Manassas Disaster

Last Saturday I was at a book fair. I'd been invited, along with a variety of other local writers to come out to the Bull Run Library in Manassas Virginia, and market my wares to the public. As a newbie writer, I've never been on the other side of the table, so I reached out and got some suggestions from more experienced authors I know and to find out what I'd need beyond myself and copies of my books. I ended up with far more advise than I could use, but it gave me a start of what I'd need. A consideration I had to take in was how much to spend versus what could I expect in sales. If I figure five dollars per book sold, and expect to sell twenty books my promotional ceiling is 100 dollars. I'd break even, any more money spent would either be a loss or have to be recycled at another fair or convention.

I went cheap, had some fliers printed up and bought a stand for my books, and some candy. Total outlay, maybe 30 dollars. Selling six books did not seem like a stretch to me.  I also hit Twitter and Facebook hard letting everyone know about the event. I even wore my lucky Poe and Lovecraft t-shirt.

When I arrived, I was able to get a table in line with the door, so the candy, my books and promo material would be readily visible. As I was early to the event, I chatted with a few other authors, some of whom really knew how to market at these kinds of events. They were all very polite and friendly, giving freely of their time and expertise. They told me about local author clubs and meeting places, and where I could go to get my book in a local independent bookstore.

Two o'clock arrived and I was ready. And I sat, and sat. There were maybe thirty visitors in the two hours, there was never a time when there were more people looking at books than there were authors. I had three possible sales, but for one reason or another my patter was not quite good enough to convince them to actually buy. Perhaps they went online and got the e-book. I was interviewed by the local free newspaper, and later sent her my media kit, but since she never sent me a link to the piece, I imagine other authors were featured instead.

Economically, it was a bust for me. Other authors fared likewise. I think one person was able to sell four books, she did the best. Those who did get a sale, sold one book. Most were like me, and sold nothing. The library apparently had done very little advertising, and it seemed most who came were patrons who wandered in. Tough to sell a book in the same location as where people are borrowing them for free.

At the same time it wasn't completely a waste of time. I did make some great contacts in the local community, I was invited to join a local author's group, and I now know where to take copies of my book and get them into a bookstore. I also know what things I need to bring to the next event I attend to help sell copies. A decent banner, and poster board both with images of my book are something I need to get if I plan on going to another event. The banner has to be something I can affix to a table, and the poster board small enough that it can sit on the table with me. It should also include some of the reviews I've gotten, so people can see at a glance that others have enjoyed my book. I need to practice on my selling technique. I need book marks or something small that lists where one can get copies of my book online. I need copies of my blurb, for people to read when they ask about my book, or have in memorized. In other words I have to invest some money, and hope that I can make it back at a later date.

These days being an author is a business and if you want to be successful you have to treat it as such. Investment in promotional materials is one of those things that has to be done, to help maximize success.

Guess I'll have to go to Office Max and a few other places, so that if I go to an event that has a lot of visitors, I look like a professional. With luck, next time, I'll have some sales.

 

          Want a great book for the price of a fancy cup of coffee?

Order it today from-

 

Amazon - http://goo.gl/D6KrbX

Smashwords - http://goo.gl/XsGgAC

Nook - http://goo.gl/MVLXia

Google Play - http://goo.gl/g2kNPa

Marketing is not Sales

Okay it's been a while, but hey, I've been editing number two so that those few who read this will know that another Brother Sebastian story is on the way. Since my last post I have continued to try to convince a wide, diverse group of people that my book is something that they can not live with out.

Via Twitter, this blog, a very long and far flung blog tour, Friends, co-workers, neighbors, and people I have chased down the street, Facebook, Alumni reports, and I'll even be going to a book fair next Saturday, I have spread the word about Junior Inquisitor.

Yes you should come out to Manassas, meet me and eat some of the candy I'll be bringing. Oh yea, and buy a signed copy of my book!

