Tag Archives: authors

Amazon Reviews: They ARE Important. You Should Write One: TODAY

amazon-kindle-logo-wallpaper

So, here I am, almost a week since my two-day free promotion with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing Program. If you recall from an earlier post, the “guarantee” of offering your book for free is that you rise in visibility and when returning to paid days, your sales will jump. Trust me. I did a LOT of research on this phenomenon.  It’s worked for many, many people. Unless people are not sharing negative results with the public on the internet, it seems that the program works for most people. 

However…..

It did  not work for me.

After 414 downloads of my middle grade novel, Confessions of a Corn Kid, over a two-day span, I had exactly 5 sales in the last week when the book returned to a paid offering. The price over the last week has spanned from $.99 – $2.99.  Here are some comparisons I would like to make.

Cost of a tall mocha latte from Starbucks $3.20

Cost of a McDonald’s Big Mac: $3.29

Cost of our local Matinee at the Movies: $6.50

Cost of a typical I-tunes song download: $1.29

Now, my point isn’t that reading my book will satiate your palate like a mocha from Starbucks or fill your belly like a Big Mac or fill your minutes like a movie or your ears like a beloved song. But, it might. Right?  However, I’m an unknown. I’m not yet a brand. Despite the success of my picture book in a very specific niche market, children’s grief, my middle grade novel is but one of thousands in a sea of other authors just like me screaming for attention. This is a tough market!  I am a parent. I get it. I trust big publishers to vet the content of the books I buy for my middle school child to read alone even when I myself don’t read beyond the blurb. But what about an unknown author like myself who also happens to write middle grade books?  What vets us and gives us a chance to be seen?  The answer: REVIEWS. This is where the Kindle Direct Publishing Program still has time to prove to me that it works, even for authors who write middle grade fiction. Those 414 downloads were not the 1000s that adult fiction writers sometimes get, but they still made me very excited. Now, I am hopeful, that of those 414 readers, some will take a few minutes to write a review. You see, reviews are what prove our worth in the sea of unknowns. I am not “Scholastic,” or “Random House.” I am Marcy Blesy. Would I love to be Scholastic or Random House? Of course. However, for now I am my own brand with no house to pave my path. I must pave it on my own with the help of my readers. I never ask for 5 star reviews. I ask for reviews.

 

Are you an author? Are you a reader? Today, choose one book that impacted you, whether for minutes or days. Tell the author. How? In an Amazon review. I recently wrote a review for Richard Peck’s book, A Long Way From Chicago. I highly doubt that Richard Peck needs my support to further his publishing career, but don’t even the “top dog” authors deserve to be told how awesome they are and how memorable their characters were? I think they do. And, even more, the indie authors need to hear your thoughts. Won’t you write that review??

Beware (or Welcome!) the Writing Ninjas of Write On Con

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Toy

This week in my ever-growing internet explorations I stumbled upon the most fantastic opportunity for a dreamer like myself.  WriteOnCon, an on-line children’s writing conference with thousands of attendees, is taking place this week.

www.writeoncon.com

 

With an itinerary that covers topics such as writing better sentences, the author/agent relationship, hooks, and killer first lines, there is sure to be something for everyone no matter if you are a picture book, middle grade, or young adult writer.  During the conference, attendees are invited to post their first 250 words, first 5 pages, and/or their queries.  Others comment on the work which is fantastic.  I have already gotten several useful critiques as well as much-needed encouragement.  Starting tomorrow there are children’s book agents, called Ninja agents, who will pop into the forums to comment on some of the manuscripts.  Knowing how hard it is to get the attention of an agent, being able to virtually have my work accessible to 15 top agents is quite exciting.  While there are no guarantees that my work will be highlighted, the first step I have taken in posting my newest novel is proving to be a positive move in the direction of continued publishing success.

 

If you are registered (free) at writeoncon.com and interested, here is my query for my newest middle grade novel, entitled Confessions of a Cornhead.

http://writeoncon.com/forum/showthread.php?8931-MG-Contemporary-Confessions-of-a-Cornhead

Olympic Blog Readers: What country has the highest medal counts for most hits in your blog?

 

I just love the behind-the-scenes stats on my blog.  I get to see what search engine words drive traffic here, what posts are being viewed, from what sites readers are viewing my blog links, etc.  However, other than the sheer number stats, my next favorite stat is seeing from what countries my readers are viewing.  So…I thought I’d have a little fun during the Olympics.  Taking out the United States, as I hail from here where most of my readers are:  What countries take Gold, Silver, and Bronze for most clicks (not unique viewers) on my blog since February of this year? Hits have come from 32 countries.

