Meaty feedback to get my teeth into

After a brief email exchange I have received the feedback for my Wishing Shelf Awards entry 'Russian Redemption' woo hoo.

Well, maybe not so much a 'woo hoo' moment, more of a 'whoop'.

Here is the unedited response with my comments:

Author: Andrew J Wilson
Title: Russian Redemption

COVER: 6/10 
The readers views on the cover were very mixed. Many thought it was excellent: the strong red background, the powerful image of the handgun and the easy-to-read font. But a few of the readers felt it was too simple for such a complex, well-plotted novel and needed ‘jazzing up’ a little. 

In one of the more recent posts I mentioned 'There will never be a book that is loved by everyone' and this holds true. The same applies to every aspect of a book, including the cover, here is the proof - some loved it, some didn't like it at all - it's an uphill struggle from the off. Personally I thought that the raw simplicity of the cover reflected the content.

CONTENT 7/10 
I would not say the readers ‘enjoyed’ this book. In fact, a few of them, after reading part way through, slammed it shut and went to have a shower. But even the readers who did not finish it understood that such terrible events – even in a fictional novel – must be remembered (but, perhaps not on a Sunday night just before bed!) 
With such a wide range of topics covered: torture, brutality, politics, living under communism, medical experiments on living humans etc etc (and written in such a graphic manner) it is not surprising that the market for such a book is slightly limited to readers with a strong stomach. One reader put, ‘I finished this book and, I must say, it had a lasting impression. The author did not pull a punch and, for that, I’m grateful.’ But another reader put in her feedback, ‘If the author had spent half as much time developing the characters as he did killing them off in horrific ways, it would have been a stunning first novel. There’s talent here; I 
just hope the author’s only fondness is not bloody violence.’ 

Temporarily ignoring the character development part, it seems that some found the content more Quentin Tarantino than Steven Spielberg, it took them outside of their comfort zone. I understand that and it makes me smile with a degree of satisfaction, I've put warnings all over the place "An Adults ONLY story that contains some graphic and shocking violence..." 
Somehow I find this section more amusing than I probably should. But it also leads to a question: How much choice did the panel have over which books they read and reviewed? I would question the logic of giving my book to a person to review IF they wouldn't pick it off the shelf for themselves. That said, it certainly seems to have generated opinion, reaction and left an impression. I may be slightly biased, but as this is a debut novel, I'd give me 12 out of 10 just for that!    :-) 

Now, onto that 'character development' bit. I am noticing a pattern here and I have to sit up and take notice. As I have said before, I have no formal writing training whatsoever so this is a golden nugget for my own development.

EDITING 8/10 
In generally, the readers discovered not punctuation, spelling or grammatical errors. They felt it flowed well and had excellent pacing. A few of the reader suggested a good editor might have suggested curtailing the violence slightly to open the book up to a larger readership. 

This is more contentious. Judi at ProofreadNZ has proven to be superb at what she does, but the question I have is what is expected of an 'Editor'? As the Author of the book the content falls to me, it's my responsibility, it's my say, it's my story? Part of the reason why Judi and I work so well together is that we both have clearly defined roles - I write, she makes sure it make sense, it's clean as far as the spelling and grammar are concerned. I wouldn't want an editor to tell me 'its a bit violent, you need to tone it down..' If that was the relationship it wouldn't take long before my story became our story, which is only one step away from her story - nope that doesn't work for me. However, I am reliably informed that in the upper echelons of traditional publishing the Editor will quite happily change content to make it more commercial...... and we're back to the money again. Judi is a great editor, she has proven that time and time again, what she isn't is an interfering editor, and that suits us both.

Apart from the editor bit I take some real positives from this section.

