Thursday, November 29, 2012
Is your story in time or out-of-step?
I watched a film the other night that was, by all accounts, a remarkably close adaptation of a book written by a very famous historical novelist who shall, in the interests of not incurring a libel action, remain nameless.
Why I mention it here is that, of its many plot holes, the worst (in my very humble opinion) were the numerous and very blatant ones relating to the passage of time. I don't mean the silly anachronisms such as seeing a plane flying over while watching Heathcliff doing his Jack Torrance impersonation (read The Shining) or the inevitable nerdy IMDB comment such as 'in the bathroom scene, the tube of toothpaste in the jar referred to a brand that didn't appear until 3 years later’. No, what I'm referring to is the way in which time is concertinaed for one party and then stretched for another.
A simple example. Let's look at the opposite of the well-known film, Home Alone which concentrated on the antics of the child left behind after his family flew to France for vacation. Suppose, instead, we remake the film about the holiday and ignore the child’s perspective. After an hour and a half of Francophonic antics, the family returns home to find the forgotten child sitting on the sofa watching telly. The End.
Wait! What does the kid do for a couple of weeks? How does he cope? What does he eat? What if Social Services or the Police find out he's there on his own?
This is a pretty obvious case but it does happen as proven by my film from the other night. Story forks (where principal characters go off and do different things for a significant period of time) make for interesting reading – they’re a valuable device for widening a book’s backdrop. However, they must be handled properly and the only way to avoid falling into a time-warp is to carefully consider every character and their situations. Can you account for what happens to them during the period of the fork?
I faced a similar situation in my novel, The Road. The book spans 9 years and has a number of principal characters, each of whom has their own perspective and experiences during this period. I didn't want to get into the situation where there were contradictions in my story so I put all the main data onto a spreadsheet. The far left-hand column contained the names of the characters and the subsequent columns the years and their seasons - one column per season.
I then went through and wrote the chapter numbers where a particularly character appeared in the appropriate cells. At the end, I had a map of the book which showed the progression of the protagonists through the 9-year period. Perhaps not surprisingly, there were a few minor anomalies. I went back, rewrote the affected chapters and then updated my timeline. At the end, I had a complex tale that spanned nearly a decade but which I knew with complete confidence would hold water if challenged.
There's a definite argument for either creating such a spreadsheet as you write or even in advance of typing the first word. Personally I find that trying to pre-empt the book cramps my style and I'd far rather 'get things down' than get bogged down with trying to avoid reinventing the Tardis. That’s just my preference.
Ultimately you should leave the plot holes to Hollywood (they do them so well). Your book needs to be perfect so take time out to create that timeline.
Clive West is co-owner of indie publisher Any Subject Books and you can see more about them on their website or on Facebook. He has written a full-length novel called The Road and also a collection of short stories called Hobson's Choice. Both are available in Kindle format and the anthology is also published in paperback format.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Clive West Book Tour Dates
As many of you may have noticed, we have a new contributing author here at All Things Writing----Mr. Clive West! His Thursday blog posts have been informative and insightful about the world of writing. Here is a little more about him:
Clive West was born in the West Country of England in the early 60's. He was educated at a traditional English public school before going on to university to study civil engineering. Over the years, he has worked as a civil engineer, tutor of maths and science, schools quiz-master, employment agency boss, and writer.
His work includes a collection of short stories with twists called Hobson's Choice (also available in print), a full-length novel called 'The Road' about the consequences of corruption on ordinary people and an accessible job hunting interview guide (based on his years of experience as the boss of an employment agency).
He has also written a book about lymphedema. This is a disfiguring, life-threatening and incurable disease he now suffers from and which his experience shows that most fellow patients have (like him) been abandoned by their respective health services.
Clive now lives in a rebuilt farmhouse in the Umbrian region of Italy along with Damaris, his writer wife of 22 years and their three rescue dogs. Apart from his fictional work, Clive also writes commercial non-fiction on a variety of topics but especially relating to business and employment. He and Damaris run an indie publishers called Any Subject Books Ltd – www.anysubject.com
You can also follow Any Subject Books on Facebook – www.facebook.com/anysubject
Clive is now disabled but, aside from his writing, he also enjoys playing the keyboard, listening to music and reading.
Contact details: books@anysubject.com
I've recently started reading Clive's novel, The Road and so far, I am loving it. One of the things I'm excited to promote on this blog is Clive's upcoming book tour through Virtual Book Cafe. Here is the link to that website so that you can check out his tour stops and other musings on writing.
