Category Archives: Opinon

What is happening to book titles?

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It’s been creeping up on me for a while now, and I’m starting to wonder is it just me, or does anyone else think the same way?

I’m not sure exactly when the trend began, but what I have noticed is it’s becoming more and more prevalent. And I guess I’ve made you wait long enough to discover exactly what on earth I’m talking about, haven’t I?

Book titles.

Or, to demonstrate what I mean: Book titles (a story of love and lust in the American deep south – Book 1 of The Deep South trilogy).

When did writers feel a simple, descriptive title wasn’t enough, but they had to give us an entire synopsis – sometimes the whole prolog, it seems – in the actual title?

I know titles are important. I’ve been posting on a couple of LinkedIn groups recently about the subject, and there I stated my reasons for downloading a book to my Kindle. The explanation comes about because I recently signed up to receive notifications from eReaderIQ.com with lists of free Kindle titles. The email gives a list of free Kindle books, but the list shows only the title and author. If you want to know more you have to follow the link. It made me think about the criteria I use to decide whether to click through.These were:

  1. The title. Does it attract me and make me want to investigate further?
  2. OK – the title sounds interesting, so I click through and look at the cover. I have fairly strict rules here:
    1. Does it look hand drawn? You know what I mean.
    2. Does the cover look professional? I have a little leeway here, because I’m not so convinced by my own either :-(
  3. Cover’s OK, so now I read the blurb. Is the writing in the blurb clear? Are there spelling or grammar mistakes? You wouldn’t believe how many self-pubbed books fall at the first hurdle because they put out a badly written blurb.
  4. How many pages? I never download anything short. By short I mean 5 or 6 pages. I didn’t believe it either, but there are folks out there selling a 5 page ‘novel’ for $2.99 or more. In the words of those clever latin folks: caveat emptor.
  5. If the blurb intrigues me then I click Look inside. Are the initial few pages interesting? Do they draw me in, make me want to read more?

If I get this far and haven’t been put off – and a single negative reaction to any one of these stages will stop me going further – then I’ll download or purchase the book.

All of which is a long way to leading up to the thing that stops me even getting to first base here: Titles that try to explain the entire book!

I never, ever, ever click through to look any further if it says: Mary’s quest for peace and quiet in a chaotic world – the search for clarity of a woman living in LA (Book 1 of 10 exploring Mary’s introspective lifestyle).

And please, no emails asking me where you can buy this. I made it up. Honestly, I did. But you must have seen similar titles yourself.

So the question is – do they put you off like they do me, or is it just my own prejudice here?

I’m thinking back to some great titles that don’t need any justification.

The Stand

East of Eden

The old man and the sea

Fahrenheit 451

Animal Farm

I’ll stop now.

No, that last one’s not a title. Although it could be. And if it was, would you want to click through to find out what it was about?

I’d be interested to know whether you think I’m alone in this crazy prejudice.

Review of Moonlight on the Nantahala by Micheal Rivers

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2 stars

Moonlight on the NantahalaThe magic and power of great writers is their ability to draw the reader into their imagined world by making the reading experience seamless. Yes, if we stop to consider, we know the creation is not real, but a good writer makes the whole thing hyper-real. However, not everyone can be a great writer, but even a good writer draws us out from ourselves for a while. Unfortunately, Micheal Rivers is not a great, nor even a good, writer.

I am reluctant to write a poor review for a fellow writer, for I know how long and hard the job is to write and craft a novel, but in this instance I am confused. I found Moonlight on the Nantahala so awkward, so stilted, and in places so difficult to read that I looked it up on Amazon to discover what others thought. This confused as it has received a large number of 5 star reviews (as well as a number of 1 star which appear to agree with my opinion). The general consensus was this was a great book, which confused me even more.

Moonlight on the Nantahala is the story of Edward, an octogenarian who lost his true love many years ago. The tale involves him meeting and befriending a troubled young woman, Lena. There are major elements of a ghost story threaded through the novel. In the story it takes Edward three years before he speaks to Lena, who has been sitting at the bottom of the garden to his old house all that time. When he does speak, for me, things get even worse.

