Guest Post by Irene Watson

Authors think of their books as being like their children, and while authors can often be thick-skinned enough to deal with critics and reviewers they don’t know, they need to be toughest when it comes to dealing with criticism and responses from family members and friends. Just what should an author’s expectations be for support from those he or she knows?

Let’s face it. Publishing your book has been a top priority for you. You’ve spent a long time working on that book and now you’ve seen your dream brought to fulfillment. But remember, your dream is not Aunt Milly’s dream, or even your best friend’s dream. They might be happy for you, but your book is not a major event for them.

I’ll say up front that the best advice I can give you is to have no expectations concerning excitement or support from family and friends. Do not coerce people into reading your book, and don’t expect anyone to do anything to promote it. Let people know your book is being published and that now you have to figure out how to promote it; then if they offer help, take them up on the offer. If they don’t, don’t badger them. In the long run, you’ll have less hurt feelings and disappointment.

Here are a few considerations regarding dealing with family and friends and their reactions when your book is published. I’ve collected several of the examples from different authors I know.

Buying Your Book

One author I know tells me that when he told his best friend his book was going to be published and it would cost “$25.95” his friend replied, “That’s a pretty big burden to put on all your family and friends.” The author of course gave his best friend a free copy, but he also realized that the cost of giving free copies away was not going to help him any. He limited free copies to his parents, siblings, and a few friends who had previously read parts of the manuscript.

While several friends and family members bought this author’s book, he heard many others tell him, “I can’t afford it.” After watching those same people going out to eat and spending money on several other non-necessities, it’s clear to him that it’s not the price that keeps them away. They are just using the cost as an excuse when they simply have no desire to read his book. As authors, we have to remember that everyone is not a reader, and everyone may not be interested in the topics of our books. Bottom line:  don’t expect people to buy your book.

Giving Away Books

If you really want people to read your book, you might decide that you will just give copies away to your family and friends—especially those people who “can’t afford it.”

I’ve heard many authors complain that they give copies of their books to people who never read the books. Even brothers, sisters, and parents don’t always read the book.

We have to remember that reading a book is a big time-commitment, but again, if people don’t read the book, or don’t express interest in reading it, there’s no point in giving books away.

One author I know has published several novels. He gave away quite a few the first time. By the third book, he had cut down the number he gave away to about just a half-dozen people. He found that the friends he no longer gave free books to did not even ask him for a free book—they simply were uninterested. He has also quit sending gifts when these people have babies or embark on their third marriages.

As for the “I can’t afford it” people, the best thing to do is to let them know they can check out the book at the library. I suspect most of them won’t.

People Reading Your Book

Believe it or not, more books get purchased than are ever read, by a huge percentage. Another author I know has a cousin who has bought all five of his books, but she’s never read a single one.

People who get free books do not necessarily read them—in fact, I suspect many people are less likely to read the books because they got the books for free—therefore, the value of the book appears to be less to them.

And always be prepared for negative criticism. You will have many people tell you they enjoy your book, but then there will be the ones who will say something like, “I found seven typos in it”—that will be the only feedback they give you. Ignore these people. Just respond with, “Thanks for telling me” and move on.

However, if someone points out good and bad things about the book, you may want to pay attention. You always want to learn how to improve as a writer.

And then there are the people who will just be plain jealous—even, and perhaps especially siblings. Even if out of kindness, you give these people free copies, do you really care whether or not they like your book? Authors are the last people who should let others’ negativity affect them.

Book Reviews

Even if people read your book, it is unlikely they will do anything beyond that. Make a point when someone tells you he or she read and liked your book to ask the person to post a book review on Amazon and to tell other people about it. The truth is that most people won’t think about how they can help an author unless it is pointed out to them.

If people ask for a free book and you feel inclined to give one to them, then make the stipulation that you only give away free books to people who promise to write a book review for you.

