Book Launches: Yes, No, or Maybe?

Recently, I attended a writing colleague’s book launch for her debut novel, Exit Strategy. It was great fun and I was happy to be invited. I know what it’s like to stand in front of a room of people talking about one’s book, and then signing said book to an appreciative and friendly audience. It’s both gratifying and terribly nerve-wracking.

Since I have a book launch coming up at the end of March, it got me to thinking about launches in general. I’ve attended a few in my time at a variety of locales: restaurants, recreation centers, art centers, an Anglican church (the subject matter was appropriate to the location), and even in my own home for my first novel.

I like attending book launches for two reasons: one is that it’s a joy to see all the years of work, doubt, and struggle pay off for a writer. Secondly, I get to be among the first to read the book and acquire a signed copy. I’m building a wonderful collection of signed books from all sorts of authors, and they’re treasures I plan to keep.

Book launches are like weddings: they bring people together to celebrate an important event in an individual’s life. After the talking and signing is done, there are refreshments and often a party-like atmosphere. Book launches are mercifully shorter than weddings, however, and you don’t have to buy a gift; just a book, if you choose. It's always optional.

I respect the fact that not everyone likes book launches. They are a great ego boost for the host, after all, and difficult to execute for introverted authors (many of us fit this category). They can also be expensive if one goes all out with food, drink, and decorations. Also, if you’re hoping to put a book a year, is it realistic to expect friends, family, and acquaintances to attend year after year? On the other hand, maybe launches are the excuse people need to come together and confirm that dreams do survive in an increasingly fragmented and turbulent world. Stripped down, book launches can be intimate, humble, friendly, and even moving.

With the growing number of people owning ereaders, iPads, and iPhones, I don’t see why ebook authors can’t hold launches as well. While not everyone owns one of these devices yet, odds are they will in the future. Can you imagine reading from your new book at your launch, while your guests download the book simultaneously? Wouldn’t that be cool?

This year, my launch of Deadly Accusations, the second Casey Holland mystery, is taking place at the Port Moody Library, which is close to home. I chose the library because book launches are a bit scary for me and libraries have always been safe harbors. The event is Saturday, March 31st from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., and yes, refreshments will be served. Because it’s in a library, they ask that attendees phone to reserve a seat, at 604-469-4575. If you live in BC’s Lower Mainland, I’d love to see you there. Port Moody Library is at 100 Newport Drive, right and shares the same building as the City Hall. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at debra_kong@telus.net
By the way, if you’ve hosted a book launch, I’d love to hear about your experiences!

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Why Whodunit Did It

I’m collaborating with several other Second Wind Publishing authors to write a series of novels online. The first novel is about the death of a little girl. Her body was found in the desert outside a bedroom community that once had been a working ranch, hence the name of the series, Rubicon Ranch.

Collaboration is a bit of an over-statement. Rubicon Ranch is more of a cross between a round robin or campfire tale, with each author taking turns adding to the story, and a role-playing game. We each create and control a POV character, show who s/he is, what relationship s/he has with the deceased, and why s/he might want him dead.

I have it easy --- my character, Melanie Gray, is a photographer/writer who wanders the desert taking photos for the coffee table books she used to write with her dead husband. (He wasn’t dead when they were working together, of course.) He died in a one-car accident while texting his mistress, though there are suspicious circumstances leading investigators to think that perhaps he was killed. Melanie has a talent for finding strange things in the desert, such as the child’s body stuffed in an abandoned television console in the first book, and the scattered body parts that will be found in the second book. This is all that leads the sheriff to suspect her.

The other characters, however, have to simultaneously prove that they are the murderer, yet also have a plausible explanation for why they acted guilty if they weren’t the murderer. (That’s because we don’t know whodunit until all the end of the book. So not only do readers of the ongoing story not know who the villain is, neither do we.)

In the first book, the authors solved the problem of simultaneously setting their characters up to be murderers while allowing for the possibility that they were innocent by giving their characters psychological or physiological problems, such as sleepwalking, to keep the characters themselves from knowing if they were the killer.

In the second book that we are in the process of organizing, there is no way the killer can be unaware of having killed the victim. Even if by chance the character killed in some sort of fugue state, the character will still be faced with a dead body, which he or she will cut in small pieces and distribute around the desert. So not only do the authors have to show that their characters are capable of the act, they have to show why their characters might have killed and why their characters might have mutilated the body.

So how do you write a character from a strict third person limited point of view, from inside the character’s head, proving that your character is the killer, while at the same time giving yourself an out if the character turns out to be innocent?

