From the Circular File #2: But Will Your Book Be Free?

In the first installment of From the Circular File, I shared a story that started with an editing friend of mine and ended up in the midst of a group of professional editors. This week's story is my very own, from the ever-interesting DMs of Instagram.

I love Instagram. I love seeing literal snapshots of people's lives, whether they're putting their best face on or they have a mess of a house and crying children in the background as they attempt to video something completely unrelated to the house and children. I love sharing the things I think are funny, and I love the interaction with like-minded people that I can follow or not follow.

I've met authors on Instagram who have become clients, and I've so enjoyed the variety of the work and getting to know the writers a little better.

But . . .

There's always someone—or a bunch of someones—who move from person to person, seeking what they can get from strangers for nothing. I got an interesting request one evening in my Instagram direct message. The person started off by saying she wrote a book and "the publisher" said she needed editing but that she had great potential. She then said Those Words. You know, the ones that raise the red flag nice and high: "I'm a student and don't have much money."

Lovely person that I am, I did what I do best: I played dumb.

I knew the answer before she said it, but I had to ask because Mean Lynda had to make a point. If you are asking someone for free services, surely you must be a giver. The type of philanthropist who will give away the completed product for other people who "don't have much money." Right? No? Hmm.

So I did my best to patiently explain the obvious. To her credit, she didn't get hostile. But I'm sure she was wishing I'd just ignored her.

"Insulting" was actually the mildest word I could come up with to describe her request. And as much as I wanted to really let her have it, it's just not my style to be horribly rude to strangers, even on the internet. Even when that stranger has already been rude to me by approaching me only to ask if I'll do free work for her. So I turned on my mama/mentor section of my brain before I allowed the conversation to come its natural conclusion.

Of course, she disappeared right after giving a perfunctory "thanks." Never saw her around before that night, never saw her afterward. I'd love to think maybe I gave her food for thought, but most likely, she moved right along to someone else. I can only hope she ran into a lot of people just like me.

After I shared Circular File #1, I heard from a lot of authors who were disgusted with the behavior of the person I wrote about. Some of them were victims themselves, with friends asking them for free books so they could "read it and pass it around to all [my] friends." Another author said his friend told him he might [might!] read it if his buddy gave it to him for free. It's enough to turn good people suspicious and bitter about the very thing they love.

I'd love to hear from all of you on this topic. If you're an editor or a book designer or a cover artist, have you ever had someone ask/expect/demand free work? If you're an author, has anyone expected a free book from you and gotten upset if you've declined? I know some great authors who generously give books for the sheer enjoyment of knowing someone is reading their work—but it's always their choice, at their discretion, and never because a stranger was arrogant enough to demand it.

I'm sure I'll continue receiving queries like the one I've just written about, but if you have a similar story, I'll be happy to share it. Just leave me a note in the comments and we'll talk!

Editor's Notes #19: What Makes You Stop Reading a Book? Part 1 of 2

I don't know that I was ever formally taught this, but for most of my life, I believed if I started a book, I had to finish it. No one ever sat me down and said, "Wash your hands before eating, make your bed when you get out of it, and finish every book you start," so I'm not sure where I came up with this. (For the record, I do wash my hands regularly, though the bed-making is hit or miss, depending on whether I'm the last one awake. But . . . back to the book stuff.)

Perhaps it was easier back in the day when there were fewer books available for me to read. After all, there was no such thing as a digital book—or even a personal computer, for that matter—when I was growing up, so any books I read, I either owned or borrowed from the library.

My mother recently reminded me of something I'd said when I was very young: I was afraid of someday running out of books to read. She used to take us to the library on a regular schedule, since it was also one of her favorite places to visit, and on one particular visit, I remarked at how sad I was while looking for books because I was reading them all at such a rapid rate, I was convinced that very soon there would be no more. Our town library was pretty small, and I plowed through the children's selection in short order, followed by the juvenile fiction a few years later. By the time I moved beyond that, I had no worries about a lack of reading material.

The good thing about "those days" was that I read and reread so many favorites. I can recall certain portions verbatim, or remember where I was when reading a particular book. Much like a certain perfume can take someone back to a place or time, I can't think of Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass without picturing my large, annotated hardcover (complete with super-hip 1970s artwork) . . . a gift from a favorite aunt for my 8th birthday, along with Hans Brinker in the same format. I still have both of them, and in fact picked up similar copies of Around the World in Eighty Days, Treasure Island, and Call of the Wild at an old bookstore about ten years ago, simply because it brought back all those memories in a rush.

In more recent years, the sheer quantity of books available online caused a sort of overload for me when I first got a Kindle. All of a sudden I could have just about every classic at my fingertips, and most of them were free. I began to browse the "Top 100 Free" category with regularity and consumed fresh material at a rapid pace, finding new authors I enjoyed. However, along with those good authors came some clunkers. A LOT of clunkers. Apparently, "Top 100" means "most downloaded" and not necessarily "top quality."

It was then that I discovered my time was more valuable than I'd realized. I'm the person who can't be bothered to waste seven minutes watching a news video because I'd rather read the transcript of it in less than sixty seconds, and yet here I was, committed to finishing an awful book that was poorly written, with the (vain) hope that it would somehow get better before the final page. That was bad enough, but when I found myself doing this for one book after another, after another, after . . . you get the idea . . . I knew I'd have to change my "finish or die" policy before it became "finish and want to die."

Since those early, heady days of "ALL the books at my fingertips!" and the resultant letdown as I read a plethora of bad ones, I've come up with a few general guidelines that help me to know when to keep chugging along and when to just chuck it and never look back. These guidelines have helped me with my editing as well, allowing me to give better advice to the authors I work with.

I'll share those with you in Part 2 next time.

Coffee Chat 5.1 with Author S.K. Anthony: Flash Giveaway!

Hey, everyone, S.K. here. I just snuck into Lynda's house (I climbed in through the window, in case you were wondering), and I'm washing my cup. I just had some coffee and ate two of her muffins, but let's not tell her...I still want more during our chat. Shhhh . . .

SKA: Oh, hey, Lynda. Fancy meeting you here . . . in your kitchen. Err, why the murderous look? [Frantically wipes crumbs away from face.]

ER: Hey . . . um . . . good morning, I think. I hate to say this, but what are you doing in my kitchen? Wow, I didn't even hear the door . . . did someone let you in?

Oh, well. I made muffins and I—oh, man! I told those kids not to touch the muffins until later! At least they left us enough that we can still have a few apiece. [Hands S.K. a plate.] Have a couple. They're great!

SKA: Look, look at my phone! I've been busy online, entering giveaways like a mad woman. Um . . . why are you inspecting your coffeepot? Here, lemme fetch a couple mugs for us . . .

ER: [Looking at coffeepot in confusion.] I'm not sure why this pot isn't full. I made 12 cups when I set it last night. I need to stop using those ShamWow filters; they're sucking up too much of the coffee.

SKA: You know, I think I'll only have one muffin. I'm watching my waistline.

ER: I'm getting excited about our giveaway. People have been asking about the Mother of All Prizes, though, and I feel so bad every time I have to tell someone they can't have Raymond's VCR. He did promise it to me for Christmas, and I was really counting on that gift.

SKA: Yes, I've received a few emails for Deb's Pong as well, but she's holding onto it because she still hasn't beaten the third level. Ah, well. Sorry, folks!

ER: So how's it going? Have you had a good week? 

SKA: My week has been okay. Sadly, I haven't won any prizes lately, but participating in your giveaway has been just as rewarding . . . I guess. I've tweeted and I've taken advantage of the groups on Facebook, and have posted our giveaway at different intervals. I have to say, it's proven its worth, since I've received a few "likes" on my links and a couple entries from it.

Speaking of, have you heard about those "Flash Giveaways" that are going around Facebook?

ER: I've heard things here and there, but I'll admit I'm not clear on the concept. I don't have to burst into song in public to win something, do I? Because you know how shy I am when it comes to singing . . .

SKA: Shy? You and singing? Sure . . . unfortunately, that's not how it works. Unless you upload a video to Facebook of you singing, but it still won't help in this case because YOU'LL be offering the Flash Giveaway—

ER: Huh? I will?

SKA: Yes, and the entrants are the ones who have to do the dirty work.

All right. Quickly, so people can't say we don't teach them anything here on our chats, a Flash Giveaway is:

1. a giveaway (duh)
2. . . . that happens in a flash (double duh)

ER: Well, that seems easy enough to follow so far. Duh, indeed.

SKA: For real: it's when you decide you want to run a giveaway for a few minutes, hours, or however long you want, but it's usually within the same day. You ask participants to "like" your pages, share your posts, tell a secret, guess a lie, etc., and then you use a strategic way to choose a winner from the comments. I suggest you close your eyes and point to the screen; others suggest you use random.org or even a separate Rafflecopter widget. In any case, a winner is chosen, and they get their prizes in a—wait for it—FLASH!

