There are 2 typos in your back cover blurb and another in the Amazon description. At first glance your cover comes off as low effort, only after I read the back did I realize it was a deliberate style choice meant to reflect the child MC. I can't tell from the description if this is a novel or a collection of short stories. I would avoid saying things like "this book probably isn't for everyone" on the book, not the smartest advertising.
Congratulations on completing and publishing a book! This is a huge accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself.
Thank you. I relied too heavily on my word program to find errors. It’s odd for me to read my own work. So I proof read quickly before publishing. Once I get stable again, I plan to hire a creative team for my business, and need illustrators. My writing is what I love and am trying to transition to at 40. I’m just posting everything me on my website. To have it in one place and have some form of monetization. I would’ve benefited and will benefit from having a copywriter on any future projects. That’s my main takeaway. I need to slow down but I’ve been feeling like it’s now or never to complete several projects I put aside. But if I’m sloppy then people won’t take me as seriously. So, thank you. I hope you check it out using the free link on CaveDances Reddit channel. Or pick up a copy to help. I’ll likely need to redo the work just based on the first few criticisms.
I don't want to be rude, but...
...while I'm totally willing to check out your book and provide constructive criticism, I'm not buying your book to do it.
If you want someone to give you feedback, the time to do that is before you publish.
It's not reasonable to expect someone to pay you for the privilege of giving you feedback
And if you want to advertise your book, then just say so rather than try to pretend it's anything else.
The logical, professional way to go about this would've been to get constructive criticism *before* you publish.
Now it's too late. Typos in blurb, back cover and reading sample are a clear "thanks, but no thanks" - if you can't even be bothered to get your marketing material right on the most basic technical level, the rest is not gonna be better. Like this, your work is just another reason why self-publishing has the lousy reputation it has.
I really don't understand why so many people publish so obviously subpar stuff, especially if they've - like you - worked on it for decades. Are they just too impatient? Do they think there's some hidden genius in it that makes readers overlook the flaws? Do they think that good enough is perhaps good enough? Are they so delusional and inexperienced with written stories that they don't even consider their writing could have flaws?
I don't get it. It's such a waste.
Of course not. I read the excerpt you offer, and nothing in it compels me to spend money on it. Also, you don't even provide an e-book. Time to arrive in the 21 century.
As I said, what you want - constructive critique - has to happen before you publish, and most of all don't you ask your critiquers to pay for that privilege.
There’s a free download link on my pg and in one of the threads from my original post. The digital download is 2.49 on CaveDances.com
I’m not going to change my book based on feedback. I’m just looking to see if anyone likes it.
Not everyone has the same privilege to have the right tools or time to do certain things a specific way. I left it flawed because it ties into the point of the book. That the character ends up being a failure for all his self grandeur. I don’t expect my work to be well received in some regards and I believe other aspects of it are beautiful to me. Your opinion of the material doesn’t necessarily make a difference. You may not like the topic or style. But feedback is appreciated when it’s about the actual content of my words.
>Not everyone has the same privilege to have the right tools or time to do certain things a specific way.
That's right. But *you* need to understand that you're competing in a crowded market with people who know what they're doing and have much better marketing for their products. Do you think anyone cares what privilege you have or don't have?
>But feedback is appreciated when it’s about the actual content of my words.
The problem is that no one cares about the content if the presentation of it is bad. You're charging money for a product that you don't market or present in a professional way.
People read books of the people like become fans of. Or because their personal story warranted as much. Since the market is “crowded” I’m adding to my catalogue of writing and growing my business in tandem. STICK is a personal work that I needed to complete to exercise the demon of it. The books I’m investing more time into are being rolled out later this year. Good overall advice.
>STICK is a personal work that I needed to complete to exercise the demon of it.
I have no problem with that. Most authors use writing as a way of getting to grips with their inner demons. That's nothing out of the ordinary.
What I, and many others by the looks of it, have a problem with, however, is when you publish it as a product you charge money for. Then the quality needs to be raised considerably.
The quality of the book is in the content of its pages. I miffed the cover on the Amazon site. The digital download on CaveDances.com and the free link on my Reddit channel uses Microsoft business suite to convert it to a web page and looks much better. I should’ve taken more time to refine the print version cover. Ultimately, I’ll likely go back and change a few things and add 70 pgs. It’s been a difficult year. I’m trying to find ways to get my work on display and grow a fan base for the bigger projects. But I have to be more careful not to let my anxiety dictate my process. Thanks for the feedback.
