RomantiCon

So, in a couple days the hunk and I are off to RomantiCon in Akron, OH. Click on the banner for all sorts of information...

Ellora's Cave was my first publisher. Seems like a long time ago when I received that initial contract offer for Dancer's Delight, but it wasn't really--only five years.

Now, eighteen books and two additional publishers later, I still remember the first time I met my fellow EC authors at an RT convention in Pittsburgh. Most of us were so new we were emerald green and soaking behind the ears. We rushed around hugging as we studied the faces behind our daily e-mails.

The hunk went to that convention with me and found himself eating lunch with twenty women. When the waitress asked him how he ended up with that many women, he told her they were his new harem...

I wasn't sure whether to smile or cover my face with my hands as my fellow diners included a publisher, two reporters, a reviewer or three plus an editor or two and lots of authors. But they all took it in good part.

That was also the first time I met most of the models. Since my sons are older than most of the models, they were comfortable hanging out with the hunk and I when some of the ladies at the convention tried to get too friendly. Yep, people get a bit strange when they leave home AND drink too much.

So I'm looking forward to meeting a few fans at the book signing and talking shop with my fellow authors. This year I'll meet my newest editor, also so that will be cool. And my first editor is coming from Australia. Altogether, it will be a great time!

Every year I meet some delightful reviewers and readers. Yep, many of them come for the weekend to hang out with their favorite authors. I'll post all about it when I get back!

anny

Readers...the final frontier.

On one of the chat loops that I check out fairly regularly, an author posted a message that caught my attention. I'm still trying to decide whether it was brave, foolhardy or just insane. The body of the message was a review she received for her book. Much of it had to do with the strong language and situations in the book. Hmmmm. This is an erotic romance site, yes? And what part of that did the reviewer not catch? Anyway, I digress. The author then offered a challenge to her readers to tell her what they thought.

I think I've said it before, but a reviewer is a reader that has an official place to post her opinion. That's it. When the writer reads the review, many times it is obvious that the reviewer is not a writer. Aside from the incidental spelling and puncuation errors, there is the dreaded, "I really liked this book" or "I really didn't like this book", but absolutely no reasons why. What particular event, character, or revelation made this book a pass or fail?

As a writer, I want to improve my writing with every book. If there is no reader feedback, then I'll struggle along, hoping that I am accomplishing that on my own. In one of my recent books, a reader/reviewer pointed out a particular incident that made her uncomfortable. There are unlimited opportunities for that to happen in the books I write. I'm not saying that I would have eliminated that scene if I had known beforehand. But I might have written it in such a way that my readers could relate to the characters better. As I work on the next book in that series, I'm more mindful of how my readers will view the characters.

Having said all of that, I'll slap my writer hat on and freely admit that I'm never going to please all readers. I can only hope that most readers reach the end of the book with a feeling of satisfaction and completion.

To that end, I'll make this offer--my readers are free to send me their reviews of any of my books. Once a month--on the second Monday of the month--I will post any reviews I receive from my readers on my blog, whether they're good, bad, or blech. I will identify each reader by their first name only. All I ask is that the review be specific. If you hated character Josie Kitty because she was too dumb to live, then say so. Send the reviews to annycook67@yahoo.com with Review--(Book Title) in the subject line. We'll call that feature Talk Back.

I very recently received a review for a book that declared the book was corny and that I used the same phrase repeatedly which the reviewer found distracting. My friends, the corny part I can't fix and I have no idea what that phrase might be. None at all. If you find something like that, please tell me specifically what the phrase is. Writers fall into patterns. Just as we recognize one pattern and eradicate it, another pops up. One book will be deep. The next book will be bleak or bright. In one book the characters will all nodding. Once you get all those heads still, you find that your characters are quirking their eyebrows. I once read a book where the hero stalked everywhere...even to bed. I wanted to tell him, "enough with the stalking, already". Two books ago, I deleted thirty-five justs. He was just tired. Just as she got there. Don't you just want to puke?

