Reputations and Bad Apples

I came across a very interesting article on Forbes.com  and decided to share some of the more pertinent info included.  I urge you to go and read the remaining text as you may be surprised to which levels some authors will go to promote themselves.

Indeed, many authors will recognize the phenomenon of the malicious one-star review designed to sabotage their books.  Although Amazon prohibits "spiteful remarks" it is difficult to get such reviews removed.  There's absolutely no doubt that some of these reviews are coming from other authors who see self-publishing as a zero sum game in which if they lose out if another author does well.  Other may come from an author's fans to see anyone else's success as a threat to their idol, or from griefers and trolls who just get off on attacking strangers in public.

According to Mark Corker from Smashwords:  It's a flaw in the system that negativity can become so amplified.  You can have a string of four and five star reviews, and then you get a string of one star reviews and it will torpedo your sales because people will see those most recent reviews and it's a warning sign to the potential readers...  If there's a reviewer that only leaves on star reviews, or they've left nothing but a single negative review, they're a carpet bomber.

Explanation:  Carpet-bombers do not leave negative reviews in order to help readers avoid a bad book, they do it to undermine the reader's confidence in positive reviews, damage the book's ranking in Amazon and thus that author's sales.  They are like fake positive reviews, designed to game the system, 

Author Robert Kroese says:  The effect of a bad review goes far beyond the impact that it has on the author's ego, however.  The prominence of a book on Amazon.com is determined primarily by two factors:  how well the book has sold and how positive its reviews are.  More highly rated books are displayed more prominently, which leads to more sales.  Increased sales lead to even more prominent displays which leads to still more sales.  Through the miracle of the positive snowball effect, a few hundred rave reviews can transfer an otherwise unremarkable book into a worldwide bestseller.

Ginger's Comments:  As someone who has a whole lot less than a few hundred reviews, I'm deeply concerned that these hit and run reviewers are damaging my credibility as an author.  I'm very thankful that we are willing to read and review each other's work to help overcome the stigma. Although there were rumors that author reviews were being removed, I haven't seen any of mine disappear.  We can only hope that despite being authors, we are also serious readers with opinions that matter.

Let your characters guide you - by Rita Karnopp

Before we begin typing that first word - we always (or most times) have the ending in mind.  There are a couple books I had an idea of what I wanted my end result to be – how I got there was something of a mystery. My point - we don’t always end up where we think we will. 

You must be willing to adapt . . . make changes, be aware of the flow of your story.  Never . . . never . . . never . . . cling to your synopsis because it was how the ‘story was supposed to go.’  Really???  I believe a story never goes the way I planned – I have to be open for my characters to surprise me.  And boy – do they surprise me!

Make your really good story idea great by a willingness to adapt as the story unfolds.  Each character develops as he/she unfolds in your story.  You can’t force a character’s behavior.  Always allow him/her the ability to act/react in a natural way.

Be open minded while writing - Keep in mind – what works for one book won’t always work for the next.  Characters in each book are different and you must always let them lead you through each scene.  Listen to them  . . . and give them free rein!

How exciting when your character demands something different – something you never thought of!  Allow your characters to add atmosphere and excitement.  Think of it this way – as your characters develop . . . the story unfolds into places you never imagined. 

Release the control. You know you’re a talented writer. That doesn’t mean you’re instantly good at letting go – giving your character permission to be him/herself.

Never start writing a book with ideas set in stone.  Guidelines will keep you from writing yourself into a corner, but don’t be so controlling you won’t allow something unexpected to happen. 

Allow your characters to laugh, cry, have highs and definitely lows.  Make them feel . . . and the reader will respond.  By allowing your character a ‘voice’  - the dialog will flow with ease and belief.  Step in because you don’t like the direction and your reader will be jerked out of the scene – maybe forever.

Believe in your characters. As I said at the beginning, we don’t always end up where we think we will.  That’s the good news!  When your character surprises you while you’re writing – it surprises the reader.  Some of my greatest scenes were created by my characters; their personality, reaction, and drive or direction leads them to places only they can imagine.  Trust them – you’ll love where it takes you!

Books We Love just released Rita’s fifteenth book, Thunder

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FM1IO0U

The world of professional wresting is a volatile, exciting, and action-packed world and even more so behind the scenes. Keme (Thunder), a Blackfeet fan favorite wrestler at the top of his game, is found hanging from the rafters of his training facility.  Is it murder . . . or suicide?

