Why I have totally gone off Facebook

..... and have been doing so for some time.  I still go on there to keep up with people with whom I would lose touch if I didn't use it, but that's the only reason.

My first three points are just minor irritations:

In order to get any 'reach' on my author page, I would now have to pay.  I don't, of course.  Thus, my author page posts now get seen by about 150 people instead of over 1000.  Don't Mark Whatsit and all his shareholders make enough money out of advertising, etc, anyway?

I hate that the privacy is negligible.  I hate that 'liking' pages is all just a ruse for your details to be passed to data mining companies.  However, all this has been written about in great detail elsewhere, and I'm a bit bored with it now, so I won't go into it any further.

It's banal.  I know this is such a cliché now, but clichés are born of truth and it seems that the majority of people who use it all the time really do just post photos of their kids and dinner, or stuff like "Better go to work then lol".

The main reason, though, is that I find it rather limited.  And limiting.  This is what I don't get:  I get friend requests from people all the time, friends of friends who I know by name only, friends of friends who I don't know at all, and writers who didn't start using the site until they self-published so don't realise it's not just another promotional tool.  I share their posts on Twitter, I'm not going to share all those endless book promos with my real life friends, too.

I used to accept most friend requests because I felt rude not doing so, but I decline most of them these days.  Here's why.  It's because I don't understand why they've been sent in the first place.  It seems that most people's posts are either book promotions (because I mix in the online world of writers) or updates on their immediate domestic life, family, etc - stuff that only interests those already close to them.  

Do I really care that they've just eaten Sunday dinner and are putting their feet up?  No, I scarcely know them apart from an occasional auto retweet on Twitter.

Do I feel the need to enquire why they're 'feeling a bit meh...'?  No, not really; I last talked to them in a pub about six years ago.  

Do I care that little Emily loved her new *insert name of child's toy here*?  No, I didn't even know little Emily existed, or indeed who she is. 

If this is the sort of stuff they're going to post (and that's fine, your Facebook account is yours to do with as you wish), why not just keep their page for those close friends and family, in order to share photos, etc?  

If I post an article of general interest on Twitter, it's retweeted, favourited, commented on, etc.  If I post it on Facebook, it's largely ignored.  From that, I deduce that the people who choose Facebook as their 'go to' social networking site are mostly just interested in things close to home.  I think I've got about 250 'friends' on there.  I'd have a job to list more than 100, because I have no communication with the others and cannot remember who they all are, so what's the point of it all?  If we were interested in each other, wouldn't we have maintained more of a friendship in real life?

What used to be discussed over the garden fence, in the school playground, down the pub and outside the post office now appears on Facebook.  And I'm not remotely interested in the gossip of people I don't know - look, I even stopped watching Corrie!

A while back a friend on there made a remark about people who send her friend requests on Facebook but do the 'fly in the eye' thing if they see her in Budgen.  Another wrote a very sad post about all her friends on Facebook who give it all this 'luv ya hunni xox' stuff, but didn't turn up to her mother's funeral, when she needed real support.  
 
The very fact that you're reading this means I'm not talking about you, I hasten to add.  There are some people I've met online over the past 8 years and have remained friends with, even if we don't communicate all the time (Andrea, Mike, etc!).  New online friends, writers whose books I read, readers of my books.  There are those who have become real life friends, too (Phil, Lisa, Carol, Michelle!).  Lovely. There are some old friends I've found again, with whom I have renewed contact (Andy, Johnny, Mick, Richard, Sue, Kate, etc etc etc!).  That's FAB.  But, mostly, my friend requests are from people who think, 'oh yeah, I remember her', or 'oh, isn't that Terry Tyler?' (I use a pretend surname on my personal page).  After the initial 'hi' we never speak again.  They don't share anything that I might want to look at, have no interest in anything I post, so what do they want me on their friends list for - to swell their numbers?  What are we, fourteen years old?

I love Twitter because it's the whole wide world, whereas Facebook is groups of small communities.  I won't even call it a 'network' of small communities, because most people on it only interact with their personal friends.

