Gaming the Amazon Review System

As a writer and a reader, I find authors who "game" the Amazon review system to be terribly dishonest.

Everyone Is Not Going to Like Your Story

There's a discussion over on the Dear Author blog about yet another romance epublisher having problems (Highland Press). At the end of that particular post, Jane says:

As a reader, I am far more disturbed about the last item which appears that MacGillivray is using her position to game the Amazon review system. I’m sure that there are dozens of authors who would like negative reviews to be removed. Other fans and authors find this practice disturbing as well.

Amen!

When you or I write a book, it's expected that not everyone is going to fall in love with it (at least, not as much as the writer has). This follows through from agent to publisher. It's just something an author has to live with: Some people are going to love your book, some are going to be lukewarm about it, others are going to hate it.

To do this writing thing, you have to have a thick skin, or you'll end up in therapy for quite some time.

Bad Reviews Removed

So a romance author/illustrator has her groupies (or whatever you wish to call them) go around on Amazon "reporting abuse" on all the negative reviews on her books.

Shame on her.

Look, I understand wanting to get paid. I understand you have bills to pay, mortgages and whatnot. Believe me, I've got oodles of friggin' credit card debt.

But negative reviews = not getting paid? Didja ever consider that maybe your published book might - just might - be a craptacular book to a certain portion of the reading public?

I'm sorry, but having minions abuse the system is just low.

Live with the bad reviews. LIVE WITH THE DAMNED BAD REVIEWS!

Bestselling authors have to deal with it, so why can't you?

In Summary

• Gain a thick skin.
• Write another book.
• Stop having other people - and stop yourself! - from removing bad reviews.
• Write another book

'nough said? Thanks to Jane at Dear Author for the interesting post.

~Nancy Beck

Gaming the Amazon Review System

As a writer and a reader, I find authors who "game" the Amazon review system to be terribly dishonest.

Everyone Is Not Going to Like Your Story

There's a discussion over on the Dear Author blog about yet another romance epublisher having problems (Highland Press). At the end of that particular post, Jane says:

As a reader, I am far more disturbed about the last item which appears that MacGillivray is using her position to game the Amazon review system. I’m sure that there are dozens of authors who would like negative reviews to be removed. Other fans and authors find this practice disturbing as well.

Amen!

When you or I write a book, it's expected that not everyone is going to fall in love with it (at least, not as much as the writer has). This follows through from agent to publisher. It's just something an author has to live with: Some people are going to love your book, some are going to be lukewarm about it, others are going to hate it.

To do this writing thing, you have to have a thick skin, or you'll end up in therapy for quite some time.

Bad Reviews Removed

So a romance author/illustrator has her groupies (or whatever you wish to call them) go around on Amazon "reporting abuse" on all the negative reviews on her books.

Shame on her.

Look, I understand wanting to get paid. I understand you have bills to pay, mortgages and whatnot. Believe me, I've got oodles of friggin' credit card debt.

But negative reviews = not getting paid? Didja ever consider that maybe your published book might - just might - be a craptacular book to a certain portion of the reading public?

I'm sorry, but having minions abuse the system is just low.

Live with the bad reviews. LIVE WITH THE DAMNED BAD REVIEWS!

Bestselling authors have to deal with it, so why can't you?

In Summary

• Gain a thick skin.
• Write another book.
• Stop having other people - and stop yourself! - from removing bad reviews.
• Write another book

'nough said? Thanks to Jane at Dear Author for the interesting post.

~Nancy Beck

Anomalos - Yet Another Publish America?

Bah. I went over to the Writers Beware blog and saw the entry on yet another printer playing at being a publisher.

The one in question is called Anomalos Publishers, and you can read the post here.

In their FAQ is the same, tired old crap that makes you want to run away screaming. Stuff like:

"...nearly all traditional publishers have scaled back or eliminated altogether their willingness to publish new authors."

"Anomalos authors often order as many as 10,000 to 20,000 copies in the first run, but 1,000 is the minimum we require."

Sheesh.

Guess what? "Traditional" publishers (a term I think Publish America (PA) came up with) still publish new authors; they do it all the time. Because authors decide to stop writing. Because authors die. Because authors don't necessarily come out with a book every year (like Nora Roberts, who I think writes up more than one book a year - wow!!!).

