Alan Cook's Blog - Posts Tagged "mystery"
Goodreads Book Giveaways
When my amnesia mystery, Forget to Remember, was published, I was looking for an effective way to promote it without a large outlay of money. I found it at Goodreads.
Membership in Goodreads is free, as you know, and allows readers to post ratings and reviews of the books they’ve read. In addition, authors can post the titles of books they’ve published. Information about who is reading and reviewing each of the author’s books will then appear on his or her home page. You can also have friends on Goodreads (does that sound familiar), and you will receive information about what each of your friends is reading.
What intrigued me is that Goodreads also allows authors to list their newly published books for giveaways. They don’t charge for this service. I signed up to give away five print copies of Forget to Remember (e-book giveaways aren’t allowed). During the period of several weeks that my giveaway was available, 1,118 people signed up for it.
That’s a lot of exposure, considering the fact that I was only out five copies of the book. What happened was that many of the people who signed up but didn’t win a copy purchased the e-book version of Forget to Remember. The month after my giveaway ended I had the best sales month of e-books I’ve ever had—by far. At one point the Amazon Kindle ranking of Forget to Remember almost broke into the top 100 bestsellers. The sales of my other e-books also jumped.
If you have a recently published book, or will have in the future, I recommend using the Goodreads giveaway as a promotion. You’ll have a hard time beating the return you receive for the money you spend.
Membership in Goodreads is free, as you know, and allows readers to post ratings and reviews of the books they’ve read. In addition, authors can post the titles of books they’ve published. Information about who is reading and reviewing each of the author’s books will then appear on his or her home page. You can also have friends on Goodreads (does that sound familiar), and you will receive information about what each of your friends is reading.
What intrigued me is that Goodreads also allows authors to list their newly published books for giveaways. They don’t charge for this service. I signed up to give away five print copies of Forget to Remember (e-book giveaways aren’t allowed). During the period of several weeks that my giveaway was available, 1,118 people signed up for it.
That’s a lot of exposure, considering the fact that I was only out five copies of the book. What happened was that many of the people who signed up but didn’t win a copy purchased the e-book version of Forget to Remember. The month after my giveaway ended I had the best sales month of e-books I’ve ever had—by far. At one point the Amazon Kindle ranking of Forget to Remember almost broke into the top 100 bestsellers. The sales of my other e-books also jumped.
If you have a recently published book, or will have in the future, I recommend using the Goodreads giveaway as a promotion. You’ll have a hard time beating the return you receive for the money you spend.
Editing for Dollars
In the third Carol Golden novel, Dangerous Wind (available on Amazon Kindle) http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Wind-...)
Carol has to find an old boyfriend she doesn’t remember (because of her amnesia) who is supposedly plotting the downfall of the Western World. This life-or-death adventure will take Carol to all 7 continents, with shocking results.
Here is a challenge for those of you who like this kind of book. I believe it has been well edited. However, no matter how carefully a book is edited, errors slip through. I’ve seen errors in best-sellers. With that in mind, and because it’s easier to fix any errors on the Kindle version than a print version, I’m offering to pay any person who is the first to find a particular error in the book the sum of $5.00.
Fair warning: I may blog some more about this topic. If you contact me I may use your comments in my blog.
Since this challenge is fraught with financial and legal implications, I had to make up rules. Here they are:
1. Deadline for reporting errors: April 30, 2013.
2. Maximum payout: $200; limit for one person: $25
3. Send notice of errors to alcook@sprintmail.com
4. Payment will be made by check or through Paypal.
5. I will pay the first person to find each error of the following type: misspelling, grammar (except in dialog and cases where bad grammar may be intentional), typos, punctuation and formatting (unless altered by Amazon).
6. I will not pay for commas (in or out). Everybody has different rules for commas.
Happy hunting.
Carol has to find an old boyfriend she doesn’t remember (because of her amnesia) who is supposedly plotting the downfall of the Western World. This life-or-death adventure will take Carol to all 7 continents, with shocking results.
