Writers in the Storm

Writers In The Storm is pleased to welcome Big Al, our first reviewer!

Looking at the posts on the Writers In The Storm Blog and reading the bios of the contributors I was reminded of one of my favorite things to say about what I do: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, review.”

I know, not very original, which is at least part of the reason why I’m not an author.

Assuming this blog’s readers are as accomplished and varied as the contributors, what could I have to say of value? I was told that I’m the first reviewer to guest post here, which means the range of subjects should be wide open, right? The request even included a few ideas. Rather than say a lot about one thing, I decided to say a little on two subjects, the world of book reviewing in general and how to increase your chances of getting your book reviewed.

Today’s book blogger isn’t yesterday’s book reviewer

No matter how your book gets published, unless your last name is Patterson, Roberts, or Grisham, a review of your book in a big daily newspaper or somewhere like People magazine is becoming harder to come by as book review sections are shrinking and even being dropped. However, thousands of people, just like me, are filling the gap. Some differences are obvious (I’m not aware of any book review blog with the readership of the New York Times). Some might not be.

The biggest difference I see is that we aren’t normally professionals. I don’t mean our blogs aren’t run in a professional way (I think most try) or that we make just a trivial amount of money for our efforts (although that is reality for most). But the typical newspaper or magazine review was written by a fellow author or at least someone who was a professional writer. Today’s book blogger, while sometimes an author or a wannabe, is more likely to be an avid reader who can manage to string enough words together to write a review.

What that means is that he or she is more likely to approach the review as a reader, not an author. The concerns of one are not necessarily going to be the same as the other. Issues of technique, symbolism, and deeper meaning may take a back seat to the important questions of “did I like these characters?” and “was I entertained.” Look at any of the bestselling authors that many of your peers look down their nose at - Stephanie Meyers, James Patterson, and Dan Brown all come to mind as possibilities - and look at the number of books they’ve sold. They may not appeal to authors, but they do to many readers.

Think of it as amplified word of mouth

While a review from a newspaper or magazine has a large potential audience, a majority of that audience isn’t a likely reader of your book. In fact, a lot of that audience rarely reads books at all. A review from a book blogger has a smaller audience, but that audience is always going to consist of readers. The more specialized the blog, the more likely those readers will be your target audience.

I like to view a book blog as more like word of mouth, only amplified. And word of mouth is one of the best ways for readers to become aware of your book. One recent example of what readers talking to each other can do for a book is Hugh Howey’s Wool that hit the top of the bestseller lists fueled almost exclusively by word of mouth.

It’s a numbers game

Getting a review from any particular book blog isn’t going to make or break your marketing efforts. Few book blogs are going to give your book the boost that a review from The New York Times Review of Books or Publisher’s Weekly would do. Getting reviews from book blogs is a numbers game. No individual can possibly review all the books that are queried or submitted. But the more bloggers you approach, the more reviews you’ll get to help build word of mouth.

Do your homework

However, I have some hints to help you tip the scales in your favor and increase the chances of getting reviewed by any particular blog. These hints fall into two categories, do your homework and follow the recipe.

Homework involves doing some minimal research on the blogs you approach. Do they have a specialty and, if so, how well does your book fit? Even if the blog says it reviews all genres, if they’ve never reviewed erotica or Christian Fiction, your book probably isn’t going to be their first.

There are tens of thousands of book blogs to choose from. One way to quickly find those most likely to be a good fit is to find a directory of blogs in your genre or other niche. Google “YA Book blog directory” and you’ll find this directory (http://yabookblogdirectory.blogspot.com/) of over 1,300 blogs that specialize in reviewing Young Adult books. Doing the same search on “indie book blog list” you’ll find The IndieView  http://www.theindieview.com/  (a site I happen to run) that has a database of several hundred book blogs that are open to reviewing “indie books” (those that are self-published or published by small presses) with details on genre preferences and links to the site. Any search with your genre, “book blog” and a word like directory, list, or database as search terms will uncover multiple lists.

Just like baking a cake

Once you’ve found a good candidate, a blog that seems to like and review books such as yours, the single biggest thing you can do to increase your odds of getting a review from that blog is, just like baking a cake, follow the recipe or instructions on their submission or contact page. If the instructions say to query first with specific information, don’t send them an electronic copy of your book or neglect to give the information requested. If the blog’s submission instructions indicate to send an electronic copy of your book in a specific format, don’t query first or send an electronic version in a different format. Either of these are likely to result in your request being deleted or filed in the “don’t bother” folder

Now Build that Word of Mouth

Although it may seem too simple, by doing your homework to identify those book blogs that are a good fit before approaching them and following directions, you’ll put yourself ahead of a large percentage of your peers. Now it’s time to go give word of mouth a jump start. Good luck.

