Be Sure to Appreciate

Now that the 4th of July holiday is behind us, did you remember to appreciate what it took for you to enjoy it?

Did you thank the fast-food worker who prepared your meal? Or the waitress at the restaurant? Did you remember the people who died to guarantee the Constitution was upheld? Did you remember the police department who kept you safe? The fire department who saved you or somebody else? What about the grocery clerk who worked while you took the liberty of stocking your fridge for the forthcoming week? Or the convenience store clerk who sold you that pack of smokes, beer, or the last bag of chips you needed for your stellar party? What about the amusement park worker or the special events worker?

Many people sacrificed their celebration so others could celebrate. Now I don’t say this with the belief that everybody should have the day off…the terrorists and criminals would absolutely LOVE that and many of us would certainly have ran out of dip!

I say this just to remind everybody that our country is just that: A collection of people who give and take for the benefit of the whole.

That is worth appreciating.

The number one rule of writing…

I read this article the other day. Almost every author knows you should never respond to a review of your work, especially with dialogue. We especially know we shouldn’t respond on Goodreads, a site that is heavily geared toward the reader.

But this left me with a question…what really happens when an author “misbehaves” in these scenarios? How bad is it?

Well, it’s been a few days so let’s take a look.

In the comments from the review argument, you can see a poster stated “Only 7% of your reviews are one star.” So that made me ask: What’s the percentage now?

On GR, the negative reviews skyrocketed. He is now sitting at 83% of his reviews at one star. Ouch!

But we all know GR doesn’t translate directly to sales. It’s a review platform, not a purchasing platform. Just the simple fact that somebody has to click more links to buy your book instead of the few it takes directly from the seller is enough to deter the majority of potential buys.

You want to know where this will hurt? On Amazon. I shuddered as I thought about the backlash. Can you imagine if you had 83% of your reviews on Amazon as 1 star each!? Your work would never be purchased again!

At first glance, you would think the backlash was none. The book is still at 3.9 stars in rating overall…but it is declining. The original problem started on June 5, 2015. Since then, 28 one-star reviews have been posted on Amazon, dropping the average. The book now has 21% of its reviews as 1 star on Amazon. Ouch.

In time, I would give it two more months, this book is going to see a 2.5 star rating if it’s lucky. A very unfortunate tale.

To give you a clear understanding, Goodreads warns authors never to respond to reviews. EVER. The vast majority of authors in this world also advise you to do the same. Some of us don’t listen.

When is an author permitted to respond to people’s remarks about their books?

In person. Verbally.

Two Writes in Works

Ares’ Abomination – Outlined this bad boy out 3 months ago. Started writing and decided I need to outline it all over again. I’ve decided this one will be like Acolyte with more action scenes and less camping discussions. Several more items will be explained, and I think I’ll be closing the larger plot aspects.

Magical Bottles: A Scarred Thief’s Journey – Writing this as a back story for Abby. Target is a short story around 10k words.

Apollo’s Apprentice Release Date Announced

Apollo’s Apprentice’s official release date is March 17, 2015.

Pre-ordering is now available on Amazon.com, Books.com, and Apple’s iStore.

Release price will be $2.99 US through March 22. Regular price will be $7.99 US. (Save over 60% buying early!)

 

 

 

Aphrodite’s Acolyte Winners Selected

The sweepstakes is now over from Goodreads. I will be mailing out the books by Wednesday! Looking forward to running another one when Apollo’s Apprentice releases!

I will also be joining NaNoWriMo this year with a literary fiction novel.

 

Paperback Discounts

Paperback – Deepest Discount – Get $2.00 off Aphrodite’s Acolyte
Buy at: http://alturl.com/p7m7q
Use discount code: QGMMLA3Q

Paperback – Amazon Discounts
Amazon appears to sell at $1.00 off consistently and free shipping with Prime membership
Get it here: http://alturl.com/srvdr
Note: You’ll be taken to the kindle page. Just select the paperback at that point or you can buy the kindle version if desired.