Here is a challenge for those of you who like this kind of book. I believe it has been well edited. However, no matter how carefully a book is edited, errors slip through. I’ve seen errors in best-sellers. With that in mind, and because it’s easier to fix any errors on the Kindle version than a print version, I’m offering to pay any person who is the first to find a particular error in the book the sum of $5.00.
Fair warning: I may blog some more about this topic. If you contact me I may use your comments in my blog.
Since this challenge is fraught with financial and legal implications, I had to make up rules. Here they are:
1. Deadline for reporting errors: April 30, 2013.
2. Maximum payout: $200; limit for one person: $25
3. Send notice of errors to alcook@sprintmail.com
4. Payment will be made by check or through Paypal.
5. I will pay the first person to find each error of the following type: misspelling, grammar (except in dialog and cases where bad grammar may be intentional), typos, punctuation and formatting (unless altered by Amazon).
6. I will not pay for commas (in or out). Everybody has different rules for commas.
Happy hunting.
Blog on a Blot: Backgammon Anyone?
My new mystery/suspense novel, HIT THAT BLOT, has a backgammon theme, but since there don’t seem to be many backgammon players around I’m glad people are telling me it’s a good read even for those poor souls who don’t play the game.
Backgammon is a game of chance (using dice) with a strong element of skill. People who know the odds of certain events happening have a big advantage. My understanding is that it used to be much more popular in many places, such as the US, than it is currently.
I, myself, learned to play backgammon many years ago. I even read a book on backgammon and learned good opening moves and the chances of hitting my opponent’s checkers or getting hit. At that point I figured I was ready for a tournament being held nearby. I entered the advanced category instead of novice because the prizes were better. Of course, I was quickly handed my head by a bunch of Armenians who were born playing backgammon, but in spite of that I’ve been playing on and off ever since.
Not long ago I started playing backgammon on the Internet, using a Microsoft app that hooks up players from all over the world, and did quite well. This led me to the idea for a new Carol Golden novel, since Carol is a mathematician and likes to play games. In doing research for the book I discovered that the backgammon guru (or MFIC—don’t ask what that means) for the Los Angeles area is Patrick Gibson, a man I used to work with in a previous millennium.
I entered one of Patrick’s tournaments and got handed my head again, but I also found that I’m not that bad. I had some good games, although I lost the matches. So I wrote the book, making Carol a better player than I am. Then I had the hubris to add a series of appendices giving backgammon tips and a glossary of terms. The feedback has been positive, I’m happy to say.
Whether or not people play backgammon I hope they enjoy the book. But deep down inside I’m hoping to start a backgammon revival.
Backgammon is a game of chance (using dice) with a strong element of skill. People who know the odds of certain events happening have a big advantage. My understanding is that it used to be much more popular in many places, such as the US, than it is currently.
I, myself, learned to play backgammon many years ago. I even read a book on backgammon and learned good opening moves and the chances of hitting my opponent’s checkers or getting hit. At that point I figured I was ready for a tournament being held nearby. I entered the advanced category instead of novice because the prizes were better. Of course, I was quickly handed my head by a bunch of Armenians who were born playing backgammon, but in spite of that I’ve been playing on and off ever since.
Not long ago I started playing backgammon on the Internet, using a Microsoft app that hooks up players from all over the world, and did quite well. This led me to the idea for a new Carol Golden novel, since Carol is a mathematician and likes to play games. In doing research for the book I discovered that the backgammon guru (or MFIC—don’t ask what that means) for the Los Angeles area is Patrick Gibson, a man I used to work with in a previous millennium.
I entered one of Patrick’s tournaments and got handed my head again, but I also found that I’m not that bad. I had some good games, although I lost the matches. So I wrote the book, making Carol a better player than I am. Then I had the hubris to add a series of appendices giving backgammon tips and a glossary of terms. The feedback has been positive, I’m happy to say.
Whether or not people play backgammon I hope they enjoy the book. But deep down inside I’m hoping to start a backgammon revival.
Grief--How Writers Get it Wrong
“Your father was just killed. I’m very sorry. Get over it.”
