WHAT ABOUT BOOK REVIEWS?

Books live and die by them. Authors both love and hate them. Yes, we’re talking about the book review. A review is simply when a writer or reader decides to praise or pan a book based on their subjective opinion of what they read. And that’s what it is, an opinion. And as my dad always colorfully stated it, “Opinons are like ass*****, everybody has one”.

Being a bookseller as well as a writer, I write reviews. I have a Twitter account just for reviews (@mini_bookreview). Although, I’m woefully behind on posting reviews there. Writing has been taking a front seat this year. Still, I do use that Twitter account to re-tweet other authors, publishers, and bookstores. Occasionally, I’ll have a short review posted in the bookseller review space in the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper.

Unlike some book reviewers, I don’t post bad reviews. As I mentioned at the start, a review is an opinion. Granted, it may be a learned opinion, but an opinion none the less. As such, I refuse to trash a writer’s work just because it didn’t fit my needs or expectations. There are too many good books to say good things about. So, I stay on the positive side. When I post a review, I tag the author as well as their publisher.

Now, remember, I’m a writer as well. So, I long to get a good review on what i’ve written. Don’t believe any author that says a bad review doesn’t affect them. Unless you’re an AI program, you care about what readers think about what you’ve written. Since I’ve only published two short stories in anthologies, my exposure to reviews is limited. Thankfully, I have not received a bad review. However, I’m sure when my novel finally gets published, there will be folks who don’t like it. They might not like it enough that they’ll even take time to write a bad review. It’s part of the game.

What I can’t abide are two types of reviews:

• THE HATCHET JOB REVIEW: This is the type of review where a person goes after an author simply because they don’t like them or what they’re writing about. Often, you can tell they haven’t even read the whole book. They’re just pissed at the world and want to take it out on a writer. You’ll often find them lurking in the shadows of Amazon or it’s subsidiary, Goodreads. They’ll toss out a 1 star review and state they wish that they could give it a negative 4 stars. Take these reviews with a grain of salt.

• THE MAMA REVIEW: This is the type of review that you would expect one’s mother to write. It has nothing to say except that the writing is the best thing out there and everyone should buy one for themselves and all of their friends and relatives. I dislike this kind of review because I can’t trust it. If the reviewer has the same last name as the author, beware. I get it. Everyone wants to help out their friend or family member get good reviews. But, if you’re not being honest, the reader that takes your advice and finds it was a whitewash, they’re going to be pissed at you and the writer. So much for more sales.

Listen, their are two important things that you can do for an author. First, buy their book. That’s right. Don’t ask them for a comp copy unless you’re a professional reviewer. Most writers are doing it for money. Yeah, we love the writing. However, we all want to get paid. The easiest and least expensive thing that you can do for a writer is to read their book and post a well-reasoned and honest review. It will make the writer believe that they’ve not wasted their time and it might get them some extra sales. And like I mentioned above, tag their publisher in the review as well. If their self-published, hashtag the genre in which they write.

So, please take the time to give writers some feedback. It means a lot. However, like your mama said, “If you can’t say something good about someone, keep your mouth shut.

Thanks for reading.

MAKING TIME FOR WRITING

Unless you’re among the extreme minority of writers who make a comfortable living off of those words you create, time is never on your side. Long gone are the days of wealthy patrons who adopt a poor writer and set them up in a spare room on their estate. Or is that just a fantasy we writers like to dream that there used to be?

My bills are paid by my day job as a bookseller. Actually, I live in San Diego. So, it takes my bookselling job and my wife’s bookstore job, and her library job to pay the bills. Even when I was a full-time reporter, I didn’t make a living at it. I’ve always had to juggle my writing time around the paying bills time.

If you have the same problem, I’ve listed below the ways I fit time for writing into my daily work life. Hopefully, some of the ideas will work for you as well. Also, if you have any suggestions, please leave a comment.

• PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IS A WRITER’S FRIEND: Taking the bus to work gives me 30-40 minutes of uninterrupted writing time on the way to and from work. Either I carry my laptop or use my cell phone to type away on my current WIP or work on notes.

• CARRY YOUR WORK WHEREVER YOU GO: I use the Scrivener writing program. It allows me to go back and forth between my laptop and phone with ease. Anything I write is updated on my other devices. Whenever I’m stuck someplace with nothing to do but wait, I can whip out my phone and knock out a couple of paragraphs.

• TURN OFF DISTRACTIONS: TV and social media are time suckers. Limit your social media time. If you’re on social media, try to make it benefit your writing by sticking to writing groups and posts. Watching TV is fine. But limit it to set times.