Recently, a member of my family had a serious operation.  I've been able to keep in touch with all of our relatives and mutual friends in one place, via Facebook, on the subject.  This is GREAT, and made me really glad the site exists.  But that's what it is, mostly, I think: just a family and close friends connection site.  I've had bad experiences in the writer groups (which appear to be just for self-promo and oneupmanship), and any writers I know who've paid to advertise on it have reported rubbish results, which I think is because people mostly just go on it to keep in touch with their families and friends, not to be sold to.

I suppose it's all about finding the social networking site that is right for you - so long live Twitter and all who post a ton of interesting stuff on it, I say! 

For a hilarious look at translating Facebook into real life, please see THIS POST by Lynn Gerrard, one of the most entertaining people I've 'met' on Twitter! 

(Update on Monday May 11 ~ I just 'unfriended' 22 people, most of them writers.  I am sure they won't even notice.)

Here's a totally unrelated cartoon, just because I like it....

My Top Ten Favourite Characters in Boardwalk Empire

Oh, the joy of Netflix!  I watched all of Boardwalk Empire when it was on real telly, and loved it so much that we are currently watching it all over again; I have a five episode a night habit.  If you haven't seen it yet and love anything to do with gangsters, American history, political skullduggery mixed with complicated personal relationships, and just totally excellent drama, I can't recommend it too highly.