Feel free to review away. I will ask you to remember that this is a family site so watch the language. That said, it's all up to you.

Anny

Don't forget to stop over at Amarinda's Place where she's teaching the blue tongued lizards to tap dance at www.amarindajones.blogspot.com and then hop over to Kelly's Blog where she explaining how to sell books...lots of books and she has the Saga at www.kkirch.blogspot.com Blessings on your day.

Guest Reviewer--Tammie King from Night Owl Romance

Today my guest is Tammie King from Night Owl Romance. She's here to talk to us about the review process on her site. Tammie, thank you so much for taking time from your busy schedule to answer my questions!



1)New authors are frequently very confused about the reviewing process. Could you briefly tell us how a book is chosen for review?

At Night Owl Romance reviewers choose their own books. Lists of available books are provided for them to browse and they can also choose books from different ebook sites and watch coming soon lists. We also take requests direct from authors and those requests are sent to the reviewers. If one of them wants to review the book they let me know and I get the book from the author.

2)All right, the book is reviewed. What does the rating system really mean? And how can I tell the difference between a 2 and a 4?

We at Night Owl Romance have a 1-5 scale. A 5 is a keeper that will be read over and over again. A 2 is a book that just seems to be lacking something.

3)Now what happens? Is the author notified personally or is the review just posted on your website?

If an author requests the review then they are notified. Most of the books we review are direct from the publisher, so we notify the publisher when the review has been completed. Because the review process is time consuming we are not able to notify every author and publisher for every review. All of the reviewers donate their time.

4)How does one apply to be a reviewer? What are the reviewer's qualifications for your site?

We have an on-line sign-up form that I provide when reviewer positions are open. I just hired four new reviewers, so we are closed for now. We require new reviewers to provide a sample review and for them to do at least 3-5 reviews per month. Most of the reviewers do more than 5 per month.

5)When I visited Night Owl Romances, I noticed there were various book covers, book flicks and featured authors. How does one get to be a featured author? And how can I get my cover posted on your site?

To pay for the postage and other up keep on the site we charge for advertising. To get a book cover listed it's $12 a month, while Book Flicks are $30-$50 a month and featured author boxes are around $30 a month. We also have some free advertising opportunities. Authors can be interviewed for free and also post on our message board. Our author directory is also a free service.

6)If a new author came to you for advice about promoting her book on your site, what advice would you give her?

I normally offer new authors the chance to chat on our debut chat day and the opportunity to advertise their book via a book cover ad or specialty ad box. Both are great ways to get their book known by readers. We used to do a debut author package, but because of time we have had to cut that advertising opportunity.

7)Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your site?


Our goal at Night Owl Romance is to have readers and authors find each other. We love to hear that a reader has found a new author to love. NOR is a work of love that we give to authors and readers and we hope that readers and authors can find a way to hook up. We also have a monthly magazine that displays some of our reviews and has a hunk of the month interview. You can get the magazine by registering for our message board.



Tammie King
Night Owl Romance

http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/

Again, Thank You, Tammie!



Anny
You can make a new friend but you can't make an old one.--Tom Bodett


Need a lift? Stop by Amarinda's blog at http://www.amarindajones.blogspot.com/ for the latest in life or pop over to Kelly's blog at http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/ for the newest episode of the Blogga Saga.

Freelance Reviewer Rachael D. and the Official Acorn Report

Today, I have Rachael D, a freelance reviewer as my special guest. I'm honored that she was willing to answer my questions so frankly and completely. Thank you, Rachael.

1)Tell me about your blog and review process.I review for a couple sites online. Each site has different rules and lengths to their reviews. For one site I write only 350 words but for another I can write up to 500 words. I like to write more then less since sometimes it's hard for me to summarize in only a small amount of words.

