Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional. For January, the question is: ““Being a writer, what frustrates you most when reading other people’s books?”
This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Ronel Janse van Vuuren , J Lenni Dorner, Gwen Gardner, Sandra Cox, and Louise – Fundy Blue.
My answer to the question
I have little free time to read books, so I am pretty picky about the ones I start and have every intention to finish them. I am also a tad stubborn and hate giving up. So, I never actually dismiss a book. What bugs me most are typos. I find them in every book, even bestsellers, and for some reason (my A-type personality, my background as a teacher?), they annoy me. My eyes are always drawn to them and I have an inexplicable need to fix them. It’s hard to be a perfectionist! 😊
But here’s the rub… The irony… The contradiction… The frustration… I produce typos and grammatical inaccuracies myself! Yet, I don’t find those, because I’m too familiar with the content. If there’s one thing I learned from publishing my own book, it’s that EVERYONE makes those mistakes. And that they are difficult to find, even by professionals. After many rounds of editing and proofreading, Plunge, as it stands right now, published and all, still has three typos in it! Anyone up for a game? One is in the epilogue… It’s so hard to be a perfectionist!
My book news
Since my travel memoir, Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary, has been published (see last month’s post), I had to change the heading of this section from “My book progress” to “My book news.”
What has happened in December, other than me working hard to spread the word and checking the sales stats twice a day? Let’s start with the good stuff…
My book has been well received, by a sailing audience as well as the general public. Since I have nothing to compare it to, I can’t say if it’s selling well, but it sure has been heart-warming and rewarding to read all those five-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and to know that my book has “touched the souls” of people. Some of them were generous to share those sentiments either with the world or with me privately. Now I know why writers write. Check out this most recent review from Sue here to understand what I mean. Receiving compliments and messages about how you improved someone’s mood, life, or outlook is priceless!
Plunge was picked by a book club of sailing women in New England. That was an exciting discovery! They will have their discussion on Friday evening and I have been invited to join in afterwards to answer questions.
The cover of Plunge was nominated for the January “Cover of the Month” contest on the website of AllAuthor. At this point, it made the second round (of four). If anyone feels inclined to participate, you can do so here. Every vote counts, so thank you!
I finally received paperback copies myself; a not so straightforward feat when you live on the road. I mailed some of them to sailing magazines for – hopefully – a favorable review in print and I hope to sell the others, somehow, to people I meet or, maybe, bookstores. This is certainly up in the air during the pandemic. I’m still searching for a decent spot to store them in our 19ft camper van!
On to a couple of negative experiences.
It is bound to happen to most (all?) authors… My first one-star review arrived on Amazon only two weeks after Plunge was published! You can find it here if you’re curious. It hit hard. I understand – and respect – that not everyone will like my book, my voice, or even my personality. But, to destroy a high average rating of a debut author and to dismiss all the work, time, soul, and emotion that went into creating a novel-length book with a one star (instead of two or three stars) was crushing.
And then this… Since Mark and I published my book “wide” instead of “exclusive” (with Amazon), I use the Print On Demand (POD) service IngramSpark to print and distribute my books elsewhere. I ordered a copy to see the quality of their books; the ones that will be ordered by libraries, Barnes & Noble, etc. Wanna know how the quality of my photos came out? Spoiler alert: awful and inacceptable.
I have yet to hear back from them after sending an email two weeks ago. IngramSpark has a terrible reputation regarding customer support and their website sucks too. If anyone has a better alternative for a reputable POD service, please let me know!
What’s next?
Promotion. It’s a lot of work and time consuming. I still haven’t come up with a plan or made a schedule, except for a few engagements this month. Whenever Mark and I aren’t driving, running errands, or walking Maya, I’m on my iPad or computer. I contact magazines and newspapers with personalized emails, I post on social media, I answer interview questions, I prepare guest posts, I read blogs and leave comments to maintain my presence and social networking, and I feel overwhelmed.
Walk with Maya in Organ Pipe Cactus NM, Arizona
This month, I have a few guest posts and Q&A’s lined up with fellow bloggers and authors. Today, historical fiction author Beth Camp is featuring me on her blog with an insightful interview. If anyone is interested in learning more about how I came to write Plunge, have a look here.
The thing I am most nervous about is being a panelist in a webinar of the Seven Seas Cruising Association about self-publishing, the end of this month. I need to create a 25-minute presentation on Zoom. With slides. Gulp! I’ve never done anything like this before. But I have a husband and a bubble of knowledgeable nomad friends traveling with us – one is fellow author and IWSG member Ellen Jacobson – who are more than happy to help out.
Friends in the desert
My goal for this year is to inspire and touch people with my travel memoir, make my investment of $2,700 back, and – hopefully – begin one or two new writing projects!
I wish you all a productive, healthy, fun, and positive year ahead. Happy 2021!
What frustrates you most when reading certain books? What are your (writing) goals for this year?
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January 6, 2021 at 15:56
Oooo, I’m first! What a month you had, Liesbet! Like I’ve heard, self-publishing is not for the faint of heart, and you handle the care and feeding if it on the road!! I’m so happy to hear of the successes you shared. I love the idea of sitting in a bookstore promoting a book and chatting and signing books, and I wish that for you. You have worked so hard and with your work ethic and promotional skills, I have no doubt you will do well with the book. I am preparing to read yours, just finished another two-part book from a fellow blogger. I have time now to post reviews on my blog as well as promote books I’ve read. Congratulations, again, my friend. Glad you are enjoying sunny AZ.
