It's not you, Facebook, it's me. Well, actually it IS you...

As I sit here waiting most IMpatiently for the final results of the World's Best Story Contest. (I'm in the Top Ten, as is the awesome Joe Hickey)

Nail biting suspense, to be sure!

I figured that I'd pass some of the time by doing this here 'Blog' thing for a bit. Today's topic? Well, that's kind of hard to nail down, but it's mainly going to involve a decision I made last night, and have been slowly working my way through ever since (barring 5.5 hours of sleep, of course.)
In short, I have been systematically leaving and/or 'Unliking' a LOT of Facebook pages, for a few reasons.

Are we on a theme? Perhaps.

Let's start with why I'm 'Unliking' a bunch of these pages, shall we? There was a time not so long ago, where certain pages would have 'Like' parties, doesn't that sound like fun?
The point of these 'parties' was to boost 'Likes' for your Facebook Fanpage, and all you'd have to do is 'Like' everyone else's page, and 'hopefully', they'd all return the favor! Great way to boost your numbers, right?
Too bad, it's rather pointless. Unless, of course you are actively interested in everyone you've given a 'Like' to, and chances are, you're not. You're just going to have a cluttered newsfeed until you've had enough and 'Unlike' them, thus negating those boosts. And even if you don't, they'll drop YOU just the same, and for the same reason.
I will say that after dumping a bunch of 'irrelevant to me' pages, a bunch more will crop up that I don't recall 'Liking' in the first place.

C-C-C-C-Combo Breaker!!!

Next, we'll discuss why I'm leaving Facebook groups like a rat from a sinking ship. (I like analogies, you knew this when we started this relationship, don't you dare judge me.)
The VAST majority of Facebook Groups that I was involved with started out as (what I believed) to be a good way to market my books, and sometimes OTHER people's books. Hell, some of these groups have tens of thousands of members! I'll reach a wide number of readers in no time, right?

The problem is that the other thousands strong members are doing the same thing that you are, resulting in a tidal wave of spam posts. Your measly little book promo just got tsunamied. With all the other members posting at about (generous guesstimate here) one post per minute, you're not going to be noticed, and even if you are, the chances of someone picking your card out of the deck are minuscule at best. But, you might say, if I post on a shit-ton of pages, my chances of being seen rise exponentially, right?

All you're really going to accomplish is carpet bombing the ever-loving hell out of your 'Friend's' newsfeed, probably resulting in them getting pretty sick of it, and you. They may already have your book, and if they don't, 'scorching the Earth' of their newsfeed is NOT going to convince them. You could seriously lose friendships over this, so please restrain yourself.

Right now, you're probably wondering, 'What the hell are we supposed to do now?', (Sorry, I couldn't find a GIF for that one.) There are ways to promote yourself effectively without using Facebook, but as of yet, I'm still trying to figure them out, but when I do, I'll be sure to let you know.

It's a long way to the top (If you wanna Rock N Roll).

After years of honing your craft, playing for free in seedy dive bars to non existent or oblivious crowds, handing out demos to anyone who will take them, just to get your name out there, you've finally done it. Center stage, in front of tens of thousands of screaming, adoring fans, hanging on your every word.
The Big Time.


Play Freeeeeebiiiirrrd!!!

Of course, it would seem as though I'm talking about being a Rock Star, right? On the other hand, if you change those words around a little bit, I could also be talking about Authors...

Believe it or not, the Internet didn't always exist. Back in the day, if you wanted to hear your favorite band, your options were: Radio, buying a record, or being lucky enough to see them live in your town (Or travel a LONG way to see them.) This would mean that the band would be contracted, if they weren't, they were resigned to playing seedy dive bars, and more times than not, they would absolutely suck.
Now again, if you change a few words around, I could be talking about Authors. Back in 'Ancient Pre-Internet Days', if you wanted to read a book, more than likely it was by a 'Traditionally Published Author'. Self publishing was a rare thing, and not fondly looked upon by the average reader.
Fast forward to the future, and the Internet! The doors have been knocked down and the floodgates opened wide!
Previously unreachable music and books are readily available to pretty much everyone!

Except maybe this guy.

But there's still the issue of getting people to listen to your latest song, or reading your latest book. Without the promotional powers of a major studio or publishing house, Writer and Rocker alike still have to trudge in our respective trenches until we get 'noticed', but in another similarity, some actually are fine with this, they do it just for the love of their art.
But many of us/ them want it all, the fame, the fortune, and everything that goes with it. We want to be a household name like Stephen King/ The Beatles, and they had to work their asses off to get their current 'legendary' status, just like 'we' will have to until we get that Golden Ticket.

You want MORE similarities? Alright, I got ya covered.

