For short stories, I typically self-publish them first as free ebooks, until I have enough of them to bundle together in a collection. I’ve found that this is a great way to give new readers a taste of my writing and engage my already existing fans. It also helps to market the collections, which is… Continue reading Why I won’t be publishing “The New Covenant” as a free short story single
Tag: bad reviews
Things I learned in 2014 (Part 1)
Last week, Kris Rusch wrote an interesting blog post reflecting on 2014 and things she observed that indie writers learned, so I thought I’d do something similar and reflect on some of the things that I learned last year about the business and the craft. Here goes! Readers of SF&F want longer books. I did… Continue reading Things I learned in 2014 (Part 1)
Thoughts on writers, reviewers, and stalkers
The bookish side of the English-speaking internet exploded last week with an article in The Guardian about an author who stalked a Goodreads reviewer, showing up unannounced on the reviewer’s doorstep and going to great lengths to expose the reviewer’s identity. The crazy part–or crazier, I guess, since the whole thing is batshit crazy–is that… Continue reading Thoughts on writers, reviewers, and stalkers
“It was too short.”
This, by far, is the number one criticism I seem to get in my negative book reviews. I never quite know what to think of it. On the one hand, a reader wouldn’t say something like that unless they thought it was good, since if they hated the book completely they would say something like… Continue reading “It was too short.”
R is for Reviews
Reviews are for readers, not for writers. That’s my cardinal rule. I know that some readers love interacting with authors on their books’ review pages, and I know that some indies try to make it a point to respond to every review, but I’ve seen that sort of thing blow up so many times that… Continue reading R is for Reviews
My mom gave my book three stars
Some people complain about how indie authors hit up their friends and family to give them five-star reviews…well, last week I gave the Createspace proof for Genesis Earth to my Mom, and today I noticed that she posted a three-star review for the book on Goodreads. 😛 It’s a cute one, though. This is what she… Continue reading My mom gave my book three stars
My first 1 star review
Well, I went through a significant rite of passage over the weekend: I got my first one star review on Amazon. The review was for “From the Ice Incarnate,” which doesn’t really surprise me because it’s currently my lowest rated story. The biggest complaint seems to be that it feels more like a vignette than a… Continue reading My first 1 star review
Breaking the Top 10, and a big thank you
As I’m writing this, “Memoirs of a Snowflake” holds the #8 spot in the Kindle Store for the general short story category — #150 overall. Almost 1,000 people have downloaded it since it went free over the weekend, and it’s already garnered some fantastic reviews! All this positive attention makes me want to thank all… Continue reading Breaking the Top 10, and a big thank you
Should authors respond to reviews?
In the last six days since it went free, “From the Ice Incarnate” has had almost 2,250 downloads, and with so much attention, reviews are starting to trickle in. Amazon has a very elegant system, which not only allows other readers to vote on whether a review is helpful, but to comment and start a… Continue reading Should authors respond to reviews?
Disappointment and a shift in direction
So the latest round of judging for the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award came out today…and Genesis Earth didn’t make the cut. Oh well, at least I made it to the quarter finals. Most of the reviews were encouraging, though the one from Publisher’s Weekly made me wonder if the reviewer had something against science… Continue reading Disappointment and a shift in direction