Book Review: Raising Abel

I was lucky enough to find Raising Abel by Carolyn Nash when it was offered as a free ebook. Being a mother of three kids, the cover and title intrigued me. I downloaded it to my Kindle and started reading. Right away, I couldn't put it down.

It was one of those "stay up late until you finish it no matter what" type of books.

What really hooked me was that it is a true story. The hook was further cemented by the Prologue. Trust me. Just read it and try not to get hooked.

It's about a woman who thinks she is a little odd--she's middle aged and single and doesn't have a lot of friends. Eventually she fosters a child, Abel, and her life is changed forever. Abel is a special child, and he has special challenges. But through it all this woman sticks with it and makes both of their lives better.

I was so inspired by this woman. And I was so saddened by Abel's situation, at least until he met his foster mother.

I loved her writing. She had such an authentic voice. In true stories, sometimes there is too much or too little--I felt she gave us just enough. The imagry painted a vivid picture of the surroundings as well as the emotions.

This is definitely worth purchasing. Check out the author's blog at Raising a Traumatized Child.

One Tip To Test Your Plot

In your head, your plot makes sense.

But how do you know if it will resonate with readers?

One Tip: Write Chapter Summaries.

Make a list of all of your chapters and then write up brief summaries (1-2 sentences) of what each chapter is about. During the exercise, a few things might happen:

1. You might decide that certain things aren't really needed in the story.
2. You might notice that certain scenes are out of order.
3. You might notice that key things that are missing from the story.

Not only will this be good for you (the author), but it is great for your editor as well. When you send your manuscript to your editor, send along the chapter summaries as well.

As an editor, I can tell you from personal experience that this is very helpful. I am editing a manuscript, and currently I am working on one particular chapter that is difficult to understand. I've referred to the chapter summary more than once to keep my edits focused on what the author is trying to accomplish.

Editors Against Unedited Ebooks

It's funny that despite how much reading I do for my job, in the evenings I still like to unwind by.... reading.

I pulled out my Kindle Fire the other night and browsed the "free" ebook section. There are so many to choose from, I shouldn't need to actually BUY an ebook, right?

Right?

I picked a few titles that looked interesting--nice covers, good descriptions, and good ratings (if any).

After downloading a few, I decided to begin reading a general fiction mystery type. It was part of a series, so if I liked this one, others were waiting for me afterwards.

I was expecting a lot more than I received. Only a few pages in, I shut down the book completely. I couldn't go on.

It wasn't the story, or the writing, or anything vulgar. It was the sheer volume of editing mistakes. It wasn't just here and there--it was everywhere. And it wasn't stuff that just "editors" would get--it was basic stuff that I would hope most English speakers would grasp.

No matter how good the story was, I just couldn't read it. The horrible grammar was too distracting. Misplaced commas, misspellings, capitalization issues, and more. I was so disappointed.

It's really too bad. And it probably happens more now than ever before. Would-be authors have instant access to getting their work "published," as it were. Self-publishing companies, a.k.a. vanity publishers, are everywhere. Even some of the bigger publishers have self-publishing "divisions" giving authors a false sense of hope that they will get great service. Also, it's so easy and cheap to publish just as an ebook, authors forget that may "easy and cheap" are probably not the best way to publish.

In reality, these companies are doing would-be authors no favors. Self publishers put out thousands of titles per year, and there is no way they can give the service and attention each title needs in order to become a quality piece of work or to aide the author in becoming successful.

I was telling a friend the other day that so many people dream of one day becoming an author. But so many make the mistake of rushing to the finish line. Rather than take the time to get the right publisher, they randomly pick a vanity publisher. A day, week or month later, their book is ready! But it's not what they expect. Publishing is all that happens. Their dream comes true and basically dies all in the same day. The story may be out, but the chances of their title succeeding is so slim. They find that bookstores won't carry it, reporters won't take it seriously, readers are hard to find, and the whole experience is much less glamorous than they thought.

It doesn't have to be so tragic.

