On Reading your One-Star Reviews...because Your Book is a Work of Art

by: Julie Cantrell

(Today, author Julie Cantrell provides a counterpoint to Randy Ingermanson's blog post last month, which likened reading your one-star reviews to eating rat poison. Even as I struggle to decide which reviews I'll read as a now-published author, I find both arguments compelling. Again--if you're an author and you take Julie's approach, please share in the comments! If you can't handle reading those one-stars, go ahead and admit that too if you want! And a massive thanks to both talented authors for sharing their strategies with us. --Heather Day Gilbert)

Julie Cantrell’s debut novel, Into the Free, earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly and went on to become both a New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller. It received two Christy awards, including Book of the Year, as well as the Mississippi Library Association Fiction Award. Like Into the Free, the sequel, When Mountains Move, was named a top read of 2013 by USA TODAY and LifeWay Christian Stores. Julie is writing her third novel from her home in Oxford, Mississippi where she operates a sustainable organic farm with her family. 

Learn more: www.juliecantrell.com

The Author as Artist
by: Julie Cantrell

What happens when we watch a film? View a painting? Listen to music? We not only expose ourselves to a work of art, we react to it at an emotional level. And if we’re willing, those emotions can take us to a higher intellectual plane as well, nudging us to think more deeply about our own beliefs and actions in this world.

Each person reacts differently to each piece of art based on personal experiences, psyche, and mood at the time we view it. Art is meant to evoke strong reactions – whether positive or negative – and as artists, writers must accept and acknowledge both extremes from our readers without taking any of that feedback personally.

As a novelist, I separate myself from my work. It’s not always easy to do because these characters become such an integrated part of me by the time the stories hit shelves, but I never take a review to heart. I don’t swell when the books are well-received, and I don’t plummet when they aren’t.

I rarely read my reviews, to be honest. But sometimes I do visit Amazon and skim through the latest reader posts. While there, I don’t just read the five-star reviews, as some authors insist is the only way to maneuver these minefields with my soul intact. Instead, I go straight to the one stars and then work my way up. 

Today, Amazon lists my debut novel, Into the Free, as having 402 reviews. Here’s how it breaks down.

            5 Star               305

            4 Star               69

3 Star               17       

2 Star               7

1 Star               4

So what did the folks who hated this book have to say about it? I want to know. Not because I want to get my feelings hurt, I am human after all, but because I enjoy hearing other people’s opinions.

One reader said, “This book has a worldly view of Christianity” and advised readers not to waste their money or their time on this story, while another gave it a one-star because: “This is a Christian book.”

Another said folks should read it “only if extremely bored,” while another thought the level of abuse described in the beginning was so intense she could “not make it past the first chapter.”

See how subjective these are? Those are the comments that make up the four one-star reviews this book received. And each one contradicts the other. It’s either too Christian or not Christian enough, too boring or too dramatic.

How can a writer please every reader? The simple answer is, we can’t. (Click to Tweet!) And we shouldn’t even try. Our job is to provide the art and then to sit back and let readers react as they may.

I value those one-star reviews as much as I do the five-star ones. Why? Because those readers FELT something when they read this book. The words I put on paper stirred their emotions on a strong level and got them thinking. That is my goal as an author. Not to convince everyone to feel or to think like me, most of my characters don’t even think like me, but to get my readers to feel and to think. Period. 

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On Reading Your One-Star Reviews...and Eating Rat Poison

By Randy Ingermanson 

(This is a two-part series of posts arguing why authors SHOULD versus SHOULD NOT read their one-star reviews. I knew Randy had strong feelings on this, and I think he nearly has me convinced I shouldn't read mine. Check in next month for the pros of reading low reviews with Julie Cantrell. I respect both authors so much and don't wish a one-star on either of them.--Heather Day Gilbert) 

Randy Ingermanson is the award-winning author of six novels and the best-selling book WRITING FICTION FOR DUMMIES.  He holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from UC Berkeley and is the creator of the wildly popular Snowflake Method of writing a novel.  He edits the free monthly Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine and gets ridiculous amounts of traffic on his web site at AdvancedFictionWriting.com.  Randy sits on the Executive Board of American Christian Fiction Writers and lives at an undisclosed location in the Pacific Northwest where he attends to the needs of three surly cats.

Don't Eat the Rat Poison

by: Randy Ingermanson

I was visiting my friend JimBob last month and we were having breakfast.

JimBob was reading the newspaper, doing the crossword, and I had my iPad out, reading reviews of my latest book on Amazon.

I slapped my hand down on the table hard. “Idiot!”

JimBob gave me a strange look. “I was just about to ask you for a five-letter synonym for ‘moron’ that ends with a T. You must be clairvoyant.”

“No, I’m furious.” I shoved my iPad over to JimBob. “Take a look at what this reviewer wrote about me.”

JimBob scanned the review. “Hmmm, what does ‘soporific’ mean?”

“Sleep-inducing. Which is ridiculous.”

JimBob kept reading. “What about ‘tepid dialogue?’ Dialogue doesn’t have a temperature. How can it be tepid?”

I just stared at him. “Do you think my books are sleep-inducing?”

“Why would you say that?” JimBob asked.

“Well, you didn’t say anything when I said it was ridiculous that this guy said it was sleep-inducing.”

“Because it was ridiculous.” JimBob shook his head. “This guy doesn’t like your writing. So what?”

“He’s an idiot!”

“So why do you care what an idiot thinks?”

I began spluttering. “Because … this review is out there in public.”

JimBob pointed at the screen. “He misspelled ‘boring’ right there. He spelled it ‘borring.’ And his grammar is horrible. I bet he’s 15 years old.”

Acid welled up in my stomach. “Is my writing really boring?”

“No.”

“Are you just saying that to make me feel better?”

“Yes.”

I stared at JimBob.

He punched me. “Teasing.”

I wanted to go punch a wall or something. I knew I was going to have another crappy day. This review was going to stick in my mind all week. I’d be thinking of all the horrible things this guy said about my book, and there was nothing I could do about it. I’d be so mad, I wouldn’t be able to write. And it was all his fault.

“Why do you do that?” JimBob said.

“Do what?”

“Read your 1-star reviews.”

“Because they’re there.”

“That’s not a reason. These people aren’t in your target audience. You don’t owe them anything. Nothing you do will make them happy. Why should you care what they think?”

“Because … I might find ways that I can improve my writing.”

JimBob shoved the iPad back toward me. “This guy wants you to have zombies in your novel.”

“I don’t write zombie fiction.”

“And cussing.”

“I don’t need cussing to get my point across.”

 "And graphic sex scenes.”

“That’s not what I write.”

“So how is reading a review by a guy like this going to improve your writing? You don’t write the kind of things he wants, and you’re never going to write the kind of things he wants.”

“What, I should just bury my head in the sand and only read my 5-star reviews?”

“Who writes 5-star reviews?” JimBob asked.

“Well … that’s obvious. The people who really like my stuff. My biggest fans.”

“So if you read their reviews, will it tell you the things they like best, and remind you to do those more often and better?”

“Sure.”

“And if you read reviews by people who hate your writing, are you ever remotely likely to take their advice? Have you ever found any useful advice in a 1-star review?”

“It’s just something I have to do.”

The doorbell rang. A thunderstorm of footsteps clattered outside on the porch and down the steps.

JimBob went to answer the door.

I kept trying to think if I’d ever found even one helpful piece of advice in a 1-star review.

“Idiots.” JimBob slouched back into the room carrying a bowl. He went to the fridge, poured some milk in the bowl, grabbed a spoon and sat down at the table.

“What have you got there?” I asked.

JimBob put a spoonful in his mouth and began chewing. His face twisted into a horrible grimace, and then he began gagging. Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe.

I pounded him on the back.

He retched up something and spit it out on the table.

I stared at it. “What is that stuff?”

“Gift from the neighbor kids.” JimBob took another bite.

I looked at it closely. “It looks like rat poison.”

His face twisted again and he chewed furiously, then took a big swallow of orange juice and forced it down. His face had turned a sickly shade of pale green. “It is rat poison. The neighbor kids hate me.”

