2016 Holiday Gift Guide For Writers

It's that time of year again, and every year I update the gift guide for writers. For those of you who have writers in your life (and we all do. We're like black sheep, we're everywhere!) don't miss this list!

Here’s a simple guide of various gifts that writers would greatly appreciate, including a few items to avoid. :)

~Reviews! - 2nd year in the row on the top of the list! Reviews on novels through whatever medium you use. Amazon, GoodReads, B&N Nook. If you loved a novel, write a review and let others know! Can't tell you how much this one is appreciated, especially by Indie authors like us, more than any other 'gift!'

~Wireless laser printer (color or black & white) - With the amount of paper we go through printing out our masterpieces, the faster the better. Preferably one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to replace the toner.

~ Subscription to PicMonkey or Canva - Most authors are now involved in areas of marketing or promotions for their own novels and brand, if not 100% responsible for it. These sites help us create graphics and appealing ads to market our lovely books! (Writers, if you don't know about these sites, you must check them out!)

~Printer paper - A whole case doesn't cost that much, and we'll go through every single sheet. It's like chocolate or coffee, they don't last very long in a writer's household.

~Ink or Toner - See paper.

~Coffee mugs - Speaking of coffee, we go through ridiculous amounts of this life-saving beverage. Though feel free to spread the wings a little bit and include some kind of special flavored hot teas. Just to shake things up. But be unique with these mugs. Show us something different, and of course must be dishwasher safe!

~Coffee, or Starbucks gift cards – We need something to put in those lovely mugs you purchased. Since we're not allowed to filter coffee through an IV, we'll settle for the next best thing.

~Pens – But not just any pen. Give us something different, like those coffee mugs.

~Books – Obviously! Was there any other guess? We'll settle for giftcards to bookstores, too.

~ Chocolate or Fruit Bouquets - Something snack size so we can munch as we write. Chocolate because this is my guilty pleasure, and fruit bouquets because it would be nice to have something healthy in there. Or perhaps chocolate-dipped fruit! Ooh, best of both worlds!

~Massage or Spa Day gift card – This one is still on the list, because it's vital. Can't stress it enough. This forces us out of the house to relax our writing muscles.

Don’t Bother With These:

X Thesaurus – Once again, top of the Do Not Purchase List. Every writer already has one, and every good writer knows not to use it. Still #truth.

X Subscription to Writer’s Digest or Writer’s Journal – This was on the list last year as an option, but this year it got kicked to the curb. Why? Because all of the information in these subscriptions are now available online through other means, and mostly free of charge. Sorry!

X Digital Voice Recorder – Every phone has something already on it that works. My phone came with 3 different apps.

X Journals – Unless specifically requested, stay away from these! Every writer has a billion of these shoved somewhere in drawers. Plus, it’s a cliché. Writers are supposed to hate clichés.

That's this year's gift guide for writers. Do you have any suggestions for this list, something that we missed?  Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanza! Happy Holidays! PEACE ON EARTH

*This post originally appeared on Smart Girls Read Romance blog on 12/10/15.

Susan Sheehey writes romantic suspense and contemporary romance. Her latest series, Royals of Solana is currently being recovered and packaged, and will be available early 2017. Her original debut novel, Audrey's Promise, was rereleased November 2016, and is available on e-retailers now. Susan is a strong advocate for autism awareness and acceptance, and includes the healing element of water in every story. She lives and laughs in Texas with her husband and two boys. Follow Susan on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and SusanSheehey.com. Sign up for her monthly newsletter of goodies and exclusive contests Here.

Reviews: The Bread & Butter of Indie Authors

How often do you write a review for the books you read? If you do, where do you post them? Do you manage a personal blog for reviews, or do you share them on Amazon & GoodReads, etc?

How much do you rely on reviews on those websites for a book you want to purchase? Do negative reviews influence your purchasing decisions for books?

Before I became an author, I was an avid reader (still am). But in my hectic life, I didn’t get around to writing a review about a book I loved. Definitely a shame. In fact, I was one of those readers who only posted a review if the book irritated me. As a way to ward off other readers from purchasing the book and feeling the same way. Honestly, I didn’t write that many negative reviews at all. But it was the only time I felt compelled to write one.

Now as an author, I realized my method of writing reviews was completely wrong.

Positive reviews were far more powerful than any negative one I ever wrote. I should have written many more to thank the author for such an awesome and compelling story.

Little did I know at the time that was the best way to thank an author.

For Indie authors like myself, getting our name out there is extremely difficult, especially with so many other awesome writers out there. It’s hard to set ourselves apart. Don’t get me wrong, I love that there are so many incredible stories and characters out there. It’s never been a better time for readers. Each book you pick up is more and more likely to amaze you. You have so many ‘favorite’ authors in your book piles now.

The coveted 5 Star review

But how can we entice readers to pick up a book written by an unknown author?

