Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
III. Goodreads Readers
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Why don't more people read Self-published authors?
Nothing quite like the vultures coming to pray on the unaware..
Justin wrote: "Nothing quite like the vultures coming to pray on the unaware.."Really, Justin? Tsk, tsk. *smh* If ya wanna be snarky (or try to salvage any credibility), best to not confuse 'pray' with 'prey'.
But then, from the first, I got the sense that you're in that *other* camp of thinkers. *shrug*
ETA: OTOH, perhaps you've got something there with 'pray'. B/c at times, I certainly do find myself fervently praying that someone would introduce certain individuals to the wonders of a dictionary and spellcheck. *tips hat*
Ach, Linda, you must get outta my head! ;-)
Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "If you know that you don't have the strongest grasp of basic concepts and rules from grammar school (e.g., when a semi-colon is appropriate)"The inappropriate use, or lack of use, of a semi-colon is something that, as a reader, up with I can happily put (yes, that was written that way just to be irritating!)! It isn't something that bothers me in the slightest, to be honest, as long as the sense of the sentence is clear enough. Not knowing the difference between 'their', 'they're' and 'there' is another matter, though! I can forgive the occasional typo in that direction, of course, but a book riddled with them is not a good sign at all.
Oh, and don't ever fully trust those 'helpful' wiggly lines - they sometimes like to lead you in completely the wrong direction. Computers, for all of their apparent sophistication, are actually extremely stupid! You certainly can't rely on wiggly lines (or a lack of wiggly lines) to tell you that everything is as it should be.
Linda wrote: "Justin wrote: "Nothing quite like the vultures coming to pray on the unaware.."That's "prey," Justin. And illustrates the point perfectly."
And to illustrate my previous point, I'm sure you'll agree that the misspelling of 'prey' is a far more distracting and intrusive error in book reader terms than the double full stop at the end of the sentence.
That said, I don't think it helps anyone just to be entirely negative towards their efforts. I don't mean that people should be handled with kid gloves, obviously, but pointing out that someone still has a way to go yet on the learning curve (as I know I certainly do myself - it's a big curve, and I'm right at the start of it, and don't try to claim any different) shouldn't need to come across as trying to kick them off that curve entirely. Yes, people need to take criticism on board and learn from it, of course, but criticism should always strive to be constructive and helpful.
T. wrote: "...The inappropriate use, or lack of use, of a semi-colon is something that, as a reader, up with I can happily put ..."Would you feel the same way if the writer used semi-colons in lieu of commas? (And no, this is not a hypothetical situation.)
T. wrote: "...Oh, and don't ever fully trust those 'helpful' wiggly lines - they sometimes like to lead you in completely the wrong direction. Computers, for all of their apparent sophistication, are actually extremely stupid! You certainly can't rely on wiggly lines (or a lack of wiggly lines) to tell you that everything is as it should be."
I wholeheartedly agree with you on this so you're preaching to the choir. Sadly, I keep hearing from certain writers that SpellCheck and GrammarCheck will fix all their errors. Which is why I mentioned it. Still, at risk of sounding incredibly arrogant, I daresay that Word's programming may have a better sense of proper English than some SPAs. But insofar as computers are only as smart as their users... *shrug*
ETA: FWIW, there is past history w/ Justin littered w/ certain... instances. So if you're not aware of it, don't think that Linda and I are so rude as to jump on his mistake out arrogance or lack of care. Whilst criticism should be constructive, it's helpful *only* if the person receiving it is mature enough to acknowledge it.
ETA2: What exactly is a 'double full stop at the end of the sentence'?
Linda wrote: "Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "ETA2: What exactly is a 'double full stop at the end of the sentence'? ...."Two periods. Casual typo."
Ah... huge difference betn a casual typo which everyone makes and the sharpest of eyes can miss -vs- not being able to distinguish betn 'pray' & 'prey' (or lose/loose, you're/your, its/it's, there/their/they're, etc).
Word grammar/spell check tends to screw up homonym errors too. I wish Bill GAtes had used someone other than his out of work uncle to program it. (that is an Urban Legend, I think it might be true though.)
Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "Would you feel the same way if the writer used semi-colons in lieu of commas?"
It would be a mild irritation, granted, but nothing more. It's only an extra little dot! As long as the sentence made sense, it's something that I could ignore easily enough if the rest of the book was OK (although I agree that it's not really a very good indication about how OK the rest of the book is likely to be!).
Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "What exactly is a 'double full stop at the end of the sentence'? "
S'wot I done learned at school 'bout dem little dot thingies at the end of a sentence, don'cha know! :-)
That does (kind of) bring up another issue that should be considered regarding spelling, though (and certain other linguistic constructions and language habits) - it's not entirely consistent among English language speakers across the world. That's something that obviously does need to be remembered when reading.
T. wrote: "Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "Would you feel the same way if the writer used semi-colons in lieu of commas?"
It would be a mild irritation, granted, but nothing more. It's only an extra little dot! As ..."
I'm slightly dyslexic so I focus on the spelling and how well my words fit together. I leave the commas, colons, em dashes etc. to my editor.
I think the story comes before the grammar. Since grammar is riddled with rules, many of which don't matter, I tend to think less of it overall. But I know it's important to readers so I got an editor who is willing to put up with me.
I don't think writers should focus too hard on the little things like that.
J.T. wrote: "Word grammar/spell check tends to screw up homonym errors too. ..."Actually, no, it doesn't. B/c the software is not meant to fix that simply b/c a program cannot determine what you *meant* to type. Even if one could program certain variables so to account for some context, expecting a software program to catch homonym errors is unrealistic.
T. wrote: "...It would be a mild irritation, granted, but nothing more. It's only an extra little dot! As long as the sentence made sense, it's something that I could ignore easily enough if the rest of the book was OK..."I assure you, if a writer is using semi-colons in lieu of commas, then the sentences/paragraphs do NOT make sense (also, invariably, there will be other technical issues). But yes, definitely not a good indicator as to what the overall reading experience will be = quick DNF. ;-)
If you want to write for pleasure there are numerous websites where you can share your writing with others. There are fanfic sites, Wattpad and various other sites geared to sharing and following other writers.If you want to write as a business then you need to invest in the end product. That means having start up capital for cover art and editors. You also need to invest in the craft and continue to improve your writing.
When I started to take my writing from the realm of hobby to business I undertook an online self editing course that helped me identify common problems in my work.
http://nicemommy-evileditor.com/befor...
When you publish your book and place it in the public domain you are asking people to pay money for a product. Think about your own consumption habits, will you pay money for an incomplete or inferior product? We all owe it to the end consumer to produce the highest quality product possible.
I've had Word consistently tell my "it's" should be "its" and vice versa. It is always wrong, no matter which way I'm (correctly) using it.MS Word has also told me I should change "I'm" to "I are." I still haven't figured that one out.
I wrote a blog post about it once, speculating that the grammar-check feature of Word was programmed by a person who learned English as a second (or fifth) language through the study of posts on Facebook and other social media.
I don't know who programmed Word's grammar-check feature, but I agree. It can't totally replace proper knowledge of grammar. Besides, no matter your skills, editing your own work is never 100% foolproof. You need to cross-compare with at least another person.
A friend shared a website with me that he used when self-editing, prior to hiring an editor.http://prowritingaid.com/en/Analysis/...#
It's not a complete substitute for hiring a pro, but it can certainly help authors whose work never progresses beyond the rough draft stage without intervention.
Lynda wrote: "I've had Word consistently tell my "it's" should be "its" and vice versa. It is always wrong, no matter which way I'm (correctly) using it.MS Word has also told me I should change "I'm" to "I are..."
This made me laugh. I've experienced these issues with MS Word, too. (And so I don't use it anymore. ;-) Whatever you do, do NOT depend on your spell/grammar-check to be your "editor"! It will lead you into hell (aka, a place where others will ridicule you until you either wither or grow very thick skin).
I read a mix of books, although I am now reading more SPAs than ever before. There are good books and bad in both trad pubbed writing and self published and I have found some real gems in both.
My advice is always to learn to write as best you can, so that you can save money later on. My editor charges $17.50 an hour. My most recent book (145k) cost $245, which is extremely reasonable.When I was doing proofreading (I basically only do it for people I know these days) I was getting sent all manner of junk, stuff that even in first draft would have embarrassed me. I was charging a set fee so I got screwed for my time, basically. I get stuff with incomplete sentences, no punctuation, characters whose names just changed at random, stuff worse than I was writing in elementary school. I felt pretty embarrassed for those authors. The way I see it is you get what you deserve. If you don't put in the YEARS needed to write well, if you don't invest money (AFTER you've achieved a decent level of skill) in editing etc, then don't expect to make any sales. Certainly not any repeat ones.