 

Venture your guesses for the top three viewing countries. (Remember, don’t count the US.)

 

And who wins for your blog?  

 

Thanks for playing along!  I am interested in your medal contenders as well.

 

And…the super cool picture is a view of my son’s newly designed world theme bedroom.

My Critique Group: Why Genre Specific Critique Groups Are Important for Writers

Members of my critique group

 

Critique, defined by MacMillan Dictionary as “a careful written examination of a subject that includes the writer’s opinions.”  Constructive criticism is critique meant to help one improve.  It’s valuable.  It’s necessary.  But it can sting, even given with the best intentions.

 

Writing is a very solitary activity.  Isolated in that special writing zone many writers write The End thinking they have done a kick butt job that will send agents and publishers running to their door fighting for the right to launch said manuscript into the New York Times bestseller stratosphere.  Can you tell what I dream about at night?  The reality is, though, that though blinded by your own words, you’re likely to get nothing more than big fat, oh-so-friendly standard rejection letters that will fill your drawers to overflowing, the Niagara Falls of papers (or emails).

 

To up your chances of getting a real industry person to read and respond to your writing, I think that finding a critique group is a valuable necessity.  I have found that in a lovely group of women that all write children’s books.  I have belonged to mixed writer groups, and gained valuable insight from them, but it is this group of genre writers that has given me the most valuable feedback and encouragement along this writing journey because we all write for children.

 

Why is finding members of a genre specific critique group important?

 

1.  There is no need to explain “what kids these days are reading.”  Everyone in the group understands the genre and the audience our books are intended for.

 

2.  We bring genre specific event information to each other.  For example, I joined SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) after getting information from my very first critique group meeting years ago.

 

3.  We present educational material at each meeting specific to children’s writing.  How do you hook a child at the end of the chapter?  How long are children’s book subgenres, etc.?

 

4. We share publisher/magazine/agent information that we know would benefit a particular writer’s manuscript.

 

5.  We critique each other’s manuscripts with genre specific needs clear in everyone’s mind.  For example, it is clear when the words are too big or the manuscript is too unclear for a young audience.

 

6.  We celebrate together.  We know what it means when Esther Hershenhorn likes your manuscript (Yeah, Jean!), and we know how long but rewarding it can be to hear a “yes” from a publisher even after 99 “no’s.” (Yeah, me.)

 

The encouragement and educational growth I have received has been so motivating.   Thank you, ladies.

 

Do you find genre specific critique groups valuable or do you prefer mixed groups with different genre writers?

Text Code for Literary Agents: A Humorous Plea for Answers

Recently I was listening to Garry Meier of WGN radio in Chicago.  He was talking about text code for seniors.  I started researching this topic and was pleasantly surprised to find many websites dedicated to senior texting.  Here are some of my favorite discoveries:

 

BTW      Bring the Wheelchair

WTFA   Wet the Furniture Again

BYOT    Bring Your Own Teeth

TTYL     Talk to You Louder

 

I write this with the utmost respect for seniors.  Unlike today’s seniors who did not grow up with this virtual and electronic technology, we have, and whether we like it or not we will someday be old, too.  But we will be old and know how to use technology, so why shouldn’t seniors have their own, albeit tongue-in-cheek, codes?

 

What I failed to find in my internet search, however, was a texting code for literary agents.  As I am nearing completion of my middle grade novel and am preparing to query agents, the wonderful gatekeepers to the literary publisher giants, I thought I’d streamline their response.  I know they are bombarded with queries, hundreds a week at times.  The rational side of my brain understands why they can’t give personalized responses to each author, but the author side of my brain (and the whiny, emotional side of my brain) wants to know why, why, WHY  he/she passed on my novel.  So, I have come up with a texting code for literary agents to use that will save them time (because I aim to please) AND pacify authors who have the need to know why.  Of course, this would also require authors to know the phone numbers of literary agents to receive said texts, but, well, let’s suspend that part of the equation.

 

SDT                   Show, Don’t Tell

FYV                   Find Your Voice

NMG                 Not My Genre

YANJKR           You Are No JK Rowling

NFM                  Not For Me  (followed by the text):

NNNE               Not Now, Not Ever

NMP                 Needs More Plot

BDB                  Been Done Before

EHOG              Ever Heard of Grammar?

 

SMM                Send Me More

NYTBS             New York Times Bestseller  (or not your typical bullsh*t)

SYU                  Sign You Up

 

To any literary agents reading this blog now, I would prefer the last three texts.

 

And because many of you are probably thinking this already, how about one more?