Although I know what happens I'm enjoying it even more this time round; I'm noticing more subtle nuances of plot and dialogue (a bit like you do when you read a book for the second time) and appreciating the terrific locations, clothes, atmosphere ~ and the carefully chosen song at the end of each episode (yes, we have the soundtrack...!) even more.  Choosing my top ten favourites characters was difficult but great fun, so here they are!

~~~

10.  Dancing across the stage in her best flapper gear at number ten is every feminist's worst nightmare, showgirl and professional girlfriend Lucy Danziger, played by Paz de la Huerta.  Completely over the top, calling all the men she slept with 'Daddy', but didn't you feel kind of sorry for her near the end of her run in the show, when she revealed how she she wanted to mean more than just 'a bit of whoopie' to someone?

9.  My choice for number 9 is a more minor character, but I think she's great ~ Sigrid Mueller, she of the over the top Norwegian accent, played by Christiane Seidel.  What I like about her so much is that she's quietly got her head screwed on, and susses out exactly what she and Nelson/George must do in times of dire circumstance.  Like when she whacked that poor cop over the head, then realised their only choice was to kill him ("I will hold his legs"), and started up her own sideline when she and George/Nelson had to start distilling in their flat for O'Banion.  I went off her in the last series when she had a personality metamorphosis into a total bitch, but I loved her before that.

8.  At number 8, I am delighted to present the best totty in the series, the gorgeous Owen Slater, played by the even more gorgeous Charlie Cox.  I never liked Margaret Schroeder/Thompson (far too self-serving and sanctimonious, mostly), but I loved the restrained passion between them, and so wanted their plan to run off together to work....

Oh, go on then, shall we have another picture of Charlie, girls?

7.  I've edited my original post because I was only on series 3 when I wrote it, and had forgotten about the fab Sally Wheet, played by one of my favourite actresses, Patricia Arquette, who has adapted so well to playing older parts and not gone down the 'botox and trout pout to try and look as if I'm still twenty-five' route.  I LOVED Sally - the sort of woman most of us wouldn't mind being at some point, I think!

6.  The King of New York City is at number 6 ~ Arnold Rothstein, played by Michael Stuhlbarg.  The man who always wins, working out his plans to defeat his enemies, and giving strategy lessons to his underlings, at the snooker table.  How could you not admire a guy who fixed the World Series, and got away with it?  So cool, like a super confident, clever snake, but somehow likeable, too.  Wonder if he really was that charismatic...

"Do you think I entered into this arrangement because I value your companionship? You are a convenience, of geography and supply. You promised a quantity and a price. You have failed to deliver! And now, owing to your inability to manage your affairs in New Jersey - a state I have little interest in or affection for - you expect me to start a war? In New York? Where things actually matter?"

5.  Yeah, I know she's a murderer, a liar, probably insane, and actively encouraged her son's Oedipus complex, but I can't help liking Gillian Darmody.  Not sure what that says about me...  anyway, with a start in life like that (being pimped out at the age of thirteen), her story was bound to be tragic.  Maybe I just like her because she's so beautiful in that delicate, cat-like way, and looks so fab in all her clothes!  But she was clever, too, when it came to dealing with men like Luciano and the monster Gyp Rosetti.  I could have seriously gone off her when she murdered that poor lad Roger, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for her when she finally got her comeuppance.  Played by Gretchen Mol.

4.  Yes, strolling along the boardwalk at number 4 is the unofficial boss of Atlantic City, our very own Enoch Thompson.  Some reviews/articles have said that he's the least interesting character in the whole show, but I disagree.  Nucky's as multi-faceted as they come, one minute revealing his insecurities to Margaret, the next showing how ruthless and calculating he really is.  I've just finished watching series 3 in which it all goes tits up for him, for a while, and he becomes even more 'human', but then his clever negotiating skills win through.... a round of applause for Steve Buscemi.

3.  How could you not love Richard Harrow?  Played by Jack Huston, he's probably the most likeable character throughout, and not just because he's a war hero with a broken face.  He's got the monopoly on those moments that bring a tear to your eye, a thoroughly decent chap who always does the right thing, but no pushover.  Love that he's a sharpshooter, too.  When Nucky asked him how many people he'd killed he answered "63" straight away, totally deadpan.  His demise was so sad... but kinda nice.  Saddest and most tear-inducing of all was his scrapbook of family photos.  One of my other favourite scenes with him was when he went into the woods to shoot himself, but got talked out of it by the wise old woodsmen.

2.  Ah, deciding on which would be number two and which would be number one was hard, but here's my runner-up ~ the fabulous Nelson Van Alden.  His story, played so cleverly and not without a little humour by Michael Shannon, runs alongside that of Nucky's; I could have done a neat little 'contrast and compare', I suppose!  I'm sure everyone loved the way his straitjacket finally came off; he's one of those characters you're willing to smile all the way through.  Last night I watched the bit when he finally tore the ghastly Faraday Electric Iron Company apart.  The 'Prohi' who ended up very much on the wrong side of the law and seemed happier for it - love it. 

1.  My man!  Totally worthy of the number one position is the wonderful Michael Kenneth Williams, one of my favourite actors, as Chalky White.  Last night I watched him talking to Nucky about his plans for the Onyx Club, in which he said he was going to have "chandelabras" all over the ceiling.  Nucky says "You mean chandeliers".  Chalky replies "I'm going to buy 'em, not spell 'em".  I love the way he dresses, the way he's scary but oddly sweet, too, and his relationship with Nucky is sometimes curiously touching.  Oh, and as for his pride in the Onyx Club, and his falling in love with Daughter Maitland ...  

Nucky: I didn't know you were so sensitive. 
Chalky White: As a baby's ass, motherfucker

....just outside the top ten were Mickey "How come you're still alive?" Doyle, Meyer Lansky, the curious Gaston Means, the Fed who pretended he was in love with Gillian, Frank Capone (because he was so lush), Johnny Torrio, the grown up Tommy Darmody....

If you haven't watched it yet, you should!

The awful upselling - a good reason to shop online!