Virtual Book Tour Cafe
Clive West was born in the West Country of England in the early 60's. He was educated at a traditional English public school before going on to university to study civil engineering. Over the years, he has worked as a civil engineer, tutor of maths and science, schools quiz-master, employment agency boss, and writer.
His work includes a collection of short stories with twists called Hobson's Choice (also available in print), a full-length novel called 'The Road' about the consequences of corruption on ordinary people and an accessible job hunting interview guide (based on his years of experience as the boss of an employment agency).
He has also written a book about lymphedema. This is a disfiguring, life-threatening and incurable disease he now suffers from and which his experience shows that most fellow patients have (like him) been abandoned by their respective health services.
Clive now lives in a rebuilt farmhouse in the Umbrian region of Italy along with Damaris, his writer wife of 22 years and their three rescue dogs. Apart from his fictional work, Clive also writes commercial non-fiction on a variety of topics but especially relating to business and employment. He and Damaris run an indie publishers called Any Subject Books Ltd – www.anysubject.com
You can also follow Any Subject Books on Facebook – www.facebook.com/anysubject
Clive is now disabled but, aside from his writing, he also enjoys playing the keyboard, listening to music and reading.
Contact details: books@anysubject.com
I've recently started reading Clive's novel, The Road and so far, I am loving it. One of the things I'm excited to promote on this blog is Clive's upcoming book tour through Virtual Book Cafe. Here is the link to that website so that you can check out his tour stops and other musings on writing.
Virtual Book Tour Cafe
Monday, November 26, 2012
Wisteria by Bisi Leyton---A Review
As I munched away on my Turduken this Thanksgiving, I started reading the novel, Wisteria which is making a stop today as part of a tour for Innovative Online Book Tours. I thought it was an appropriate read for this time of year, as it is a zombie book and the zombies are called biters. As I chewed away on the turkey leg, I couldn't help but see the irony there. What follows is my review of Wisteria. Enjoy!--Mary Ann
Book Title: Wisteria
Author Name: Bisi Leyton
Author Location (for press releases) London , England
Name of series and book number in series: Wisteria Series Book 1
Total Book in the Series: 3 so far
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Date of Publication: Aug 2012
ISBN: Paperback: 9781291114898
ASIN: B008XRI3BA
Number of pages: 275
Word Count: 90,000
Formats available: PDF and Mobi/prc
Cover Artist: Olivia Smith
Here is the blurb:
Sixteen year old Wisteria Kuti has two options—track the infected around the Isle of Smythe or leave the only known safe haven and face a world infested with flesh eating biters. But even with well-armed trackers, things go wrong and Wisteria ends up alone facing certain death, until she is rescued by the mysterious Bach. Uninfected, Bach is able to survive among the hordes of living dead.
Eighteen year old Bach, from a race known as The Family, has no interest in human affairs. He was sent here to complete his Great Walk and return home as a man—as a Sen Son. The Family regard humans as Dirt People, but Bach is drawn to this Terran girl, whom he has never seen before, but somehow knows.
Hunted by flesh eaters, cannibals, and the mysterious blood thirsty group called Red Phoenix, Wisteria and Bach make their way back to the Isle of Smythe, a community built on secrets and lies.
I felt like this author had a marvelous idea that was exciting and fun to read. She had some character development going with Wisteria who comes off as being a nice mixture of strength under pressure and vulnerability when it comes to the heart. I also really liked the idea of the alien race looking down on us as our planet is being destroyed by zombies due to the Nero virus. The end of the book hints at all sorts of possibilities as to the origin of the virus and the possible implications of it for Wisteria's family.
So lots of good ideas here....
But....
This book needed a good edit. There were lots of beginning writer mistakes which needed to be corrected. At times, the writing felt rushed, and at other times, very slow. The dialogue, in particular, was often frustrating for me because it was stilted and mechanical. I also think pieces of the story should have been introduced earlier and that the world of The Family/Bach should have been clearer. I think there is a great storyline with that particular group, too, but as it was written, I had trouble understanding who they were and why they were important. Bach comes off as a robot with PMS: one minute he's all worked up over Wisteria and two lines later, he's cold as ice. When that happens once or twice, a reader chalks it up as an odd character trait, but when it happens in every scene....well, then it's overused and makes the reader not like the character, which is too bad since he's supposed to be the hero and love interest of the story.