STYLE 8/10 
This, the readers felt, was the strongest part of this novel. Overall, they liked the short chapters, the well-constructed and often intricate plot and the clear, easy-to-read narrative. One reader put in her feedback, ‘This novel is not for me. It is way too graphic. But, what I do like is the style of writing. Not only is error free, it has a lovely flow to it. When this author finds to the time to write a book that is not so stomach churning, I will be all over it.’ 
For the most, they also felt you handled the violence in the story well. One reader put in his feedback. ‘This novel is set during a very violent time in Russian/German history. Subsequently, the characters act violently and often with little remorse. It is shocking, yes. But it is the way it was. The author, I think, shows the true nature of humanity (or the lack of) with great skill.  

There are some real positives in this section to, especially the last sentence, it made my heart burp happy bubbles! And if Judi ever needed confirmation of just how good an Editor she is then this section acknowledges her work as being 'error free'! I am however picking up on a trend, Russian Redemption is more for the male of the species - no real surprise there so again I have to question the selection process of the judges. 

TO SUM UP 30/40
Hi, thanks for entering your book in the awards. I will now go and post 4 star reviews on Amazon.co.uk and Goodreads for you. 
The readers seemed to very much appreciate your novel. It was only a lack of character development that stopped it from getting through to the finals. Also, although we ask the readers not to down mark a book simply due to graphic sex or violence (if it’s appropriate to the genre) I think a number of the older, female readers had a problem with the darker chapters, 
Anyway, well done and good luck with your next novel. 
Edward 

I am over the moon with this, and I really do appreciate (and need) the feedback. As a debut novel I think Russian Redemption has proven itself to be exactly what it was intended to be, a hard hitting portrayal of very different times, times that most of us have the luxury of not having witnessed or lived through. I've always scoffed at the early war films where shot soldiers or civilians fell to the ground almost gracefully, clutching at the single bullet hole that signifies their untimely departure from this planet. The vast majority of the general public are very happy to believe this; they want to believe it because it makes the whole war thing much more palatable. Ask anyone that has served in an Active Theatre of Operations, a combat zone, they will tell a very different story. So yes, Russian Redemption is quite graphic, it dispels the niceties, and yes I totally understand that some people are uncomfortable with this. So, just in case you haven't got the message "PLEASE do not read Russian Redemption if you are easily offended, squeamish or want to continue to live in your happy place of blue skies and candy floss clouds" I do not want to be responsible for shattering any ones peace and tranquility.

It also indicates the specific demographic that had the most problems with the content. I have to be honest and say that this was never the considered target audience for Russian Redemption so I am not surprised by their reaction - so why give it to them?

STATS
Of the 19 readers:
16 finished the book; the other 3 felt it was too graphically violent.
10 thought the cover was excellent; 9 thought it was a little too simple.
8 felt the characters needed more development, except for Yarna who, they felt, was a strong, well thought out character.
4 thought that ‘description’ was the author’s strongest writing skill.
9 thought that ‘pacing’ was the author’s strongest writing skill.
3 thought ‘the structuring of the story’ was the author’s strongest writing skill..
11 would like to read another book by this author.

CATCHY QUOTE
‘A dark, horror-filled look at Russia in 1941. Powerfully written and fascinating.’ The Wishing Shelf Awards

I like this Quote - Great stuff 

Overall this feedback has given me plenty to think about, plenty to work on which makes the entry fee for the competition worth every penny and I would heartily recommend the Wishing Shelf Awards as a sound investment. Ed (Billy Bob Buttons) has lined up some changes for the next one which will see a smoother operation and quicker turnover of feedback, which is fantastic.

Now I'm off to do some research on character development, any pointers?

Does Facebook Advertising work - Take 2

A few post back I openly questioned the worth of using paid Facebook Advertising Campaigns. I provided screen shots to support my concerns. Actually, to me the stats that came from that $100 investment proved that Facebook Advertising Campaigns were very questionable with regards to both worth and accuracy.

When compared to the data from Google Analytics, there were a number of anomalies that suggested that Facebook Campaigns were being conducted in a fashion that was less than totally honest. For example the difference in the number of website visits, the amount of time the Facebook generated spike in 'visitors' actually spent on the homepage (not even long enough to register one second!) and so on.

