I Hate Marketing - Getting Reviews

I hate marketing; I really do. But I know that "publish it and they will come" is not an effective strategy. I've tried it; many many indie authors have tried it.

So we try to get some reviews. Maybe we ask a friend or they just do it without asking because they realize how difficult it is to get reviews. But that quickly dries up, so we move on.

We submit our ebooks and physical copies—only if necessary—to those few review sites willing to actually read and review indie published books. There aren't many, and so for every book they review they have to say no to a hundred more. I know this firsthand as that's what we had to do here when we were open to submissions—something I hope to do again someday. And after a couple of years, well, you get burned out, or there just isn't time as real life gets in the way. Something has to give, and writing free book reviews is an easy choice to get the ax.

Now some entrepreneurial types figured out how to keep writing book reviews for indie authors. You could pay someone to give you a five-star review on Amazon. Maybe they had a few sock puppets to give you several five-star reviews. Some people did it themselves. Once it got out of control and reviews on Amazon didn't mean shit, Amazon cracked down and only allowed verified purchasers to write reviews. Does it still go on? Maybe. I don't know. But it gave paid reviews a stigma. How would you know if the review was honest?

Well, some people figured out how to do it the right way. I think it might be the norm now. I recently went through the list of reviewers at the Indie View, and there were a lot of paid review sites. But I wasn't ready for that yet.

But the free indie reviews list for sci-fi was short. There were plenty that were MIA or closed to submissions. I did manage to come up with a list of several sites and submitted my requests. That was July. Only one person has replied to say that they're interested. One site auto-replied to tell me to watch their site. Maybe they'd review it; maybe they wouldn't. The rest of them didn't respond at all. I'm not surprised by it really, nor can I blame them. They're probably inundated with requests and don't have the time to reply to them all. I get that. Sometimes people can be rude when you reject their book review request.

I realize that I'm going to have to open my wallet. I've got a debit card for switching my ISP and commiting to an extended period of time. It's found money. But I have to be smart with how I'm going to spend it on marketing. A few indie authors have shared how fast that ad dollar disappears. So I'm going with the biggest bang for the buck. Goodreads (owned by Amazon) is having a giveaway sale. I can give away 100 ebook (Kindle) copies to GR readers (that know to look for giveaways) for $99. The impression I get is that if I get five reviews out of that, it's a success. It runs for the month of September, so I'll report back to let you know how I did.

Want to read Armistice Day? Visit this page during the month of September to enter for a chance to win.

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How to Thrive as a Writer in a Capitalist Dystopia by Russell Nohelty

Full disclosure: I backed the Kickstarter for this book, and even though I have a fair amount of negative things to say, I don't regret it. I found it to be an educational read.

thrive: verb (used without object)

1. to prosper; be fortunate or successful. Synonyms: advance
2. to grow or develop vigorously; flourish.
   The children thrived in the country.

Russell Nohelty is a successful writer, and he wants to share what he's learned about marketing with you. But after reading this book, I've come to the conclusion that "thriving" is not what this book is about. It's about how to survive as a writer in a capitalist dystopia.

survive: to get along or remain healthy, happy, and unaffected in spite of some occurrence.

She's surviving after the divorce.

After reading through all of the health issues (both mental and physical) that Nohelty shares with the reader, his suggestion not to strive for happiness in order to avoid falling into negativity, and the constant drumbeat of how exhausted he is from promoting his brand (blog posts, interviews, podcasts, strategizing his advertizing budget, evaluating what promotions are working, etc.) leads me to believe that he's deluding himself into thinking he's thriving; he's merely surviving.

But "survive" isn't as marketable a word as "thrive." And it's clear to me after reading this book, that Nohelty knows marketing.

And that's where this book has value. Right from the start, Nohelty gives his readers a reality bath. If you have any illusions about your chances of success after publishing your book, then he will wash those illusions away. Once he's done that, he works hard for you to accept things as they are. It's not your fault. Capitalism is a rough system with many evils; it's difficult to conduct commerce in such a system, but it's what we have to deal with. Nohelty doesn't want authors to let the system damage their mental health.

