Tag Archives: writer stuff

Why Amazon & BN reviews matter

  By Shiloh Walker | 22 May, 2013 - 8:00 am | ,
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I had a reader ask me why the Amazon & BN reviews matter… 

dreamstime free

I’ve noticed you’ve been pushing for more reviews…the book club thing and periodic requests for reviews, etc on twitter, FB.  I don’t ever pay attention to them.  I ask friends or go to blogs.  Store reviews just don’t matter to me.  What’s the big deal?

Well, bottom line… they are a very big deal.

I can’t claim a lot of hard knowledge on this but these are some of the things I’ve discovered with selfpublishing.  The number of reviews I received on Blade Song helped get me some of the ‘promo’ deals, like the daily deals, which actually benefits readers, too.

But again, this is just stuff that’s either been my experience or things I’ve learned in workshops, etc.  None of this has come straight from the horse’s (Amazon/BN’s) mouth.

Reviews at Amazon and BN add up to two key things:

  • ‘discoverability’
  • ‘promo’ offerings from online retailers offer (sales, etc)

 

So what’s with the ‘promo’ thing and what does that matter?

The promo thing translates to sales…and who doesn’t like sales, right?

X number of reviews can lead to things like

  • ‘daily deals’
  • ‘gold box’
  • other stuff


 Reviews alone aren’t going to get the daily deals, gold box deals, etc.  The majority of the reviews need to be positive.  Your pub has to push for the deal, there’s wrangling and hassling, etc.  I didn’t do any of it to get the daily deal… Inscribe did it all for.

But it’s not just the promo thing.  Increased reviews leads to increased discoverability.  You show up in search results more…people who looked at this also looked at…etc, I think.

If people aren’t seeing your book, they can’t buy your book.

Once you hit X amount of reviews on Amazon (and I think BN), you move into a different ‘algorithm’ which means your books show up more on book searches.  When your books pop up, more people see them.  If your books aren’t popping up a lot, then people can’t see them to buy them.  Decreased book sales will eventually lead to your publisher deciding not to renew your contracts…and that leads to canceled series.  Which has happened to me twice.

Yes, the readers looking for you will find you, but the casual buyer?  Not so much.  The browsing days in a bookstore are fading so the discoverability factor for online shoppers is becoming crucial.

The market is getting tough and yes, reviews are important, more now than ever.  You don’t have to be a professional reviewer… just say…hey, I liked this book and here is why.  Or even…this book didn’t appeal as much…and this is why.  I don’t want to be that author who is constantly begging for reviews, but if you enjoy a book of mine, if you feel inclined to leave a review, posting it to Amazon or BN is a huge help and I very much appreciate it.  :)

 

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Thursday Tips…Bookbloggers & Readers

  By Shiloh Walker | 26 August, 2010 - 8:00 am | , , , ,
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Thursday Tips-geared toward the newly contracted/newly published author.  If you’ve got comments or Qs, feel free to leave them in comments.

Book bloggers…they are your friends

Besides librarians and booksellers, another group of people you don’t want to neglect or abuse?

Bookbloggers.

This doesn’t mean going and totally schmoozing it with them.  While some may be totally into that, chances are it will annoy others.

Just talk with them.

When I say talk, I don’t mean hit their blog with

Hi, I’m Shiloh Walker and I write erotic and paranormal romance, with some romantic suspense thrown in and I see that you like Lora Leigh, JR Ward and Linda Howard.  Because of that, I think you should give MY work a try.  If you’re interested, I’d be happy to send you a copy for review.

Folks…this isn’t talking.  This is basically invading a blog, and most authors who use this spiel almost always do it where there’s already a conversation going on.  So not only to do they intrude on an active conversation, they are doing to pimp their own work, and coincidentally, they are throwing around big names in hopes of catching interest.

Does it work?  Well, you might grab a little bit of interest.  But you’ll also annoy a number of readers—you’ll alienate them.  If you’ve alienated them, they are less likely to try your work, whether or not they say anything at the present time.

On the other hand, if you actually just talk…well, you can build up some friendship, or at least friendly relationships and that will do you a heck of a lot more good than the bit of interest you might gather from heavy-handed promo.  Because when you leave a good impression, people remember you, they talk about you and not in a—holy crap, did you see how she just totally interrupted us to pimp her shit-how rude!—sort of way

When I say TALK, I mean… TALK.

