Month: March 2022

AUTHORS – WHY YOU SHOULDN’T IGNORE BAD REVIEWS #WWWBLOGS #BOOKREVIEWS

I’ve written about this subject before, and received many different responses and opinions. I thought I’d address the issue again, as I still often see authors on social media asking others how they should handle a negative review. The most common response is ‘Ignore it’. That always makes me shudder. if you’re publishing, if you’re putting your writing out there, then negative reviews are something you’re going to have to deal with, and ignoring them is not the right advice.

Writing is hard. You invest huge amounts of time and effort into your writing. It can be a pain. And it’s terrifying having your work out there, where it can be picked apart. Wouldn’t it be lovely if everyone could bear all that in mind when they write a review of your book?

But why should they? No one has forced you to put your book on Amazon. And your reader, who has spent their money and invested their time in reading your book, is entitled to their opinion. You chose to sell your book. They bought it in good faith.

Now, I’m not talking about the reviews that are silly and thoughtless and are to do with delivery times and downloading issues etc. These are ridiculous, and can, for the most part, be ignored as can the sort of reviews that complain about the amount of sex or swearing in a book, something that’s down to personal taste. I’m talking about reviews that point out a fault with your book. And if lots of readers are telling you that your books are full of errors, or are too wordy, or are boring, or that they had to skip great big sections, then you need to take note. The problem is, lots of writers lump all these types of reviews together. Worse, they accuse these readers of being trolls.

And this is a problem with a lot of authors and it’s one that does other indie writers no favours. There is a tendency among authors to be very precious about their work. They think because they’ve worked hard and because they’ve sweated over a book then that means it should be above criticism. They seem to think that because they’ve poured their hearts and souls into something then no one must be mean. Well, I’m sorry, but that’s rubbish.

It’s not OK to put something that’s poorly written or badly edited out there, expect people to pay for it, spend their precious time reading it, and then not expect to be taken to task if it’s not up to scratch. If you went to a restaurant and bought a meal and it was crap would you think, oh well, but the chef spent time on it, I should be nice? No, you wouldn’t. You’d complain. You’d be entitled to. And if you’ve put a book out there, then the reader is also entitled to complain if it isn’t up to scratch.

I know of book reviewers who have dared to criticise books and who have been met with insults and worse. That’s just not on.

Indie authors say they want to be treated with respect. They say they want to be recognised. But then some expect special treatment. The world doesn’t work like that.

So look at those one star reviews. It’s painful, I know. But there might be something in there that really helps your writing.

Be brave. We only learn through our mistakes after all, and if you never face those mistakes and correct them, then you’ll never grow as an author.

I am an experienced editor, and have worked on more than five hundred projects in a variety of genres including dystopian, romance, memoir, erotica, YA, fantasy, short stories, poetry and business. I am happy to edit in either UK or US English.

I have a first degree in English Language and Literature and a master’s degree in creative writing.

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Opening Lines #WritingTips #AmWriting

The opening line of your novel must draw your reader in. They should read that first line and think: I need to read this book. I want to know what happens.

So how do you create a great first line? That’s a difficult thing to try and explain. The best thing to do, as with most things, is to read. And when you read, think about your reaction to that opening line. Do you want to read on? If so, why? And if not, why not? I can do no better, though, than to share these wonderful first lines:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

Charles Dickens: A Tale Of Two Cities (1859)

‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.’

George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

“You better not never tell nobody but God.”

Alice Walker: The Color Purple (1982)

“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.”

Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar (1963)

“It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him.”

Joseph Heller: Catch-22 (1961)

“I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.”

Christopher Isherwood: Goodbye To Berlin (1939)

“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.”

Dodie Smith: I Capture the Castle (1948)

“Mother died today. Or maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure.”

Albert Camus: The Stranger (1946)

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

J.D Salinger: The Catcher In The Rye (1951)

Got a favourite opening line? Share it by leaving a comment below.

Happy writing!

I have a first degree in English Language and Literature and a master’s degree in creative writing.

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Jargon and When to Use It #WritingTips #AmWriting

The term jargon applies to words that are potentially confusing or impenetrable to most readers either because they are very specific to a certain field or because they have different uses or meanings in different fields.

Jargon is necessary in some genres in order to make the scenes, conversations, procedures etc. realistic and authentic. For example, in crime fiction, the use of jargon may be necessary to bring realism to your work – when police, forensics, medical examiners are talking for example. It is also useful to add authenticity and authority to characters and to give readers a feel for their personalities – a snobby university professor, for example, who wants to impress his colleagues, might drop a few literary terms into his conversations. If this is only a veil of pretention, and they don’t actually have the knowledge to back up how they want to be perceived, they may even use the wrong ones. A salesman or executive might use industry-related jargon like ‘blue sky thinking’ or ‘thinking outside the box’. If your character speaks like this your reader will know immediately the type of person he or she is.

Remember, however, that while jargon can be an effective way of expanding on the traits of a character and expressing their knowledge, or lack of knowledge, it should never be used as an opportunity to show off what you know. While we can all relate to that situation in writing where there is the perfect opportunity to throw in a big word, you have to be sure that such a word fits the text, or the character saying it. What is more impressive than a clever word is clever, perceptive and subtle writing.

The key thing to remember is your audience. If you’re writing crime, then the chances are that your reader will expect some jargon, and your book will need to include it. Do make sure you’re using the correct terms though – if you don’t there will be someone, somewhere, who will helpfully point that out to you in a review on Amazon. Otherwise use jargon sparingly – successful, engaging, creative writing calls for clarity.

As always, have your reader in mind.

Happy writing!

I have a first degree in English Language and Literature and a master’s degree in creative writing.

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Homophones #WritingTips #AmWriting

A homophone is a word that is pronounced in the same way as another word, but has a different meaning and may be spelt differently. They can cause writers, and in turn their readers, confusion.

One common example of this is ‘there’, ‘their’ and they’re’. Since I’ve been editing I’ve been surprised by how many people get this wrong. It isn’t always that a writer doesn’t know the difference, but often the wrong word has been used accidently and just hasn’t been picked up. But if you use the wrong version in your published book, readers will think you don’t know what you’re talking about (there’s another one – your and you’re) and will lose their trust in you and your book.

So, just in case:

there – refers to a place or is used with the verb to be: ‘There is a lion in the zoo; look, it’s over there.’
their – shows possession. ‘It is their lion.’
they’re – the contraction of ‘they are’. ‘They are looking at their lion.’

Other homophones I’ve come across are:

waive and wave
for, four and fore
to, too and two
discreet and discrete
wrings and ring (‘she was ringing her hands’ should be ‘she was wringing her hands’)
fazes and phases

Of course, the words may be spelt the same but have a different meaning (like the example in the cartoon above).

One of the best ways to make sure you’re using the right word is to have someone else read over your work, whether that’s a beta reader, a fellow writer or an editor. Sometimes we’re so close to our work that we don’t notice these relatively simple errors. A fresh pair of eyes can make all the difference.

Happy writing!

I have a first degree in English Language and Literature and a master’s degree in creative writing.

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‘Daughters of Night’ by Laura Shepherd-Robinson #TuesdayBookBlog #BookReview

From the pleasure palaces and gin-shops of Covent Garden to the elegant townhouses of Mayfair, Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s Daughters of Night follows Caroline Corsham as she seeks justice for a murdered woman whom London society would rather forget . . .

London, 1782. Desperate for her politician husband to return home from France, Caroline ‘Caro’ Corsham is already in a state of anxiety when she finds a well-dressed woman mortally wounded in the bowers of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. The Bow Street constables are swift to act, until they discover that the deceased woman was a highly paid prostitute, at which point they cease to care entirely. But Caro has motives of her own for wanting to see justice done, and so sets out to solve the crime herself. Enlisting the help of thieftaker Peregrine Child, their inquiry delves into the hidden corners of Georgian society, a world of artifice, deception and secret lives.

But with many gentlemen refusing to speak about their dealings with the dead woman, and Caro’s own reputation under threat, finding the killer will be harder, and more treacherous, than she can know . . .

This combines all the twists and turns of a really clever murder mystery with meticulous research, and a fabulously written main character – mystery, history and a female lead that you really care about.

Lady Caroline Corsham (Caro) discovers her friend, who she believes to be an Italian countess, dying in a bower in the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. Caro is shocked to discover that ‘Lucia’ is actually Lucy Loveless, a high-class prostitute. When the police don’t seem to care about Lucy’s murder, Caro, determined to get to the truth and to secure justice for Lucy, begins an investigation herself. Along with theiftaker Peregrine Child, she begins an investigation that brings to light some very dangerous goings-on in Georgian society – some of which are rather close to home.

This is a very long book – almost six hundred pages in paperback format. It does manage to hold your interest for the most part – but I did feel it could have been cut back a little. There were times when I just wanted to get on with the story. That said, the historical detail has been meticulously researched and the narrative is full to the brim with little details that immerse the reader in late eighteenth century London.

Clever, exciting, beautifully written, just a little bit too long – but that won’t stop me reading more by this author.

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