Once that's out of the way, he shares his business experience, matters of personal health, his experiences with social media, makes suggestions about automating your workflow, explains arbitrage, agonizes over the size of his mailing list, crunches the numbers on advertizing ROI, drowns you in marketing philosophy, and tries to get you to focus on what works for you. There's even a clever bit about author archetypes which he and his partner have dubbed "biomes." There's plenty more, but it can be repetitive at times and rambling, and I found myself wanting him to get on with it. But he has to get it all out there because he's trying to make a point and, IMO, he's burning the candle at both ends.

There's a workbook—emphasis on work—that goes with this book that could prove useful. But if you need a guide you can sign up for the service that he and a fellow successful marketer have devised. Nohelty goes into some detail about that in the book, and it stuck in my craw. I don't fault him for monetizing his experience, but I do feel like he's trying to upsell anyone who bought this book. And I don't really appreciate that, but hey, we live in a capitalist dystopia, so it's all fair game.

So if you're an indie writer, should you pick this up? If you've got a routine that you're happy with, then no. If you're content with your writing as a fun hobby, then also no. But if you've got at least three books under your belt, you've sold less than 100 copies (like 99% of us), and you're looking to find out what may or may not be required of you to grow your brand, then yes. It's a sobering look at one man's efforts (one who already had experience with sales and marketing) to grow his brand. Maybe you'll find something in it that works for you.

And Mr. Nohelty, if you're reading this, H.P. Lovecraft never lived in Los Angeles, much less had a salon there.

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Judge Rules AI Can Use Books Without Permission

Yesterday, a judge ruled that Anthropic can use copywrighted material without the author's consent when training its AI. This is a terrible setback for not only the rights of authors and artists, but publishers as well.

One possible silver lining, albeit a weak one, that may come out of this is that literary and artistic content may have to be purchased in order for the "fair use" prinicple to apply. Anthropic may have to purchase a copy of an author's book in order to use it for AI training. The plaintiff in the case insisted that Anthropic used pirated material to create its "central library." In my opinion, getting a few bucks is a paltry sum to be paid by a company that's worth over $60 billion (for the moment, anyway).

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Problems With Draft2Digital

I had every intention to get my latest novel, Gateway To Empire, published in other ebook formats besides the Kindle, but those plans have gone awry. Previously, I used Smashwords to publish all of these myriad other ebook formats, but they were purchased by Draft2Digital (D2D). I discovered that they use a different formatting program than Smashwords.

I attempted to get this done in February, but I struggled to get the D2D software to properly format my manuscript. After weeks of frustration, I decided to take a break. Days turned to weeks turned to months. My attempts this month to try again have met with failure.

In the help section FAQ, here's what I found:

If I format my file myself, will it look exactly the same when you convert it?
No. Ebooks are a reflowable format that allows the reader a lot of flexibility in how they consume content. Draft2Digital's automated conversion process will strip out things that force formatting to be one exact way—embedded fonts, extra line breaks, empty pages, footnotes, or anything the system considers unnecessary to the final file.

I'm not trying to do anything fancy. I just want to get paragraphs to align, a particular quote to be indented, and the information pages (ISBN page, Other books by..., etc.) to line up. So I'm at a loss. I guess I'll keep pounding my head against the D2D wall.

The thing is: I really wanted to get all of the ebook formats set up so that when I contact indie book reviewers I can offer them copies in any format they might want. But now, I can't.

If anyone has any suggestions for alternatives to D2D, please let me know in the comments.

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The Big Five Publishers Have Killed Literary Fiction

Need another reason to support indie writers? Consider reading this post by Elizabeth Kaye Cook and Melanie Jennings, wherein they discuss how consolidation in the publishing industry has basically reduced your reading options to what algorithms recommend.