Some Authors do it all by themselves, the writing, the editing, covers, formatting, the whole enchilada.
Rock Star equivalent: Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)

Anne Rice was a major innovator in her genre and some would even say 'royalty', then for certain reasons, dropped out of the 'game', promising never to return. Lo and behold when the genre she revolutionized needed her the most, she returned most triumphantly to reclaim her throne, so to speak.
Rock Star equivalent: Black Sabbath.

Now I'm going to drop a few lesser known names (But check them out, seriously.)

Richard B. Knight is an Indie Author, superbly unique, a little on the 'different side', not widely known in certain circles, but has a bit of a cult following, if you will.
Rock Star equivalent: Frank Zappa.

Michael Ness is a jack of all trades, dabbling in various milieus, and damn good at all of them. Highly intelligent, and surprisingly photogenic.

Hello Ladies. Version 2.0

Rock Star equivalent: Henry Rollins.

I could do this all day, but I'll do just one more before moving on.

There's another Author that seemingly takes forever to release new work, has a bit of an attitude problem, notorious for being a bit of a 'bad boy', probably loved and despised in equal amounts for whatever reason. I'm not going to name any names, but whoever guesses correctly, gets a cookie!
Rock Star equivalent: W. Axl Rose.

So, whether you're reaching for the stars or content to keep it low key, if you're an Author, you're just a few degrees off from being a Rock Star, you most likely even have 'Groupies'.

In closing, the only thing that separates 'Us' from 'Them' is that we most likely carry a tune as well as a Harbour Seal with a head cold, and probably can't shred on the guitar to save our lives. (Not saying it's completely out of the question, but it's a rarity.) We also probably wouldn't look too good in a music video, unless of course...

Anyone else wanna see Ness do a shot for shot cover/ video of Robert Palmer's 'Addicted To Love'?

Keep on Rawkin' and Writin', kiddoes!


Interview with Julie Poole.

Today we have a virtual 'sit down' with Julie Poole, Author of Angel On My Shoulder.
And in an interesting turn of events, I actually learned of a 'different' kind of publishing house I was previously unaware of!

Julie was born in Cardiff in 1963 and was brought up between Cardiff and Aberystwyth until her late-teens. She went to school in both areas as well as having a brief spell in boarding school in Shrewsbury. Julie spent her twenties in South Wales, her 30’s in Gloucester, Bristol and Hereford and her 40’s in Devon, Cornwall and Hertfordshire. She has three children; Tom, Christopher and Charlotte and currently lives in Cornwall with her daughter Charlotte. Julie began a degree in Psychology in 2013 and is currently studying at the University of Plymouth. She includes among her hobbies and interests reading, movies, walks by the sea, meditation, astrology, numerology and of course, writing. Her favourite fiction authors are Marian Keyes and Cecelia Ahern.

1. I see that you're with Titan Publishing House, a 'Vanity Press'. What made you decide to go this route in publishing?

I don’t consider Titan to be a Vanity publisher at all. I researched publishing when I first completed Angel On My Shoulder in 2011 and found that it’s an extremely difficult place to access. I tried for 3 years and applied to many publishing houses, following the submission guidelines for each one. I came close to a contract on two occasions but it didn’t happen. I also looked into Vanity publishing and decided it was not the way for me. Vanity publishers will take any book and you pay for everything. In return they take a small handling fee, usually 2-5% and publish it for you, at your own cost, but they do little else. In contrast, the big publishers pay you for your book and do everything for you. Titan are in the middle. They don’t pay you, but neither do they charge you. They do turn down books, charge for nothing except editing, and take 30%. They distribute, promote it and support you. They are an indie publishers and I consider them to be half way between the big publishers and the Vanity publishers.

After 3 years of trying to get published I decided to give it up and self-publish. In July this year, I looked for a professional editor as I was determined it would go out free of errors and found Titan, who offer an editing service. They offered to consider my book for publication with them and after reviewing it, offered me a contract. I paid for the editing but nothing else.

2. After signing with them, how much have they helped with promotions, distribution, etc.?

Titan have 39,000 distribution channels, which I find incredible. They have promoted it on every network site I have ever heard of. It’s on app stores, google mail, amazon, available in 133 countries, and in both e-book and paperback. It takes a while to filter down through all the distributors but a few days ago after just 2 weeks my book was available in Waterstones, the largest book store in the UK and shortly will be in WH Smith, another very large national chain.

3. Are you seeing a return on your 'investment'?

Not yet. It’s been out for just under 3 weeks and it will take some time for me to recover the editing cost. I also paid someone to set up my website so have invested some into this but I do expect to break even this year.

4. Do you still maintain the rights to your 'baby', and how much creative control have you retained?

Yes. I have signed contracts with Titan. The text is copyright to me, the published book to them. But, they have confirmed that should I be offered a contract by a large publication house they would release me without charge to enable me to accept it. (Penguin? Harper Collins? You listening? ) As for creative control, I have had a free hand. I was not asked to change any content of the book, just the layout and grammar within editing. I was also able to have the typesetting changed after it was done as I was not happy with the page count. At my request the format was re-done, and was tightened to have the page count reduced and thereby make it more affordable to the reader. As for the book cover, I had a very clear image in my mind of it and the style, which was Vector. Titan do not offer the style I wanted for the cover but put me in touch with a vector artist and I worked with her directly until I had what I wanted. I am delighted with the result.