PS, we got to walk into our new home for the first time yesterday as they were tying it together. It is so much bigger than we thought and looks good (even under construction). More about it later! Take care!!
January 6, 2021 at 15:57
Oh and I meant to add that I have the curse of seeing every typo, too! For yours to have only three is amazing!
January 7, 2021 at 23:37
I dare you to find those three! 🙂 But only if it doesn’t take away from the reading experience. By the way, one is a typo in Spanish, which – surprisingly – my Dutch-speaking mother picked up… because she is currently taking Spanish lessons. Our genes have an issue with typos.
January 7, 2021 at 23:35
You were first! Awesome. And, you are almost last for me to reply here. The world is just not fair! 🙂
Thank you for coming along this road to self-publication with me, Terri. I do hope these writing updates offer insights to people thinking about doing something similar, or entertainment for the non-authors, haha.
That bookstore idea sounds lovely, but is from a bygone time. For now anyway. I’m hoping that whenever I return to Massachusetts (and stay for a while) I can organize some sort of in-person event. We will have to see.
I can’t believe you’ve started my book already, before I could even reply to this comment. Fantastic! Looking forward to your thoughts when you’re finished.
Very exciting about your new home. Ooooh, I can just imagine those bright smiles on Hans and your face!!! 🙂
January 6, 2021 at 16:03
You are amazing with this book! Exactly the right memoir at the right time, Liesbet. As for POD, I use KDP’s print option. I upload my non-fic as a PDF and the pictures always come out fine–as good as my traditional printer. You might try that.
January 7, 2021 at 23:40
Hi Jacqui! Thanks for swinging by and offering your input. I am feeling guilty about not popping over to your site in a while. I have your blogs in my inbox, waiting to be read. 🙂 Busy times and I have been sick. I quickly checked out KDP today. I don’t remember, are you exclusive with Amazon or going wide?
January 6, 2021 at 17:26
Hi Liesbet, you have and still are working so hard. Congratulations to you on the book club of sailing women in New England. How exciting!
I so get what you mean about noticing typos. I see them all the time and I don’t even look for them. That is until I send an e-mail of my own and don’t see anything until the moment I hit send. Heck after I get done typing this maybe there will be a typo? 🙂
Liesbet, ignore that one star rating. You should know that your book is much more than that. Sure everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but a one? Really? Just reading your blog I know that isn’t true (I haven’t had the pleasure of reading your book yet.) Some people just enjoy doing this to be mean. Like trolls.
January 7, 2021 at 22:25
Haha, Lea! I’m like you with the emails too. I reread them, but there is bound to be another typo when I click “send”! It happens here in my comments as well. Those are easy to fix on my own site, but edged in the ether forever on other blogs. 🙂 The more I think about it and the more this one-star person is rubbing it in (she just posted the rating on Goodreads too), the more I have to wonder about the troll, mean, or envy thing. Stay tuned for my post next month, where I will reveal one more thing about this particular topic…
January 8, 2021 at 14:51
I’m looking forward to this, Liesbet. Now you’ve got my curiosity.
January 8, 2021 at 20:25
🙂
January 6, 2021 at 17:53
That’s great the book club is discussing your book!
Don’t worry about typos. I spelled hangar (as in airplane hangar) wrong throughout my first book and no one caught it. (It has since been fixed by my publisher)
One stars happen. I have many. Just laugh at them.
January 7, 2021 at 22:27
The book club thing is awesome, Alex. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow for the Q&A. Interesting – and a good thing – nobody caught the typo in your first book. I wonder who eventually noticed it… You, a reader, or your publisher?
January 6, 2021 at 17:56
You have done amazingly well for just one month out of the block Liesbet and as you say highs and lows.. We have always printed my books and the authors we have worked with independently and the POD we have used have been excellent.. We are going to use Amazon POD for my recent release to see how it works out but they seem to be fine. But a bummer to have to try and rectify the quality now. I have my copy of Plunge and will read in the next few weeks.. I saw the 1 star review when I was checking reviews for the cafe update and to be honest I dismissed it as will others when they see it standing alone amongst the other reviews.. take heart and carry on what you are doing..hugs
January 7, 2021 at 22:33
Hi Sally!
Thank you for joining in the conversation. I am hoping that this dismal IngramSpark copy was a one-off for everyone’s sake. I cannot even imagine retailers having to deal with this company and their crappy customer support when the quality of the products they receive is inferior. I just got an email back from them, stating I had to file a claim. After performing that task, repeating all the previous steps for my email, a pop-up box appeared, stating it would take 3-5 weeks (instead of the usual 3-5 business days) before anyone would get back to me!!!
I use Amazon KDP for my paperbacks on Amazon and their quality has been fine. Looking into their wide distribution now, but the royalty payment (for me) is less than $2 a book!!!
Thanks for your continued support and encouragement, everywhere, and I hope you can keep your afternoon reading schedule up! 🙂
January 6, 2021 at 18:27
Glad it’s going well (one star outlier apart). Haven’t forgotten your suggestion!
January 7, 2021 at 22:34
Hi Anabel. No rush about that suggestion. I seem to be continuously swamped. 🙂
January 6, 2021 at 18:51
I’m reading Plunge right now and just passed the halfway mark last night. I’m definitely intrigued by the hidden ring, which I’m sure will be revealed at some point.