But who needs authors, right? Just let AI do it. 🙄

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Escalators to Hell: Shopping Mall Horrors

This anthology's theme is horror stories that have some connection to shopping malls, those dying bastions of consumerism. Not that consumerism is dead, mind you. It's that we're transitioning from roaming their vast corridors of myriad wares to surfing the digital versions on our phones and laptops. To wit, the editors thought that the demise of shopping malls would make for an excellent theme for a horror anthology. And I thought so too.

The stories cover a wide gamut of horror sub-genres, so it isn't all about gore. There's a "Content Warnings" section—something I've never seen in a horror anthology—which I thought was odd. I mean, it's horror. If your mental health is such that certain things will trigger a traumatic emotional reaction, maybe you shouldn't be reading horror. I know that there are certain aspects that I won't read because of my issues. So I guess a content warning is considerate of the authors, can one find it before purchasing it?

Author representation is quite diverse. While North American authors are present, there are stories from African and Asian authors. Also, there are many non-binary authors in this collection.

Ok, onto the stories. Of the 22 stories in this collection, I liked 15 of them. Of those that I didn't enjoy, a good deal of them were too focused on gender identity, with the mall serving as mere setting. A couple of the others were too esoteric or allegorical to connect with.

On with the good stuff! The opening story, "Hard to Be a Mall God," was excellent. It deals with a demonically possessed escalator. "The Intercessor" shows how retail associates deal with trollish customers. "Why I Won't Eat at the Food Court" is part of the Generation Dead series. It drags in some cosmic horror for teen mutant superheroes to deal with but doesn't forget to add a dash of humor. "A Plague Upon Both Our Houses" is Romeo and Juliet with Zombies in a mall. "A Quick Trip to Ryan's" delves into masochism on a whole another level. "Kim, Ray, Trey, and Morgan" delves into drugs as a mind expanding experience with a dash of cosmic horror.

Some stories confront serious matters. "You Must Drop Buy" tackles the subject of rampant materialism and false promises made by deceptive marketing. In "Poseurs," a teen girl deals with her father's suicide by re-enacting a drama with mannequins.

In case anyone feels I'm being unfair to non-binary character stories, there were good stories that had non-binary characters and authors. These stories didn't lose sight of the objective. For example, "The Basement of Crowley's Artefacts and Interests of the Occult" has some non-binary teens dealing with demonic invocation in the supply room of an odd store in the mall. "Cherry Cola Lips" features a woman reflecting on her first crush back in high school, a girl who wouldn't come out and later disappeared. Rumors are that she was murdered, but the truth is stranger.

My favorite story was the closer, "The Temple of All." Makoma is forced by ritual to take her dead husband's remains into the ancient ossuary. It's a post-apocalyptic story with a touch of Handmaid's Tale where the ultimate act of rebellion is to live.

Yes, I'm glad I read this anthology. While I wish some of the stories were better, the good stories made it worth the price and my time.

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Full Disclosure: I backed this book on Kickstarter and received a digital copy as a reward.

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The Blissful Plague by Brady Koch

Twelve-year-old Maggie, her mother, and their loyal dog, Penny, traverse desolate cities, guided by a well-worn travel book. A chance encounter with a solitary boy, entangles them in the perils of Plantation Oaks, a seemingly safe haven.

As secrets unravel, revealing the reasons behind their endless voyage, Maggie and her mother grapple with their complex past. This poignant tale speaks to survival, resilience, and the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughter, emphasizing the strength it takes to navigate a shattered world.

This is the fourth and final book in Koch's All Our Forgotten Futures series.

Efforts to contain the plague have failed. No cure has been found, and now there's no one left that can do anything about it. In this quiet world, Maggie and her mother are on a roadtrip, visiting all of the landmarks and museums of a world Maggie has never known and her mother can't forget. It isn't much of a childhood for Maggie, but she knows that her mother is trying her best even when she doesn't understand why she does things the way she does.

