Book Promotion

 

 

Usually what catches my eye:

• How often do you spam promotions? If its every other post on your feed I eventually tune out. Make your social media a variety. Try to put recommendations on there that are closest to the type of wheelhouse you want to promote.
• If its romance primary: IE The MAIN DRAW WILL BE THE COUPLE IN AND OF ITSELF! Put "A Romantic Space Adventure" or "Romance then X genre." It will set the overall tone and tell me even if I want to pick it up. Its how I avoid most smutmance choices. You will get less readers who want to trash that wheelhouse if you do.

Because to be frank: Most romance isn't just the courtship or how they work as a couple. Its bed hopping and how many lovers in a port of call. It's why I gravitate towards older pulps. The endgame aspect had the main protag get together with the main romance interest. There wasn't Anita Blake X-rated BS going on.  

Clean Romances: 

Flying Sparks:  Here /// The Stars Wait Not: Here

My overall preferences:

Hero gets the happy ending, gets the mission done, gets the girl. That sorta thing. (Because the market is flooded with downer endings and "well that wasn't worth it!" adventures)

• I massively prefer upbeat endings. Even in Craptastic Worlds. 
• More sapient dogs/uplifted animals.
• The Science doesn't have to make actual sense. (IE Our World's Physics.)  It just has to be consistent with whatever systems you've made to the setting. 
• Likeable > Relatable because in this day and age relatable often means "Sad Sack Woke ID politics" protag to follow. Take Claire from CP 2077, she's trans, mentions it in passing during a mission, but she's likable. Not a walking billboard for whatever trans "issues of current year" I could give two shits about. I really don't want sermons from people in games or books or media. Make escapism happen. With whatever characters you like. Want representation that doesn't feel empty or forced? Aeon 14: Here 
• Heck, most of CP 2077s cast fits that bill. They are likable > relatable.

Guys are allowed to write women via visual description. Women do that to men in the fracking smutmances all the time. Male writers are just more honest about it. Help us readers find our wheelhouses or enough overlapping themes we enjoy. Love GRRM? Add his influence to your blurb. 

Want to attract readers like me? 

Mention Paragons of Virtue. Or OPTIMISTIC STORIES OF OLD! Or Superversive. Or "Do you hate sad sack protagonists? Navel gazing? MY book is the opposite of that!" Be very blunt. My kingdom for more Bright Futures and Genuine escapism!  

When you compare things to Firefly: Mention in what way. Are the characters cobbled together against an overwhelming foe? Is it a space western? Does it have the overall themes of Babylon 5: Ancient mysteries and old civilizations guiding the younger through ingrained manipulation? Is it a mix of that settings politics with face paced pew pew? 

How craptastic is your world? Mention the contrast. Does it have a paragon at the wheel trying to light the way to a better tomorrow? I have to get better with that in my own reviews. How is this related to X Y or Z for me. 

Galaxy Ascendant has characters built like B5s: Some have much brighter outcomes. They face insurmountable odds against a universe filled with ancient mysteries. The politics of the setting muck up everything. Go buy it: LIKABLE CHARACTERS EVERYWHERE! Here

 

.

The Writer: A Mindset.

 

If you had asked me in high school what I'd be doing in my 30s, 18 year old me would have said: Maybe I'd be a teacher. Or a 5 star general! Along with "I want to have 50 German Shepherds." 

What I didn't even realize is I'd have a book done. Along with part of a 2nd. As I get older I realize the simpler things do make me happier. Cooking a Good Meal. Reading things I enjoy. There's only so many rants I can do about the state of amazon book searches and Anita Blake. I find talking about stuff I enjoy relaxes me more. Even if its much slower growth but that's ok. 

I keep thinking if the Desert of the Real wants to tear me down, Ill make an Oasis out of everything that keeps my wheelhouses turning.  

The Key Pillars To Me as a Writer:

• You need drive
• You need Passion
• Dont worry about typoeseses. Laugh at them. 
• Don't worry about writing to market. Get in the habit of loving to write first.
• Just Write. 
• Don't get stuck in endless worldbuilding.
• TO KEEP GOING! YOU ARE YOUR PRIMARY AUDIENCE. If the writer isnt engaged the reader won't be either.
  

