"The 5-Star Dilemma" by Guest Blogger, Author and Book Promoter SB Knight

Now that the whole world knows about the Amazon Review cheating scandal that has wreaked havoc on the fiction  industry, and in particular, the indie fiction industry, it seems that a day doesn't go buy when another author and/or institution isn't exposed for writing fraudulent reviews. The newest cheater in a pool of cheaters is a bookstore whose staff wrote and posted 1-Star reviews for authors like myself who were kicking ass in the Kindle charts.

A bookstore?

Well, I guess it makes sense. They don't want people to buy online. I don't have a whole lot of 1-Star reviews, but there are a few that I possess in which the "reviewer" went out of his or her way to be a complete jerk, picking apart my pose pronoun for pronoun. Oh, well, as the world turns.

Today my guest blogger, SB Knight, author and book promoter, gives us his unique take on a unique situation that is only now, blowing up in the faces of those who feel it necessary to cheat in order to get by.

The 5 Star Dilemma 

I believe by now everyone has read the articles about John Locke, Stephen Leathers, and RJ Ellroy. I also believe many are as confused as I am at the fact that these well known authors would stoop to such practices. It is another example of what some would do in the name of fame and fortune. Was it worth it? I would imagine the three above would answer yes before they were caught…now it would be a resounding no as their writing careers hang by a thread over a cliff.

We have heard the responses of bestselling authors such as Vincent Zandri, Anne Rice, and many others who oppose and reject these underhanded practices. With every published article, post, and letter their anger is clear and concise. However, I am what you would call ‘green’ or an amateur author. My debut novel released in March and my second novel releases in October. What does all this business about fake reviews and attacking competitors have to do with me? I mean, I’m trying to climb the ladder and reach the same level as Zandri, Rice, and King. Did I mention I’m only on the first rung of that ladder? So I ask again, what does this business mean to me? It means everything.

You see, the bestselling authors are angry about this and they should be but the new authors out there like me, we feel something different. Make no mistake, anger is there but so is despair, fear, and concern. While bestselling authors can rely on name recognition, to a certain degree, new authors have to establish their name first. Reviews are a key element in achieving that recognition; plus it helps generate word of mouth promoting.  Of course this goes without saying that you need the skill to craft a solid, compelling story. New authors go to great lengths to find people and/or reviewers who will agree to read and review their work. Trust me on this; I don’t see Stephen King having a problem finding people who will review his latest novel. Now you throw in a handful of well known, established, and successful authors who chose to pay for stellar reviews, write their own reviews, and/or write poor reviews for their competition and where does that leave us? What if Amazon states that you can only leave a book review if you purchased the book from Amazon? A lot of reviews would be instantly eliminated. New authors would be hard pressed to convince a reviewer to purchase their book and not all of us have the budget to purchase a copy so a reviewer can review it on Amazon.

There is another aspect to this that impacts all authors, new and established, and that is perception. At this moment my debut novel, Born of Blood, has ten reviews on Amazon – eight, five star reviews and two, four star reviews. I should be thrilled by this but a small voice in the back of my mind is asking – will people think I bought these reviews or had my friends write these reviews? At times I wish I would get a bad review so it would validate the good reviews. Think about that for a moment; I should not want a bad review. The posted reviews should stand on their own but, thanks to a handful of authors, it has come to this. It almost seems like the 5 star rating has been tarnished.

What is the solution to this problem? I have no idea. I do know that I will keep writing and asking for honest reviews, be it good or bad. I also believe that each author will be held accountable for their own actions and decisions.

It’s tough trying to establish your name in the harsh publishing world but we have authors like Zandri, King, and many others to look at as examples. They made it and each has a war story to validate their journey. They didn’t resort to fake reviews or bashing other authors either.

SB Knight is the up and coming author of Born of Blood, Drago’s Revenge (October 12), and Demathia Rising (March 13). He is also the creator of The New Author blog and co-owner of Premium Promotional Services. You can learn more about SB Knight and his novels at http://www.sb-knight.com/. Also be sure to join SB Knight on Twitter and Facebook.

The Cheater

I've done enough ragging on major publishers and other old guard traditional establishment types in this blog so perhaps it's time to take a look at what's going on on the other side of the tracks, so to speak. Today it came to my attention via The New York Times and a great fist-to-the-face blog by my colleague Rob Kroese in his New Wave Authors (of which I'm a contributor) that self-publishing sensation John Locke paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars to people who would provide him with 5-Star Amazon reviews. Mr. Locke who has literally written the book on the subject of selling books--e-books in particular--has conveniently kept his secret hidden for quite some time.

