Category: Uncategorized

Fifty Shades of Earl Grey

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ Leave a comment

I belong to a support group of independent authors whose writing, whether  romance, mystery or thriller, falls roughly in the general category of Cozy. We eschew foul language or gratuitous sex and violence.

Currently there is a lively discussion about the book and movie, “Fifty Shades of Gray.” Naturally enough, the comments are pretty scathing regarding the subject matter, but I was surprised, since I did not read the book, at the criticisms of the author’s writing ability. It seems that in spite of poor editing, syntax and plot development, the salacious nature of this book made it such a success it has now been made into a near-pornographic movie glorifying the sexual abuse of women.

This is so frustrating for those of us struggling to improve our craft (which we love) and learning the daunting skills of marketing our work (which we hate) in order to raise our sales ranking  and someday make a modest living as full-time writers.

It is tempting to think all we need to do is write books filled with dangerous bondage S&M practices and other graphically violent sex acts set in a pseudo-sophisticated upper class milieu in order to become best-selling successful authors.

However, as several in my group implied, even thinking of slithering through that slimy world makes us feel in need of the mental equivalent of a hot shower to cleanse our minds.

One of the tenets of becoming a successful writer is knowing one’s target audience and writing for each of them.

I thank God that my readers are much more interested in reading about an afternoon sipping Earl Grey tea than dipping into Fifty Shades of depravity.

 

 

Drowning in the Flood of Freebies?

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ Leave a comment

When I first entered the world of the independent author in 2011, I read every bit of wisdom I could find about each step of the process, from the first germ of an idea, though outline and character development all the way to marketing techniques.

One bit of advice which appeared frequently was to provide free books to increase your visibility and develop a readership base.

I have followed this advice, holding periodic promotions of free or deeply discounted Kindle versions of my books. In the early years these give-aways usually resulted in an uptick in either sales or reviews of my work.

Independent publishing has become easier every year and websites dedicated to free and discounted digital books have blossomed. With this surge, we may be seeing a saturation effect.

Some readers rarely spend any money on their digital reading and I’ve noticed readers who get books for free can be more critical in their reviews than those who have an investment in enjoying a purchase.

I think we may be entering a time when the book give away has less impact on future sales and it will become necessary to find new, creative ways to get our books noticed by our target audience.

I believe the flood of e-books may begin to ebb as some authors become discouraged and readers become more discerning and once again shop for books based upon quality rather than price-point alone.

In the meantime, it is up to us to come up with those original and creative promotional ideas.

As authors, we create whole worlds inhabited by personalities of our own design, creative promotion can’t be beyond us, can it?

 

The joys of networking

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ Leave a comment

This summer I have enjoyed collaborating on a Kindle bundle promotion with four incredibly talented and generous authors. For the bundle, entitled “Under the Italian Sun,” we each contributed one cozy mystery novel set in Italy.

The five of us are scattered around the globe and vary in our nationalities, experience, backgrounds, ages and writing styles, yet we are bound together by our love of fiction writing and a desire to see each other succeed.

In working on the bundle promotion we are also promoting each other in our individual projects, because when one is successful it pulls up the rest of us.

The more experienced authors are eager to share their expertise with those of us new to publishing, while we each do what we can to boost awareness of our colleagues’ writing.

Along with the very practical education and the other joys of collaboration I’m experiencing, I have discovered a feeling of responsibility for the other independent authors I am meeting through this project. I want to read and review their works and encourage them in any way I can.

I think I am becoming a real part of the independent author community and I feel very lucky to have been welcomed in.

 

Ouch! That hurts, thank you.

~ Jonna Hawker Turek ~ Leave a comment

One thing both independent authors and traditionally published writers share is criticism. However a work gets published, once it is “out there” it is fair game.

The first time I hit the “Publish” button, I felt physically ill, for fear readers would hate my book. When I received my first print copy I could not even open it until my son read it and assured me it was all right.

I was fortunate that all my early reviews were positive and I even relaxed enough to joke about the fact that the only non-five star review came from my hard-to-please sister, who gave the book four stars.

Inevitably, a dreaded poor review was posted. I was so distressed I almost gave up on finishing the series I’d outlined.

Going back and re-reading the criticism, like probing a toothache, I suddenly realized what that two-star review meant. This reader had read the whole book and cared deeply enough about the characters to write and complain about the way some of them behaved. It wasn’t my writing that was objected to, after all.

That insight helped salve my hurt feelings (somebody doesn’t like me!) so I can now read my reviews with an eye to learning from them. It helps to find out what my readers expected, or wanted, to happen to my characters.

After four published books and many reviews, both positive and critical, I’ve also come to accept the fact that I can’t please everyone. The very same aspect of a story for which I receive praise from some readers can be the most strongly objected to by others.

Whenever a reader of one of my books cares enough to take the time and effort to post a review, pro or con, I am grateful.

Like the subtitle for that wonderful classic Peter Sellers movie, “Dr. Strangelove,” I have learned to stop worrying and love the critics.