A perspective on reviews

cj Sez: I thought at first I’d do a post on the coming of fall, so I did a Google search of The Old Farmer’s Almanac for the official date of the 2015 Autumnal Equinox (4:21 a.m. September 23). I was astounded to see that 412 people gave the Almanac an average rating of only four-and-one-half stars. Why not five stars? Facts are facts, folks. The other stuff is folklore (as they say it is) and projections based on historical data and should be taken as such.

Maybe some of those picky people were complaining about the layout of the site. It could use a better design, perhaps. It’s not gorgeous, and I’ll admit some of the ads (which probably allow the website to be self-sustaining) are yucky and distracting. But the page is navigable and not the real issue.

One commenter wanted to know when exactly autumn arrives this year and then, because he didn’t see it, complained about having to scroll to the bottom of the page to enter comments. He and the commenter who agreed with him obviously missed the top headline of the article, and I quote: 

In 2015, the autumnal equinox falls on September 23 at 4:21 A.M. (ET).

That’s Verdana, 13.5 point font.

The info was repeated in the first subhead as well, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a comment box near the top of a website.

I’ve seen reviews by people who purchased an item on Amazon then rated the product one star because they thought delivery took too long. Had nothing to do with the quality of the product.

So where am I going with all that? It’s to reinforce why comments and reviews need to be put in perspective. I go back to the bell curve example (the one I usually use for critiques). Don’t let the bottom naysayers get you down. A fellow writer was grieving a one-star review on Amazon that complained about something that wasn’t even in her novel. The reviewer hadn’t read the book. On-line trolls abound.

We can’t realistically expect all reviews to be five-stars (though we’d love them to be). I admit to having pangs when someone dings a story. Yes, it skews the “average,” but then I re-read the good reviews that I do have (some posted, some not) and settle down. I remind myself that I cannot please every reader out there. Duh. That’s the reason there are a gazillion different stories in multiple genres for the gazillion readers.

A one-star review from an on-line troll should be nothing to grieve. Consider the source, and please do not respond to the reviewer. That might dig a deeper, darker hole than you want to dive into.

Speaking of reviews . . . have you taken the time to give an on-line review for the latest book you read?

Okay, you-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

cjpetterson@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

 Choosing Carter (Pub: Crimson Romance)

   http://amzn.to/1TlMC1T (Amazon)

   http://bit.ly/1PrBsZj  (B&N)

Deadly Star (Pub: Crimson Romance)  

   http://amzn.to/1LRRwC9 (Amazon)   

   http://bit.ly/19QDQq3 (B&N)  

The Paradox



cj Sez:  I typed THE END on my manuscript, submitted it to a publisher, and was accepted. Yay. The novel is done! . . except I'm not done. And I want to talk about that paradox again, because it's not The End, really. Now comes the hard part: Marketing the beautiful baby.

Marketing is a job not just for the newly published who either self-published or managed to attract the attention of a publisher. More and more publishers, including the one who publishes James Patterson's novels, are asking how large your electronic footprint is because they expect you to help market your own creation. Are you on Facebook? Do you have a website? Do you Tweet? Linkedin? The answers to all of these questions, I believe, have come to play a significant part in a publisher’s acceptance of the manuscript.

The ultimate goal of marketing is, of course, to garner and increase sales. However, the other side of the coin is: Successful authors need to personally connect with their readers. Actually, they “must” connect with their readers. That means authors doing readings at book clubs and libraries, book signings, and, if we’re lucky, media interviews. All of those tasks require (gasp) public speaking.

For me, the prospect of public speaking is not all that comfortable … for some writers, it’s terrifying. A writer’s normal milieu is quiet and solitude in front of a computer or with pen pressed to paper. We’re watchers . . . we observe the behaviors of other people and take copious notes for future story/character ideas. Being the watch-ee takes me totally out of my comfort zone.

That’s where a pre-planned (or “canned,” if you prefer) stump speech comes into play. It’s a great tool to reinstate some degree of confidence. Authors on the stump for sales and readers need to spend time developing a speech that can be easily modified for their diverse audiences. What follows are a few processes I use to calm my racing heart when I’m about to go on display in front of strangers.

I wrote a flexible stump speech when Deadly Star launched. I’ll modify that for my new romantic suspense (Big Reveal Here), Choosing Carter, when it’s launched in the next few months.