Sound a bit harsh? It is, I admit. But this writer has so much potential! All it would take to be truly great with this story and its sequels, is to make a few tweaks in the editing department. I would still recommend checking this book out and seeing what you think for yourself!
Here is the Kindle Buy Link: WISTERIA KINDLE
Below is the author info and the links to her book, along with an excerpt.
Author bio:
Bisi Leyton was born in East London in 1978. She grew up in London, Nigeria and the States, listening to the stories life and love from aunts, cousins and big sisters.
She lives in London, but has worked around Europe including France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the Czech Republic. She has a fondness for reading graphic novels.
* Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Wisteriabooks
* Current Blog: http://bisileyton.blogspot.com/
* Old Blog: http://bisileyton.wordpress.com/
* Twitter: @bisileyton
* Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/Bisileyton
Wisteria Excerpt:
Book Title: Wisteria
Author Name: Bisi Leyton
Author Location (for press releases) London , England
Name of series and book number in series: Wisteria Series Book 1
Total Book in the Series: 3 so far
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Date of Publication: Aug 2012
ISBN: Paperback: 9781291114898
ASIN: B008XRI3BA
Number of pages: 275
Word Count: 90,000
Formats available: PDF and Mobi/prc
Cover Artist: Olivia Smith
Here is the blurb:
Sixteen year old Wisteria Kuti has two options—track the infected around the Isle of Smythe or leave the only known safe haven and face a world infested with flesh eating biters. But even with well-armed trackers, things go wrong and Wisteria ends up alone facing certain death, until she is rescued by the mysterious Bach. Uninfected, Bach is able to survive among the hordes of living dead.
Eighteen year old Bach, from a race known as The Family, has no interest in human affairs. He was sent here to complete his Great Walk and return home as a man—as a Sen Son. The Family regard humans as Dirt People, but Bach is drawn to this Terran girl, whom he has never seen before, but somehow knows.
Hunted by flesh eaters, cannibals, and the mysterious blood thirsty group called Red Phoenix, Wisteria and Bach make their way back to the Isle of Smythe, a community built on secrets and lies.
I felt like this author had a marvelous idea that was exciting and fun to read. She had some character development going with Wisteria who comes off as being a nice mixture of strength under pressure and vulnerability when it comes to the heart. I also really liked the idea of the alien race looking down on us as our planet is being destroyed by zombies due to the Nero virus. The end of the book hints at all sorts of possibilities as to the origin of the virus and the possible implications of it for Wisteria's family.
So lots of good ideas here....
But....
This book needed a good edit. There were lots of beginning writer mistakes which needed to be corrected. At times, the writing felt rushed, and at other times, very slow. The dialogue, in particular, was often frustrating for me because it was stilted and mechanical. I also think pieces of the story should have been introduced earlier and that the world of The Family/Bach should have been clearer. I think there is a great storyline with that particular group, too, but as it was written, I had trouble understanding who they were and why they were important. Bach comes off as a robot with PMS: one minute he's all worked up over Wisteria and two lines later, he's cold as ice. When that happens once or twice, a reader chalks it up as an odd character trait, but when it happens in every scene....well, then it's overused and makes the reader not like the character, which is too bad since he's supposed to be the hero and love interest of the story.
Sound a bit harsh? It is, I admit. But this writer has so much potential! All it would take to be truly great with this story and its sequels, is to make a few tweaks in the editing department. I would still recommend checking this book out and seeing what you think for yourself!
Here is the Kindle Buy Link: WISTERIA KINDLE
Below is the author info and the links to her book, along with an excerpt.
Author bio:
Bisi Leyton was born in East London in 1978. She grew up in London, Nigeria and the States, listening to the stories life and love from aunts, cousins and big sisters.
She lives in London, but has worked around Europe including France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the Czech Republic. She has a fondness for reading graphic novels.
* Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Wisteriabooks
* Current Blog: http://bisileyton.blogspot.com/
* Old Blog: http://bisileyton.wordpress.com/
* Twitter: @bisileyton
* Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/Bisileyton
Wisteria Excerpt:
Excerpt:
As
she walked back to the ridge of the roof, Bach’s heart went with her. Someone
had tried to hurt her. Tried to damage what belonged to him, and who he
belonged to.
He
started to feel dizzy from the volumes of strangle weed planted in the front of
her house.