 

SSU                 Stop Sucking Up

Give the girl a break.  You’re a tough crowd.  :-)

Mr. Rogers: “It’s Good to be Curious.”

“Do You Ever Imagine Things?”  So asks Mr. Rogers from the beloved (albeit sometimes odd :-) ) PBS show from my childhood…  “Are You Ever Curious?”

 

No writer can do what he or she loves most without being imaginative or curious in the “garden of your mind” as Mr. Rogers expresses.

 

“All you have to do is think, and they’ll grow….”

 

What ideas will grow in your mind today?

 

Rejection: I am Not an Armadillo

 

Copyright by Jerry Segraves

 

I am not an armadillo…

 

Anyone who knows me well knows that I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I make no apologies for that.  I am who I am.  With age, comes wisdom (and gray hair, but that’s despite the point).  I understand most times why things must be as they are, but sometimes the emotional response isn’t as tempered as you might expect of an ahem-year old woman.  So, why not become a writer?  Why not throw yourself fully into a profession where there are zero guarantees to balance hundreds of hours of work, where the answer will most likely be “no” or non-existent?  The answer is this:  I am ahem-years old as previously stated.  I can’t keep “growing up” forever.  Writing is a dream.  And I’ll be damned if someone tells me I can’t do it.  So there.

 

 

I have recently finished my first middle grade novel, yet second novel as I wrote a young adult novel last year.  Novels are hard.  So are picture books, but in a much different way.  In novels you have a cast of characters, the major plot, subplots, setting, tension, etc. that must all intersect in such a way to engage the readers and make them invest in the character and storyline.  I recently had two opportunities for critiques that I jumped at.  Any early feedback from insiders is invaluable.  Here is what I learned.

 

 

1.  My main character Bernie (aka Bernadette) is not likable.  A rather no-nonsense, get to the heart of the issue, yet well-respected NY agent said, “I have to say, she’s still coming across as too prissy, unreasonable…She’s reading unsympathetic right now and that could be a killer.”  Ouch.  A very kind, (meaning she can say nice things, too!) senior editor at a well-known NY publisher said, “Bernie is a difficult character to develop empathy for.”  My first reaction was…well…, honestly it was, “You suck, Marcy.  You’re never going to get this right.  You’ll never make it as a real writer.”  After my moment, my second reaction was, “You’ve got to be kidding me.  I love Bernie.  Everyone loves Bernie.”  But those NY agents and publishers get 1000’s of emails a week. If they don’t like what they see in the first few pages (or paragraphs), you’re cast aside.  I need to grab the reader immediately, not in chapter two.  I need to tell the reader what I already know about Bernie, and I need to do it right off the first page.  Better yet, I need to show the reader why Bernie is strong, yet lovable.  The insiders were right.

 

 

 

2.  Also confirmed after these two critiques was that kindness makes me work harder and negativity ticks me off, raises my blood pressure, but also produces the same response.  The agent said nothing positive.  Nothing.  As part of a webinar, I paid to have the first 500 words of my 31000 word novel critiqued.  She found only flaws and countered it with, well, with nothing…  The second critique, again paid for, as part of the Michigan SCBWI conference (awesome event!), done by a senior editor at a well known publishing house, said many of the same things about my first chapter but started with the positives.  There was even a section entitled, “The positive aspects of the work.”

 

I understood the message of both individuals.  I so appreciate the opportunity to fix these issues early in the submission stage.  I also don’t need my hand held.  I know these professionals don’t have time to coddle, nor should they.  Some people appreciate the meat and potatoes of a critique.  Sorry. Nope.  Not me.  Tell me something nice first.  Then I’ll work harder.  Is it that hard to say, “While I think this manuscript needs work on ….., I do like… ?”  If I don’t ever hear that I start to feel like those American Idol hopefuls who sing before the judges waiting for their golden tickets only to be so obviously rejected because they stink.  But no one in their inner circle has ever told them how bad they truly are.  No, I am not one of those people.  I hope that if I were I’d have someone nicely pull me aside and say, “This writing thing really isn’t for you.”

 

Laini Taylor, author of the young adult novel Daughter of Smoke and Bone, also spoke at the SCBWI event last weekend.  She shared how she likes her editors to start with the positive points first when she submits her revisions.  How refreshing to hear another author say essentially, “Please me nice to me, and then tell me what I should fix.”  (my words, not Laini’s)

 

 

I would love to share this post with agents and editors, but, alas, they’d probably laugh at me, and tell me to grow some thick skin.  Take it or leave it.  I am who I am.  Now, I have work to do.  I have to make you love Bernie as much as I do.   :-)