5. Your debut novel, Angel On My Shoulder, features, of course, Angels. Out of the plethora of Angels currently out in 'Book Land', what makes yours different from the rest?

As a therapist and teacher of spiritual consciousness for some 12 years, my understanding of angels and our relationship with them is both broad and deep. I have used both aspects in this book - my spiritual knowledge and my therapist’s knowledge. Clarabelle, Sarah’s Guardian Angel is both angelic and a therapist to her, helping her to sort her life out – a little like I do with my clients. I have also brought humour into the story, with the angels getting things wrong, getting stressed and frustrated, having their own issues with each other – for example Clarabelle falls out with her own angelic brother over her crush on Arch Angel Michael. This is a different take on angels. For a start they don’t do stress and they certainly don’t do crush’s!

In regards to Sarah, there are many books that tackle relationship break ups, even more on self-growth and self-help. I have combined it all into a book which comes from a different angle; shows you how to sort your life out as well as the impact and work of angels, but does it in a humorous way. I use magic, miracles, angelic inter-angelcy-meetings, co-incidences, serendipity and more. As you read about the character’s life and how it improves my hope is that the reader will relate to it. It is not aimed at the spiritually conscious, or those on a mission for self-help; any kind of ‘eureka moment’ is more of a bi-product. I realised that through the characters in the book I could help people to perhaps know a little more on how to deal with life’s ups and downs and I wanted to inspire at the same time. I felt that just about anyone who has ever been through a bad breakup, ever had their confidence shattered, could relate to the characters in the book and I wanted to give them hope.
As for belief in angels, even those who would not consider themselves to be spiritual in any way like the thought of having a guardian angel, so I made the ‘teacher/therapist’ an angel, helping show Sarah, the main character, how to sort her life out. Some will say that our ‘angel’ is our inner selves, others will say it is our subconscious, or our instincts, others will say it is God or angels – it doesn’t matter who or what you think that voice is, there is a voice outside of our noisy head that will guide us, if we will listen, and if we will let it!

6. Since Angel On My Shoulder is considered 'Chick Lit' or Romance, is there any other Genre you'd like to take a swing at? Something your readers would never expect?

Yes. Angel will be part of a series, probably 3 or 4 and then I will move on. I am a hypnotherapist and will be writing books around this, how it works, with case studies and evidence to prove its use and benefits. I am currently in the middle of a degree in psychology and will be doing something like this for my dissertation and my masters. The outcome of that, I will develop into a book. I also am a qualified past life regression specialist. I see books on this too in the future, with stories of past life experiences. A third area I want to write about is sexual abuse. As a therapist, I specialise with trauma, sexual abuse, PTSD and I want to develop a book to help victims and families of victims, to understand it better and therefore be able to move past it. So in the future there will be non-fiction books as well as fiction. The final area will be spiritual books. Possibly on the cosmos, the way the universe works, manifestation, positive thinking, I’m not sure yet. It will just unfold when the time is right.

7. Is there a Genre you'd like to see gone forever?

No. Everyone has their own tastes and interests and no one should be denied what inspires them.

8. Being from 'across the pond', have you noticed a difference in how authors are from North America?

Not yet. I have noticed a huge difference in language and word use. My book has been reviewed by a couple of Americans and some of the British words I use are not the same meaning in the states, so it can be a barrier. For example I refer to a frying pan and make a joke out of it, which the Brits got straight away. My American reader did not understand the joke as you don’t have ‘frying pans’ and she asked me what it was.

9. Other than the 'Angel' series, do you have any other stories in the works?
Not at the moment.

10. Have you received any unkind 'critiques', and if so, how did, or would you handle them?

Not yet. I am sure I will as you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Constructive criticism is a very good thing. It helps us grow and develop, so any negative critique I would look at and examine how I can use it to benefit me as a writer, how I can improve and be able to see a different angle.

 

You can visit Julie's Website and purchase books here:

http://juliepooleauthor.com/

Author Interview with Michael Hammor.

Before we begin, a short introduction to todays Interviewee:

Michael Hammor.

Michael Hammor is a homeless vet living in an RV with his famliy. They live somewhere is the desert near Bisbee and Sierra Vista. MH was laid off from a DOD contract job at the local military base.
MH has chosen to support his famliy by writing the sick little stories in his head. Previously, MH has been a Janitor, a soldier, a photographer, and a Military Intelligence Instructor. MH has trained over 600 soldiers, how to find, fix, and finish, the Enemy.

 

-Living in the Arizona desert must have played a key part in building the world you've created with Bedtime Tales From The Apocalypse, where did the idea for the actual story come from?