When they meet Henry, a boy unharmed by the plague, living with his feral family members and neighbors in the woods, everything changes. For her entire life, Maggie has only really known her mother. She had no friends growing up, so Henry is someone special to her right off the bat. Maggie wants him to come with them, but her mother tells her that he belongs with his family, no matter what condition they're in.

The people at Plantation Oaks are familiar to anyone who's read or viewed post-apocalyptic fiction. They're survivors, and their methods are cruel because that's how you survive. As someone who still has a heart, Maggie does what she can to protect Henry and his family from them. And Momma does what she can to protect her daughter.

Koch does a great job portraying his characters. Maggie is what I'd expect from a twelve-year-old girl (having had a daughter of my own), seeking her own space in the world, rebelling just a bit from her mother's rules. And Momma is caught up being a single mom in the apocalypse, carrying a ton of guilt for not being able to give her daughter a normal childhood but putting on a brave face to make sure she has the skills to survive and carry forward.

The Blissful Plague is a heartfelt story, focused on the relationship of a mother and her daughter in difficult times, facing long odds, trying to do the right thing in a world that has forgotten compassion.

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Full Disclosure: I was hired by the author to proofread/edit this book. While you might think I'm biased, I suggest heading over to Goodreads for other opinions.

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The Hotline at the End of the World by Brady Koch

In a world paralyzed by an unprecedented outbreak, Clint mans the CDC hotline, a solitary beacon of dwindling hope. Then, one fateful day, a call comes in. Clint finds himself navigating a delicate situation involving a mysterious woman, hinted at in classified files, who may possess the coveted cure. As the world remains under a suffocating lockdown, Clint's every word, every choice, holds the weight of untold futures.

This is the third book in Koch's All Our Forgotten Futures series. And this one might give you Covid-19 flashbacks.

Years later, events at the slaughterhouse have boiled over to the country at large, and everyone is desperate. Social order is breaking down as people are becoming infected, and those who aren't infected are willing to do whatever it takes to avoid getting sick or find the mystery woman.

Clint is taking over the CDC's tip hotline. The current occupant, D'Angelo, has had his fill of the job. With the country in lockdown and people isolating themselves, he's watched as his team has been reduced to just him—the volume of calls no longer warrants a full-time staff. D'Angelo trains Clint, who has experience working other hotlines dedicated to assisting people with the virus or who have family members with it. The training and the off-duty conversations reveal a lot about the men. After the training ends and D'Angelo departs, it's just Clint and the occasional caller on the phone. It's a lonely life, and Clint has too much time on his hands.

Clint learns from D'Angelo that the standard approach to the calls is that the caller has not found the mystery woman with the cure. None of them are. There's just no way it can be her after all these years. Clint is to treat each call as if it were a hostage situation. There's a manual which Clint is instructed to follow. It's a de-escalation procedure that never fails. Clint has to stall for time so that he can track down the caller and alert the police to free the hostage before she gets hurt. It isn't easy on Clint, and Koch does a great job keeping the tension high. Eventually though, Clint gets that one call where abiding by the manual doesn't work, forcing Clint to think of a new way to rescue a woman a thousand miles away.

Despite the lack of action, The Hotline at the End of the World is a suspenseful thriller with an engaging protagonist. It doesn't matter that he's cooped up by himself, quarantined from the world. He's agonizing over the fate of this woman, unable to physically rescue her, relying solely on his intellect to outwit her kidnapper. Koch has skillfully developed his character so that you're right there beside Clint, rooting for him to succeed.

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Full Disclosure: I was hired by the author to proofread/edit this book. While you might think I'm biased, I suggest heading over to Goodreads for other opinions.

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The Forgotten Sons of Wyoming by Brady Koch

In the frozen heart of Wyoming, the Trinity Meat Processors stands as a beacon of rehabilitation. Here, men with no pasts and blank slates find purpose under the watchful eye of Pastor Isiah. Asher, unsettled by the sudden disappearance of his friend after a confrontation with a mysterious intruder, races against time, battling forgotten truths and moral dilemmas.

