A couple of inspired fans emailed me a few more pictures of my novel getting around. Hilariously awesome!
in a celandine world… my precious.
Filed under fiction, in a celandine world, Indie author, Social Media
I weep for the souls of the trees that died to make this book
…but not everyone is going to think so.
I’m strangely attracted to the petulance of the classic author I-can’t-believe-I-got-a-bad-review meltdown. I’ve been watching my first novel rating fall away daily with a slew of recent lukewarm reviews, but I can’t even imagine a review that would tempt me to go all Alice Hoffman on a critic. I wouldn’t be human if it didn’t affect me. I’m a story animal after all. When your story is rejected, it hits you right where it counts—squarely in the who you are.
I mean, here are these characters that have sprung forth from the bosom of your imagination. They’ve been born into a world that you’ve laid out for them, taking shape on the page, tentatively exploring their first steps into the unknown. You guide them and love them with the patience of a new parent. These are your precious children who need to be protected from the cruel, harsh realities of the world.
But, much like our children, at some point—you have to let go.
There’s always going to be somebody who doesn’t like what you do, always, no matter what. There’s no such thing as a book that every reader will like. You’ve told the story. It’s out there. It’s a gift to the world. Now you have to let go.
I’ve opted to practice a passionate detachment to reviews. I am acutely aware of how lucky I am to be in this position at all.
In the indie market, I don’t believe it’s realistic to ignore all reviews—positive or negative. Although, I do have a hard time taking anonymous snark very seriously. There is something about the internet that some people feel gives them license to be anonymously mean—and that’s not cool. Don’t subscribe to their snark. You’re a writer, not a troll whisperer.
Bad or lukewarm reviews can actually give you great insights. After the 5 minute mumbled cussing and pillow-throwing-pity-party, I remind myself that bad reviews are usually about expectations.
Some of those expectations are outside your control. They come from the reader and their circle of influence. However, some of those expectations came from you—the author. What does the blurb on the back cover tell them? Did you promise tales of sparkling vampires and then give them a bat with a glow stick? Are you appealing to the right genre and audience?
I know it’s only a matter of time until I receive that really, REALLY bad review. Something so negative and viciously soul-crushing that it will suck the air from my lungs and threaten the collapse of the universe as I know it. It’s out there—waiting to be written.
I’m looking forward to it in a cautiously optimistic sort of way. Negativity draws public interest in the same way that blood in the water draws sharks. Like flies to the poop—everyone wants to watch the train wreck. You’ll find new readers who’ve come in to find out what all the hubbub is about. That can’t be all bad, can it?
I sincerely appreciate all the readers and honest reviewers of my work—regardless of the review outcome. A reader is a reader. It is someone who set aside their personal time to curl up with a story of mine. Let them take their swipes. Absorb what’s useful and shrug off the rest. Take the opportunity to grow as a writer. Learn from the criticisms. Evolve. Live another day to write.
Get them with the next story.
Filed under book reviews, fiction, Indie author
Ellen’s book recommendation to Justin Bieber?
Oh Ellen, you’re too kind. You shouldn’t have. You really shouldn’t have. You really, REALLY shouldn’t have. But I love the way you’re holding this book. It’s like you were born to buy it and hold it forever. Seriously… I’m kidding. (sort of)
PS – The Biebs is gonna love it.
Filed under fiction, in a celandine world, world news
I see dead people… with their QR code.
QR codes on headstones will link you to a Facebook-like page in a community of the dead.
Really. It’s social networking for the dearly departed.
That’s kind of awesome, weird, brilliant and creepy all at the same time. But I think the world might have gone just a little mad on Social and QR codes.
Like this:
Filed under Social Media, world news
Ramona Quimby meets the Celestine Prophecies
Have you read it yet?
Willow Jane has a secret. She’s been in love with the Boogeyman her whole life. He comes to her in her dreams. Lately, he’s been speaking to her while she’s awake. She doesn’t know why he comes to her, or how it is that she loves him. She’s never even seen him. Well, until now.
She’s accepted crazy. She’s accepted isolation—heck, she’s even welcomed it. She’ll do anything to be with him. This stubborn, only child of artsy-hippie-activists packed up everything she knew, travelled across the globe, and moved into a dodgy stone cottage that leaves the grit of medieval on her skin every sunrise—all in the name of love.
But life has never been that simple for Willow. Instead of solitude and happy-ever-after, Willow is stalked by a motley crue of mysterious townsfolk who watch her. They know things. They believe things—things that are even crazier than Willow.
There is a truth that has long been forgotten. A truth that was concealed in a manuscript in the 12th century. An impossible truth. A truth that these townsfolk will do anything to protect. It is a dangerous truth that will blow Willow’s secret wide open. But, Willow is determined and resourceful. And, she just moved into town.
Ramona Quimby meets The Celestine Prophecies in this mix of powerful imagination and dogged determination celebrating all those defined as different.
Incorporating the real life mysteries of the Voynich Manuscript, Stonehenge, and the Glastonbury Tor; In a Celandine World double-knots mystery with the intriguingly powerful and long-lasting tales of Arthurian Legend, Spiritual Testament, and Elf magic—with shades of Alice’s rabbit-hole guiding the path.
Stop by Indigo this afternoon to get your signed copy.
Filed under fiction, in a celandine world
Facebook to buy Instagram for $1-billion
Woah… a blog post from Mark Zuckerberg:
I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.
For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.
We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.
That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.
We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.
These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.
This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.
We’re looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we’re going to be able to build together.
What do you think of that?
Filed under Social Media, Uncategorized, world news
the artist formerly known as author L. J Smith…
I just caught wind of this in the Lulu Blog:
If you think writing a series of acclaimed supernatural thrillers, which get made into a successful television show and sell thousands of books, would be considered a job well done, think again.
Publisher HarperCollins removed LJ Smith, author of The Vampire Diaries, from the project after friction during the editing process. Smith said she was pushed out after arguing against cutting characters, scenes, and other creative decisions that she felt were important to her vision of the story.
Smith, who began writing the novels on a “for hire” contract back in 1990, was shocked to find out that she had no rights to any of the characters or stories she created. In an e-mail, Smith reflected, “Even though I have written the entire series, I don’t own anything about The Vampire Diaries.”
This is an all-too-common story among writers of genre-fiction. Authors desperate enough to sign anything end up losing any creative or financial control of the characters, and the ensuing sensations, they create. Where a publishing house offers a vast marketing and distribution network, it also tends to dilute and altogether alter a writer’s creative vision. To some writers, like LJ Smith, this becomes too much to bear. They fight to keep their work intact, only to find “a letter addressed to the ghostwriter by name, telling her to completely rewrite my book.”
We’re neither arguing against the need for a good editor, nor against some self discipline and revision on the part of the author, however, we think this example demonstrates an important benefit of self-publishing: complete creative control and financial ownership of your work. Even after writing several successful novels, LJ Smith was removed from her series with little to no warning whatsoever, and absolutely no recourse.
So, what does “for hire” mean in this case? The Vampire Diaries series belongs to Alloy Entertainment—it always has. They hired L.J. Smith back in 1990 to write the series for them—based on their premise. She signed a contract upfront to say that the Vampire Diaries belonged to them, and everything the writer created (characters, events, etc.) throughout the course of the series belongs to Alloy. L.J. Smith has no say in what they do with the series.
I imagine that 10 years is long enough to forget that you’re writing for someone else.
Filed under fiction, Uncategorized, world news
