Authors Electric

You've gotta give it to the ancient Greeks. They pulled a sweetheart of a trick thousands of years ago, so sweet we still remember it. In fact, we have a phrase for it: Beware of Greeks bearing gifts . Gifts like a giant wooden horse given to a city...and rolled in with armed troops inside it. Troy fell because of that but the horse will live forever along with our awe of Greek cunning. What might happen, you might wonder, if the gift could be reversed--and a well-meant, beautifully wrapped gift arrived...and was received as bearing grease ? Grease in the sense that the gift is seen as smeared with ambition, deceit, and base pride. This actually happens too often. Because of the volume of spam and links meant to hack us not give us a thing, we've all grown jaded and suspicious. And few things set our teeth on edge like a slick trick from a half-witted writer. It could be someone you've just befriended on Facebook. Within minutes, you receive a gushing, greasy email: Dear Fr...

Editing The image of the writer sitting alone, huddled over a typewriter is a long held image. For much of the time this is true, although we now have the modern equivalent - a computer and word processor. However, writers do spend a lot of time in solitary confinement, writing.  And of course there is editing to be done. This really does necessitate being alone, usually with a vast expanse of table, highlighters, red pen, a Thesaurus and a Dictionary. Most writers will tell you at this is hard slog, and yet somehow satisfying. Often it seems to take longer than writing the book in the first place. Then there's rewriting and re-editing. You get the picture.  What has this got to do with marketing I hear you ask? A fine question indeed. The above leads me on to the first tip I have for marketing your books.  1. The most important task you can do to market your book is write a good book in the first place. The better the book, the more likely readers a...

One of my friends gave me a healthy living magazine recently. She passed it on as there were some gluten free recipes that she thought I might like. Inside was a small article extolling the benefits of reading. Seemingly reading can reduce stress levels and prevent anxiety. I am sure all readers knew this anyway but, heck, it's always good to have these things backed up by research. I would have loved to have been one of the subjects for this particular research study. Anyway I digress slightly.  So what of reading as a writer. I read a blog post this morning which got me thinking about the different ways in which I read. Also the variety of books I read. The first, and I feel more important, way in which I read, is purely as a reader. I read to get enjoyment from the novels written by others. I immerse myself in the story and spend time in another world. I read for enjoyment and the thrill of being swept away by the story. I would have said that I had catholic tastes in r...

Imagine that ebooks fall into four types, each of them with its own scent. 1) The first, of course, is the most common. And we may call it Stinky Pants: Stinky is generally spotted about the same time that he's smelled. The insufferable odor is one of perversely proud despair: 'I'm not very good at this so there's no point up in cleaning up in any unmentionable places: cover design, book description, editing, proofing, etc.  Some day, with a little work, I may become an amateur. Till then, support me, please, while I try to find time to learn how to write. This book's my first--be gentle, please. Just bend over and...inhale.' Moving onward, thank you! 2) The second, more tolerable scent could be labeled Knock-Off Spray. Like Walgreens' Instyle line of fragrances, these are knock-offs--or impressions--of authentic, best-selling colognes and perfumes. Just as the Walgreens versions smell, for several minutes, like the authentic brands, Discoun...

SILVER RAIN will be FREE for Valentine’s Day. ‘You’re giving away your latest title? That’s crazy!’ I agree.   However, the indie industry is still relatively new and as with all things internet, the goal-posts are forever changing. Even in the ancient days of traditional publishing, books were gifted in an effort to raise profile, so paying for promotion and offering free material, is not going to go away. My experiment was more about the quest for visibility. Giving away books remains a controversial argument. I admit, I find it hugely discouraging that as indie authors we are expected (quite rightly) to present carefully edited books with professional formatting and covers... but for free. I’ve never done it, not with a full-length novel which has taken me a year to produce. I have a set of short stories long-term free, but I’m not convinced it directs readers to seek out my other titles, no matter how much they enjoyed the material. Why should they? All readers need to do is w...