“Thank
you so much for coming and for the guitar. It’s perfect.” She gave it back to
him.
“No,
it is yours, Wisteria.” He refused to take it. “Do you not like it?”
“No,
I love it. It’s so beautiful.”
“Then
keep it.” He kissed her neck. Knowing—hoping—his touch would soothe her pain,
but he hadn’t come here to comfort her.
“Bach.”
She used her instrument as a shield as she moved away from him. “It’s a bad
idea. You won’t understand.”
“You
are right. I do not get why you would refuse something you apparently love,” he
whispered while rubbing her forearms and taking in her scent.
“If
I accept your kindness, then I’ll have to face the consequences. I don’t know
if I can face those.”
“You
cannot face accepting my kindness, or is it accepting me that you cannot face?”
“Um…?”
“Tell
me that you do not feel the same,” he whispered. “That the moment you first saw
me that I did not get inside your head. Tell me that you do not think about me
all of the time when we are not together?”
The
dark-eyed girl did not answer.
Wishing
he could will her to speak, he pressed her against his chest. Briefly, he
noticed a black spot at the base of her neck, where he had kissed her, and then
it was gone. “Okay, Wisteria. Then tell me that you want me to leave, and that
you do not care if you never ever see me again.” He felt like someone else was
speaking for him, once again. The questions became pointless as he found
himself still planting kisses along her neck and the sides of her face.
“I
can’t tell you that, Bach,” she replied softly, her voice breaking. “Because
it’s not true.” She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly.
Desperately
wanting to kiss her luscious-looking lips, he leaned into her.
Wisteria
reached up to him, tugging his head down as she stood on the very tips of her
toes, seemingly just as eager to taste his lips.
“Wisteria,
I cannot.” He broke away before it happened. “I do not want this.”
* * * * *
Wrapping
her arms around herself, she moved away from him. Once again, humiliated and
feeling foolish. “Goodnight, Bach!” She strode angrily to the side of the roof
in order to climb down.
He
grabbed her and held her back
The
guy came here just to tease her, yet again! Didn’t
he know he was hurting her? Didn’t
he care? “I’m
tired of all this nonsense. I’m actually tired and need some sleep. I’m done
with this. All of this!” She should’ve left the roof when she saw him appear.
“Let go, so I can go.”
“Wisteria,
it is not that.” Exhaling heavily, he released her. “My people could kill you
if they knew I wanted you.”
This
wasn’t at all what she’d expected him to say. “What?”
“I
am in love with you. I do not know why, but I am. And it is selfish, because I
just want you for myself.” Sadness filled his eyes as he spoke.
“Why
would they do that to me?”
“Because
you are human and because we see humans as Terran, or dirt people.”
“And
you believe that too? So why are you here, living among us, if we’re so
disgusting?”
“You
are not disgusting. You are beautiful.” Rubbing his temples, he seemed troubled
and bewildered. “I came to Terra as a rite of passage. To be considered a man,
to take a journey and experience the wild.”
“The
wild?”
“I
chose Terra, or Earth, because I came here as a child. Your people treated me
so badly in the past. When I learned about the Nero disease, I wanted to see
your world.” He paused. “You were right when you said there was something wrong
with me.”
“Bach,
it cannot be that bad.” Stepping up to him, she stroked her fingers along his
biceps.
The
sweet motion made him smile at her, but he still looked distressed.
“Like
about Garfield, you let him live with you. And now you’re here with me.”
“You
are not like the rest.”
“Neither
are you. You’re not so cold and cruel like Enric or patronizing like Felip.
They think they’re better than us. You just hate people because you’re a jerk,
Bach.”
“Ha.”
Bach laughed. “A jerk?”
“You’re
a big jerk.” As the final word rolled from her lips,
he kissed her.
She
was stunned for a second. His lips tasted like a strange, tantalizing spice.
He
squeezed her against his larger frame and rested his right hand on the small of
her back.
She
fidgeted, unsure about what to do with her hands. She tried to kiss him back,
but she struggled because she was so short.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Compiling a commercial writing bid
If you're getting into commercial writing as a way of making money, you won't get far unless you have a strategy regarding the compiling of your bids. Don’t worry, though, because I've got some suggestions that will boost your chances of being successful. I'm making one assumption and that is you've already signed up with one of the main freelancer sites.
Before we begin, I need you to completely accept that the PRIMARY objective is to win work, not reduce the time you spend putting bids together (although I will help you avoid wasting time).