I want the fantastical.

• the pew pew
• the protag gets the girl or guy depending on combo. Yes, here's a teaser: Eddie is gonna get to meet his own space princess. Heh.
• exploring derelict ships, stations, new worlds, ect.
• Magic, both known and unfathomable. 
• Uplifted Animals in general. *yes, there will also be uplifted cats. They will feature more prominently in the bardaxian short story series later.
• Family drama that brings people closer together rather than apart. Unlike Anna.
  
• Lazers! 
• The Superversive!
• Genuine Good vs Dastardly Evil
  

Here is some cosmic music for some listening fun: 

 

I want popcorn fun. It doesn't have to change the world. It just has to bring a smile to my face.

Stay tuned, my alternate to #Booktube channel will continue to grow.

My Booktube Channel: Here

Still need to review X-Seed but here's the books: Fun Mech Action.

• Book 1-3: https://amzn.to/35KlvN2
  
• Book 4: https://amzn.to/3kNLmKp

Databases/Spotlight Links:

Cyberpunk Source Code – an online cyberpunk media resource.

https://www.indiegen.xyz/

IndieGen.XYZ – Shining a Light on Independently Generated Entertainment

• https://heroicadventurefiction.com/
• http://martianlit.com/books/11/martian-comics/
• https://silverempire.org/product-category/books/superheroes/
• https://superhero-fiction.com/



Relatability

That term can come in many different forms to readers. For me? 

When someone says relatable I think: "This protag has to be just like me."

Which turns me off immediately. It has to be someone with flaws as the focus. Because one can't have a "boring" superhero like superman. Relatable says to me: Navel gazing, street level character, who's more selfish. To reflect "current year." 

 What are your expectations when you hear "relatable?"  

I want likable: Which indicates protagonists that overcome their flaws and choose to be better people. To inspire their world to be better. Who aren't down in the dumps miserable all the time. (Its always why I do that contrast with Hilary Brookes/The Villains vs the Heroes. The Heroes know how to have genuine fun and companionship. The villains are hollowed out beings who don't remember how to be human. 

When most superhero prose takes the X-men bent, many tend to focus on the "x group is persecuted bent." That doesn't interest me: 

• Because in most hands it turns into current year commentary. Yawn.
• Relatable = Id Politics
• Hero vs Hero BS like Civil War. Instead of reading that, I went with DnA's GOTG. Cause that was genuine space opera to me. It wasn't as uplifting as I would have wanted nowadays but it was better than what mainline Marvel was doing. (Cause while I was in college in the early 2000s I did get back into some comic reading. But much of it wasn't the "Big Two." Most of it was Star Wars by DH.)
• Also because most don't write Superman well. Because they want to "relate" to him instead of really use the character how he was intended, "Inspire people gosh darn it!"
  

Again, if people enjoy that, good for you. I am still starving. So I eat up stuff like:

• Heroes Unleashed 
• New Olympus Saga 
• One Last Echo
• Xenton Chronicles 

Because it focuses on reconstruction elements, heroes being heroic, family themes, characters that actually watch out for each other. And its not forced or false. Like many navel gazing modern "Heroes" in Name Only. We will be teammates for a price. Stuff like Handcock shouldn't be the norm but it is as far as "relatable factor" goes in modern comics and "heroes."

(I will link more Superhero Prose series as I finish reading them or getting through a majority.)

Other links: AKA Why thematic advice shouldn't matter to writers. Technical stuff, sure. But that happens with time and practice. 

• https://writersinthestormblog.com/2020/02/likable-and-relatable-why-and-how-do-they-matter/
• http://bekindrewrite.com/2013/03/01/should-your-characters-be-likable-or-relatable/ 
• https://writingcooperative.com/the-difference-between-likeable-and-relatable-characters-32481d6c3921
  

Some of these add relatable to factors I have distaste for: To be relatable they have to be as fracked in the head as "regular humanity."

I think I'll do a likability factor later. To showcase more of my preferences and expectations for that aspect. 

PS: This Vox thing here explains why I have come to expect sad sacks when it comes to relatablity and thus prefer finding likable true heroics. 

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/5/17425736/tara-burton-social-creature-characters-likable-books

 

Most of the books I read: MEN ARE JUST AS CAPABLE OF MAKING LIKABLE FEMALE CHARACTERS EVEN MORESO THAN WOMEN IN MODERN DREK NIHILISM TALES.

 

What the Book/Media Landscape Looks Like

The Desert of the Real World

 

To this reader at least. I'm in the minority on some areas when it comes to how Superman should be portrayed. To me, "You've seen one EVIL Superman Stand-in, you've seen them all." That's all there is to it for me. 

I don't care how well or poorly written it is. I hate Man of Steel. 

I don't care what the motivation is: I hate Homelander.

I don't care what kind of slightly sympathetic background it is, I hate Injustice Superman. Because its a dime a dozen. No matter what people tell me, that core belief will not change within me. Aspirational Heroism or bust. 

The Brightburns of the world can just get the fuck away from me. Again, I'm glad that some find it fun or entertaining but I want my piece of cake also. So here it is. The Landscape of Trad Publishing to me:

 

There's some bright spots to The Trad Pub Islands but that's about it. Main Land: Its all Dystopia, YA and ID politics. 

With comics, people are stuck on Watchmen, DC and Marvel. Again, this entertainment avenue is a ghost of its former self. 

Watchmen and its Ilk dominate everything. TO the point where there isn't a difference between the Dead Two anymore. Esp. in the modern age. Comic Shops are on the outside, an Island ready to either sink or swim depending on the business savvy of their owners. Bigger Youtube channels wont talk about indie stuff outside a handful. Because complaining about the "Big Two" gets more clicks. 

Indie Publishing has its own hurdles. Besides which KS or Indiegogo to go after. Or even what kind of Self Pub do you want to go for. Its a pyramid.

If you are logged in to Amazon, your picks and habits corner you into a specific same 200 hits Ghetto. Sponsored stuff is either right on the money or completely out of left field because its sponsored. Independent Blogs and Search Bases help but like we see here: CON INC doesn't help.

 

How can we make Aspirational Heroes a top tier trend once more? So I can have more good water to find. The Desert eats away at this reader. Its why I keep going back to old favorites or a handful of Oasis filled Optimistic Series.

I wonder if starting an Optimistic Series tag on twitter would help. At this juncture I'd try anything. The pendulum has to shift back towards hope and optimism. Just how much more "real world ridiculous grit"can people stomach at this point?

Search Patterns

 Finding other ways to get around Amazon's broken search abilities.

Its pretty vital to put -Romance and -LITRPG if you want to immediately cut down on the overall pile that both these settings/genres have on the whole footprint of scifi and fantasy nowadays. 

Its more than just the amount of Middle Aged Woman IKEA. So many have jumped on those two wheelhouses that it makes it nigh impossible to search through anything without bumping into these results. It wont stop the sponsored stuff but it will cut down some of the same stuff seen over and over.

I've also started searching by "new date" of release to find new faces.

 

 

I might give this a try because she has an uplifted alien dog in it. Here Ill see what the sample holds when it launches. Who knows. Might be fun.

Comparing your stuff to other properties is a double edged sword. 

I am not gonna get this because it mentions Star Trek: Picard. And a "diverse cast" of characters. Nope. Just tell me why I should care. Not because Check Marks the Spot.

Plus something like this tells me I probably wont like it either: "It takes more than Heroes to Save the Galaxy."

Ahh, more anti-heroes and villains. Whatever. So yeah, a well built blurb will attract readers you want. Or repel readers who don't want it.

Oct: The Spotlight.

With the youtube, I created a new playlist to highlight Space Horror setups. Cause Booktube is underfed everywhere but in Dead 5 land and YA land. Every other genre out there needs more TLC. So why not? I love sci fi anyways. 

Space Horror: The Cosmic Depths

 

As for this picture here: 

Might as well add my 2 cents to it:

How this may help readers and writers connect. 

Sometimes its on us readers to really actively search. Even though I am blunt with things I enjoy I am probably missing a whole lot more out there.

 

Twitter: Bad Writing Advice.

The Tweet that started it all.

 

Boy howdy, do I have some things to say about this. UNLEASH THE FL WAHMEN OF WAR!

Be like Henry Vogel instead. Actual Human Sunshine!

The Thread: Here

Links: 

• Kyrie
• One Last Echo 
• Flying Sparks
• Project Gutenberg 
  

Readership

 SO how can we bring in new readers to SFF? By telling adventures. By making stories. Likable protagonists. Stuff that captures the minds of young boys. Because a good amount of stuff is auto-tuned to women and girls already. 

I feel like men are the lost reader base when it comes to Science Fiction and Fantasy. 

Most kids find more in common with manga and light novels than western comics and fiction. Because those stories still remember to not subvert the wheel but rather build on it.

• Pulp Era Writing Tips
• Capt. Hawklin 
• Doyles Law
• Warlock 
• Footprints in the Stars
  

Genre and Trends

We need to establish a curation of books we like as readers. Its easy for some stuff we enjoy to get lost in the endless battle of mis-categorization of tags and the like on amazon.

Erotica, in harem or floating ab format, outpaces many other genres in volume and overall placing at the table. Because its so numerous it gets a large portion of eyeballs on it. Ghost writers and the like keep the same 100 series and writers in the top charts on amazon. Because that orange tag is the only thing that means something to them.

Many social sites have more writers per capita than readers so even some bigger accounts of 10k + people give the same recommendations most times. Its like everyone has a megaphone shouting over one another. Even tagging doesn't help too much.

Alternate sites like Minds et all dont have as much activity either. Sure I can find some new things on there but my little Twitter account still gets more engagement than most other sites I am on. With social stuff that is.

Hubs:

• https://www.indiegen.xyz/blog/ 
• https://silverempire.org/product-category/books/superheroes/ 

In the next few days I'll put together a preferred Superhero Prose hub of books I've read and enjoyed that have most of what I am looking for besides Uplift Protocol. That way I can link back to that page in particular.

A simple formula on characters

When I am reading stuff, what elements I care about:

• The Story
• The Characters
• The Actions they Deliver

I don't care who they sleep with. That's not important to the story.

(Unless its a Primary Romance book. IE: The main hook or plot.)

Make me care about them through actions. Through virtues, through motivations. Do they want to protect their families? Their homes? Their countries? Their planets?

My secret to enjoyment? They don't have to be just like me. They just have to have traits that I can admire.

Do they have uplifting moments or arcs? DO they eventually redeem themselves through actions? Don't just promote fuck up flaws. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. More aspirational and heroic characters please.

More Stargate SG-1 types. The noble warrior. The honorable leader. The intrepid scientist. The sheer wonder of exploration.

Is Slice of Life Mundane really that popular?

Or do some want us to believe this? That 1000s upon 1000s enjoy talking heads around a table.

There is a significant review drop off. Like ballot stuffing was this a flash in a pan or something that is getting its publisher actual money.

The 4th book for this boring adventure feels like its that scene from Spaceballs but not fun or amusing and padded out over a whole book.

Ill look into this later but I don't see much difference between TOR, Macmillian, Harpercollins, Peguin, Simon and Schulster. IE: Overall Content. They all blend into a Mundane Manifesto bore fest.

DAW still gives me some interesting stories. 

What caused me to think on this?

Declan Finn's Post

Sheer numbers drive that amazon bot. TO find books, to promote them, to have them rise to the surface.

I've left reviews of books I am only part way through:

That book 1 is over 1000 pages btw. :P


So while trad publishing might hate amazon's platform, it needs it too, along with up and coming indies. When leaving reviews Ill be pretty up front about biases, preferences, did I abandon the book part way through. Even DNF reviews have merit. What one person hates with the fury of 1000 suns might be what another is looking for.

Maybe that means Boring Planet series caters to the lonely? Because it looks like it really struck a cord with certain sectors.

2016 really was a year of awakenings for me.

Plus I'm not even reading the Expanse anymore. It got too "current year" human vs human dystopia issues for me.

Back in 2014 or so, I started reading whatever same sex couple stuff I could find. Mostly to show the internet fervor at the time a right wing person like myself could read stuff no matter the content. I realized that most with same sex characters went the misery route. What about the Campy Xena route? Something that could bring a smile. It happened with indies in most cases.

That series is Megamind with a same sex couple. But what if Megamind was dating a Supergirl standin instead. This thing is corny as hell. Which suits me just fine. Stop hitting people over the head with misery fiction. I imagine, if they really dug deep down, they don't want misery or mundane fiction either. But like that Babyon Bee Inforgraphic, they have to fight against "old school" fun/absurdity.

https://twitter.com/DeclanFinnBooks/status/1295735823636279296?s=20
https://twitter.com/DeclanFinnBooks/status/1295735823636279296?s=20

Twitter and Author Followings

What I've noticed:

If you want general recommendations over everything, most twitter writers that have 10k plus people following them will have a feed filled with general books/spotlights. But they don't concentrate on on specific wheelhouse or genre. (Barring a few exceptions).

More specialized accounts will, most of those have 2-5k followers. If they manage to grow enough.

I find I gravitate towards specialized accounts that cover sci fi or fantasy I am personally interested in.  Most of the "big" book accounts keep recommending the same 20-30 things over and over. From what I see on the feed. From Romance to Paranormal Fantasy. So that shows me those genres are still much bigger than everyone else.

While twitter is helpful, the landscape is so wide in terms of writers trying to get the attention of everyone, a potential reader, or someone like myself will search for specific tropes and terms. TO see if we can find more stuff in our preferred wheelhouse.

Depending on Genre: I focus in on

• Pulp: Barsoom, Sword and Planet, Raygun anything!
• Space Opera
• Mil Sci Fi (Tech heavy or Light, I dont care.) As long as the characters are cheer worthy. 
• Horror Sci Fi like Event Horizon or Sunshine. A thread of hope in the dark. 
• Fantasy: Sword and Sorc, LoTR style, Space Fantasy
• Even some smattering of Grit Fantasy: Black Company and the like. NOT GoT type stuff. Even my gritty stuff has to have actual heroic acts or heroism in it. Something to have Hope in.

So most of my recommendations will go towards those specific genre tropes or wheelhouses.

Gonna do more experiments on other platforms just to see how much traction is there. I am beginning to think most with giant amounts of followers to book accounts, if say half of those are purely writing followers, they are probably looking for advice rather than direct engagement. I see myself as a hybrid of sorts. I like researching things but I also enjoy book recommendations that cater to my wheelhouse of fun.

Dynamics

When I approach a book, here's some tropes or setups I really latch onto. Since most modern "realism" drek has polluted things.

• A main protagonist duo of men and women. Since so many books have everyone at each other's throats. IE: Those evil Bastard mens! Those Thot/Bitchy Womens. Otherwise known as Wheel of Time taken to Hellscape 11 with gender relations. Men and women bring different stuff to the table, so I like seeing that setup in a more positive light.
• IF its gritty, please have hope infused somewhere to offset the craptastic world.
• What most "literary" fart huffers think is boring: Good vs Evil
• Have fun! Pulp Rev remembers fun! 
• Escapism! Pure simple joys of adventure.

I do wonder if that's why most readership levels have declined over the years. If the buffet is only offering x, y or z since corporations or editors see it as the most commercially viable, it would also explain the feeling of "cookie cutter popular" hitting everything. So here's a spreadsheet of books that are constantly pulling me back into reading.

Which also slow me down in reading other things because I keep going back to these books. Like a well worn cup of coffee on a cold day.