Something like…

Oh, man…. Linda Howard?  I love Linda Howard.  One of my favorites from her is Son of the Morning.  That woman can write.

Readers tend to get aggravated when an author invades on conversations just to promo-whore her stuff.  So despite what you might hear from some sources, I really don’t think it’s going to do you any favors to try that route.

Here’s an example:  If you were having conversation with a friend at the bookstore and somebody suggested a book they liked, or a book they’d loved by an author you were discussing, chances are you wouldn’t mind.  This might even be something you have done.

But lets say this person more or less shoves her book at you…

Oh, wow.  I see you’re looking at the latest Lora Leigh.  Wow.  I write just like her, or so people have told me.  I think you should try my stuff.

Folks, this isn’t a good sales pitch.  It’s heavy-handed, it’s awkard.  Some authors can work this sort of thing into a conversation.  Others?  Can’t.  Many of the ones I see online?  They can’t.  They are the ones who intrude on messages boards at Amazon, Goodreads, blogs, all in the name of pimping their stuff.

When authors use this sort of tactic, it brings about…an awkwardness, we’ll say.  Some people may be unsure what to say, period.  Some aren’t going to say anything for fear of hurting the author’s feelings.  Some just don’t like conflict.  And…um, well others just might tell you off to your face.  But it puts a strain on what had been a pleasant, open conversation and they can no longer freely discuss things.  This isn’t going to help endear you to them, and again, despite what some people think, I really don’t believe it does a big promo boost either.

On the other hand, if you can just talk to readers and bloggers about the common ground we’ve got?  Which is a love of books?  That can do you a world of good.  If you can be genuine.  I never set out to build a huge network of bookblogger friends.  I was just talking to people about books, because…well, I kind of love to talk to people about books.

I don’t really talk about mine—I feel weird talking about my books.  If somebody asks questions, yeah, I’ll answer.  But when I’m at a book blogger’s blog, a reader’s blog?  I’m there to talk books.  If I’m at another author’s blog, I’m either there as a guest… I don’t mean a guest blogger-those are different rules, I mean as in a guest in their house…or as a friend.  It does us well to remember courtesy.

However, this doesn’t mean it doesn’t help get my name out.  People ended up at my blog because they saw me talking at other blogs.  I’ve had people tell me they bought my books just because they saw me recommending other people’s books—and no, this isn’t why I do it.  If you can’t be honest when you’re out there in blogland, don’t bother because, people?  Readers aren’t stupid and when you’re putting on a front, it comes through a lot more clear than people tend to realize.

Just remember that readers and bookbloggers… They are people…treat them with courtesy and respect, and they’ll give it back.

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Thursday Tips…Reviews

  By Shiloh Walker | 29 July, 2010 - 8:00 am | ,
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Thursday Tips are geared toward the newly published/newly contracted writer.

Reviews

As release date draws closer, you might have people contacting you about reviews, especially if you’re already have a fairly visible presence online.

I’ll be honest—I don’t do handle review requests anymore.  There are too many review sites and I can’t keep up with them.  My standard line is posted to my website, in the FAQ section:

I’m a reviewer and would like to review your books.  Can I contact you?

Aside from occasional contests for ARCs on my blog, I no longer handle sending out books for reviews.  You would need to contact my publishers to inquire about receiving copies.

With new review sites going up every month or so (at least it seems that way), it’s just too hard to keep up with it any more.  Publishers have people who handle these sort of requests and who vet the sites.  So I let them handle it.  If a reviewer is serious about wanting to review the book, then they’ll understand and respect that.

Authors, of course, have to develop their own system and what works for them.  But as often as I have books coming out, it was just getting to be too big a hassle keeping up with the releases and the review sites and eventually, it just go to the point to where it was easier to let the publisher handle it.

Exceptions to my rule:

I’ve always got exceptions, always, always, always.

Certain review sites have a well-established reputation and I won’t feel the need to go and check them out.  Yes, it does boil down to that.  No offense intended here, but as often as review sites go up, then down, and considering how many reviewers there are, a writer wouldn’t be very savvy if they didn’t cover their bases by at least checking the site out.

But sites like Writerspace, All Romance Reviews, Dear Author, Smart Bitches, Mrs. Giggles…eh, not that they do contact me, but if they were to contact me from their domains?  Yes, I’d probably send them a copy.

Note, I wouldn’t be as likely to send to a Sally Jo from Hotmail who says she reviews for the All Romance Reviews, unless it came from Sally Jo’s All Romance Reviews email addy.