Until now that is.

One suspects that one of these "for hire" reviewers probably entered into some kind of blackmail scenario in which he would expose Locke, or else pay up. And perhaps Locke, having consulted with his lawyers, just decided to fess up about the whole mess. Or maybe this is just the conspiracy-minded novelist in me coming out.

Whatever the case, Locke's credibility is now about as worthless as Facebook stock. In turn, Amazon is left with an interesting dilemma on their hands. What to do with phony reviews and even more important, what to do with cheating authors who "game the system" looking to cash in on trickery and not talent.

Writing is a business that takes talent for certain, but it also takes a mammoth amount of blood, sweat, tears, and self-sacrifice. In my case, it has even taken tremendous sacrifice on the part of my ex-wives and children, who even today are sometime a bit melancholy about the price we've all paid for "Vince's fucking career." It has been a struggle, but also a wonderful journey which is only now bearing the fruits of countless hours of labor.

I still recall all those years ago when I would wake up at dawn in order to write before work. I recall writing school and two years full-time intensive study and writing. I recall penning my first big novel in the library and the family so broke we were living on loans and whatever I could make from freelance writing. I recall the happiness we felt when my first big, six-figure contract came through and the near back-breaking sadness we experienced when the publisher was swallowed up by another in a corporate merger leaving me no choice but to start all over again. From scratch.

It cost me more time, more tears, more sweat, and even a second marriage, but I was determined to be a success at an art that takes hard work on top of talent. Now when I hear of swindlers and cheats and gamers, I just want to shake my head, pull in the sails and guide my life away from theirs. The bell tolls for all of us writers when one person decides to cheat. Especially an indie who, until now, was so revered for his efforts.

I'm not sure what's going to happen with John Locke or anyone else who believes they can get ahead by cheating. Writing is a religion, an art, and a life passion, and it must be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity in this, the post-literate world. Anyone or anything that cheapens it should be discarded and forgotten about as quickly and expeditiously as possible.

WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM

 

"If I Were to Become a Writer all Over Again I'd..."

"The new major pub on the block!"




...self publish.
It's true. If I were to start all over again as an author I would set my sights not on publishing with the majors or even a small indie press. I would simply plan on going DIY the entire way. With Amazon's KDP program, doing it yourself is not only easy, you have nothing to lose but the time it takes to get your writing out there. Now this isn't an advertorial for KDP, it's just me being able to take a step back and look at all the possibilities, and the most obvious for me would be KDP. Amazon has the ability to reach a huge audience while pushing your book. So if you're a newbie, go for it.

However, that established, I am not a newbie. I've been at the game now professionally for 15 years. I've been published by the majors (Random House) and the minors (StoneHouse/StoneGate Ink, etc.) and I've had my ups and downs with both. As for the former, mostly downs and the latter, almost entirely up. As you all know by now, I believe that a full-time author in this day and age should take advantage of all the publishing, marketing, and audience building opportunities by engaging in three kinds of publishing:

1. Major Commercial
2. Small Indie
3. Self-Publishing

It makes sense to go with the majors at least for a couple of books since they can reach out to the masses like no other. While your audience expands they will also get you reviewed by major media darlings like The New York Times and The New York Post (The New York Post called THE INNOCENT "Sensational...Masterful...Brilliant!" That's the kind of review you can cherish for a lifetime).

Publishing with the small indie presses won't garner huge reviews from the major media outlets, but it will afford you a very personal experience that could never be achieved with the majors. If you are lucky enough to land a great small press they will become like family to you. They will ask and indeed come to rely on your creative input every step of the way. Not only about the writing, but about book design, cover, marketing, and more.

Going indie won't get you any of the above (although by investing in a virtual tour you'll nail some reviews from the mommy blogs and expand your audience. I invest in virtual tours no matter how I publish...), but it does allow you the absolute freedom to write, edit, and publish precisely how you want to publish. And in the end, the cash you earn is yours alone to keep. No publishers to pay, no agent percentages to honor. It's all about you and your work. Like I said, if I were just starting out with zero track record, this is precisely the route I would take. If I ended up selling a million copies of my e-books like John Locke, and I were to attract a major publisher like Simon and Schuster in a huge distribution deal, then I would go from happy to ecstatic.

A lot has changed in the past year. Lots of bestselling indie authors who've previously been published by the majors like JCarson Black, Scott Nicholson, JA Konrath and even yours truly have come full-circle by once more signing on with a major publisher for some of their books. The major pub we all have in common is Thomas and Mercer, Amazon's new publishing arm. The move makes sense for us all, since the outfit is new, filled with brilliant editors, open to new ideas and let's face it, Amazon has the marketing power to position your books in the marketplace like no other major publisher. I couldn't be happier about it.

But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on other publishing opportunities or lessening my marketing efforts. In essence, going back to the majors means I'll be working all the harder. Stay tuned!!!!

WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM

Tag Me, Tag You Blues! Or, It's the End of the Indie World as We Know It!?

"There they are, the four riders of the Big Six Apocalypse: NOOK, Kindle, Sony E-Reader, and Ipad."









Oh man, you'd think those crazy asses who predicted the world would end on May 21 actually only got the date wrong by a little over a week. This past weekend when Amazon decided to pull their tags on E-Books (you know, those descriptive words you add to a title so that browsers can find them more easily when shopping), a whole bunch of my colleagues and cohorts immediately saw the four horsemen riders of the Apocalypse shoot down from the heavens and along with it, the end to what seemed like a very profitable run in Kindle E-Book heaven.

Add to that some unexplained lackluster sales across the board, and you have legions of indie authors contemplating their final meal: Will it be meatloaf or fried chicken?

I'm of the opinion that yes, tags are important. But I'm not of the opinion that tags alone create monumental sales. What creates great sales are the tried and true 4 rules of the indie games, or any variety of publishing game for that matter:

1. Great Cover
2. Great Product Description
3. Great Price
4. Great Book

After that you add in social media marketing, a virtual tour, a trailer, and just plain writing more great books, and you have yourself a career that should earn you steady sales that will increase with time, according to how fast your tribe of loyal readers grows.

Tags are cool because I can tag another bestselling hard-boiled mystery author and she can tag mine, and when John Q. Public goes to my Amazon page for THE INNOCENT or THE REMAINS for instance, they also see her name and then perhaps we both get a sale. But there are other ways to tag on other social media sites like Crime Space and Edgey Christian Fiction and even still on Amazon, so long as there is a paper version of the novel available.

Some people believe that the loss of tags is really the result of a conspiracy between the Big 6 publishers and the chiefs at Amazon to do away with the popular indie titles. I don't believe this is the case, because one, it would probably constitute something illegal like a payoff or payola, and two, why would Amazon shoot their hugely successful indie publishing program in both its feet just to give in to a dying white elephant?

Others believe the tags will re-appear one day soon since it must be a glitch that destroyed them in the first place (such as a Lady CaCa, excuse me, GaGa, download). This is possible I guess. Some have even been reporting that sales numbers aren't showing up and that rankings are dipping on a disproportionate scale with actual sales. Now there's a fantasy I really want to believe since I too have dipped somewhat in the ranks this week.

But you know what? Sorry Charlie, that's freakin' life.
And you know what else? Don't put all your eggs in one fragile basket. Amazon is cool, but it's only one store. Chime in on some NOOK fan sites, or sell more books off your website or your publishers website. Give some E-Books away for God's sake. The point is not to be caught with your pants down in this business. A lot of people have been asking me why I'm still writing journalism, and this tag business is precisely why.

Ok, so answers...we all want answers.
Well, I don't have any, but here's what I have to offer:
My gut reaction is that the tags will never return. And that the reason Amazon has limited product descriptions for indie novels from 7 to 2 is because the indie books are proving more popular than the company would ever have believed them to be. That said, I believe they are trying to level the playing field a little to give the higher priced novels produced by the NYC legacy publishers more of a fighting chance. The biggy novels make up a huge portion of Amazon's sales, and like Obama's stimulus packages, they're trying to light a fire under some of the same old, same old mega authors . That's what I believe anyway.

But here's what else I believe:
That tags or no tags, the most popular indie authors (and my publishing house has at least three of these authors...) will realize a 20% to 30% decline in sales this month, but that decline will be short-lived as other ways to tag and to market will inevitably put these players back on top. If nothing else, these top players will once more reach the top by simply following the aforementioned golden rules. They will also write new material, unaffected by one store's attempt at leveling a playing field that truly isn't meant to stay level.


Yo, grab up the new Concrete Pearl, the first in a new series starring the sexy and brassy Spike Harrison!!!!!

WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM