Book Dumping

by Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.



My husband believes that if he begins to read a book he is somehow contractually obligated to finish the book. I used to feel that way. No longer.

I'm reading a book by an author I've enjoyed in the past. It even has an endorsement on the cover from one of my very favorite crime fiction authors, Michael Connelly. The first scene portrayed a deliberate death so naturally I was hooked.

Only now I'm about half-way through the book and am beginning to believe I might have been hoodwinked. I've gone back to the flap three times to read the story description and I'm stressed that this could be some kind of departure from the type of book this author has always written, and I missed the clues. Don't get me wrong, it's a good story. Just not what I'd expected when I forked over my twenty-or so bucks. I've decided to keep reading and see if I end up satisfied or disappointed and full of suspicion for the future books this author releases into the world.

Which begs the question: When do you back away from a book? When does it become a DNF? A Did Not Finish?

And secondly, if you have a DNF from a particular author, will you read her/him again?

Here's my list (at least for now):

• Lack of tension. Who wants to read a story (any story) where everything is perfect and people are happy? I'm not even completely crazy about perfectly happy endings.
• Characters without goals. Again, who wants to read a story where everyone is happy as things are?
• Too much narrative. Give me visual space. Give me dialogue. Give me life. Let me breathe.
• Characters I don't like. I know this is a new angle, but it doesn't work for me. I picked up a book in the middle of a wildly popular series, and the protagonist made me alternately roll my eyes and clench my teeth. 
• Too many characters. After hearing about another much-loved author and her enduring series, I began reading her books, but from the beginning. In the first few pages, more than twenty characters were introduced. I closed the book and happily moved on to the next one in my pile.

What about you? Are there deal-breakers that cause you to dump a book?

When Famous Author Promos Backfire

A conversation between Peg Brantley and L.J. Sellers

L.J.: You mentioned in our last conversation how much you liked Michael Connelly’s Mickey Haller series, and it reminded me that I’d recently encountered something surprising with that series. A promotional website posted a link on my Facebook page to the author’s short story, The Switchblade. (Which was odd and made me wonder if his publisher had hired them.)

More important, I went to Amazon to check out the short story and discovered that it has almost all one-star reviews. I was stunned! I read several, and they all have the same complaints: The story doesn’t have a real conclusion, and the ebook serves mostly as a promotion for Connelly’s next book, The Gods of Guilt. Both the short story and the novel are selling well, so was it effective? And even so, was it worth alienating some readers?

Peg: My guess would be no, soooo not worth it. I have become a huge fan of Michael Connelly and have to wonder what his publisher was thinking. By the way, while I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews on sites like DorothyL and For Mystery Addicts about The Gods of Guilt, but I enjoyed it.

But Connelly isn’t the only author who might be suffering repercussions from this new marketing tactic. I recently downloaded what I thought was a short story by Dean Koontz, another of my favorites. I was completely turned off when at some point (it was moving rather slowly for a short story) I figured out it was simply a marketing promotion for his next book. I never finished it. And it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

L.J.: Readers hate that! Which makes me wonder whether the author knew what his publisher planned and if he had any say in the matter. I like to think that he didn’t and that he’s not happy about the situation. I know that publishers sometimes encourage (pressure?) authors to write short stories as between-book promos. And sometimes they want their authors to participate in new programs and formats.

Thomas & Mercer asked me to publish my last Jackson story as a serial because they were launching the new program and needed material for it. But it was my choice and I said no, that I would rather wait for a traditional release because that's what my readers expected and I didn't want to alienate even a few. Other publishers don’t give their authors as much control, which is why I would never sign with anyone but Amazon.

Peg: As you know I’m self-published and love the control it gives me. I establish content and cover and price and marketing. It isn’t always easy, but I don’t ever have to risk a publisher who is so focused on the bottom line they forget the reader. The future. The next book. If I have a win, it’s all mine, but so are my losses. I’ve watched you and others with Amazon and know they’d be my first choice as a publisher if I ever wanted to have a foot in both camps. I can’t see Amazon ever doing something that would be such a career game-changer without the full support of an author. Kudos to both them and you regarding the serial program.

L.J.: After I saw the one-star reviews with comments that said they would never buy another Connelly book, I thought, He should leave his publisher and go indie. Connelley has so many readers and so much clout that he could sign a deal with Ingram to get his self-pubbed print books into stores and make more money both in print and digital. If he had only his own profit to worry about—and not be concerned about Hatchette’s bottom line—he could be very successful as an indie and never have to participate in gimmicky promotions that piss off readers.

Peg: I totally agree! But I’m betting he has another consideration: What about his agent? Those bonds get sticky. I know they do. Maybe that’s another discussion?

L.J.: Lots of indie and hybrid authors have agents, who often secure foreign rights or negotiate contracts with new-age publishers and distributors. But with Connelly's Harry Bosch series finally debuting on Amazon Prime, maybe the author will feel empowered to make a break from his legacy publisher (Hachette). Maybe Amazon Publishing will be able to lure him away.

Readers: What do you think about these promotions? Has it made you drop an author?
Writers: How do you make short stories work as a promotion for your other books?

And-A-One, And-A-Two, And-A-Three

by Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.

From The Black Box by Michael Connelly:

Harry wasn't exactly sure what the word ethereal  meant, but it was the word that came to mind. The song was perfect, the saxophone was perfect, the interplay and communication between Pepper and his three band mates was as perfect and orchestrated as the movement of four fingers on a hand….Powerful and relentless and sometimes sad.

… He had "Patricia" on other records and CDs. It was one of Pepper's signatures. But he had never heard it played with the same sinewy passion.

***

It occurred to me when I read this that as writers we have it all over live performers. We just need to dig down and get it right once. Okay, it may happen several times in a novel, but to become powerful and relentless and filled with sinewy passion in a particular scene? Just once.

But live performers, musicians and actors, have to dig for that crazy depth constantly. Every performance. They are judged each time, and comparisons are made to earlier renditions and other versions and even other performers.

I'm so glad I can become powerful and relentless and filled with sinewy passion privately. More or less.

***

In other news… I have a new website I'm feeling pretty good about, and want to share it with our CFC readers. Click here.