I did complete a 'feedback' form and sent it to Facebook and have (to date) received absolutely no response. I'm not surprised. 

Anyway, a friend of mine sent me the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVfHeWTKjag

Ironically, I had mentioned to a few people that during the FB Ad Campaign I had suddenly received 'site visits' from some very unusual countries: Portugal, India, Columbia, Sri Lanka, Romania, Guatemala, Philippines, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and so on. When I say 'unusual', the reason these stand out is because the campaign was targeted specifically at UK, USA & NZ!



So, it would appear that not all is as above board as we are led to believe. 

Obviously each individual has to make up their own mind to throw money at one of these Facebook Ad Campaigns or not but be warned, the evidence suggests you are better off using your hard earned cash to buy a lottery ticket!

I'm off to the local corner shop to get a ticket.

If the people at Facebook ever read this I reckon they'll cancel my FB page - by accident of course :-) 

A review to discuss?

OK - here is the latest review for Russian Redemption, posted today. Up to this point all of the other reviews have been four or five stars - shock, horror - a THREE star review. Is this a 'woo' or a 'wonderful'?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

 However that's not to say that there aren't any positives to the story because I did like the premise behind the novel,July 14, 2014

By 

Cphe

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Russian Redemption (Kindle Edition)

The other reviewers have already covered the synopsis so no point in my rehashing. In all honesty I couldn't rate this novel above the three stars. I couldn't quite become as invested in the characters as others have done, I really didn't get any depth of emotion from them with the exception of the young woman Yarna. There was quite a lot of action/adventure scenes but not character development to make me feel invested in them as characters with a story to tell.

At times I felt this bordered on the horror genre, The mad, psychotic "Doctor" and his experimentation didn't quite ring true to me.
It is dark, violent and graphic in parts and certainly not for the squeamish due to the atrocities committed during a time of conflict.
I did feel that the dialogue to this novel also had a modern slant to it at times and didn't always gel with me.

However that's not to say that there aren't any positives to the story because I did like the premise behind the novel. I thought it had definite possibilities for a first novel. The craftmanship is there and I've no doubt based on this story that the author will get only get better and better. The novel is certainly well edited and if I recall correctly I only encountered one typo and that was "sheer" instead of "shear"

Without wishing to sound at all disrespectful to the other four & five star reviews it has received, this is a great review for me. Why? Well, mainly because it is observant, constructive, honest and gives me areas to work on.

There will never be a book that is loved by everyone - and that's just a fact. From this review I can see that he/she has taken the time to read my book, and that it has stimulated enough interest for them to have an opinion, and have cared enough to post their review. For me this is a huge tick. Whilst reviews are supposedly for would-be readers, this person has also taken the time to highlight a few 'weaknesses' in my writing. I can completely understand the points made, and probably agree with most of them, but what they have done is give me some direction. This is a massive bonus for me. As an Indie Author with absolutely no formal training in the art of writing, it's very easy to wander aimlessly in the proverbial wilderness. Four and five star reviews are great, they give me a warm fuzzy feeling, but there is so much suspicion around these that it seems most readers actually ignore them (the supposition being that they are from family or friends). 

I also found this review to be very encouraging, it tells me that it's not perfect but, in the same breath, tells me that this educated and experienced individual sees promise in my writing - what more could I ask for?!

If you spend time on the Amazon forums you'll see that some 'Authors' consider 3 star reviews as detractors, I don't get that, especially when they are as constructive as this one. At the end of the day I am not arrogant enough to believe I know everything. In my mind I am only just starting this journey and welcome all feedback, it is the only way I am going to hone my craft! Writing is a passion, I want as many people as possible to enjoy my stories, so reviews like this are worth their weight in gold to me.

I'd also like to mention Judi of Proofreadnz and Santelepublishing - she is the one that deserves the credit for the reviewers observation "The novel is certainly well edited..." another person worth their weight in gold!

So, Cphe and Judi, THANK YOU!

www.ajwilsonbooks@gmail.com

www.ajwilsonbooks.net

Strange times. 