January 7, 2021 at 22:35
Haha, Pete! You are the first one to bring up this “story within the story.” Life has a mysterious way of evolving… 🙂
January 6, 2021 at 18:52
You’ve done so well, both with the creation of your book and with your marketing efforts. Typos are almost impossible to find in your own work but stand out in neon in other’s. Be gentle on yourself. Also, remember that not everyone likes everything. I know that I’ve loved books others have hated and vice versa. That one star review seems particularly nasty, but consider that it probably says more about her than you.
January 7, 2021 at 22:38
You made me feel a little bit better, Janis. I totally realize people will not like (or even hate) my book, but there is an interesting story behind this one, I’m sure… And again, one star!? I would give that to a book that didn’t receive much attention and is full of typos or inconsistencies. Sigh.
January 6, 2021 at 19:26
My mother always said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say keep your mouth shut.” I feel the same about reviews. If I don’t like a book, I just don’t write a review. That reviewer’s tone struck me as someone who is jealous and insecure. Perhaps they dreamed of writing their own story and self-publishing it, but never had the guts or drive to do it. Move on and forget about it. Sorry about your photos. I’m sure that was disappointing, but you’re tough, Liesbet. I know you’ll keep pressing on because that’s what you do.
January 7, 2021 at 22:42
Hi Jill! Now I understand even better why you are such a nice and kind person. A wise woman, your mom! You might be right about that reviewer. And about me, because… I will keep pressing on! 🙂
January 6, 2021 at 19:35
SUCCESS is the word for you this month, pure and simple. Even with a Type-A personality, it’s best not to obsess about the errors. Every. Single. Book. I’ve read has something wrong: typos, spacing, blurry photos. As I have told my composition students, “You are blind to your own mistakes, so read your essay aloud AND have someone else look at your work.”
About the low-star review: As I read it, I knew you must have winced . . .maybe even screamed. In my view the reviewer is a bitter person, maybe even envious at some level. I think she was allowing her own prejudices to affect her interpretation of your honest attitudes. Or maybe she doesn’t understand the intent of the memoir genre. You still have a super-high rating overall with lots of reviews so early in the game.
About your presentation: Just tell your story. You already have the content nailed down. Besides: a savvy husband willing to help with the digital part.
Your cover is spectacular, and I will vote for it.
Sail on, Liesbet. You’ve got this!
January 7, 2021 at 22:45
As usual, you are full of wisdom and a fantastic mentor, Marian. Thank you for keeping me going here and always and for voting for Plunge. I have made it to the next round with my cover. We will see if I need to rally the troops again. 🙂
January 6, 2021 at 19:37
I grab a pen or highlighter and start marking the typos. For some reason that makes my OCD feel better 😉 Congrats on your new release and Happy New Year!
January 7, 2021 at 22:47
Haha, Gwen! I love it! Are you a teacher as well??? I don’t use a highlighter. For some reason I never find the only one we have in our van, but I use a pencil to mark the mistake, then circle the page number and note those page numbers at the back of the book. Sometimes, I run out of space there. Honestly! One day, I will have to admit I have OCD as well. 🙂
January 6, 2021 at 20:24
Hi Liesbet, Congrats on the success of your book so far! Don’t let one low rating define the quality of your work. As to typo errors, it’s good to have other sets of eyes review your book. I know some authors have used Amazon’s KPD and seem to be satisfied with it. I didn’t have any writing goal for this year then on January 1, I volunteered to host the Weekend Coffee Share blog social. Now I’m publishing a blog post every weekend 🙂 Happy 2021!
January 7, 2021 at 22:51
Hi Natalie!
Unfortunately, we are already at two one-star ratings on Amazon. 🙁 But, I think the second one might just have been a troll or a “mistake” as there is no explanation for the low rating. Anyway, I will not dwell on this any further. So far, we have been happy with KDP for our other paperbacks.
You got yourself a “little” sidekick becoming a Weekend Coffee Share host! I’ll be sure to check it out. Have a tremendous, satisfying, healthy, cultural, and active 2021 yourself! 🙂
January 16, 2021 at 16:08
Thanks, Liesbet, for linking up with #WeekendCoffeeShare. There is at least one published author in the party (Trent at Trentsworldblog), and a couple of other bloggers who have done a lot of writing. Have a nice weekend!
January 17, 2021 at 12:19
I’ll have to check out Trent’s blog as well! Happy Sunday, dear host! 🙂
January 6, 2021 at 20:44
Well done Liesbet. As others have mentioned you can’t do anything regarding the review. Being honest is important if giving reviews though it needs to be constructive so it doesn’t become destructive. If someone or something has excellent reviews I start to question who’s bullshitting the most 😉 Keep smiling and keep writing!
January 7, 2021 at 22:52
I will take that advice, Suz! Thanks for the pep talk. And, I do encourage everyone to share their opinions. 🙂
January 6, 2021 at 21:17
Hi! Enjoyed the update and look forward to our Q and A later this month
—
—
And real quick – just so you know – I really think a one star review gives a book more weight –
It is sometimes Trite and even a little Pollyanna when we see five star reviews and all this praise praise praise
Sometimes a one or two star also means the quality of the reviewing is beyond those who stroke your ego
It means you also have a wide audience and sometimes one star has nothing to do with you or the content (or the printers images) sometimes it is subjective and where a reader is at!!