Starting the book, I was intrigued and attracted by the first page. The writing was clean and drew me in, but things went downhill from there.

The dialogue is hard to read, as no-one is able to just say something, they always have to laugh heartily or whisper quietly. And this happens not on the odd occasion, but pretty much every single dialogue point.

And then there are the switches in point of view. Early on in the book this begins to stand out. In one paragraph we are inside Edward’s head, the next inside Lena’s, and the next inside that of his housekeeper, Betty. In some paragraphs the viewpoint is switched from sentence to sentence. I found myself constantly interrupted trying to work out who I was seeing this world from.

I’m confused by this book, and reluctant to post what is a negative review, but feel I need to express my true feelings after reading it. Strangely, in parts, the writing is very good. Micheal Rivers can be excellent at setting and descriptions, can be concise and relevant, but then the swirling head-switching distracts from what is being built.

I see on Amazon the book claims a high selling rank. However, when I look at the Product Details I see it is classified as #72 in Kindle Store  > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Advice & How-to > Parenting & Families > Aging Parents > Aging. The book is neither Nonfiction nor about Aging Parents. I will concede it is about Aging.

So I have a dilemma. I really disliked this book. I can see it has some redeeming features, hence the 2 stars and not 1. However, in light of other reviews, I am willing to concede I may be simply missing something here. But this is my review and not that of anyone else, so I can only offer my honest opinion. Sorry.

I ought to laugh but I’m not sure I can…

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I recently made a few changes to the text of Ali’s Art. I uploaded these to Kindle and also to Smashwords last weekend so the updated version was available for the read an eBook week.

I have now just received an email from Smashwords saying the book cannot be included in the extended distribution channel because it needs changing. The change they require is:

Please obscure/cover over the woman’s nipple and areola in the photo inside the front of your book. When you’re finished correcting your book, go to Dashboard: ‘upload new version’ to upload the new version. Thanks.

Here’s the image.

It seems the move by PayPal and the Credit Card companies is spreading it’s wings even wider. Now I can’t have a drawing of a woman who displays her nipples inside my book. This isn’t on the cover, it’s an interior image!

Scary, scary times for writers of erotica.

Censorship in Erotica

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Selena Kitt recently raised a number of posts on the groundswell of censorship being instigated, it seems, by PayPal and others. They are pulling the plug, one by one, on any sites that sell material they deem offensive. While some might agree with their categorizations – incest, rape and bestiality – they also include pseudo-incest; that is, sexual relations between adults who are step-relations and not blood relations. Like Woody Allen?

Censorship is a weird thing. What offends me may not offend you, and vice-versa, and there are lines across which 99.99% of people are likely to agree should not be crossed, but the blanket application of these categories to Erotica are dangerous.

The ban would seem to apply only to Erotica that crosses these boundaries. For instance, rape is a frequent motif in thriller and detective fiction.  Incest appears to be acceptable provided it is contained in a work of “literary” merit, for example  Arundhati Roy‘s The God of Small Things, as well as in works by a myriad of other writers both popular and literary. In some way I might be able to understand the distinction, because Erotica’s main purpose is to arouse, and using taboo subjects to cause arousal may disturb some people. The big problem I have is where this might lead.

PayPal is not banning these topics, they are saying you can publish what you like but we will not allow you to use our services to pay for them. From my point of view this is a subtle and even more dangerous form of censorship. Where might it end? An extra 5% on Taxes for writers of erotica?

Tread warily, my friends, because the people behind all of this are even madder than those of us that write this stuff!

SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP INTERNET CENSORSHIP

JOIN “AMAZON CENSORS” ON FACEBOOK

Kindle eBook pricing

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I’ve just spent ten minutes browsing Amazon looking to load up my Kindle before I go to France for a two week break next weekend, and I found myself skipping over the cheap books – those under £1 – and I started to wonder: Why? I do buy £1 books for my Kindle. I buy them because they spark my curiosity and interest, and what the hell, it’s only £1 (or less!). I’ve read some really good books at this price point, but I still ignored all the sub £1 titles!

