Blogging is Dead

I've heard the same question being asked by quite a few authors lately... Is there any point in having an author blog anymore? 

I was surprised by the answers many of these authors were getting from other authors. 

NO 

What reasons do these advice give use to back up their reasoning? 

1) The blogsphere is oversaturated. 

2) Readers will go to a website over a blog. 

3) Blogs don't help sell books. 

4) It takes time away from writing books. 

These were their main arguments, and there seemed to be a good deal of backing from other authors, but I don't agree. 

The Blogosphere is Oversaturated

1) There are a bazillion blogs out there, yes, but is there a blog out there dedicated to talking about you and your books? If there is... yeah for you! Most likely, though, there isn't. Introducing your characters to the world, telling about your writing process, sharing crazy adventures in publishing... those fall to you and you alone. 

Readers Will Go to a Website Over a Blog

2) Readers go to websites to look up an author's book ordering. Trust me, when I was redoing my website, a got a whole slew of requests that I make sure my books are listed IN ORDER. Aside from that, what else does your website tell readers? They can get the synopsis for your books, your bio, maybe some general info about you, but they really don't get to know YOU just by visiting your website. 

Blogs Don't Help Sell Books

3) Blogs aren't meant to sell your books. SHOCKER, right? I think many authors confuse the idea of having an author blog with having a book selling platform. If readers are coming to your blog, either you are very witty and entertaining, or your visitors heard of you from someone or read one of your books. They most likely are not stopping by your blog to buy your book. They have Amazon and B&N for that. They have taken the time to stop by your blog and read your posts to find out WHO YOU ARE. 

Are you the kind of author that harasses reviewers who leave you a bad review or cry every time someone posts a spoiler? Are you as interesting as your books? Probably not, but your thoughts on writing and the world in general are interesting. Are you funny despite the fact that your books are all tragedies? The POINT of having an author blog is to connect with your readers, not sell them more books. If you're not interested in connecting with readers, there's a good chance you're in the wrong business. 

It Takes Time Away From Writing Books

4) I try to post something non promotional on my blog at least once a week, usually on Mondays before things get too hectic. It takes me maybe half an hour to write up a blog post. I keep a list of ideas that occur to me at random times, either from an article I read, conversation I had, review I got, or what have you. I don't write my blog posts on Mondays. I write them when I need a break from writing because my brain is fried from my characters misbehaving or I got stuck on some plot point. Blogging gives me a chance to write without worrying about whether I'm about to screw up my plot with yet another twist. It's a relief for me and I have fun doing it. Plus, readers get a peak at what's going on inside my head during the week, which makes me a real person to them instead of just some name on a shelf or Kindle app. 

Blogging isn't dead. It's alive and well to allow readers to get to know their favorite authors and to keep authors' heads from exploding. 

So, if you're looking for all my books listed IN ORDER you can find them on my website here, but if you want to figure out who this crazy girl is who writes about Hunger and Curses and Talents and Flirty French Men Named Guy, stop by my blog every Monday for a peek inside my head. 

Wednesday Writers: Kasi Blake

Today I'm welcoming Kasi Blake!

A Writer’s Life or How I Spend My Days in Pajamas

When it comes to the mysterious world of writers, the general public seems to believe the myths rather than the truth.  Even my friends think I must be living a glamorous life that I somehow keep hidden from them.  They watch movies about writers putting themselves in danger while researching data for their books, hanging out with intriguing characters with a cigarette dangling from their lips, and doing a dance down the red carpet in Hollywood as their book-to-movie deal dumps loads of cash on them.

The reality is that writers write.  We spend most of our time alone in an office, typing away on the keyboard and hoping when we finish we have something worth showing the world.  I try to write at least 500 words a day.  Doesn’t sound like much, I know, but sometimes I struggle for hours just to a single coherent sentence.

I also have a love/hate relationship with my characters.  It’s sort of like meeting someone new, someone you can see spending the rest of your life with.  You want to be with them every second of every day—at first.  Then you start to notice their annoying habits.  After a while you hate the very sight of them.  When I reach this place and want to kill all of my main characters off, I hold on tight and keep writing.  Sooner or later, it will turn to love again.

Yes, someday I do actually work in my pajamas, but only when the ground is covered in snow.  That way I know I won’t get any unexpected visitors.

My name is Kasi Blake, and I have three series out.  The Rule series is about a vampire who returns to mortal and tries to go back to his old life.  Hard to do when you are dating THE werewolf hunter, your brother wants to stake you, and your teacher is a monster in disguise.  This series begins with a book called Vampires Rule, and it is free if you want to run over to Amazon, B&N, or one of those other online retailers to grab a digital copy.

I also have a series that begins with Bait (it is free too), and it’s about Van Helsing’s daughter.  She reports to her father’s school in New Zealand, anxious to become a great hunter, but things get in her way like wraiths, a reaper, and a gorgeous boy
with jungle green eyes who hates her on sight.

My third series, so far, consists of Crushed and Witch Hunt.  Both books are about teen witches using their powers to play dangerous games at school.  They each have their own set of characters and a new, exciting game to play.

You can find me on Twitter @kasiblake and on Goodreads.  I also have a Facebook author page and my blog is here:  http://kasi-kcblake.blogspot.com

Adventures in Vlogging

Blogging has been the "go to" place for up to date info on your favorite authors for a while, but what about Vlogging?

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, it's okay. You're not alone! Although video blogging has been going on for a while, it's becoming a great new places for authors to share what they're up to. 

I'm not giving up on blogging, because it's a great outlet for me when I need a break from one of my books, but I too am trying out the world of vlogging. 

So here is my first attempt at vlogging. I'm answering some of the questions many readers have asked me over the years this week. 

In future posts, I'll be talking about how I build my characters, what research I've done for my books, and even showing some character artwork. If you have something you want me to vlog about, just let me know!

Wednesday Writers: David Kirk

Today I'm pleased to welcome David Kirk!

I write stories with young adults in them. You will notice that I did not say I “write YA.” There is a difference. Publishers select genre designations primarily based on marketing issues. So a book with younger characters usually carries the genre young adult. Unfortunately, Amazon describes their category as “teens.”

I prefer to describe my novels as “coming of age,” or as the Germans say “bildungsroman.” This is a story in which the protagonist is confused about the ways of the world or suffers a loss, and then begins a journey of discovery. At the end, hopefully, some learning or maturity has taken place. It’s described as a novel of education or my favorite, a “novel of formation.”

YA and coming of age are not mutually exclusive. Many novels in the YA genre have elements of the bildungsroman. However, coming of age differs from books written primarily to entertain teens. It is also not restricted to the teenage years. I recently read an article about a high school beauty queen who led a fairy tale life. She married a successful business man and lived in a plush suburb. Suddenly, she found herself at forty, abandoned with four kids, and juggling night school and a job. Her coming of age began all over again.

Young adulthood is such a vivid time to write about. Scientists once believed that our brains were fully developed at twelve or thirteen. Recent imaging techniques reveal that biophysical development of the prefrontal cortex continues to as late as the mid-twenties. Some of us wore our emotions on our sleeve and had less-developed social filters to modify their expression. Feelings were intense. Mood swings were amplified.

Imitation begins at this time, which is an external compulsion. Little kids don’t have it. I recall the assignment in first grade to draw a picture of our house. We didn’t look at the person sitting next to us and copy her paper. (One of things the exercise taught me was that a career as an artist was in doubt.) But as teenagers we begin to imitate dress, style, music, even writing. We try different things out in order to someday develop our true identity.

I often speak at high schools and library sponsored young adult readers/writers groups. The question frequently comes up as to what, for someone obviously past their formative years, do I know or even remember about these years. Well, I helped raise two and I did go through it myself. But most importantly, I wrote it down. I grew up on a farm and that meant hours of driving a tractor up and down a field, or walking through acres of soybeans with a hoe cutting down weeds. Developing a vivid imagination not only helped pass the time, it was a matter of psychological survival. Plus I kept a journal, the kind college writing teachers tell you to keep, and wrote down sayings, quotes, experiences, and passionate love poems, usually about some girl who would have nothing to do with me. The characters of my first novel began in that journal.

So whatever the label, teen, young adult, or coming of age, it is such a great time to write about.

I would like to thank DelSheree Gladden, a great YA writer, for hosting me on this wonderful blog. I also like to chat, so drop me a line at djkirk@djkirk.net or with the contact form on my web site at www.djkirk.net. In addition, please check out my coming of age novels.

