Excerpt

    A group of ships were flying in outer space, a place where sound made no sense and speed was difficult to judge. Inside the bridge of a destroyer escort, Sterling Presley was sitting in front of a computer. Despite the military-cut brown hair, he resembled nothing of a stereotypical soldier. His slim figure could be a little stronger. The brown eyes were too calm and solitary to hold patriotism. His skin wasn’t rough enough to match the cruelty of war. If he weren’t wearing a uniform, he would have looked like a junior college professor.

    Weird … He confirmed his suspicion and closed the image on the computer. The recent Battle of the Stony Band was considered a victory, their first victory since the war spread to this system eight years ago, but something about that battle wasn’t right.

    He picked up a phone from the table and said a few words. A moment later an officer appeared at the door. “Sir?”

    “Get ready for unloading at Turning Point Station.” Sterling left his desk and stopped in front of a window. Nothing existed outside, except lights from distant stars. The small planet RA-5 was not distinguishable yet from its background.

     “Unloading?” The officer hesitated. “Sir, I thought we were heading to the fortress.”

    “We are, but …” Sterling wasn’t sure how to explain it. To him, logic and reasoning were most meaningful when one studied a case de facto; at the front, everything should yield to intuitions. Or, things that appeared like intuitions but were outcomes of one’s subconscious logic and reasoning.

      “Just do what I said.” 

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Book Review: Medieval Swordsmanship – Illustrated Methods and Techniques

Rating: 5/5 stars

I don’t usually read about martial arts except when I need to do research for my novels. The only other work I’ve read on a similar topic was a book about boxing, which contained about 10% of the information you can find here. To me, this book is amazing. It’s not something you can learn by going to a school for a training class. It requires studying tons of historical records, pretty much anything that’s remotely related to Medieval swordfights, because, unlike Asian martial-art experts, Medieval fighters did not have the habit or discipline to create detailed documentation. A good comprehension of the social background is also critical for the study.

The illustrations are very clear. Sometimes for a basic posture more than one figure are presented from different angles. Even a layman like me found no problem understanding the principles. The writing is also very good, unlike those scientific papers that merely present facts in a boring way. Font sizes, layouts, everything is reader friendly. This is a classic and I’d like to thank the author for taking all the efforts to do this!

Truth about the Kindle Countdown Deals

Since Amazon launched the new Kindle Countdown Deals for KDP Select members in late October, indie authors seem to have various degrees of success. Some sold an astronomical number, some none. Below is what I’ve figured out about this program based on recent experience.

If you go to the Kindle Countdown Deals page, you’ll see somewhere around 2,800 titles. And if you choose, for example, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Category, there are 377 titles for the moment arranged on 24 pages. Pay specific attention to the “Sort by” option. Although you can choose different sorting algorithms, readers normally go with the default, with is “New and Popular”. I don’t have the exact formula, but I’ve heard that the popularity of a book is not determined by the current rank, but by the amount of books sold in the past 30 days, with a weighing factor of the book’s price.

I’m not saying that visibility determines everything, but if a book is listed on the 5th page, there is no way you can go to that page directly without browsing through the previous pages (you can jump to the second or the third). A title listed on the first page can have 10 times more sales than a title listed on the second page, and who would bother to explore the later pages except the author himself? However---I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure this is what happens---the rank of a book on this list is determined (and remains fixed!) by the popularity before the book enters the Countdown. Let me give you an example.

I first ran a Countdown with my science fiction, The Starlight Fortress, during the week of Nov 3. Since the book was selling very well in October, it appeared on the second page of the Sci-fi & fantasy category, even though there were 34 pages at that time, and stayed there for the entire week. Consequently, I sold 26 copies of the book with only 6 customer reviews and no extra promotions. Yesterday I started my second Countdown. Because I only sold two copies in the past 30 days, my book appeared on the 5^th page. Although I have other paid promotions yesterday and today, and have already sold 11 copies by far, the book keeps falling in the Sci-fi & fantasy list, making room for new entries that have much lower ranks but were presumably selling better before they entered. There are still several days to go, but I can predict that once the effects of my paid promotions fade away, the Countdown won’t work alone.

So, here is the logic. Let’s say we have Book A, which hasn’t been selling well at a regular price; after it entered the Countdown, for some reason, it is doing well. Then here comes Book B, which has been selling but is currently ranked lower than A. Amazon does not want to put B after A, because B is considered a more promising title. In other words, A has already been deemed as an inferior title at the time it entered, and they do not want the performance of the Countdown to affect the performance of the Countdown (is this clear?). We have to admit that doing so will likely maximize Amazon’s profits. After all, it’s an online retailer, not an author-nurture program.

