40K that need to be massaged and edited and rewritten, blah, blah, blah. I am still saying it will be out by December 2011.

No hard copies until I reach my magic sales goal with the eBook. It's just an arbitrary number I picked when I hit the "publish" button, but I am sticking to it.

Until I make a certain commitment and get it the way I want the book to look, I can't get the price under like $10 and that's just a silly sum for an indie book. My magic sales number will allow me to get it down around $6 and that, in my mind, is fair for a paperback.

Until that time, the eBook three bucks lol.

Splitter

[Dale]

The reviews I have received have dinged me for something I sub-consciously was aware of, I just didn't know how far I'd gone. Basically, during the editing I chopped a little too much detail out at the risk of boring the reader to yawnsville...and parts of the story feel rushed. So, I do agree with the reviews. Never had a malicious review yet.

Cambria...not sure if you are looking for the ebook link or the paperback link...but here are my links!

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Blood-Last...

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Blood-Last...

Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Fire...

[Cambria]

Thanks Dale!! I will check it out!

[Dale]

Cambria...guess what? I just...wait for it...sent my submission to JS! You're on the team there, right? You can probably check it out there too. :)

[Cambria]

Congrats Dale!! That's exciting! I guess you could say that I am on the JS team, though I'm not really. LOL.
I do write reviews for them and I co-host the radio show...but i don't have a title or anything. Still, I will check out your book there too!! Thanks for telling me! :)

[[deleted user]]

J.A. wrote: "Lastly, someone told me (and I don't know if it's true) that if you look round Goodreads at the books with the most reviews, they tend to average out about 3.5 or so."

I've noticed that and purely from my perspective, it puts me off when I see books with a small number of reviews, all at five stars, just the same as it would if they were all one star. It's not that I think supporting authors with reviews is a 'bad' thing, it's just that as a reader I want to feel confident that the reviews are objective.

@ Splitter - I also tend to read the lower starred reviews first because it's fairly easy to tell if someone is just on a rant or if they have some genuine criticisms of the book.

[Amy Eye]

That is wonderful, Dale! I'm glad that it will be on the site soon! :)