So why, when I started browsing for holiday reading, was I looking at £3.99 and upward? I realized after a couple of minutes what I was doing, sat back and looked at my partner and said what was going on. I surprised myself, and I’m still trying to work out what is going on here.

I’m still averse to paying the £9.99 being asked for the latest Michael Connolly and Stephen King, even though I do want to read both, but £3.99 seems a fair price. I’m even happy to go to £4.99 but to be honest that’s about my limit. So why not 99p? Because I guess I’m looking for something meaty, something satisfying, and although I have read that kind of book at under £1, they are pretty rare. I just have this feeling, this instinct, that after paying £111 for a Kindle I expect the “software” to be less than a hardback or paperback. Being self-published I know how much it costs to get a book onto the Kindle – nothing. Sure, you can pay thousands to someone else to format and edit and everything else, but with perseverance and care you can do it all yourself. And yes, I know that costs money – time is money after all – but it’s my time, and I’d rather be doing this than watching the box.

I publish my own short work at 99c (about 57p in the UK), but my novel length book is $2.99 – £2.08 in the UK. I think what I’m trying to say is sub £1 is okay for a quick read, but I’m expecting to pay more for book length, and expecting that the extra amount is going to give me a better read. I know, that’s not always the case, but I was still looking at that price range and skipping over the cheaper books because I want something I’m really going to enjoy while lying on the beach.

I’ve been reading some posts about how writers who sell too cheap are doing neither themselves or – and I think this is the main point – other authors any favours. Okay, I can follow that. But I cannot follow charging over £10 for some Kindle titles. Like I’ve already said, £3.99 to £4.99 seems a good price point. If you publish through a traditional publisher you’re going to struggle at that level, because there are so many layers between you and the selling price. But for independent authors are we really pulling down everyone else by pricing ourselves too cheap? And are we putting a stamp on our work that says “it’s cheap, so what did you expect, perfection?”

I’m arrogant. I admit to it, without embarrassment. If I can’t be arrogant about my own abilities as a writer how can I expect to produce work I expect others to enjoy? Should that arrogance translate into pricing as well? At the moment, I don’t think so. I currently price at two levels. Works shorter than 40,000 words go out at 99c. Novel length (60,000 words and up) go out at $2.99. I’m questioning whether, at novel length, I am placing a judgement on my work that is saying it’s not as good as that of other authors. And as I said, I’m arrogant. I don’t just think I’m as good, I know I’m as good!

I’m not sure there is any punch line here. I’m still looking for three or four or more “good reads”. I write erotica, but enjoy reading thrillers, crime, science fiction and pretty much any category that lights my fire, hence the Connelly, Stephen King, CJ Sansom, all of them good writers. But I’m thinking, by pricing my own works at 99c, am I actually reducing my readership?

Am I the only person that thinks this way?

Let me know, I’d be interested in finding out what your opinion is. I’ve put a survey over on the right hand side. Click on it and let me know what you believe is a fair price for a 60,000+ word novel.

Amazon moves to limit author self-promotion

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So why are we surprised?

Sometimes people on the web get caught up in the democracy of it all and forget that Amazon is a business – and its business it to make money. Sure, it succeeds if authors succeed, but it also needs to make itself attractive to those who supply it with product that sells. And, despite the growing rise of indie authors, that means the big publishing houses.

And what are they doing? The latest trend seems to be they are setting up their own outlets to sell directly. And why are they doing this? Because they do not want their books sold alongside self-published tomes from the likes of me?

Looking at the top 100 in the UK, Gordon Ferris, a self-published author has three books in the top twenty, each selling for 99p.

Now, how much does Amazon make on each of those sales? about 69p.

How much does Amazon make on selling the latest Stephen King of Michael Connolly or any other big name? Say they sell for £10 then Amazon makes £3 per sale. And, Gordon Ferris and others aside, big name authors sell a hell of a lot more books than indies.

So if Amazon wants to continue to be the main source of books from big publishers then it needs to continue to make itself attractive as a market place.

If you were Amazon and you made 95% of your book income from major publishers, and 5% from these annoying buzzy indies, what would you do?