The resounding answer I keep getting is:

Reviews.

Theoretically speaking, the more reviews a book has, the more likely a reader is willing to buy it (trusting the positive reviews.) Therefore, the more it plays into Amazon’s secret algorithm for visibility. The more reviews, the more 3^rd party promotional sites are willing to display your covers. The better placement novels get on website rankings such as B&N Nook, iBooks, etc. Thereby equating to more sales. Then generating more reviews on top of it. It's a beautiful circle.

I’m not going to touch on Amazon’s new review policy or the controversy around it, because that’s a whole monster on its own.

But I want to hear from you. How much stock do you put on reviews? Are there some sites you trust more than others for reviews?

Let me know your thoughts.

Susan Sheehey writes romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and women's fiction. Her latest series features royals on the run, in Royals of Solana. Water plays a crucial element in all of her stories, and she's a strong advocate for Autism Awareness and acceptance. Forced to give up Diet Coke, she now functions on massive amounts of french vanilla coffee. Susan lives and laughs in Texas with her husband and two boys. Follow her at www.SusanSheehey.com, as well as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Reviews--A Love-Hate Relationship by Suzanne Rossi

Hi everyone.

I hope all of those who observe Easter had a lovely holiday. I know I did.

Today, I'd like to discuss reviews. Authors can often live or die by reviews. We cheer and fist pump when those four or five star ratings come in--that's the love part--and jump back in bed pulling the sheet over our heads if they aren't so nice. It's the three star ones that are hard to judge--not great, but not in the "really sucks" category either. Somehow, just being considered average doesn't cut it. To paraphrase Abe Lincoln, "You can please some of the readers all the time, and all of the readers some of the time, but you can't please all the readers all the time."

I've noticed that reviews from legitimate (read professional) reviewers are harder to come by these days. With the explosion of indy authors, it's tough getting noticed anymore. Review sites are overwhelmed with authors wanting recognition for their endeavors. I don't blame them. So, we turn to Amazon and Goodreads to find solace.

Maybe I'm just stupid, but I never learned how to properly use Goodreads. I'm over there; however, I can't seem to find the reviews. My pages look curiously naked. And half the time I can't login because I forgot either my user name or password or both. So, I tend to avoid going there. That's the hate relationship. As you can see, I need serious help with this.

That leaves Amazon. Amazon has changed publishing forever. Yep, the Kindle turned both publishers' and readers' worlds upside down. It opened an avenue for writers to circumvent the usual publishing process, and have their book available to millions of readers. It was easy and anybody could do it. That was the problem, anybody did. And in those early years, every Tom, Dick, or Harry could leave a review whether they bought the book or not, which meant all relatives and friends could give the new novel a five star rating without having read it. This policy led to serious problems. Sad to say, there are some people out there who just love to make other people feel bad--so they trash the work and the author. Luckily, Amazon changed that. Now, in order to leave a review, the reader must have bought the book from Amazon.

I've been lucky. My reviews have been between three and five stars. As far as I know, I've never received a really lousy one. Which brings me to another thought. A bad review makes an author cringe, and the first thought is to defend what we have written--to explain the why to the reviewer. Not a good move.

A case in point that is now infamous. An indy author (whose name I can't recall) published a book (whose title I don't remember either) through Amazon. This was prior to the policy change, so she garnered ten or twelve five star reviews, many from people with the same last name as hers. For whatever reason, she decided to send it to a legitimate reviewer. It came back with two stars and a constructive critique regarding plot, grammar, spelling, and characters. The author was not pleased and shot back a scathing denunciation of the reviewer. This elicited responses, some abrasive, some not, from the review site's fans. The rhetoric escalated until the author finally told one (and more) people to "the 'f' word off." Unfortunately, one of the people she told this to turned out to be an editor. Oops. The reviewer cut off the comments, but by now so many authors and readers were outraged, they went straight to Amazon. Her rating dropped from five stars to one in less than twenty-four hours. It might not have been nice, but it's the kind of thing that could happen, which is--IMHO--why Amazon changed the policy.

The moral of this is--if you must respond to a bad review do it with dignity and grace. A simple, "So sorry you didn't care for my latest release. Perhaps my next book, Happily Ever After, will be more to your taste. Thank you for taking the time to read my story." Or words to that effect. Remember, the toes you step on today might be the rear end you have to kiss tomorrow.

I didn't blog in February, so I need to say that my latest book, "The Assassin" was released on February 22. It and all my books are available from www.thewildrosepress.com and from www.amazon.com. Below is a blurb and the cover.

When high-powered Memphis defense attorney, Ross Patterson, is murdered, his estranged wife, Priscilla, and his step-daughter, Hilary, are two of the prime suspects. Hilary teams up with sexy Private investigator, Colin Blackwood, to find the real killer. Their search brings them in contact with some of Ross's sleazier clients. The more they discover, the more they realize Ross was less than ethical in his practice. As the suspect list grows, so does the danger. Yet, through it all, Hilary and Colin find time for each other. Can they and their newfound love survive?