Anyway, remember, all authors - yes, even the bestselling ones - were once newly published. (Fancy that!)

As to buying your own book...sorry, that's straight from crappy old PA's way of thinking (after all, they market to writers rather than readers, so from where do you think they get their money?). And a minimum of 1,000 books? Math isn't my strong suit, so you should look at one of the anonymous posters who made a hypothetical example.

The amount of dough you'd have to shell out in that poster's example? Something like $9,000!!

Uh, no.

That's not how it works. How it works is that the author never shells out any money upfront. What incentive is there for the "publisher" to market your book if you give them money right away? Right, zippo. Real, legitimate publishers give you money; a bigger publisher even gives you an advance. So the publisher is in the hole from the get-go (and you get to keep the advance, whether book does well or not).

Don't leave out the smaller publishers, especially if you have a book that you think is hard to place (too quirky or whatever). Although smaller publishers generally don't give out advances, you also (usually) don't have to worry about getting an agent; you can submit to them directly.

Always, always, always do your research before sending out your baby. You'll save all those extra dollar bills in your wallet.

As for Anomalos - meh, pass, of course. If all you want is a book in your hand, head on over to Lulu.com.

~Nancy Beck

Anomalos - Yet Another Publish America?

Bah. I went over to the Writers Beware blog and saw the entry on yet another printer playing at being a publisher.

The one in question is called Anomalos Publishers, and you can read the post here.

In their FAQ is the same, tired old crap that makes you want to run away screaming. Stuff like:

"...nearly all traditional publishers have scaled back or eliminated altogether their willingness to publish new authors."

"Anomalos authors often order as many as 10,000 to 20,000 copies in the first run, but 1,000 is the minimum we require."

Sheesh.

Guess what? "Traditional" publishers (a term I think Publish America (PA) came up with) still publish new authors; they do it all the time. Because authors decide to stop writing. Because authors die. Because authors don't necessarily come out with a book every year (like Nora Roberts, who I think writes up more than one book a year - wow!!!).

Anyway, remember, all authors - yes, even the bestselling ones - were once newly published. (Fancy that!)

As to buying your own book...sorry, that's straight from crappy old PA's way of thinking (after all, they market to writers rather than readers, so from where do you think they get their money?). And a minimum of 1,000 books? Math isn't my strong suit, so you should look at one of the anonymous posters who made a hypothetical example.

The amount of dough you'd have to shell out in that poster's example? Something like $9,000!!

Uh, no.

That's not how it works. How it works is that the author never shells out any money upfront. What incentive is there for the "publisher" to market your book if you give them money right away? Right, zippo. Real, legitimate publishers give you money; a bigger publisher even gives you an advance. So the publisher is in the hole from the get-go (and you get to keep the advance, whether book does well or not).

Don't leave out the smaller publishers, especially if you have a book that you think is hard to place (too quirky or whatever). Although smaller publishers generally don't give out advances, you also (usually) don't have to worry about getting an agent; you can submit to them directly.

Always, always, always do your research before sending out your baby. You'll save all those extra dollar bills in your wallet.

As for Anomalos - meh, pass, of course. If all you want is a book in your hand, head on over to Lulu.com.

~Nancy Beck

A Weird Place to Run a Publishing Company

It's been the butt of jokes (Ralph Kramden: "And you're going to Bellevue, because you're nuts!") and was exposed as an horrific place to house psychiatric patients; I remember the TV news (in the 1970s) filled with shots of patients slumped over in the hallways, and those hallways being dimly lit.

Not good times for New York's Bellevue Hospital.

But times change.

I'm not sure how much of a venue this particular publisher is going to be, as, so far, it's only going to be putting out four books a year. I will give them credit for not jumping into every genre out there or for trying to put 50 or 60 books out there. It sounds as if they're living within their capacity to print books.

I haven't heard of any of these books, but then I don't read literary novels. Sounds interesting, though.

So, this might be something to consider if you have a novel that fits their criteria. Here's the MSNBC article, and here's their actual website for you to decide.