I don't go shopping in real life very much these days, apart from the food shop.  Generally speaking, if I need something specific I'll look it up online first.  I don't really do crowds of people, so 21st century shopping suits me.

The other day, however, I went into Newcastle as I had to buy some birthday presents.  Newcastle is, after all, a fine city, and I love to have a look round the Grainger Market.  There used to be a wonderful book shop in there, which closed recently; I believe business had suffered since people like me started buying cheap Kindle books.  It's a shame, but, alas, the world changes on a regular basis.  

On this day, though, I went into only four shops, and was reminded why I now prefer to shop from home.

Isn't it just the worst???

In a smarty, arty looking shop selling cards, wrapping paper and small gifty things, I spent no less than £23.  While the woman behind the counter was bagging up my purchases, she tried to engage me in chat to the extent that I almost said, "look, I just want to buy the birthday cards, I don't want a freakin' relationship."  During this (mostly one-sided) conversation she tried to get me to sign up for a loyalty card.  When I said I didn't want one, she insisted on 'just popping' the details into my bag anyway.  During the five minutes she took to roll up my wrapping paper, she also pointed out many other attractive items within the shop.  Dead chattily, like.  Obviously this was company policy; some other person suggested I 'have a nice day' on the way out, too.  Doesn't really sit right in Tyne and Wear, somehow.

That's one shop I won't be going back to.  Next I went to WH Smiths, where I was accosted by someone trying to sell me something on the way in, offered a bargain on items similar to those I was purchasing whilst at the till, and accosted by someone else trying to sign me up for WH Smith insurance/a monthly subscription to Beekeeping Monthly on the way out.

In Marks and Spencer I was offered some other data mining tool (loyalty card, store card, whatever), whilst in Superdrug I was offered a store card and some facial wipes currently on offer, or it might have been a gift pack of aftershave or buy-one-get-one-free on haemorrhoid cream, I can't remember.

I know that the high street shops are all in trouble since the rise in internet shopping, but surely this isn't the way forward?  For every one person who says, "d'you know, Kerry/Gav/Shirl, I reckon I will take that cream.  I haven't got piles, but it's best to be prepared!", I bet there are ten more who, like me, have the f*** irritated out of them by this strategy.   There is a chemist in my local town centre where I only go if in a tearing hurry, as you can't nip in to buy a 32p packet of paracetomol without being offered at least four more products.  The other day I handed my purchase over and just said "please don't try to sell me anything else", but so programmed was the sales lad that he said "no problem," (as is customary with all shop/restaurant assistants under the age of thirty), then put my bottle of Mr Muscle shower spray into a bag and launched into his speech before he even realised what he was doing.  

Because food shopping is one thing I don't like to do online (and because I do need to get out of the house sometimes), I put up with the till assistants in Morrissons asking me if I have a Match & More card, are collecting vouchers for the set of knives (don't tempt me), would like any stamps (postage or saving), phone credit, fries with that, a meal deal, or a voucher which will mean that I'll get 6p off per every £657 I spend, and bombarded with junk mail from five hundred different companies for the rest of my life.  But aside from that, I won't shop anywhere that practices this ghastly upselling.  Fine, advertise your wares all you like, splatter them over every shop window, but don't see every purchase I make as an opportunity to get more money out of me.  Just be polite and helpful and I'll come back.  

It would be like someone telling me that they liked one of my books, and me saying, "that's great, would you like to buy another?"  It would guarantee that person never did ~ and I think this is what upselling must do to thousands of people.

I mentioned the local chemist shop that I avoid - about a year ago, I listened to a girl's sales spiel and then asked her how she felt about having to do it.  She said, oh, we all hate it, and lots of customers feel about it like you do.  I actually wrote to the customer services department to 'give them feedback' about this strategy; the reply said that they didn't see it as hard selling but as offering the customers information about what was currently on offer.  

Yes, that might be the idea, but it doesn't work.  If you've got something on offer, stick posters where people can see them, have the item on display at the counter, and at least educate your staff on basic sales/interpersonal skills.  The woman who tried to upsell me in that card shop should have spotted my irritation and lack of interest.  That as a 'mark', I wasn't going to happen.

I wrote that letter to the chemist's customer services after seeing a seventeen year old lad offering a Nicki Minaj body spray and perfume gift set to an OAP.  Poor chap probably felt pressured into buying it, then remembered he hadn't got any grandchildren.  But what the hell, eh?  It's another sale!

 

Cheap as chips!

Just a quickie to let you know that, for anyone who hasn't got it but would like to give it a go, Kings and Queens is now on a Kindle Countdown offer for only 99p/99c, lasting from Tuesday 28th April to Monday 4th May.

It's a contemporary drama about the life and loves of property developer Harry Lanchester, told through the eyes of the women in his life, and is a 20th/21st century retelling of the story of Henry VIII. 

It's got stacks of really excellent reviews (and no, I haven't got that many friends!).  A while back I wrote a blog post with a few excerpts from some of them; it's HERE

You don't need to know anything about history to enjoy it; it can be read just as a contemporary drama.  For my test readers, I chose one who knew absolutely nothing about the period, not even the names of all Henry's wives, to make sure it stood up convincingly. 

The sequel, Last Child, is also now available. 

Thank you for your interest!

Excuse me while I slip into something more comfortable....

Imagine this scenario.  Hunky guy is invited back to gorgeous woman's flat after hot date.

Gorgeous Woman: Help yourself to a drink, and do excuse me while I slip into something more comfortable...

Hunky Guy: But of course!  Opens brandy bottle, smiling, thoughts of black silk and lace running through his mind.

Two minutes later, enter stage left: 
Gorgeous Woman: That's better!  Flops onto sofa.  You can pour me one of those, t0o.

Hunky Guy's mouth drops open.  Gorgeous woman wears not the black lingerie of his fantasies, but a faded AC/DC 1998 tour t-shirt with toothpaste stains down the front, and a pair of man's pyjama trousers with a hole in the knee.