This is the second book in Koch's All Our Forgotten Futures series. And it's probably my favorite.

Asher is one of several men who work at the Trinity Meat Processors slaughterhouse. Koch pulls no punches when he describes the brutal work that the men do. There's a cold detachment from the process, stripping away each layer of the animal until there's nothing left. It's unsettling. It parallels the counseling sessions and church sermons that the men are required to attend as part of their therapy. They strip away the layers, trying to find the man underneath, but it's the same result: an empty shell.

Each man suffers from memory loss, unable to remember what happened before they came to work at the slaughterhouse. The "mysterious intruder," referred to in the blurb, knows. His presence disturbs the men. He accuses them of things they have no memory of. But Sonny, Asher's friend and the lead on the kill floor, has some idea, but he'll be damned if he's going to let this guy get to them. Of all the men, he's the least docile, which is unacceptable.

Asher desperately wants to remember his past and what his counselor won't tell him. It has to be something terrible, right? It seems that Sonny has the answers, which might explain why he's the most boisterous of the bunch. Events build to a head, and Asher comes to realize that things are terribly wrong. A character shows up from The Negotiated Death of Sara Glen which will cinch it for the reader. At this point, Asher and the men at the slaughterhouse are in mortal peril.

As I mentioned earlier, this story was my favorite in the series. Between Koch's descriptions of the men's lives, their work environment, and the surroundings, plus the way he builds dramatic tension, The Forgotten Sons of Wyoming makes for a solid thriller. But there's a scene towards the end of the book that really did it for me. Asher is standing in the middle of a road with the snow coming down. He needs to make an important decision. The imagery of the scene, coupled with how he comes to make that decision, is the cherry on top of a thrilling sundae.

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Full Disclosure: I was hired by the author to proofread/edit this book. While you might think I'm biased, I suggest heading over to Goodreads for other opinions.

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The Negotiated Death of Sara Glen by Brady Koch

Sara makes a startling discovery through an at-home ancestry kit: She possesses a unique immunity to the elusive Jessica Kitner Syndrome. This revelation doesn't go unnoticed. OriginPoints, the DNA test company, approaches her with a proposition that might demand the ultimate sacrifice.

Caught in the maelstrom of genetic intrigue and moral dilemmas, Sara stands torn. With a profound sense of duty on one hand and the weight of her own life on the other, she grapples with choices where clarity is elusive.

This is the first book in Koch's All Our Forgotten Futures series.

As stated in the blurb, Sara learns that she carries a cure for a disease that reverses the cognitive development of children. The problem is that in order to extract it, she must undergo a procedure that will kill her. She leans this at an engagement party for her sister. Over the course of the book, she goes back and forth between sacrificing her life to choosing to live.

While Sara attempts to keep the news of this to herself, the CEO at OriginPoints is eager to promote the technology that led to the discovery. It could lead to billions, which would make stockholders very happy and he'd wind up rich and famous. The pressure is on him to deliver.

So what's in it for Sara? Well OriginPoints will fully take care of her, pay for her to travel and see the world, memorialize her legacy, basically anything to make her out to be a hero.

The rest of the story, told completely from Sara's POV, has her debating her choice with herself. She volunteers to work at a daycare specializing in the care of kids with JKS to get the parents' perspective. She helps plan her sister's wedding; she even starts dating a guy. Sara goes back and forth until Koch throws in a couple of plot twists that change the stakes.

While Koch does a great job at developing Sara, he also does a solid job of developing all of the other characters that Sara interacts with as she tries to make her decision.

All-in-all, this story is a solid start to a great series. In the hands of a lesser author this could've been treated as a maudlin morality tale. Instead, Koch has crafted a fine dramatic thriller.

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Full Disclosure: I was hired by the author to proofread/edit this book. While you might think I'm biased, I suggest heading over to Goodreads for other opinions.

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