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In Praise of Book Reviewers

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I’d like to praise book reviewers those who read books and review them. You are wonderful, did you know this?

But first–

(This is on behalf of all authors. If you take this personally, that’s on you. 😊)

Dear well meaning friends and family,

I have news that may be a bit disparaging of you and that is not my intent.

It is challenging for me to continue to support your endeavors, show interest in your life and interests when it is not reciprocal.  I bet you know of which I am speaking.

You know the copy of my book you begged me to give to you? Do you remember how you promised (practically on a stack of Bibles, as they say) you would post a book review for me?

Then you didn’t read my book OR write a review?

Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.

Everyone gets busy some times, or we forget what we have promised or whatever.

There are lot of whatevers…

Simply put, word of mouth advertising is the best form of advertising bar non.

Have you ever attended a movie and shared your opinion of it with a friend? That’s worth of mouth advertising.

Writing a review is simple.

Here is an example of what a review can look like:

“I liked the story a lot.  It was funny with great characters and an unusual message.  I recommend you read this book.”

“Although I usually don’t care to read  romance novels, this one was pretty good and worth my time to read it.” (Notice this one is less positive, but still does the job.)

Ta-da!

Then post your review on Goodreads.com, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, etc.

YOU DON’T NEED TO EXPLAIN THE PLOT.  That’s someone else’s job.

Your job is to show support for the book and author.

Writing a book review is no different than buying your friend’s cake at the church bazaar, some popcorn from the BoyScouts booth at the mall or magazines from your neighbor’s marching band student. It’s like attending your brother’s performance in a community theatre production or enjoying your neighbor’s booth at an arts festival in your community.

You are showing support in all of these circumstances.

Oh….you say. That’s it?

That’s it.

What if I only have negative things to say?

Surely you can speak generally about the book and give it some kind of support.

You have to understand writing a book and being an indie author ain’t an easy job.

We do everything for our books–marketing, publicity, book talks, book fairs, interviews, selects its cover, art work, write its description, etc.  EVERYTHING.

You could say writing a review is a symbolic pat on the back of the author  acknowledging their hard work.

Can I leave a review anonymously?

Yes, you can.

Can I give my friend’s book a rating lower than five stars? Will it hurt them?

No, it won’t hurt them exactly.  In fact, giving a book four stars instead of five seems a more authentic score–Amazon’s algorithms love that.

Become a book reviewer for some indie author.  I know they would appreciate it.

Remember, we are all in this together.

Still needing help? Go to: httpst://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015FQ85SW/ref=as_li_tlie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B015FQ85SW&linkCode=as2&tag=annbeg-20&linkId=FZPEP65RAKNMOKO2

Thanks!

Contact me at dhcbaldwin@gmail.com or check out my website at DeborahBaldwin.netIn Praise of Book Reviewers

The 10 Reasons I’m Glad I am an Indie Author

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The 10 Reasons I’m Glad I am an Indie Author is popular with my followers.

I’m listening to our grand daughter as she giggles with her grandpa. They are playing a rowdy game of  Peek-a-boo.   She’ll whimper a little like she’s unhappy and he’ll think of something else to do with her to make her happy.

That’s when I think of how glad I am to be an Indie author.

indie-book

I think if I had an agent and publisher, I might be spending time communicating with them and not enjoying our little bundle of energy.

Working for myself  as an indie author gives me some  great advantages:

I answer to myself. I don’t have to make phone calls and negotiate with anyone.  Negotiating is tiring, although usually good comes out of those kind of meetings.  I like to compromise.

I have no time constraints or deadlines. If I don’t want to work on the adaptation of Bumbling Bea into a play, I don’t have to do so.  Trust me, there are so many facets of indie publishing.  I can use my time wisely just about anywhere my cursor lands.  I accept the reality of this, however.  I know if I don’t finish a scene then I might not make my self imposed deadline, but that’s something for me to deal with.