2)How do you decide what books to read and review? Do you have a rating system? Two of the sites that I review for sends me lists of books that they received from publishers for review. I pick what books I would like from their list. The third site I review for sends me books each month based on what genres I've said I like. Alot of times I get books that I wouldn't normally read but I've discovered alot of great authors through reviewing for them. It's always fun to see what books they picked for me each month. I don't like to rate books but I need to for two of the sites. They have words describing each rating so you can decide what to rate it.

3)When you post a review, do you notify the author? Usually the website I review for is the one to notify the author. I have emailed an author or two my review before after thoroughly enjoying their book.

4)How would you advise a new author to get the attention of reviewers? All you need to do is submit your books to a review site that will review your genre of books. Then the reviewers will most likely get an email showing your book and if they're interested they will review it. Also you can run contests on your site for people to review your book. I've reviewed books that I've won through contests like this before. Usually it's run by a different author then the one who has written the book though. You can ask fellow authors to give away a book of yours for review on their site.

5)What really makes it for you as a reader? What do you look for in a book? What would be a deal breaker?I enjoy books told in the first person point of view. I read a large variety of genres but I don't really like science fiction, historicals, westerns, or erotica. I don't mind a strong sexual chemistry and some sex in my book as long as there is a storyline going on. Sex with no characterization or storyline is a definete turn off for me. I look for a book that makes me laugh, scares me, makes me think, makes me interested, and makes it so I don't want to put it down. I don't like alot of descriptiveness about scenery and books that are too wordy are a turn off. I like short chapters with alot of excitement that makes the book move along at a fast pace.

6)Where do you think the e-publishing market will be in five years?I don't think I'm the right person to ask about e-books. I'm not really a fan of them since I would rather hold the book in my hands rather than read it online.

7)Tell me anything else you would like to let my readers know. Read what you like and never be ashamed of what you read. If you enjoy erotica, romance, thrillers, mysteries, or biographies, it doesn't matter. The most important thing is that you are reading and using your mind.

Rachael D.

Thank you so much Rachael for your insights. It was a pleasure having you on my blog today.


And now, the acorn report! What would you do in the name of research? How far would you go? My foray into acorns began innocently enough. I was walking my dog, noticed the acorns on the ground, scooped up a handful and carried them back to my apartment. So began my saga.

After searching the internet for recipes, I discovered a site that not only had recipes, it also had the complete directions for processing them so they would be edible. Processing took several days. Roasting, shelling, boiling, drying, and finally grinding the result into a fine powder roughly the consistency of cornmeal was quite a labor intensive project.

It takes a lot of acorns to produce 1 and 1/2 cups of acorn flour. Without the wonderful assistance of one of my husband's co-workers, Joe Mainolfi, I'm not sure we would have succeeded. Thank you, Joe! Joe brought in two boxes of acorns he gathered up for us. It was a tremendous help.

Finally, over the weekend, I had enough acorn flour to try a recipe. My choice was a moist acorn muffin with apples, raisens and nuts. Actually, they were delicious. Small, as there was a minimal rising agent in them, but excellent taste. I can safely say that I now know more about acorns and processing them for food than anyone should have to know. But I truly enjoyed the experience. If I'm ever stuck in the wild in the fall near an acorn tree, at least I'll know what to do!

Anny

Don't forget to stop by Araminda's blog at http://www.aramindajones.blogspot.com/ to see what she's up to today. And then scoot over to Kelly's blog at http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/ to check out what she's up to on the Saga. Something brilliant and twisted, no doubt.

Interviewing the Reviewer--Terrie Figueroa from Romance Reviews Today

A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; a bad novel tells us the truth about its author...G.K. Chesterton

Today I have Terrie Figueroa of Romance Reviews Today as my guest. Terrie has graciously agreed to answer the hard questions--questions that many new authors need the answers to. As we fumble around in our new life, often we don't know exactly which way to turn. I will be interviewing several reviewers over the next two or three weeks. I hope that the readers and fellow authors will find the interviews interesting and informative.