Exchanging books and reviews with other authors is a great idea for helping each other; however, many authors I know have found that even other authors are unlikely to reciprocate. I know an author who has written a couple of dozen different reviews for authors he knows, and yet, he has only had one or two of those authors ever reciprocate. Nevertheless, every time he writes a review, as long as his name and his book are attached to it, he still builds buzz for his own book.

In short, the lower you keep your expectations for a response from family and friends, the less disappointment you will have. Celebrate when a loved one does buy, read, or review your book, but don’t spend too much time worrying about why Uncle Joe has let your book gather dust for two years.

Plenty of readers are out there beyond your friends and family members. Remember, no man is a prophet in his own town. Similarly, few authors achieve celebrity status among those they know, but the greater world of readers may be waiting to embrace you as a favorite author.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.



Guest Post by Irene Watson

Today I'm going to get on my soap-box about a pet peeve I have!  As an author, I want to have my books read and hopefully purchased so at least I can break even on my expenses.  Unless you are a known name, it's not easy to find potential buyers.  I get emails every day from authors asking for new ways to promote their books and encourage potential buyers to buy.   With near 400,000 titles published last year, what chance to we have?  But, there is more....and this is my pet peeve.

I just googled  "get book reviewed" and got 239,000,000 links. Wow, that's quite a few.  As I ran through the pages of links I found many are bloggers.   When I started Reader Views shortly after I published my first book in 2005 it was difficult to get a review.  There were very few sites giving reviews, and certainly no bloggers.  

Bloggers who will "review" books are popping up everywhere - basically, they are a dime a dozen.  Furthermore, why should people buy books when they can set up a free blog, call themselves  reviewers, and get free books? 

As well, a  large publicity firm will list your book for $149 and send the list to 1000 reviewers.  The reviewers,  in turn,  will contact you directly for a book.  Several sites offer publishers or authors to list their book for free and made available to readers.  However, none of these places hold the reviewers/readers accountable to produce a review if they receive the book. One such site does have readers post reviews but the few people that have posted  have thrashed most of the books.  It seems it's more of a place to exert power than to give an honest opinion.

A couple of days ago  I received an application form from a potential reviewer.  The bio was skimpy so I asked her if she has reviewed before.  Her comment was:  I have not written a book review before, but I am comfortable at writing.  I am always eager to read a new book, and figured it would be nice to read some new books without having to pay Barnes and Nobel.  I frequently get comments similar to this. For example, today I received another application form. The person listed all the sites she already reviews for, including her own blog. I asked her why she doesn't get enough books from the other reviewers and she responded with I want more options of what free books are available for me to read. One time I even had a woman apply to be a reviewer and she was surprised she actually had to write a review.  She thought she just had to read the book.  As you can imagine, she doesn't review for us.

So, I'm asking:  Why should people buy books when they are readily available for free?  As authors, do you fall into the panic mode and send out books to bloggers or some of these sites in hopes you get a review?  But then, are these people credible?  Is having a review done by "Book Reviews by Jane" and posted on a blog with 16 followers a viable venture for you, as an author?  And, by the way, who is Jane?  There is no "about us" page to tell us how credible this person is.  Besides, the review doesn't even go on re-sellers sites like Amazon or B&N. (No, there is no "Book Reviews by Jane" but there are thousands like this example.) However, I guess on the postive side, one way we can look at it is it's good for SEO. But,  it's only good for SEO if the blogger participates. Is the expense of the book and shipping worth it? In the meantime, you have to sell 4 books to cover the expenses of sending out one free book. I'm doing the math and it's not working out for me as a good plan.

Okay, I'm off my soap-box.  What do you think? Are you an author that sends out books to bloggers or lists where people just want your book for free and then you wonder why you aren't selling your book?

Ouch. That one could hurt.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.

Guest post by Irene Watson

Nothing brings you expert status faster than being the author of a book, whether you intend it to happen or not.  Think back....remember to the time before you were an author.  I sure am and what I remember is thinking that being an author is a prestigious title to have, one that sets the person aside from others that aren't authors.  And, didn't you, in your mind, think that the authors of books are talented, smart, creative, gifted, and so on?  And, didn't you also think the authors are "experts" in their field?  I sure did and I know I'm not the only one.