I have no budget limits except those in my own pocketbook. I have to be careful with my budget now that I am retired.  Currently, I’m not directing any project or doing any extra teaching.  I think I’m in a transition period. It’s easy to overspend on advertising and marketing which is of course the crux of the work.

I set the price of both the paperback and ebook version. Because it’s mine, I can change the price any time I choose with the trust help of Amazon.  Usually, I can change the price in a matter of hours.

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 I receive a higher royalty for each copy than through traditional publishing. If you think I’m getting rich here you are sorely mistaken.  That wasn’t my goal, although the extra money is always welcome, you know?

I have complete creative control. I decide on everything pertaining to my book–its color, font style, size, synopsis, description, retailers, giveaways, etc.  This aspect reminds me of directing plays.  It was very fun to work with my illustrator, H. Russ Brown.  If I had gone the traditional publishing route, I wouldn’t have the team creativity we enjoy.

I have editorial control. Generally, this is a great asset.  It can be challenging some times because if I see an error (and I do see errors), I decide whether the error should be fixed and the book reprinted.

 In turn, I can also do a second printing.  That’s why Bumbling Bea received a new exterior in February of 2016.  I thought she needed some updating on both the outside and the story as well.  You ask what did I do?  You’ll have to read Bumbling Bea to find out!

I retain all the rights in a global market. If Bumbling Bea ever goes big and I mean IF, I reap the fruits of my labor, not someone elsewhere.

girl reading .jpg

Bumbling Bea is a book of a particular niche market. For readers who are interested in theatre and are young teens, Bumbling Bea is for you.   However,  we discovered readers of many ages and students of various grade levels enjoy the story, because it is relatable.

I’ve received reviews from grandmothers, teenagers, college students, actors, singers, dancers and even athletes.  That’s quite a broad appeal.

I will admit, I have good days and not so good days.  I like working by myself but at times I crave conversation with a friend or two to help me work out whatever my writing challenge I’m having.

Whenever that occurs, I chat with my  Indie Writers Cooperative Facebook group to gain perspective again.  They are a wonderful resource to me as unbiased listeners and peers.  The group was created in the fall of 2016 and to date we have more than 500 members. I think that speaks volumes about the importance of having a place to sound off with a group that understands you.

“But Deborah, what if an agent contacts you and wants to represent your book.  What will you do?”  I’ve spoken with two agents in the past. One wanted me to completely revamp the story turning it into a YA one and the other was overworked. So, if someone calls, I’ll call them back that’s for sure!From there, we’ll see…

So, there’s the ten reasons I’m glad I am an indie author.

Independent publishing is here to stay. Please enjoy a read on my behalf.

book

Write me at dhcbaldwin@gmail.com or check out my website at DeborahBaldwin.net

Readers’ Favorite Book Review of Bumbling Bea

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This is huge, folks! I am very flattered.

Reader’s Favorite Review

Bumbling Bea book

Reviewed by Sarah Stuart for Readers’ Favorite

“Bumbling Bea is a story that will echo the experiences of many youngsters. Beatrice regrets that her parents live apart and she often blames her father. However, Beatrice attributes disasters, resulting mostly from activities aimed at being popular at school, to Bumbling Bea, her alter ego. Bumbling Bea ignores Beatrice’s own opinion that she has no talent for acting and goes ahead to audition for the leading role in the annual play. She reckons without Michiko, a Japanese girl new to the school, but Bumbling Bea conceives a diabolical plan to defeat the stranger. When Beatrice’s alter ego takes over, any skulduggery goes.”