In summary, if your book hasn’t been doing well on a regular basis, you shouldn’t expect too much with the Countdown, unless you pair it with other promotions.

On Rewriting

What is the so-called voice? The one thing that easily distinguishes a writer and makes him memorable, the one thing itself being so difficult to define and comprehend. Most writers believe they cannot teach how to find or create a unique voice, but one should be able to find his voice through writing constantly and writing well. According to my experience, voice shows up most frequently during rewriting. This is because, in the first draft, we are too engaged in developing the story and the characters, too eager to deliver our messages, too awed by all the possibilities, or too desperate to put something on a blank page.

This is why a good writer may not be a good speaker (most writers are actually shy and nervous when speaking to the public). Speech is improvisatory and requires different skills. To me, writing is not a linear process; it has both feedforward and feedback stages. Sometimes I’m unable to write a sentence without knowing how to write the following chapters. Same thing with dialogue. Now it is commonly accepted that good dialogue should both characterize the speaker and advance the plot. If it fails to characterize, it is “info dumping”. If it doesn’t advance the plot, well, let’s just say there are better ways to do it. However, more than often, it is difficult to achieve both goals in the first draft.

Never fall in love with our first drafts. We may have rehearsed some of the sentences so many times that they have become reality to us, but keep this in mind: few people prefer reading accounts of reality to fiction. Even for historical books that are supposed to accurately relate the past, great efforts have been made in searching the right way to present it. Reality doesn’t need to make sense; fiction does. Things cannot happen out of the blue in a novel, although that’s how things happen in real life. We need to put foreshadow earlier on. Readers need to build expectations, so that they can be either satisfied or misled. That’s what keeps them reading. Sometimes we plant those seeds subconsciously without knowing their purposes until a hundred pages later; sometimes we do need to go back and forth to add them in. There should be no irrelevant information in the dialogue, no random person being paid much attention. These are all to be fixed through rewriting.

Note that I didn’t say revising. I meant rewriting, which includes, but is not limited to, reevaluating the theme and its realization, reconstructing the whole narration, combining or deleting characters. It sometimes means throwing away hundreds of pages. I once read about a writer who would finish the first draft and toss it completely before beginning the rewriting. Many of us don’t have the courage!

I can only imagine how many potential masterpieces have been abandoned in the beginning because the (novice) writer felt he/she wrote something crappy and meaningless. Experienced writers know that a first draft is allowed to be crappy, and it may appear meaningless before going through the nonlinear process I mentioned above. Experienced writers are even happy with a crappy first draft, knowing that this will only add to the pleasure later on when they turn it into a shining piece. In fact, if you happen to write a brilliant first chapter the first time, it can be a bad thing, because in the following chapters you might try too hard to live up to the standard you’ve just set for yourself, or you might be too afraid to explore all the possibilities just to keep the beginning.

Once we are satisfied with the rewrite, we can start revising it. I would suggest refraining from fiddling with it too many times, because doing so may hurt the voice. Once there was a writer who posted a paragraph on a forum, and other writers tried to help him polish it. After a few posts I said, keep your original. It reads like a stranger breaking into your house with a dead wolf on his back, while the revisions are like salesmen gently knocking on the door (unfortunately he didn’t get my metaphor). Writing is not to find the best word from a thesaurus, or to construct the perfect grammar. A language can be bent to the extend that a little more pressure may have it crushed. Someone said, art is to know what to keep and what to delete. We can add, it is also to know when to stop.

Fiction Writing Tip - Collaborate with Your Villains

If you are stuck in the middle of a manuscript, uncertain where to go next, before you call it a Writer’s Block --- by the way, many writers do not believe there is such a thing --- then it’s time to seek help from your villain. First, you do have a villain, right? It doesn’t need to be a bad person. He just needs to have some *irreconcilable* conflict with your protagonist. It doesn’t even need to be a person. It can be an animal (like a monster), the weather, the society, anything, but it’s most helpful when it’s a person, because humans are the most creative beings, right?

Just think about your villain for a moment. What is he doing now? Is he happy? Most likely not, because your protagonist is somehow in his way. What is he going to do to kill/defeat/deceive your protagonist in order to achieve his goal? If his *biggest* goal has nothing to do with your protagonist, then he’s no longer qualified for a role in the book.

Always keep your villain in your mind, whether your protagonist is celebrating, idling, or talking to others. You don’t need to bring your villain up, but by simply remembering his existence, what you write will read differently. Writing is a subtle thing, in which our subconscious does a lot of work for us, and usually the greatest. A description of your protagonist’s mundane dinner at home will have an ominous atmosphere, if you, the author, know what the villain is up to hundreds of miles away. Try it, and see if it works!