• GET YOUR FAMILY INVOLVED: I don’t mean have them help you write. Although, my wife is a great beta reader for me. What I mean is to have your family understand and support your writing goals. Let them know that you’ve set aside time to write and ask them to help you stick to it. I tell my wife that she’s free to nag me when I neglect my writing.

• STAY ORGANIZED: Writing is work. Plan your writing time. Keep your projects organized so you can drop in and out without getting lost. I have a separate email account just for my writing. I use it to email myself story notes, research, and other things directly related to my writing. In that email account, I’ve created folders for each project as well as markets, research and more. That way, I never have to go searching very far for my information.

• KEEP OTHER PROJECTS GOING: I say there’s no such thing as writer’s block if you have more than one project going. If you’ve hit a spot in your novel where the path has grown dark, jump onto another project and dedicate some time there while you give the other project time to rest. It could be something as simple as a short story or even an outline. Not writing is a creativity killer.

All of the above have helped me out. However, I admit that I sometimes get sidetracked and have to correct my course. One thing that’s helped is that I’ve tried to make writing a daily habit. After a couple of weeks of setting aside a certain time to write, you will become uncomfortable if you don’t do it. It will become something you have a desire to do. Try it.

I hope that some of the above ideas help you. Writing isn’t easy. Like anything worthwhile, you have to make it a priority. Give it some dedication, and your writing will reward you. Now, quit reading this and go write.

Thanks for reading,

J.A. Jensen

SO YOU WANT TO BE AN AUTHOR

In addition to being an author, I work in a bookstore. One of my many titles is of Local Author Coordinator. It’s a fancy title for a minor role. In short, I set up Sunday signings for local authors. We set up a table for them and they sell their books on a one-day consignment basis. After that, we do a 60/40 split on the gross sales. Authors get a chance to reach new readers and say they’ve sold their book in a Indie Bookstore that’s been in business for 125 years.

After doing this for awhile, I’ve noticed that many of the authors fall into a couple of categories.

THE VANITY AUTHOR- This author spends lots of money at one of the many vanity presses or maybe bypasses any sort of press and simply hires a company to print their self-edited manuscript. These authors rarely research the markets or bookstores. They wanted to write a book and expect every bookstore to stock it. I have mixed feelings about such authors. It irritates me that they think money can solve anything. However, I feel bad for many senior citizens who fall prey to unscrupulous vanity presses who take their money and give them no follow up help at all.

THE INDIE AUTHOR- When I speak of the Indie Author, I mean the professional kind. They have researched their subject and written a compelling book. They paid money to have their book professionally edited and hired a good cover artist. Most of the time, they’ve researched the market. They hit up their local bookstores, rent tables at fairs and markets, attend conferences, and spend a lot of time on social media, plugging their book and making contacts. Often, their reason for being an Indie author is to have complete creative control.

THE SMALL PRESS AUTHOR- These authors are a part of a growing industry of small presses. Some of the most interesting writing comes out of these areas. They often cover genres that the Big Publishers are too timid to tackle. Some times, these authors make a better living than more traditionally published writers. Since they get small to no advances, they start making money faster off of their work. Some great award winning authors first started out at these small presses and end up winning some prestigious awards.

I empathize with all authors. However, I have a few little pleas to those of you who contact bookstores.

• MAKE SURE YOUR BOOK IS FINISHED AND FULLY EDITED

• MAKE SURE YOUR BOOK LOOKS PROFESSIONAL

• REALIZE BOOKSTORES ARE BUSY. DO YOUR RESEARCH ABOUT THEM BEFORE YOU APPROACH. GIVE THEM TIME. BUGGING THEM ONLY WORKS AGAINST YOU.

• REALIZE BOOKSTORES SURVIVE ON A RAZOR-THIN MARGIN. BE REASONABLE WITH YOUR EXPECTATIONS. ALSO, REALIZE THAT THEY CAN ONLY SELECT BOOKS THAT THEY KNOW THEIR CUSTOMERS WILL BUY. SHELF SPACE COSTS MONEY.

• DON’T MENTION YOUR BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT AMAZON. BEZOS HAS USED BOOK SALES AS A LOSS LEADER FOR A LONG TIME TO LURE CUSTOMERS INTO THEIR SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES. MANY SMALL BOOKSTORES WENT OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE OF THEM.

• SHOP AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE. IF YOU WANT THEM TO SUPPORT YOU AS AN AUTHOR, SUPPORT THEM AND THE AUTHORS THEY BRING INTO THE STORE.

In the end, anyone can be a writer. However, not everyone is an author. For that, you must finish what you start. Write the book. Polish the book. Make the book the best it can be. Don’t try to skip the steps. It’s a job as well as a journey. Once you’ve done all of that, pat yourself on the back. Then, put just as much work into getting that book in front of readers.