Bumbling Bea Cannot Fail to Become a Favorite
“Bumbling Bea by Deborah Baldwin cannot fail to become a favorite with pre-teen readers, and very likely teenagers too, because the mixture of pathos and humor is so realistic. Ms Baldwin establishes Beatrice’s character before the subject of playing Pocahontas arises. When it does, Beatrice finds that the play is a modern rewrite of the one she had used to rehearse, immersing herself in the part of Pocahontas. How can she do a good audition? Alter ego Bumbling Bea’s muddles and misguided remarks already had me laughing aloud; I couldn’t wait to find out how far she would go to stop her new Japanese classmate, Michiko, from stealing the limelight. There is a subtle message behind the fun and the brilliant descriptions of amateurs staging a performance of a well-known musical film. Bumbling Bea is a story about friendship, and why it matters more than popularity “bought” by attempting to be the best at everything.”

Contact me at dhcbaldwin@gmail.com  or Bumblingbea.com

 

Book Agents–A Minder, Gentler One

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This photo has nothing to do with the blog, but I just like it.  🙂

Recently, when I attended a writers conference I had the pleasure of pitching my middle grade novel, Bumbling Bea.  I signed up for this opportunity. You were either assigned a publisher, agent or another author.  I lucked out and was given an agent (whose name will remain anonymous).

I had NEVER been through anything quite like the session, however a hundred million years ago I trained to be a professional actress so I know how to audition.  I wasn’t especially nervous, but more apprehensive. I was required to give her the first ten pages ahead of time. This gave her time to look them over, write down comments, criticisms and hopefully suggestions.

I remember that I slept well, awoke early, had two cups of coffee and a Danish and sat in a waiting area until it was my turn. Each author was given ten minutes to talk about the book as well as yourself–sort of a pitch and social moment.  Kind of like speed dating, I would think.

I cheated and listened to her as she spoke to the person ahead of me. Yes, I eaves dropped. Couldn’t help it!  The agent sounded tired, but pleasant.  She was soft spoken, but assertive.  And she was pretty critical of the author’s writing ahead of me (okay, I didn’t really know that, but I imagined she was).

Ding!  The bell rang and it was my turn.  I heard the agent say, “Yes, I would be willing to read the first fifty pages.  Would that be acceptable to you?” but it sounded more perfunctory than sincere. Suddenly, my hands got sweaty and I was dry mouthed.

Oh no!  I had never thought of anything more than the first step.  There could be more, like sending the first fifty pages to an agent?  Yikes.  As I walked up to her table, I remember thinking…well, nothing. There was just empty space in my brain. My mind was a blank.  What’s my name?  What’s my book’s name?  What the hell is the book about?  You know, that sort of stuff.  Oh brother.

After shaking her hand, she asked me to tell her a little about myself.  I have absolutely no idea what I said.  I could have talked about jello and frogs for all I know.

Then we got to the book. After some questions from her about an apostrophe that I used after the main character’s nick name–Bea’, we talked about the humor in the story.  Now, I had done something right before I came to the conference.  I researched the agent and her website and discovered she loves good humor.  She admitted that she laughed while she read my story.  Oh yeay!

Then, she told me that she liked the book.  My very intelligent response was, “Really? You do?” I NEVER expected the agent to like my book, but….she did!  I was stunned.

You know how sometimes in life you go through some experience, long or short, and you don’t know why you did?  About twenty years ago, I learned how to ask an nonthreatening question for a product I was selling.  I asked her a nonthreatening question, “Would you like to read more of my book?” She said yes.

Long story short- I sent her the next fifty pages, waited three months (because that’s what you are supposed to do), got antsy and wrote to her asking what she thought. Indeed, the agent had read more of my book, told me she loved it but that it still needed work. She was very kind.  She had read the whole fifty pages AND even had particular notes for me.  I knew exactly what I needed to do.  So, before I wrote this particular blog I was working on the additions she suggested. Piece of cake.

Will I try again with this agent?  I don’t know yet.  Probably, maybe, yes, no, it all depends.

I am so grateful to her.  She will never know this story unless she runs on to it accidently. But if you are a tired, pleasant, patient, soft spoken but assertive agent please know that a novice author DOES appreciate you.  That’s me.