Just wait for the movie?

When your favorite book gets turned into a movie, you're first in line to buy tickets, right? What about just skipping the book and going straight to the movie? 

For book lovers, that might sound like craziness, but it's an approach plenty of people take. 

I was talking with one of my lovely readers, Nicole Marie, and she mentioned how she overheard a couple of ladies having a discussion while she was at work. It went something like this: 

Woman 1: I don't read much anymore. 

Woman 2: Why not? 

Woman 1: If it's a really good book, it'll just get made into a movie, so why bother? 

Woman 2: True. 

Really? Now, I know not everyone loves books as much as I do, but is the thought that a book might be made into a movie actually a good reason to give up on reading? 

Personally, I think there are a couple of problems with this reasoning.

First off, the book is ALWAYS better than the movie. There is so much that has to be left out in a movie adaptation. You lose character thoughts, vivid descriptions that do more than just tell you it's a forest, emotions and feelings you can't see the way you can feel them when you read, and so much more. In my opinion, the only movie that came close to being better than the book is "Catching Fire," and that was really only because I thought the book was a bit of a let down after Hunger Games, and the movie cut out a lot of the repetitive parts. 

Secondly, books last longer. In a movie, you get an hour and a half, two hours top, of entertainment. Books, you can lose yourself in for days. You become immersed in the character's lives and their world. You get inside their heads and experience the story with them. You just don't have the same experience with a movie. 

Thirdly, every good book is NOT going to be made into a movie. Some great books are simply too difficult to adapt to the movie screen. Others would be too expensive. Some, too controversial or explicit (though that seems to be less of an issue as time goes by). Some really good books will be made into movies, and us book lovers will be first in line for tickets, but plenty of so-so or outright lousy books will be made into movies right along with them because they would be a low cost venture, are easy to market, would be great competition for big time movies already on screen, or have the potential to be merchandised like crazy. 

Books are made into movies for all kinds of reasons. You're missing out on a lot of great literature if you expect Hollywood to tell you what the best stories are in today's market. 

Wednesday Writers: Jenny Moore

Today I'm welcoming Jenny Moore!

I tried to think of things that might be interesting to someone reading this post. And when I considered what I would want to know about an author, besides their methods—like brainstorming, outlinining, how they choose character names and things like that, I thought I’d be interested in seeing their workspace.

So here’s mine. 

I re-claimed the “playroom,” now that my kids are older and don’t need a whole room full of toys. It’s the brightest room in the house, which I love, and it has slopey ceilings and a funny shape—perfect!

So, here’s my desk.  I’m glad it has the pull-out computer drawer, because there is never room for the laptop with all the books and stuff. I use that extra monitor when I edit, so I can have one screen with the editor’s notes, and the other with my manuscript.

On my whiteboard, I put notes to myself, and it’s mostly a “to-do” list. 

I have my lego Shakespeare, pepto-bismol, what can I say, I’m one of those people with a perpetually yucky tummy, and a cute sugar bowl my sister-in-law gave me. I like to add sugar to tea and crio brew while I’m sitting there.  Underneath my desk is a space heater and a stool where I put my feet up when I type.

     

Before I took the picture, I straightened the desk. I’m not a tidy person, but at least I threw away Diet Coke cans and Hot Tamale packages. 

      

This is what’s behind me. Books I use a lot, and a bulletin board with headshots of my characters—I like to have a visual of the people I write about. And I put them together in couples, because I’m cheesy like that. My certificate from the Storymakers’ First Chapter Contest is framed—yes, I’m proud of it, what can I say?

    

The rest of the room is filled with bookshelves—some small because of the sloped roof and some bigger. I love this teapot, and the Japanese Manga copy of Reforming Lord Ragsdale that Carla Kelly gave me. 

    

 My Lit-o-graph of Pride and Prejudice and this cool vintage  lunch box my kids gave me.

    

More books and my old Wonder Woman costume from when I was a kid. That’s one of my favorite Monet pictures on the wall—my sister gave it to me. She got it in Paris.

Basically, I like to surround myself with things that make me happy or inspire me, and my office is somewhere I feel happy and warm and comfortable. One of these days I think I’ll get a big cozy chair and ottoman where I can sit and read.

Oh, and speaking of things I love, I have a framed picture of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in my office too. He’s the perfect inspiration for writing happily ever romance novels, don’t ya think?