 

 Where did the inspiration for my current series come from? I was deployed to Iraq in 2008-2009. I left behind my 11 month old daughter and my chronically ill wife. I was gone for a little more than a year. I had the same worries as every soldier; what will happen to my family after I die. Since I am paranoid, I amplified that question with “What will happen to my family if the world ends and I can’t get home because infrastructure has collapsed?”

 The nucleus of the story was formed. The Girl is my daughter, basically. Rather, the monster she was forced to become through circumstances and my not being there to protect her.

 The Arizona desert did play a large role. There is no tougher environment to attempt to survive in than the desert. Other locales have it easy; plenty of water, good soil, and plentiful game. The desert is no joke.

 

 -Out of all the Post Apocalyptic stories out there, what separates yours from the rest?

 

What separates my work from the multitude of other apocalyptic fiction? I have found one other indie author, Katie Salidas, which writes anything remotely like my series. I spent a decade in Military intelligence developing realistic scenarios to predict enemy behavior. I used this experience to develop the universe I placed my characters in. I added a splash of the paranormal because the wife and I are Supernatural Junkies, and I grew up on horror, paranormal, and fantasy books.

 In my current series the world ended in slow slide into anarchy. The Veils between worlds thinned and supernatural and metaphysical beings crossed into my character’s reality, as I am sure some normal humans accidently found themselves transported to a strange reality in which their normality was suddenly supernatural.

 Basically my current series is The Road meets Supernatural. Katie Salidas’ work is set 200 years after the end of the world, mine is set less than twenty years after the fall of man.

 

-Since you're releasing these stories as a 'serial', any plans to put them all together in a single book once the story is finished?

 

That is the plan, Justin. Once I finish the sixth and final book in this phase of the series, I will bundle the books together and rewrite them into a novel with some expanded content. It will be entitled, Daughter of the Apocalypse. I have plans for two more novels released as serials to fully complete the series.

 

-If Bedtime Tales From The Apocalypse were to be adapted to film or TV, who would you pick to direct?

 

That is a tough question, Justin. I like the directing in the Walking Dead, Battle Star Galactica, and the humor in Firefly. The most important thing is that the spirit and message of my work is preserved. One more thing, I won’t allow them to cast some raven haired fox as the Girl. The story is set in a society in ruin. Thigh high boots and a pair of Desert Eagles are way out of character. The Girl is a vagrant, she is always dirty, she probably stinks, and she clothes herself in cast off or salvaged clothing. She is petite, so the clothes are almost always too big. She’s plainly attractive, not hot.
I write this series as if you are watching it on screen. I don’t include a ton of fluff. My writing is direct and to the point.

 My biggest fantasy is having this series picked up for a tv show or movie. That would solve my financial issues and be massively cool.

 

-Do you have any other stories demanding to be told in the works?

 

I am currently working on a Sci-fi stand alone novella about a clunky, obsolete spaceship and her gritty, jaded, cynical captain. It’s sort of a homage to Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon, but more realistic. I was dissatisfied with Star Wars, so I am putting my own spin on it.

 I am also working on a collaboration with Stacey Welsh. It’s a thriller series (Novellas) featuring a young mother forced into doing the unthinkable to save herself. As it turns out, by the second book, she’s good at it.

 I also write shorts for a magazine, Far Horizons. I published a prologue to my current series, and an unrelated apocalyptic short entitled, The Lottery.

 

-Giving your current 'living situation', has it been difficult funding your writing career (editing, covers, marketing, etc.)?

 

Justin, it has been very difficult funding my career. I am currently unemployed and living in a small town that is totally dependent on the local military base. The base continues to cut the civilian workforce and our town is slowly dying. I am not the only author in our town. Connie Roberts-Huth and Brenda J. Kurtz write fantasy and live nearby. We correspond regularly and I was even interviewed last month for Brenda’s blog. Connie helps with occasional editing.

 Since I have no budget, I do what I can using free services from various websites that promote indie authors for no cost. I advertise on face book and twitter. Occasionally I participate in live events. Connie hosts a vendor expo here in town twice a month.

 I used to be a photographer so I shoot all my own cover images. I do all my own photoshop work. The model for the Girl was a local young homeless woman. About the time I asked her to model for me she got pregnant! It was a few weeks before we could shoot. She had started to lose the gauntness I was looking for but I am still very satisfied with the results. She is now living in a house in Tucson with her boyfriend and they are expecting a little boy in a few months. 

 My editing is handled by a good friend of mine, Jeffrey Covert. I list him as Clandestine Publishing Services on my kindle listings. Once a friend of mine gets her publishing company off the ground I will publish my series through her company.

 

-Who has influenced your writing?