Find Rita at:

Website: http://ritakarnopp.com
Facebook: rita.karnopp@facebook.com
LinkedIn: rita karnopp
Blog: http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Contact her at:  ritakarnopp@bresnan.net

Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Shirley Martin

    

In her excellent how-to book, Debra Dixon refers to Goal, Motivation, and Conflict as the building blocks of fiction. What does your protagonist want? (Goal.) Why does she want it? (Motivation.) What prevents her from attaining her goal? (Conflict.) In planning a novel or novella, its a good idea to flesh out your characters, create well-rounded people with an outer and inner GMC. 

   
 My historical romance, "Forbidden Love," centers around an actual event, the Homestead Steel Strike of 1892. My heroine, Lisa, is an only child of well-to-do parents, living in an affluent neighborhood on the outskirts of Pittsburgh. When Lisa's father dies, he leaves his widow and daughter with many debts, on the verge of poverty. This circumstance leads to Lisa's outer GMC.  

Goal: (What does she want?) To pay off their debts, work for a living if she must.

Motivation: (Why?) To save her widowed mother from poverty

Conflict: What keeps her from attaining her goal?) Lisa lacks ready skills. Her mother is irresponsible and doesn't realize their dire situation. She is disdainful of Lisa's frugality and fearful of neighbors' opinions if Lisa must earn a living.

    
When William, a wealthy stockbroker, offers Lisa marriage, she accepts, even though she doesn't love him. She sees the marriage as a means to save her mother from poverty, else it would be necessary to sell the family home.

    
Now we see Lisa's inner GMC. As the name implies, an inner GMC is emotional, from deep inside.

Goal: To learn to love William.

Motivation: She wants children, wants to have a happy marriage.

Conflict: William is a philanderer and spurns her efforts.

   
Lisa belongs to a literary club, and there she meets Owen. Immediately drawn to him, she fights her attraction, still hoping she will come to love William and hoping to achieve a happy marriage. But William continues to spurn her advances, apparently satisfied with a loveless marriage and needing Lisa only as a trophy wife.

    
Here we see that a protagonist's goals can change throughout one's story. Indeed, your hero/heroine may have more than one goal.

Trapped in a loveless marriage and falling in love with Owen, Lisa's outer GMC changes. 

Goal: To be free of her marriage.

Motivation: Lisa is deeply in love with Owen, and William has become a heartless husband.

Conflict: William won't grant her a divorce.

    

Now what about Owen?  He's a steelworker, literally from the wrong side of the tracks. He lives in Homestead, a dirty steel town across the river from Pittsburgh. Owen has aspirations; he wants to better himself, the reason why he joined the literary club. What does his outer GMC look like?

Goal: To get out of the steel business. He wants to attend the university and become a civil engineer.

Motivation: He wants to escape the brutality of the steel mill, where the temperature can reach 130 degrees, and the noise can drive a man crazy.
Conflict: College is expensive and money is tight. He knows that a strike is imminent at the Homestead mill and will lead to a further depletion of his savings.

    
Deeply attracted to Lisa, he realizes she's a married lady and far above his station. With no way of knowing otherwise, he assumes she's happily married and that her husband loves her very much. So what is his inner GMC?

Goal: To forget his love for Lisa, drive her from his mind.

Motivation: Because she's married to another man.

Conflict: He can't drive her from his mind. He loves her too deeply.

    

Throughout "Forbidden Love" Lisa's and Owen's relationship develops and grows, their love becoming more intense. Owen learns of William's perfidies, his failure to take Lisa as a true wife. Now Owen's outer GMC matches Lisa's. 

Goal: To make Lisa his wife.

Motivation: He can no longer fight his love for her.

Conflict: William refuses to release Lisa from their marriage.

   
Before you begin a novel/novella, it's a good idea to create GMC charts, outer and inner, for your protagonists. And make sure you have plenty of conflict!

"Historical romance at its finest," Julie Bonello at eCataRomance

"Nothing less than a masterpiece", 5 Angels at Fallen Angel Reviews

http://amzn.com/B007EZF6S0

To find more of Shirley Martin's romance novels, please go to  
http://bookswelove.net/martin.php