Writing Russian Redemption was surprisingly easy - a bold statement perhaps but for me it seemed I was just watching a movie in my head, trying to capture what I saw in words. The 'tap' of inspiration flowed full on, it gushed. Then a few months ago, for personal reasons, I took my proverbial cup away from the flow, unplugged my brain from the personal theatre where I had watched Russian Redemption unfold. 

Now is the time to return to the fountain of stories, to sit in the figure hugging, row D, seat 16 of the personal cinema that exists inside my head and see what happens.

It's been a bit strange, a little frustrating but progress is being made.

Naively I think I expected to be able to return to said watering hole at any time to find the faucet still pouring ideas, but it had ran dry, been turned off. The surprise for me was that I wasn't surprised. The thought process was more about how to get it flowing again; I think I knew that I was fooling myself with my expectations.

So, where am I with this and how did I get there?

I tried forcing some script, taking a a random idea and exploring it's potential as the route of a storyline. It only took a few thousand words to realise that these were generally 'non-runners', but I persevered. I would often visit the 'tap' to see if there was any indication of restored flow, stick my head around the cinema door to see if there was anything on the screen. It's been five or six weeks now and what started as an occasional droplet has become a regular dribble of inspiration; all that was written in the 'drought' has been destroyed, unfit for human consumption. I'm looking to Russian Redemption, The follow on, with renewed vigour. The story map is not perfect yet but I'm still operating from a 'dribble', once the idea's flow as freely as they have in the past I know I'll be back on track. 

I certainly wouldn't describe this phase as 'writers block', more of a temporary cessation of connection; remember it was my choice to leave the oasis of idea's. It's almost like I have to build the relationship again, earn the right to consume the inspiration - it sounds bizarre but that's honestly how it feels. 

So, I'm guessing that a few of you now have me pigeon holed in the 'lunatic' box, and I probably wouldn't blame you, but that's the risk when trying to explain or convey the thoughts of this writer. 
Some of you may be able to relate to this 'phase' of an authors development more than others. It never occurred to me to give up, it's not that dramatic, it was always about achieving a balance - life - writing - work, not there yet but I'm working on it. 

As a person, this is also an adventure of discovery. At the ripe old age of 51 writing has brought me a interactive methodology to discover more about myself and to push myself. Fated Encounters is an excellent example of this; there is no way I would of contemplated opening my Pandora's box, acknowledging (even advertising) personal weaknesses. Writing allows me to not only reveal those 'demons' but also face them, challenge them and ultimately conquer them: I never expected that. 

Anyway, that's where I'm at right now so I'm looking forward to the future; just the thought of it makes my heart burp happy bubbles. :-)

Does Facebook Advertising have an impact?

Well the simple answer appears to be 'yes' BUT then again maybe the question should be 'Does Facebook advertising offer good value?' - that's a whole different perspective.

Facebook has changed the way it uses it's advertising algorithm, supposedly improving it for the advertiser but I am not at all convinced this is the case.

In the interests of research I decided to try out this new look algorithm, here's the story and the results so you can make up your own mind.

Firstly, the process of actually creating the adverts was very simple which is a real plus. I even created six different picture representations to identify which worked best. As the advert was designed for both my books I selected a mixed audience; Fated Encounters targeting the Mills & Boon group whilst Russian Redemption was sent to the followers of Dan Brown, Steig Larrson and the likes. I was looking for website clicks so I figured that $15 a day for a seven day trial would cover most bases - press submit.

Seven days later I am left with more questions than answers.

Facebook tells me that 

'Website Clicks' being interpreted as people that actually clicked on the link to take them to my website homepage.

I noted the website counter before I submitted the advert (1460) and again right now (1521). Remembering that I have probably added two website clicks a day just checking on progress, this represents a fairly big mathematical anomaly - 1460 plus 152 should equal 1712?! Puzzled by this inconsistency I went to my Googleanalytics for clarity. Unsurprisingly Googleanalytics confirmed the number of homepage visitors over the life of the adverts 

So, there has been a definite increase in people seemingly visiting my website but no where near the numbers that Facebook were declaring - and charging for.