About BigAl

An avid reader for just shy of half a century, BigAl (who claims not to have a last name) spends the majority of his waking hours sitting at the computer. After working his day job (in front of the computer) his evenings are spent scheduling posts for The IndieView and thinking how happy he is to have never had the urge to become a writer. Then he’ll write reviews for his book review site, BigAl’s Books and Pals http://booksandpals.blogspot.com//, or work on his next post for Indies Unlimited http://www.indiesunlimited.com/ (a website for the indie author and those who read them). Those times BigAl manages to escape the computer are usually spent hanging out with his four grandchildren.

NOTE: Thank you to everyone who commented on the two-part blog by Jane Porter. Congratulations to lrtrovi who's the winner of Jane's "goodie bag."

This is Part Four is a five-part series on the science of why (and how) we fall in love based on a four-day workshop Fae Rowen attended on Attachment Styles. In case you missed any of the information, you can access Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3 by clicking on the links. Part Five (on Monday, June 24) will tie all the styles together and throw in current brain research tips that will help you create characters with believable emotions and actions--characters that your readers are hard-wired to fall in love with.

by Fae Rowen

Today we'll look at the fourth and final attachment style, the Disoriented/Disorganized Style. Don't be fooled by the name. Remember that your character's attachment style results from the parent's behavior. As an infant and toddler, this child survived interactions with the caregiver that were chaotic, frightening, and disorienting.

This child will run toward, then abruptly run away, from the caregiver. The child needs the parent but, at the same time, feels unsafe with him. S/he may run in circle, fall down for no apparent reason, rock back and forth, hit her head against a wall, exhibit trance-like states, or avert his gaze when the parent returns.

The parent's communication to the child contains "double binds" like "come here, go away" messages that present the child with an unsolvable problem. They give conflicting signals that make no sense to the child. Communication with a disturbing lack of clarity sets the child up for predictable failure. When the parent is internally triggered into sudden shifts of extreme states without reference to the child's signals, the child's world becomes dangerous and confusing.

As a result, the child cannot use the caregiver to soothe, because the caregiver is the source of the fear. Secure Attachment is designed around safety for the child. But when the child experiences physical, emotional or sexual abuse, a dis-attached/disorganized attachment style is developed.

Your Disoriented/Disorganized Attachment character is particularly well-suited as a protagonist in a suspense or mystery. Because of their childhood issues, they are particularly sympathetic to readers even before their entire backstory is revealed. Unfortunately, many readers will personally identify with the adult characteristics of this attachment style.

Unlike the other attachment styles, this character has minimal possibility of the flight or fight response. S/he tends to freeze into trance-like stillness and dissociate as a survival mechanism.

Possible Ramifications in Adult Relationships

• Social difficulties
• Attention deficits
• Lack of coherence
• May become aggressive with others or exhibit a controlling style due to danger experienced with out-of-control caregiver
• Unsolvable paradoxes lead to overwhelming feelings most of the time
• Cannot solve problems
• May use the present tense to describe the past
• May have prolonged pauses in speech
• Has the greatest risk of psychiatric disorders
• May experience panic or rage when getting close to another in relationship
• Can experience extreme shifts of mood
• Easily triggered into frustration, fear, or despair when circumstances are unclear
• Inner chaos and turmoil brings a higher level of self-absorption
• Wants relationship deeply, but fears relationship will be dangerous
• May not experience the feeling of true protection even when it is available
• May stay in an abusive or non-supportive relationship because they have not developed "good radar" for danger
• Due to the amount of fear from relational trauma, they are easily triggered by partner to set off intense survival urges
• Flight/fight urges make it difficult to stay and calmly resolve conflicts using effective skills
• May ignore early signals of inappropriate language, touch or behavior and discount any "bad vibes" they have

How can this character heal? It seems not only unlikely, but impossible. Not true. Those with a Disoriented/Disorganized Attachment Style can develop a Secure Attachment Style. The following "repair" messages can be verbally or non-verbally conveyed to build the security necessary for a secure attachment to form.

• I am sorry I scared you.
• Let's all calm down and talk.
• I will protect you and stand up for you.
• I will be your safe haven.
• You can trust me to be here for you and to keep you safe from the world.
• You can trust me to keep you safe within our relationship.
• I will repair the relationship when disruptions happen.
• I am paying attention to you and what you need.
• Let me give you clear directions.

A competent protector is particularly important to this character, hence the woman-in-danger protected by a Navy Seal or a detective. The black moment will be when your character disbelieves one of the repair messages she's been given.

