Tag: writing

A blatant pitch for book sales

Posted in Books, Business, fiction, Writer's Block

…from a terrible marketer

Finding Family

My problem with writing has nothing to do with writing; it has to do with selling. Every book I have written is worth reading, the last one perhaps more so than the first three. Not because it is a better book, but because I learned a lot between book one and book four.

What I should have had for all my books is a good editor. Reality check here. As an indie author, I can’t afford an editor. A good editor is worth what he or she charges, no doubt about it, but given that I’m so horrible at selling my work, I’d never recover my costs. The argument in favor of an editor is that grammar and punctuation improve copy so it will sell better.

Uh, “Fifty Shades of Grey” anyone?

Hel-lo-o!

I have not read the books because erotica isn’t my cup of tea, so my statements here are based on reviews and commentary, written by people who write for a living. Many of them are baffled by the success of these books, which by some accounts are poorly constructed, have questionable content, and basic plot problems – as in there isn’t one. And yet, “50” and its sequels have netted author EL James A LOT OF MONEY! She has sold MILLIONS of copies and landed a lucrative deal for movie rights. I don’t know if she had an editor, but if she did, she paid her too much. What James does have is an identified audience looking for cheap thrills. Erotica sells.

So, what does it take to sell books? That is a very complex question. It helps that –

a) You have absolute confidence your book is the best thing that’s ever been written.
b) That you are willing to wring out of every one you know a promise to do a review (POSITIVE ONLY) and post it on Amazon and Good Reads and wherever else they can find to post it on your behalf.
c) Know your audience, or at the very least, have one.

First off, I hesitate to use friends to promote my work. Number one, I’m afraid they will feel obligated to say yes while thinking, “Is she kidding me? This thing is the worst thing I’ve ever read!?”

And second… forget it, I can’t get past number one. It’s the fear of “not being good enough” that plagues even accomplished writers.

The thing is, I believe my books are quite good. Good enough, in fact, to fly magically off the shelves without much help from me. Won’t happen. Like all authors, I must work at promoting my books every single chance I get, something I am totally not good at.

A second and equally important factor is that, “knowing your audience,” thing.

I may not be there yet when it comes to confidence, but identifying my audience is at a whole other level. People who like to read books? Hmmm, yes, but there is so much more to it. The whole genre thing drives me nuts. Plus I haven’t written just one kind of book. I’ve written the books I like to write. One is a book of inspirational reading, two are sci-fi, and the fourth is a contemporary novel about a women of a certain age.

In “Finding Family,” it is clear early on that Lilly Irish has never understood her worth to others. Following the death of her husband she becomes accustomed to living alone. She is stubbornly independent. And then her dead sister’s daughter and her three children arrive with their dog. Calm turns to chaos and along the way Lilly… well, if I said any more I’d be giving the story away.

This story is funny and sad, just like life. You will recognize the characters because they’re like all of us, trying to find their way in life, day-by-day. “Finding Family,” characters aren’t based on any one in particular, or any family in particular; it is grounded in the reality that no one is perfect. How these imperfect people come together makes for an entertaining and satisfying read.

And yes, this is a sales pitch for “Finding Family,” and a request that you buy it, read it, and post a review – brief or long – on Amazon and Good Reads and wherever else you can. I would like for it to be positive, but I would rather it be honest.

Thanks,
Sharon

NOTE: I have Finding Family available for purchase. If you would like to order a book directly from me e-mail me at fsharon@msn.com. Book price is $19.99.

Finding Family is available at Amazon and other online book retailers in soft cover and as an e-book from XLIBRIS

Paperback: 232 pages
Publisher: XLIBRIS
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1499035489
ISBN-13: 978-1499035483

Also look for my latest book:
Thunder Prime Hunter’s Light
Paperback $15
Digital Format $2.99 

 

Random Poetry

Posted in Poetry, Writer's Block

I am participating in the Writer’s Digest Poetic Asides April Poem a Day challenge. I’ve done it before and enjoyed it tremendously. This is the first year I started on the first day and written (for the most part) every day. The days I miss I catch up on. The poems below are from previous years and are random and unrelated. I picked them for that reason. As a poet I’m a bit of a fraud. I don’t give a lot of thought to poetic style. I write stuff, call it a poem and slap it up there. Poetry is like any other writing. You have a story to tell and you tell it in the way that seems right. Some stories are better told in poetic form, short or long, it matters not.

BURSTING WITH BAGS

First there was one,
it took up no room at all,
I stuffed it into a bag,
a small one in the hall.

I went back to the store
and acquired more to add
to the bag in the hall.
Isn’t that just a little sad?

The bag in the hall
bulged when I next came back.
It isn’t much, I said to myself.
Two more went into the sack.

Suddenly plastic
Spilled out upon the floor!
The bags rose higher,
blocking the door.

With a sigh and deep regret,
I admitted there is no point
In keeping these damned bags
all over the joint!

 

SHADOWS

Shadows creep across the floor,
inky black spreading toward the door.
Someone is there, waiting
on my nerves grating, grating,
hovering and so drear,
beating my senses into fear.
The moon so bright does appear.
What did I fear that was so near?
I cannot say for now ‘tis consumed
by moonlight shining into my room.

 

THE QUEEN

Shades and shapes billowed and played
Around the queen who ruled
With power deep in the changeling’s keep
To keep her subjects schooled.
She wove a web of truth and care
And left none behind.
On the trail naught would fail
Not in the hive’s collective mind.

______________________

Thank you for being a reader/subscriber. It is my goal to present informative, interesting and creative content on this site. Your likes, shares and comments are welcomed and hugely appreciated.

