Getting bad reviews? I've got the answer.

Myself and my novel, 'A Graveyard Visible', had... well, we had a falling out. We've been on an extended break. I couldn't take it any longer. The abuse, the emotional turmoil. I had to get away. Somehow it had all turned so sour.

But now I'm back. And I've got some things to say...
(This is an update to an earlier post regarding reviews. Take it as proof that I haven't thrown myself off a bridge.)

This damn book!

Are you like me?

Have you written a book? Perhaps it's just come out or is coming soon. Either way, you've got your reviews trickling in, and all of a sudden a couple of absolute howlers land. It's bad. Real bad. The world has caved in. It's the end of the road for your precious novel. You worked so hard. So many hours. So many words. So many edits.

What do you do?

You want to give up, that's the first and most overwhelming sensation that hits you. It's beyond hope. There's no point. Why bother promoting the bloody thing when everyone will see the terrible things being said by actual readers?

But wait. I've got the answer.

Be brave.

Seriously. Chin up, chest out, deep breath, and smile.

I wanted to give it all up. I looked at those reviews, then looked at my book and considered playing a game of Can I Throw This Pile of Crap Out Of My Bedroom Window and Over the Roof Opposite? No one will blame you for feeling like that. But... think of all those hours, and words, and edits. All that effort. All that belief. You have written a book! And - this is especially true if you have a publisher or some kind of external backing - you don't give up on belief.

I spent days wondering - Why bother? Then one day I finally got myself bothered. The book was out, no matter what.
So, chin up, chest out, deep breath, and type. I got to work. By the end of the day I had another 8 reviewers lined up. It seemed scary, it seemed risky, it seemed totally worth it.
It's been a real mixed bag, and it's so easy to focus on the bad reviews, on the negatives (really, really, really easy!!!). But there's good stuff in there as well, and when I give those positives the attention I've been giving to the negatives, I start to see my book in a different light. Here's some quotes - and I'll paste an equal amount of good and bad here, for the sake of balance (if not my sanity).
All review quotes taken from the fantastic Netgalley.

Way back at the beginning, all those years ago...

I really struggled to get through this book. The premise was good and similar in many ways to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which I loved, but I just couldn't follow parts of the story. I found the plot confusing and it was just missing something for me.

(This is fair enough, can't win 'em all.)

First of all: it was clear that this is not a happy story from the cover and blurb, and I was certainly not expecting sunshine and rainbows. But the level of constant hate, self-hate, bullying and just negative emotion was incredibly frustrating to read.

(Another one that's fair enough, it's down to personal taste. I didn't think it was that much about constant hate in the novel. But you know, I'm taking this stuff way, way better than I did a few months ago. Personal growth! Go me.)

Of course, we can’t all be Neil Gaiman, 

(Ouch. Just give it to me real and raw.)

An odd duck of a book. Every time I thought I knew where it was headed it changed directions on me.

(Ha ha! Odd duck. This pleases me.)

(Next snippet is one of those that gives me a real boost. Can't thank the reviewer enough.)

What looks like an odd, quirky mystical read on the surface unfolds into that and far more, like a dismantled creeping skeleton reassembling as it reanimates. Claustrophobic with much left to the reader's imagination and assumptions, Steve Conoboy's book pairs a steady dry-mouth dread of the supernatural with all too universal themes of childhood pains and fears.

(The next one was actually a three out of five star review, but I still really appreciate that they got this out of the novel.)

They were some supernatural and creepy things about this book and I loved that part of it. The story was a little sad, but I know all about losing a parent. I think this story was a little about dealing with the sadness that comes with that.

Whatever else I say about 'A Graveyard Visible', it definitely has it's own personality. It's incredibly individual. Some parts drag my reading and viewing history with them, but as a whole it is unique. I can look at the novel now and, from that angle at least, be happy with it. I honestly believe it would be difficult to find anything quite like it. That feels like quite the achievement, that after hundreds of hours of work, I've created something that is recognisable as mine.

Your book has its own voice too. It will sound like you. Friends and family who read it, they'll recognise you, it will have imprints of your personality all over it.