Well . . . If your character has killed before, you can have him/her worrying about if the sheriff will find out what s/he did, without being specific as to which crime s/he is wondering about. You can have your character act guilty --- perhaps desperately trying to cover something up. You can have him/her try to pin the murder on someone else, offering assistance to the sheriff, which would make your character seem guilty, but in the end (if your character is not the killer) have an alternate explanation. You can be hiding something in your house that can be construed as your having Morris's body that you're cutting up bit by bit. I'm sure you can come up with better ideas than these, but you get the idea.

I’m looking forward to seeing what the other authors come up with.

Meantime, if you haven’t checked out Rubicon Ranch, and wish do so, click here: Rubicon Ranch.

***

Pat Bertram is the author of Light Bringer, More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I. All Bertram’s books are available both in print and in ebook format. You can get them online at Second Wind Publishing, Amazon, B&N and Smashwords. At Smashwords, the books are available in all ebook formats including palm reading devices, and you can download the first 20-30% free!

Fraud is a Shape-Shifter

This week, I read an interesting—if not alarming article—by Angela Hoy, owner of WritersWeekly.com, about an online course which is teaching writers how to write ebooks and become rich. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Can you see how newbies would be attracted to the pitch of no financial investment and guaranteed success?

The instructor of this particular course informed his students that they could quickly produce nonfiction ebooks by taking information from other books on a subject and compiling it to create their own book! But it gets worse. Said instructor also advised students to create a pseudonym that would complement their topic and purchase a portrait from a stock photography website. The implication was that students could take this a step further by adding letters behind their name to establish “credibility”. Are you kidding me? As Angela states, this is fraud, folks. And any writer who attempts to do this is setting themselves up for lawsuits, which they could quite possibly lose.

Apparently, there are several websites and online courses offering writers the path to riches by pilfering other writers’ work. Unfortunately, plagiarism, get-rich-quick schemes, blatant scams, and misleading promises targeting writers is nothing new. Remember those American poetry contests who tell you how wonderful your poem is, publish it as part of a collection than sell the book to you for fifty bucks? Remember those publishers who said your work needed a bit more editing and they gave a recommendation, only that individual had a business relationship with the publisher which involved grabbing as much of your cash as possible?

Fraud is a shape-shifter. It changes form to suit the needs and opportunity of the day. It’s always there, right before your eyes, all nicely packaged in a deal that sounds wonderful. I’m betting that most of you are savvy writers who know better. But I’m also betting that most of you know a newbie who’s just starting out and wonders about these courses. Guide them down the right path, okay? You can visit Angela’s website at http://www.writersweekly.com/, or go directly to her article at http://writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/007184_02082012.html

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Those Elusive Book Reviews

Lately, I’ve read a number of complaints from authors whose books have been downloaded hundreds of times (many through the KDP Select program), yet they haven’t received any reviews. Some authors indicated that for every 2,000 downloads, they’ll receive maybe one or two reviews, and those might be negative. So, why aren’t authors getting reviews, how do they go about acquiring reviews, and should they even bother?

Although I have no concrete answer to the first question, I can speculate that the huge rise in free ebooks has inspired Kindle owners to download lots of books, few of which they actually have time to read right away, if ever. Heck, I’m still reading through print books I acquired ten years ago (yes, I’m on a mission to deplete my to-be-read pile). Because I review books, I’m a careful reader, and these days I’m averaging four books a month. Now, if I had a spiffy new Kindle and downloaded 200 books in my favorite genres, or by my favorite author, it would still take me four years to get through them all. In other words, writers need to learn patience.

Of course, it’s quite possible that readers have given the free downloads a try, didn’t like the books, and won’t look at them again. The book was free and it’s disposable. After all, no money was invested. Then there will be readers who liked the book, or even loved it, but simply don’t have time to write a review, or don’t feel they write well enough to attempt it.

This brings me to the question, should authors even bother seeking reviews? The answer is yes. Authors far more experienced than I maintain that reviews still sell books, and I agree. Reviews not only generate sales, but they help spread the word about a book. Word of mouth sells ebooks just as well (if not better) than it sells print books.

I’ve also read that, given the enormous number of ebooks out there, more readers are turning to online reviews to decide which book to buy. Many established reviewers in the print world also now have online columns. In fact, a growing number of reviewers are losing print space in their newspapers, so they’re actually producing more online reviews than ever.

