Reviews - to pay or not to pay?

This afternoon I got into a little wrangle about whether or not it's ethical to pay someone to review your book.

My view is that it's only ethical if you tell your potential readers that the review they read is one that has been commissioned and paid for by the author (or the agent or publisher). His view: Well... I'll paste some of it for you...

Book reviews that will help SELL YOUR BOOK!

I’m offering to write a review of your book which will present it as a work worth reading. It will be an honest and constructive read which will attract interest to your book... The problem with book reviews is they can be negative, which casts doubts over the book. However there are ways to avoid negativity and still be honest while presenting a book in a positive light.

If you want something that will help sell you book, let me write a review of it...

Now, to me, this is not going to be an honest review of what he thinks of the book, of the story or the author's way of storytelling. In my opinion, it is going to be a professionally produced commercial to entice readers to buy the book(s) otherwise, why would you bother paying for the privilege?

In my opinion, that's not fair representation to the potential readers of the book. As a reader myself, I would take exception to that kind of practice. If I had bought a book on such a glowing review and was disappointed, I'd never read anything the author wrote again - and I'd certainly never trust the reviewer's word again.

But, I leave it to you... what do you think?

Kindle and e-books

Wow, what a great invention! The Kindle I had as a try-out gadget a few weeks ago really is worth its weight in Book Tokens - easy!

The primary function it was to be used for was to see how Deadlier... looked in e-book format. I'm pleased to say that Deadlier... should soon be available for Kindle, hopefully this week.

I spent a few hours perusing Amazon.co for free books (yes, really!) and the titles I discovered - or re-discovered, I should say - is awesome. I'm reading Dracula at the moment, then I have Kidnapped, Alice in Wonderland, The Brothers Grimm, Mark Twain and so many more that I don't have time to list them all.

I really should be writing the second in the series started by Deadlier... - Cruel... and Unusual and so, that's what I'll be doing today. I have the research spread out on a table in my office-cum-writing room and I'm going to bury my head in that.

Speak to you soon :)

Shell

Deadlier... is finally here!

The last week has been the most exciting of my career as a writer so far. I received the first proof copy of 'Deadlier...' and ordered 100 copies in Hardback. I was out when they were delivered so I came home to find my hallway filled with boxes of MY book!

I can't begin to tell you how incredible that feels! To see box after box, filled with the book you've been working on, editing, tweaking and perfecting for the past few years (it's strange how the months meld into years so very quickly) is just incredible! I was almost brought to tears. And I STILL can't quite believe that it's real!

Just to let everyone know, the ISBN number is 978-1907939006 and it's on Amazon - UK and US, Waterstones, WHSmith and others.

For the run of the first 100 Hardback copies, GINGERNUT Books will be taking orders on their website for signed books.

On Monday the Photographer from our local paper The Chad came over to take a pic for an article I'll be doing soon. She's a lovely lady, very patient and considerate but the flash just wouldn't seem to work. It would flash if she was aiming it away from me, on a test flash, so to speak, but when it was directed towards me, it wouldn't work. It was very puzzling.

Eventually, she got the right shot and it did look amazing, so it was well worth the time she took... but the previous few pics that she showed me were covered in little dots of reflected light... Now, I'm a little superstitious but those pictures were covered in what are sometimes called 'Orbs'. I'll ask if she still has the pics (although I don't know why she'd keep them) and I'll see if I can get a couple to put on here.

One last thing... (but certainly not least) Pixel Dome is the Photographer that did the amazing picture for the front cover for my book. He's also working continuously towards helping me promote it. I really cannot thank Dave enough for the work he's put in for me. Please check out his work.

Deadline set

Well, I suppose I feel like a 'proper writer' now. I have just had my first (and second) deadline set for me to work to. That's something new (ish).

Cruel... And Unusual (working title) is a sequel of sorts, but a stand-alone story in its own right, and has the deadline of the beginning of November with Fire & Ice (working title) to follow in the New Year. It's not quite so demanding as it sounds, though, Cruel... is a good way through already, with the middle and end already mapped out. Fire & Ice is also well on its way, with a third of it completed.

Fire & Ice is not a Werewolf-based novel, but based on the Goddess - Maiden, Mother and Hag and her power within each form. I started writing that for a competition - Richard & Judy - and I sent it off but it got lost in the post (typical hey?). My husband was all for printing another copy and delivering it to London for the next day but I decided that it had been lost for a reason and left it.

Browsing through my laptop the other evening and I found another Werewolf story that I had started ages ago and forgotten. I began reading it and realised where I had been going with that one too. I had written 15,000 words on it.

I also have another story, not-Werewolf, called Verdigris but that is not very far in.

I'm sure there's another one lurking on one of my computers, I seem to recall starting from a familiar place - the viaduct - which appears in Deadlier...

That's all for the moment. As ever, I'll keep jotting down notes on here to keep you updated on how Deadlier... is progressing. The cover should be with us by the beginning of August. I can't wait to see that!

Michelle xx

Here we go...

Thanks for dropping by, welcome to my ramblings...

Are you here by accident or design? It doesn't matter, stay if you like.

I've leaped into the world of publishing, eyes wide in bewilderment (hence the title) and it's getting more confusing and interesting as we go.

My first book Deadlier... Than The Male is set to be published by Gingernut Books in late Summer / early Autumn (or 'Fall' for our cousins over the 'Pond') and 'excited' comes nowhere close to how I'm feeling about it.

I've worked on the book as a labour of love for a number of years now and always hoped/ dreamed that it would 'get there'. I've had a lot of help along the way, and also a lot of encouragement - Thank you all, you know who you are. 

Deadlier... is the first in what I hope to be a number of books which chronicle the journey of a creature from the depths of legend - a Werewolf. 

If you'd like a few tasters on it, I can point you to Deadlier... Blog

Anyway, thanks for dropping by, there'll be more later.