 

That is a long list. I grew up reading Stephan King, Piers Anthony, Mercedes, Lackey, Heinlein, Dick, Asimov, and others. I was a voracious reader. I have been reading more indie authors lately like Alexia Purdy, J. McCoy, and Katie Salidas. Tolkein has had the biggest influence. He created a whole world with religions and races and included mythos. An amazing amount of work went into that. I can’t imagine.

 

-To you, what are the pros and cons of 'Traditional Publishing' over 'Self-Publishing'?

 

There is a huge divide between Indies and “Real” authors. The Pros of traditional are: Larger exposure, bigger payouts, less self promotion. The cons are: Loss of creative freedom, the rarity of getting selected and published, and the constant rejection.

 The Pros of Indie publishing are: Freedom, creativity, and the satisfaction of knowing that you and only you are responsible for your success. The cons are: Lack of exposure, self promoting, and knowing that you and only you are responsible for your lack of success.

 Self promotion is the largest hurdle. I spend nearly a hundred hours writing and rewriting. I spend thousands of hours on promotions. Sometimes I promote for 8 hours in a day and reap only a single sale. This is not an easy trade.

 My biggest peeve is the amount of money that my vendors keep. They do nothing to promote my work. Nothing! So why do they think they get to keep 70% of every dollar I try to make? Sadly, readers pay attention to Amazon listings and rankings. Indie authors really don’t have another option, amazon owns a huge share of the market.

 I was solicited by a publisher a while back. I was talking to one of their new authors and they liked what I was saying. They asked me to submit my work and I never heard back from them. I emailed them a few times and get excuses back. They offered a $500 advance which would have paid a lot of bills.

 

-What was your reaction when people started reading and leaving reviews for your stories?

 

The first person to ever read a prototype of The Girl With No Name is now my editor. He works for free in exchange for being the first to read my books. It was his encouragement that drove me to publish. I love reviews. I do a little happy dance every time I get one. I love feedback, even negative feedback as long as its constructive. The two worst reviews you can ever get are ‘Its great!’ and ‘It sucks!’. Those tell a potential reader nothing about your work.

 

-What marketing tactics do you find to be the most productive?

 

The most productive tactic as far as sales go are promoting with book lists. There are eight that I use regularly. I make more sales in a single day with these lists than I do with any other method. I also participate in several facebook groups. People end up asking for my links and I sell books. I am also a member of several forums with 100k plus membership and I post my books there once in a while and I always see a huge bump in sales.

 

Here are the listings I use:

 

www.readcheaply.com
www.ohfb.com
www.ebooklister.com
www.pixelofink.com
www.theereadercafe.com
www.readingdeals.com
www.ebookasaurus.com
www.bookpraiser.com

 

I also find that interviews help. Exposure always helps and an interview lets you express your personal side that many readers never get to see.

 

-What marketing tactics do you find the LEAST effective?

 

The marketing tactics I have found to be the least effective are spamming facebook groups and waiting for people to stumble upon your work. I know I basically ignore any book spam I see in a facebook group. For one, I have no money, and secondly, I can’t possibly read any more books than I am now. One of the benefits of being an author is that when you make friends with other authors, they all send you their books for free!

 Free promotions do not work, at least in my experience. Most authors have flooded the market with free books. There are just too many to choose from. I have 800 free books on my kindle account right now. I never buy the other books. That might be because I’m dirt poor, but part of it is that there are so many free books to enjoy that I don’t need to buy any.

 I haven’t had a lot of success with live events, either, but I will still keep doing them when I can.

 

-Other than your current genre, what other genres would you like to take a shot at?

I am currently writing a sci-fi novella as well as a thriller collaboration. I mentioned them before. I’d like to write some straight horror someday. Readers often ask me why I don’t write military themed books. The answer is simple, it’s too soon. I can’t face that part of my life in that much detail yet.

  am toying with the idea to co-write a children’s book with my daughter. She is drawing way above her level, utilizing perspective and composition. I am very proud. She comes from two very creative and talented parents.

 

-What genre would you never consider writing?

I could never write romance or erotica. I did write a short romance based in the world of my current series, but that is the exception. It’s for a breast cancer benefit anthology. Hopefully I will get some extra exposure. I also have a short story slated for a different anthology coming out in a few months.

I know I could make some fast money writing erotica but it lacks creativity. There is only so much you can do with sex. I suppose I could write a novel shell, change names, occupations, and hair color and release the same book over and over. Brett the cowboy becomes Brent the Pilot trying to woe Josephina the Latina Bartender who becomes Joanna the waitress. I also don’t want to explain to my daughter later where the money came from.

Michael's Website.

http://www.bedtimetalesfromtheapocalypse.com/

Michael's Facebook Page.
https://www.facebook.com/mike.hammer.54390

Michael's Blog.
http://michaelhammor.blogspot.com/


 

 

 

Show yourself, sell yourself.

So, you've finished your book.

Yeah, it kinda feels just like this.