Well, guess what?  Others are thinking the same of you.  So, my question to you today is:  Are you meeting the expectations of your readers?

As an expert in the topic or field you are writing about, you are taking your reader on a journey.  And, it's important to know your audience.  But, it's also important to know that your audience is on the same level as you are - you can't write to anyone on a higher level than you are yourself. 

One example is the level of expertise that goes into your book.  Researching specifics (even for fiction) are important. Avid readers expect reality.  For example,  today I received a review from one of our reviewers.  She commented:

... However, I had some issues with the book, as well.  The element of time confused me. ... And can four people really fit in an airplane bathroom?

Hummm....there is hardly enough room in an airplane bathroom for one person, let alone four.  Making reference that four people fit into an airplane bathroom is not reality.  I'm afraid the author of this specific book lost credibility with her readers.  Unless, of course, the author is writing to an audience that doesn't know 4 people can't fit into an airplane bathroom.  This is what I mean about knowing your reading audience. This author wasn't writing to an audience that knows how small an airplane bathroom is, but the fact is, this particular reader does.  This example may seem like it's not relevant, but, it is.  Readers want and expect good writing.  After all, the "author is an expert."

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.

Guest Post by Irene Watson

Recently, one of my favorite authors, a very well known one, published a new book. I always buy her books as soon as they come out because they are often a few years apart, and I can’t seem to get enough of her wonderful quirky characters and their interesting existences. Precisely because I respect this author so greatly, I will not reveal her name in discussing the literary faux pas she made in her latest novel.

The mistake was in regards to the main character’s age. The main character is sixty years old. He is divorced with three daughters, the youngest of whom is still a teenager. At one point in the book, he meets another person who is age thirty-eight, which makes him recall that when he was thirty-eight he had already been divorced and had three children. The math here just simply doesn’t add up since his third daughter is a teenager when he is sixty.

Granted, the error is not as bad as when James Fenimore Cooper switched a character’s name halfway through a novel, but it is still a fairly large mistake. To avoid such errors, authors need to know every little detail about their characters, far more than they even tell their readers, and to keep good records of those details.

Two helpful suggestions for tracking character details are to create a family tree for the characters and to interview each character.

Family trees can be simple or elaborate depending on the story, the number of characters, and the detail required. The tree can be drawn on paper, but I highly recommend using a genealogy software program because much of the required information is laid out in a format for the author. Begin with the story’s main character, creating a listing in the genealogy program for him or her. Most programs will then ask basic genealogy information such as:  First, middle, and last name, nickname, title (Mr. Dr. etc.), birth and death dates, places of birth and death, place buried and sometimes place of baptism. Then a notes section will allow you to write additional information about the character and to provide sources for your information (the last you may need for genealogy but probably not for fictional characters).

Beyond the individual person, the program will then allow you to create a marriage for the main character, another separate entry for his wife, a date and place for the marriage, a box to check if they were divorced, and individual listings for the children. Of course, if the character is not married and does not have kids, no need to do so, but perhaps your novel ends before he meets his future wife, but you secretly know he will marry two years after the novel ends so you would like to create this information anyway.

Almost as important as the character’s current marriage and children is information about his family background. Even if his parents and grandparents do not appear in the novel, I think it’s important to figure out where this character came from. Create entries for his parents and grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Perhaps you had not thought about his grandparents before, but now if you decide they were immigrants from Croatia, it could make a big difference compared to if they were Jews from Brooklyn or Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The family background is what usually shapes the character, his worldview, his motivations, fears, hopes and dreams.

Be sure you are specific with all the information you provide. In terms of dates, at the very least provide a year. Your character may be thirty years old and you’re writing the book in 2010, but by the time it’s published, it will be 2012. So does that mean he was born in 1980 or 1982, or is your book set in the 1960s, so maybe he was born in 1932 or 1938. You might even want to go so far as to make his birthday April 12 or December 3. Give birth years and possibly birth dates to all the other characters. Is it enough to say the main character’s grandparents were born in England, or do they need specifically to be born in York or London or Penzance? How does where his grandparents were born make a difference to the main character? Even if you never give specific years or dates in your novel, it can only make things easier for you in knowing these details for yourself.