~~~ 

I'm talking about Leezurewear. 

Yes, yes, I know it's spelt leisurewear.  It's just how my sister and I (and, thus, many of our friends) spell it, because we pronounce it in the American way, ie 'lee-surewear' rather than 'leh-surewear'.  Works best if you say it with an American accent, too (at least until you're comfortable with it....).  It's probably not even a real word; should it be two words?  I'll leave my proofreading sister to decide, and no doubt tell me in the comments!

I have not been guilty of the ruining a hot date scenario, but must say that one of the joys of working from home, or just not going out to work, period, is being able to wear leezurewear more often.  In fact, most of the time. 

Socially acceptable leezurewear

I have a selection of leezure trousers.  At the moment I am wearing my rather (un)fetching miscellaneous animal print ones that are too big in the arse and too long.  Until I actually got properly dressed today (at around lunch time) I was wearing them with a pink and white striped vest that I'd worn in bed the night before.  I also own some striking half-mast black velvet trews (£3.99 from Store 21 in Jarrow), and another pair of two-summers-ago blue and white flowery ones, with holes in.  These items will not necessarily be worn with anything matches them.  Because they are leezurewear, and this you wear only for comfort, not for style.  Comfort is all.

Leezurewear: see that casual fit, the ease with which the wearer stands, hand placed comfortably in pocket?

When I worked in an office, the first thing I did when I got home was to get into my old faithfuls, waiting for me upstairs.  The office in which I worked was not one of those that required me to wear anything too smart, but I still had to look respectable.  I went to work dressed in flattering trousers and some sort of smart top, a conscious choice based on aesthetics, unlike the clothes I put on when I got home, which would be ill-fitting, ill matched, and with coffee stains down the front within an hour or so of putting them on (whether I'd drunk coffee or not, it seemed).  

There are different grades of leezurewear.  My sister and I have a name for the one in between at-home-only disgusting garments, and work clothes:  this is socially acceptable leezurewear.  It might be smart leggings and a huge but presentable t-shirt.  Or a natty hat, as worn by actor Josh Holloway, below.  In SAL, you can go shopping, receive visitors, even go to the pub if there is not likely to be anyone in there who you want to impress.   

Actor Josh Holloway models socially acceptable leezurewear

True leezurewear, though, is so unfetching that you can only wear it at home and in the company of friends.  The garments that have become as much part of you as your skin, that you can only wear in front of very close friends, and definitely not in front of someone you might want to have sex with in the future, unless they already love you very much (and even then it might be best not to).  

I'm talking the truly appalling trousers with the holes in the crotch, the once bright yellow band t-shirt that you found you know not where, sporting curious stains that will never quite come out.  
 
My best ever leezure item was a velour jumper bought from a charity shop in Cromer for £1.99.  On a cost-per-wear basis, I probably got 3287 wears per penny out of my black velour jumper.  I had it for around 8 years.  By the time Julia told me I really ought to throw it away (I needed telling), it was so worn out you could actually see through the front of it.

It was a sad day indeed.  Julia used to have a garment we called her David Lee Roth trousers (I can't remember why); they lived with her for about 20 years.  I think at one time they had patches on the back and crotch, and the knees were more hole than trouser.  I don't think she ever got over losing them; not even the size 18-20 jogging bottoms she bought from Cromer Indoor Market (she is a size 10-12) could replace them.