Another exception…author friends.  Friends.  Or…authors I’ve seen online and I like their presence.  Why? Well, one of the best promo tools we have is word of mouth and one thing we authors do love to do is talk books.

So if a friend asks to read one of my books, yes, I’ll let her.

Please note, though, I’m not doing this as a “You scratch my back” exchange and I don’t expect anything from her/him.  If a friend reads my book and decides to mention it?  Awesome.  If she lets me read hers, and I love it, chances are I’m going to mention it, because that’s just what I do—I love to talk about books I loved, and if I’ve read them early, that makes it even more fun for me.

If an author I’m not exactly friends with but am familiar with—say I’ve seen them online and I like their presence, how they act, etc, contacts me and expresses an interest, chances are I’d offer to let them read it.  Again, not as any sort of an exchange—frankly, those sort of ‘exchanges’ irritate me when one comes my way.  I don’t like feeling like I’m made to ‘owe’ somebody anything.  I’ll talk about a book if I like it and beyond that…nope.

Now, is this going to happen with you?

Yes. More than likely.

How should you handle?

That’s easy.

What are you comfortable with?  You need to think about it now, and understand one crucial thing… It’s perfectly okay to say NO.  It’s your book.  If somebody asks to read it early and you’re not comfortable with it, that’s fine.  If nothing else, just say, ‘I haven’t talked it over with my editor/publisher/agent yet, so I’m afraid I can’t.  I hope you understand.’  If they get pushy?  Well, when they get pushy, that’s always an easy reason for me to just start ignoring them anyway.

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Thursday Tips…No agent?

  By Shiloh Walker | 17 June, 2010 - 8:00 am | , ,
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Thursdays tips are a new feature I’m doing…basically aimed at the newly published/contracted.  I’ll be compiling the posts and publishing them somewhere for download once I’m done with the articles.

No Agent?

In epublishing, it’s not uncommon to get a contract offer without an agent.  In epublishing, it’s not uncommon to sign and write without using an agent.  I don’t use an agent on my epublishing contracts and I’m comfortable enough with the lingo to navigate those waters on my own.

However…if you’ve just been offered a contract by an epublisher, no matter how big they are, how well established, how well known, please, please, please, have a contract attorney review the contract first.

I do know that my epubs have a ‘customized’ contract for me and each time I turn in a new work, this same contract is used.   You can ask if this is something that can be done so you don’t need to worry about paying that fee each time you sign a contract, but trust me, it’s better to pay a contract attorney than to not pay it and then spend years wishing you had.

In traditional publishing, it’s not as usual to get a contract offer without having an agent.  Many publishers do require an agent submit the work, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get an offer.

My first offer from a traditional publisher came without me submitting a work, and I didn’t have an agent.  I was still just writing for my epubs and was contacted by an editor about writing a novella for an anthology.  This has happened for other authors, so it does and can happen.

But…there’s no way I’m going to navigate the waters of traditional publishing without an agent on my side.

Why?

v  There’s more money involved

v  There are more markets involved

v  There are usually more books involved

v  There is more legalese involved

v  The contracts tend to be more complicated

With things like First Right of Refusal, Option on Next Work, etc, etc, etc, etc… I’m not signing those contracts without having an agent on my side.

The agent is there to push for my best interest.

She’s not affiliated with the publisher, she’s not working for the publisher, she’s there to help me, to fight for my best interests.

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My response to Mr. Kevin Weiss of Author Solutions

  By shilohwalker | 7 December, 2009 - 10:53 pm |
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So Mr Weiss of Author Solutions (Author Solutions is in with the HQN/HHz/Dellarte Press mess) has a video response to the outcry coming from the writing community.

Here’s my response to his response.

Mr. Weiss, if Author Solutions truly represented SELF PUBLISHING, I’d have less of an issue.  Granted, the deal where they go after the writers who HQN rejects sucks and as long as that continues, it’s going to be a stain on HQN’s reputation in my eyes.  But AS and the deal with Dellarte Press doesn’t strike me as ‘self publishing.  They can call it ‘assisted self publishing’ all they want, but that’s just a pretty little shine.  What I see when I look at their site is a vanity press.  Plain and simple.  One where the writer fronts one huge, whopping chunk of money and even after fronting all that money, the writer still has to split the profits.  That’s not self publishing.