Reviews (real ones from real readers) can be bruising, but take heart from them! Don't focus on one single review, because there isn't only one view in the world. Everyone has their own. Take all the reviews as a whole. Give the positive as much attention as the negative - this is so very important! If you've got a lot of reviews and only one says a particular aspect is bad, then that can be ignored. Most reviews will be constructive. Take on board what they say, reflect on it, apply it as you see necessary. After all it's your writing.
And move on! Write the next thing. Learn from the constructive criticism, but make sure you keep your voice.

But you must write. Do it for the reason you did it in the first place: the love of it.

Laters.

A Graveyard Visible is out RIGHT NOW and RIGHT HERE

Get off the damn phone

So A Graveyard Visible doesn't have a phone in it. 

I've only just realised this. In amongst everything that happens, nobody's gone anywhere near a mobile. It was such an odd thought that I had to stop and go back through the story and double-check. 

As it turns out, AGV is told in a fairly tight space (not in terms of Time, though - we've got a bit of drift there, back and forwards). There are a few sets, all relatively close to each other. Graveyard, garage roof, playground, Gramps' house, and that strange old Manor at the end of the road and round the corner.

It happens that the story is such that the presence of a mobile phone would not affect the outcome in any way. Have I created this situation on purpose? No. But yes.

Mobile phones are a part of life. I need to shove them in. How do I fix this then? I pondered moving the whole lot back in time, to the 80's. No mobile phones there. In fact, the original idea was to base the story in the era of my childhood. A part of me really wanted to talk about being a boy back then, with the technology we had. This turned out to be the reason why A Graveyard Visible took so long to take off. I wanted to talk about things that did not fit with the story that needed to be told.

I realised that the characters had the answer. Caleb, you see, he doesn't really have anyone he'd call. Father is barely present, Gramps is going a smidge loopy and wouldn't be able to work the dang thing, and Mum... well, she's not with us any longer. Misha? She spends as much time as possible as far away from people as she can, so why would she want to be contactable on a phone?

The AVG universe, quite simply, does not have mobiles. And that's fine.

Real life does. It's utterly unavoidable. Leave the house, have a very short walk, go to the shop, and you absolutely will see someone on a mobile at some point doing something. On the bus to work, you use it to listen to music and read a book at the same time (if you're like me). Waiting in the doctors, there's always time for a quick flick through your Instagram feed. Whenever you get a second, you're checking for an email about that publishing contract (maybe, maybe...).

But the thing is, I'm not in the middle of an adventure wherein graveyards are expanding and strange men are lurking in the rain. Would I be phoning people up to say that I've just measured a fence and it's about two metres longer than it was yesterday? Unlikely, because it's far too weird. Would I be calling the police to tell them I've seen some people looking vaguely suspicious in suits around a grave? Doubt it, because what's so suspicious about them anyway? And no-one's going to believe anything about paranormal stuff because that stuff's not real so who would believe it?

I don't really need to add in scenes where Caleb takes a minute to muck about with Snapchat filters while he waits for the revenant to turn up. It won't bring anything to the story if I have him scouring the internet for information on strange old Manors. I think I'd be wasting everyone's time if I chucked in a bit where Crosswell tries and fails to get Google Maps to work while he's out hunting for murderous things. (Actually, I quite like that last one. Back off, I've bagsied it.)

So, here's the thing. Did I choose not to write the latest smartphone tech into my story, or did my story make that decision for me? I guess we writers have to see what's good for the story, what keeps it going, and allow those decisions to happen. The story will drive itself on, and our job is to throw as few obstacles in its way as possible. Any author knows that they themselves are an obstacle to the telling - the poor story has to go through us to get out into the world.

Laters

My problem with promotion... is me

So.
Nobody bothered to read my last post about It, the deep, insightful and topical piece that I thought was totally relevant right about now.
Get bent, all of you.

Anyway, on with today.
My problem (apart from a slight attitude issue) at the moment is promoting my own fine novels. I'm not good at it. It's a complete bogglement to me.
I tend to think about promotion, shrug, then hide myself in the writing of the next novel. Very unprofessional.

