Day: May 13, 2012

What Reviewers Want (Part 2)

Artist's conception of a book reviewer

[This is a golden oldie—it ran on Indies Unlimited back on October 10, 2011.]

In part 1 of this series, we discussed what reviewers want to see (and do not want to see) from authors as regards actual writing. All that stuff is what constitutes the middle of the relationship between an author and a reviewer. There is something more to the relationship on either end.

The relationship begins with the submission of your magnum opus to the reviewer. Next you wait. You keep waiting. You check their website and still don’t see anything. Over an hour has passed, and you are starting to get nervous. My advice (and it really is mine alone—all the reviewers I interviewed were too polite to bring this up), is to keep waiting. Do not call. Do not e-mail. Do not fax. Do not “check in” to see how they like it so far.  Find something else to occupy your mind and your time, because it may take a while. Continue reading “What Reviewers Want (Part 2)”

I will survive – ‘ReKindled’ version

I will survive – ‘ReKindled’ version.’

Dedicated to the team at Indies Unlimited who have guided me through the maze of Google Plus, Stumble On, Diggit, Twitter and Facebook to mention a few of the tutorial subjects that have helped me become a social networking genius.

At first I was afraid
I was petrified
Kept typing promo emails
With wine gums by my side
And then I spent so many nights
Thinking I was going wrong
But I grew strong
And I learned how to get along
 
Thanks to this site
In cyber space
I signed up to find some help
And found some clever folk who’re ace
I should have checked them out before
I should have read all helpful posts
If I’ve have known for just one second
They were such accommodating hosts
 
So thanks to Hise
And KS Brooks
I have recently
Learned to pimp my fellow author’s books
Weren’t they the ones who tried to tutor me, oh my!
Did you think I would Stumble
Did you think I’d fall down and cry?
Oh no, not I
 
I will survive
Oh, as long as I have my laptop
I know I’ll stay online
I’ve got lots of likes, oh look
On my page now on Facebook
And I’ll survive
I will survive, hey hey.
 
It took all the strength I had
Not to fall apart
Kept trying hard to understand
Tech lessons and all that craft
And I spent oh so many nights
Just struggling with their tips
I used to sigh
But now I hold my head up high
 
And you see me
Somebody new
I’m not that confused aged person
Now I’m feeling ‘phew!’
I can tweet loud like a crow
I can share with all my mates*
And now I know how to promote
So many peeps in cyber space.
 
Come on and try
For goodness sake
Get mingling with us
You won’t make more mistakes
Weren’t you the agent who tried to break me with ‘goodbye’
Did you think I’d crumble?
Did you think I’d lay down and cry?
Oh no, not I
 
I will survive
Oh, as long as I have my laptop
I know I’ll stay online
I’ve got lots of likes, oh look
On my page now on Facebook
And I’ll survive
I will survive
I will survive…

*mates – British slang for ‘friends’

Apologies to Gloria Gaynor but just be thankful I didn’t post a YouTube video of me singing this.

Want to sing along? You can!

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Carol E Wyer is a Contributing Author for Indies Unlimited and author of the novel, MINI SKIRTS AND LAUGHTER LINES. For more information, please see the IU Bio page and her website: http://www.carolewyer.co.uk

Sneak Peek: Jew in Jail by Gary Goldstein

Today we have a sneak peek from Gary Goldstein’s book, Jew in Jail:

JEW IN JAIL is the true story of the nearly six years that I spent incarcerated in various correctional facilities throughout the state of New York. It deals with my attempts at recovery from past addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling, as well as my efforts to turn my life around in hopes of becoming a solid citizen and successful member of society upon my release. In addition, my book also provides insight into how I, as a minority in prison, was forced to fend for myself against all of the mistreatment at the hands of the powers that be from the Department Of Correctional Services in this “world within the real world,” as well as the daily grind of doing time with hardened criminals, many of whom I felt no close connection to, all the while continuing to fight for the true justice I strongly felt I wasn’t afforded during my lower court proceedings. 

Jew in Jail is available in print and for Kindle on Amazon.com. Continue reading “Sneak Peek: Jew in Jail by Gary Goldstein”

Is it long enough? (Said the vicar to the nun) Part 2 by Chris James

Author Chris James
Author Chris James

Last week author Chris James talked about achieving the proper length and momentum when writing a novel. If you missed Part One of his post, you can read it here. Now, the conclusion of “Is It Long Enough?”: 

Story acceleration

The next problem after the dead zone is story acceleration: instead of trudging endlessly to the Pole, you decide to bring the Pole to you (we’re talking about our imaginations here, after all). You tell yourself a character or plot sequence is too weak, so you cut it out: you want to get on and write the most exciting bits as soon as you can, instead of taking the reader on an intriguing journey that builds gradually to a satisfying climax (said the vicar to the nun).

The answer here is to put yourself in the position of, say, a stand-up comic: he writes a gag and it’s funny – but only once. He rehearses it, then tells the joke maybe hundreds or thousands of times in his career. For him, the joke has become a meaningless sequence of words, devoid of any humour whatsoever. But he keeps using it because he can remember the impact it had when he first thought it up, and every time he tells it, his audience laughs. It’s the same for your novel. Before you publish, if you’re anything like me you’ll read it over 200 times. The words will lose almost all meaning, and it will be the easiest thing in the world to doubt that your writing is any good at all. Here you need to be like the comic: remember what made you write that scene in the first place, and then imagine the impact it will have on someone who reads it for the first time. Trust your original instinct. Continue reading “Is it long enough? (Said the vicar to the nun) Part 2 by Chris James”