My first rule is that all jobs are not created equal – some are fantastic, some are mediocre and some are <insert expletive of your choice>. Having used the freelancer website’s screening facility, go through each of the projects that you feel able to take on and make an assessment of:
Having established the above, stream the bids into 3 categories along the following lines:
It's very important to learn that it's far better to send out half a dozen properly targeted bids than a hundred or more 'one size fits all' quotes. If the client has to make guesses about you, they just won't bother. It's very simple.
Now the bid itself.
If you were to pretend to be a client (I'd never suggest such a thing) and put up an imaginary job, you'd get a number of responses, most of which would be:
Consequently, you need to make sure that your bid:
.
The bid needs to answer the following questions:
Always address the job. Even in the most clear-cut of bids, find some snippet of the project briefing that you can mention in your tender just to prove that you've read the job description. Most of your competitors will only have scan-read it at best so this simple act immediately makes you stand out from the crowd.
Isolate the client's core requirement and state how you have the experience and knowledge to tackle it. Leave them in no doubt that they’d be in good hands if they chose you.
By targeting your quote you can leave out irrelevant rates. Thus, if the bid is for editing, why include your hourly rate for cover design? If your bid is accepted, it IS a good idea to include your other rates on the contract that you will be required to draw up however don't confuse the client with all this now - stick to just quoting for what they've asked.
If you can, send 3 to 6 samples of your work. Make sure that these are as relevant as possible and that each bears your name - ideally as a footer and as a watermark <Format, Background, Printed Watermark in Word>. You should then turn the samples into pdf's before sending. Unless you are acquainted with a client, for all you know, they could be just collecting writing samples that they can use themselves.
Beware of sending a former client copies of items you wrote for them because that might be deemed breach of their copyright or distribution rights and you may be putting your head in a noose.
And the best way of assessing your bid (apart from the price)? Pretend you're the client and your bid has just come through by email – if the price was right, would you give you the job?
Clive West spent 16 years as an estimator in the highly-competitive construction industry. In that time, he literally submitted thousands of tenders and drew up countless hundreds of contracts. Since then, he has gone on to become a very successful and sought-after commercial writer.
He is also co-owner of indie publisher Any Subject Books and you can see more about them on their website or on Facebook.
Click on the link to see a complete list of the books published by Any Subject Books Ltd.
Before we begin, I need you to completely accept that the PRIMARY objective is to win work, not reduce the time you spend putting bids together (although I will help you avoid wasting time).
My first rule is that all jobs are not created equal – some are fantastic, some are mediocre and some are <insert expletive of your choice>. Having used the freelancer website’s screening facility, go through each of the projects that you feel able to take on and make an assessment of:
- How much the job interests you
- What the total payment's likely to be
- The track record of the client
- Whether there's likely to be more work from the client
How much the job interests you
You want job satisfaction and you'll be alone with this writing for a long time.What the total payment's likely to be
It takes just as much time and effort getting started on a small job as a big one and most clients won't expect to pay you for this set up cost. Consequently you get a better return on your initial time investment if it's a bigger project.The track record of the client
See how many invoices they've paid, how much they add up to and how long they made the freelancers wait. Look at their disputes record. Do they have a 'tame' writer? If so, why aren't they using them? Is your price just a stick to beat the regular guy with? What reviews have they given out and what did the jobs relate to?Whether there's likely to be more work
If you can get to be that tame freelancer, you’ll be in the enviable position of being able to negotiate future work or even just get it 'on the nod'.Having established the above, stream the bids into 3 categories along the following lines:
- Professional client, good track record, interesting job, good return.
- New client, OK job, reasonable return.
- New client, not very appealing job, moderate to low return.
It's very important to learn that it's far better to send out half a dozen properly targeted bids than a hundred or more 'one size fits all' quotes. If the client has to make guesses about you, they just won't bother. It's very simple.
Now the bid itself.
If you were to pretend to be a client (I'd never suggest such a thing) and put up an imaginary job, you'd get a number of responses, most of which would be:
- Badly written
- Generic (i.e. they're just a copy and paste affair)
- Irrelevant
- Confusing regarding the price
Consequently, you need to make sure that your bid:
- Comes well written, is grammar and spelling checked, is lucid and properly set out.
- Demonstrates to the client that you have actually read and understood what will be required.