~Nancy Beck

A Weird Place to Run a Publishing Company

It's been the butt of jokes (Ralph Kramden: "And you're going to Bellevue, because you're nuts!") and was exposed as an horrific place to house psychiatric patients; I remember the TV news (in the 1970s) filled with shots of patients slumped over in the hallways, and those hallways being dimly lit.

Not good times for New York's Bellevue Hospital.

But times change.

I'm not sure how much of a venue this particular publisher is going to be, as, so far, it's only going to be putting out four books a year. I will give them credit for not jumping into every genre out there or for trying to put 50 or 60 books out there. It sounds as if they're living within their capacity to print books.

I haven't heard of any of these books, but then I don't read literary novels. Sounds interesting, though.

So, this might be something to consider if you have a novel that fits their criteria. Here's the MSNBC article, and here's their actual website for you to decide.

~Nancy Beck

Another Epub to Bite the Dust?

Read this at Smart Bitches, and draw your own conclusions.

I read one post that said it was documented that authors had to pay something like 35 cents per book that was put up on the Mardi Gras website.

Yeah, you read that right. I mean, WTF? If this is true, if this is documented, I wonder if those authors had any recourse. Was this something stated in their contracts in fine print, or was it just sort of slipped in, without anyone finding out?

Without anyone finding out, apparently, except near the end.

My sympathies go out to those authors who have been or will soon be stiffed.

~Nancy Beck

Another Epub to Bite the Dust?

Read this at Smart Bitches, and draw your own conclusions.

I read one post that said it was documented that authors had to pay something like 35 cents per book that was put up on the Mardi Gras website.

Yeah, you read that right. I mean, WTF? If this is true, if this is documented, I wonder if those authors had any recourse. Was this something stated in their contracts in fine print, or was it just sort of slipped in, without anyone finding out?

Without anyone finding out, apparently, except near the end.

My sympathies go out to those authors who have been or will soon be stiffed.

~Nancy Beck

Republishing

Back to Publisher's Marketplace stuff. I found this in the free e-newsletter, Publisher's Lunch:

Success through Republishing
The WSJ's weekend advisor highlights Persephone Books and New York Review Books as "finding unlikely success in the overcrowded book industry by turning out reprints of decades-old titles."

They say Persephone will expand distribution next year beyond their own site and Amazon to include some bookstores. Plus: "Reprint publishers aren't under the same pressure to create instant hits as are publishers of new material, says NYRB publisher Rea Hederman. His books often take a year to gather momentum compared with the month or two that bookstores give a new title before they pull it from shelves. When NYRB last October released "A Savage War of Peace," about France's occupation of Algeria, it didn't take off at first. But what some people see as parallels to Iraq in the 1977 book have since turned it into a hit with American armed services. The title has sold more than 20,000 copies."

What's old is new again, hmm? Who wouldn't like to see new versions of old titles back in print? I certainly wouldn't mind, and who knows...maybe I'd find a "new" author to whet my reading appetite (which is really huge, at the moment).

~Nancy Beck

Republishing

Back to Publisher's Marketplace stuff. I found this in the free e-newsletter, Publisher's Lunch:

Success through Republishing
The WSJ's weekend advisor highlights Persephone Books and New York Review Books as "finding unlikely success in the overcrowded book industry by turning out reprints of decades-old titles."

They say Persephone will expand distribution next year beyond their own site and Amazon to include some bookstores. Plus: "Reprint publishers aren't under the same pressure to create instant hits as are publishers of new material, says NYRB publisher Rea Hederman. His books often take a year to gather momentum compared with the month or two that bookstores give a new title before they pull it from shelves. When NYRB last October released "A Savage War of Peace," about France's occupation of Algeria, it didn't take off at first. But what some people see as parallels to Iraq in the 1977 book have since turned it into a hit with American armed services. The title has sold more than 20,000 copies."

What's old is new again, hmm? Who wouldn't like to see new versions of old titles back in print? I certainly wouldn't mind, and who knows...maybe I'd find a "new" author to whet my reading appetite (which is really huge, at the moment).

~Nancy Beck

Interview With Samhain Editor

Maybe you've decided your Magnum Opus should go the e-book route. You've exhausted yourself by going through a ton of agents and/or print publishers, and you really think it's good enough for publication somewhere (as long as it's not a vanity press).

