Darren Lamb, aka the Worst Buddhist, and I have been connected ever since a fateful Free Comic Book Day in Salt Lake City. I was going from store to store getting the free comic books, and he was at one selling his regular book - Transubstantiation. The story was so amazing that I didn’t even mind the errors. Later, he told me that I accidentally got an author’s copy. Never mind, when I read an amazing story, I want people to know about it.
We’ve connected on social media since then and I’ve tried to support him as I can. Being an author is hard work, especially when you’re publishing independently. There may or may not be any royalty checks in a given month. People rarely give feedback or leave positive reviews, and sometimes, it just feels like you’re writing for yourself. Not that there’s anything wrong with writing for yourself. It’s just that writers who publish typically want to find a wider audience. The best of writers have something to say, mediocre writers want to make money and are good at their craft, and the worst writers… I don’t know that there are any worst writers… At any rate, the whole point of this rambling expose is that Darren has had a story accepted into an anthology called “Weird Wasatch.” So, if you ever wanted to try a new author but are afraid of the investment, this anthology features many probably-new-to-you writers, including Darren. If you like a particular short story, chances are you’ll like other things they’ve published. For those who like eBook format, the book is less than cheap. Congratulations to Darren and to those of you who are about to find a new (2nd) favorite author! Okay, he can be your 1st favorite author; I don’t mind. After all, it’s not a contest and just like you can have more than one friend, you can have more than one cool author that you love! Until next posting, go out and penguinate! |
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I once thought I was going to build an online career as a media reviewer. I would review books, movies, TV shows and put the reviews on penguinate.com. I would use those reviews to help build an audience for the things I really wanted to write about, which as it turns out is a lot of different, seemingly unrelated subjects that hasn’t found its audience, yet. Except for mom and my wife… They read almost everything I write; everyone else, well, it’s hit and miss. None of that is the point. The point is… I thought my website review was good enough for indie and debut authors. I wrote something nice when I found something I liked, even if it was just the idea or the promise of something better in the future, and I sent it into the Internet ether on my Twitter and Facebook pages while trying to remember to add the appropriate hashtags and tagging the people involved. What I failed to take into account was that my readership hovers just above 10,000 people a week (according to one measurement, other measurements are less kind). Everything I have ever written garners those views, not every new page I publish. So, maybe my review was helpful, but only marginally so. Since releasing a book of my own, I have come to realize that an Amazon review for books on Amazon is essential to help move a book forward in rankings, suggestions and purchases, especially as a new author. One thing that Russell Nohelty points out in "Sell Your Soul: How to build your creative career" is that businesses, authors and other creatives need to build trust in order for someone to buy something from them. On Amazon, this can be done through having multiple good reviews – hundreds would be amazing, especially if they came from people who purchased the book. I am not at that point, yet. For me, it would be amazing if you have purchased my book (or received a copy from me for some other reason) to see a good review from you. If you haven’t gotten my book yet, but you have read another indie or debut author’s work and can leave him or her a good review, that would be amazing, too. If we can help independent and new authors be successful, we will be able to get more diverse stories while enriching our culture and the future stories told in larger forums. |
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