Oh, and good luck.

Please Try Again & Get a Discount

So, I received some emails that my site’s payment system wasn’t working during my Halloween Sale. I’ve fixed the link and now things are back on track. To celebrate, I’m offering 20% off for the entire month of November. Just use the code READ20 .

If you like Sherlock Holmes and scary stories, this is the anthology for you!

Thanks for supporting an Indie Writer!

NaNoWriMo or Not?

With the smell of Pumpkin Spice in the air, Autumn means National Novel Writing Month has arrived. For those not in the know, it’s when writers gather across the internet and try to write a 50k word novel during the month of November.

Will I participate? Nope. And let me tell you why. But first, let me state that I wish the best for writers that are participating. I’m not saying anything bad about NaNaWriMo. It’s been a great tool for many writers to place their butts in the chair and finally write the novel they’ve always talked about starting.

I tried it four years ago. There was a novel that I’d been trying to get off the ground for a while. My thought was that the rigid goals for the 50k would give me the structure that I needed to get moving and have the majority of a novel to send to my agent.

The first couple of days were fine. I was energized and felt a kinship with all of the other writers that were sharing a common goal. And then, I made the mistake of reading the social media posts. Along with the useful tips on how to make the most out of your time, as well as discussions about plotting, style, and dialogue, there grew a troubling undercurrent……..WORD COUNT.

I’ve been writing for many years and have varied success at setting word count goals. Working a full-time job dictated the direction and success or failure of most of my word count goals. However, for NaNoWriMo, there was no excuse for not keeping up with the rigid word count goals. There were daily, hourly, and seemingly instant posts about writers knocking out thousands of words in their latest session. Granted, some of those writers may not be working a full-time job, or sleeping 8 hours, or participating in daily life. Also, some might also just be padding their figures to look good. And, I’m sure there were actually writers that were being blessed by the muses and tapping away, feeling the bliss of a writing high.

I don’t write that way.

I found myself more concerned with comparing my word count to all of the other writers. It got to the point that the daily goal became more important than the actual novel. Instead of listening to my characters, I was watching the word count indicator on my Scrivener writing program. At the end of the month, I did not reach 50k. Additionally, the story that created was fractured and in need of a complete start over. In short, it felt like a 30-day failure.

Some writers would advise me that maybe NaNoWriMo allowed me to get the novel out of me and I could use that to either go back and improve it or realize the story did not hold up and that the challenge allowed me to exorcise the bad ink. That’s possible.

However, here’s what participating in NaNoWriMo did for me. It opened my eyes to what works for me.

• I need a daily writing goal.

• That daily goal is not a word count goal. It’s a work on the story goal.

• My style is part “pantser” and part “plotter”. I need sign posts and a destination. However, I’m open to letting my characters take off at an exit to see the World’s Largest Frying Pan and see where it leads the story.

• The only writer I need to compare myself to is the writer I was yesterday.

• As long as I keep moving forward, there is no timer ticking away on when I need to finish the story. If I’m enjoying the ride, it will hopefully be passed along to the eventual reader.

So, NaNaWriMO did help me. However, like many great lessons in my life, I accepted its teaching and moved on. It gave me clarity for my writing style. And for that, I don’t regret trying it.

If you’re participating this year, I wish you much success with your writing. Just please keep it enjoyable.

CHARLIE BROWN MEANS THE HOLIDAYS

Maybe it’s because the holiday episodes first aired in the 60’s in the first five years of my life, the holidays begin for me when the Great Pumpkin rises from the most sincere pumpkin patch.

I’m in my mid fifties now. And yet, thanks to Apple, I watch the holiday episodes of the the Peanuts Gang every year. While most people mark the stages of the holidays by the calendar of events that occur with their family or work, mine are marked by what episode is playing.

“It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” leads the way into my official Fall. The intersecting plot lines are comforting beads that the thumb of my memory click on of the Rosary of my childhood. I root for Linus as he bucks all convention and stubbornly tries to celebrate Halloween in his own unique way. I sympathize with poor Charlie Brown as he suffers the inexplicably mean adults that throw rocks in the Trick-or-Treat bag. I thrill to the wonderful imagination of Snoopy as he battles his way through the WWI trenches, trying to make his way home. And lastly, I still get a little teary when Lucy ventures out late at night to bring home her hyperthermic brother and tuck him away in his warm bed. Where the hell were the parents?