If you're going the e-book route and have a romance or fantasy novel, you could do a lot worse than to go with Samhain Publishing. Yes, they also do print books, but you'll have to check the website to see what their policy is on that; you might have to sell x number of e-books in order for that to happen.

The interview with the editor of Samhain, Angela James, is here. It's a few months old, but it's relevant, in that Ms. James lets you in on (briefly, anyway) what editors do, and how (hint, hint) she was Samhain to expand beyond the romance genre (into SF, for example).

Might be worth your while to send your novel there, once they reopen to submissions (darn it, they closed it down pretty quickly - they must've received a ton in the last few days, alas).

~Nancy Beck

Interview With Samhain Editor

Maybe you've decided your Magnum Opus should go the e-book route. You've exhausted yourself by going through a ton of agents and/or print publishers, and you really think it's good enough for publication somewhere (as long as it's not a vanity press).

If you're going the e-book route and have a romance or fantasy novel, you could do a lot worse than to go with Samhain Publishing. Yes, they also do print books, but you'll have to check the website to see what their policy is on that; you might have to sell x number of e-books in order for that to happen.

The interview with the editor of Samhain, Angela James, is here. It's a few months old, but it's relevant, in that Ms. James lets you in on (briefly, anyway) what editors do, and how (hint, hint) she was Samhain to expand beyond the romance genre (into SF, for example).

Might be worth your while to send your novel there, once they reopen to submissions (darn it, they closed it down pretty quickly - they must've received a ton in the last few days, alas).

~Nancy Beck

You Gotta Like This

I subscribe to the free lunch edition of Publishers Marketplace. I went back to an edition from late June and found this story from the Boston Globe.

The local author, Jon Papernick, has a book out by a small Canadian publisher, Exile Editions.; as of this writing, it's in pre-order status. The guy who owns the bookstore is friends with the author. The two struck a deal whereby the bookstore, Back Pages Books, will sell it exclusively until and unless Mr. Papernick's book gets an American publisher.

I know, I know. It's like David versus Goliath, to throw out a cliche. Will this be pulled off? I don't know, but I certainly hope so. As of the article date (June 24), 230 books have already been pre-ordered.

So why am I harping on this? This could be any one of us aspiring authors; we might find our first book fits in better with a small press rather than a large press. Yeah, so no Oprah, no Barnes & Noble, or whatever. What's encouraging to me is that a small, independent bookstore would go out on a limb this way for one guy (true, they're friends, but still). I mean, if the megastores are having problems, it's got to be that much harder for an independent.

So kudos to Back Pages Books for taking a chance, on Mr. Papernick for taking a chance, and on Mr. Papernick's publisher for letting him try this.

What do you think? Viable plan, or not worth the effort? And do you think they'll come anywhere near to getting those 1,000 copies sold? Here's hoping they do!

~Nancy Beck

You Gotta Like This

I subscribe to the free lunch edition of Publishers Marketplace. I went back to an edition from late June and found this story from the Boston Globe.

The local author, Jon Papernick, has a book out by a small Canadian publisher, Exile Editions.; as of this writing, it's in pre-order status. The guy who owns the bookstore is friends with the author. The two struck a deal whereby the bookstore, Back Pages Books, will sell it exclusively until and unless Mr. Papernick's book gets an American publisher.

I know, I know. It's like David versus Goliath, to throw out a cliche. Will this be pulled off? I don't know, but I certainly hope so. As of the article date (June 24), 230 books have already been pre-ordered.

So why am I harping on this? This could be any one of us aspiring authors; we might find our first book fits in better with a small press rather than a large press. Yeah, so no Oprah, no Barnes & Noble, or whatever. What's encouraging to me is that a small, independent bookstore would go out on a limb this way for one guy (true, they're friends, but still). I mean, if the megastores are having problems, it's got to be that much harder for an independent.

So kudos to Back Pages Books for taking a chance, on Mr. Papernick for taking a chance, and on Mr. Papernick's publisher for letting him try this.

What do you think? Viable plan, or not worth the effort? And do you think they'll come anywhere near to getting those 1,000 copies sold? Here's hoping they do!