Of course, male characters can have this style. They may have developed their "competent protectors" as a child from movies or books or pets. They use clarity to decrease states of confusion. They may be what we'd call "adrenaline junkies" and need danger--or drama-- consistently in their lives. Of course, female characters with Disoriented styles can do all of these things, too.

The key is that this character must separate their attachment style from their heightened survival instinct. As their partner assists in this endeavor to return to a Secure Attachment Style, the process of the two of them falling in love will connect with your reader at a much deeper level, because we all know people with this style.

Do you have a character that can be enhanced with this information? How can you use these traits to ramp up your black moment?

Join Fae on Monday, June 24, when she concludes this series. Oh, early next month she's taking the workshop again to pick up more tips. She'll be passing those on in Part Five.

NOTE: We’re going to put randomizer to work on Sunday and pick one name from everyone who commented on either Part 1 or Part 2 of Jane’s post. The winner of a “Jane Porter Goodie Package” will be announced on Monday, May 20.

by Jane Porter

On Wednesday I talked about the first 5 keys to success. Today I’m going to lay out the last 5 tips.

6. Flexibility is Essential to Survival

I owe this important insight to the stellar Stella Cameron.  I should have figured this one out on my own, but I didn’t.  Instead I spent the past couple of years banging my head against the wall, and then throwing myself against the wall, determined to make the wall move.  I was Jane Porter.  I am nothing if not fierce and tenacious.  I would make the wall move by my determination alone.

The wall didn’t move.  I just got hurt, and discouraged, and the futility of my actions impacted my writing, as well as my sense of self-worth.

We can’t control the industry.  We can only control ourselves, and I wasn’t doing a very good job of controlling myself, and it wasn’t because I didn’t lack conviction.  It was because I’d overdeveloped my muscle and grit, and failed to develop flexibility and balance.

The tough Jane realized during Stella’s fantastic keynote at the Emerald City Conference that great intentions and dense muscle aren’t enough … one has to be able to shift, adapt, evolve.

One has to choose to be flexible.  One has to make a conscious commitment to stretch, bend, yield, experiment.  If traditional publishing isn’t working for you now, experiment with e-publishing.  If what you’re writing now isn’t finding enough readers, take risks and try something new.  If you feel beat up or discouraged by publishing, spend some time focusing on what would give you pleasure, make that a priority.

Make you a priority.  Not you, the writer, but you, the person.

Make sure you’re getting what you need for a wonderful life.  Work out both sides of your muscles and take plenty of time to stretch.  And then stretch some more.  You must be agile to survive.  You must have hope and joy to thrive.

7. Success = Market Knowledge, Business Acumen, & Balls

Some of my biggest mistakes early in my career were in not getting proper market knowledge.  Then I figured out that massive learning curve and started selling, and succeeding.  I got comfortable.  Happy.  I knew what I was doing, I liked what I was doing, all was good.

And then, without consulting me, the industry started to change.  Amazon came on the scene.  The Barnes & Noble and Borders war swallowed up the small B. Daltons and Waldenbooks, and chased away lots of the indie stores.  The battles intensified and then Borders got in trouble, and you know all this … we all know this.

But Darwinian Jane, committed to the Survival of What Jane was Doing Well, was going to continue with Jane’s Plan.  So caveman-like, I pushed myself harder.  Wrote more.  Promoted more.  Spent way too much on publicity because I believed in the books I was writing, and was determined to reach my readers…even though it was harder to find them since trade fiction is still very print dependent.  Less than 50% of my trade readers, read on a device.  Now the romance reader has embraced e-readers.  The romance reader is at the front of the change.  The romance reader loves new things.  But the romance reader isn’t going to pay $10 for a Kindle download of my women’s fiction, and the bookstores that carry trade books are far and few and inbetween in many parts of the country now.

So despite my fierce, focused resolve, my passion, my commitment of time and resources, my trade books weren’t doing what I wanted them to do.  The results weren’t what I’d hoped.  The print runs were smaller, the sales smaller which doesn’t equal success in the traditional print world.

And there lies the problem.

Publishing is switching over to e.  Traditional publishers are pushing e over p.

Jane Porter—the writer—hadn’t.

Thankfully I had an epiphany a few months ago that I’m on my way to becoming extinct.  It was a jolt to the system, but the wake up call was just what I needed.

I’m a good writer.  A passionate writer.  There’s no need for me to give up, die out, or fade away.  I just need to refocus, and relearn the market.  I’ve spent the past four months revisiting my goals, my stories, my themes and see lots of opportunity ahead.  But it meant giving up contracts I’ve held for years.  It meant walking away from ‘a sure thing’, or perceived security for the new Wild Wild West of Publishing.