Last I checked I have somewhere around 13K followers on Twitter, I have several hundred friends on Facebook, a couple dozen flesh and blood friends, a few score of coworkers, and a decent size family, all of whom have, at some level, bought, reviewed, spread the word for and with me about my book. I have quite a few (over twenty-five 5 star) reviews on Amazon out of thirty total, and third of my five stars are verified purchases. Multiple times I have been complimented on my clever marketing pitches, I have had people share my giggle inducing ads, been number one in several people's networks and advertise to a rather large audience.

 

 

 

 

The results – modest at best sales. I can not even claim to be a mid-list author, like Rick Gualtieri. According to Kindle Direct sales, I have not sold a single copy in Canada, a country of thirty million, that speaks English, where I have several cousins and a few fans. I have broken triple digits in book sales, but it maybe a long hard slog to crack four.

As far as I can tell, I have done most everything correctly, I have marketed the hell out of Junior Inquisitor, I have done so in a clever and unique way, that is still appealing, my audience consists primarily of authors and readers who should be receptive to my pitches. Those who have read my story have, for the most part, really enjoyed it, and have become fans, sharing their enjoyment with others, spreading the word. And yet.

So the moral here is that marketing, while essential to the self and indy publisher is not a guarantee of success. Good marketing is not good sales. Fate, luck, or what ever you wish to call it, plays a role. Now, in no way am I suggesting that the hard work of shouting the message - “Buy Junior Inquisitor, you will like it,” day after day in a variety of ways and forums is not rewarded. Luck may assist, but will never replace hard work.

 

Next steps – Obviously I don't quit, wailing that the world doesn't love me and my stories while gnashing my teeth or rending my clothes all dramatic like.

I am neither that shallow, not that childish.

 

 

                   NO!

I will continue to edit The Soulless Monk, until it is ready to go, decide on cover art, tag lines, blurbs, and everything else that needs to be done for a book launch. Marketing continues, but soon it will be for both books.

At some point, I'll hit a tipping point, and my books will sell in volumes I can appreciate. Maybe it will happen with The Soulless Monk, maybe it will happen ten books into the series. So I continue on, working hard and fighting the good fight until I have bent the world to my will and am victorious as I define it.

 

                            So where can you get my book?  Good question -

 

                   Amazon - http://goo.gl/D6KrbX

                  Smashwords - http://goo.gl/XsGgAC

                  Nook - http://goo.gl/MVLXia

               Google Play - http://goo.gl/g2kNPa

 

 

 

My review of R.L. King's STONE AND A HARD PLACE

Let me start off by saying this was a damn fine book, I enjoyed reading it, and it was worth the 2.99 I plunked down for it. I will be waiting for the next one in the series.

Anyone who's met me knows I am a reader. On any given week, I plow through 4 books. Sometimes much more if I have free time, and rarely less. As a result I have over the years accumulated hundreds of books and have amassed a decent sized library with everything from history, to philosophy, to cheesy pulp fantasy complete with politically incorrect cover. My wife, tired of me trying to find a place for my latest acquisition bought me a Kindle, which is currently holding about 500 books. When that is full the Paper White Kindle I won from Jess Alter will be my new repository for reading.

There was a time when if I started a book, I finished it. I could count on one hand the number of books I picked up and didn't complete. Now, I am always pressed for time, so if a book turns dull, or gets weak, or drags, I toss it; making no apologies for doing so.

In the last year I have been given several dozen books for review. Most of them sucked. Being kind of nice, I discretely contact the author, let them know why I didn't enjoy their book and let it go. Negative reviews are to be expected, but they do sting. I see no need in wounding someone further by posting a negative review on Amazon or the like.

Now, having praised the book, let me get into the areas I though it was weak.

Alistair Stone is a wizard. He is asked to temporarily take on an apprentice, which he does so reluctantly. There is some confusion, several times Alistair is referred to as an “excellent teacher,” but it also seems that he had never taught an apprentice before.

Most of the world is very well fleshed out, but magic itself appeared to be glossed over. Where does it come from specifically? Is the ability to do magic solely genetic or is there some other method of learning it? Is magic a specific color, or smell, or does that vary person to person or maybe by the type and intent of the spell?