At the heart of all these books, traditional good vs evil. All my favorite shows had this as well. The external forces were such that men and women had to work together to survive. The evil has no care for the character's physicality. IT wanted to break their spirits. So most books that have this. Have the characters go through and act heroic in-spite of evil. That is what ultimately grabs me.

This Reader and E-book Prices

Since this was brought up on twitter. Go try his game demo, pretty interesting space opera setting so far: Here

With indie pub: The ebook price, with cutting out editors, paper cost and promo staff, that's why most readers expect the price to be lower, usually in the 2.99 to 5.99 range. Because of this I am usually more forgiving in Indie stuff.

• Typos
• Editing
• Ebook Formatting

Cause I realize not all indie creators can afford some of those additions from independent sources. Some indies are doing it for fun and as a hobby, like me. Will I put it up later when done? Yes. Will I go about learning how to format stuff better into mobi? Yes. Because I want to put my best shot forward. Even now, as I re-read Uplift, I find typos, so I go back and edit. I am mainly going back to keep plot threads noted but you get the idea.

Which is why I think the most prolific indies try to put out big outreach levels. 10+ book series. Multi series. Team Ups. They want to keep the output high so that they can turn a fairly quick profit per month. I can see why trad pub keeps their ebook prices up. They want you to get the paper or hardback.   

Also Trad Pub has:

• Editors to Pay
• Promo to Pay Out
• Printing the Books

Baen and some others have figured out that their hard core fans want E-Arcs and will pay for them. Galaxy's Edge has its Insider Corp. Here

So you have to work with expectations. Personally I'd rather sell 100 copies of Uplift Protocol S1 at 2.99 than 10 copies at 9.99. SO that way the book gets into more hands and eyeballs besides the blog when the time comes.

Many pulp rev guys have their own methods for balancing pay and output: 

• http://www.kitsuncheah.com/ 
• http://davidvstewart.com/ 
• https://www.brianniemeier.com/p/editing-services.html 

Beginnings

The first most important thing to me, as far as reading and writing goes, have a wham bam opening. Doesn't have to be pure action but it has to have an element of mystery to hook the reader. As far as my preferences go. Don't just have characters talking, like this: Even if its critically praised I found Jade City's opening extremely boring.

 

Go look at the whole sample. It doesn't have much mystery for me to latch onto or something to get invested in. Its just providing an environmental setup for the characters to talk in. I guess that's also why I don't spend too much time in describing the area around my characters. I want to get to the point faster and have conversations with the characters when it makes sense.

I guess its cause I've also read enough sci fi and fantasy to where I don't really need too much prompting in word to form an idea of the environment. If its a futuristic city and I mention a library. Most will picture something sleek and high tech. I made it a point to mention leather-bound books in one of my issues to indicate that particular library had old style stuff for a K2 level area of Earth.

I guess its also gotten to the point where some of my tastes have changed because I don't have as much time to go on overtly lyrical adventures. I am listening to Hyperion in Audible format because right now, when I try to read it, the over abundance of description slows me down when reading. It works better as an audiobook in my opinion.

Back to beginnings:

They need a hook. Something that will drive the reader to continue. Action or mystery or even an engaging prologue to suck us in. Don't start with just character conversation. Because we arent invested in them yet.

I found that I moved certain stories in the prologue book to other sections because readers need to become engaged with the setting first. Heck, the opening for book 1 has a bit more of the mystery added in. Then it goes to our protagonists in chapt/issue 1 for that story.

I find most woke books open with mundane stuff because that's what they were taught. If that Manifesto is anything to go by. Since some SFF history has been obfuscated most readers think these kind of cookie cutter openings are just fine.

This post has all sorts of fun books you can start reading today. Find adventure!

Superversive Fun!

Searching: Please Stand By!

After running some experiments:

Using "basic genre words -romance" cuts out a whole lot of grief while looking for books. But sponsored stuff will appear no matter the parameters. Due to keywords or otherwise.