I’m paraphrasing, of course, but this is the way grief was handled in a television episode of “Hawaii Five-O” I watched recently. Steve McGarrett’s father (this is a flashback) is the first person to arrive at a murder scene. He confirms that the man is dead and then immediately says some version of the above to his young daughter.
My observation is that this is the way many writers handle scenes of grief. It’s easier to spot them on television shows than in books, since everything is netted out in a TV show. (“You’ve got one minute for the grief scene.”)
Another favorite phrase of the policeman/detective/relative/friend is, “Everything’s going to be all right.”
How ridiculous can you get? Of course, everything’s not going to be all right. Everything’s never going to be all right. You’ve just lost a loved one.
So how should a writer handle scenes of grief? I work as a volunteer listener at a crisis hotline where we take phone calls from people who want to talk about their problems. Many of them are grieving. We teach a class in listening for our new volunteers. Everybody should take this class, especially writers.
Our listeners handle calls from people who are grieving by listening to them. Grief-stricken people aren’t looking for advice; they want somebody to understand their feelings—to empathize with what they are going through. They want someone who is there for them, not preaching to them.
They don’t want to be judged about whether they are grieving properly. “You’ll get over it.”
Wrong.
They are never going to get over it. The grief from losing a loved one is always going to be with them in some form.
There are supposedly five stages of grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. That reduces grieving to something mechanical. “Get past these stages and you’ll be fine.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. People may go through these stages in any order. They may skip some, altogether, and return to others, even much later.
One television show that at least gets it partially right is “Crossing Jordan.” My wife and I came late to this show and watch it on Netflix. At least it has a grief counselor who listens to people who come into the morgue to identify a loved one. That doesn’t mean the show doesn’t fall into the trap of advice and judgment from time to time.
A writer who has a character consoling a person in grief, assuming that character is doing it correctly, would have the consoler do the following: really listen to the person who is grieving, acknowledge his feelings, empathize with him—but don’t preach, give advice or judge him.
Doing those things takes time, and television shows don’t have much time, but that is no excuse for getting it wrong.
I shouldn’t say this because I have relatives and friends who are therapists, but if everyone learned how to listen properly we wouldn’t need as many therapists.
I’m paraphrasing, of course, but this is the way grief was handled in a television episode of “Hawaii Five-O” I watched recently. Steve McGarrett’s father (this is a flashback) is the first person to arrive at a murder scene. He confirms that the man is dead and then immediately says some version of the above to his young daughter.
My observation is that this is the way many writers handle scenes of grief. It’s easier to spot them on television shows than in books, since everything is netted out in a TV show. (“You’ve got one minute for the grief scene.”)
Another favorite phrase of the policeman/detective/relative/friend is, “Everything’s going to be all right.”
How ridiculous can you get? Of course, everything’s not going to be all right. Everything’s never going to be all right. You’ve just lost a loved one.
So how should a writer handle scenes of grief? I work as a volunteer listener at a crisis hotline where we take phone calls from people who want to talk about their problems. Many of them are grieving. We teach a class in listening for our new volunteers. Everybody should take this class, especially writers.
Our listeners handle calls from people who are grieving by listening to them. Grief-stricken people aren’t looking for advice; they want somebody to understand their feelings—to empathize with what they are going through. They want someone who is there for them, not preaching to them.
They don’t want to be judged about whether they are grieving properly. “You’ll get over it.”
Wrong.
They are never going to get over it. The grief from losing a loved one is always going to be with them in some form.
There are supposedly five stages of grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. That reduces grieving to something mechanical. “Get past these stages and you’ll be fine.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. People may go through these stages in any order. They may skip some, altogether, and return to others, even much later.
One television show that at least gets it partially right is “Crossing Jordan.” My wife and I came late to this show and watch it on Netflix. At least it has a grief counselor who listens to people who come into the morgue to identify a loved one. That doesn’t mean the show doesn’t fall into the trap of advice and judgment from time to time.