For me the biggest hole was the blasé way Alistair explained the difference between white and black magic to his apprentice. White magic is powered by the person making the spell, black magic drains others for power. Take to much from someone and they become a corpse.

Black magic is seductive, addictive, and generally used for nefarious purposes, by people that could easily be categorized as “evil,” or at least bereft of most normal morality.

Given all of this Alistair glosses over in just a page or three the difference between white and black magic, and completely leaves off warning the kid about why to avoid people who use black magic.

There is an addictive source of power that is available to a young and new to the magical world apprentice, favored by dangerous people. These magicians, who enjoy hurting and manipulating others, who do not even see mundanes as “people,” but as batteries to be used as they see fit, use black magic, Despite this, Alistair, does not bother to very clearly and specifically explain why it would be bad for his apprentice to go hang with them?

Why not just toss him overboard after the chum has hit the water and the sharks have arrived explaining, “You'll learn to swim faster this way.”

 I did not connect with Alistair as well as I could have, he came across as someone who was superficial, pretending to care, but really self-absorbed at his core. He “cared,” but not enough to really do work. He is driven more by curiosity to solve the main dilemma, rather than altruistic reasons. Perhaps this is deliberate, Alistair is an interesting, but not really very nice person, and we've all known a few of those. Problem is, after awhile, these kinds of people become less interesting and end up becoming some one that you used to know.

Like I said good book. I enjoyed the depth of the characters, the pace, and their dilemmas. 4 stars, worth the 2.99 price and I will be ready to read the next one when it is ready.

 

You can find Stone and a Hard Place here -

http://www.amazon.com/Stone-Hard-Place-Alastair-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00UGBEQYY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1430158683&sr=1-1&keywords=stone+and+a+hard+place

 

 

 

Lastly, if Alistair ran into Brother Sebastian and the Inquisitors, the fight would be short, and not in favor of the Brit.

 

Now if you want to meet some truly destructive, power-mad witches, their minions, and the men who hunt them, when not running for cover -

Available here -

 

 

Amazon - http://goo.gl/D6KrbX

Smashwords - http://goo.gl/XsGgAC

Nook - http://goo.gl/MVLXia

Google Play - http://goo.gl/g2kNPa

Fast action requires short sentences

I have, at various times in my life, been an technical writer. When I do that I have to make sure that sentences are short and succinct. The idea is to educate in small digestible pieces. The goal is to inform, not entertain. I'm usually pretty good at that. Most of the time the subject is dry anyway.

Where I run into problems is when I am writing for pleasure, I tend to get florid, writing paragraph long sentences filled with action, movements, and even dialog. When this happens, my editor, the esteemed Danielle Fine, breaks out into hives and the page turns red.

The other issue with long florid writing is the tendency to either beat a subject to death, or even worse, slip into an unnecessary tangent. I do that quite often, perhaps it is that I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head while I write. Maybe it is Calvin the Helper dog interrupting me to let me know there are squirrels about, perhaps...but I digress.

 

It's always a struggle for me, I like the long turn of phrase, but I see her point. I do not, as of yet, have the writing chops to pull off a Dickensian length phrase, but one day, if I keep at it, victory shall be mine.

For me the sentence is there to paint a picture, not to bog down the plot, It should drive the action along, not to go full on Edward Bulwar-Lytton.

Further, as there is a lot of action in my stories, and I do like a fast paced novel, short sentences rule. I'm trying to pare my sentences down so that only two or three things occur in each one.

“He continued to stride to the locked door, but turned his head back at me.

“That is up to you,” he said as he reached it.”

“ I kept my pistol up and ready to fire as I eased down the hall, taking short, choppy steps.”

Most of my readers, so far have found my book gripping, it is so fast paced, the excess is stripped away to a bare story, they end up reading the whole thing in one sitting, unable and unwilling to break away. That is a huge compliment as far as I'm concerned, and if it means more rewrites to get the story just so, I am happy to do it.

 

If you like to be thrilled; enjoy a great dark novel, and wonder what it would be like fight witches and their minions, give my book a try. Almost guaranteed enjoyment.

 

 

 

 

My lack of perfection

So it turns out I'm not perfect. While that was something I had already known, and have been reminded of this deficiency many, many times by my parents, teachers, drill sergeants, professors, employers, other officers and my lovely wife, when it came to the subject of my book, Junior Inquisitor, there was still a chance, a small but not zero, possibility that it was perfect. After all, everything is perfect before it is open to scrutiny. Before my book was on sale, when it was just a completed project, it was perfect.

When people were reading author copies, I received lots of positive feedback. People vowed to write many 5 star reviews. My ego swelled, and I was glad. Finally the day came, the book was out for mass distribution, and reviews came in. All 5 stars. Twenty eventually rolled in within a weekend. And then Rick Gualtieri gave me a 4 star rating. Not perfection, but still a very good rating, and from an author whom I respect and have read most of his books. And it was just one 4 star, with strong points of why Junior Inquisitor wasn't a 5 star in his estimation. I found myself in agreement with his points, and vowed to make my second book even better. More people read my book, more 5 star ratings came in, and then----a 2 star.

"Bought this because I have found very few books in this genre that are worth a read and this one came highly recommended. That being said this book is short on detail and lacks character development. Not a bad read but wouldn't buy any others in this series."

I have to admit I was disappointed. What did I do wrong? Why does this reviewer dislike my book so much? She, making the assumption based on the name given that the reviewer is a she, states “this book is short on detail and lacks character development.”

“Short on detail”

My writing is set at a very fast pace, avoiding what I call “over-describing.” Excessive detail slows the pace down, not something you want in an action story. I could write,

“Brother Sebastian drew his heavily modified, Glock model 17 from the tactical holster. Fitted to his hand by the Monastery's Weapons Master, Brother Ralph, it fit his hand and his hand alone to perfection. Leaning forward a few inches he began getting into his 'shooting stance' shoulders forward, knees bent, arms in a straight line, parallel to the ground and making a triangle. His left hand snaked down to meet his shooting hand, wrapped both hands around the butt of the gun. He punched the pistol up and forward into his shooting stance, as he peered down the specially blackened slide to the modified ghost ring front sight. The ghost ring was fuzzy and indistinct as it was supposed to be as the target, the Screwface snapped into view. The purple-black nimbus of magic flickered and flared as she prepared to launch another spell at him.”

Bit long winded and with what I think is excessive detail. My editor would be screaming and trying to get me to cut everywhere. Perhaps a better version might be

“Brother Sebastian drew his pistol. In one smooth motion, he shifted into his 'shooter's stance' peering down the slide past the indistinct and fuzzy front sight, as the Screwface snapped into view. The purple-black nimbus of magic flickered and flared as she prepared to launch another spell at him.”

Admittedly, in the second version the reader is doing some work, filling in details, like which type of front does Brother Sebastian have, or his body position in a shooting stance, or the modifications made to his pistol and what type and model it is, but the action is there, and most can follow along with out issue.

“lacks character development”

A similar issue, I can describe every event that lead up to Brother Sebastian becoming an Inquisitor, all the people he interacted with, and so on. The same can be done for the other characters as well, but I can't do that and keep the story moving along. I want the reader's experience to be a screaming de-orbit from space, not the plod of a flock of racing turtles.

What it comes down to is while many like the rapid pace of my stories, that does not mean everyone does. Some will not enjoy my stories. Part of me know that what I wrote was not for everyone; some do not like a roller coaster ride when they read. And now I have proof.

I will keep writing in my style to the best of my ability. My 2 star rating will be there as a reminder that even when I do my best, not everyone will like it, and that's okay.

 

 

 

If you like fast paced adventure you can get my book here -

 

 

                   Amazon - http://goo.gl/D6KrbX

                   Smashwords - http://goo.gl/XsGgAC

                   Nook - http://goo.gl/MVLXia

                   Google Play - http://goo.gl/g2kNPa

 

My thoughts on what makes a book "good"

I had an interesting discussion about what makes a book “good.” The person I was talking with felt that a “good” book was one that reflected diversity, had strong women in it, or other minorities, either as the main character, or a serious, significant role, central to the story.

That saddened me a bit. What she wanted was a story that mimicked her world view, that reinforced her thoughts on how the world should be. She wanted a reflection of herself, not entertainment.

For me, I want to be sucked into the story, I want to fly in unknown vistas, travel to new worlds and cultures, meet the fantastic or usual. I want to be absorbed into the action and care about the outcome.

I don't care if the main character is a little boy who grows into a wizard, or a young woman stuck in a strange place using her mind to figure out how to survive, or a non-human Starship Captain far from home surrounded by hostile aliens, and a mutinous human crew.

I want to be entertained, enraptured by what I read.

One of the best series I've read is Tales of the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, by Nathan Lowell. There are no epic space battles, few explosions, a dearth of villains twirling black mustaches, but it is good. The stories are so well written I find myself completely absorbed by what is happening, by the actions of the characters, their lives and dreams, that I've read and re-read the series multiple times. That is what I expect when I put down my money for a book, entertainment, and for me that is a gripping, compelling story that keeps me reading until the last page.

I want to be enthralled, not lectured or read a sermon. That's what I try to do with my books, entertain the reader, make it so when they start they put off everything else until they hit the end. From the reviews I've gotten for Junior Inquisitor, it seems as though I was successful. I'm working on making sure the next one, The Soulless Monk, is the same.

You can find Junior Inquisitor at

Amazon - http://goo.gl/D6KrbX

Smashwords - http://goo.gl/XsGgAC

Nook - http://goo.gl/MVLXia

Google Play - http://goo.gl/g2kNPa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David J Rodger's Oakfield

All right everyone let's welcome David J Rodger

 

David J Rodger is known for writing fast-paced thrillers that crossover into Science Fiction & Dark Fantasy. Cyberpunk and the Cthulhu Mythos are key themes. With excellent reviews, he is also the creator of the role-playing game “Yellow Dawn – The Age of Hastur”. He has written non-fiction for magazines such as SFX and had short stories published in UK, US, Canada and Japan.

 

 

 

 

His latest novel is Oakfield

 

Oakfield is ultimately a story of redemption. The main character is trying to adjust to the reality of a new body after being killed in action during military conflict. The body is courtesy of top grade medical cover. But physical miracles can’t heal the mind. When his sister inherits a house from their estranged grandfather and invites him to join her there for a week, he treats it as part of his recovery and as a chance to heal the wounds that sit deep within their family. However, once at the house it quickly transpires the grandfather did not die of natural causes. Strange locals dominate the town. There is worship of nefarious gods and there are monsters in the quiet places nearby. The characters must face this horror whilst picking apart the emotional turmoil of their own relationships.

Prologue

The figure was skeletally thin, a ragged man dressed in loosely fitted robes. Nothing more than torn sacks crudely stitched together. Clothes, as such, were not a normal aspect for its being. It clung to the side of the tall, finger-like stack of rock as an insect might cling to a plant stem... there was an aspect about it that was almost human, but much more that was not. It knew it was an abomination. Something made for the sole purpose of moving amongst human folk. It carried

out orders without question, without emotion. It lived to serve. A crooked smile stretched thin, rubbery lips as it released its grip on the rock and tumbled into the swift, pulling embrace of gravity.

 

So there you go, a nice taste of his work.

Pretty damn good writing.

Where can you get Oakfield you ask?

PAPERBACK LULU: http://www.lulu.com/shop/david-j-rodger/oakfield/paperback/product-22073451.html

PAPERBACK Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oakfield-Mr-David-J-Rodger/dp/1508762546

KINDLE http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oakfield-David-J-Rodger-ebook/dp/B00UC1HUEG

 

 

And David can be found here

http://www.davidjrodger.com

 

 

So stop reading my blog and go buy the man's story. And get a copy of my book, Junior Inquisitor while you're at it.

Amazon - http://goo.gl/D6KrbX

Smashwords - http://goo.gl/XsGgAC

Nook - http://goo.gl/MVLXia

Google Play - http://goo.gl/g2kNPa