It may seem like you are just creating unnecessary details, but these details will help you avoid discrepancies later so if you can’t remember how old the main character’s third daughter is, you can go back to check, and you can always change the facts in the genealogy program so long as you also change them in your novel. You will also be learning more about your character so he becomes multi-dimensional.

Interviewing characters is another great way to get to know and even to create them. I recommend you make up some kind of standard interview sheet, and you keep one for each character—especially the main character, but minor characters as well. The neighbor next-door character might need his own sheet—he might even need his own family tree. Most of the basic interview questions you would ask should already be in your genealogy program—name, date of birth etc. so the interview sheet is the place to find out not just details but what makes the character tick.

Be sure to include physical descriptions here. Of course, ask the basics about hair and eye color, height and weight, but then also consider how these might have changed. Was he born with blond hair but it turned brown by the time he was twenty? Did she weigh 250lbs in high school but is only 130lbs by the time she’s twenty-five? And of course, how did she lose the weight? What is your character’s most distinguishable feature? Is he happy with his physical appearance? Why or why not?

Find out all the details you can. Ask your character about his or her favorites: What is your favorite movie/book/flavor of ice cream? Find out the character’s past. What jobs have you held and when? What schools did you attend? When was your first date? When did you decide you wanted to be an astronaut?

How do other characters influence each individual character? If the main character’s grandpa died when he was sixteen, how did that effect him? If the main character decided when he finished college to move to Florida, how did his mother in Pennsylvania feel about her son being so far away? When Grandma left Italy after World War I, whom did she leave behind, and did she stay in touch with her family? How did Grandpa and Grandma raise the main character’s father, and how did that in turn effect how the main character was raised?

The questions you can ask are endless. The point is to ask a lot of questions. You are responsible for telling the story of this character’s life, even if the story only takes place over a few days or years. You want to get it right. You want to know the main character and all the minor characters inside and out. Often this additional information can lead to ideas for more books—even sequels or spin-offs.

Be a good data collector. Not only will it prevent you from making a mistake about your characters, but it will create richer, more realistic characters that your readers will enjoy.

The great magic of writing fiction is in the details, and the more you know the better. I have never forgotten the words of E.M. Forster: “Expansion. That is the idea the novelist must cling to. Not completion. Not rounding off but opening out.” You want to create a world that appears real, a world that feels like it will live and continue on by itself even after the last page of the book is read. Keeping good details about characters is the start of making that fictional world appear a reality.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.

Guest Post by Vincent Zandri

Suicide is never a pleasant topic. Nor is the mess it usually leaves behind for some poor soul (usually a spouse or significant other) to clean up afterwards. There are many ways for a man to kill himself (the majority of suicides are men). An initial inventory of them from off the top of my brain include, but are not limited to, gunshot to the head, hanging, drug overdose, jumping off a bridge (or a building), stepping out in front of a speeding locomotive…Ok, I’ll stop there.

But after I’d heard about an incident in which my paternal great grandfather killed himself by running a straight razor across his neck, I began to ponder the topic further. Apparently, he pulled off the grisly act while seated at the kitchen table along with his wife and kids. This rather shameful blemish on the family history was rarely spoken about by my father and when it was, it usually took the form of a hushed whisper to my mother. Even I wasn’t fully aware of it until early adulthood.

I can remember the initial horror I felt imagining what kind of psychosis someone would have to be experiencing in order to run a knife across one’s own throat. But then I also couldn’t help but imagine the horror of the people who were made to not only witness the act, like my grandfather for instance, but who also would have attempted to stem the flow of dark red arterial blood. I wondered what it must have been like to have had to clean up the blood that would have surely pooled on the floor and spattered the walls.