Take this editor's advice and please, please search out a traditional publisher. Take the time to find one that fits your manuscript. Traditional publishers have editing teams that will take the time to go through your manuscript and make sure it is ready for people to read. They will help you develop your story to make it better. They will help other readers, like me, want to keep on reading after the first few pages.

Perhaps I will pay a little extra $$ for quality ebooks from now on.

Why Books Should Have Ratings

 

I was flipping through the Netflix instant movie selection the other day, looking for something interesting to watch. I enjoy a good suspense, action, romance, or comedy as much as the next person. But there is definitely one requirement that is non-negotiable--the movie's rating.

I decided long ago that I would not watch anything rated R. It is a personal choice, mostly religious based. It's a way to keep foul language and questionable sex scenes or blood and guts out of my life. Plus, there are plenty of other great movies out there that are less violent and sexy and foul, so why waste my time watching smut?

 

I work for a publishing company, and one thing we don't tolerate is smut. As we explain to our authors, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to write swear words. And as readers are going along, they tend to focus on the swear words or sex scenes and not the plot or characters. Sort of defeats the purpose, wouldn't you say?

I recently got a Kindle Fire, and while browsing what ebook I could read next, I was overwhelmed with the volume of choices. I finally settled on a book recommended by a friend. Thankfully, it was free of swearing and sex scenes. I could focus on the story itself rather than bring smut into my life.

Now I'm browsing for something else to read. As I swipe down the list of choices, I look at book covers and read summaries. Some "smut" is easy to spot right away, especially if there is a half-naked woman on the cover. Something like that is perhaps something I wouldn't appreciate. Sultry romance novels, no thanks.

Reading the book's summary, sometimes I'll see a swear word or see something about how the main character is a cheater -- again, it is easy to see that this book is something I wouldn't enjoy reading.

But other books are harder to decipher. How do I know just by looking at the cover and the description that it's as clean as I'd like it to be?

That's why I propose books have a rating system. Something like movies would be ideal in my mind. If I knew a book was rated R, I would simply avoid it. There are plenty of other great books out there to read, so I wouldn't waste my time reading smut (well, starting to read it and then putting it down or deleting it) and get to the good stuff.

Just Can't Finish

My (in progress) manuscript has been traveling.

From the computer to paper...
From the desk to the living room...
From my house to grandma's (over Christmas)...
And back home again, in a grocery sack, on top of the printer.

It's sad, really. I printed it out in hopes of doing something with it. It's such a cute story, and I really love it so far. There is just one problem.

I just can't finish it.

It's like every other undone project in my life. It was exciting to start it, and for a while it's all I could think about. Move aside lunch, I have this to do! No I can't do housework, I'm on a roll!

I'm not sure where I lost motivation or ideas. When I sit down to work on it, my brain goes limp.

I printed it out in an attempt to trick myself into reading it like it was new to me, and I had visions of having grand ideas rush to my head, whereupon I would grab a pen and furiously write until I would find the last page....

Maybe I should just go back to the digital file.

Why Won't My Publishing Company Market My Book For Me?

It seems funny, right?

You're the author. You just write the book. Then everyone else should do the rest of the work.

Really? Really?

Please don't tell me you think that way.

I hope I don't have to explain how backwards that is. It's your book. Why would someone else sell it for you?

And yet, so many authors assume that they don't have to market their own book. I'm not sure why. It's probably because they see in movies some author sitting in their nice house, clacking away at the type writer. They are creating their next big hit, which they send into their publisher. And that's it--they're done. They never have to lift a finger, only to write another book.

Sigh. Come on. All of that is fiction, people.

A publishing company is supposed to publish your book. That typically includes editing, formatting, and producing a bound copy. Did you see the work "market" in there somewhere?

And yet, authors expect publishing companies to market. So some publishing companies have marketing people or departments, because after all, the publishing company stands to make a profit if the book sells. But really, they started the publishing company because they love books and editing and making books.

Here is the problem--no one knows if your book is going to sell. And with limited staff and budgets, publishing companies have to put their time and money into books they know will sell.

It's really a Catch-22. And for new authors especially, who have never done this before, they just simply don't know. So many new authors give up way too early. Publishing a book is such a huge risk.