And I know I have a book two stars and later read it to give it four — lol
Anyhow – in my very humble opinion you celebrate that one star because it means so much more than praise on praise
Oh and this book I ordered a while ago for $30 had all these five star and long reviews and it sucked so bad! I later realized the author found a way of motivating folks or had some system – but it was fishy’ and I downtowns cannot stand when some reviews are all “praise on praise”
And so again, you take that one star like a badge of honor because it means genuine reviewer and adds weight!
—
In closing – I will let you know my take when I finish the book!
But be encouraged because the fact someone took the time to leave one star is huge!
January 7, 2021 at 22:56
Wise words, Yvette! It sounds like you know what you’re talking about and you are putting things in perspective for me. Give it another few days and I’ll drink to that one-star reviewer. 🙂 Why not? I truly think there is validity to everything you said. I just have to take a deep breathe and focus on the positive. Maybe that should be my resolution for 2021? It does sound like a good one. Talk to you soon!
January 8, 2021 at 18:38
Wel it can be so vulnerable at first! Because our books are like babies – haha – and they are our art and personal offerings to the world.
January 8, 2021 at 18:39
pS – you inspired this post of mine today
https://priorhouse.blog/2021/01/08/consider-kelvin-m-knights-flashes-of-weather-detaching-from-book-reviews-squareup-day-8/
January 10, 2021 at 11:20
Great post! Right on about that pesky subject. 🙂
January 6, 2021 at 23:27
You’re doing a great job! Promotion is a hard slog, and you’re doing well to stay motivated.
To answer your question about POD: Before there was IngramSpark, the only option for POD was Lightningsource (also a division of Ingram, for larger publishers). That’s who I used for years, and I was always pleased with their print quality and customer service.
BUT… not anymore. Their quality has plummeted, their prices are high, and their customer service is nonexistent. This spring I decided to switch to the brand-new paperback POD service offered by Kindle Direct Publishing. (You’ll see the option to create a paperback in your KDP dashboard.) The customer service at Amazon has been great, it doesn’t cost me anything up front to set up a title with them, and I can make as many changes as I want for no charge.
So far my experience with KDP paperbacks has been good, but in order to be eligible for expanded distribution with Amazon (i.e. distribution to non-Amazon stores), you have to transfer your book’s ISBN from Ingram’s expanded distribution listing to Amazon’s. It’s a simple matter that should be resolved within a few days, but Lightningsource’s customer service is so abysmally bad that it took me seven months of waiting, nagging, and dealing with their repeated screw-ups before they finally transferred the ISBNs. In the end, the only thing that lit a fire under them was when I threatened legal action.
I don’t know what the future will hold with Amazon; but for now, at least, KDP’s paperback POD seems like the right answer for me. Your mileage may vary… 🙂
January 7, 2021 at 23:03
As always, you are providing me with a wealth of good information, Diane! Your experiences and frustration – so sorry to read about the dragging on of moving the ISBN over!!! – might benefit people like me. I just reread your comment and looked into Amazon’s expanded distribution, something I didn’t think was possible with them when going wide. I always learn new things from you.
Thing is that they only pay 40% royalties, which boils down to me earning less than $2 on every $16 paperback that’s being sold, which is even less than with IngramSpark. Sigh. Speaking of which, they just let me know, after I filed a claim about the inferior quality of the copy I received, that they’ll get back to me within 3-5 weeks. Right.
Life of an indie author. Luckily, we have each other to commiserate. 🙂
January 8, 2021 at 15:41
Yep, that’s true. And you’re right about the pathetically small royalties – I’m lucky to make $1.50 per copy on my paperbacks in expanded distribution. But I sell so few paperbacks compared to e-books that the paperback revenue would still be insignificant even if my royalty rate on them was doubled. The only reason I bother with paperbacks at all is because some of my fans like to collect them. If it makes them happy and I get a buck or two, it’s all good. 🙂
Honestly, the only way to make decent money on paperback sales is via a traditional publisher that distributes to the mainstream bookstores; and now with COVID curtailing physical bookstore sales, that’s not going so well, either.
All we can do is keep an eye on the market trends and adjust our strategies as we go along. (And commiserate with our fellow authors.)
January 10, 2021 at 11:28
I think that’s a good reason for you to still do paperbacks. Your fans thank you for that! 🙂 Thanks again for your insights, Diane. This book writing, publishing, promoting, and selling business is not for the faint of heart. 🙂
January 8, 2021 at 18:40
Diane – I enjoyed your comment and jnfi – and the word slog is such a good one!!
January 10, 2021 at 11:20
I’m determined to have some fun with that “slog.” 🙂
January 7, 2021 at 02:40
I am so full of admiration for you. You just keep going. I am amazed that publishing a book is such hard work – even after it’s published. And I think all artists/creatives put themselves on the line with every project. That takes guts. Sure, not everyone can like everything, and that must hurt, but I love Prior’s comments about 1 star reviews. It’s real. You did it. And you’re doing it. Amazing!
January 7, 2021 at 23:14
I am flattered you call me an artist/creative, Trace! I love that. I never saw it that way, but you are right, painters and such also put themselves “out there” with something they are passionate about and believe in. It’s normal – and healthy – that not everyone likes the same things. I’ll get there. 🙂 Yes, Prior gave validity to that one-star review. It’s all about perspective!