Years ago, on MySpace, I had a photo album on my profile entitled 'My friends in their leezurewear'.  My online and real life chums used to send me pictures of themselves in their favourite items, fully annotated to point out particularly alluring features like baggy knees and embarrassing holes.  It was a good album!  I wish I still had all the pictures; I could have shown you the black velour jumper in all its grisly glory.  

What are your most beloved (and possibly disgusting) items?  The best leezurewear is often appropriated rather than bought.  Back in the early 1990s Julia had a fab t-shirt that an ex-boyfriend of her flatmate had left behind.  It was one of those that was good quality originally, probably why it was such a pleasure to wear.  I then nicked it off her and wore it for many years; I loved it.  It disappeared along with another boyfriend.  I wonder if it's been passed on to anyone else?  There was nothing particularly noticeable about it, it was just great leezurewear.

Me wearing the t-shirt owned by many, in 1996, sporting it in the socially acceptable way, ie, tucked in to still comfortable denim shorts.  It was subsequently stolen by the soon to become ex who took this picture.  Perhaps he only wanted me for the t-shirt in the first place.

.... and now we come to the downside of wearing comfortable clothes because you are at home all the time.  After a while, it becomes really hard to wear anything else.  I do put reasonable clothes on, and make-up and earrings, just to nip to the shops, because if I didn't I would end up looking like a bag lady all the time instead of just 80% of it.  But even then, my respectable clothes are things with stretchy waistbands, no heels, nothing that might be any effort to wear.  This is partly because being at home all the time, sitting down at a laptop, means that wearing shorts like the ones in the picture above is now but a faded, distant memory.  Yes, another downside: when you don't have to make yourself look good for work every day you don't notice when your clothes are getting, shall we say, a little more snug, until you have to actually go somewhere looking proper smart.  That's when you look in the mirror and gasp "where the hell did all that come from???" 

Never mind, though.  You only have to endure looking smart for a few hours, with that held in stomach, being careful not to slosh red wine down your top, etc, and then you can come home, tear all those once-every-six-months clothes off and .... get back into your leezurewear...

...just like actor Josh Holloway... now there's a man who looks like he knows how to stay comfortable....!!

 

 

 

Be visible, be discovered....

Let's get visible!  Yes, but how?

The thing I find the most frustrating about this whole self-publishing business is how so many truly excellent books don't get read simply because people don't know they're there.  No, I don't just mean mine!!!, but those I read and know so many others would love, too, if only they were aware of their existence.

Obviously, the biggest key to getting seen is Amazon visibility, which is hard to achieve unless you regularly hit top spots in genre charts, have an agent or publisher behind you, or however else the big names get their wares in the shop window. 

When I posted My Top 20 books of 2014 a couple of people asked me how I'd discovered the books in the first place, because the only 'indie' ones they'd tried had been rubbish (actually, not all the books in that list are 'indie', though most of them are) and they didn't know where to look for those that really are good.  So, I had this idea.  To give readers an idea of how to find self-published books worth reading, and to give writers examples of how to make their books something other than invisible, I thought it would be fun to take the ten books on my book review blog's quarterly round-up, ie, my pick of January, February and March this year, and tell you how I discovered each one.  At the end, we can draw conclusions!

Here goes:

My top ten picks of the books I read in the first quarter of this year, in no particular order.  To see my full review of each book, click the title.

1.  Once Upon A Time In The City Of Criminals by Mark Barry. 
I got to know Mark when he asked me if he could interview me on his blog.  I bought one of his books just out of curiosity, and loved it so much I've now read four of his; this was the third.  Mark is self-published.

2.  Literastein by Phil Conquest
I met Phil on MySpace in 2007, because we both wrote stuff, and we've kept in touch ever since; I used to read his blog posts, thought he was a terrific writer and was one of those who persuaded him to get his work off his laptop and out into the world.  You know, I nagged him a lot.  It was worth it.  Phil is self-published.

3.  The Turning of the World by John Privilege
This is a funny one - John made a sarcastic remark to me on Twitter about my over-tweeting of a free promotion, and I must have been in a good mood because instead of making a smart remark back I agreed that yes, I probably had overdone it a bit but it was only for a couple of days while the book was free.  We chatted a bit.  I said, okay, then, I get that you're totally anti promotion, but let's have a look at your book.  It just happened to be my current favourite genre (post apocalyptic drama), so I bought it.  Started to read it and it blew me away.  John is self-published.