But then I noticed something else; the 'bounce rate'. This is the percentage of visitors that visit the home page only. My website is designed, built and maintained by me so it's nothing particularly special but, in my opinion, it's ok (have a look, see what you think ajwilsonbooks.net). There is enough on the homepage to hold a visitors attention for a minute or two, and probably enough to encourage people to visit another page or two. Yet Googleanalytics reports thus:

In this snap shot of US Visitors you'll note that all clicked through to the homepage BUT didn't visit any other pages and spent long enough on the homepage to see and read NOTHING! Not even long enough to register a single second of 'session time' - this is in stark contrast to the historical data.

You can make up your own mind of course but for me I can report the following findings;

1. Facebook are charging me for a large number of 'website clicks' that have never happened.
2. Those actual 'website clicks' that made it through to the homepage were so quick they didn't even register a session time - this (to me) smarts of computerised cheating.
3. Any money paid to Facebook for an advertising campaign is in fact a waste of much needed dollars.

As for actual sales - nope, not a one.

I'm half inclined to kick up a fuss with Facebook but my instincts tell me that it will be a complete waste of time - much like their advertising!

At the end of the day it was an experiment for information gathering purposes, and in that it has been a success - but that's the only way it can be construed as successful so be warned.

Keep writing - if you're good enough, one day people will notice you.

Patience required, please send to.........

Is it just me or does everything in the world of writing take forever and a day to get sorted?

A bold statement, which I am sure will upset or annoy a lot of people, but based on experience it's going to take a few months for those people to tell me :-)

First let me explain that I do understand that there are a lot of people trying to do a lot of good for Indie Authors, to propel the 'poor relative' of 'Authordom' up the food chain. But (and I've already admitted to not being over blessed with patience) why does everything seem to take so long?

Examples - IndieBRAG, LLC - It clearly states that it can take up to four months from point of submission for a response (and they really mean four months!) - but why? They charge a fee ($20.00) to 'process' your book submission with the following notice on the response email

"Please note that due to the large number of nominations we receive each week, and our commitment to give every book the consideration it deserves, our review process may take up to four months, possibly longer."

Where else in the world would a person give away money, hard earned currency, to a Company and not expect any return whatsoever for FOUR months? From a philosophical perspective, here is a company, a business, charging for a 'service'; I work in the 'service' industry and I can count the number of my clients that would wait four months (and pay for the privilege) for that service on one hand, with thumb and four digits missing! And finally it arrives - "sorry, you were unsuccessful" Again, to be fair, their website does say that they do not provide feedback or reasons as to why the submission was unsuccessful.

Cynically I have a vision of a rather overweight bespectacled man in his mid thirties sitting at his desk, feet up, with coffee and doughnuts. On one screen is his bank account balance merrily clicking up in $20 increments, on the other a list of books submitted with date of submission beside them; they're diarized to flag when the four months is nearly up. Just as he is dunking his doughnut in his cup of flat white with two sugars, one of the book titles flashes red. Lifting the soggy doughnut to his mouth he leans across the desk and pushes the 'reject' key on the stained keyboard prompting the automated "sorry, you were unsuccessful" email, whilst focusing on the bank balance. (Remembering, of course, to click 'accept' every now and again)

I have a lot more forgiveness for Billy Buttons at the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, although even there my patience is wearing very thin. Billy (real name Edward Trayer) has created this great competition where those Indie Authors that make it through the prelims get good quality feedback - the one thing (in my opinion) every single Author should be looking for. Edward asks for a reasonably small submission fee but, again in my opinion, the promised feedback alone is worth every penny. Closing dates are the 31st December of the preceding year, finals held in April. In all fairness to Edward he does state that feedback will be sent out from March after the finalists are announced and can take up to five months. He managed to get the finalists announced in February and we're now in June and guess what - still no feedback for me. Remembering that he works full time, has a family and travels a lot it is understandable - but that doesn't make it acceptable. In this ever changing world of technology it seems the industry still operates on 'old' time. 