Book Review - The Strategist (Author: John Hardy Bell)

Rating: 5/5 stars

As a debut, the book is surprisingly well written. It’s not a CSI-typed story trying to dig up the truth. It’s more about fighting the wealthy and powerful who are able to corrupt any aspect of our public and personal life.

My only complaint is that sometimes there are excessive dialogue exchanges, especially in the first eight chapters before crises and actions take place. After that, I could not put it down. The characters are very realistic. The rascal cop who “intimidates people simply by the way he wears his badge”, the woman politician who answers every question by not answering the question … I especially like the way the devils are brought down - not by justice, but by the selfishness of their own people. That’s the sad reality!

I hope the author will keep producing good work like this!

Sophistication in Fictional Writing

One of the most useful tips I learned in creative writing was from the book, Self Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King (their chapter 11). Basically, if you want to deliver a message, describe a feeling, or characterize a trait, doing it once is enough. Why is it so bad to be repetitive? Because after you've told your readers the first time, they know it. Why would they want to spend time on something they’ve already known?

I’ve seen great descriptions, witty dialogue, dramatic conflicts done by novice writers, but the lack of sophistication is a common flaw. When we write, we need to trust our readers. Trust their intelligence. The modern readers have seen everything. If you plant a foreshadow earlier on, they’ll know what to look for later. Be subtle. Be implicit. If you underestimate your readers, if you think you are the only one who could come up with such a complicated plot, you’re not respecting your readers, and they’ll know it.

A related issue is over-characterization. For example, if you want to describe a character as a baseball fan, simply showing him wearing a shirt of his favorite team is enough. Do not make him talk about the games all the time as if he knew nothing else, or he’ll end up as a cartoon character. “Characterization is an accident that flows out of action and dialogue.” (Jack Woodford) Be subtle. In addition, people often deny some of their personalities (such as men who love fancy clothes). Have the character say something untrue, and have his actions betray him. Make the readers feel that they know more than the character knows himself. Offer them clues, enough, not excessive. If they feel “good” reading your book, they’ll come back for the next.

The Starlight Fortress - Portland Book Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

In The Starlight Fortress, young Queen Geneva of the Alliance battles it out with the Imperial Forces while navigating through a life filled with the various suitors and pregnancies. The story opens in the middle of a conflict between the two forces. which represent the forces of good, The Alliance, or democracy, represents the forces of good and the Empires represents the evil totalitarian state. Geneva, although a queen, has limited power--her state is more a republic than monarchy. The backstory emerges gradually. Geneva and her allies and enemies are descendants of humans who destroyed the Earth, scattered throughout the universe and have been engaged in various battles since. Geneva leads the “good guys” and the mysterious Pompeii the “bad guys,” or the Empire. In addition to the various aggravations that the tirelessly diplomatic and compulsive eater Geneva has to deal with is “A Second Chance,” an environmental group intent on limiting the RA’s abilities to destroy another planet or planets. Geneva remains a skilled and brave soldier throughout, working with the various forces to broker peace.

The novel is well-written. The author has a skillful style and knows how to build scenes and conflicts. Her characters are also three-dimensional, not cartoons representing good and evil. The plot, although well-worn, takes on some variation in its conflicts, and a powerful statement about peace is made. However, one area of concern is how busy and complicated the plot becomes. It is very hard to keep track of all of the characters, their interests and cultures and the conflicts involved. I was well into the first quarter of the novel before sorting out the major RA-Empire conflict. This may be endemic to the genre, however when a reader opens a fantasy novel, she enters a new culture that she must acclimate to--even though its inhabitants also go on shopping trips and celebrate Christmas.

Midwest Book Review - The Starlight Fortress

The Starlight Fortress is a science fiction novel revolving around gaming, battles, and epic confrontations, telling how different nations attempt to survive war. At the heart of the story are an ineffective queen and an emperor who is a wicked gamer clever with war machines and technology.

The Starlight Fortress is the one device which could change the rules of such a game: it's a giant space structure with the capability of becoming the ultimate weapon and the powers it wields will prove enough to change the face of combat strategies.

Time travel, treachery and military confrontation permeate a saga that begins with political posturing and very different personalities but soon evolves into not just a multi-faceted novel of cat-and-mouse war games, but an examination of the roots of war in the personalities of its participants.