I've said this before, but that doesn't make it any less true. I allowed work to get in the way of my writing and I let that happen for way too long. It got out of control. 60 hours a week has become the norm. Not good and not right. It was hard to write, let alone think about promoting my work or putting fresh stuff out there. It's been frustrating to release Mac Pliers then realise that I haven't really done anywhere near enough to support it. I can't let that happen again.

I did try, though.

The thing with Twitter is, it looked to me like Mac Pliers was getting completely lost in a vast sea of other books. A lot of people know how to get the best out of a tweet - make it visual with a cover image, use the right hashtags, get those key words in. When everyone knows how to do it right, it's hard to stand out. Unless you bombard Twitter with adverts every ten minutes, that is, and then people just get sick of seeing your book. I'm trying to use Twitter again, sparingly, but... I still get the feeling that the only people retweeting books are those who are only after a retweet themselves.
But you've gotta try, right? Something's better than nothing.

The thing with Facebook is, it's just my family, mates and people I knew in places I worked once. These people would either buy a copy anyway, expect a new one, or don't like me but can't be arsed to have me 'removed' (ominous). One can always try Facebook advertising, one supposes, but one was broke, so one didn't, did one?
But you've gotta try, right? Something's better than nothing.

The thing with getting reviews is, well, you've got to get people to write them and post them. I tried so many book bloggers, read their sites to get an idea of what they were like, personalised each and every contact, and I think I ended up with one review out of it, and I didn't realise that review had gone live until months later.
Something's... better than nothing?

And there's a load of sites that promise you a promotion package, for a price. Eye-watering prices, some of them (although, to be fair, anything beyond stumping up a tenner makes me weep (ask my girls, I've got a chain wrapped around my wallet)). I couldn't really see much benefit to anyone who took on these book blitzes or bashes or bonanzas or bombing raids or whatever they're called.

It was all a bit discouraging.

But.

This time I'm not a new writer with just one book to his name. I'm a seasoned veteran, with his second (fantastically well-produced) novel on the way, both in the same genre. I've got an actual body of work to peddle here. And I think I need to work to one other strength - I'm not self-published. This isn't vanity, and I'm not expected to 'donate' towards the publishing company's marketing costs. I am true legit. For real.

Things seem to be going a little better this time. I'm about to send off A Graveyard Visible to be part of a fantastic new review scheme, Kid Lit Exchange. Find them here: https://theloudlibrarylady.com/kidlitexchange/   These guys ask only for one copy of your book, then, when one of their reviewers wants to read it, the Kid Lit Exchange sends it out, and it's that one copy which does the rounds. Fingers crossed for a few rounds, then.
I've decided not to give up on book bloggers either, and I'm going through a ton of blogs to find out who might be a good fit for good old AGV (plus my publisher is proving to be very helpful so far, offering to send out copies on my behalf. Sweet!)

Also, to my absolute horror, I have landed an interview on a podcast. Yeah. One of them things where people can hear you. And see you, I think, because I've got to do it over Skype. My God. I'll have to brush my bloody hair.
It took me about a week to pluck up the courage to choose a time slot for the interview (early October, broadcast date as yet unknown). I had to pretend to myself that it wouldn't be awful and my voice wouldn't sound terrible and I'd sound very charming and witty and that it's all for the good of the book. Got - to - try.

I shall also be throwing myself into everything else, yes even the stuff that I'm not sure worked the first time - Twitter, Facebook and it's forums. I think blogs and review and book news sites are the way to go, though. Author spotlights, reveals, that sort of thing. You've gotta try, right?

What you have to be, then, is brave. You must be determined. You must be bloody-minded in the face of ignorance. You must be a pain in the arse - but a nice one. Annoying is off the table. And whatever happens, you must be prepared to carry on. And on. And on.

I will post some (fairly) regular updates here, with what I've been doing, what's worked, what I'm trying next. See how we go, eh?

Come back soon for a freebie. Next post will be a short story, I reckon. Bit of fun.

Available for pre-order at Amazon.

Release date April 2018

Laters.