These things take so long because they've always taken so long and people just accept that. As a fairly new author this is a huge frustration, and for anybody that wants to make a name for themselves in the industry, get organised, and get with the times please. It is no longer a case of writing books on old typewriters, printing the pages on wafer thin sheets, binding and sending off to various publishers via the postal system, and waiting six months - things have evolved, modern technologies have made the process a whole lot slicker - so why does it still take so flippin' long?! It seems this is one 'Industry Standard' that hasn't changed.

Ed seems a great bloke and I am not being disrespectful but since I submitted 'Russian Redemption' in December 2013 I have written 2 short stories (Fated Encounters and one yet to be published) plus started a further three novels including the follow on of Russian Redemption) - so what impact is this promised 'feedback' actually going to have? The lengthy time delay between selection and feedback unfortunately severely devalues the feedback, or at least the effectiveness of it, which is a shame.

There are many people, agents, organisations, competitions etc that rely on a regular supply of good quality literature for their survival. I believe there is a great deal of arrogance being displayed from these people and organisations (absolutely NOT Ed!) - In the greater scheme of things this is the 'tail wagging the dog'. What's the point in owning a bookshop if there are no books to sell? In any service industry the model is very simple

Stage 1: The 'people' need the service so charge what you like
Stage 2: Competition grows so charges (and profit) are reduced to retain the customer
Stage 3: Figure out a diversification, or 'added value', to retain the customer
Stage 4: Pay the customer to stay with you just so you still have the market share, until such time as you come up with the added value.

You can play with the words and the stages but ultimately 'service' is value and perception is changing.

"Beware the Ides of March" 

I'm gonna get off my soap box now, but I feel so much better for getting that off my chest :-)

www.ajwilsonbooks.net/
ajwilsonbooks@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/pages/AJWilsonbooks

My apologies for being absent but.......

It's been five or six weeks since I last posted here and there is a good reason for the self imposed absence...... I had to admit to myself that I was an addict. 

There were a number of 'clues'

1. EVERYTHING that went on in my world was converted (in my mind) to a potential story line.

2. Everybody I met, spoke with or observed became a potential character for my next book.

3. If I wasn't physically writing I was thinking about writing, dreaming about writing or wishing I was writing.

4. From the moment I got up in the morning until long after I'd close my eyes at night my brain was churning out scenario's, story lines and 'twists'.

5. The website, blog site and Facebook page were constantly 'open' on the laptop, being updated, amended,  tweaked and improved (especially when sitting with dinner on my lap!)

it really was a case of 'writing' taking over my entire existence.

Now, some people may see this as utopia but with a normal 9-5 job and a family life vying for my attention this addiction to writing was out of control and starting to cause a few issues. (On the upside I did manage to write one new novel and start three completely new ones so it was a very productive time)

People who know me will confirm that I am the sort of person that acts decisively in the face of obsession so I switched pretty much everything off.

I know that some say 'writers' must write every day, and I suppose that if you are one of the fortunate few that are able to make a living from the industry then writing everyday is important, and practical. But, as I was not too keen on joining the unemployed masses, I had to remove myself from all things related to my books in order to focus on the mundane (but important) day to day elements of life. On reflection it wasn't so much of a time thing it was more of a head space thing - when ones brain is constantly in the pages of a developing story line it is impossible to focus on other things; all I wanted to do was get home and start capturing the thoughts in writing. I think I even started resenting these distractions, I felt a bit like 'Gollum' - my writing being 'My Precious' - it was a great place to be for me, myself and I but not so good for wife, kids and work.

And so I edge myself back into the world of writing, toes first, to test my resolve - have I learned to control this addiction? - time, a divorce or state benefits will tell.

www.ajwilsonbooks.net 

Russian Redemption

Fated Encounters