Romance and Fantasy dominate over many other things.When things other than fantasy turn up in LITRPG its either a dungeon core or Wuxia setup. For romance and things: Paranormal Shifting junk and Alien Lover junk is a dime a dozen. So if you really like that, you have a wide swath at the table to choose from. It does make searching disheartening when you see a handful of genres get a lion's share of the attention. And of course they flood everywhere because they have such a big share of the market. Indie or otherwise.

Other sub genre's and/or themes that dominate:

• Dark Fantasy
• Post Apoc/Dystopia
• Humanity Surviving under Dire Circumstances. 
• Us vs a whole lot of badguys
• Time Travel or Alt world setups. 
• Thrillers/Race Against Time
• Zombie Apoc
• We are the Monsters
• Which Abs will the Lady Sleep With?
• Love Triangles
• MC is an Idiot and needs his friends to get him out of it.
• The Protag has to do lots of heavy grinding to win the day. 
• Rough Alien Hot dude tames the wild whammens! 
• Low Magic Fantasy

The reason why I like Gini Koch's Alien series: Yes, its romance primarily but it has a story along with it. Plus the MC legit chooses her husband after the first book basically. No big drama around a love triangle besides the initial fight in book 1. Plus I like the overall over the top story with its mysteries and super powered shenanigans. Its not a superhero prose series. Its more Aliens have super abilities ala MiB. Later books also have more cosmic stuff and multiverse fun. And I like all the smart animals. Not all of them are uplifted but they are super adorable. 

IT looks like I will just have to remain a determined reader to find more sci fi setups I like.

I must continue!  I suppose LIT RPG is also pretty successful because it lets people relive the experience of a favorite MMO. Like City of Heroes or others.



Start here for pulpy fun:

DMR Books
Silver Empire
eSpec Books

Nuts and Bolts

Mostly going with my habits.

When I look at a writer's profile:

• Genre
• Patterns (Do they do lots of one shots? Series? Short stories?)
• Output: Do they finish what they started if a series. Do they dabble in many genres. 
• Productivity: Sure, everyone has different speeds but I've found writers that put things out in say 2012, get some stuff done, then disappear. For some its serious issues outside of writing. For others, they get lost in the shuffle and stop writing. 
• Money: Those in it for an income level, they balance what they want to do vs what is marketable.

Not that any of these are overall game breakers for me.  But it would explain why everyone is on the Romance and LITRPG bandwagon with the amount of it I see everyday. Some LIT RPG stuff caters to what I want but a majority of it doesn't really hit my radar. Or my preferences.

Beginning to think many ROMANCE DA ALIEN ABS books have multiple ghost writers for the amount that is put out from that tab. *shudder*

People will buy what they want but I continue to find ways to streamline that search.

Template:

"Science Fiction Space Opera -Romance"

Either most books with space opera in the title will pop up, barring sponsored, it clears the way for more concrete searching. I still ran across some Romance stuff but it cut out a solid chunk of things I didn't want to look at or find.

I went through about 100 pages of search results today. Mainly to see what my eye would train on. Its a good idea to utilize this space here:

Cause as I am walking through the fields of books, this: Along with a decent cover, will get me to click also. Its like helping your neon sign cover yell out: THIS IS THE HOOK LINE!

This simple hook, when used properly had me click on the book. Even if it wasn't sponsored.

Like this here: Add in the type of show or book fans you want to get eyes on.

For fans of Babylon 5 or Buffy or Stargate.

That will bring in some nibbles. Trust me. There have been books out there I've given a full looksee at: Blurb, sample, series page, if they mention something I loved or was related to thematically.

Edit: Shout out to David Roome for the protip of the Minus sign of funtimes.Go Here!

They Want to Destroy the Past

No matter the medium. Many followers of Woke are like these people.

X only existed in CURRENT YEAR!

Cause they want to be considered the first for everything. Woke is centered around the idea that they are the apex of whatever is happening. No one ever did anything before them. What non-sense.

Even other feminist crazies are pointing out this BS. Along with normal book type people. Wanted to list responses here so when this person eventually cans their highlights on Twitter, the outcome is still recorded on the blog somewhere.