January 7, 2021 at 10:02
Liesbet, you have to realize that so far all the people that count gave your book a good review. You cannot expect to please everyone and even “Tom Clancy” books have 1 star reviews! Should make you feel better. Keep promoting…
January 7, 2021 at 23:15
Thanks for your take on this, Marlene! I will keep promoting. Thanks again for playing a part in that as well. 🙂
January 7, 2021 at 10:24
Hi, Liesbet – Congratulations on the continued success of Plunge. This is very well-deserved. You are incredibly talented, have worked hard and have touched the souls of so many.
As for the Lisa G’s of the world – you simply can’t please them. That’s the downside of book clubs. People read books that they would not have chosen, don’t connect with and don’t take the time to understand. They then express their frustration by going off on a rant. I read her words and absolutely none of them rang true to me. Her comment is surrounded by 5-star reviews which will quickly drown hers out.
January 7, 2021 at 23:19
Donna! You always know how to make me feel better and how to make me smile. You are kind, generous, encouraging, supportive, and positive. I could use a small dose of that every day and you are providing it. 🙂 There is something very interesting about your comment that I will share later…
January 7, 2021 at 11:35
Hi again, Liesbet, I started Plunge last night and I am hooked. What a page turner already! I am looking forward to sharing my review on my blog in a few weeks. You should be extremely proud and rest assured you have hit this one out of the park!
January 7, 2021 at 23:21
Hello again, Terri! For some reason, I’m replying to this comment of yours before the other one, based on how my page is displaying comments… I am ecstatic that you are enjoying Plunge! And I will totally dig the new “review feature” on your blog. So nice to have extra time on your hands. 🙂
January 7, 2021 at 15:52
Hi Liesbet! I love this post – so much great insight about your process of self-publishing. I’m about halfway through Plunge and really enjoying it (although I’ve shed a few tears, too!). John’s looking forward to reading when I’m done. We can identify with so much of your experience as cruisers – the boat maintenance, the endless waiting for weather windows, the amazing friends you meet along the way. And you’re bringing back some great memories of our time aboard our own boat. Thanks again for telling your story!
– Susan
January 7, 2021 at 15:53
And might I say, as a professional writer, typos drive me crazy too! I haven’t spotted any in your book yet. 🙂
January 7, 2021 at 23:26
Okay, based on where you are in the book, look for the third one in the epilogue! One letter is missing in a word. I mean, world… 🙂
January 7, 2021 at 23:25
What would I do without all my supportive and encouraging blogging friends? 🙂 I figured you two would be able to relate to some of our experiences and destinations. And, I do believe Plunge brings back good and bad memories, probably. Although, over the years, we tend to hang onto the good ones and reminisce on those. I know about those tears, based on being the dog lovers that you are… I am very happy to share my story with the world and I am so glad you are enjoying the ride.
January 7, 2021 at 16:05
Greg thinks your zoom with the book club will be like being on a virtual book tour. I’m positive that it will go well. Perhaps it will turn into a thing with other books clubs. Not sure if that is something you would want but I think the honesty and personal quality of your memoir lends it’s self to promoting it in a very personal way.
January 7, 2021 at 23:29
Oh, a virtual book tour would be fun. In this particular situation, every participant already has the book and I won’t be signing any! 🙂 I could tell tonight that Greg is very excited to hear the report about the meeting on Saturday. We’re still on. That, I know. But, the plot thickens. You do have a way with words, Duwan, especially that last sentence. You sure you don’t want to join our little club of nomadic authors?
January 8, 2021 at 03:30
Congratulations on getting your book out! And wow, I love that photo of the lake with Maya.
January 8, 2021 at 20:21
Thanks, Damyanti! You know how that feels. 🙂
January 8, 2021 at 12:27
Liesbet I totally see you cursing those typos which lead to the imperfect end result which is probably a reality in all works of art.
Now that that we are back in Zipolite for a moment I’m going to ask my sister in law if she will mail your book to us here. I have to wait a few weeks though as my mother in law just recovered from Covid and she was the chief caregiver!!
Re the 1 star – ah yes the ugly appearance of what I call “the haters”… there are always the haters who pull others down because they look for the negative in things. You have had so many wonderful reviews… keep focused on those and key the haters be haters !
Good luck with your upcoming event I’m quite sure you’ll hit it out of the park!
Peta
January 8, 2021 at 20:25
Of course, I wasn’t thrilled when I found out that there are at least three typos in Plunge. But, I knew this was a reality, so I’ve been dealing with it okay. Until we have a chance to update the book. Now, I see it as a game: “Who can find the mistakes?” 🙂
I hope you have a few other “American” goodies that can go in that box! And, I assume your MIL is doing okay? Getting Covid as an elderly must be super scary!
Thanks for the ongoing support, Peta!
January 8, 2021 at 18:23
Liesbet I am delighted that my review touched you. It’s the absolute truth. It’s like Plunge gave my book battery a jump start and I’m back on the reading road.
As to the one review I’ll join the chorus of just ignore it. You’ll never please everyone. To see all those five star reviews and a single one star I think it is clear that the writer has a few other issues. Just my opinion.
Good luck with the marketing and I’m here cheering in your corner.
January 10, 2021 at 11:23
Sue, you are the perfect cheerleader and you have cranked up my spirits lately. You have a way with words as well. Speaking of which, I think you’d be a good author yourself… What do you think? 🙂
January 15, 2021 at 09:48
Liesbet you are very kind and I appreciate your comment. I do like writing but anything more than 1500 words and my attention span is done. Knowing that I couldn’t concentrate enough to read a book until yours through 2020 you can imagine my concentration for writing!