I'm 34. I started writing at about age 8, and started submitting to publishers when I was 18. Even today I don't consider myself especially good. I learn how to improve my writing every day and I will probably continue learning until I die.
Chris wrote: "My advice is always to learn to write as best you can, so that you can save money later on. My editor charges $17.50 an hour. My most recent book (145k) cost $245, which is extremely reasonable.W..."
I mean no insult or anything, but a thorough edit of 145,000 words in just 14 hours seems extremely questionable to me, especially when you add in the time it takes to read, make notes, make changes, etc. etc. Let's be honest, I don't know anyone that could even straight read a 145000 word book that fast. Plus, is that for one round of edits? Because generally after you get the first round back, you should go over suggestions, make changes, make additions and deletions, and then it usually needs to be gone over again to make sure whatever you've added or subtracted doesn't change a whole aspect of the work, in addition to making sure those new sections are proper in spelling and grammar.
One thing I think we should expect of any GOOD editor, is the ability to say "No." Now, I understand this isn't really feasible as a lot of editors are trying to make a living and to a degree, this isn't really in their job description, but I believe it would be for the benefit of everybody if editors were able to simply turn back works which were nowhere near ready to be professionally edited. I mean, writers shouldn't be sending in their first, second, or anything below a 5th draft. Some would say even up to 10th draft or more.
Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "J.T. wrote: "Word grammar/spell check tends to screw up homonym errors too. ..."Actually, no, it doesn't. B/c the software is not meant to fix that simply b/c a program cannot determine what you..."
Actually it has but I caught it. But granted it was only one occasion. But it cannot figure out whether it should be "it's" or "its" or "your" or "you're." I leave auto correct off.
J.T. wrote: "Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "J.T. wrote: "Word grammar/spell check tends to screw up homonym errors too. ..."Actually, no, it doesn't. B/c the software is not meant to fix that simply b/c a program c..."
Before someone says anything the "Buts" are intentional. They are not a usage problem.
Shaun, the editor's edit was the fifth one done on the manuscript. The first four were done by myself over a period of eight months, which included large scale rewriting, advice from betas, added chapters etc. I would never let anyone near a first draft. It's the same process I've used with all of my novels, and my reviews are pretty good so I have no complaints. I'm kind of lucky in that I'm an English teacher by profession and was good enough to sell to a couple of professional magazines long before I started self-publishing.
Now just a piece of marketing advice. Never, ever, ever, ever (add as many more as you like) give your book away for free on a bookseller website. The reason why is a term in marketing called perceived value. Sorry everyone, no book has any real inherent value unless it is bound in gold with silver pages. An eBook has absolutely zero inherent value. You have to make the buyer perceive value in what you are selling. If it is free, or has ever been free, it has no perceived value and no one will pay for it. You have to convince the buyer of its value. Now, established authors (please never use the term writer for someone with a published book. Writers write articles. Authors write books.) have what marketers call goodwill. People recognize their name and will buy the book expecting a certain return so they will pay more. Since you have a book published (be it Traditional or Self)you have a little bit of goodwill because they see it available. If you have it in multiple formats you have a little more and every good review adds a little even bad reviews add because they justify the good reviews (not everyone will like the book).
Now if you give the book away, you lose every bit of goodwill you have built up. This is not counting things like giveaways on Goodreads and other review sites. These are sweepstakes and everyone loves to win. Sorry, I digress. If you don't think your book is worth selling why should the buyer think it is worth buying?
This is an example. I am selling a knockoff Coach purse for $500. You are selling a real one for $25. The buyer will assume that my product is genuine and more valuable than yours purely because of the price. The same with books.
I'm often "afraid" to. The same mechanism that allows all of us to be heard also allows some truly...spectacularly bad things to get through. A good premise is easily ruined by bad writing and poor execution. One imagines an established author has figured this out and taken steps to avoid it. A no-name, though, could be hitting random keys on a keyboard for all one knows.So says the no-name.