It's been formatted and edited to a fine sheen, it's nearly perfect. Your cover is a surefire attention grabber. All is well, and you're ready to promote the ever-loving hell out of it. It's time to Rock. And Roll. All night long.
But hold up just a minute there, kid. You're not quite done yet. There's work yet to do, and it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder than convincing people to read your book.
Every successful product needs a brand name to instill trust in the customer, and in the literary world, that brand name is YOU. The Author.

This picture pretty much sums up your reaction, I bet.

That's right, not only do you have to thrust your book into the spotlight, you gotta be in there too. And to many Authors, fresh or seasoned, this idea is as terrifying as anything Lovecraft could ever imagine.

Generally speaking, Authors are a shy bunch for a variety of reasons. You can test this theory by simply looking at some Author's Facebook Profile Pictures. Note how many use pictures of animals, celebrities, cartoon characters, damn near everything but their actual face?
Honestly, if you're doing this, just stop.

It doesn't matter how good it is, nobody wants to read a book written by a chicken.

If you want people to take you (and your work) seriously, you need to show them the 'real' you, warts and all. You may not feel you're photogenic enough, and you may be right, but how many of us are?
Unless you're Michael Ness, that is.

Hello Ladies.

Seriously, look at this guy. Ridiculously Photogenic Author Guy indeed. That's some daunting shit for most of us right there, but your face is your logo for your name brand. You need to show it, readers like a face to associate with the book.
Another point to consider is that if you're going to use your own picture, choose carefully. Not just any old picture will do. You'll want to choose an existing picture, or even take a new one that portrays you as a representative of whatever genre you write in. For instance, if you write Erotica, don't use something like this:

Hello? Ladies?

Probably not the image you're going for, is it? Get a razor, get rid of the camo, and clean it up. On the same page, if you write Horror, don't use a picture with you smiling in unbridled bliss at the beach.

So now you've chosen a good visual representation of yourself and your work, you're all done, right?
No. Sit back down, we're not done quite yet.
You may be familiar with the recent Chelsea Cain flustercluck. If not, here's a quick recap:
She recently went 'full retard', and lambasted her own fans for 'asking stupid questions'. She quickly recanted when she was spanked by her publisher for being an idiot, and went ahead and pretty much said the same thing again, but in a slightly different way. She lost a LOT of current fans, and alienated many more potential readers because of it.
Handy Hint? Don't EVER do anything like that. It's like shooting your writing career straight in the face.
Although at times it may be tough, but since you're the 'face' of your product, you have to maintain some sort of professional decorum pretty much at all times. I'm not saying you have to be a suck-up ass kisser to your fans, but damn it, don't be an asshole when fans want to interact with you and dare to ask questions you may feel are stupid. Logically if you treat them like unworthy crap you scrape off of your shoe, eventually no one will want to read the book you worked so hard to put out, and you'll end up wallowing in a pit of nothingness that you yourself dug. Without readers, an Author has no purpose. Always remember that.

The Bad, The Trolls, and The Confusing. (Reviews.)

Today I want to talk about reviews, specifically BAD reviews. We all get them, EVERYBODY gets them, whether you're an Author or not. None are safe!
I can recall my first 'bad' review back when I was 5 years old or so. I had drawn a picture of a Chinese boat and showed it to my Ma. She looked it over and made a comment about 'Junk'.
I was devastated. Crushed. Hurt beyond words! I worked so hard on that picture, and the one whom I was trying to impress the most had called it 'Junk'!
I found out after my total meltdown, that Chinese boats were actually called 'Junks'
Oops.
It still hurt like a bitch though.
Bad reviews hurt, and they hurt real bad. Some are legitimate, some exist primarily to crush your spirit, and some are just downright confusing.

Wait...you admittedly don't like Vampires, but you read 'Vampire Beach Blanket Bonanza' anyway? The Hell?

Now, your first instinct will be to comment or reply to the reviewer to perhaps explain why they might have it 'wrong'. Ignore that instinct, don't say anything, it doesn't help and it kinda makes you look like a douche. If you're an Author, you DON'T want to look like a douche.
But not all bad reviews are 'bad', some can give legitimate critiques that you can learn from, to grow as an Author, to help you put a finer edge on your work. That's not to say that they still don't hurt, someone is still saying negative things about your 'baby'. Just treat these as advice from a concerned Grandparent.


"Oh Dear, your narrative prose is as dry as my Christmas turkey...you need some gravy."

Next, we'll cover the 'bogus' reviews, these are pretty easy to spot with a trained eye. These reviews are posted by someone who has nothing better to do than kick sand in your face. They'll eviscerate you mercilessly, and say horrible, horrible things. But you may notice that these reviews contain barely, if any, references to anything contained in your book. Goodreads is notorious for it's Troll Population. They allow 'reviewers' to do reviews without any confirmation that they actually read it, and the Trolls take full advantage of this.
Case In Point: Somewhere along the line, I must have REALLY upset 'Mike' (Imagine that.). He gave every single one of my releases One Star, even the ones no longer in print! Further investigation revealed that 'Mike' had only ever reviewed MY books. If you receive what you believe is a 'bogus' review, do some digging and you'll likely find it to be a personal attack for some reason or another. Dismiss these reviews, everybody else will. Seasoned Authors and Readers can spot these a mile away.