- Establishes that you are capable of carrying out the project to a good standard.
- States the price in an unequivocal manner.
.
The bid needs to answer the following questions:
- Who are you?
- Why do you believe you are capable of doing the job to a high standard?
- What do you charge?
- Can you prove what you say?
Always address the job. Even in the most clear-cut of bids, find some snippet of the project briefing that you can mention in your tender just to prove that you've read the job description. Most of your competitors will only have scan-read it at best so this simple act immediately makes you stand out from the crowd.
Isolate the client's core requirement and state how you have the experience and knowledge to tackle it. Leave them in no doubt that they’d be in good hands if they chose you.
By targeting your quote you can leave out irrelevant rates. Thus, if the bid is for editing, why include your hourly rate for cover design? If your bid is accepted, it IS a good idea to include your other rates on the contract that you will be required to draw up however don't confuse the client with all this now - stick to just quoting for what they've asked.
If you can, send 3 to 6 samples of your work. Make sure that these are as relevant as possible and that each bears your name - ideally as a footer and as a watermark <Format, Background, Printed Watermark in Word>. You should then turn the samples into pdf's before sending. Unless you are acquainted with a client, for all you know, they could be just collecting writing samples that they can use themselves.
Beware of sending a former client copies of items you wrote for them because that might be deemed breach of their copyright or distribution rights and you may be putting your head in a noose.
And the best way of assessing your bid (apart from the price)? Pretend you're the client and your bid has just come through by email – if the price was right, would you give you the job?
Clive West spent 16 years as an estimator in the highly-competitive construction industry. In that time, he literally submitted thousands of tenders and drew up countless hundreds of contracts. Since then, he has gone on to become a very successful and sought-after commercial writer.
He is also co-owner of indie publisher Any Subject Books and you can see more about them on their website or on Facebook.
Click on the link to see a complete list of the books published by Any Subject Books Ltd.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
3 Reasons A Book Giveaway Can Help the Indie Author
Someone asked me why book giveaways are important. After all, aren't I losing money by giving away free copies? Sure, I am. But on the other hand, I could be gaining something even more valuable--readers and fans. It's basically the same concept writers are using to present their books for free in Kindle's Top 100 Free list. Here are several reasons writers participate in giveaways.
1. Giveaways create fans--it's all about the readers! A great way to begin building your fan base is by getting your name out there. There are so many ways to do this, but giving a reader a free copy of your book is one of the best. You're putting the your words directly into their hands and hoping they like it, will want more, and spread the word to their friends!
2. It helps generate reviews. Ever wonder how writers get reviews? We don't all have a NY Times critic in our back pocket! Many of us have to rely on readers posting their thoughts about the work on the web or places like Goodreads. It's another way to get the word out.
3. Giveaways can actually boost sales. If a reader likes your work, it's possible they'll want to check out what else you 've written and this time pay for it!
I think giveaways also help you show your fans and readers that you care, that you get that times are tough, and they don't want to spend money on something they may or may not like. It shows confidence in your work, too, displaying that you feel it's good enough to draw people in and perhaps influence them to check out your other novels.
I've done several giveaways and been pleased with the results every time. I especially like it when people are so excited about winning that they take the time to email me and let me know what they want their signed copy to say. It really is fun for me, too.
Have you done book giveaways? What have the results been for you? What worked? What didn't?
1. Giveaways create fans--it's all about the readers! A great way to begin building your fan base is by getting your name out there. There are so many ways to do this, but giving a reader a free copy of your book is one of the best. You're putting the your words directly into their hands and hoping they like it, will want more, and spread the word to their friends!
2. It helps generate reviews. Ever wonder how writers get reviews? We don't all have a NY Times critic in our back pocket! Many of us have to rely on readers posting their thoughts about the work on the web or places like Goodreads. It's another way to get the word out.
3. Giveaways can actually boost sales. If a reader likes your work, it's possible they'll want to check out what else you 've written and this time pay for it!
I think giveaways also help you show your fans and readers that you care, that you get that times are tough, and they don't want to spend money on something they may or may not like. It shows confidence in your work, too, displaying that you feel it's good enough to draw people in and perhaps influence them to check out your other novels.
I've done several giveaways and been pleased with the results every time. I especially like it when people are so excited about winning that they take the time to email me and let me know what they want their signed copy to say. It really is fun for me, too.
Have you done book giveaways? What have the results been for you? What worked? What didn't?
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