But its good.  It’s exciting.  And its not as if one has to give up all traditional publishing for new e-opportunities.  You can have both.  You can juggle, balance, risk, as well as stand back and watch…evaluate, experiment, play.

You can do anything you want.  Isn’t that amazing news?

8. Perspective

The great thing about having published 40+ books over the past 13 years is that I’ve been beat up good.  I’m still kicking and smiling.  And best of all, I’ve got some perspective now.

I believe we can succeed.  But success (at least for me) isn’t just about money.   Money is important.  It pays bills, and being paid well gives one pride and a sense of self-worth.  But I also want respect.  Appreciation.  I want my print readers to still be able to find me in a store.  And then I want to write the story that my reader will cherish for years to come.

Clearly, for me, publishing is more than putting a book out there.  I have a whole hierarchy of needs that must be met by my writing, and I didn’t get to this point overnight.

But then, most of us do not become successful authors overnight.  Most of us have to grapple with learning the craft, with understanding the different markets, with discovering which editors will buy what, or which e–platform will give us the results we want.

So give yourself time to adjust to the learning curve.  Learn. 

Also, to use my friend Sinclair’s expression, know what you bring to the party.  What do you do best as a writer?  Where are your strengths?  What are your weaknesses?  These are ten market things I think every writer should know:

• Be able to identify your Voice
• Find a genre/line/style that suits your Voice
• It’s not necessary to go for the hard sale first
• Conversely, don’t merely reach for low hanging fruit.
• Avoid jumping from manuscript to manuscript, or genre to genre indiscriminately
• Don't target a genre or publisher you don’t read
• Don't send a query, or self publish a book, before its ready
• Know your market hooks – hooks still sell books
• Don't go overboard with market hooks – keep it fresh
• Know when the horse is dead  (i.e., don’t be Cavewoman Jane)
• Don't try to please everyone

9.  Quality Drives Success

Quality is huge.

Quality is everything.

Our readers deserve extraordinary stories.  Our readers deserve to be delighted, enchanted, surprised, moved, entertained.  Give your readers your very best story, each and every time.  Your readers will thank you, and they’ll repay you with loyalty and making you an auto-buy.

Apply high standards to every aspect of the writing and publishing process:  writing, editing, copy-editing, formatting, pricing, art, covers and blurbing, marketing.

Make quality part of your brand.  You’ll never regret it.  Readers love a success story.

10. The Successful Professional

I’ve learned to weather storms.  I still don’t like them.  I prefer blue skies and bright sunny days.  78 degrees is perfect.  No humidity, please.  But life isn’t like that.  Publishing isn’t like that, either. Therefore we must learn to deal with stress, pressure, and reality, with grace.  Dignity.  And that all important humor.

There are times our careers will fly.  There are times we will struggle.

I have enjoyed tremendous success, and I have had books that just didn’t sell.  I’ve had critical success, too, financial success, and then I’ve had challenges that made me question my sanity and my desire to continue with this career.

Editors can be difficult.  Publishers capricious.  Readers fickle, or critical.  Writers judgmental.

The writing life can be hard on families.  The writing life can be hard on one’s sense of self.  So strive for excellence, and yet hang on to your sense of humor.  Forgive yourself when things go wrong.  Savor the successes.  Protect your muse.   Guard your heart.  Cherish your real friends, the ones that are strong and kind and supportive.

Publishing is a very small world.  Be the writer editors and other writers want to work with.  People talk.  Publishing is constantly evolving.  Editors change houses.   Editors become agents, agents become publishers, readers become reviewers, reviewers become social media mavericks…

We don’t know the future.  We can make predictions but things change.  We know that now.  Ten years ago New York had all the power in publishing.  Ten years ago I couldn’t imagine a world without a bookstore on every corner  (okay, I lived in Seattle with its proliferation of coffee houses and bookstores).  We’ve learned that we’re going to have to be flexible, and adapt.

And we can.

Just remember, we’re in this for the long haul.  And we’re not just going to survive.  We’re going to thrive!

About Jane

Bestselling author of the  Jane Porter has been a finalist for the prestigious RITA award four times, has over 12 million copies in print.  Jane’s novel, Flirting With Forty, picked by Redbook as its Red Hot Summer Read, went back for seven printings in six weeks before being made into a Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear.  September 2012 brought the release of The Good Woman, the first of her Brennan Sisters trilogy, followed in February 2013 by The Good Daughter, and book three in the series, The Good Wife, is slotted for release in September.  A mother of three sons, Jane holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and makes her home in sunny San Clemente, CA with her surfer husband.

Find Jane at:
http://janeporter.com/
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorjanep