News

The Importance of Reviews

April 9, 2012

Photo by jvleis

One of the questions I asked in my survey is whether or not people write reviews of the books they like. Many respondents said they don’t. When asked why, not ever thinking to do it was a top answer.

Not all readers are writers, and some people also expressed that they felt unqualified to write a review.

There are some really excellent review writers out there, and I’ve read my fair share of long, well-thought out pieces. But a review doesn’t have to be a 500-word essay. In fact, on sites like Goodreads, you’re more than welcome to submit a a star-rating with no comment at all.

For most authors, word of mouth is our main marketing tool. And in the current world, word of mouth includes recommendations on facebook, twitter, G+ etc. When they get a line on a new book or author, many people head over to Amazon or Goodreads to see what others say about a book and a dearth of reviews on those sites can make people skip over to something else.

It doesn’t take long to rate a book and leave a one or two sentence review. “A fun read” or “Not my favourite” is enough of a review if you don’t have the time or inclination to write a longer one.

Yes, this post is partially a plea for fans of my work to submit a few reviews or ratings. But it’s also a plea for reviews and ratings of any books you like — I use those stars to find stuff to read, too.

My books on Amazon.com

My books on Goodreads

The Store is Open

April 5, 2012

2785569445_436632132f_m — Photo by mag3737

The reader survey made it pretty clear that lots of people would prefer to buy books directly from the authors, so to that end I’ve created a store where you can buy an instant download of any of my digital products (ebooks or audiobooks).

It’s a pretty slick interface powered by Gumroad, and I’ve never used a faster method to buy something online. You just type in your credit card details and then bang, you’re downloading your book. Check it out!

Why my books are DRM-free (and what that means)

April 2, 2012

48461693_33240a4a6d_m — Photo by Xtina L

One of the most interesting parts of my recent survey was, predictably, the comments. I learned some interesting things about readers’ habits and interests, and I’ll be working on some changes thanks to what you’ve told me.

I asked people what they would change about getting books and one of the comments really hit home:

No DRM. Absolutely none. If eBooks have DRM then I pirate them simply to have them without DRM.

I agree that DRM is a non-starter for me as well, though there are solutions other than piracy*. But what the heck is DRM, anyway?

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, which is a way of locking digital goods. DRM is why most Kindle books can’t be read on a Kobo reader. The problem with DRM, of course, is exactly that: if I buy a book from the Sony Reader store, then decide I want to read that book on Stanza on my iPod, too bad for me. Even though it’s my book. I think this is not cool.

Some books from the main ebookstores are sold without DRM and can be converted into other formats. Most, however, are locked unless you remove the DRM (be aware – doing this may be illegal in your country, even if you own the book and are converting it only for your personal use).

I believe that DRM makes digital goods less than fully functional, and I can’t in good conscience sell a defective product. I don’t want DRM in the books I buy, so I don’t sell books with DRM in them.

Yes, that means it’s possible for you to give your friend a copy of my book. Yes, that’s theoretically a lost sale for me. But it’s also a possible new reader. So, if you want to give one of my books to someone you think would like it, go ahead. That doesn’t mean uploading the files to P2P sites, but passing on a beloved book to a fellow reader is a long and wonderful tradition among book lovers.

* It’s possible to remove the DRM from most legally purchased ebooks. A google search leads to some good information. The open source ebook library software Calibre can help you convert DRM-free books from one format to another with one click.

Editing (Unlike Math) Is Hard

March 16, 2012

One of the complaints self-publishers get is that their work isn’t well edited. Sometimes that’s true, and sometimes it’s not, and sometimes it’s something in between. There are plenty of ways to get a better final version (many eyes make light work), but the truth of the matter is that typos, grammar whammies and other bogglers get through. They just do.

As a fantastic example of this, I was reading crime author extraordinaire Lawrence Block‘s blog post about a pretty bad editing error he just discovered in one of his books. After the book’s been in print by several publishers for over 20 years.

I did find a few typos I’d somehow missed. Well for wall, means for meant, a word or two left out. And then, remarkably, I found this paragraph:

I nodded. “And Lynn London’s been married and divorced, and half the neighbors on Wyckoff Street have moved somewhere or other. It’s as though every wind on earth’s been busy blowing sand on top of her grave. I know Americans lead mobile lives. I read somewhere that every year twenty percent of the country changes its place of residence. Even so, it’s as though every wind on earth’s been busy blowing sand on top of her grave. It’s like digging for Troy.”

…

Could some gremlin had added it since my last reading? I checked the eBook version, and saw that I’d somehow failed to notice it in either of my two passes over the text… I studied the paragraph, and it seemed clear to me that the first wind-and-sand line was the one to cut. But why not make sure? So I went and hauled out my copy of the Arbor House hardcover first edition and checked.

And there was the full paragraph, just as I quoted it above, with both sentences about the wind blowing the sand on Barbara Ettinger’s grave. That, evidently, is how I wrote it over thirty years ago. And that’s how it’s been ever since, sailing past Jared Kieling, my editor at Arbor House, and their copy editor, and their proofreader, and everybody else who’s been involved with the book over the years.

It happens to the best of us.

Review of The Beauty of Our Weapons

March 5, 2012

Fantasy author A.F. Stewart has written a lovely review of The Beauty of Our Weapons.

As usual Ms. Wehm has created a story you can jump into and characters to embrace, with interesting insights on society; her books reflect on today’s current state and probe any possible future. The Beauty of Our Weapons is an easy recommend, as is the entire series.

My story “I Open My Eyes” in Luna Station Quarterly

March 2, 2012

I have another story in the current issue of Luna Station Quarterly, called “I Open My Eyes.” Go take a read — it’s free and while you’re there, check out the other stories, too.

Canadians: Stop Online Spying

February 24, 2012

The Harper government is pushing forward a bill which will allow the police to access the private online information of any Canadian without a warrant.

This is obviously unacceptable. If you’re Canadian, please sign this petition to help stop this expensive, difficult to administer and utterly invasive piece of legislation.

Preliminary Survey results

February 23, 2012

Interesting preliminary results from my survey of fiction readers:

Most people (56%) don’t write reviews anywhere online, but do recommend books to their friends (70%).

Most people (54%) would pay over $8 for a novel length ebook they really wanted to read with 25% willing to pay over $10, however 32% would not pay $5 or more.

Almost 30% wouldn’t pay anything for an ebook they’d never heard of, regardless of how interesting the blurb sounded.

If you read fiction, please consider contributing to this survey. It’s anonymous and you don’t have to answer any question you don’t want to.

Please consider completing my Reader Survey

February 19, 2012

I’d really appreciate it if you took a few minutes to answer some questions about what and how you read. Each question is optional, and the survey is anonymous, so answer only those questions you want to.

I’d like feedback both from people who’ve read my work and who haven’t, so please feel free to send your reader friends the survey. The direct link to the survey is http://www.surveytool.com/s/SDD4390C0B. The more the merrier!

Thank you for helping me understand better how people find books they want to read.

Tiny Love Stories

February 19, 2012

Like twitfic? Like SF love stories? Check out the twitter love story contest at SpecFicNZ. Anyone can vote on their favourites, so go read them and vote.

(Yes, I wrote one of them. No, I won’t tell you which one until voting is over.)