“Why?”

“Last month I called the cops on them because they were having a huge party with giant speakers out in the streets at 3 AM. They’ve had it in for me ever since.”

I stared at him. “So they bring you rat poison?”

JimBob nodded. “They leave a bowl of it on my doorstep every day.”

“And you eat it?”

“Yeah.”

“Why in the world would you eat rat poison?”

“Because it’s there.”

“That’s not a reason. Those kids hate you. You don’t have to eat what they give you.”

“Well, I might figure out what they don’t like about me so I can be a better person.”

“JimBob, that’s nuts! You already know why they hate you, and that’s not going to change. You’re not going to become a better person by eating rat poison.”

“What, I should just bury my head in the sand and only eat things made by people who like me?”

“That’s a whole lot better for you than eating rat poison from your enemies.”

JimBob put another spoonful in his mouth. “It’s just something I have to do.”

“Well, you’re crazy if you eat rat poison.”

He chewed and chewed and chewed and finally gagged down the mouthful. A terrible look crossed his face. He went running into the bathroom and I heard the sound of vomiting. JimBob was moaning. “I’m gonna be sick all day. And it’s all those kids’ fault.”

I shook my head. That was the weirdest thing I’d ever heard of.

I drank the rest of my orange juice and scrolled down to the next 1-star review of my book.

My face started getting hot. Here was another guy who didn’t get my writing. Didn’t like the kind of books I wrote. Wanted something completely different. And insisted on telling me all about it.

Idiot.

***Thank you for that well-written and very convincing post, Randy! Authors, I'd love it if you'd share your thoughts on reading low reviews--do you or don't you, and why or why not? Watch for next month's follow-up post!***

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You Gotta Know When to Hold 'Em: Marketing & Advertising for the Indie Author, Part Two

   

By: Heather Day Gilbert

Last month, we looked at social media and personal ways to reach readers. This month, we're focusing more on paid advertisements and no-cost ways to get the word out on your novel.

As we did last time, I'll link to the contributing authors and their sites/books. Hopefully these posts will help as you make decisions on when to spend your bills...and when to "hold 'em." This series is by no means exhaustive, so if you've tried alternate ways of marketing/advertising, please comment below!


 PAID ADVERTISEMENTS

The consensus seemed to be to do as much or as little as you can afford.

—Bookbub was consistently mentioned as being worth the advertising cost, but you have to make sure your book is at a competitively low price (say, 99 cents; or even better, FREE, which can seriously bump sales/reviews afterward), and you've categorized it in the right genre. ENT (E-reader News Today) is another site like this. Just know that these sites generally require a minimum number of Amazon reviews and are more selective about what they will pick up.

—Authors also said that although you might not get fast returns from paid ads, the result of consistent exposure to a book ad might pay off later. I have mixed feelings on Facebook ads, since in the interests of experimentation, I paid $30 to boost a Facebook post advertising a radio show I did with blogtalkradio. I was able to target it to the US, Iceland, and Norway (Viking haunts). I will say I might've gotten a couple new followers and a couple book sales, but I don't think I boosted the right post. It's probably better to boost one when your book is on sale for 99 cents or free. If you've done a paid Facebook ad, please comment below with YOUR results and suggestions.

      ONLINE CONTESTS AND AWARDS

This idea brought mixed responses; namely, that judges are quite subjective and feedback can run all over the board. If you're only looking for exposure and not feedback, I'd recommend free online contests, such as reader's choice awards or e-cover art awards. With these contests, you gain some exposure but don't have to pay to enter. As an indie, I have to ask myself why I am entering award contests, when my readers really don't care if I have awards in my bio or not. For me, it's not worth it to pay to enter contests at this point.

However, as of March 6, ACFW has announced that indies can be eligible for Fiction Finder and the Carol Awards (in 2015). Although there will be minimum requirements to meet, I feel this is a huge step forward for Christian authors as a group. I hope more contests open doors to self-published novels and novels produced by smaller houses. I think this will bring a wealth of previously undiscovered gems onto readers' radar. I could definitely see the benefits of entering a contest like that.