4.  Mantle of Malice by April Taylor
We got chatting on Twitter because of our mutual interest in the Tudors.  I read the first of her trilogy and liked it so much I bought and read the others too; this is the third.  April is published by Carina UK, a popular ebook imprint of a traditional publisher.

5. The Great Law of Peace by Zoe Saadia
Saw Zoe's blog and books on Twitter, impressed by her extensive knowledge of a fascinating subject.  I'm currently reading my 4th of her Native American history novels.  Zoe is self-published.

6. The Goddard Affair by Scott Marlowe.  
Scott submitted this book to Rosie Amber's book blog review team, for which I write reviews on a regular basis.  Scott is self-published.

7. Living By Ear by Mary J Rowen
I read a guest post by Mary on another book blog, A Woman's Wisdom.  It was a very good interview and Mary seemed like my sort of person, so I glanced down at the blurb for her book.  The subject matter appealed, I bought it, loved it.   It's worth mentioning that Mary's post was nothing to do with her book, but about something entirely different that made me want to click on the link in the first place.  Mary is published by indie publisher Booktrope.

8. Mad World by Kate L Mary
I saw the first one in the Broken World trilogy (this is the third) on an Amazon 'customers also bought' list, when looking at another book of a similar genre.  The title and cover caught my eye, so I bought it.  Liked it enough to keep reading, and the trilogy got better with each book; I'm looking forward to the fourth, which is out this month!  Kate is self-published.

9. Six Months To Get A Life by Ben Adams
Another book I chose from those submitted to Rosie's book review team.  Ben is indie published by Clink Street publishing.

10. A Divided Inheritance by Deborah Swift.
I came across Deborah Swift when wandering around Twitter, had a quick look at her blog because she writes about stuff that's totally up my street, and chose another of her books, The Gilded Lily, because the blurb made me think, yes, that's the one for me.  I'm now a fan!   Deborah is traditionally published, by Pan.

Conclusions:

What does this all say to you?  To me it says that readers who want to look further than their old favourites can discover new ones by reading book blogs, and not just letting all those book promotion tweets float past them, unclicked, on Twitter!  I know all this #mustread! 5*!  Read it NOW or die!  The best book ever! stuff can get a bit tedious, but if a book has got 40 genuine 5* reviews it might actually be pretty good.  Or the subject matter might appeal; that's what I look at.  

In Cromer in Norfolk where I used to live, the library had a section for little known books with labels like "if you like Maeve Binchy, you'll like..." etc.  Book bloggers often serve a similar function, I think. 

My conclusions for writers are thus: 

• write really good books, and make them as good as you can, even if it means doing yet another re-draft when you think you can no longer stand the sight of it.  Make people want to read them to the end, review them, tell their friends and buy another!  This is the most important one, of course, without which all the rest mean little.
• Network with other writers and bloggers (in a sincere way, not just in the hope that they will help promote you).
• Submit your books to book blogs, take an interest in and support the blog.
• Talk to people on social networking sites, don't just post book promo tweets and RT fifty others.
• Put your books in the right categories on Amazon.  Choose snappy titles and eye-catching covers.  Write blurbs that will make people want to read the book, not long summaries of the plot.  Some ideas about that HERE

In other words, all the stuff you already know, really!  The key thing is not to just know it, but to actually do it, though.
  
It all takes time, and it's a long game.  One pretty successful self-published writer said recently that your readership comes in ones and twos, not very often  even in fives and tens.  I think this is so right, especially these days; back before self-pub there were a limited amount of books and authors to choose from, but now there are thousands and thousands and thousands more, whose work was not available before.  People can only read so many books, but if you do the best you can to make yours be seen you at least have some chance of getting them chosen out of the millions available!

If everyone reading this went to one book blog and bought one of the books they saw recommended....   

 

Easter Joke

Best Easter Joke

(I've put it on a blog post so I can share it on Twitter #hashtag days too!!)

....and thank you to the queen of witty one-liners, Carol Hedges, from whom I nicked it in the first place!!!
@caroljhedges