“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” is next up on my holiday memory advent calendar. Before Beneton ever thought of it’s colors of the world ad campaign, Charlie Brown was gathering up a multicultural Thanksgiving feast. In its own “sly dog” way, this cartoon showed us that family can be made up of who your are with and who means the most to you. And I prefer to overlook that Woodstock was a cannibal.

The climax of the holiday season is, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. Yes, it’s heavy in the religious theme. However, it was 1965 and America as a whole hadn’t gotten comfortable with the fact that many people celebrated non-Christian holidays. That being said, it still has a great message that the Christmas spirit should be one of inclusion and thankfulness. The whole quest for Charlie Brown to find a perfect Christmas tree while his dog wins a best decoration contest is a blatant dig in the commercialization of the holidays. And that’s a good lesson.

So, there it is, my holiday trinity. Each episode is another milestone for my holiday season. Each viewing brings back memories of family and friends. Even through difficult times, I could rely on these familiar friends.
I’m not a Pollyanna. I know that the holidays for some are a time where their loneliness is intensified, where sadness is most acute. Dickens touched upon it and so did Charlie Brown when he discussed his depression with Linus. So, that’s why this time of year should remind us above all to be kind. Everyone is fighting their own battle. Kindness doesn’t cost anything and doesn’t need wrapping.
I hope this holiday season finds you well.
Please share your holiday “go to” shows.

WHAT SCARES YOU?

Ask a dozen people what scares them and you’ll get a dozen different answers. For our little discussion, let’s put aside the “Real World” terrors such as cancer, job loss, Covid-19, or speaking in public. Instead, let’s dip our toes into the murky waters of supernatural horrors.

For me, it’s a tie between ghosts and demons. Ghosts in general don’t scare me as much as the idea of them popping out unexpectedly. If I was on a ghost investigation, I’d expect a ghost to show up when asked to appear. However, the thought of that ghost showing up in my bedroom uninvited, sends chill bumps down my arm.

Although, I’ve been in situations that were ripe for the opportunity to encounter ghosts, I’ve never seen anything. I’ve been to the notoriously haunted Whaley House, spent the night four different times on the Queesn Mary, and have visited graveyards all around the Deep South, nothing. Sure, there were creepy vibes. However, I didn’t see or hear anything supernatural.

Having been raised in a Southern Baptist background, demons are another subject that will give me the creeps. Unlike ghosts, demons are supposed to be intentionally malevolent. What makes it worse is that religion teaches that even discussing or studying about them can call in all sorts of bad things into your life. When I was in elementary school, I made the mistake of sneaking out to the family room to watch a late-night screening of The Exorcist. When the image of a demon flashed for an instant on the screen, I was terrified that it wasn’t a part of the film. Instead, I was scared that the image was just for me. I stayed that way until I found another kid who saw the movie and confirmed what I saw.

What adds to my fears is my near-sightedness. So, things in the dark are even harder to define. Add to that a vivid imagination, and the shadow of a lamp becomes a wraith hovering in the corner. Oh, and don’t get me started about the latest reality ghost shows that purport to show videos of little “shadow people” skittering along darkened hallways. And the demon that appears in the darkened corner of the opening episode of the new show, Evil? Good God, that creeped me out.

My biggest fear is a darkened window. I avoid looking into darkened windows for fear I will see a ghostly or evil face staring back at me. Even since I can remember, I’ve had to have the curtains drawn at night. Without knowing it, my mother fed into this fear one night long ago. I was sitting at my desk, doing my homework. The night before, I lay in my bed, listening to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater (this was in the 70’s). The story had a ghost that would appear along with a sweet perfumed scent on the night air. This particular night, the Jasmine outside of my window was in full fragrant bloom. My mom thought it would be funny to scratch at the screen of my window. According to her, I slowly stood up and backed out of the room without ever looking towards the window.

So what supernatural thing scares you? Do you fear monsters? Do zombies haunt your dreams? Leave a comment below with your fears or stories of terror. And please stay away from my window at night.

ANGELS AND DEMONS

As well as being a writer, I’m also a bookseller. More specifically, I’m a bookseller at an Indie Bookstore. As such, I abhor what Amazon has done to small businesses, particularly small bookstores. Profit margins are razor-thin for any small business. For bookstores, that margin runs the average of 30-45 % on a good day. Since Amazon has little overhead and can afford to slash book prices in order to gather more Prime customers, they can dominate the market. There’s hardly a day goes by that a customer doesn’t ask if we will match an Amazon price.

Now, with the explosion of online publishing, anyone and their grandpa can publish a book and sell it a dozen different ways. Granted, that means there’s a lot of crap out there. Agents, editors, and publishers have always acted like a filter. True, crap still got published. However, there was some level of professionalism. Also, there was a lot of cookie cutter stories and an industry that didn’t pay much attention to writers that wanted to experiment with the written word. For that matter, they also didn’t pay much attention to when readers wanted to read something fresh and different. If it didn’t meet the established mold, it wasn’t going to hit the big box bookshelves.