Hope you all have a wonderful day and I'll see you again next month. Oh, and by the way, if you buy and read a book, don't forget to leave a review.

Suzanne Rossi

Negative Reviews: The Painful Way to Improve

The most important statement today must come first:
Happy Mother's Day!!

Now, onto another obvious statement: no one likes negative reviews, especially authors. It’s a kick in the gut to something we’ve poured hours of energy into, spilled sweat, tears and sometimes blood into creating, and it hurts to hear that someone didn’t like the ‘babies’ we’ve made.

In addition, so much of this industry is subjective. What one person loves, someone else can’t stand. Which is why so many authors hear so many different kinds of ‘suggestions’ from various editors and Beta Readers. It’s the old adage: you can’t please everyone.

But from the reader’s perspective, if they spent money on a book, then they want to truly enjoy it. They feel cheated if they’ve spent time reading a novel that they weren’t fully engaged in, especially when there are so many great novels out there to read. It’s important to respect the reader and their buying power.

I choose to look at the ‘negative’ reviews a different way.

I use them to help me improve.

First of all, the reader took the time to tell me what they thought. Most readers who don’t like a novel don’t even bother doing that. They just never buy one of my novels again. And that’s the real tragedy. So the fact that they put forth the effort to provide an honest review is a good thing.

If someone says they didn’t like one of my characters because they came off too negative or temperamental, that tells me perhaps I need to work on the initial likeability of the character. Yes, characters need to have development arcs and improve over the length of the story, but sometimes I can start them off too far left. So that’s something I can pay more attention to in the next novel. Hopefully I haven’t turned the reader off so much that they won’t purchase the next story because of the last one.

If someone says they didn’t believe the plot, well that’s a huge red flag to me. Clearly I need to focus more on fleshing out the details.

Even with the many beta readers I use prior to submitting to my publisher, and the various editors who tweak the story at the publisher (all supposed to help me ‘catch’ those issues), some things fall through the cracks. No one is perfect.

But believe that I pay attention to those reviews. They don’t go unheard. And some other authors I know who respond negatively to those kind of harsh reviews let it get the better of them. They stew in it, delay their next releases because their minds are in a funk, or worse—stop writing all together. Probably the worst response is a retaliation of some sort: verbal bashing or defensive posts. All of which are completely unprofessional.

I don’t do any of that. I work to improve my writing with each story. Hoping that the next one is better than the last.

So thank you for your honest reviews. Keep them constructive, and I’ll keep improving.

Bringing the next great story to life.

And if you truly loved a story, the best thing you can do is go online (Amazon, GoodReads, or if you bought a print copy in a bookstore), and leave a review. It’s the best way to thank a writer. That, and purchase the next one!

Susan Sheehey writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense.

http://www.SusanSheehey.com

Addicted to Serial Fiction by Kimmie Easley

If it's not broke - don't fix it.

Ever heard that old adage? Yeah, me too, about a million times. However, just because it's redundant, doesn't mean it doesn't hold merit. 

It's also a good way to describe serial fiction, to be more specific, good serial fiction. 

As a reader, I know that intense feeling of falling in love with characters, being pulled into their lives, feeling their pain, heartache, healing, and desire. Forgetting where you are and what you're doing because your 100% completely invested in your current read. People want to dig deeper. What happen to that endearing side character? Will the nice guy who finished last find love? The list goes on, and is different for everyone.

Now days we have the convenience of the push of a button (better known as one click) and we instantly have the next in a series, depending on an author's publishing schedule. 

As an author, this excites me. I fall in love with my characters the same way a reader does (or at least I hope the reader does). I mourn when a book is finished and I no longer spend my day in a certain made up world with my fictional friends. 

I never thought I would take part in serial fiction, not that I had anything against it, I suppose I never thought about it in general. However, I started noticing the trend, and then one day, it simply took off. Everyone was writing serial fiction (hence the above mentioned good reference), and now I know why. 

IT'S ADDICTIVE for both the reader, and the author. 

So, in regards to the uprising trend of serial fiction, if it ain't broke - don't fix it. 

That's why book #4 in my Tasting Series is set to release in less than two weeks. This series has been so much fun, and they're spinning out pretty quickly. I can't get enough, and better yet, neither can the readers (insert infinite yays here)! They are quick, hot 'stand alones' with small cameos. 

 

FIND THE ONGOING SERIES HERE: 

Tasting Texas (novella #1) 

Tasting New York (novella #2)

Tasting Nashville (novella #3)

Tasting Los Angeles (novella #4) 

The characters continue to mess with my head, and the stories continue to stir. More in the Tasting Series to come!