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And the word is…?

Posted in Writer's Block

Jake: A Murder in BrooklynAlan M. Guy is a retired dentist and indie author. “Jake: A Murder in Brooklyn” begins when the protagonist is awakened at 3:33 a.m. from a dream. Detective Stanislaus Jakubowski (Jake) begins a quest to find the vicious murderer of his now retired, former detecting partner and mentor. Guy cautions readers that the content is raw and gritty, and “Not for everyone.”

Guy, a member of a Florida writing group, produced this work as a challenge to see if he could write without using an English word deemed to be most common in all compositions. Can you guess what word he left out?

My senior center writers’ critique group is composed of an eclectic mix of capable, original thinking, intelligent individuals, all of whom have impressed me and educated me in some way or another, to become better at this craft.

Mary Alice brings wisdom, derived from her many active years, to frequent musings: most are humorous in her unique style. A few are serious. I guess it must depend on her mood that week.  All her creations, however, reflect her ability to simplify with dignity and grace those thoughts, which flow through her mind.

Carol contributes her unique ability to make us feel comfortable with her down home Wisconsin war-year childhood essays. We feel these essays must be compiled into an anthology to share with her family members. Most outstanding is her writing and rewriting remarkably reflective remembrances carefully crafted with alliterative alliterations.

Bonnie has created a semi-fictional family saga, which entertains and envelopes us with each reading in its unusual stylized format. In addition, she has a remarkable ability to listen intently and constructively critique unabashedly. Despite her recent “JOB-like” trials and tribulations, she has returned to us with her ever-positive smile and giggles.

Steve has shown an ability to artfully describe real characters. On his imaginative side, he creates fictional futuristic mysterious men secretly training for some worldly salvaging of our seas, or perhaps more, as that might be a smokescreen for something more sinister.

No one can deny Limone’s deep-seated love for his horribly damaged homeland. He expresses his spirituality so humbly as he describes his feelings towards God, Mother Earth, and his fellow human beings.

Doug has brought an unusual frank story of real people from financially humble beginnings with a style so dramatic it is enthralling just to listen. He has a fabulous matter-of-fact ability to read his story that seems like a professional actor. He has a great voice for radio.

Don’s mischievous, rebellious views of life and religion sometimes masked a great talent he possessed in many artistic aspects of his long life. His position was that he was unable to critique our fiction, which did not detract from sharing with us his well-researched writings on classical painters and Germany’s Bauhaus movement.

Jane, as facilitator, provides guidance with a well-balanced firmness to keep our group on track, combined with enough flexibility to allow some deviation, so long as it is informative or helpful to some of us in our world of writing and literature. Her lack of visual acuity, which has forced her to become an involuntary Luddite, has not deterred her ability to keep up with current events or knowledge of the technology to which she is no longer privy.

__________

Answer? The. Did he succeed?

5 Benefits of Grammarly

Posted in Writer's Block

InspirationI hate editing my copy. It’s the trickiest part of writing. There are so many ways to go wrong when you are producing words by the hundreds. For all the value word processing programs have brought to writers, their biggest flaw is literal non-contextual interpretation of words.

She went their to see her mother. Their is spelled correctly, but it’s wrong in this context.

The bear truth, is misleading unless you are talking about a big brown animal you came across in the woods.

Grammarly.com, an online instant grammar checker and more,  is a wake-up call: Commas, periods, exclamation points, oh my! Spelling, context, confused words, oh my! Voice, mixed metaphors, unclear comparisons, oh my! Grammarly points to the word or phrase and suggests an alternative, or that you rethink what you’ve written, oh my (head in my hands here), and sigh. I am not a horrible writer, but I am too often a lazy one. Grammarly is worth every cent of the $139 I paid for it.

Grammarly forces me to think: Yikes, what a thought. Think more about what I write. Perish the thought. However… (Picture me thinking here: Hmmm, Grammarly might not be happy about that ellipse. Does it have a purpose? It does come in handy now and again, because as I write I may want to slow my readers down. Still, is the ellipse necessary, or am I slowing down the reader too much?) I hope you get the idea. As a writer you do want to think about every aspect of what you’re writing – spelling, grammar, voice, tone, and readability, and yes the occasional ellipse.

Grammarly hates, hates, hates, passive voice: If you use this product be ready for a rude awakening. You think you’re writing in electrifying ways, until you see how many times you slip into passive voice. Why do you slip into passive voice? Because passive voice is easy, and it’s sloppy, that’s why. Things happen, and you tell about what happened, yadda, yadda, yadda. Have you put the reader to sleep in the process? I look over some of the things I’ve written, and I cringe. Instead of engaging the reader, I see where I dumped information in globs. Bad form; sloppy writing.

Grammarly gives you options: You can use the basic mode and Grammarly checks for contextual spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and style. Or you can select plagiarism to learn whether you have inadvertently “borrowed” someone’s words and made them yours. There is a vocabulary enhancement function, which points out vague words that can be changed to another word or phrase to make the sentence stronger or clearer.

Grammarly will send you to a professional proofreader: I believe there is a charge for this service, but if you want another pair of eyes to look at your work, the option is there.

A caution here. Grammarly doesn’t do your work for you. You still must read your copy. The suggestions in Grammarly are just that, suggestions. As the writer, it’s up to you to accept or reject the program’s recommendations.

In summary this is a good product for writers whether you are writing a business letter, an op-ed piece for the local paper, a school paper, an essay or a book. Punctuation and grammar are the building blocks of written communication.

____________

Note: I am in no way affiliated with Grammarly.com. These are my thoughts based on my experience. There are other similar programs in the marketplace. I have not tried them.