~Nancy Beck

Money Flows to the Writer

Someone on one of the writers' boards I frequent wrote about someone who went to one of her book signings and asked her how much she paid to get published.

"Paid? I didn't pay anything," the novelist said. "The publisher paid me."

The man refused to believe it. "What? No, that can't be. You must've paid something. A hundred dollars? A thousand dollars?"

The novelist shook her head, and patiently explained that it was the other way around: Publishers pay writers for their book.

I've paraphrased the dialogue above, but it's so true. But, you say, how can I, as an unpubbed novelist, have the temerity to insist I'm correct?

Research. Pure and simple research.

Not that it won't take some time to look into such things. It might take you two or three months (or longer) to read through posts by commercially-published writers, to go through some really good writers' boards--that sort of thing.

But I've already written the novel; it's ready to go. Why should I do any research beyond Googling on "agents" or "publishers"?

Because them thar electrical signals are filled with live wires, just waiting to zap you.

Literary Agents

Anyone can say they're a literary agent; sure, there's the Association of Author's Representatives, which has a canon of ethics its members agree to adhere to. But not every reputable agent belongs to it.

So what to do? Remember the research I talked about above? Yup. Before you start sending out your query letters or synopses or first five pages, go to writers' sites to get an idea of who to look for. Things to keep in mind: deciding what type of book it is (mainstream or a specific genre), whether the agent is looking for that particular type of story (there are plenty of agent blogs out there; check 'em out), and whether they accept email or snail mail queries (check out the agency website).

This isn't an exhaustive list, not by any stretch of the imagination. Not sure where to start? Check out the link in the sidebar to the Absolute Write Water Cooler. They have a forum called Bewares and Background Checks. Go through the listings of the good and not-so-good agents. Absorb the info there. Write it down, if you have to.

As to what queries and all that other stuff is: go to the same place for information and ideas. Then, once you're walking, Google other sites, sites where you can find legitimately published authors. An easy to find out is to look up the names of the authors at Amazon and see if it brings up their books.

Better to have this info ahead of time than to just blindly launch yourself into the publishing world.

Publishers

What if you decide that your story isn't so commercial, that its appeal is limited? You might want to research small presses. Google them and look at their websites. Then go back to the Water Cooler for initial research, and then research them some more.

Does this press fit your book? How long does it take for them to get you from the manuscript phase to the publication phase. Are their books stocked in actual bookstores (not just online)? Ellora's Cave used to be only e-books and strictly online, but I hear they've branched out into print books (with their books shelved in real bookstores).

Let's say you've gone down the list of small presses and have been turned down. What then? You may want to check out e-publishers. Be wary; many a start up has closed down just a year or two later. Again, do your research ahead of time so you know your options, so you know you won't be fleeced.

Tomorrow, I'll be zooming in on certain scam publishers and agents. Yeah. Those are the ones you want to avoid like that pothole engulfing two lanes of a three-lane highway.

My Story

I'm about ready to start the outline of Cats of Manhattan. I'm getting ideas of how to get the juices bubbling from a fine book called "Plot and Structure" by James Scott Bell. I've written the back blurb copy (for my use, naturally), and am trying to decide which type of outline I'm going to use (probably the most anal-intense one, knowing me ;-)). At least he doesn't say, you have to do an outline/you don't have to do an outline. With writers, all that matters is what works, what gets the story written and sold.

I've decided on a name for the protag: Marina Zarhagian. I imagine that sounds like an Armenian name. Meh. I tend to go for Eastern European names in my stories (because that's my background). I looked up names that had some sort of cat connotation, but didn't like anything I saw.

Of course, the name may change half a dozen different times. I've also decided she's a working woman, a paralegal, working as a temp in either a corporation in Manhattan or a law firm. She temps because of the way her life is at the moment: she has to take care of her mother every afternoon, plus she has to visit her grandmother before that. Plus, she's an animal activist, albeit a quieter one than you'll see on the news or portrayed in movies; she traps feral, or wild, cats. The idea is to trap them (humanely, of course), have them fixed, then send them back out. The reasoning is that such cats would scratch the hell out people and thus wouldn't be likely to be adopted.

