Books You Don't Like and Ones You Do

 

We had a quiet but nice Christmas. Home alone but phone calls with our children and grandchildren made the day. Now, we move on towards the end of the year 2020. I can't imagine anyone who will hate to see the backside of this year. We are all looking forward to a much better 2021. 

Yesterday, I finished reading a book by one of my favorite authors which did not disappoint. Daniel Silva has a series of spy-suspense novels featuring Gabriel Allon in each one. He is an art restorer and Israeli spy who lives through one adventure after another. Somehow, I never get tired of reading about him, his friends, and his enemies. I find each book in the series to be a satisfying read and one that keeps me turning pages eagerly.

Being the avid reader I am, I selected another book from the five I had brought home from the library and settled down with a British mystery. I am not going to name it because it was one of the most boring books I have ever tried reading. There was once an old saying about English movies and books--' they take a while before you get into the real story.' Strange since writers are urged to start with a great opening to hook your reader. I thought this might be the case, so I kept on reading.

I turned page after page hoping something 'good' might happen. The author(s), a writing duo, set the scene and established the main characters, but even the conversation between characters was boring. When we once reached the murder scene, a museum where a dead body is found in the basement, I thought things would perk up a bit. Wrong! It is a rare day when I don't finish a book, but I'm quite 'done' with this one.

This brings me to today's topic. How do unappealing books get published? The book I attempted to read yesterday was published in the UK by a British publisher. It is obvious that an editor thought the book worthy and went to the expense of publishing plus paying royalties to the authors. 

One reason books like this get published is that they are not boring to every reader. I disliked it, but perhaps other readers might find it of great interest. Enough of them so that the book was published, is in bookstores, and on library shelves. The authors have other books to their credit, so they have proven themselves enough to be considered for every book they write. That old 'get your foot in the door' might work here. 

We have all kinds of readers which is why we have all types of books in many genres. One of the things you, as the writer of a book, should do is to be able to convince an editor that your book is worthy of publication. Isn't it awful that we must not only write the book but 'sell' it to an editor as well? What will an editor want to know? They will surely ask you to tell them why your book should be published. You do that in your cover letter when submitting your manuscript or when writing to ask if you can submit it. 

Learn all you can about a publisher so that you know if your book is a fit. If a publisher is known for turning out one romance after another, you don't want to send them your sci-fi adventure. Do your marketing homework. 

Of course, one way unappealing books get published is that they are self-published. When I pick up a self-published book, I know that it can either be quite good or very, very bad. No one but the author has approved it. 

Another way bad books hit the bookshelves is through a vanity publisher--one who will publish anything as long as the writer pays him/her. A whole post could be written on this type of publishing.

As a reader, you want to check the book carefully before you purchase it, or even take it home from the library. Besides reading the frontispiece, open the book at random and read a couple of pages. 

As a writer, give careful consideration to the publisher(s) you submit to. It is hoped you will find one who will help make your book the best it can be. If you choose the self-publishing route, do the same thing--make your book the very best one you can produce. 

Keep in mind that writers have varied personalities and abilities and so do their readers. When the writer and the reader are a good fit, it's a glorious thing.

Thoughts and Help on Self-Publishing

There was a time when self-publishing a book was frowned upon. The term 'Vanity Publisher' was tossed about throughout the publishing world. Editors snickered, writers wanted to check it out and the people who ran these supposedly self-published operations were in it for the money and not much else. Not all, of course, but a good many. These people played on the ego of inexperienced writers, often telling them how good their book was. For X number of dollars, they would create the book in good style. Then, it was up to the writer to market his/her book.

Much has changed today. With the advent of online publishing, it's more of a do-it-yourself program now. There is help, places that guide you through the process step by step. There are also many articles in writing newsletters and writing websites. One I received this morning looks like it has a boatload of information. Women on Writing published excellent information and offers classes, contests and an opportunity to write for the Friday Speakout. Don't worry, gentlemen, you can read this information, too. You'll find it here.

An article I ran across at a Forbes site is titled How To Self-Publish Your Book Through Amazon by Deborah L. Jacobs, who is on the Finance Staff at Forbes Magazine. Read what she has to say here.
I thought it was a most informative article.

Some people get tired of always hearing about Amazon self-publishing. Yes, they are one of the top in the field. That name-recognition works so well, but they are far from being the only place that helps you publish your book. There are numerous others. This article names what the author considers the top nine self-publishers.

Researching various self-publishers will take time, probably a lot of time. You don't have to check each one. Take the five that appeal to you and read everything you can about them. Look for reviews from satisfied authors who have used the company. Check to see what percentage each place takes. Do they only publish online or do they also offer to print hard copies? Do they offer any editing/proofreading services?

Why is self-publishing online so big? You are in control. It's easy and takes less time than traditional publishing. You get to keep more of the income. You don't have to order huge numbers of books, only those that are sold.

Is self-publishing for the first time scary? You bet it is. I've looked into it more than once but haven't taken the plunge yet. I'm going to take my own advice here and do some research and give it a try. I thought I'd begin with a book of 5 stories for girls in the 8-12 age group. If I have any success, then I'll try with my middle-grade historical fiction novel.

How about you? Have you thought about self-publishing but haven't taken that final step? Or perhaps only thought about it and haven't researched it? Take some time and read the articles I've linked for you today.

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A Kansas Author Talks About Her Book

The author reading a section of her book

Sunday afternoon, Tracy Million Simmons came to our Kansas Authors District meeting to talk about the recently published Tiger Hunting, her debut novel.

Being an audience of writers, the questions addressed were of a somewhat different nature than those of an audience of purely readers.

She told us that the original idea for the story came from a dream she'd had. One of those kind that leave you wondering about where it came from, the how and why of it. She wrote the basic facts of the dream in a journal and then left it for some time.

Then a friend challenged her to join her in writing a novel in a month for the NaNoWriMo program. She agreed and managed to write the required 50,000 words in the 30 days of November using the bits she'd written in her journal about the crazy dream revolving around circus animals roaming free on a country road.

She edited it, had a few other readers edit it again and made the decision to publish both a digital version and a print on demand. She felt her way using both Smashwords and then createspace at Amazon. Tracy feels that both have definite benefits. I would urge anyone interested to study what each offers carefully.

I asked her about the design of the book cover. She said that she'd used a photo one of her daughters had taken and then implemented some graphic art tools to add the tiger to the picture. It's always possible to pay a graphic artist to design a bookcover, but when you know the ins and outs, you can do it yourself.

Indie Publishing is the new trendy term for those who self-publish, be it in print or ebook. I ran across an interesting article that shows why some traditionally published authors are switching to Indie Publishing. Take a few minutes to read it here to see the benefits and keys to publishing this way. More and more writers are taking the plunge and becoming an independent publisher. Each of us must decide if it is for us or not.

Most of those in attendance at today's meeting purchased a signed copy of Tracy's book. Including me. I'm looking forward to reading it after hearing the many favorable comments from those who had already read it.  You can learn more about Tracy Million Simmons and her book along with reviews at this Amazon page.