Artist's Rendition.

Now that we've discussed bad reviews and ways to deal with them, now we can shift gears and discuss a good way to (maybe) prevent them.

Editing.
Whether you're fortunate enough to be able to afford one, or like many of us, have to do it yourself. Editing is an absolute necessity. But it's not an absolute one-stop save-all though. I've caught a few errors in even Stephen King's books, and you can imagine what HIS editors must rake in.
If many of your bad reviews have to do with 'editing' issues, perhaps it's time to either A: Let someone else do it, or B: Get a better editor.
Recently, a certain pretentious douchebag that shall remain nameless...

^He kinda looks like this.

Stated that Editors changed the voice of the Author, thereby, making the finished work not entirely the Author's...
Just let the stupidity of that remark sink in for a moment.
Are you fully basted yet? Good. Carrying on.
That statement came from an 'Author' that proudly admitted that he's never used an Editor, and holy Hell does it shine through in his work.
Think of Editors as the 'Personal Trainers' of the literary world. The Authors do the bulk of the work, while the Editor is there to help you along, keep you motivated, and generally to 'tone you up'.
If your Editor starts doing the lifting for you, it's time to get another one.
Keep in mind that getting a good Editor doesn't guarantee that your finished product will be absolutely flawless, even the Great Ones put out 'flawed' work, despite their Editors being extremely well compensated.
So, the short and skinny of this ramble is learn from the 'critical' reviews and ignore the 'Troll' reviews.
As for the confusing ones? I wish I could help with that, I'm still trying to figure them out myself.

Hey, you never know...

Those of you that have tuned in yet again, know that I have a bit of a 'reputation', as it were. Certain terms have been thrown around, such as 'infamous', or 'Elitist Smasher' and so on. If you've read a few of my blog posts thus far, you'd probably be inclined to agree.
I just CAN'T tolerate bullying, and in the literary world, literary Elitists are the worst. They hit new Authors where it hurts the most, right in the ol' 'Hopes And Dreams'.

Coincidentally, 'Hopes And Dreams' are primarily located in the crotchetal area.
 

They will try to discourage you, mock you, nit-pick at your work, and sometimes even go as low as to outright insult you, all from atop their self-constructed pedestal all for the sole purpose of telling you that you aren't good enough to play with the big kids, hoping you'll leave the playground and go home.
My advice? Stand your ground and proclaim your right to be in this playground, it's big enough for everybody. How you do so is completely up to you, but do something.

I wont name any names, but one of them in particular kinda looks like this guy here.

They will often mock you from behind such ironclad defenses known as 'degrees' because they feel that it gives them the 'right' or 'authority' to do so. It absolutely fucking does NOT. They want you to think that THEY are the ones you need to impress to 'make it', and if you fail to do so, you're worthless. The funny thing is that if you do a little digging and look into these people, you'll often find the reason for their unwarranted bitterness with Indies as a whole. They couldn't/ can't hack it in 'Traditional Publishing' and refuse to get with the times, and channel their frustration on the more 'evolved' Authors. Some even go so far as to create a publishing house for themselves to create the illusion of being 'Traditionally Published', even though they're every bit as Indie as the rest of us.
It's kinda sad if you stop and think about that for a moment.

This is how they secretly see themselves, and in turn, expect from you.

In writing, there is only ONE entity you need to be concerned about impressing, that would be yourself. If you want to be successful, you'll want to add a second: The Reader. And when The Reader comes into play, your satisfaction with your work is secondary. Your future in this business lies solely with THEM, no one else. Just how far you go, depends on who your readers are. Be it an agent, a representative of a Publisher, or just a rabidly voracious 'casual' reader. If you can reach out and touch these readers appropriately (Or inappropriately, if you write Erotica) you're already in the game.
The Elitists and Trolls don't even factor into it at all, they don't get to make the decision on your worth, after all you're not writing for them, ARE you? You better not be, or I'll get out the ol' 'Learnin' Stick.'

AKA: The Board Of Education.

They say that there is a book for every reader, and in turn a reader for every book. It doesn't matter if you've written a brochure depicting a step by step hand sanitizing technique if you ever find yourself without toilet paper or the mind blowing adventures of a paraplegic chimney sweep in Victorian Era London. Someone, somewhere WILL want to read it. Will you be able to retire from your day job and live it up in a castle like J.K. Rowling after publishing? That's not for me to say, nor anyone else. Write whatever you want, whatever is in your heart of hearts, if you try hard enough, you WILL connect with someone.
Maybe your book on Amish Blacksmithing Techniques will be all the rage if we ever get roundhouse kicked back to the stone age, hey, you never know...