Whew...that's all for today!

Money Flows to the Writer

Someone on one of the writers' boards I frequent wrote about someone who went to one of her book signings and asked her how much she paid to get published.

"Paid? I didn't pay anything," the novelist said. "The publisher paid me."

The man refused to believe it. "What? No, that can't be. You must've paid something. A hundred dollars? A thousand dollars?"

The novelist shook her head, and patiently explained that it was the other way around: Publishers pay writers for their book.

I've paraphrased the dialogue above, but it's so true. But, you say, how can I, as an unpubbed novelist, have the temerity to insist I'm correct?

Research. Pure and simple research.

Not that it won't take some time to look into such things. It might take you two or three months (or longer) to read through posts by commercially-published writers, to go through some really good writers' boards--that sort of thing.

But I've already written the novel; it's ready to go. Why should I do any research beyond Googling on "agents" or "publishers"?

Because them thar electrical signals are filled with live wires, just waiting to zap you.

Literary Agents

Anyone can say they're a literary agent; sure, there's the Association of Author's Representatives, which has a canon of ethics its members agree to adhere to. But not every reputable agent belongs to it.

So what to do? Remember the research I talked about above? Yup. Before you start sending out your query letters or synopses or first five pages, go to writers' sites to get an idea of who to look for. Things to keep in mind: deciding what type of book it is (mainstream or a specific genre), whether the agent is looking for that particular type of story (there are plenty of agent blogs out there; check 'em out), and whether they accept email or snail mail queries (check out the agency website).

This isn't an exhaustive list, not by any stretch of the imagination. Not sure where to start? Check out the link in the sidebar to the Absolute Write Water Cooler. They have a forum called Bewares and Background Checks. Go through the listings of the good and not-so-good agents. Absorb the info there. Write it down, if you have to.

As to what queries and all that other stuff is: go to the same place for information and ideas. Then, once you're walking, Google other sites, sites where you can find legitimately published authors. An easy to find out is to look up the names of the authors at Amazon and see if it brings up their books.

Better to have this info ahead of time than to just blindly launch yourself into the publishing world.

Publishers

What if you decide that your story isn't so commercial, that its appeal is limited? You might want to research small presses. Google them and look at their websites. Then go back to the Water Cooler for initial research, and then research them some more.

Does this press fit your book? How long does it take for them to get you from the manuscript phase to the publication phase. Are their books stocked in actual bookstores (not just online)? Ellora's Cave used to be only e-books and strictly online, but I hear they've branched out into print books (with their books shelved in real bookstores).

Let's say you've gone down the list of small presses and have been turned down. What then? You may want to check out e-publishers. Be wary; many a start up has closed down just a year or two later. Again, do your research ahead of time so you know your options, so you know you won't be fleeced.

Tomorrow, I'll be zooming in on certain scam publishers and agents. Yeah. Those are the ones you want to avoid like that pothole engulfing two lanes of a three-lane highway.

My Story

I'm about ready to start the outline of Cats of Manhattan. I'm getting ideas of how to get the juices bubbling from a fine book called "Plot and Structure" by James Scott Bell. I've written the back blurb copy (for my use, naturally), and am trying to decide which type of outline I'm going to use (probably the most anal-intense one, knowing me ;-)). At least he doesn't say, you have to do an outline/you don't have to do an outline. With writers, all that matters is what works, what gets the story written and sold.

I've decided on a name for the protag: Marina Zarhagian. I imagine that sounds like an Armenian name. Meh. I tend to go for Eastern European names in my stories (because that's my background). I looked up names that had some sort of cat connotation, but didn't like anything I saw.

Of course, the name may change half a dozen different times. I've also decided she's a working woman, a paralegal, working as a temp in either a corporation in Manhattan or a law firm. She temps because of the way her life is at the moment: she has to take care of her mother every afternoon, plus she has to visit her grandmother before that. Plus, she's an animal activist, albeit a quieter one than you'll see on the news or portrayed in movies; she traps feral, or wild, cats. The idea is to trap them (humanely, of course), have them fixed, then send them back out. The reasoning is that such cats would scratch the hell out people and thus wouldn't be likely to be adopted.

Whew...that's all for today!