It's a gamble for everyone involved. Everyone wants to see the book succeed, but the person who cares most is the author. The author needs to be the one to jump start this thing.

Think of it as a business. The author starts a small business, and the product is the book. The author takes it to a publishing company to make it shiny and ready to sell. The publishing company has other products to prepare, so it's pretty busy. But it wants the author's book to sell well, because that means job security for them, because they get to keep making the book and earning money too. But they don't know if the public is going to like it, they don't know if it's what people want right now, and they don't know of the author is going to get on TV talk shows or in newspaper articles in order to launch sales.

The publishing company can tell the author what to do, educate them on what works, how the industry has changed, how it has worked for other authors, but they can't DO it for them. The author has to do it. Because no one knows this author's book so well, or no one has developed contacts in this author's genre like they have, or a publishing company is not what people want to see in the interview chair next to Oprah--they want to see the author.

So, author, here is what you do--you make that happen. You prove to the publisher that your book is going to sell. Pound the pavement and get it sold. Give copies to the media so they will review it and write articles about it. Get on local radio and TV, then regional, then national. Get a following via your blog/Facebook/Twitter. Get a website with lots of info and free stuff, and interact with your readers. Give books away as prizes, give talks at events, and keep copies with you wherever you go. Read books about how to be a salesman, because that is what you must do.

Do all this, and don't give up. Keep going for at least a year or more.

Once you produce some numbers, the publishing company will relax a little. They will know that you aren't a risk. "Hey, people actually like that book. And that author is serious about selling it and connecting with people." Those are good words to hear. The publishing company will change its mind about you and your book, and it will clear some space for you and join you in your quest to continue (not start) marketing your book with you.

Writing Articles to Promote Your Book

Your publisher has asked you to write some articles to promote your book.

"Wait, didn't I just write an entire book? Isn't that enough?"

It would be if you were already a famous author (ouch!).

If you're not famous yet, you need all the publicity you can get. Especially free publicity. The media is the perfect place for new authors to be. Ideally you want the media calling you and interviewing you for TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and blogs. But it takes time for these media people to realize you exist.

You need to get noticed. Right now, your best bet is to write your own articles (that's why your publisher probably asked you in the first place). Just think-- if you can get an article published, think how many people could read it and then perhaps buy your book.

Hopefully you're convinced that writing your own article is a good idea. Now, the next step is figuring out what to write about.

Your topic is very important. Think about this carefully.

"That's easy... my book. I'll just summarize my book."

Um no. Please don't do that. As a journalist by training and profession (on a freelance basis now that I have three little kiddlets at home), I can tell you that no one will accept an article like that. This is what they want: news. Something that is current. Something that people are talking about. They are very picky, trust me. Only the most current and exciting news will get published.

Obviously your topic should relate to your book somehow -- but only bits and pieces.The rest should be news. When you pick a topic and write your article, a good balance between NEWS and BITS RELATING TO YOUR BOOK is the most ideal. It can help a new author get published while getting the word out about his/her book. Does that make sense? In essence, you are proving, through writing a news article, that your book is news. That this media outlet should publish your article and pay attention to you.

"But my book just came out. Isn't that 'news' enough?"

Nope. Sorry. Do you realize how many books come out EVERYDAY?  A book coming out isn't news in and of itself, unless it's by a famous person OR relating to something that's already in the news. Get it?

You need to write an article. And make sure your topic includes news.

How do you find out what is "news" right now? Read the New York Times. Watch the evening news. Go to Google News and type in key words that also describe your book. Then head to Twitter and do some searching.

Come up with any topics yet?

One new author, Adele M. Gill, wrote up an article for American Book Publishing, the company that published her book 7 Pathways to Hope. She recently wrote an article called Top 10 Healing Benefits of Prayer and ABP published it on their company blog.  The article mentioned and linked to a recent news story about a boy who almost drowned. It was very current but also tied back to her book's topic very well.

Through marrying a topic similar to what she talks about in her book along with some real news, the blog post was able to get some attention through other media as well. This is just what an article should do.