Read an eBook Week: Top 10 Reasons eBooks Deserve a Look... (Article) - 2/20/2017 8:38:10 AM
As I watch my partner reading or watching videos on her iPad lying on her back relaxing in the bed or on her side, often falling asleep because of her exhausting schedule, I have to laugh at the way she picked up on that first iPad I gave her and made it her own.
I first saw the advantage of online reading when I entered some of my doctoral work into ERIC, the Educational Resources Information Center, in 1975, making these documents widely available to the scientific and educational community via computer access.
By 1987, I had shifted all of my work (and writing) from typewriter to personal computer and installed one of the first email clients into our departmental network of 35 personal computers. At that time I recommended that we go paperless as much as possible because our files were overburdened with documents and duplicates of documents that nobody ever read.
My first novel, written in 1999, was an ebook. At that time, it seemed like only geeks were interested in ebooks--a fad, so when POD paperback books came along in 2001, I turned to those.
Your 10 points are very apropos to those holdouts who still think they need a book in their hands like my mother. But, writing to me that I should embrace ebooks is like preaching to the choir. I love the versatility, editing and formatting ability, as well as the ability to make bookmarks without cluttering up the house with more physical books than my full book shelf can handle. Viva ebooks! I say.
Ron
The Top 10 Over-Used Trends in the Fiction World (Article) - 2/18/2017 11:03:26 AM
I think you covered them well. #1 is definitely a big turnoff for me.
I don't read books, but reading reviews here and what you wrote gives me an idea of what's out there. I do watch movies that are now on television and drama shows that tend to be serialized and sourced in books. I found two that you missed. Number one is all the violence. Apparently, violence is the key to keeping them coming back for more. I disagree. The second problem is related to the first. Switch abouts: every story it seems that, multiple times, the hero/heroine has the upper hand and then loses it, only to gain it back later. This kind of give-and-take is so unrealistic it makes me gag.
Ron
The Great Review Search (Article) - 2/10/2017 7:45:48 AM
Your article is filled with good advice and spiced with humor. I have to tell you that my grandfather didn't want any raisins in anything he ate--called them, "bugs." He was a strong, hard-working man that never went to see a doctor. Unfortunately, when he was in his early 70s he confided in my father that he had a problem. It was prostate cancer and he died shortly afterward. I can't help thinking that if he had eaten raisins, he might have held off that inevitable cancer (all men get it) for many more years.
I've always loved raisins and eat them every chance I get. But I can see why some people who have read, A Raisin in the Sun, might not like them. ;-)
I'm not much of a book reader but I review every book that I read. I often get offers from AD authors to exchange books/reviews. I've had to postpone a number of those until I quit writing and just do reading. Anyway, a young author shared his short book with me and asked for a review, stating that he needed 50 reviews to get on a special promotion list at Amazon. I took him up on the offer to exchange reviews, and wrote an honest review of his work that I shared with him before posting (I always do this as a courtesy in case the author does not like my review). He took my book and posted a review within a couple of days. I was surprised at how quickly he read the book. But I was not surprised when the review, while flattering, made it obvious that he had only read the first few chapters and then went on to his goal of getting 50 reviews for his book.
Ron
Re-writing the Same Book from an Alternate POV: (Article) - 2/1/2017 7:56:22 AM
You said it well: fanfiction. I find people writing in certain genres, Sherlock Holmes whodunits, Star Trek episodes, Star Wars novels, vampire novels, etc. are not writing anything original, just hitchhiking on the formula that was successful with the original classic work.
Come to think of it, I did rewrite my first novel from a different POV. My first novel was an epic first contact novel that spanned some 6000 years, but only ended up to be 65 pages long. I described what would happen if extraterrestrials arrived. The event happened in a good way, the only way that I could think extremely superior intelligence to ours would treat us. Stephen Hawking and others think differently. I was also vague and brief because describing what that would be like from mere human experience would most definitely be wrong. A failure of many science fiction novels that have no basis in science but are merely soap operas of human experience set in a mythical outerspace.
When my publisher asked me to write a sequel to my "terrific" novel, I was stymied. How do you write a sequel to the coming of God? So, I decided to change my POV. Using the same characters, I turned the tables and wrote a "mirror" (not a sequel) of the first book with us (humans) becoming extraterrestrials. Once again, I tended to be brief and try to stick to science and not mythology in my description of how we would travel between the stars.
Ron
Free Books: Stop the Madness! (Article) - 1/17/2017 7:22:22 AM
You have a real point. Serious authors like you value the time and effort placed in writing a book. You want to be repaid for your efforts and at least break even. Since I first produced an e-book in 1999 and saw it sell very well for the first year and then drop off to nothing, I have followed each trend that comes along.
You're right. Nobody likes their artistic effort to be Bogarted by freeloaders. I recall the fervor over Napster and all of the musicians having their creative work stolen by geeks for free. But now, anyone can go on YouTube or elsewhere and get those songs from the original artists for free.
Cream rises to the top. As a poor kid, I read all the classics for free in the local library. When I got to college, I rented my textbooks, and don't recall ever buying one with their expensive price tags. Most were not needed after that semester of class. During college, I watched a lot of free or inexpensive movies. Today, I watch them for free on demand through, admittedly, an expensive cable provider. I have a bookshelf filled with books that I have acquired for free. No one reads them, not even me.
Amazon through its marketing genius (monopolizing) is now the King of free books. In this new online milieu, fame is no longer judged by sales, but by Internet clicks or hits. As authors, we have to be famous (or infamous) for our work to be appreciated and purchased.
My parents once spent $120 they couldn't afford to buy my brother and I a World Book Encyclopedia. Today, free (I donate to Wikipedia for their service), we can get language translation, dictionary, mapping and other services for the price of a smart device and the Internet. It's a wonderful world and we have to live with it.
I recently provided all of my books to my family and friends for free. If I keep my light under a basket, no one will ever see it shine.
Ron
GoodReads Sponsored Ads: An Indie Perspective (Article) - 1/15/2017 9:25:20 AM
I went to your journal and took a look. You've done a fine analysis of what GoodReads ads have done for you. You also indicate that you had success with Facebook and Pinerest. Your promotional efforts go far beyond mine. Looks like I have to get busy. ;-)
Ron
The Words I Left Unsaid (Poetry) - 1/25/2017 7:49:56 AM
Simply beautifully and regrettably written with such style and grace. This one deserves to be framed and placed over every jilted lover's dresser to remind them of their humility. Loved it! And the ending was classic.
Ron
The Words I Left Unsaid (Poetry) - 1/25/2017 7:35:30 AM
Those 3 words are important to say. The other 3 are, let me help. But the most important words are, I'm sorry.
Michael D.
The Words I Left Unsaid (Poetry) - 1/25/2017 6:50:08 AM
Seems your body mind and spirit has accumulated many words yet to be expressed. Seeds waiting for the right conditions to blossom and bear fruit. I've learned, in my experiences, that there are some who could hear you speak (or share) a thousand words and still not understand you. And then there are others who will understand without you ever speaking a word. It's complicated. Much can be resolved, though, or put into motion, with those three words. Lovely thoughts expressed well. r