So now that we're all on the same page, Lynda, let's do one on Facebook tonight. What do you say?

ER: I think, as usual, that you are a genius. Yeah, what the heck. Let's do it.

If I were going to flash someone, what would I flash them with? I've always wanted to flash an FBI badge at somebody, but I don't have one of those anywhere close by. Any suggestions? I don't really have a second choice.

And are you sure you don't want another muffin? I can't believe your willpower, only allowing yourself to have one. That's incredible.

SKA: Well, I'm really serious about this diet. I don't want to mess it up, but this muffin is delicious.

Flashing people . . . flashing people . . . I think the FBI badge is pretty cool, but then you'd go to jail for impersonating a federal officer. I can't exactly bail you out right now, so let's stick to maybe . . . a gift card?

ER: Amazon gift card! I love Amazon gift cards!

SKA: Let's test this Flash Giveaway thing tonight and have our friends share and tag their friends. All of them will come back here to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway and comment that they did. Then we'll announce a winner on Facebook. 

Easy Reader Editing's page will start the giveaway tonight at 7 p.m. EST and end at 10 p.m. EST.

If you're on Facebook, come over and help us spread the word!

ER: Sounds great to me. I think I could get addicted to this flashing stuff . . .


Okay, everyone. You know what to do and when to do it. We'll see you tonight on Facebook. And don't forget to enter the Share the Love Giveaway while you're here, if you haven't already. Lots of easy ways to enter, lots of prizes to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can find everyone in the following places:
S.K. Anthony: www.skanthony.com
Easy Reader Editing: you are here. :)
Raymond Esposito: writinginadeadworld.com
Stephen Fender: www.stephenfender.com
Debra Ann Miller: debraamiller.blogspot.com
Sisters Baking Company: www.sistersbaking.com
Sarah YourBetaReader: yourbetareader.blogspot.com

Editor's Notes #2: The Reader Doesn't Care

I've been stalking the Goodreads forums lately, and having a wonderful time of it. Granted, I'm sure there are other great writers' sites out there, but I've found the discussions on GR to be stimulating, sometimes very uncomfortable, and always informative.

One of my favorite threads lately has been going 'round and 'round about self-published authors (SPAs), their problems, and how to get readers to buy their books. I could write a year's worth of blog posts based on any one of those threads, but the SPA thread has me captivated.

This week's topic deals with the not-ready-for-prime-time books out there that are damaging the reputation of those SPAs whose work is as good as—or better than, in some cases—that published by the Big Five. Specifically, we'll talk about excuses given for poor work.

The writers I like to call "premature publishers" (because "author" doesn't really fit their abilities) are the ones who are typically in a rush to get their books published because they want the world to see the results of their hard work. There's no time to wait. That book has to get out there because the world needs them!

The problem lies in the fact that the reader expects a published book to be finished. Completed. Done. As close to "perfect" as possible.

"Finished" to the premature publishers means "I'm done writing." Period.

Having an idea and getting it written on paper (real or virtual) is a wonderful start, but it is exactly that: a start. As S.K. Anthony stated in our second Coffee Chat, after the first draft is written, that's when the real work begins. Revisions, tweaks, overhauls—whatever name you call them, it boils down to the same thing: making your work the best it can be.

One of the things I find frustrating is when an author becomes defensive after receiving a bad review. If someone gives a one-star review based on something dumb, like "I've always hated that color of yellow on a book cover," or "I can't believe someone kicked a kitten in this book!" then yes, the author has every right to be indignant about that review. However, many new authors seem unable to deal with bad reviews that mention editing, immature writing habits or style, plot holes, or pretty much anything that doesn't include the words "OMG I loved it!"

Some of the authors I've conversed with on GR are quick to tell others they learned a lot more from the negative reviews than the positive ones, though they would always prefer good reviews over bad. But it seems those who learn from criticism (even when it's not constructively phrased) are in the minority. Many premature publishers are full of excuses—overflowing with them, really—as to why their book has uncorrected issues.

Guess what? The reader doesn't care what kind of problems you had. Whether your book was offered as a freebie or purchased for whatever amount, the reader has every right to expect it to be complete and polished. Someone (known only as Tura) on the SPA thread on Goodreads put it perfectly:

I think a good thing to remember is the reader does not care. Yes, just writing a book is an achievement, but it doesn't mean everyone has to praise you. So forget the excuses people use when they complain reviews are harsh:

*"It's my first attempt." The reader does not care.