What keeps The Starlight Fortress from being another predictable military fiction story is its focus on the human elements involved in war, strategy, and the efforts of both sides to win in conflict: "War is about the people who fight it. When they fight together with the same belief, they form a single entity. That’s why heroes are never singular events; they are always followed, repeated, exceeded. I have hope because once the fire has started, it’ll stop at nothing until it takes over. I need to say no more. The game is on. We’ve made our choice. Everyone’s effort will count, every hope will open a possibility, and every pain we’ve suffered … will add to our strength.”

There are changing scenarios with allies on all sides and there are battles between groups - but there are also efforts on the part of Queen Geneva to understand changing sides, the roots of aggression, and changing relationships and techniques of confrontation.

From murder attempts to lives changed by parenthood, The Starlight Fortress dances deftly between the personal and the political, drawing neat lines of connection between the two and creating scenarios in which key players are changed by each other's perspectives and goals.

Readers will ideally be versed in and appreciative of military science fiction, and will find the protagonists and changing perspectives of The Starlight Fortress provide an engrossing saga that moves beyond military might and strategy alone to probe the heart of war's origins.

San Francisco Book Reviews --- The Starlight Fortress

Star Rating: 4 out of 5

Taking place far in the future, long after the earth has been destroyed, The Starlight Fortress focuses on an ongoing war between planets. Our protagonists are the queen of Sunphere, Geneva, and her newly appointed military assistant, Sterling Presley. Both are considered too young for their jobs, and both are about to prove that age has nothing to do with talent.

As the war with the greedy, rapacious Pompey intensifies, so does the relationship between Geneva and Sterling. Dramatic, edge-of-your-seat space battles are intermixed with quiet scenes involving flirtation, jealousy, and growing attachment. These scenes play nicely off each other. There is never too much fighting or too much time without it; there is a beautiful balance here. Also, we get to see the queen in her official role as statesman and then contrast that with her private self, raising interesting questions about power and the responsibilities that come with it.

Mostly, though, this book is just fun. The first chapter has a massive space battle. The discussions of military tactics introduce brilliant plans of attack. The queen is so darn likable, with her insecurities and her love of food. My only complaint is that things happen a little too quickly. There isn’t any downtime between plot events, and the rapid pace with which things happen feels a little overwhelming. The book could benefit from additional descriptive passages, more narration, or something else that would simply slow down the story just a bit. This would make the characters, and thus their struggles, seem more real and more meaningful.

While this isn’t a book that’s likely to inspire deep emotional connection with the characters or extended musings on life, that’s ok. In fact, that’s wonderful! The Starlight Fortress is a fast, entertaining read that feels a bit like a roller coaster, pulling you along at breakneck speed through twists and turns that you never saw coming. In the end, you are a bit disoriented and fully exhilarated. This is Space Mountain in book form, and it’s fantastic.

Book Review - GABRIELLA

Book Review - GABRIELLA

Rating: 4/5 stars

Before I read this book, I didn’t know that books can be written this way. I am reluctant to call it erotica, which typically contains little character development. The characters in this book are far from perfect, but I cared about them. I wanted them to succeed, to get what they want and defeat their opponents. Above all, I wanted them to be able to change their lives, their predetermined destinies for the classes they belong to. Despite a seemingly happy ending, however, what we learn is they can’t.

The tension, jointly created by sports and love affairs, is skillfully maintained throughout the book. I also like a lot of the descriptions in which words are accurately chosen. I was somehow disturbed by the frequent changes of point-of-view, though, especially during the first quarter of the book. There are advantages of knowing exactly what everybody is thinking; on the other hand, sexual play is at its best when the situation is ambiguous. And for a “chinless wonder” like Algy, there is no need to go inside his head to know what he’s thinking. The actions are enough.

Overall, there is a lot of drama in the book, which isn’t likely to happen in real life. But there were moments when I saw the clamor fading away, and the dark, cold reality behind. There is nothing wrong with being naked in public; it is only wrong when people aren’t given a fair chance to prove themselves. For anybody who thinks there is no literary value in erotic stories, I suggest that they read this book.

Link to Amazon

Result of the Kindle Countdown Deals promotion

(Follow up of an earlier post ...)

My Kindle Countdown Deals promotion ended on Sunday evening. Sold a total of 26 e-copies of my book, The Starlight Fortress, in 5.5 days, during which there were about 5,700 discounted books on that special webpage. Now the number decreased to 3,500. I guess a lot of authors began and ended at the same time, without too many new (eligible) authors joining in. Even though the royalty can barely buy me a decent meal, I am still very happy with it. It felt different from hosing a free-download promotion.

Every author enrolled in the KDP-select should give it a try!