I won’t say never but at this point I don’t have the drive or determination for a book. I’ll be your cheerleader instead. 🙂
January 15, 2021 at 11:13
Sounds good to me, Sue! 🙂 To be honest, I don’t have the drive, determination, and energy right now either to tackle a(nother) book-size project. Have a great weekend!
January 9, 2021 at 00:28
Hi Liesbet! Wow! Once again you have accomplished an amazing amount of work in a month….and that month was December no less! I would say that December is probably the most difficult month to market and promote yourself of all. You seem to be doing a great job and although I too know the heartbreak of a one-star review it is indeed a milestone of sorts…you won’t have to bear that surprise again. Plus, I read that it actually helps to balance out our reviews in a good way. The new matrix on Amazon gets suspicious if all the reviews come in at 5 stars so having a variety is considered more authentic. So now your reviews have that going for them. So as the new year progresses I wish you every success and eagerly follow where you go from here! ~Kathy
January 9, 2021 at 21:46
Hi Kathy!
Promoting a book is a lot of work (as well) and, even though I got a few things accomplished, December was quite slow, because of the holidays. Believe it or not, but this month is shaping up to be incredibly busy. I have a bunch of things lined up and am working on more, but, I’m worried about getting burned out. So, in February I do plan to take it a bit easier. 🙂
I love your take on one-star reviews. By now, I have come to accept it. At least this person did effort to explain why she didn’t like the book. Someone else just threw another one star up on Amazon. Huh? 🙂
Anyway, thank you for the support and wishes, as always. And, you are right, it was a milestone and every other one of those will – hopefully – not shock me as much.
January 9, 2021 at 09:56
Please, please, get rid of that ‘overwhelming’ feeling, Liesbet. Even if it means cutting down on reading and commenting on other blogs. I went through a similar stage, and it made blogging a horrible experience. Fortunately, I changed the way I blogged, and am now enjoying blogging more than ever. Once things calm down with the book launch, maybe a short blogging break would be good? I can highly recommend them.
And don’t worry about that one star review. No author can please every reader. Concentrate more on all the positive reviews your book has got so far. I’m sure many more will follow.
As for typos – yes, we all see the typos of others more than we do our own. I had my two books professionally edited, but typos still made it through. 🙄
January 9, 2021 at 21:54
I remember your period of being overwhelmed (and feeling guilty) regarding blogging and blog reading, and your post about that, Hugh. I nodded my head and shared the sentiment. And that was at least a year ago…
I know that I would feel more relaxed (and have more time) if I slow down my involvement in the blogging world. But, I also feel like I can keep combining everything. The bottom line is, I do have to find a balance between my writing, promoting, and blogging, while also have fun again in real life on the road.
In the thirteen years I’ve been blogging, I have taken one month off. And that was three years ago or so. I don’t need an “official” break from Roaming About, but I might take it a bit slower if I feel I really need it. A few months ago, I determined to only blog once a week, so that’s what I’m sticking to, despite being behind with my travel and expense blogs… Oh well. It’s my blog and I can do whatever I want. 🙂
You are full of wisdom! I am finally ready to concentrate more on the positive things happening to my book. It feels good. This weekend is a turning point!
As far as typos go… Two professional rounds of editing and two proofreaders later, at least three typos made it through. I’ll fix them in the next version.
Happy Sunday!
January 9, 2021 at 16:15
There is so much reassurance in here, Liesbet. You have to take heart from it. When published authors like Jill and Jackie- deliberate misspell because I don’t have a letter _ – tell you you’re doing a good job there’s no argument. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion but not everyone is prepared to do the work and make it happen. Seems like it’s a minefield out there 🙁
January 9, 2021 at 21:55
It’s an interesting world out there in author land, Jo! Very different than in blogging land. Still mostly good and positive, though. 🙂
January 10, 2021 at 10:30
Liesbet, I will keep this comment short, since you are a busy girl. I love, love your book, a real page turner for me. I am spreading the word and recommending it to many of my friends and family. Keep writing and I hope this book is just the first one of many.
January 12, 2021 at 16:23
Hi Gilda! You have been such a staunch supporter of my book – first with all the encouragement and belief towards its creation and now reading, supporting, and distributing the final product. I’ve said it before: you are amazing! Thank you so much for spreading the word and sharing your optimism for Plunge on all your social media channels! 🙂
January 10, 2021 at 20:06
I just read that horrid review and it sounds like the author has projected her own unhappy life on to your experience. I think most readers of that would be sufficiently aghast to dismiss it especially when it contrasts so strongly with the other reviews. Keep the belief in yourself going, Liesbet. Do what your gut tells you!
January 12, 2021 at 16:26
Thanks, Amanda! I always follow my gut. And, by now, I’ve come to terms with the one-star ratings. I still don’t understand the “disgrace” and hate towards my book by giving it one-star review as opposed to two or three, since one star to me means that the book is utter crap – stylistically as well as content-wise and that’s hard to swallow. But, hey, everyone has the right to their opinion. 🙂
January 11, 2021 at 07:37
Oh, I could write a book answering your post here. 🙂 I’ll start with the one-star review. These horrible reviews highlight the problems of the reviewer and have nothing to do with the author or her/his book. I had a similar experience when I published my first book of fiction. Many 4 and 5 star reviews. I was elated because the reviews that went with the stars were honest and open about how the readers felt in reading the book – in other words, it was obvious that these readers/reviewers actually READ the book and “GOT” the characters and the genre and intent of the book. My two books of fiction are romantic suspense. My one and only 1 star review began with the person saying she hated romance and romantic suspense and ‘had” to read it for a book club. Well, my heart was cut in half at first, but then I realized the reviewer was revealing herself, and nothing about my book.