*"I had a really hard time while writing, for one reason or another." The reader does not care.

*"I wrote from my own experience." Well, so did many others. The reader does not care.

*"My family and friends all loved it." The reader . . . And so on. 

The unknown reader has a million books to choose from, and will go to whatever pleases her/him. You can't really argue anyone into liking your book; you can only show it to them. 

I don't expect every book I pick up to be an instant classic. Nor do I expect every book to have the same level of writing skill. What I do expect is readability and cohesiveness, not excuses.

I've heard many writers talk about the expenses of publishing. Writing costs nothing as long as you have a pencil and paper. Publishing has its costs, though. Content editing. Cover design. Proofreading. Printing. This is all part of the package from the moment the first word hits the page. 

Think of it in terms of purchasing a home. You have the money to buy a house. Do you have the money to live in it? You'll need basic tools, money for utilities, furniture, and groceries. You may need a lawnmower. You need money for taxes. You need more than just the price of a building.

To simplify further, let's say you have the money for the down payment, but no way of paying closing costs. What do you do? You continue to save, cutting expenses for months or even years in order to set the money aside. You don't tell the Realtor he should still give you the house because you've always wanted one, or because you're having another child and need the extra room, or because you've been saving and saving and you just can't wait any longer. 

The Realtor doesn't care about any of those things. If you can't pay, he will find another buyer.

The reader can be thought of in the same way. If you can't produce an adequate product, he'll find another author. I've heard writers talk about eating Ramen noodles, red beans & rice, and peanut butter sandwiches for months so they could save, dollar by dollar, for editing and a decent-quality cover. If you're self-publishing, there's no rush to get your book out there other than your own urgency to get people to read it. You're following no deadline but your own. 

Count the cost. The full cost, from soup to nuts. Save for it and pay for it before hitting that "publish" button. The reader doesn't care what you couldn't do. He only cares about what you did. Why give something other than your best?

Editor's Notes #1: WHY, Writers, WHY?

I need to rant a little. Or perhaps a lot. This may sound harsh, but this is what's going through my brain right now.

Not for the first time, I found myself reading a book description that was so poorly written, I wanted to grab the author, shake her, and scream, "THIS is where you're supposed to sell me on the idea that your book is worth reading, and you can't even write a description of it without errors?"

One hundred fifty words. That's all you need for a book description. One. Hundred. Fifty. Words.

If a writer is incapable of writing less than two hundred words in a readable manner, then there is nothing—NOTHING—that will convince me to read 70,000 more words penned by that same writer. In the case of this particular book description, only 20,000 more, but even ten more words would have put me over the edge.

Okay . . . perhaps my overwhelming sense of curiosity would convince me. For research purposes, you see. After all, what if the author didn't have time to write the (all-important) book description and asked her sibling/cousin/neighbor/babysitter to do it? Maybe someone on Fiverr did it for $5.00 to help pay the rent. I don't know.

Flash forward in time . . .

I have now downloaded the book, free of charge. I have read all of four pages of it and have decided that I can't go on. To clarify: I can go on living; I just can't go on reading. Honestly, two pages were enough, but I wanted to give it a fair shot by reading at least ten percent of the book. I couldn't make it that far, and didn't see any reason why I should force myself to do so.

[Note: I had to pause here for chocolate. That book bothered me in a big way.]

As I lurk and often participate on various Goodreads threads, I'm pleasantly encouraged by the number of authors who actively seek out advice from others (and follow it!) so they can improve their writing. Whether it's a work in progress or a book that's getting not-so-great ratings for whatever reason, they genuinely want to know how to make it better . . . and how to keep the same thing from happening next time.

Conversely, I'm astounded at the number of people who are on Goodreads who have access to these same threads but who don't take advantage of them. If I were an author and I saw a thread titled, "Why don't more people read self-published authors?" or "What's the best way for self-pub authors to get more readers?" my first thought would be to go to those threads and see what kind of advice I could glean, free of charge. There are discussions about editors, book covers, marketing plans, where to self-publish, dos and don'ts . . . you name it, these people have covered it thoroughly. A tremendous AND FREE resource is right there, available with one click.

A writer can put his or her heart and soul into a story—and it can be a wonderful, clever story—but if a reader can't get past the errors that are easily fixable, the story will never be discovered.