Book Review: Into the Vast

Rating: 5/5 stars

This is a *real* science fiction that is built on advanced yet reasonable scientific concepts at a future time when world is filled with hazardous environments, savageness, and inhuman technology. The descriptions are so vivid and detailed that reading the book is not very different from watching a movie. The author has obviously put a lot of effort in exploring the boundary of the technology and its consequence on human life and ethics. Yet what determines the fate of the human race in the end is love, friendship, faith, rather than technology itself.

The concept of the esolace sometimes reminded me of the movie MATRIX, which makes us question about the differences between illusion and reality, or whether these are indeed two different things. The science is not told as a matter of fact. Rather, it is gradually revealed through dramatic conflicts, and even mystery detection. In the end the plot became kind of complicated that I was sometimes confused by what the hero was supposed to do (according to someone else’s plan for him), what he intended to do, vs. what he actually did (it solved the problem in a rather unexpected way).

Except some awkward phrases and repeated narratives, this book is on a par with most of the contemporary sci-fi bestsellers.

Link to Amazon

Kindle Countdown Deals, try it!

I was just about to opt out of the KDP Select when I received an email from Amazon, informing me that they had started a new promotion tool called the Kindle Coundown Deals. I immediately went for it, and I urge that any author/publisher who meets their stringent rules gives it a try. Why? Here is what I found based on my experience and observations in the publishing world:

Any new promotional program will work when it’s first launched. None of them will work forever.

This is what happened with the KDP-S free promotion tool. Giving away freebies generated sales after the promotional period and customer reviews, well, in the past! Now readers are used to free books and they don’t read most of them. They hardly finish any novel. Whenever they are bored by a book, they jump to the next one. Too many freebies, too many deals. Bad reading habit. Spoiled! The strategy hardly works anymore.

It’s not the fault of KDP-S. It’s just there are way too many books now! I’m glad to see that Amazon learned its lesson now: you have to meet several criteria before you could enroll in this Countdown program, such as

1. Your book has been enrolled in KDP Select for 30 days or more (This is okay.)

2. The digital list price for your book has not been changed for 30 days or more (This is a bummer! Many books will not meet this criterion.)

3. The latest end time for your Kindle Countdown Deals promotion is 14 days before your KDP Select period ends. However, if you renew your book in KDP Select for another consecutive 90-day period, the latest end time of your Kindle Countdown Deals may be the last day of your current KDP Select period.

Alright, now, each Select period is 90 days. Rule 1 tells you that you’ll have to be inside KDP-S for >30 days, and rule 3 tells you <90-14=76 days. This way Amazon controls the number and optimizes the effect. And I can imagine that many authors will be tempted to renew the Select. Good job, Amazon!

A trick: The first time I tried to enroll in the program, something weird happened and the system wouldn't let me do it. I contacted Amazon and they told me to delete the cache and cookies to see if this resolves the problem.

I just enrolled my military science fiction from Nov 3 to Nov 10. I’m eager to find out how it goes (I’ll post a report here on Nov 11. I promise!)

                        

Book-Reviewer Interview I: Tina Chan

Writers need quality reviews to help sell their books. Readers depend on honest reviews when trying to decide whether or not they should invest in a book. During recent years, more and more bloggers have joined the business of reviewing books, traditionally or independently published. Maybe I shouldn’t call it a business since the majority of them receive no compensation except for a free copy of the book. “There is nothing so dangerous to an author as silence.” (Samuel Johnson) Whether their reviews are professional critiques or personal opinions, they play an important role in the literary world and we ought to be grateful for their valuable time and insights.

Having worked with several of them, I’m highly impressed by what they are capable of accomplishing (it’ll take me at least two weeks to finish a book, assuming I don’t abandon it halfway). If you are interested in knowing a little bit more about them, here are some reviewer interviews you may enjoy.

Reviewer Interview #1: Ms. Tina Chan. The Book Landers.

1. What made you decide to build a book-reviewing website? What are your favorite genres?
I decided to run a book review website since I love reading and already post several reviews on Goodreads, so starting a book blog seems only natural.  Also, as an author myself, I know how valuable honest reviews can be.  I read a huge variety of books, but my top five favorites are: YA dystopian, mysteries, sci-fi, YA fiction and steam punk.

2. How many requests do you receive weekly or monthly, on average? How often do you post your reviews? How do you arrange your reading and reviewing time?
On average I receive about 3 review requests; less on non-busy weeks and more on busy weeks (up to 10 a week!)  I try to post a review every 3 days, though I admit I have been lagging lately with my posts.  The order of the books I review usually follows a first come, first served basis; I might make an exception for hard copy books--they might get bumped up a few spaces and get reviewed faster.  I read whenever I have free time--commuting, before bed, in the morning.  I try to save 1 hour a day to read; I would happily read 6+ hours a day if I could!