A lot of those types of writers and readers flocked to places like Amazon when it started it’s publishing division. Here, they found a place that would print just about anything. Additionally, writers were actually making some money. A lucky few were even making good money.

But there’s a catch.

There’s an ocean of content out there now. Writers have to spend as much time promoting themselves as they do actually creating. Gathering followers and garnering “likes” has become a part of the whole writing process. We’ll do anything to get the reader’s attention.

That’s where I come to my dilemma. As a bookseller, I hate Amazon. As a writer, I want readers. I have an agent. I’ve been published in two anthologies and they are on sale in the bookstore where I work. I’m working on a novel that I hope will be picked up by a traditional publisher. However, I also want to reach more readers. There are so many stories and characters that I want to get out there.

So, I went down to the crossroads and did a little deal with the devil. The crossroads is called Kindle Vella. It’s a place where I can submit a serialized story. It allows me to experiment with a character and hopefully get some reader feedback. I try to sooth my conscience by telling myself that such a work wouldn’t be carried by a bookstore anyway.

Still, I feel a little dirty.

BTW, you can find the story here: https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/episode/B09J38Q784

Thanks for reading.

SOCIAL MEDIA: NECESSARY EVIL?

Once a month, a group of fellow writers attend a group meeting called The Writers Coffeehouse. First created by NYT Bestselling author, Jonathan Maberry, there are several Coffeehouses across the states and I believe in the UK. Since Covid, the meetings have been over Zoom. We talk about some of the latest publishing trends as well as discuss best writing practices and celebrate recent successes.

Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about social media. Most authors these days know they have to have some sort of social media presence. However, some authors are saying agents and publishers aren’t even interested in your pitches don’t include your social media tags. At the very least, you need to be on Facebook and Twitter to reach readers. LinkedIn is expected if you want to network with other writers , agents, and publishers. Some adventurous writers are even attempting to crack the code of how to use TikTok.

One piece of advice about social media that I’ve taken to heart - keep politics and religion off of your author sites. Take a tour through my author Twitter or author Facebook and you’d never know where my thoughts on those subjects reside. I don’t even click like or comment on other writer’s posts on those subjects.

Many writers have no problem using their author pages to espouse their views. Most of them are well established with loads of fans and enough royalties coming in to not worry about fallout too much. Since I’m still trying to break into the business, I don’t have that luxury. To be honest, even if I did have the following of Stephen King, Don Winslow, or Chuck Wendig, I’m not sure if I would have the nerve.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m quite opinionated. My personal Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are fair game for my personal views. For my political soapbox, I have an anonymous Twitter account. I take a perverse pleasure in poking fun at people drunk with power or spouting nonsense.

So writers, how do you handle social media? Comment below.

WIP - A Florida man....

I’ve written two short stories involving Sherlock Holmes and one novel based on the twin brother of Hercule Poirot. A novel based on Edgar Allen Poe’s Auguste Dupin currently sits at 40k. However, the photo above represents my current project.

As you can imagine, my present work is not my usual historical mystery. In fact, it takes place in contemporary Northwest Florida. Why there? Well, aside from the fact that I was born there, like Carl Hiaasen, I know that Florida is ripe with colorful, crazy characters.

My private detective lives aboard a converted tugboat, much like the one above. That’s only one thing that makes him unusual. Most notable, he’s 4’6”. Having a detective with dwarfism is not unknown. George Chesbro had a detective named, Dr Robert Frederickson (known from his circus days as Mongo). Mongo is a professor of criminology as well as a black belt in martial arts.

My creation, Butch Larson, known to his friends as Fix, is full of surprises as well. Although not a black belt, he learned self defense from his Navy Seal stepfather and is quite adept with using a tactical baton. This talent comes in handy since he’s a terrible shot and doesn't like guns.

Like the best detectives, he has his flaws. He’s currently separated from his wife and has a habit forgetting to attend their daughter’s school activities. Although he’s a loving father and husband, his intensity and habit of getting obsessed with his investigations have taken a toll on his family. Like many people with his form of dwarfism, chronic pain with his joints and bones causes him to suffer with bouts of insomnia.

His current case has him searching for a missing young boy at a Civil War re-enactment campground. Throw in homicidal twins, reptile smugglers, and a cross-dressing unfaithful husband, and the stage is set for some crazy times from the pine tree lined farms to the sugar white sands of a 19th century fort.

It’s time for me to get back to it. I left him ducking bullets.