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Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Slight Delay On New Book

Welcome back!

For those of you wondering what's happening with the book that should have been published by now, I have to tell you some terrible news ... it's been slightly delayed.

"Slightly" in that means a couple of weeks.  The actual writing is done.  The advance readers have all checked back in and their recommendations have been applied.  I give these folks an A+ for their efforts.  Not only have they taken the time to read what I wrote, several acted as editors, noting typos and other minor problems.  The major item that they've helped with is finding plot holes, and suggesting ways to make the story better.  They've all excelled at that.

So, why the delay?  Two reasons: 1) the cover and 2) my own dissatisfaction.

I've used a different person this time for a cover designer.  I wasn't dissatisfied with my previous designer as she did a very fine job on my first book.  No, we tried it, but this one just didn't click.  I wanted something special this time.  We tried several ideas, but none hit home.  I guess I'm getting picky in my old age. We agreed with all the twists and turns in this book, it might be better to go with someone that does Horror genre covers this time. 

So, this person agreed, took my money, and finally, yesterday presented their first offering.  I wasn't happy.  There were several aspects that made me wonder if I'd been listened to at all.  The font was wrong, the main "bad guy" looked like he was sedated, and all were dressed in winter clothing.  The title of the book has the word "summer" in it.  Winter clothing won't work!  There was also an age discrepancy in one of the characters presented.

All were noted and a revision is in the works.  When it will be done is now the question.

The second topic, my dissatisfaction.  Have you ever done something and it turned out great?  Just when you thought you'd really done well, someone from the background critiques it and knocks it badly.

All the reviews received for "Horror Across the Alley" have been either four or five stars on both Amazon and Goodreads ... except one.  This week, I received my first two-star review.

I have done what others have suggested, fought the impulse to comment about it.

It is well known that you can't please everybody, no matter how hard you try.  Still, this person wrote something like, "no action, all they do is talk, boring, predictable and corny ending."

Now, my first thought was that this was a troll.  Then, I considered the fact that in the Horror genre, you have those that could care less about the characters and only want constant blood, gore, guts, and veins in their teeth type horror.  

But, as far as predictable, that told me the person really didn't read it. 

Then, I researched the individual and found the highest review they've ever given on any book they're rated is three stars.  

So, I didn't feel so bad.

But, it did something to me.  Even though I loved what I had written, I wanted to make it better. I've tossed ideas around, thrown some out, and am still working on some.  I'm cutting, adding, and rearranging. In between, I'm dreaming about it. (I actually woke up this morning with another idea for the book I'm working on.)

I'm figuring a maximum of two more weeks before completion.

If you'll have a little patience, I assure you, the wait will be well worth it.

Stay tuned in and I'll keep you updated.

On a final note ...

My Kindle version giveaway was a success in that I gave away over 425 books.  Now, I need to ask you, if you've read "Horror Across The Alley", to please go to Amazon.com and leave a review on the book if you liked it.  It would be greatly appreciated.

Ciao!  

4 comments:

  1. Hey, don't let reviews get you down or change who you are. I remember reading a one star review on book 1 of my series. She said something like this "Dead. Like watching paint dry." That review totally knocked the wind from me. But most of the 26 reviews on that book are people who I don't know, and there are mostly 4 and 5 stars. So I just took it with a grain of salt. But the best thing that happened after she left that 1 star review was that my sales increased that same week!

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    1. Thanks, Carolee, for the kind words. It would be nice to have the same results you did, for sure! I'm not down about it. It just made me more determined to make my second book even better than it was. Thanks to good folks like you and my advance readers, and idea has been hatched that will improve it tremendously. It was already a great book, but with a timeline change, it's going to be so much better it's unreal. Thanks so much for coming by and commenting! :)

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  2. Thanks for the update, Rich - I know this book will be worth the wait.

    Glad you are rising above the unwarranted review. Hugs, Sis

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    1. Hey, Sis, so good to see you here!

      I finally do have a cover done. It's not 100% of what I wanted, but it will suffice. Those that have seen it seem to praise it, so what do I know? Right? lol

      I've made my timeline changes and been able to validate each one of them thanks to some assistance by my advance readers. It is truly amazing how they can plant a seed and then it grow into something truly worthwhile. Without them, I'd seriously still be staring at the words knowing what I needed to do, but stuck on how to achieve it.

      I do sincerely appreciate your support. It means a lot, believe me.

      Many Thanks, your Bro! :)

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