Chris wrote: "Shaun, the editor's edit was the fifth one done on the manuscript. The first four were done by myself over a period of eight months, which included large scale rewriting, advice from betas, added c..."Well, That all certainly gives you a leg up on most other authors to start with. What it sounds like you're describing though is a proofreader more than an editor. I'm still uncertain whether you're getting real value for your dollar though. The claim is that they're going over 10,000+ words an hour, and I'm sorry, but I simply cannot believe they are actually capable of putting real, quality work in at that pace.
Linda wrote: "Denzel wrote: "I'm slightly dyslexic so I focus on the spelling and how well my words fit together. I leave the commas, colons, em dashes etc. to my editor.I'm sorry, but I can't agree to that. The rules I dismiss are the rules of grammar. And they are easily dismissible. "Five items or fewer" is technically correct, but no one really cares if they see "Five items or less" do they? Does the difference between "..." and ". . ." mean a great deal to anyone? I'm a writer. My job isn't to focus down on the tiny "here and there" it's to make sure everything is clear and cohesive enough to be enjoyed by the reader.
When I found my editor, Ms. Smith, I was looking for certain criteria. And she fell into my list. She is award winning, has been in publishers weekly and The New York Times. More to the fact, she pointed out everything wrong with my manuscript all the while keeping what I wrote flowing naturally. I'm not going to claim that grammar isn't important, but on a scale of writers priorities, it's near the bottom. I don't concern myself with it.
I feel my stance can be summed up in just a single quote. "I'll leave you to tidy up the woulds and shoulds, wills and shalls, thats and whiches etc." -Oscar Wilde in a letter to his editor.
Do you think he has ever been read?
Chris wrote: "My editor charges $17.50 an hour. My most recent book (145k) cost $245, which is extremely reasonable."Wow! Your editor is fast. I put in at least 80 hours when doing a manuscript that's around 77-80k, and that's going through it once, sending it back for approval/changes, going through it a second time, getting it back again and going through one final time "just to make sure." That's a minimum of three times, but I typically double back here and there on the first round. And that's for light-medium edits. I've done heavier edits where the first read took me 77 hours for a 95k manuscript.
The only time I did an edit VERY fast was when I did a final proofread for a book after another editor had already gone through it. The author was behind schedule due to the first editor taking a week longer than allotted. Thankfully, her manuscript was extremely well-written—even the first editor had made hardly any changes—and I finished it in 14 straight hours while completely ignoring my family.
When all is said and done, I'm not making very much per hour (I charge per word with price varying depending on the level of edit), but I really like what I do. Someday, when I have more books under my belt, I might charge more, but for now I'm content.
@Chris: Sorry, my comment is practically moot after reading your answer above. I'd forgotten that you're the BA in English.Serves me right for taking so long to type out my response.
I just try to make sure my editor has as little to do as possible. I've been told to hire more expensive people and send my manuscripts out earlier, but I'm a complete perfectionist and won't let anyone look at my manuscripts until I personally think they're perfect. Then it comes back with minor changes on almost every page. I ask for advice on the plot and take onward any ideas and make changes if necessary. I also have several volunteer proofreaders. What can I say? I apologise if people don't think I'm spending enough on editing or that my editor isn't doing a good enough job but without reading my books such comments are mere speculation. Fact is, I have a production team and system I'm happy with and I get mostly good reviews, so I'm happy with it. Believe me, in the beginning I made all the mistakes it's possible for an indie to make, but I learned and continue to improve every day.
My goal is to create a grammatical nightmare for my editor. To use so much random punctuation that the editor is left weeping at my abuse and ignorance of the most basic functions of a comma lol
Raymond wrote: "My goal is to create a grammatical nightmare for my editor. To use so much random punctuation that the editor is left weeping at my abuse and ignorance of the most basic functions of a comma lol"HEYYYYYYY!!! Don't make me fly down there, mister.
Chris wrote: "I just try to make sure my editor has as little to do as possible. I've been told to hire more expensive people and send my manuscripts out earlier, but I'm a complete perfectionist and won't let a..."Chris, I think if you can get a bargain AND a qualified editor, more power to you. It doesn't sound like you're sending some half-baked idea off to the presses.
I recently read a book for review purposes, and the author did an incredible job of self-editing. She credited her English teachers for drumming the rules into her.
Commas are the most important piece of punctuation. I sprinkle them generously to make my work look distinguished and professional.
J.T. wrote: "Commas are the most important piece of punctuation. I sprinkle them generously to make my work look distinguished and professional."Oh, J.T.
I'm laughing and crying at the same time because I read your post and heard it in Spongebob's voice, thinking back to when he discovered "speech enhancers."
Lynda,I missed that one. Maybe I should look for it on YouTube. Everything is on YouTube. It is self publishing for actors.
I want to comment on the idea that it's the ultimate evil to offer free ebooks. I find the opposite, especially with a series. A free ebook can hook in thousands of readers who otherwise wouldn't have started it.Maybe ten years ago people would have thought free written content was bad - but now they expect it. They expect news sites to be free. They expect full how-to step by step descriptions to be free. They expect in-depth reviews to be free. This is the world we now live in. Youngsters growing up take it for granted that all of this is free.
They don't pay for CDs - they watch videos for free on YouTube. They just have to deal with a little advertising as the trade-off.
So having an intro ebook as a free copy is "expected" by them - and if anything you then have to get them over the hurdle of paying for the sequels. You have to write so well that they get sucked in and "have to" pay for the remaining content, vs simply moving on to all of their other millions of free options.
Lisa
But you can sell it at a reduced price and still sell copies. People love a sale. Yes you do potentially reach more people with free eBooks but you also run the risk of them picking it up for free and never actually reading it. If I buy a book, I am going to read it. If I pick it up for free I might or might not read it. Now if you have a second or third in a series available, I can see that rationale. If it is your first book you shouldn't because you want them to have something to buy immediately. So unless you have a couple of books out there I would be very careful about offering free books. Many people following this thread have only a single book out. It may not be in their best interest to offer it for free.
I just ran the numbers for my twelve medieval novels. Up through October 2013 they were all 99 cents each (35% share). On October 31st I upped them all to $2.99 at 70% share. In both months (Oct and Nov) I had a book launch with full launch party, prizes, etc. In both months I did a free book giveaway promotion with just over 500 copies given away each time. I did daily blog / Facebook / Twitter posts each month. So in most ways the two months were identical.Book sales PLUMMETED once I changed to $2.99. I sold barely a third of the book I'd sold previously. It was dramatic.
On the other hand, I got double the income, because of the higher percentage.
I personally would rather have more sales. I'd rather have lots and lots of copies being bought with the thought that these people would then get hooked into my other books. To make more money short term and sacrifice my reader base just doesn't seem useful.
If my books are 99 cents there is no "reduced price" :). That's it.
Lisa
Richard -Today is the two year anniversary of me releasing my very first medieval novel, Seeking the Truth -
I had been writing medieval novels for many, many years and tried submitting a few to Harlequin. Harlequin was very sweet in its responses. They said they enjoyed my writing style but the stories weren't hard core enough. I like to write "clean" romance. So in the end I gave up on the publisher world and decided to self publish.
These books have been edited by me for YEARS, polish after polish. They then went through reading teams, got more revisions, and then a trio of talented editors. So while there might of course be a few lingering issues, the content is mostly set.
I then released the first three in fast succession - Dec 1, Dec 7 (Knowing Yourself), and Dec 15 (A Sense of Duty). Then the Kindle Fire came out. I had a Facebook page, blog, Twitter feed, Google+ feed, and I use all daily. So with all of that, I was able to engage readers, build a fan base, and reach the audience I wanted.
Selling books takes a concerted effort. I don't just plunk a first draft out there and hope people find it. I wouldn't even consider "ten read throughs" a good start. I read mine probably a hundred times before they are ready. Each pass causes more fine tuning.
I work with Debi (my artist) for weeks to develop the exact right cover for it. I tweak and tweak the marketing blurb.
My readers have access to the world's great literature for free. They can read Pride and Prejudice, the Odyssey, Frost poetry, Shakespeare, etc. all day long. If I want them to put all of that aside and PAY to read my offering, I have to be worthy. Life is short. Tragically short. The things we choose to invest our time in should be worth it.
As an author I have a responsibility to make sure the things put out in my name are worthy of that time. Why would I put out dreck? Why waste my time - and theirs? Why permanently damage my reputation?