Here's a synopsis of what I learned in a writer’s speech class: Start with an anecdote geared to that audience…try for something that involves finding myself in an awkward situation. Go into a brief bio, including why I use a pen name and how I chose it. Follow up with something about how the story developed, the characters, and read two or three excerpts. 

I print out my speech in large, bold, double-spaced type and practice reading it. That helps me with timing the length of my presentation and makes me familiar enough with the script that I don’t have keep my head down to read it word-by-word and line-by-line. I can wing some of it, ad lib a bit, and hopefully make occasional eye contact with someone. Caveat for public speaking: It’s important to really know your story and your characters, because the Q&A will turn up some surprising questions.

The other thing I can do to get more comfortable is to stop by the bookstore or library where I’m going to speak and get familiar with the space. Another trick is to attend someone else’s reading…that takes a lot of the mystery out of the event.

I’m working on revising my stump speech for Choosing Carter, but of course, public speaking is subject to nerves sending me off script. How are you doing with yours?

That’s all for now. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.
 



cj

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

DEADLY STAR (Publisher: Crimson Romance)  

    http://bit.ly/19QDQq3   (B&N.com)
    http://amzn.to/1LRRwC9  (Amazon.com)

PS: Writers live and writhe on reviews, but this note from a friended author came across my Facebook page today. The moral is: We want them, solicit them, need them, but take your reviews with a grain of salt: 

“You have officially arrived when someone makes a Goodreads account JUST to one-star your book that isn't even out yet. Ha! Do watch for the trolls, ladies. They are everywhere.”

Electronics is us

I've spent the last few weeks in a Wordpress class, and the eMails have been flying fast and furious. There's so much to learn, unlearn, and relearn. I look forward to this latest blast of technology helping me market my books going forward.

How much do you do online? Do you Facebook? Twitter? Blogs? Make a purchase? Even if you don't buy something online, chances are that you check out a product there. Electronics is us.

If a writer starts the story with a generic computer (pen and paper, and there are some who do), the scribbles are most certainly transferred to some software platform, sooner if not later. Many, if not most, agents and publishers now request submissions via eMail. If you're a writer who's been offered a contract (congratulations!), the manuscript may have to be sent via eMail to the publisher's editor. If you've made a decision to self-publish, I would advise you to acquire the services of a professional editor, and then, very often, the manuscript may be transmitted via some type of electronics...maybe a flashcard.

Marketing online is next. So, how does a writer get readers to buy the book, whether it's a hardcopy or an eBook? Writers have to define their target audience. Ideally, everyone would want to read your book, but we all know that's not going to happen. Writers have to know what they are writing—mystery, thriller, romance, memoir, police procedural, etc.—then ask themselves: What kind of reader would want to read/buy my novel? Female, male, teenager (boy or girl?), someone who wants a quick story to read on vacation? Important questions, and the answer is vital to marketing. Who the reader is determines how and where you market the story. It'd be rare that you'd be asked to talk about your teenaged-angst novel to a book club at the Senior Citizen Center. But there is one place that is universal. Online.

An online presence introduces a writer's name and work to potential readers. I took advantage of the online book retailers of Deadly Star by adding my profile to their author pages: Amazon, Facebook, Goodreads, and the publisher, Crimson Romance. There are others, of course. On your blog and bio, use key words, tags, and labels that appeal to your audience. When those potential readers/buyers do an online search, they search for books by genre, or title, or certain phrases. Those key words, tags, and labels are important triggers for the search engine, and up pops you or your work. If you haven't done it already, try it. Search your own name and be surprised at what you find.

As a writer, I am also a reader and want to pay it forward and do so with reviews. Online reviews go a long way toward increasing sales and readership. I suggest that when you've read a book, be sure to review it for the author on Goodreads, Amazon, BN.com, or wherever you purchased it. Good, bad, or indifferent, reviews are important.

ON to another topic...if you've got an interest in YA, here are some YA publishing industry notes that crossed my desk (I'm a member of SCBWI): Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing is launching a new YA imprint, Blink. The imprint is designed for the general trade but won't go as dark as some other YAs. They plan on five or six titles a year. Enslow Publishing is launching its new YA (grade 6 and up), Scarlet Voyage. They request queries and submissions be sent via their website www.scarletvoyage.com   Also Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan Publishing Group) is launching a YA romance imprint, Swoon Reads. The website launches in 2013 and they plan to release the first novels, paperback and eBook, in 2014.

You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I'll try to do the same.

cj