I also realized that we write our books from our own hearts, and nobody can break our passion/our heart/our writing selves. We hope others will react like Sue did for yours (and like so many did, Liesbet) but first and foremost we write for ourselves. Then if we’re brave (and you are so very courageous), we publish our insides out into the world.
Well, I almost wrote a book here and didn’t answer your other great points. Bottom line, I LOVE your book and YOU and your courage and your love of words and adventure and LIFE.
January 12, 2021 at 16:31
You are too kind and sweet, Pam. But, your words ring true. In your case, that one-star reviewer truly didn’t do her research and gave that away by immediately stating that she hated the genre of your book. Yep… all about the reader and not the author in this situation. And, I think that’s what happened with the poster of my one-star review (not sure where the second one-star rating came from as it’s totally unanimous and without any explanation): she thought it was a different book, a different genre. Despite the blurb and description. It wasn’t what she expected it to be. I’ve gotten over it. Like others state: having lower ratings puts everything in perspective. 🙂
January 11, 2021 at 21:56
Hi Liesbet. You’ve done a fabulous job. And congrats on the Zoom book reviewer meet, wow! Sorry about your print book. You should have stuck with the Zon for print. They do a fine job. Oh, and I popped over and voted for you. Hugs. And like I said before – welcome to authordom LOL. xx
January 12, 2021 at 16:34
Hi Debby!
The only way, really, to stick with Amazon for print is to go exclusive. And, unfortunately, I’m not that “kind of girl.” 🙂
Thanks for voting on my cover. I might ask everyone one more time later this week… Who knows if it does anything regarding sales. But it’s nice to have Plunge‘s cover “out there” for a few weeks. I have learned a lot about said authordom in recent months. My main question: “When do you sleep?” 🙂
January 13, 2021 at 13:28
LOL I sleep about 4 -5 hours max! And what? Since when if you use POD for paperback at Zon you must go exclusive? I’ve done all my books with Createspace and haven’t published a new one n 2 years since Zon took over Createspace with KDP print?
January 14, 2021 at 14:09
I had a feeling you slept much less than me, Debby. Half! That’s incredible. So cool your body is okay with that. I’m at 9-10 hours these days. I seem to need to catch up on sleep still. Imagine I could do with seven hours of sleep… That would give me enough time to read books! 🙂
Regarding POD with Amazon, let me clear up the confusion I caused. When I wrote “The only way, really, to stick with Amazon for print is to go exclusive,” I didn’t mean it’s impossible to use KDP for print when going wide. Rather, if you do so, the royalties are negligible and almost not worth it (for me). I recently looked into using KDP (previously Createspace) for my paperback distribution outside Amazon instead of Ingram and I would make less than $2 per book. That’s with a memoir price tag of $15.99! At least with Ingram that is closer to $3.50 I believe. Sigh! If only I could order a stack of books and sell them myself! 🙂
January 15, 2021 at 11:08
Sleep is luxury in my life Liesbet! As for royalties? Those numbers don’t sound familiar – 70% royalties on ebooks more than 2.99. My paperbacks sell for less than yours and I get somewhere between 4 and 5$? So, I have to go check out the ‘new rules’ since Createspace closed! 🙁
January 15, 2021 at 11:20
Wow. Those are decent numbers, Debby. I hope they still ring true. I’m curious to find out. I know the royalties are more like what you mention when you go exclusive with Amazon. But, when going wide, KDP mentions royalties of 40% on paperbacks, which seems to boil down to less than $2 per book. Let me know what you find out! Maybe because you used Createspace before, better terms are grandfathered in…
January 16, 2021 at 11:05
I will definitely update you when I get to the bottom of it. 🙂
January 17, 2021 at 12:15
Perfect! I think the paperback royalty percentages you mention are similar for me only when the books are sold through Amazon. It’s when they distribute them widely that the amounts drop substantially, lower than IngramSpark.
January 18, 2021 at 11:52
That is a fact – another piece of the pie!
January 12, 2021 at 13:42
I’ve said it before, Liesbet. You are amazing and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You have an audience and you are moving forward with them. I hope to be so lucky when I try to publish my college memoir. Pay attention to the good reviews. Stay positive. Bravo!
January 12, 2021 at 16:37
Hi Vic! You’ve put a lot of time and effort in your memoir as well as in building your audience on your blog. That is key towards spreading the word. Social media helps as well. It all takes an incredible amount of work and dedication, but you got it!
January 12, 2021 at 22:38
Great post, Liesbet, and it sounds to me like your first month has been a great success! Typos don’t bother me unless they’re in the dozens, which I used to see a lot, but self-publishers are doing much better in producing professional work these days. I remember me, my publisher, editor, proofreader all going over one of my books and there were still typos. What irritates me in a book is when someone hasn’t really through their plot and the story just doesn’t hang together.
