Why is this post WHITE? Anyway... :-)
Got another rejection from Daily Science Fiction...exactly the same letter as before. I must try harder, maybe they'll read it next time.
The "BooksGoSocialDaily" competition... I tried on a Sunday, the last day of the week, only to find out that there was one book (pretty awful book, too) earlier in the week that had a ton of votes. I finally got 17 votes! That put me in about 5th place for that week. But the competition has no 'quality'. Just get your friends to vote.
...yes, it's a continuation of my "The Trouble with Goats and Sheep" by Joanna Cannon HarperCollins investigation!
As an Indie author, I get reviews from a few people I know, other indie authors and ALSO complete strangers...those are the ones to look out for. Those are the ones where you find out what you're really worth. Yes, it's fantastic to get a 4/5 star review from ANYONE but from someone who has no connection to you whatsoever, it's unbelievably great. If your book is good, the stranger will be 'up' with the 4 and 5 star reviews on Amazon.
Got another rejection from Daily Science Fiction...exactly the same letter as before. I must try harder, maybe they'll read it next time.
The "BooksGoSocialDaily" competition... I tried on a Sunday, the last day of the week, only to find out that there was one book (pretty awful book, too) earlier in the week that had a ton of votes. I finally got 17 votes! That put me in about 5th place for that week. But the competition has no 'quality'. Just get your friends to vote.
...yes, it's a continuation of my "The Trouble with Goats and Sheep" by Joanna Cannon HarperCollins investigation!
As an Indie author, I get reviews from a few people I know, other indie authors and ALSO complete strangers...those are the ones to look out for. Those are the ones where you find out what you're really worth. Yes, it's fantastic to get a 4/5 star review from ANYONE but from someone who has no connection to you whatsoever, it's unbelievably great. If your book is good, the stranger will be 'up' with the 4 and 5 star reviews on Amazon.
However, if you get 3 or below, the stranger is one of these...
1. a person you know who hates your guts
2. a person who hates the subject of the book (why did they read it?)
3. a troll who likes to give bad reviews
4. (and this happens) someone who can't string a sentence together or lost something in translation.
I got a 3 star Amazon review once...one of my Dani's Shorts filled with element-controlled vignettes.
My point?
Go and look at a HarperCollins backed book. They are full of 4/5 star reviews from the same type of people, AND from satisfied readers, too. But they also have a number of reviews that are 3 stars or below. "The Trouble with Goats and Sheep" hasn't come out yet, so no reviews BUT there are quotes from people who have read it...AND GUESS WHAT? They're ALL WRITERS. Not friends, not strangers, but colleagues. You would've thought HarperCollins could've got oneliners from CRITICS and REVIEWERS, but no.
So what did I do next? I checked out the writers of those quotes....are they reliable sources for a good book? Judge for yourself! I certainly won't be buying "The Trouble with Goats and Sheep" (I hated the "Look Inside") and especially if the FREE SAMPLER is $2.54...
I read a few 4/5 star reviews of a book or two of theirs, and then went down to the 3 or below. The people who put 3 stars or below reviews are STRANGERS...they are NOT people on my 4 part list (see above). They are unbiased.
Here's the list of those who gave one liners and information about one of their own books, it's a long list...I've taken off the names so I don't get hate mail. And I thoroughly recommend that you do the same to the NEXT big BESTSELLER any of the Big Publishing Houses back.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT trying to DESTROY anyone here, I'm merely pointing out that HarperCollins could do better than this. I expect MORE from the REAL publishing industry, not THIS. But WHO is reading this blog, anyway? Eh? (Oh my, here come some reviews from people in my 4 part list, probably from people who hate me or haven't even given my books a chance).
15% of reviews 3 stars or below
Comments: Boring, sad, disappointing, Forest Gump without the humour.
22% of reviews 3 or below
Comments: Dull, self pitying, whiney, slow, doesn't go anywhere.
27% of reviews 3 or below (other reviews 50/50 between 4/5...no one really likes this book)
Comments: Starts out strong but petters out, self-conscious and smug.
26% of reviews 3 or below
Comments: Dragged, mediocre, disappointing.
There's a new book with 4/5 reviews(23) and older books have 2 to 6 reviews.
This all indicates that this is a new author on the 'proper publishing scene' and that these are friend/colleague reviews. There is one comment that sprung up..."a less irritating chick flick".
10% of reviews 3 or below
Comments: A good start but goes downhill, predictable characters, sad.
30% of reviews 3 or below
Comments: Sad and depressing, inaccurate.
11% of reviews 3 or below (9 reviews, one 3 star from a Top Reviewer...a stranger)
Comments: unoriginal, no payoff, no connection with the main character.
32% of reviews 3 or below
Comments: Pointless, far-fetched.
15% of reviews 3 or below
Comments: Formulaic. Actually, all comments of all books say "not one of her best"...which one is her best?
13% of reviews 3 or below
Comments: Slow, couldn't connect with the main character.
44% of reviews 3 or below
Comments: Boring, predictable, formulaic, a big yawn.
40% of reviews 3 or below
Comments: Starts off good, then lackluster, formulaic, clone.
...I wish these reviewers would read my books.... :-(
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