3. Do you feel the pleasure of reading being hindered when the author has a deadline or keeps bugging you?
It is almost impossible to devoid me of my pleasure when I'm reading a good book.  I know authors have deadlines as well so I do my best to meet them and as for authors bugging me about getting a review posted--well, that hasn't happened yet!

4. What criteria do you use in selecting the books you want to review? Do you also consider existing editorial or customer reviews?
I dislike giving bad reviews, so I aim to pick books I think I will enjoy reading. I may read some existing editorial/customer reviews, but they don't affect my decision whether I do or do not read a book that much unless the reviews are overwhelmingly positive or negative.

5. Do you only post good reviews (e.g., do nothing about a bad book or send the author a private note)? Have you ever received “hate emails” after you turned down a request or published a negative review?
I post honest reviews.  I always try to look on the positive side of things; I believe 99% of the books have something good about them.  If I don't like something about a book, I will state it but I won't bash a book/author.  Bottom line for all my reviews: honesty.  I haven't received hate mails yet *fingers crossed* :-)

6. How do you think about self-published books in general? Do you find typos and grammar issues often? Are they getting better?
I treat self-published books with the same respect I treat books published via the traditional route; whether an author chooses to publish through a publisher or self publish doesn't change the fact he/she spent their time and effort into penning the writing. I do find that self-published books have a bit more grammatical (usually spelling) errors, but it's enough to distract me from my reading.  Also, I understand that getting a book professionally edited is very costly (could be well over $1000 for a full length novel) and you average person just doesn't have $1000 lying around (I know I don’t!)

6. Would you like to tell us briefly about your background and day job (if you have one)?
I currently only have a part time job at a restaurant, but during my free time I love volunteering at the library (planning programs, organizing book shelves, etc.) I also love to run and look forward to my third half marathon :-)

7. Do you have anything to say to authors/publishers who would like to send you review requests in the future?
Like I mentioned before, I have a very wide interest in all types of books.  I encourage authors/publishers to send me their works to review and even promote.  I love hosting author interviews and discovering new favorite authors.

Thank you so much, Tina, for helping authors get their books discovered! We look forward to reading your future posts!

Visit the website: The Book Landers

Dirty Tips for Goodread Giveaways

There are many good tips out there and I don’t want to repeat them. Below is what I found useful.

1. Don’t waste the “book description” window

When readers browse through the giveaway lists, they only see a tiny portion of the whole book description, and many authors waste it by repeating “Join and get X copy/copies of XXX”. Well, the title is already above the window, and it is very clear how many copies are offered on the right side of the window. You are simply wasting your best chance of talking about the book. 

A lot of authors put editorial reviews or blurbs written by another author there. I’m currently running a giveaway, and below is what’s showing for mine.

“A fast, entertaining read that feels a bit like a roller coaster, pulling you along at breakneck speed through twists and turns. - San Francisco Book”

Okay, the last word “Reviews” was chopped off, but it got most of the juicy part.

2. List it for a period slightly longer than a month

What determines the order of books in the “Ending Soon” list, which is most frequently visited? Just take a look and you’ll find out that the longer the giveaway period is, the earlier a book will be placed in the queue. Since Goodreads suggests listing for a month, assuming most authors follow that rule, by making yours longer than a month, you’ll get a higher chance of being placed on the first page of the list. If you set it to 3 months, your book may be the top one.

3. Don’t set up the giveaway too early

Yes, the common advice is to set up your giveaway a few days before the starting date so that the Giveaway staff can have enough time to approve it. The argument is, if your book gets approved midday, you’ll miss the early half of the day. If you follow that advice, however, your book will show up at the BOTTOM of the “Recently Listed” list, several pages down. For my present giveaway, I sent out the request on the previous day, only three hours before midnight (pacific time). My book appeared on the first page, but there were still several titles above mine. Those authors probably sent out their requests on the morning of the starting day. Yes, their book would stay on the list for < 24 hours, but how many people check Goodreads at 3am? It’s worth it!

4. Don’t specify that the copy is “autographed”

I know, this is against common advice. I admit that, by putting AUTOGRAPHED COPY in that small golden window, more people are likely to join the pool and even add your book to their “to-read” shelf. However, more is not necessarily better! Without the AUTOGRAPH, if a reader adds your book, even thought he may not like it enough to ever buy it, he is showing an interest and probably will read it. If somebody adds your book only because the AUTOGRAPH, he either likes collecting signed books, or hopes to sell your book at a high price one day you become famous. In other words, recruiting participants who will never read your book only reduces the chance of having your book fall into the hand of a reader who’d love to read or even review your book. Think about it! And you can always sign it before you mail it out.

And speaking of the “to-read” shelf, I know it feels good to see that so many people have added your book, but it seldom means anything. Every time I saw a reader having three or four thousand books on the to-read shelf, I wanted to ask, “Do you realize that if you read one book every single day, rain or shine, it’ll take you 10 years to go through your shelf?”

And a final conclusion: This is why everyone should’ve gone traditional publishing. Those self-promotions are wasting our precious time that could’ve been used for writing our next books!

Being a writer

Being a writer is like being in a relationship---never pretend to be someone you are not. If we don't say what we really want to say, we are just wasting everyone's time.

How to make an effective book trailer (Part II)

We talked about choosing the right words for your book trailer. An equally important aspect is the display of the words.

1. Size and font

I would generally avoid overly large font sizes that result in multiple lines. For example, compare

Unless you make the second screen too small to read, generally speaking the first example takes more effort to read. I personally hate having to generate multiple visual saccadic movements within a short time (I study neuroscience).

About choosing the right font. You could follow the guidelines of choosing the font for your book cover. For example, you certainly shouldn’t use an elegant font for a horror, unless you intend to create the contrast and it works. In general, I would stick to simple and clean fonts like Arial for the ease of visualization. The best font is the one that the audience doesn’t notice what font is being used.

2. Pacing

When you write the book, pacing is manipulated by choosing the desired sentence lengths, adding or omitting descriptions/actions. You can’t control how fast the reader physically reads each word. With a video, you have a lot more control, and you should take advantage of it. Without hindering readability, you could customize the appearance of each word/clause/sentence, rather than setting up a fixed pace for the whole presentation. When done well, it can help achieve great effects. The book trailer for INTO THE VAST is one of my favorites, even though it doesn’t have fancy images.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWD86W6c7SI

In the first half, the words appear at a slow pace, building up fear and an eerie feeling. It speeds up during the second half when it introduces actions. The music is also a great help, but let’s talk about that later.

Rule #3. Don’t make the audience work too hard. If you choose to build a slideshow typed trailer with a set of photos, I would say, try to limit the number of photos and have words on each photo. Why? Let me give you an example. Say you have three photos. The first one shows a plate of fruit. The second one shows a dog sitting in front of a house. The third shows a woman looking at a mirror. This will make the audience wonder what message you are trying to convey here. Is the woman afraid of getting old or fat, so she eats healthy food? Does the dog at the door resemble her longing for a visit from someone? In fact, all you want to show is an ordinary housewife’s life. So do not leave your audience wondering. You are not making a full-length movie here. You are advertising for your book. Tell them explicitly what you want to say.

To be continued...

How to make an effective book trailer (Part I)

What’s the best way to market your book? No, the answer is not “to make an effective book trailer”. The answer is --- do everything, and work hard! I can safely say so, because if you were an established author who got a team working for you in a major publishing house, you wouldn’t be reading this post. You are most likely a self-published author, just like me, waiting for those bloggers to write book reviews for you. Their reviews can help you a lot. However, just like anything else in the world, it’s always good to rely on what you can do. There is always something you can control.

I know you wrote a masterpiece, but I don’t know what it is. Neither do millions of readers who may enjoy it. No, wait! Don’t go ahead and make a book trailer and publish it on Youtube. Hold on! Don’t try to reach out to the readers unless you’ve studied them carefully. They are all different, but there are common traits.

Rule #1. They are called “the modern impatient readers.” The best length of a book trailer should be 30 to 60 sec, roughly. If you are someone I know, I’ll watch through your 2-min trailer. Otherwise, I’ll most likely quit in the middle, even though I know the best stuff is usually kept at the end (Is it?). Don’t blame me, or the other million readers like me. The Internet has so many goodies. One minute is a long time.

Rule #2. Readers are overwhelmed with their choices. Your trailer has to be strikingly different from or better than other trailers in your genre. Why? Because otherwise, why should they read your book instead of someone else’s? You are likely to have five to ten sentences in your 1-min trailer. There should be at least one sentence/idea that is completely unpredicted, and it’s better to be the ending sentence. The rule varies with genre, but ideally, every sentence should be unique, impressive, or unpredicted. I’ll use my trailer as an example. Sorry, you’ll have to bear with my self-promotion if you want to finish this post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxAJSrX8AwM

Here are the sentences that appeared in the trailer:

“An agricultural country in a modern war.” This adds contrast. It wouldn’t have worked if it were “An industrial country in a modern war”.

“Two brilliant men and one manipulative woman.” A-man-and-a-woman implies something. “Two” provokes interest. (Don’t get me wrong. I don’t write erotica.)

“Old wisdom vs. advanced technology, which wins?” Another contrast, but this one is quite common.

“Failure vs. truth, which is more unbearable?” I like this one a lot. It makes you wonder what kind of truth it is.

“Death is neither the worst nor the end.” I don’t need to comment on this one, do I?

The words in the trailer serve as a pitch. They don’t need to cover the major story. They don’t even need to be accurate! For example, the woman is not just manipulative. Above all, she is a sweet, smart, upright, and powerful woman. However, these words are not as “interesting”. The sole purpose of the wording is to HOOK. To make the readers want to read the book. They’ll have plenty opportunities to find out about the woman later. Hook! But of course, the words need to be relevant; otherwise readers will feel cheated.

To be continued …

Author Interview – Fiona Rawsontile

By Terraverum

Having an interview with us today is newly published Fiona Rawsontile, author of ‘The Starlight Fortress’.  I enjoyed this interview so much and I’m really grateful to Fiona for giving her time to give us a little glimpse into her story and world. Her views and writing process really intrigued me and not only did my imagination expand with her answers, but my inner writer was inspired as well.

What caused you to want to write this particular story?
I had vivid dreams about war even as a little kid. It’s a topic that always horrifies and fascinates me. When my father was in the navy, he sometimes took me to those veteran retirement parties. I remember watching those big men hugging one another and weeping. The smell of wet metal and the sea. I knew one day I’d write something about war. That was inevitable.

Was there a specific thing or occasion that inspired you to begin?
Nursing, hehe. I began writing the book after I gave birth to my son. He nursed a lot, and I spent hours lying in bed every day, my mind filled with all those characters and voices. In fact, the story was initially about Geneva and Charlie, the perfect gentleman. Then Geneva hired her military assistant, Sterling, a smart but otherwise ordinary guy, and I said to Charlie, “Sorry, you are not my hero anymore.”

Read More …

Fear of Success

Strange.

This is really strange. I mean, writing my first blog post. I’m sitting on a bright platform with a microphone and a recorder. All I can see in front of me is darkness. There may or may not be any audience in the darkness, studying me with great interests or contempt. Or there might be a dog---I’m not talking about you. This is my first blog post, as a writer, and this is how I feel.

So what am I going to talk about, today and in the future? No, I’m not going to start bragging about my book. You can check the other pages if you are interested (by the way, exactly what drove you here to hear me rambling, I have no clue of). I’m going to talk about everything, anything. That’s what a writer does. Fiction writing is probably the only profession in the world for which holding an advanced degree (in Creative Writing) is considered far from adequate. What do writers do? They build worlds, create people, predict how things should happen and comment on how things should have happened. They are playing God! How dare we write about life, assuming we understand life?

Of course, we can always write about ourselves (by the way, how dare we claim that we understand ourselves?). In fact, this is almost inevitable. We either write what we have, what we are, or what we lack, what we aren’t. Either way, we define ourselves through writing imaginary people and imaginary events. It takes courage to expose; it takes pain to hide.

Now, you may say, standing up from the darkness in front of me, “Wait a minute! Could you first explain what the title of the blog means?” Here is my answer:

1. The Taranis Spirit is a motorcycle made in Thyphol, an imaginary place located on Planet RB-2 in the Renaisun Quadruple Star System. This type of motorcycle has adaptive wheels for riding on hills. Don't ask me any more details for I don't know.

2. The Taranis Spirit is either a fancy warship or a military maneuver. I haven’t decided on it and I wouldn’t tell you even if I have.

3. The Taranis Spirit is the tentative name of my novel-in-progress, the sequel of The Starlight Fortress. See, I still can’t avoid talking about my book, as what a writer normally does.

Okay, if by far you still haven’t left, I know you really like me. Personally! And that deserves some reward. So I’ll offer an advice on writing. They may help you, or they may destroy you. Depends on how you use them.

Don’t do what everybody else is doing. Why? Because, for some reason, in the modern world, whatever profession or activity you could think of, there are many people doing it right now. There are many people writing books. Many making movies. Many applying for industrial jobs, research grants … A common critique I hear about my book is that things happen too fast compared with most of the books in the market. Every scene has drama in it. I could have added a lot more stuff in between to slow it down, to split it to several books. Well, this is not a wrong advice. The only thing is, if I do so my book will end up looking similar to many other books. Why would I want that? How could one expect his work to stand out, to bear unique comments, if he’s doing what everybody else is doing? 

Which is the major cause for people not achieving what they want to achieve, fear of failure, or fear of success?