Don't insult your reader....

By Jenny Hilborne
Author of mysteries and thrillers

....unless you want a scathing review.

When I invest money in a bank, I want a great return.

When I invest time in a book, I want an even greater return. I can't pull my time back out and invest it somewhere else if I'm not happy. That time has gone forever.

I'm insulted when an author cheats me of my time and persuades me to invest in an unworthy product. I'm not talking about taste; there are plenty of books I don't like, and it's not because they're bad. It's because the author is lazy, or maybe they're just pressed for time. So am I.

Lazy writing is easy to spot. It comes in the form of filler to pad the page count, repeated use of words, recycling a sentence, repetitive cogitations, rehashing an old plot, stereotypical characters. The list goes on. If you haven't got enough content for a novel, make it a short story and don't waste your readers' time. Or your own.

Don't insult your readers' intelligence. Don't use big words and pull me out of the story when I have to set the book down to get a thesaurus and look it up. Because I will. And that big word had better be used in the right context.

Build my confidence in your writing. If you use a big word and then include a sentence to explain what that word means, I'll assume you didn't know it either. And it will undermine my confidence in your writing, not to mention insult my intelligence as a reader.

If you have discursive tendencies in real life, don't bring them into your novel. Time is valuable, and short. Don't describe your book as an immersive provocative novel when the only sense it stimulates is irritation. Don't be a sloth between the sheets. Unless you want a scathing review. I wrote one last week for a lazy writer who undermined my confidence and insulted my intelligence, not to mention the poor return on my investment.

Author's Bill of Rights

By Andrew E. Kaufman

How Much Time Should I Give Other Authors?

It’s a question I often ask. The truth is, I’d help everyone if I could, because I know how overwhelming being (or becoming) an author can be. I also know how frustrating it is to feel excited about my work, and then struggle to get others to feel the same enthusiasm. By nature, I like to give just as much as receive and find equal joy in both. Besides, I truly love meeting other writers. We are a community, and I enjoy being a part of it.

But with that comes another set of issues: part of it is time; the other is that these days, it feels like there are almost as many people writing books as reading them. 

And it seems the busier I get with my career, the less time I have, with even less of it to enjoy activities in my personal life. Since I signed with a publisher, I’m no longer my own boss. Now there are deadlines set by others that I’m obligated to meet. There are conference calls with my editor, with promotions people, and with my agent. My time doesn’t seem to belong to me as much as it once did.

Despite this, I still want to offer other authors help when they ask for it. I’ve just learned to recognize my limitations. Since my writing and my readers have to come first, I can’t provide everyone with everything they need. I can only do my best, but I have to accept that my best will not always be what I’d like.

So in setting these priorities, I’ve made some decisions, devising a Personal Author’s Bill of Rights. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

Amendment 1: Reading Requests/Endorsements/Beta Reads

I have the right to refuse reading or endorsing another author's book when asked.

This was the toughest one for me. I feel bad saying no. It’s not that I don’t want to read another author’s book—it’s that next to writing a novel, reading one is a huge time investment. I usually read at bedtime, but sometimes that only lasts a few minutes before I pass out.

I will occasionally break this rule if I know an author well enough (and their work), and even then, it depends on whether my schedule will permit. But I’ve run into trouble there as well. I’ve made promises, only to find I’m not able to follow through when my workload becomes too overwhelming. So, as much as I hate to say no to a friend (and suffer the ill effects of that decision) I’ve decided it’s far worse to say yes, and then not be able to deliver. The guilt is colossal.

Amendment 2: Offering Advice.

I will always answer emails from authors who ask for advice and try my best to do so in a timely manner.

With limits, that is. If I feel I can answer a question, I will—unfortunately, how much information I’m able to provide depends on the question, and anything requiring an in-depth outline or pages of explanation simply isn’t manageable. But I do try to do my best and be as helpful as possible, and I also apologize when I can’t.  I don’t always have to give advice, but I do feel an obligation to be kind to everyone.

Amendment 3: Promoting Other Authors’ Books on Social Media and Beyond.

I will gladly promote other authors’ books that:

1) I know and trust deliver quality content

2) I know (period).

But even with that, I’ve started to feel I need to clearly state when I haven't read a book I’m promoting, because it feels unfair to readers otherwise. Then the question arises: how do I enthusiastically recommend a book I’ve never read? Haven’t figured that one out yet.

Amendment 4: Appearing as a Guest on Blogs/ Doing Interviews

 I will always make time to be a guest on blogs (time permitting) and will gladly do interviews.

This applies to all of them, no matter how big or small, because I’m honored to be asked, and because they’re doing me a favor by showing interest (Not the other way around).

Amendment 5: Appearing at Writers' Gatherings

I will always say yes (Time and geography permitting) in order to encourage other authors.

 

See above—same reason, and because when I first started out, I never had the benefit of getting advice from experienced authors, and I know what a big difference it would have made if I did. Besides, as I've mentioned, I love meeting other writers, and I benefit from that just as much as they might.

Have I left anything out? And what about you? Both writers and readers: how do you manage time constraints when the requirements of everyday life seem to get in the way?

What Am I Thinking?

by Peg Brantley, Author of RED TIDE


My first book has been out for almost two months. I'm still trying to figure out how to let people know about it without being obnoxious. It looks like the least obnoxious options involve a lot more time. By far. I have a list of several advertising possibilities but I haven't had a chance to really investigate them. And I'm betting they all take money.

I have worked through the initial edits of my next book but know there's still work to be done before I  ask beta readers to commit time to helping me make it even better. Time.

A wonderful group of writers who seem to have some traction, Indie Chicks, invited me to join them. Before they had a chance to reconsider, I told them I was in. A blog here and there (they have very precise requirements which I'll need to learn), participation in an anthology (just agreed to a travel anthology—due June 1st!) and support for my fellow "chicks"—all good stuff. All manageable. But there's the time thing again.

I'm working to find a balance. Really. I am. I understand that there will always be something more that could be done while my eyes are still open. Really. I do. (Actually I thank God every day for giving me a husband who is as independent as I am and supports what I'm trying to accomplish.)

And then (cue mysterious, threatening music) this past Wednesday morning I decided I want to create a trailer. (the sound of lightning striking the earth punctuated by thunder) Right now I'm more interested in video clips than I am still shots. For still shots I'd be hanging out at Morgue File or Dreamstime. But because I'm focusing on videos right now I've spent hours at iStock. Add more more hours at Free Music Archive and Incompetech. Since the music was free I downloaded a bunch then had to figure out how to get it to my iTunes library. At this point I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. Time. Big Time. But I think it will be enormously satisfying to do this. Right?

So far I have spent HOURS on this project and have a solid THREE SECONDS of trailer to show for my efforts. I'm using iMovie and it's probably the easiest out there, but I still run into questions I can't find answers for.

Writers, have any of you created your own trailers? Any advice?

Readers, do you enjoy trailers? Do they annoy you? Do they encourage you to check out a book?