A writer who has a character consoling a person in grief, assuming that character is doing it correctly, would have the consoler do the following: really listen to the person who is grieving, acknowledge his feelings, empathize with him—but don’t preach, give advice or judge him.
Doing those things takes time, and television shows don’t have much time, but that is no excuse for getting it wrong.
I shouldn’t say this because I have relatives and friends who are therapists, but if everyone learned how to listen properly we wouldn’t need as many therapists.
Sue Grafton
Sue Grafton's new book, Y is for Yesterday, is coming out this month (August 2017), and her last Kinsey Millhone book, Z is for Zero, will hopefully be out in 2019.
Unfortunately, she has been forbidden by her doctors from public appearances and speaking engagements, so she will not be interacting with her many friends and readers. This is a shame because Sue has always been a very public person, maintaining a positive relationship with her readers and giving helpful talks to writers.
I have listened to her speak on several occasions. She signed one of her books for my wife: "Surprise! Surprise! Your husband is a great guy!"
I once sent her a limerick and she wrote me a letter, thanking me and complaining about how difficult it was to think up a plot for her next book. Judging from the success of her books and her vast readership, she has always been able to overcome any plotting problems she might have had.
I wish her well and look forward to the publication of Z is for Zero.
The story of Grafton, Sweet Sue,
Is one of an alphabet stew.
From A through to Z;
She'd done B, G and P.
She's doing it all just for U.
Shrewd Kinsey was born back in '50;
She deals with the folks who are shifty,
And killers and sneaks;
It's justice she seeks,
And a really nice guy would be nifty.
Unfortunately, she has been forbidden by her doctors from public appearances and speaking engagements, so she will not be interacting with her many friends and readers. This is a shame because Sue has always been a very public person, maintaining a positive relationship with her readers and giving helpful talks to writers.
I have listened to her speak on several occasions. She signed one of her books for my wife: "Surprise! Surprise! Your husband is a great guy!"
I once sent her a limerick and she wrote me a letter, thanking me and complaining about how difficult it was to think up a plot for her next book. Judging from the success of her books and her vast readership, she has always been able to overcome any plotting problems she might have had.
I wish her well and look forward to the publication of Z is for Zero.
The story of Grafton, Sweet Sue,
Is one of an alphabet stew.
From A through to Z;
She'd done B, G and P.
She's doing it all just for U.
Shrewd Kinsey was born back in '50;
She deals with the folks who are shifty,
And killers and sneaks;
It's justice she seeks,
And a really nice guy would be nifty.
Free Kindle Mystery-Suspense Novel
I'm feeling kind-hearted and am giving away Kindle copies of my 7th Carol Golden novel, "Your Move." If you have an Amazon Kindle account you can have one if you send me your Amazon Kindle email address: alcook@sprintmail.com Of course, I would appreciate reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Limited time offer (whatever that means).
Somebody is killing people who work for subsidiaries of conglomerate Ault Enterprises and playing some kind of game while doing it. Carol Golden is called on to help identify the killer because she has experience in breaking codes and playing games. Amy O’Connor, a former scam artist and long-distance hiker with an eye for men, becomes her partner by accident, and together they search for clues in interesting places. The hunt takes them to the tops of significant mountain peaks in the United States, including Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental U.S., and to other unusual locales such as the thinly populated Lost Coast region of northern California. Carol finds that incidents in her past that are lost to her because of her amnesia may come back to haunt her before she can win this deadly game.
Somebody is killing people who work for subsidiaries of conglomerate Ault Enterprises and playing some kind of game while doing it. Carol Golden is called on to help identify the killer because she has experience in breaking codes and playing games. Amy O’Connor, a former scam artist and long-distance hiker with an eye for men, becomes her partner by accident, and together they search for clues in interesting places. The hunt takes them to the tops of significant mountain peaks in the United States, including Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental U.S., and to other unusual locales such as the thinly populated Lost Coast region of northern California. Carol finds that incidents in her past that are lost to her because of her amnesia may come back to haunt her before she can win this deadly game.
