To e-Publicist or Not

I have a series of posts, most of them from last year, that I've labeled AAR, for After Action Review. Whenever we do a piece of work in the field for our training program I try to grab everyone together to discuss what went right and what went wrong. It's an AAR. Last year I started an AAR for my release of Toe the Line.

For that book I tried to do it all myself. I scheduled my own interviews, got my own reviews, that sort of thing. It wasn't necessarily hard work, Book Blogs made most of it quite easy, but it was long work. This time around, for the release of my next novel, On the Edge, I'm hiring a professional to do all the leg work for me.

A couple of years ago I was asked in an interview for a job whether or not I change my own tires, change my own oil, update my own computer operating system, do my own gardening, and to what degree I work on my house. I felt at that moment it was an odd series of questions. Afterward I realized that my potential boss was trying to determine how much I value my own time verse allowing a professional to do the work. I see the value of contractors. Why spend time and money doing something that you could pay to have someone, someone who has done it many times before, do for you. Now, we shall see if an online publicist is worthwhile.

I intend to run and AAR on this event as well. Tomorrow I'll give the details of the plan I'm purchasing and some more specifics. My biggest concern? What if both releases yield negative revenue streams and no results. The only conclusion then would be poor writing, right? Nope . . . never mind . . . not even going to consider that outcome.

Titles Come First

In one of my first writing workshops after college, a class on how to write a short story, I came to a class with a story that I had yet to find a title for. During the critique portion of the workshop one of the other members of the class castigated me about not having a title. It wasn't just a tick on a long worksheet of problems with the story, it was a thesis on why titles were so important. I didn't bite. I argued back that I just hadn't thought of a title, that the group should instead focus on the content of the story. Based on P.J. Parrish's post in The Kill Zone yesterday, my fellow writer had a very good point.

Miss Parrish's article, When Titles Go Bad, is a worthwhile article to read for anyone writing or trying to write a book. Among the many things she says is this:

How important? I found a marketing survey that asked readers what was the element that most influenced why they bought a book. Excluding Gigantoid Author Name (ie James Patterson can put his name on an Altoid can and it would sell) here is the order:


1. Title
2. Cover
3. Back copy
4. Opening paragraphs
5. Price


Now, none of what she wrote could be called original (reminds me of this post I wrote on there being no more truly original thoughts), but seeing it listed out like that sure does set ones mind to pondering, particularly when one has a book he'd like to release soon.

1. Title - On the Edge - Not too terribly prosaic, kinda run of the mill, but definitely fitting for a thriller cum mystery. Secondly, once a reader gets into the novel they'll see the double meaning that the title has for the story.

2. Cover - A blatant rip off of Dick Francis' style that looks far more amateurish (see here). Should I go with a professional designer? Sure. My goal however is to hold off on doing that till my hobby actually turns a profit. Based on the fact that cover is number 2 on the list I'm beginning to wonder if I'm not working myself into a Catch-22.

3. Back Copy -  None yet.

4. Opening Paragraphs - Personally I like em. I've got the series on opening lines (see here) and I have made sure that mine is not in the "not good" sub-catagory. Stay tuned for a snippet coming to this space in the next few weeks.

5. Price - $0.99 introductory price, $2.99 regular price. Can't beat that unless it's free and at that pricing level no one takes the work seriously.

Based on the above list of my own work, understanding that I need to update #3 so that I have some back copy to judge, it looks like I'm in trouble. Mayhaps I should spend some dough on a professional cover design before I release On the Edge. Thanks to Miss Parrish for setting me straight.

In the Past . . .

In the past I've tried to focus most of my posts on the changes in the publishing industry, the changes in the way we read and in snippets that I've gleaned about writing, what I think constitutes good writing and things of that nature. Based on this story that was embedded in the most recent Kindle Direct Publishing Newsletter, I need to get a bit more personal.

Richard Ridley writes and interesting, albeit brief, article about how to create buzz around a new novel or story by bringing the blog reader into the writing process.

"... take that journey with your readers by talking about the ups and downs on your website, blog, or social media. Those who follow your path likely will be anxious to reach the destination and read the published product. Plus, the journey might be something they share with their friends and family, which can lead to even more readers awaiting your book."

Then he gives this little warning.

"Keep in mind, however, that there is a danger of saturating your readers with too much inside information, so you want to be careful and not bury them with details. Give them just enough to keep them interested. For the most part, you want to give them a peek inside without giving them a full-fledged tour."


It goes along with a post I read yesterday by Clare Langley-Hawthorne at The Kill Zone. In How Self Publishing Changed the Industry she writes about how things have changed for writer and authors over the last few years, mostly the positive changes. This is another positive change. The ability to connect, prior to the release of a book, with the audience that will be reading the book.

So in the coming months I think I just might provide some glimpses into my writing process. I already try to give some insight into the self-e-publishing world, like these posts, but now I can do the same for writing. Will it create buzz or silence. Don't know. Should be fun to find out.

Details Abound but Still Quite Good

Despite a weak first few passages (which by the way became engrossing by page 3) and a less than thrilling ending line, Bob Mayer's Eyes of the Hammer was really quite good. It reminded me of a Tom Clancy with a tad less technical detail, a modern days Frederick Forsyth and a more sober and realistic WEB Griffen. I think I've found a go-to author for when I want a decent military style thriller and I'm tired of Clancy.