I don’t have a problem with self publishing.  If a writer wants that option, go for it.  Research and if you decide that’s the deal for you, give it a shot.

Just make sure you know your options.

Mr Weiss also seems interested in providing aspiring writers with ‘options’.  Granted, writers won’t find many hard facts when researching AS, so it’s hard to really understand all the options.  After all, when researching options, one does it to make an informed choice and informed choices are hard to make without knowing facts.

I’m not overly impressed with his video response.  Comes off to me as just spin.  Nothing else.  No substance.  I’m also curious about the comment moderation up at Youtube.  Will AS be letting all opinions be seen or just those that don’t disagree?

Writers, I will agree with one thing Mr. Weiss says.  He says research the market.

Yes.  By all means.  And if you’re really serious about self-publishing, make sure you research well.   In my opinion, there are much better, more affordable options out there.  One where you may have to front the money, but you also keep all the profits.   Options that don’t include charging nearly $1000 for a bunch of stuff you can set up for free, in under a couple of hours.  And no, I’m not joking…nearly $1000 to set up a writer on myspace, facebook, wordpress, goodreads, shelfari, etc.  Set up on those doesn’t cost a nickel.  Just some time.  And while I might considerable my time valuable, it sure as hell isn’t worth nearly $1000 for about 2 hours worth of work.  Or less…

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Google Book Settlement

  By shilohwalker | 12 August, 2009 - 12:00 am |
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Some articles worth reading.  However, if you’re going to opt out, time’s running out.

Huffington Post

Reject the Google Book Settlement

I’ve already opted out.  Frankly, the way Google has handled this disgusts me.  The way the Author’s Guild stepped in to speak on behalf of authors, without my permission BTW, leaves me with a very bad taste in my mouth.

The whole damn thing should have been on an OPT-IN platform, and hell, for that matter, it never should have happened, because google shouldn’t have blithely abused author copyright.  I’m sick and tired of people abusing author copyright-we write the books.  They wouldn’t exist if writers didn’t create them.  Writers do have rights to protect their work, and constantly, those rights are trampled on.

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Conventions

  By shilohwalker | 3 May, 2009 - 12:00 am |
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A few days ago, I asked people what they wanted me to ramble about, because my ramblings well was running dry.  Natascha asked:

Can you talk about your like/dislike of writer’s conferences or conventions? Do they do anything for you?

Well, the answer is…it depends on the conference/convention. I can’t say I actively dislike conventions/conferences (is there a difference…?), because I don’t.  I can say that those with a rowdy, party type atmosphere just don’t appeal to me as much.  I’m not shy, but I’d rather hang out with a couple of friends where we can actually talk than a huge bash where the music is so loud and the bodies are so packed, privacy and conversation are nonexistent.

I’ve been to Romantic Times twice and I enjoyed it, connected with readers, got to meet other writers that I’ve known only online.  I do get to spend some time with some close friends that I don’t see all that often, but there’s not a whole lot of downtime that you can really spend much time with them. It’s literally…hit the ground running and don’t let up until you’ve been home a day or three.  I’m lazy-that kind of pace kills me.  But I do enjoy RT.  I’ve never attended any of the workshops, just the bookseller and reader parties, but they do have writing workshops.  So if you like workshops, there’s a plus.  If you like just mingling, there’s plenty of time to mingle.  If you love meeting people, there’s plenty of that.  But it is a hectic pace.

I’ve never been to Nationals-my first trip to that one is coming up this summer.

I do attend some smaller reader/writer conventions, like Lori Foster and Dianne Castell’s Get Together and Lora Leigh’s RAW and I do have to say that I love these the most.  The smaller ones have a less chaotic pace.  You get a little more downtime, it’s a more casual atmosphere.  Lori and Dianne’s events do have agents and editors attending so you can spend some time in those workshops if you’re a writer.  The thing about the smaller ones is that you do get to spend more time just talking, it’s not go from this event to that to that to that…I don’t need a schedule when I’m at Lori/Dianne’s or Lora’s events.  I do need one at RT.  (granted, I hate schedules).

It’s just going to depend on what you’re looking for, why you’re going… if you’re a reader, you’re going to have time to talk to authors at most conventions.  If you’re a writer, are you looking for one that is based around workshops or interacting with readers?  You’ll have more workshops at the bigger ones, but possibly more reader interaction at the smaller ones.

So there’s my two cents on it.  Admittedly, I’m not much into conventions and stuff, so I may not be the best person to ask.

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Writer's Desk

  By shilohwalker | 2 May, 2009 - 12:00 am |
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For the insanely curious, here’s a pic of my desk.

dsc003131

Nothing terribly fascinating. Although it’s cleaner than it usually is. I’ve got a phone, my iPod which I’ve been fighting with-Apple certainly doesn’t believe in making it easy for those with multiple devices to get their music from one device to another, do they? I’ve got some pens in a cup that my daughter made for me for Mother’s Day one year in school. I’ve got a calculator, a spindle of CDs, my Sony Reader tucked back in the corner.  Naturally, my PC.

Then there’s the things laying right in front of my PC. You can’t see them very well, but those are my gloves.  I wear gloves when I write-two different kinds, actually.  At the same time.

The first pair is just a pair of thergonomic gloves, like these:

From Maggie's Crochet

They trap body heat and support my wrists.
The other pair of gloves are these:

Soft flex computer gloves

Soft flex computer gloves

Why two pair?  Well, the thergonomic do the body heat and support thing.  The soft flex gloves have these little cushions sewn inside that keep my wrists from touching the desktop or keyboard.  I’ve noticed my hands don’t bother me as much when I’m wearing these.  Since I’ve already had a carpal tunnel release on both sides, and I’m looking at another one eventually, I’m all for doing whatever I can to help delay that second surgery.  Well, except voice activated software.  I’m still too leery about that.  Talking out my stories?  Fear.

If you’re a writer or even if you just spend a decent amount of time on the computer, I’d recommend something along the lines of these gloves.  I dunno that anybody but me would want both (I’m weird),  so I’d recommend the soft flex if you just want one.

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On agents, rabbits, and insanity

  By shilohwalker | 17 October, 2008 - 2:00 am | ,
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What do they have in common?  Right now…moi.

I’m agent hunting. No longer agent hunting.  This post was originally written on Wednesday or Thursday, and as of this morning, actually as of 10:30 am, Friday morning, I have an agent.  As in like ten minutes ago.  Oddly enough, I can also breathe again and I’m sitting here with a smile on my face. And before anybody asks, I can’t talk about that rabbit just yet…gimme a little more time.  Maybe before the year is out.  Gotta see what happens.

I still have the vague, undefined rabbit that I can’t really talk about yet.

Now, I’m also insane.

See the common thread here?

This is my first serious agent hunt.  My previous agent came recommended by a friend and we were together right around four years.

Just like pretty much everything else in this business, I’m fumbling along.  Fumbling along into getting published, into getting into print, into getting an agent, etc, etc, etc.  Never ask me for advice on how to do things.  I never really know how I do things.  Which is why I start pestering friends at odd hours.  Some poor friends of mine go weeks or months without an IM, and then somebody pushes the panic button and I’m lighting up the IM of every writer friend I have.  I email ad nauseum, ad infinitum, and just keep on going.

So how do you go about searching for a new agent?  Because I really need this new agent, and I can’t do anything about certain things…like…oh, say…rabbits…until I have an agent.  Well, I could.  But I don’t wanna.  Since I haven’t really done much of an agent search before, and I’m not entirely sure exactly what I’m doing…I start scouring the net, talking to friends.

Questions I’m asking the agents that I’m talking to…

Do you use a hands-on type of approach and offer editorial-type input?

I have a problem being complacent…I’m tickled pink when somebody actually wants to pay me money to write.   But am I settling when I could go for more?  More is always good, right?  So can you help keep me from being too complacent?

Do you use an agent/author contract?

I’m easily bored…oh, look something sparkly…uh, wait…sorry.  Distraction.  I have a short attention span and I bounce around a lot from genre to genre.  I have plans for stories outside romance-not quitting romance, but I love fantasy and urban fantasy and I’d like to try something there, too.  Could you represent me there should I try to go for it?

Would mind if I spoke with some of your other authors?

Guh.  And naturally, I ramble.  A lot.  So asking those questions somehow mutates into me asking 100 other questions.  Plus, I’m nervous.  When I’m nervous, I talk more.  When I’m nervous, I trip over my tongue.  When I’m nervous, I talk too fast and I talk over myself.  (insert glum sigh)  So I’m just completely sure I look really impressive to prospective agents, yes?

This agent hunt is really frying my brain.  Thus more insanity on my part.  Hopefully I’ll get something settled soon, because I really, really want to see what happens with my rabbit.

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