So, how does one go about acquiring reviews? Through diligent research. Investigate other books in your genre or topic and see who’s reviewing them. Social networking sites like Goodreads have forums for people who are willing to review books. To help you get started, here’s a list of reviewers of both print and ebooks. Find those who are willing to read self-published, ebook authors in your genre, and follow their guidelines. Good luck!

http://www.stepbystepselfpublishing.net/ (offers a free book reviewer list, or a more comprehensive PDF download to purchase)

http://laurenwaters.net/2011/11/07/book-reviewers (this blog provides a good list)

http://labotomyofawriter.com/review-links (blog by Anastasia V. Pergakis provides a 797 links to reviewers!)

http://indiebookreviewer.wordpress.com/index

http://writersresourcedirectory.com/


THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Trying to Do Your Best for Readers

A number of years ago, I attended an interesting workshop given by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and her husband, Dean Wesley Smith, about the publishing biz, and things that aspiring writers should ponder. It was an interesting discussion. One of their comments was that every writer needs to make a decision about whether to commit to writing as a career, which means living with no regular paycheck, or taking the risk of writing fulltime. Kristine and Dean chose the latter at a fairly young age and succeeded. In fact, in her Jan. 25th blog, Kristine says she considers a professional writer as someone who makes between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. I don’t agree. I also remember her saying that she wrote 25 new pages of work everyday in the morning, and spent the rest of the day editing, which she doesn’t consider writing. Again, I disagree. She also estimated that she put in, at that time, roughly 90 hours a week on her career. After that discussion, I made a conscious choice to put my children first and keep the day job, as we needed the money, and I knew it wasn’t going to come quickly by choosing fulltime writing.

Recently, I found Kathryn’s blog, and noticed a distinct change in her approach to self-publishing. I was self-publishing in print form when I attended her panel a decade ago, and at that time, she was pretty clear that self-publishing was a horrible career move. Not anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I do agree with a lot of what she says. Rusch is one of the few authors who not only writes prolifically, but understands the business side. However, I find myself once again disagreeing with a point she made in her Jan. 25th blog. It’s about indie authors ignoring readers, just as the big publishers have been doing. Rusch explains that the traditional publishers have an annoying habit of making the first book in a series out of print before the next installment hits the shelves. She maintains that indie writers are committing the similar sin of ignoring readers. Rusch is furious (her word) that indie authors are promoting the heck out of their first books and offering no follow up. Well, wait a sec. Kindleboards is crowded with authors who are serving up sequel after sequel in their series. She also says that if indie authors don’t produce new books before one or two years they’re insulting their readers. Again, I disagree.

I also know of many indie authors who are writing fast and publishing unpolished books far too quickly. Look, few authors are intentionally ignoring readers. It’s just that most of us don’t have the skill or time to produce quality books quickly due to day jobs, children, health obstacles, and so forth. No doubt, authors will say, well work around it...find a way. Well, we are, trust me. Readers might grow tired of waiting for the next book, but I think many of them are quite willing to wait longer for a quality sequel rather than a job full of typos, grammatical errors, and a weak plot.

Please, let’s not blame writers who are trying hard with whatever time, energy, and skill they have. It’s not about ignoring or disrespecting readers. It’s about struggling to write (and being serious and professional about it) while living with health and/or family challenges that certain six-figure income writers either overcame or never had to deal with in the first place. You can read her entire blog entry here http://kriswrites.com/2012/01/25/the-business-rusch-readers

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Responding to Negative Reviews

I’m one of those writers who likes to know what’s going on in the publishing world, but a recent article in Guardian.co.uk caught me by surprise, and then it bothered me a little.

The article is about hostile responses to a negative book review. Apparently, one incident in particular recently invaded Goodreads and Twitter. I love Goodreads. It’s a wonderful place for readers and writers to gather and share a love of books, and although I only belong to a handful of groups, I’ve never seem flame wars erupt there, but it seems at least one has happened lately. The war apparently spilled onto Twitter where authors and even agents have also stepped into the fray.

According to the article, a much-hyped young adult novel called Tempest by Julia Cross received a negative review, which caused the author’s friends to put down the review and the reviewer. Even the author’s agent offered up comments. Their responses caused more backlash from readers until all hell broke loose on the forums, resulting in reader and review bashing on both sides. The article makes it clear that the author at the center of all this responded gracefully.

I want to reflect on reviews in general. First there’s a difference between a negative review and a bad review. In my mind, a bad review is a poorly written condemnation (or the exact opposite) that misses the point of the work, but caters to the reviewer’s agenda. Bad reviews, if totally off the wall, can be removed from places like amazon, if one is so inclined.

But why respond to negative reviews? Aren’t they simply one person’s opinion? Maybe some reviews will hurt sales, but maybe they’ll help. There is some merit to the line, “a bad review is better than no review at all”, and I know indie authors who’ve garnered impressive sales numbers, reviews notwithstanding.

The bottom line is do you want to harm your reputation as a reviewer, author, publisher, or agent by jumping into these types of name-calling squabbles? Is it worth it to create the kind of bad blood that will make future readers not want to buy your books, or read your reviews? Sure, lots of opinions on the Net are irritating. If we feel compelled to reply, shouldn’t we at least take time to think carefully before we reply? As the article demonstrates, words are powerful. Let’s use them wisely.

You can find the whole article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/16/ya-novel-readers-publishing-establishment

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n