Despite having liked the plot and the characters I found the pacing a tad arduous at times to take. I've said many times that reading a Frederick Forsyth book like The Day of the Jackal  and especially The Dogs of Wars more like reading a treatise on project management techniques. Mayer goes into significant, sometimes painfully excruciating detail about the planning that goes into the missions his character's undergo. I would have rather had more details about the mission and less about the planning. But, as a former military guy, it did bring back fond memories of Ranger School operation's orders.

I look forward to the next Bob Mayer novel.

Two for One

Savvy readers of this blog know that I run a series on the importance of first lines and last lines. It was due to these series that I started to recognize the need for a series on passages about mornings. It seemed as though every author loved to say things about the morning. Today we have a first line (one that should probably be in the "good first line" subcategory) combined with line that should also be in the series on the morning.

There was a thin robin’s-egg-blue dawn coming up over Tel Aviv when the intelligence analyst finished typing his report.

Forsyth, Frederick - The Odessa File

Perhaps not the most exciting first line, but it does make me anxious to see what else the author has to offer.

Latest Last . . . Not Much Better than the First

Although there was plenty inbetween that I liked about this book, the first and last lines did not make the list of fun to read parts. A few days ago I posted about this first line, now, done too soon, the last line comes up.

Carlos smiled back at his brother. They were back in business again. 

Bob Mayer - Eyes of the Hammer

So, if the first lines set the scene and the last line closes it, I'm thinking that both of these need to be in the "needs improvement" sub-catagory.

That being said, in a couple days I hope to have my review posted, the book probably won't be in the "needs improvement" sub. Go figure.

Kbuuk Starts Up

The name not-withstanding, and even that is growing on me, I read in the local paper about a new ebook publishing company called Kbuuk. It's an interesting name from outset and they describe it in the article as:

That's "K" for "cloud," which is where e-books are hosted, and "buuk" for, well, "book."

I've gone to the site and tooled around a bit, and it's not too bad. I plan on using it as a channel for my books, although from the article it sounds as though they'd rather have me as a reader than an author.

Although the Kbuuk website went live in March 2012, the company is still in that sand- papering stage. The site has some 460 registered users, with the ratio of authors to readers about 3-to-1. 

The article did start me to thinking. How many other channels will be out there in the future for authors to use to publish ebooks. Already I've got mine on Amazon, Smashwords, CreateSpace, and more. So far I fine Smashwords to be the most aggressive and the best experience, but will more Kbuuks come along in the near future? What will that mean for e-publishing? What is the benefiet for Kbuuks over Smashwords?

One benefit leaps to mind immediately, not being lost in the shuffle. At Amazon there seems to be so many books that newer, less well known authors can't be seen as readily. With Smashwords the area is so overwhelmed with writers of less renown that no one stands out. Also, the categorization and display of works is a tad unweildy. Is Kbuuks the first of the "specialization" publishers? Will we soon see e-publishing sites that specialize in thrillers, others in Christian books, others in non-fiction etc.

You heard it hear first folks.

First Line Right Now

Anyone who has been paying attention should have realized when I posted this entry on pricing of ebooks that the next book in the "to be read list" would be this Bob Mayer book.

This series on first lines was started when I was continually being told how important first lines were. There are quite a few first lines posted as a part of the series which can be accessed by clicking on the link to the right or clicking here. Now that there are over 100 I'm beginning to wonder if I should create subsets so that I can group the first lines into "bad first lines" and "good first lines." But, there's a reason I haven't made this change, and part of that reason can be read below:

The convoy was caught in the tail end of the morning traffic crush pouring out of the suburbs and cascading into Washington D.C. The three four-door Chevys with tinted windows were sandwiched in a long string of cars rolling east along Keene Mill Road. Another mile and half along the two-lane road that bisected Springfield, Virginia, and they'd reach the Beltway girdling the nation's capitol.

Bob Mayer - Eyes of the Hammer

The first passage is not good, but the sense of impending doom for that little convoy doesn't necessarily put it in the bad category. Maybe there should be three sub-categories, "bad first lines," "good first lines" and "could be better."

Not Cottoning to Sacketts

As any even less than savvy reading could tell by the two previous posts on the subject (here and here) I did not like Lando by Louis L'Amour.

It wasn't like I was going into the book with pre-conceived notions of greatness. I've read enough Louis L'Amour books to know exactly what I'm getting into, the problem was that this one took quite a while to get into what it needed to. It was as if the entire first half or two thirds of the novel was all just a build up for the last third. That's okay if the first portion can stand on it's own, I don't think this one did. It was weak all the way up to the very end then it became trite and silly.

I never read The Sacketts. I like the fact that L'Amour was able to build an entire family from which to jump off on many stories throughout many eras, but I just never cottoned to em. This, . . . Lando . . . my first foray into The Sacketts did little to compel me to read more about em. Like I said, maybe there's a reason I always eschewed The Sacketts.

All That Middle Stuff

Although the first and last lines weren't bad, it was all that stuff in the middle that made me not like the book.

Looking down at them, I thought it was a strange trail they had followed, those three, and how in the end it had only come to this, to death in a dusty street, nobody caring; and by and by nobody even remembering, except by gossip over a bar in a saloon. 

Seemed it was just as well a man did not know where he was headed when he was to come only to this—a packet of empty flesh and clothes to end it all. In the end their hatred had bought them only this … only this, and the bitter years between. 

It always seemed that for me something waited in those western lands, something of riches in the way of land and living, and maybe a woman. And when I found her, I wanted her to be like Gin. 

Younger, of course, as would be fitting, but like her. 

Somebody likely to have no more sense than to fall in love with a Tennessee boy with nothing but his two hands and a racing mule.

L'Amour, Louis - Lando (The Sacketts)