As for one-star reviews, welcome to that very large club. It might bring your rating down, but I’ve also heard that readers are suspicious of a book with only 5 stars because they feel the deck’s been stacked by friends and family, so don’t worry about it and focus on all the positives you have going. Promotion can be exhausting, so pace yourself. For me, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and if I do one thing every week, then sometimes that’s good enough. Best of luck! Your book is next on my to-read list.
January 14, 2021 at 13:44
Hi Deb!
I agree that books with content issues are more annoying than ones with typos. Typos are just this little pet peeve of mine. And, they are extremely hard to detect completely, especially in your own work. Everyone should use beta readers and a professional editor to avoid plot holes and content issues!
I’m slowly learning to focus on all the positives that are happening with and around Plunge. It’s enjoyable! 🙂 I’ve come to terms with the two one-star ratings so far. One doesn’t have an explanation, which bugs me a little bit, but since it doesn’t add any value for potential readers, I might as well ignore it.
This month, I’m pretty swamped with commitments, but they are all fun ones. I am anxious about the webinar presentation on the 28th as I’ve never done this before. Maybe once I’ve put some ideas down, I’ll feel better about that one.
Love it that you are about to read my book. Enjoy!
January 15, 2021 at 19:47
I enjoy reading a post, Liesbet where one or more questions are being answered. Yeah! on the necessity to change the heading of this section to “My book news.” Tons of fun to be featured in a book club…..your book, and you, as a guest. After I finish reading here, I will pop over to AllAuthor. Darn it on the POD quality. You have wonderful first hand knowledge about self-publishing and the people listening to the Webinair will love you! Congratulations on everything!
January 17, 2021 at 12:02
Hi Erica! Thanks for voting for my cover on All Author. I’m not so sure I will make the final round and can use any vote right now. Customer support of IngramSpark returned my email and request, stating the bad quality of their POD was rare and that they’ll refund the money. Regarding the webinar… I have no idea how I will pull that one off at the end of the month and I’m extremely nervous about it. More about that when I do my next writing update. 🙂
January 16, 2021 at 00:47
Congratulations on the success of your book. I wouldn’t worry about the negative review but sure it’s hard to ignore. I also get annoyed with typos. There seem to be so many of them these days. Punctuation is particularly bad with commas often left out. That really annoys me. I always get my partner to edit blog posts. He always finds something even though I’m confident I’ve corrected everything in my many. That annoys me too #weekendcoffeeshare
January 17, 2021 at 12:08
Hello Jennifer! Thanks for swinging by and commenting. Typos are a pet peeve of mine, yet they still seem to slip in. You’re fortunate to have a cooperative partner when it comes to proofreading your blogs. I have now realized that even if you have professionals (who you pay) edit your work, it doesn’t mean all the mistakes are found. Typos and punctuation inaccuracies still remain. And, there are different style guides and ways to edit as well. It’s tricky!
January 16, 2021 at 07:41
Congratulations on your debut novel ! If possible, share some of your insights on self-publishing with us once you are done with your Zoom presentation 🙂
January 17, 2021 at 12:12
I’m very nervous about that Zoom presentation, Moumita!
If you are truly interested in my road to and insights on self-publication, feel free to check out my blog post series about the entire process, from book idea to publication here: https://www.roamingabout.com/category/iwsg/ You might have to go back in time a bit, depending on what you’re interested in. Or, you could use the search box on the right side of my blog.
Are you thinking of writing/publishing a book too?
January 16, 2021 at 13:33
Congratulations! That is awesome news about your book! I get annoyed when a book is too slow. My writing goal this year is to write at least one post on my blog every week, two during weeks I am not working. I write a lot for work, so blogging is my happy free time.
January 17, 2021 at 12:18
Hi Sagittarius! (I’m a Sagittarius as well. :-))
Thank for visiting and leaving a comment. It think you have a fantastic blogging goal this year. I find posting once a week is a happy medium for me, because I work as well. The interactions with readers are what I enjoy the most.
I’m pretty thrilled with having my book “on the shelves” now and with the way it has been received. I reached my goal of turning this memoir into a page turner and conversation starter. 🙂
January 16, 2021 at 17:52
Hello Liesbet,
I enjoyed reading your post as I would like some day to publish but your account is often heard from others and it really looks like getting your work published must kill most, if not all, of the fun gotten by writing did. I hope you keep us apprised and I’d be interested in hearing how this all turns out for you.
Warn Regards,
January 17, 2021 at 12:21
Hi Gary! Thanks for your interest in this tidbit of information I shared about the writing and publishing process of my memoir. Writing the book is, indeed, the fun and least stressful part. I also enjoy editing. Publishing is a whole other beast. But, if you are determined, focused, and have a sound plan, anything is possible! 🙂
January 22, 2021 at 16:22
It seems I never commented anywhere that I had started the book. Well, now I have finished, and I think you told a great story! I enjoyed filling in the gaps of my knowledge of those years in your life. Seeing Lisa’s and Fabio’s names sure brought back some fun memories for me, too! Congrats on all the hard work and its coming to fruition!
January 22, 2021 at 18:21
Hi Lexie! Thank you for reading Plunge and letting me know you finished it. I’m glad you enjoyed the ride. So many stories to tell; it was tough to stick to just a few themes and make the prose coherent. Yes, I figured you’d get a kick out of my little mention of Lisa and Amandla! 🙂 I hope she’ll get a chance to read my book one day as well. And, I hope to see them both in March.