Lisa
I will also comment that I have a full time job. I run websites for a living. So I'm not a full time author. Still, I make time for what's important. Doing those social networking posts doesn't take much time - but it needs to be done daily. Doing read-throughs gets portioned out, an hour a day. Making that attentive effort is critical to success.Lisa
Lisa wrote: "I will also comment that I have a full time job. I run websites for a living. So I'm not a full time author. Still, I make time for what's important. Doing those social networking posts doesn't tak..."You work a lot harder at this than me, I admire that.
Denzel wrote: "...I'm slightly dyslexic so I focus on the spelling and how well my words fit together. I leave the commas, colons, em dashes etc. to my editor. ...I don't think writers should focus too hard on the little things like that."
Hmmm. Denzel, if that is the case, then IMHO, you either don't know the difference betn a proofer/copyeditor and an editor or you're paying editor rates for proofer/copyeditor work. If you don't bother to try & clean up 'minor details' such as proper punctuation prior to submitting your story to your editor, then as Chris noted, you may end up being a relegated to the 'loss' list or wasting your money by having her/him spend that much more time making basic corrective fixes before (or simultaneously) working on the content of your story. (And that's assuming that the person is conscientious in her/his work.)
In my experience, the good ones will first do a technical run-thru b4 hitting the more substantive edit pass. But either way, you will ultimately pay for your lax attitude, one way or another.
Firstly, you won't ever learn and expand on your knowledge of your craft. Secondly, b/c you'll remain untrained in catching such errors, you probably won't know whether or not your editor knows what s/he is doing (leaving you at his/her mercy), as Linda astutely noted. Lastly, depending on the length of your work and/or someone's editing experience, there's the strong likelihood that you may end up with a returned product which is better reviewed in the first 1/2 to 3/4 (if you're lucky) than the remaining back end.
ETA: To return to the OP, I should mention that I still haven't figured out the increasing practice by some SPAs to upload a rough or almost-but-not-quite draft and then continue to revise & re-upload. Do they not realise that the vast majority of readers have neither the reading time nor patience to re-DL and re-read something b/c it's now been 'professionally edited'? What makes them think that readers will give them a second (or third, or fourth, or...) chance when there are so many books still yet to be read? Word of mouth works both ways, especially on GR.
For some writers, they only have one shot at gaining a reader's attention. Waste it w/ a sloppy product and that opportunity will probably never return, especially these days.
J.T. wrote: "Commas are the most important piece of punctuation. I sprinkle them generously to make my work look distinguished and professional."I hope that you were being facetious. Generously-sprinkled commas are no guarantee of 'distinguished and professional'. ;-)
Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "Denzel wrote: "...I'm slightly dyslexic so I focus on the spelling and how well my words fit together. I leave the commas, colons, em dashes etc. to my editor. ...I don't think writers should foc..."
My editor does both and I trust Ms. Smith. Also I believe the quote on Oscar Wilde summarizes my stance. I am unapologetic in what I believe and worse case scenario, no one buys my books (oh no?). It seems to me a lot of authors are worrying about stuff they don't need to be. I don't honestly don't think grammar is that big of a deal to worry about. If it was for me to worry about, I wouldn't have an editor to begin with, I'd just do it myself. All things considered, I'm too stubborn to change my stance now or in the future.
I wish there was a "like" button for Karma's post. It is absolutely true that a damaged reputation sticks forever. Don't publish until you're ready. If you can't afford the editing or cover yet, wait until you can. Don't create a lasting stain on your name by rushing.Lisa
Denzel wrote: "... I don't honestly don't think grammar is that big of a deal to worry about. If it was for me to worry about, I wouldn't have an editor to begin with, I'd just do it myself. ..."That statement tells me much about you, both as a person and a writer. Also that you *don't* know (or care about) the difference betn a proofer/copyeditor and an editor. But yes, you are free to continue with what works for you, especially when you're lucky to have found someone who is willing to do everything. Hopefully for you, Ms. Smith's work product is worthy of your trust. :)
ETA: Lisa, my thanks. LOL, I kinda felt as if I were stating the obvious. But then I recalled that, several pages ago, someone pointed out that common sense is not so common. ;-)
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1) Thanks for the input. I will work on my curb appeal.
2) As I stated in an early post, my stories cross over a 4000 year timeline and have many characters. My intent was to ..."
No backlash coming. You are right in a lot of what you said. I don't have the expertise or the network of friends in the writing business. And your right, I am/was hoping to learn as I go. I am not a vindictive person and I did put myself out there for criticism.