1) New authors are frequently very confused about the reviewing process. Could you briefly tell us how a book is chosen for review? At Romance Reviews Today and RRTErotic I send a list out weekly of ebooks available for review. Reviewers chose which books they would like to review. For print book assignments I assign the books based on a detailed preference sheet I keep for all our reviewers. We don't assign eBooks as many of the reviewers have a hard time reviewing in electronic format - so they are all voluntary and we still review almost as many Ebooks as we do print books.

2) All right, the book is reviewed. What does the rating system really mean? And how can I tell the difference between a 2 and a 4? We don't rate our reviews with the exception of what we call nibbles. (Books 50 pages or less). We have a fairly clear definition of what each nibble rating means on site. For all of the books over 50 pages we write full reviews, including critiques of the work as well as a synopsis of the book. The reviewers comments will indicate the level of enjoyment the reviewer received. The exception is for truly exceptional books. We award those a Perfect 10 at RRT and La Grande Mort on RRTErotic. Books awarded a Perfect 10 or La Grande Mort are automatically included in our voting for Best book of the year by our reviewers.

3) Now what happens? Is the author notified personally or is the review just posted on your website?
When a review has gone through final editing and is ready to be sent to me for a future update a copy is sent to the publisher and the author. When the review actually posts the author is notified that it has posted.

4) How does one apply to be a reviewer? What are the reviewer's qualifications for your site?
If someone want to join RRT or RRTE they need to email me directly with "Reviewer Applicant" in the subject line. We will request that they fill out a questionnaire with their preferences. If their questionnaire fits the spot we're looking to fill we ask for a sample review. We don't expect perfect reviews but something that shows the reviewers has a good understanding of what a review is and that they have a good grasp on proper grammar.

5) When I visited Romance Reviews Today, I noticed there were various book covers and featured authors. How does one get to be a featured author? And how can I get my cover posted on your site?
The only covers we post are for those books awarded a P10 or La Grande Mort. Authors can buy advertising space for their covers at very reasonable costs. We also offer author spotlight advertising which will include a page exclusive to the author and can have one or more books featured as well as banners and links to their author sites.

6) If a new author came to you for advice about promoing her book on your site, what advice would you give her? I would advise a new author to do an interview, provide an ARC for an early review and run a banner ad. For someone just starting that's the most economical way to go. Banner ads are from $15 to $25 a month and interviews and reviews are provided at no charge -- ever.

7) Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your site? Both RRT and RRT Erotic are primarily romance novel sites. RRT is celebrating its 7th anniversary and RRTErotic is celebrating it's 1st anniversary. Between the two sites we've posted more than 10,000 reviews though only 2 years are maintained online. We have a staff of between 25 and 30 at any given time and review between 150 and 200 books a month.

We do review a good number of straight fiction, suspense and mystery, and even the occasional horror novel. We do not review "How to" , "Self Help". We have reviewed the occasional non-fiction book, but that is rare and the staff willing to review non-fiction small. We try to post reviews of print books in the month of release and Ebooks within 60 days of release. The longer lead time our reviewers have the more likely a review will be posted in a timely manner. We generally like at least a 60 turnaround from the time the book is submitted for review to the date it is posted on the sites.

My final thought is this. Reviews are the opinion of a single person and no author should ever base the value of their work on the opinion of a single reviewer. Each reviewer has their own likes and dislikes and hot buttons -- and it's important to keep that in mind whenever a reviewer is read.

Terrie Figueroa
Owner/Webmistress
Romance Reviews Today
http://www.romrevtoday.com/
RRTErotic
http://www.rrterotic.com/

I want to thank Terrie for being so gracious and taking time from her busy schedule to answer my questions. If there are any reviewers out there who would like to be my guest, please e-mail me at annycook67@yahoo.com !

Anny

Don't forget to stop by Amarinda's at http://www.amarindajones.blogspot.com/ to check out the new Saga episode. And then pop over to Kelly's at http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/ to check her latest take on life.