The Official Lynne Scott AuthorSite
Official website for Lynne Scott
I managed to fit in six novels last month along with two non-fiction reads.
The two best novels by far were in totally different genres: Dystopian/Paranormal and Crime/Thriller. Both these books are available on Amazon and have the free look inside feature so you can give them a try.
My non-fiction read of the month was:
Lynne Scott will not be writing any reviews for posting on other sites. I’m not very good at it. I wrote one earlier this week and I’m not very proud of myself now. We all make mistakes – I made one, and I’ve corrected it. Now I’d like my readers and fellow authors to learn from my mistake.
The book warranted a solid positive four-star review – great plot, great characters, well done cop-speak dialog. It had some issues in POV and style that occasionally took me out of the story, but nothing to knock it below the four stars. It was a good debut novel, and I have no doubt the author’s next one will be even better.
Even though I gave it the four star review, I somehow managed to write only one paragraph about all the great stuff while wasting several on the minor problems with the book. What I should have done was the reverse. Mention the problems, and then talk about all the good things the author did. If I had to detail the problems, it should have been done in an email to the author. The author deserved a better write up.
Why didn’t I do that? Because sometimes I’m just an idiot.
The review was up about twelve hours before my brain engaged and I removed it.
We need to have some honest conversations concerning reviews – reader versus author? Can we do that? Maybe, but it’s not going to be easy and it will take more than one post.
I wear both hats on any given day. I write almost every day, but I still love to read. When it comes to reviews, what I want as a reader shouldn’t be too awfully different than what I want as an author.
What I WANT to see in a review as a READER –
1. Honesty. Don’t inflate the review. “Good book, good read!” means more to me as a reader than a whole bunch of empty 5 star reviews. Not every book is a 5. I enjoy the 4s just as much in most cases because I’m not looking to be wowed only to be disappointed.
2. Brevity. Just tell me what you liked and move on. I don’t need a 3 paragraph recap of the damn story. I want to read the story for myself. A couple short paragraphs is about the limit of my “give a crap” when I’m shopping so just say what you have to say.
3. A recommendation/non-recommendation for this and the next book. “I can’t wait for the next book” or “I’ll spend money on this author again” are things that say this is worth my money.
What I WANT to see in a review as an AUTHOR –
1. Honesty – Yeah right. As long as it’s the good kind. Otherwise I’d like you to practice what your mommy taught you, “If you have nothing good to say, say nothing.” Or at least not publicly. (I should have listened to my own rules earlier this week.)
2. An indication of what worked. – It doesn’t have to be a big deal. If you liked the humor or the banter, just say it worked; you don’t have to provide an example.
What I DON’T WANT to see in a review as a READER –
1. Claimed relationship Wife/Bestie reviews – “Buy my husband’s/sister’s/friend’s book. He worked hard.” This is an automatic killer for me. I don’t mind if you know the author, but write like you don’t and include something useful about the book not your relationship.
2. Spoilers without warning. Telling us who the killer is, how the book ended, or discussing plot twists without warning proves the writer of the review is a complete and total ASSHAT. I have been known to reply to those reviews and tell them they are an idiot (foul language can get you banned. Yes, it’s hard for me to express myself properly without expletives but I have to make do.). I generally follow that up with a note to Amazon.
What I DON’T WANT to see in a review as an AUTHOR –
1. Personal criticism – Attack the work, not the author. The difference: “This is s***!” is about the book. “Joe Blow is s***!” is about the author. Don’t do that. It’s rude.
2. A headline that turns off the review – I saw one recently in which the reviewer gave the author four stars, but the title was “MEH… “ Do you need to read more? I did because I was curious how MEH equaled four stars. It still wasn’t clear from the review.
3. All the same things that I don’t want to see as a reader.
One of my favorite reviews seen on another author’s book on a long gone website was, “Suspense and quirkiness. Solid read. I’ll buy again.” I bought the book based on the 4 out of 5 star review. Sadly, I can’t remember the name of the book or the author anymore. I’m sure it’ll come to me about 0330 tomorrow morning.
So, how am I going to let you know that I liked a book by someone else? I’ll put them in my blog and I’ll send a note to the author that I did so. Nothing big, nothing fancy. No more than “A good book, a solid read.” Just the book description and the cover, and maybe something about the author and where you can find the book.
If it appears on my blog, I read it, I liked it, and I would have given it a 4 star or better review. I won’t post a book with a link that I haven’t read and wouldn’t spend my money on.
In my next post, I’ll talk more about the idea of author’s trading reviews and the even uglier practice of author’s using secondary accounts and names to review themselves.
Writing the book is the easy part. It’s what comes after publishing that has always frightened me. It’s not enough to write a good book. Someone has to find you among the 6,000,000 other offerings and choose to buy your novel as opposed to another. You’ve heard me say before that the whole self-promotion thing is painful. Every time I try to do any of it, I begin to act a lot like my dog Daisy does when she hears thunder – there’s a whole lot of panic in the eyes, some spastic twitching, and the primal urge to run into the bathroom and hide in the corner until whatever it is goes away.
I’ve decided that I have to make the effort to promote myself, so I’ve committed to researching and reading about just how one is supposed to do this. There are a ton of folks selling books and services to the cowardly (like me). I’m kind of cheap, so I’m currently working through all the free advice offered. One of the best blog items I’ve read so far is: HOW TO PROMOTE YOURSELF AND YOUR BOOKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITHOUT FEELING LIKE A SOUL-SELLING, SLEAZE-SUCKING SLIME-GLOB by Chuck Wendig.
Mr. Wendig approached the problem humorously and has some realistic suggestions that made sense. There are a lot of other folks who specialize in social media marketing and a surprising number of them offer freebie information on their sites. I’ve downloaded quite a bit of it and made notes on some of the things I’m willing to try. I’ll be using my Lynne Scott Facebook page more than I have in the past. All 27 of my friends who have liked the page will probably be highly annoyed by the increase in usage.
My first step this week was the toughest. I asked for help.
Why is asking for help so hard? It’s not something I normally do even though I have great friends with big hearts. But this week I screwed up my courage and asked four people who regularly buy and read my books to read Vapor Point and write a review of it for me. You know that time in junior high when it was girl’s choice and you had to ask the guy you liked to go to the dance with you? You know the drill – you put it off, made a couple of abortive passes in the hallway that culminated in “Hi…” followed by a blush and run as you got all sweaty and queasy. Yeah… this felt just like that. I think I wrote four different messages before I just blurted out the question. All four were quick to agree and they actually seemed enthused about it. Maybe putting it off until after happy hour was the right thing to do after all.
The other thing I did this week for the first time was ask a Facebook friend who had just finished reading Saving Emily to say so in a Facebook post. She did more than that. She posted a short, sweet, and very cool, 5 star review on Barnes and Noble – “Saving Emily grabs you from the start! A little passion, some mystery and a strong female character. I loved it.” and followed it up on her Facebook page with: “If you’re looking for a great summer read… I recommend Saving Emily by Lynne Scott. Loved, loved, loved it!” Three of her friends posted that they were buying the book and a fourth added it to her Kindle Wish List. Her fifteen seconds of kindness has introduced me to four new readers who might never have heard of me otherwise. How cool is that?
Is asking people to review my books or mention me on their Facebook page hard for me to do? Yes. I feel like I’m imposing my business on our personal time and space. And yet, I ask people to share a recipe or a restaurant recommendation, so why shouldn’t I ask them to say something nice if they liked my book?
Is it a necessary part of low-budget marketing? Yes. People think that because I have 11 books out there that I must be making money. No book sales – no money. If you don’t get seen – you don’t sell books. That would be where I’m at.
Do I feel any less a soul-selling, sleaze-sucking slime-glob? I’m not sure how I feel. Kinda queasy, sweaty, and scared. But whether it’s a good or bad thing, I don’t know yet.
I have incredibly nice friends so the first steps have been much less painful than expected. Thanks to them, I’m ready to try a few more things. Slowly… very, very slowly.
I’m very proud to announce the release of my latest novel Vapor Point.
Vapor Point by Lynne Scott.
After her return from a deployment to Afghanistan, Jenna Robinson’s life is spiraling out of control. Too much booze, too many nightmares, and an emotionally abusive and controlling mother have put her on a collision course with her family and her job. She accepts an offer to step out of her personal tornado and start over as a deputy in a small county in Utah. It’s her chance to climb out of the bottle, make peace with her past, and distance herself from her mother.
But the county isn’t as quiet as advertised. Jenna finds herself busy working to solve a cold case involving a world-renowned photographer, facing off against a drug boss with a fetish for young girls, and coping with the escalating abuse from her mother. All the while, a terrorist is using bombs filled with deadly nerve agent to hold the country hostage. Amidst the professional and personal turmoil, Jenna finds herself falling hard for her handsome new partner, Morgan North, who’s now squarely in the cross hairs of a drug boss who wants him dead because Morgan won’t back off his investigation.
Jenna and Morgan must work together if they are to save each other, knowing each moment could be their last.
Editor: Marcia Lindley
Cover Design: Liquid Reality Studios
108,000 words/301 pages
Available from Amazon for the Kindle or in paperback.
Vapor Point is also available at Create Space in paperback.
Anyone can read a Kindle formatted book on a phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop without buying a Kindle reader. The applications are completely FREE through Amazon. I’ve embedded the link to the applications page for you here.
I’m laughing this morning, because to do otherwise would probably mean the end of some poor inanimate object when I hurl it against a wall. There’s a reason my weapons are locked up today. My frustration abounds and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it except remain calm and smile. But that’s all happening on the outside. Inside… well… you know…
Sometimes, events conspire against us. And it’s no one’s fault. Shit just happens. I was planning on releasing a new book last week, but I elected to hold on the release until all the changes were done to the Blood Link series covers and all the changes to the website were complete. Then I held up because it was important to look at all the options and decide what to do about the new Prime Unlimited and Barnes and Noble.
Finally, I was ready to go on all the stuff and that’s when it just sorta turned into one of those nightmares from hell. I don’t do most of the technical crap. I have little to no patience when technology doesn’t work as advertised. My skills don’t extend much beyond calling or emailing Dean to fix whatever it is. I even installed remote access for him, so now I can just sit back and watch him click stuff on my screen from his home. This saves him a lot of travel time and gas, and he doesn’t have to watch me pace or listen to me bitch.
CreateSpace (print on demand) and Amazon (who owns CreateSpace), both advertise their ease of use for self-publishing. They are. Sorta. Maybe. Not for me. But they aren’t horribly difficult for someone with patience and a basic grasp of today’s technology. Yeah, that lets me out. But I have sat there (almost being quiet) and taken notes while Dean has loaded my books. He felt that I should have an idea of how it’s done… just in case he fires me as a client. Yeah, he’s so not getting to do that.
Anyway, you load your unique and fabulous cover image to the template in CreateSpace and load the manuscript and the site generates the interior and wraps your cover around it. Based on the thickness of the book, there may be a few adjustments that need to be made to the fold points for the spine and for centering of the cover. If you don’t make those adjustments you wind up with a crappy looking book. Dean is the one who makes those adjustments. I look at it and go “Oooooohhhh. Awwwwwwww. Pretty!” Did I mention that I’m one of those people that can’t figure out which side is up on a to-go container?
Getting CreateSpace right is the first step. Once you have this right – and it can take a day or two – then you can use CreateSpace’s templates to generate the cover for Amazon and the interior for the Kindle. When it all works, it only takes 24-48 hours to be live on Amazon and CreateSpace with your amazing work of creative genius.
That didn’t happen this time. We don’t know why. Somehow, somewhere, someplace in the great unknown, the technology gods frowned upon my book. They pointed and giggled and decided to see if they could make me insane. It wasn’t like that would be a big challenge, but they did it. They attacked.
CreateSpace loaded beautifully. Dean only had to make minor adjustments to the cover for fit and alignment, the interior didn’t give him any issues, and a mere 36 hours after hitting the send button, the book was live on CreateSpace. But somewhere between CreateSpace and Amazon there was a glitch and instead of having a single book with the options of format, I had two separate books. The one in the Kindle Store was great. The cover looked good, it downloaded fine, and everything with it was good. But when I searched the main site for the book, it brought up a link to the book with no cover image. When I clicked on the link it took me to the book, but there was still no cover image and no link to the Kindle.
No freaking image, my ass! I have a great cover and you aren’t showing it! There was much ranting and cursing at this point. All of it on my part.
Dean has remained calm and unflappable as he’s worked the problem. This is why I pay people to do things for me. I would have broken something and probably called the support tech at Amazon names that would have gotten me banned from the site. As it is, poor Daisy Dog and Boo Kitty have gone running a couple times in the last week as I’ve gotten more and more frustrated by something that I can’t control.
So when will it all be fixed and ready to go? I don’t know. I know that smarter people than me are working hard to fix whatever it is that’s broken. My suggestion for the appropriate placement of a small thermonuclear device has been ignored. Multiple times. Apparently this isn’t something that can be resolved with unlimited firepower and a willingness to use it. Although, I’m pretty sure that I heard Dean cursing under his breath this morning, but that could have been at me for bothering him when he was working. Having nothing positive to add to the conversation, I have done the responsible thing and stepped back. Yeah… I know… that’s not my usual course of action, but what else can I do. I have to smile and leave it to the experts. But if it isn’t fixed soon, I’m going for Door #3.
I swear to you there is a book. It’s got a great cover. It’s a great book. And it will be available soon. Maybe…
As I prepare to release Vapor Point, I find myself stuck between a rock and hard spot. Amazon is offering a great new program that might help an independent author like me get noticed and perhaps be read by people who may not otherwise see my books or know of my existence. The new Kindle Unlimited program is part of KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) Select – the author side of Amazon Prime.
With the original Prime membership, a reader could “borrow” a free book each month. As an Indie, I didn’t get too excited about this. Let’s face it, who’s going to borrow a $4.99 book by an unknown author like me when you can download your favorite established author’s new $12.99 book at no charge. While I would love to say that I’m all about trying the new guy for free, it’s simply not true. I’m just like everyone else – I’m looking for the best deal for my money.
However, with the new program there will be no limit on the number of books that can be borrowed by a program member. This means you won’t be forced to choose between the new Michael Connelly thriller and my latest release – you can have both for your membership fee. Download and read any book past the 10% point – a little farther then the free preview – and the author gets paid. A sweet deal for the reader and the author.
Here’s the rub – an author must make Amazon the exclusive digital (ebook) distributor for the book for as long as it’s enrolled in the program. The enrollment period is in 90-day increments. Here’s how Amazon explains this:
So if I want in, I can’t sell an epub file for a Nook, Kobo, or Sony reader – those folks get their digital books through Barnes and Noble.
Realistically, 98% of my (not so many to begin with) book sales are through Amazon. I’m not bothered by a retail exclusive clause that doesn’t allow me to sell digitally through Barnes and Noble for the 90-day period, but I don’t like that I can’t distribute to my readers through my own website. Do I understand why Amazon requires this exclusivity? Of course – we all do. If you want to drive Barnes and Noble’s digital trade into the ground, then you have to cut off the supply to the other devices. And the way to do that is through incentives to the publishers. In this case me.
What makes it a painful decision is that a lot of my personal friends have Nooks and Kobos. I take pride in being a loyal friend. But financially… it would be silly not to try this program.
I didn’t load the digital version of Blood Link Book V – The Healer to Barnes and Noble when it was released in December. That decision had nothing to do with the KDP program. At the time, it was a decision based on the hassle of working with Barnes and Noble. They were making some internal changes to their self-publishing program and loading or adjusting books was a giant horking pain in the butt. I chose to hold off loading the book in hope they’d resolve some of their technical issues. I never did get around to loading the book. The mail from Blood Link fans with Nooks or Kobos was minimal. I took care of those few folks independently utilizing PayPal. But based on the exclusivity agreement – I won’t be able to do that if I opt into the new system.
I think it’s important to point out that this doesn’t mean that the folks who don’t own a Kindle are without options. Anyone can read a Kindle formatted book on a phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop without buying a Kindle reader. The applications are completely FREE through Amazon. I’ve embedded the link to the applications page for you here. This was how I read the Kindle version of my books for the first year I was published. Now I own an inexpensive Kindle as well as a Nook so I can read in either format.
I’ve been at this for a couple years now, and if you’ve spent any time following along, you know that I’m terrible at self-promotion. That hasn’t stopped me from stumbling around and trying new things. I still have a lot of questions about this program:
Will this help me be seen and become established?
Will I sell more books/make more money?
What will it cost me in terms of readership?
Will I go from a faithful ten readers down to a faithful eight?
Do I enroll one book or all my books?
I don’t know the answers yet. But I do know that if I don’t sell enough books to cover the costs of editing, producing covers, and my website, then I’m not going to be able to afford to continue publishing, much less ever afford a vacation, a boy toy, or a new .45 and the ammo to put through it. You all knew that I’d come back to the weapon didn’t you?
Based on where I am and looking at where I would like to be, I’m going to give the program a try. And just for the record, I threw the boy toy in as a distraction in hopes that Mr. Scott wouldn’t notice the part about a new .45. Ssshhhhhhhhh!!!