I don't give a shit about trans crap and all the other aspects. Just the fact that so many nowadays are willingly ignorant of what came before. Schools really don't each any basics anything anymore.


Even I had my own mini rant. Ill put some links from everywhere at the end. Why have 1997 as the start point. People have been telling tales since the beginning. Orally then with words and finally on computer screens.

Woke Parties want this history erased. So they can claim X Y OR Z voice was the "first." Don't let them erase History. In any medium or place.



Interesting Links:

• +150 writer ranks
• Baen Books Essay
• Sisters of Tomorrow

Insights: Learn by Doing

I'm glad he covers books like this. My first draft of Uplift Protocol had these issues:

Since starting:I've learned more how to balance exposition and character conversations. How to move the plot while giving some character moments. There's always room for growth! I cant wait to see where I will be at one year from now.

I mostly tell rather than show. But will add a sprinkling of show when I feel the moment is important. Its also why I decided to have Eliza as First Person POV and everyone else a omnipresent 3rd person. To make the narrative change in tempo and it gives me more creative control to make sure things don't ramble.

For me, as a reader:

• Snappy/quick character intros. 
• Don't need a very detailed description of stuff. A few lines will do
• First Person: That form lets me do some showing in a way I can connect to better. 
• 3rd person: Lets me put in corny lines I loves. Plus a way for me to keep the overall "show" side to Eliza mostly. With the other characters filtered via 3rd.

Another book, based on sample, that helped me understand the difference between first draft and just go with it and post it final.

• Athelon: War of 3 Planets 
• Empress Theresa 

These really are first drafts. The bear bones of a story. No icing or frills added.  Now back to outlining and continuing Issue 20. Keeping my mind busy is a help in these times.

Different Kinds of Narrative Tension

More insights, like so:

This man, bless him, no wonder I love his books. He feeds me the kind of character narrative tension I want: The characters believe they are in danger, but me the reader, is invested in how they will succeed rather then: GoT type "They can all die" scenario. Most readers will probably fall into that camp, they need the narrative to have tension through "mortality/they can all be on the block" aspect. This guy explains it all perfectly!

Even while I am reading, this sort of thing gives me a good idea of what repels or attracts me.What do readers want out of your story? What does the writer want out of their story? All of this can be a bit of a tangle. Its why I go along writing things as much as I can. Because in the end, I want to help other writers and readers find what they are looking for in a book or a series. Again, this whole thread: Thank you Mr. Spoor.

Readers react differently to separate kinds of tension.

Depending on the genre or what the overall tone is, some find GoT just fine.

Invincible almost did it for me but it still felt too gritty in some places for a more traditional Superhero with Space Opera story that I wanted a perfect bullseye on. (So that also drives me to complete the Uplift Protocol. Since I am its Arbiter of Fate, Ill put within it in the themes, arcs, endings that I crave)

I just didnt have the frame for it.

In Mil Sci Fi there is a higher chance of characters dying but I notice that most of them I follow, series wise, give the real principle players a certain kind of narrative shield. Like in Harrington: A good portion of them make it to the end. Not all, but many of the primary "good guys" within many factions make it to near end of the series.

Space Opera: I def. gear towards the whole "I want the principle good guys, no matter the faction, to get to the end and have a positive ending." Mainly because even though I enjoyed Dune and Black Company, In recent years I've been yearning for much more Uplifting stuff. It doesn't mean Ill quit more gritty type stuff, it just means I want to feed my Optimism Side More.

I guess I crave certain things because "popular" trends have been going in the complete opposite of what I need at the moment.

Its a good idea to follow genre writers of many flavors. That way you can pin point what you want as a writer and a reader.

I personally dont need to see characters put through the ringer as it were. I get more invested seeing how they manage to "win" or "escape" or "overcome an obstacle." But by talking with other writers, who also enjoy reading many things, we all want tension in some way. But the flavor of it is different.

Granted, twitter has its issues but one can always find a silver lining.