We. Are. Family.

Let's start off this post with a little something I wrote for my fellow Indies.

If you've read my very first post, you may recall how I lamented about breaking into the 'biz' and being confronted with crass 'Elitism', and the Elitist treatment of new authors. To this day, this ridiculousness continues, but on a much, MUCH smaller scale. You see, since then, we Indies have established ourselves as a burgeoning new dominant species in the literary world. We have put our collective feet down and stood our ground, even gaining ground in some aspects. Baby steps to be sure, but we ARE advancing toward our goals, whatever they may be.
Our only obstacles? The Elitists that will try and break our spirit, and attack us with outdated ideologies. They will tell us that we're not 'real' writers due to not having a publishing contract, or God forbid, scholastic credentials that apparently serve as 'The Golden Ticket into the club. They will dismiss us and cut us down whenever they can, just because they BELIEVE they can. They also believe that traditional publishing is the only way to go. These Elitists suffer from what I like to call 'Keith Richards Syndrome', they're dead and have been for some time, they just aren't aware of it.
It's almost kinda sad.


It was a joke, Keith. Calm down.

 

I could go on for ages about Elitists, but I won't. They get far too much airtime as it is, and this is my Goddamn show, so let's leave them to slowly wither and rot, shall we?

The title of this post is 'We. Are. Family.' Meaning the community of Indie Authors.  It's an analogy, and as I've mentioned in another post, I LOVE analogies.
So let's break this one down.
We are not a perfect family, we're not The Cosby's or whatever the current 'perfect family' may be at the moment. We bicker, we argue, we disagree, we might even come to blows if not protected by the anonymity of the Internet. Good thing that Virtual Reality never really took off, eh?
But despite the petty grumblings, we are a close-knit family that supports and encourages each other, at least for the most part. There are a few of us that haven't quite let go of the 'old ways' and still maintain hope that getting that contract will be their salvation from obscurity into the limelight.
And as much as it hurts to admit, they have a bit of a point.

Hurts, don't it?

The one thing that we, as Indies, haven't quite got the grasp of yet, is breaking down that wall that separates us from The Big Timers. Sure, some of us can compete with The Big Timers in a literary sense, I've read many an Indie book that wouldn't be out of place on those hallowed bookshelves, we can edit, or employ someone to edit with the best of them. If that were the only criteria, many of us would be doing quite well for ourselves, but alas, without the 'Brand Name' of a reputable publisher backing us, getting our name out there is like ice skating uphill. There is only so much we can do by ourselves, but Goddamn it, we are fighting the good fight. We do things that The Big Timers never have to do.

It ain't easy.

Just in case you didn't get the reference, I'm referring to what's being called 'Pimping' in the Indie world. We promote ourselves shamelessly almost to the point of embarrassment, we post relentlessly about our books, we give away our books hoping to gain an audience, beg for reviews, almost anything to draw attention to ourselves. Some of us don't like to do these things and would rather be writing and/or anything else that may resemble a living, breathing social life. But we HAVE to, or at least rely on others to help spread the gospel. That's where the word 'Family' comes into play.

Kinda like this, only not.

If you manage to make enough like minded friends, and find enough happy readers, you don't have to go it alone. Most other Indies will be happy to throw your name around, either out of the goodness of their heart or in exchange for you throwing THEIR name around, a fair enough exchange, no? Happy readers will also help out in this aspect, simply because they love your work, and feel that everyone else should too. Is it as effective as having your book plastered across two pages in the new York Times? Sadly, no. But as my good friend, Michael Ness says: "It's a marathon, not a sprint."
And he is absolutely right, if you're in this biz seeking instant gratification for all of your hard work, I have four words for you.

 

I'm not trying to be mean or discourage anyone from trying, mind you. Just advising you to prepare for a long and arduous journey. There WILL be times where it seems hopeless and hard, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. You'll want to pack it in and give up, especially when you see The Big Timers raking it in, and you know in your heart of hearts that some of them suck dry hyena ass (Patent Pending). I know of more than a few great Indies that doubt themselves a lot more than they should because their ship hasn't quite come in yet. But that is when you turn to the 'Family', share your concerns, your doubts, your frustrations. For the most part, you will find support, encouragement, a shoulder to cry on if need be, because that's what a family is supposed to do.
What you absolutely must NOT do, is take heed of the naysayers (read: Elitists) that will prey on your doubts, your fears, if only to stroke their own unfounded egos. If confronted with one, you have two choices: You can ignore them and hope they go away back to the dark recess of their own fears and doubts, or you can do what I do and go straight for their throat, leaving them a twitching mass of detritus in the gutter, leaving them to regret ever crossing your path in the first place.

Pictured: The Aftermath.

If you enjoyed my quote at the top of the post, please feel free to cut, paste, and share it wherever you want. I wrote it for all of us who walk this path.