Where do the readers hang out?

Oh, this poor neglected blog. I always have the best of intentions to write at least three times a week. Instead, I'm working on once a month. *sigh* Well, I'm here today. And boy, oh boy, do I have something to talk about.

I read a blog post today about writers and readers. The point was made that the writing industry isolates the readers. It got me thinking about all of my favorite blog stops and websites. The blog in question posted a quote from JA Konrath:

"Here’s the deal: Readers are my customers, not writers. Readers don’t even know who the Big 6 are. They don’t care.

I’m mentioned a lot in the publishing community, which is small, closed, and uninteresting to anyone who isn’t in it. But because we’re in it, and we care about it, we incorrectly assume that because writers know who I am, readers must as well." (Emphasis by the original blogger. Read the full article here.)  

Now, it's only 7:33am, and I've only had one and  a half cups of coffee so bear with me this morning. I'm sure this entire post will be riddled with mistakes and I may rattle on. If we're insulating our readers, how the hell does a newbie like myself reach these lovely people?   We're told, as writers, to have accounts on any and every site out there: Facebook, Myspace, LinkdIn, Goodreads, Google+, Wattpad...the list goes on and on. I've forgotten half of my passwords for these accounts. But are the readers on these sites, or are they only good for networking. Of course, most writers are readers, but a majority of readers aren't writers.

A voracious reader would have no reason to check out my LinkdIn profile. Why would they? Nor would they head over to She Writes to see what I'm up to. Notice I'm not linking these pages to my personal profile. I guess it would be smart to, but other than fellow writers, no one cares.   I have enjoyed getting to know so many people on Facebook, and get the opportunity to chat with authors whom I greatly respect. But, other than hardcore fans, readers aren't going to scour the social network for a new book. They're going to ask their friends for suggestions. They'll go to Amazon and scroll through the first few pages for a good read.   There is so much on the Internet about how to find readers, how to find your particular market. But these sites are almost always geared toward the writers, not the actual readers. Where are these people? Where are they hanging out? And, if you're not Stephen King, or JR Ward, how do the lowly newcomers get the people to come. If you write it, they will come? Nope. Doesn't work that way.    

                                                      If you build it, they will come.

  We spend countless hours researching, traveling to conferences, attending online classes, improving our craft, reading EVERY SINGLE BOOK out there about writing and marketing....they don't help. Okay, they help with our writing, but they don't help us find the people whom would buy our books.   Does anyone know the answer to these questions? Have you found the secret room where the urban fantasy fans, or the paranormal lovers are hanging out? Are they peeking through the windows laughing at us? And, do they care if we're on the radio, or are interviewed on the morning news? Could they care less if we're highlighted on someone's blog? Sure, review blogs are helpful, but how many readers go to them? Are they, too, geared toward the writing world?   Please, if you have an answer to any of these questions, feel free to point the rest of us in the right direction.

Too Much Sex?

I have a confession to make - I love to read bad reviews on bestselling authors. Yep. Even those of my favorites, it brings me a little sense of joy to see one and two star reviews. Maybe it just makes me feel better that I don't have all five star reviews. Or maybe, I feel like even those who are in the top of the game have those who dislike their work.

While going through an author's reviews, an author whom I used to love her work, I noticed a trend in the reviews - too much sex. I won't name the author, as I'm not into giving bad reviews (or at least giving out the names), but I will tell you this is a bestselling author who happened to have a great series...until about halfway through the series. It then turned into bestiality fetish erotica. The storyline just disappeared.

Now, obviously, I have nothing against erotica, or really great sex scenes, but this author seemed to have decided as long as someone was having sex she no longer needed a plot for the books. Many of her previous fans have dropped both series and opted to find other new authors.

This whole thing got me thinking; what would it take for your most hardcore fan to turn their back on you?

When we pick up a book, whether this is a new-to-us author or someone we've been reading for years we expect a certain kind of writing. With the author I spoke of above, we expect the character to be stubborn, and almost paranoid that every male is a chauvinist. We also expect gory murder scenes, great plots, a little suspense, and a great crime solving ending. However, in the last half of both series, it seems the author got either bored, or was being pushed too hard to complete too many books in such a small amount of time. I don't know which, and probably will never know.

In a way, it's kind of like certain genres of books or movies; in romances, we expect a happily-ever-after. In suspense, we expect a great who-done-it. In horror, we expect to feel like we should be reading/watching through our fingers. What we don't want is a romantic hero who decides at the very end he doesn't really love the heroine, and wants to now become a celibate monk. We don't want to watch a suspense where you can guess who did it in the first five minutes. And we really don't want characters who had certain opinions about sex and monogamy to suddenly become oversexed sluts with a tendency to screw animals.

I'm sure some of you know which author I've been talking about, but we'll let the name stay anonymous. In the meantime, have you ever stopped reading your favorite author because they suddenly stopped playing by the rules they created? What really turns you off about a book?

Stop giving your friend five star reviews!!!!

I've been thinking a lot about book reviews lately. Every author - especially debut authors - need reviews on their books. Book reviews sell books, as does word of mouth. But, it seems to me more often than not, friends and family of the author are posting reviews, rather than your everyday reader.

I've gone book pages on Amazon and looked through reviews of authors I'm familiar with. One particular book had seven reviews - three five stars, one four stars, and three two stars. The higher stars were from other authors from a writer's forum most of us frequent. The lower three were unknown to me.

This particular situation got me thinking even deeper about reviews; would I want good reviews only because someone knows me, or because they like my work? I think the answer is obvious here.

And here's another question: Can the good reviews on a bad book lend discredibility to the reviewers' work? Will someone realize that Joan Smith - author of Blah, blah blah gave a good review on a bad book and question their talent?

Okay, now that we've delved into this little arena, how about unsolicited reviews? When one reaches out on social networks and begs  asks their "friends" to read and review their work, does this seem desperate, or like someone truly believes in their book and wants to know the opinion of the general public?

What about you? Do you read reviews before buying books? And, if you're a writer, do you seek out reviews from bloggers and book reviewers?

Can Giving A Bad Review Kill Your Writing Career?

I finished a book last night that started out so strong, yet left me...well, wanting. There were a lot of errors - their instead of there, your instead of you're. But, I can always overlook that when the story is strong enough.

Now, I have no intention of naming the book (which I'll explain why later), but the whole thing got me thinking about several issues with writing and publishing.

First of all, what's with the convenient endings? I've read sooooo many books that just...end. What?! Where's the huge climax, the fireworks, the big bang? This particular book started out with so much violence and action I couldn't wait to read the rest. Then, about halfway through, it just slowed down and never picked back up. I was so disappointed by the the last page I could've screamed!

I've been told before that at times my story slows down. Honestly, I do that intentionally to give the reader a breather. But, sometimes I fear I've slowed it down too much. As long as I don't have one of those silly convenient endings I'm satisfied.

Now, on to why I won't name the book...because I have my own books out there. Yep, I've heard horror stories of disgruntled writers giving their reviewer's books bad reviews as revenge. I'd prefer to get a bad review in earnest, not as payback.

I will soon be reading and reviewing books, yet they will not be under my own name. And, no, I will not review your book if you approach me through this site. Okay, maybe I will for some of my beloved followers, but please don't send others here. However, if you want a book review, feel free to head over to All Things Books.

How do you feel about convenient endings? And more importantly, would you leave your name on a review?