I think the key with contests is entering ones you know will reach your demographic/readership. For example, enter mysteries in a mystery contest, Christian fiction in a Christian contest, etc.

      FREE ADVERTISING

Sites such as The Fussy Librarian and eBooksoda deliver book recommendations to readers directly via email. Both are just getting off the ground, but I've already gotten feedback that one reader found my book through eBooksoda. They are choosy about genres they accept, but it's worth checking into.

Radio interviews and vlogs are another great way to gain exposure and connect with your readers. It's easy to set up a YouTube channel, so your vlogs can be centralized in one place.

      REVIEW SITES/FREE DAYS ON E-READERS

I quickly learned that only certain book review sites will accept indie novels. Most larger sites work directly with publishers. But if you poke around the internet and watch who's reviewing authors in your genre, you can find individuals or sometimes larger groups willing to exchange a review for a free book. There are a couple Facebook review sites for Christian authors to connect with reviewers: Crossreads Reviewers and the recently established Christian Fiction Reviewers. An excellent post I recently discovered on all the ins and outs of finding reviewers was here at The E-Book Author's Corner.  

There are also author co-ops that utilize NetGalley. I paid an author friend to use her slot for the month of February. I would just give the caveat that if you go with a co-op, make sure your genre matches what your group usually distributes to readers. I didn't garner large numbers of reviews, but I learned that one library might purchase it, so that was a win for me. I'll probably try this route again.

I have mixed feelings on authors doing freebies. I know it can generate early release buzz, but then again, you run into readers who aren't in your target audience and might give lower than average reviews. I'd love your thoughts below on freebies (as a reader OR an author). I have found some favorite authors via free Kindle downloads, but that generated no income for said authors. However, it did generate a loyal influencer who will spread the word and buy all the author's future books. Therefore, I am planning to do this at some point, if I choose to go with Kindle Select.

GIVEAWAYS

Nowadays, you don't have to look far to find the latest book giveaway, often complete with a free Kindle/ipad/mp3/Amazon gift card. I wonder about the effectiveness of these costly prizes. Yes, they draw a lot of attention and plenty of entries. But do they pay off in the end? 

Staci Stallings, co-founder of CrossReads, shares that CrossReads offers a $50 Amazon gift card with their Book Blasts twice a month, which links readers back to author sites and social media outlets, resulting in solid increases in an author's audience. However, an uptick in sales on featured books tends to correlate closely to the book's price point, with 99-cent and free books getting the most boost.

I've had mixed success with book giveaways on blogs...I would say 8 out of 10 winners will review my book and spread the word. But much of this just depends on how your particular book resonates with that particular winner. I've decided not to spend my profits on electronic incentives for giveaways. 

I'd also like to point out the importance of following through on your giveaways. I think many of us have had experiences where we've won a book and the author never made good on sending it to us, or finally it showed up five months later when you'd forgotten all about it. Now, maybe I'm just a gal indoctrinated with Southern ideas on courtesy, but I believe if you promise something and don't make good on it, you look like a liar. In other words, it'll reflect very badly on you as an author. If there is a good reason why you can't get that book out, offer a gift card or alternate gift. But at the very least, contact the winner and apologize.

As I've said in previous posts, Goodreads giveaways are a great way to get many people to add your book to their To-Read list, thus increasing your visibility on Goodreads. Some of those people will eventually buy your book, even if they don't win. But I'd just advise to offer at least three copies of the book and let your giveaway run a month so it will reach more people who might potentially share it with others and review.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't share this link to an older Author Media post on this very topic: 89 Book Marketing Ideas That will Change your Life. I have a feeling I'll be reading over and pondering each one of these options.

A huge thanks to the authors below, who contributed to this series. Names link to their author sites, titles link to their most recent books on Amazon. Thank you!

Adam Blumer—The Tenth Plague
Carole Brown—The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman
Susie Finkbeiner—My Mother's Chamomile
Cynthia Hickey—Deadly Neighbors
Carla Laureano—Five Days in Skye
Terri Main—Fangs for the Memories
Amy Matayo—Love Gone Wild
Wendy Paine Miller—The Disappearing Key
Staci Stallings—Deep in the Heart
Heather Sunseri—Mindsiege 

MaryLu Tyndall--The Ransom

***Would love your thoughts/experience with advertising hits and misses. This is a place where we can help each other get ahead and make the most of our advertising budgets!***

Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Sixteen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as ten years spent homeschooling.

You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert--Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. Her Viking novel, God's Daughter, is an Amazon bestseller. She plans to release her contemporary Appalachian mystery, Miranda Warning, on West Virginia Day: June 20, 2014.

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Getting the Good out of Goodreads: Six Methods to get Your Novel Noticed

By: Heather Day Gilbert

(Goodreads illustration from Cass Co. Public Library)

I'd like to offer a few short and sweet tips on how to make Goodreads work for you; specifically if you are self-publishing, but much of this will also hold true if you're traditionally published. An alternate, yet equally effective title for this post could have been "Learning from Heather's Mistakes on Goodreads."

1) The moment your cover art and blurb are ready, list your book on Goodreads. This gives people time to get it on their To-Read lists, which will increase your visibility on search engine sites. I'd suggest getting your cover art and book blurb up about two months ahead of time to build buzz on all your social media sites. You can also post quotes from your novel, which is another effective way to draw people into the story. A fun way to do this is to use PicMonkey and edit free pictures (I got many from Morguefile), if you can find some that fit your fave quotes.

2) Give yourself an author page to link with your book, pre-publication. When you write your author biography, try to use action verbs as much as possible and don't make it all about the one book that is coming out. Take the long view of what kind of fiction you write and who you are as a person. 

You can also easily link your blog to your Goodreads author page, as well as upload vlogs, trailers, or YouTube videos so people get a visual picture of your novel.

3) Nominate your book for Listopia lists. Yes, even before it's released. Yes, it seems really self-serving, but it will help it get noticed sooner in its appropriate genre. Use judgment as to nominating your own book for "Best of" lists before it's even released/reviewed. I stuck to lists like "Eye-Catching Cover Art" or "2013 Releases." 

Oh, while you're poking around in Listopia, nominate your other favorite books for lists! Boost those authors, too.

4) Send out a Goodreads friend request to all your Twitter followers. This is something I did by accident, and I felt bad for asking all kinds of people to accept my Goodreads friendship. But it added a whole plethora of readers to my follower lists and increased visibility. In short, it was a brilliant mistake.

5) Join Goodreads groups in your genre, but READ the group regulations before linking to your book. I confess this is something I learned the hard way. I *gasp* got kicked out of a group, because I misunderstood their rules on sharing links to your own book. I felt like a heel and offered a personal apology, but never heard back. In short, I felt like a jerk. Make sure you keep your groups straight —if you're in several, it's easy to forget which ones allow author shout-outs and which ones don't. 

6) Once your book releases, if you have softcovers in hand, do a Goodreads giveaway. This is a GREAT way to gain exposure for your novel. You can't offer an e-book in a Goodreads giveaway, though—only hard copies. I would strongly recommend you offer at least three copies of your book to reach more readers, and run the giveaway for at least a month. 

I made the mistake of only offering one copy of my book for a two-week giveaway. I still got lots of requests, but I could've reached even more potential readers if I'd extended the giveaway and offered more copies. Bonus perk: when people sign up for the giveaway, there's a handy button they can hit to add your book to their To Read lists. I would rough-estimate that over 200 people added my book to their list in that two-week giveaway period.

In short, it's relatively easy to make Goodreads work for you as an author. You just have to spend time/effort getting your book cover/blurb ready ahead of release, fixing up your author page, and exhausting built-in marketing opportunities such as giveaways and groups. 

Here's hoping you go forth and get the good out of Goodreads!

Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Sixteen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as ten years spent homeschooling her three children. Heather is the ACFW West Virginia Area Coordinator.

You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert--Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. You can find her Amazon best-selling Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, here on Amazon and Smashwords.

 

***Question for you: If you're an author, what's been the most helpful aspect of Goodreads for you?***

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