Sigh…

Keep up to date on what Jenny is working on at: 

Jennifer Lunt Moore (FB)

authorjmoore.com (website)

@jennythebrave (twitter)

jjbmoore@yahoo.com

jennythebrave@gmail.com

AMAZON: Becoming Lady Lockwood

The Review Police

How far is too far when it comes to making sure reviews are legit? 

Amazon has been getting attacked for their policies toward certain publishers, and I've tried to give them the benefit of doubt. There are always two sides to a story, right? Well, my doubts are piling up. Amazon has done a lot for indie authors who want to self publish, and I appreciate that. What I don't appreciate is the fact that they think they are the Review Police. 

Over the last month or so, Amazon has decided to crack down on reviews they suspect MIGHT be biased in even the tiniest way. I'm all for people not being able to buy fake reviews. Amazon is taking this concept to a ridiculous level now. 

I tend to write a lot of reviews. I run a book review blog, which accounts for a good portion of my reviews. I'm also An Author, which means I know a lot of other authors. Shocking, I know. Authors, especially indie authors, are great about helping each other out. We review for each other all the time because we know how hard it is to get reviews. Does that mean we aren't honest? Of course not. I've given  3 and 4 stars to books written by some of my closest writing buddies. In fact, authors are notoriously critical readers. According to Amazon, though, if you are an author, it's possible--and even likely, in their opinion--that you know every other author on the planet. If you have an Amazon Author page, they'll most likely flag your review as biased, simply because you're an author and might have a vague connection to the author or the book you're reviewing. They're even going back a removing past reviews done by authors for this same reason. 

What else will get your review kicked back? Get ready, there's a whole list. 

If you have a book published with a traditional publisher, you're not allowed to review for any author with the same publisher, even if you've never met, spoken to, chatted online with, or emailed that author. Amazon sees it as a conflict of interests, because you might be trying to help your publisher sell more books and aren't being honest in your review. 

If you GIFT a copy of your book to someone, there's a good chance they won't be allowed to post a review. Amazon is likely to consider this as payment and refuse to post their review. It doesn't matter that this is one of the few secure ways to send a copy of your book to a reviewer, or that this might have been part of a giveaway you were running, or just a something nice you wanted to do. Amazon doesn't care about the reason behind the gift, just that it might conflict with their narrow sense of "fairness." Switch to using Smashwords to send Gift Copies. 

Same goes for sending someone an Amazon gift card. Amazon may very well consider this as payment to a reviewer, even if you sending someone a gift card had nothing to do with them--at some point--writing a review for one of your books. So, it may not be to your advantage to offer an Amazon gift card as a giveaway prize anymore. Stick with Paypal or Visa. 

Immediate family has always been out as a review option on Amazon. They'll kick back the review if they see you have the same home address or bank account because that person "has a vested interest in the success of your book." Fine. But, this policy is tightening up as well. If Amazon realizes that your extended family or close friends are indeed associated with you, there's a good chance they won't post their review. It doesn't matter if the really did read your book and did in fact enjoy it. Amazon doesn't care. 

Many authors are now creating online Street Teams, dedicated readers who want to help promote your books by tweeting, posting, handing out bookmarks, etc. If you've got yourself a street team, KEEP YOUR MEMBERS SECRET. If Amazon finds out a reviewer is a member of your street team, kiss any reviews from that person goodbye. Amazon believes street team members may receive "perks" that have monetary value, such a bookmarks, or heave forbid, a signed paperback copy or tote bag. How dare an author thank someone for helping to promote their name, right? 

There are probably even more reasons a review might be kicked back, but so far, these are the ones I've had to deal with.

How does Amazon find out whether or not someone is your friend, or on your street team, or might have met you once in a coffee shop ten years ago? Who knows. They've become the books world's equivalent of Homeland Security, apparently. It's really pretty shocking to realize they are digging into reviewers personal lives that much. It's invasive, and over the line, frankly. As I said at the beginning, I think reviews should be honest and never paid for for, but what Amazon is doing will only insure that reviews and readers alike start relying more on Goodreads or Shelfari for reviews. Many authors will no longer post reviews on Amazon, and I'm considering going the same way. Amazon's quest for bookworld domination is only pushing more readers and authors away.