Many years later, while in New York City promoting my first thriller, I happened to come upon an art exhibit by renowned artist, Damien Hirst. The exhibit dealt with suicide by self-stabbing. In typical Hirst fashion, there were life-size human replicas trying to puncture their own chests, throats and faces with knives of varying lengths and styles. There were clinical drawings and sketches of documented self-stabbing suicide cases. I became fascinated at the effort and strength, not to mention will-power one would need in order to follow through with something so painful as self-mutilation by knife or razor.

By the time I got home, I knew that I wanted to write a new novel that somehow dealt with suicide by the knife (not the cutting of the wrists, which is relatively easy), and I wanted it to involve the cutting of the throat and the puncturing of the chest and stomach. But first I had to do some research. Between conversations with my personal physician and information available on the internet, I discovered that suicide by self stabbing, although rare, does occur. However, it is the most uncommon method of suicide there is (the most common form is gunshot to the head, unless of course you live in Hong Kong where you will most likely jump in front of a subway train if you want to end it all).

I sat back and thought the situation over. I wondered how easy it would be to make a murder by knife look like a suicide or vice-versa. I wondered if a situation in which a body was found mutilated by a knife, including a throat being cut, not unlike my grandfather, would either confound investigators or make them simply assume a suicide had occurred. But then, what if the guilty blade in question were missing from the crime scene?   

While I didn’t have the answer to these questions quite yet, I knew that at the very least, I was beginning to work out what would become the plot to my new noir novel.

Moonlight Falls author, Vincent Zandri, is an award-winning novelist, essayist and freelance photojournalist. His novel As Catch Can (Delacorte) was touted in two pre-publication articles by Publishers Weekly and was called "Brilliant" upon its publication by The New York Post. The Boston Herald attributed it as “The most arresting first crime novel to break into print this season.” Other novels include Godchild (Bantam/Dell) and Permanence (NPI). Translated into several languages including Japanese and the Dutch, Zandri’s novels have also been sought out by numerous major movie producers, including Heyday Productions and DreamWorks. Presently he is the author of the blogs, Dangerous Dispatches and Embedded in Africa for Russia Today TV (RT). He also writes for other global publications, including Culture 11, Globalia and Globalspec. Zandri’s nonfiction has appeared in New York Newsday, Hudson Valley Magazine, Game and Fish Magazine and others, while his essays and short fiction have been featured in many journals including Fugue, Maryland Review and Orange Coast Magazine. He holds an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College and is a 2010 International Thriller Writer’s Awards panel judge. Zandri currently divides his time between New York and Europe . He is the drummer for the Albany-based punk band to Blisterz.

Guest post by Irene Watson

The other day I received an email from a colleague alerting me to a specific website that gives book reviews and has a book awards program. As I perused the site I came across the bio of the owner and was perplexed at what I saw. The bio was embellished, and when I say "embellished" I'm being gentle.

My psychology background quickly kicked in and I wondered why this person needs to justify her position with lies. Why do people lie? There are several reasons and the first is fear - fear of not being accepted. If, for example, this person said she volunteered at a local library it wouldn't sound as good as saying she worked in a university library. (However, the university was not named.) Or, if she said she has been reviewing books for 3 years it wouldn't sound as good as 6 years. In her mind she is justifying her qualifications to the visitors of the site and feels she can get away with it, because, more than likely, anyone that knows the truth (family and friends) wouldn't be checking the site.

However, as we know, lies, pardon me...embellishments...do catch up to us. As authors, and as reviewers, we are putting ourselves "out-there" and no different than anyone else in the limelight, we are open to scrutiny. And, rightly so. When I check out a new service, or a new site, the first thing I look for is the "about us." Those that don't have a page to expose who they are, I move away from them. If there is a page talking about who they are, where they got their experience, and who they previously worked for, I take interest but don't take their word. I proceed to check out the person/people further. Trust me, there is nothing that isn't available on the internet.

So, what do we put into our bio or our "about us" page? The truth. For example, using the above information, the "reviewer" should have said what university she worked at. This gives credibility. Adding links gives even more credibility.

Credibility isn't gained through embellishments, it's gained through honesty.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.