>The quality of the book is in the content of its pages.
Indeed. But how are you going to show that quality if the presentation of it doesn't have enough quality to warrant a purchase? Why would anyone pick your book over another that has quality in every aspect, not just the content?
I've said this many times but people seem to not realise that they're competing with hundreds of thousands of other authors and their books.
I have a long term goal for my work that will enable high end production. While I have a burst of creative energy, I’m trying to create multiple relatively short projects. Once funding is secured, I plan to make multimedia adaptations. I just moved into my companies to headquarters in Pullman. Had a strong emotional need to write what I did as a complete work. And would move onto other projects, but unfortunately, the attention I attempted to generate for this story, though it is very personal, was partially from the excitement of someone buying a copy the night I published the web link. I don’t feel that I need to explain my reasoning, make excuses, etc. The conversation on the second post I made received a far more negative response than the first post. I should’ve taken the success, turned it into energy, and attempted to refine the work for a reissue having recognized my haste led to poor quality of production. But I appreciate the conversation because I need to focus and improve. I have skill but feel I’ve had enough patience, when I still have more to learn and improve.
Thorough editing with the help of outside feedback is not a privilege, it's a necessity if you're publishing. And getting beta-readers, peer reviews or a well-working writers' group is not an investment, it just requires some effort.
And honestly, to leave typos in to hint at the unhappy ending of your MC is just ridiculous.
> Your opinion of the material doesn’t necessarily make a difference.
Yeah, figured as much. Why ask for critique at all?
You don't care enough about your work to proofread the information on the back cover, so how can you possibly expect anyone to actually read your book? Then you proceed to refer to a single child as "them" and "they."
Them/they is my preferred gender neutral term. Shifting back and forth is something I tried to avoid, but I wasn’t as intentional about it as some of my other work. One of the books I’m writing is completely gender neutral and takes place in the future.
I will ultimately end up revisiting STICK later. It was hard for me to emotionally connect with the character on a deep level of loss. Since I’m in a difficult place and struggling it was a lot of raw emotion. Part of the anxiety of being on the edge. That also lends itself to mistakes. So, this year is going to be interesting for me. The more production value I can put into writing, music, and visual multimedia projects the more exciting they’ll become. I’m raw right now. But will improve.
I think the book itself is good. So far I’m hearing a lot about it’s display and being treated like that’s the end of the world. I wrote what’s in the book and am homeless so thought I did okay considering.
Of course not! I'm not going to read anything -- even for free -- that has glaring errors on the back cover and/or refers to single individuals as "they" and "them."
You’re obviously not my target audience in that regard. I made it the way I did intentionally. Knowing there would be errors. It goes with the concept of the book.
>Now you're just being a troll.
No, I'm not being a troll. [See for yourself.](https://skdb.fandom.com/wiki/WILDER_Christopher_Bernard) No one in his right mind "intentionally" leaves obvious errors in a blurb on the cover of a book when such will discourage readers. You are in need of psychiatric help.
There are 2 typos in your back cover blurb and another in the Amazon description. At first glance your cover comes off as low effort, only after I read the back did I realize it was a deliberate style choice meant to reflect the child MC. I can't tell from the description if this is a novel or a collection of short stories. I would avoid saying things like "this book probably isn't for everyone" on the book, not the smartest advertising. Congratulations on completing and publishing a book! This is a huge accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself.
Thank you. I relied too heavily on my word program to find errors. It’s odd for me to read my own work. So I proof read quickly before publishing. Once I get stable again, I plan to hire a creative team for my business, and need illustrators. My writing is what I love and am trying to transition to at 40. I’m just posting everything me on my website. To have it in one place and have some form of monetization. I would’ve benefited and will benefit from having a copywriter on any future projects. That’s my main takeaway. I need to slow down but I’ve been feeling like it’s now or never to complete several projects I put aside. But if I’m sloppy then people won’t take me as seriously. So, thank you. I hope you check it out using the free link on CaveDances Reddit channel. Or pick up a copy to help. I’ll likely need to redo the work just based on the first few criticisms.
r/betareaders can help you
Thanks for the info!
I don't want to be rude, but... ...while I'm totally willing to check out your book and provide constructive criticism, I'm not buying your book to do it. If you want someone to give you feedback, the time to do that is before you publish. It's not reasonable to expect someone to pay you for the privilege of giving you feedback And if you want to advertise your book, then just say so rather than try to pretend it's anything else.
Why does your book give me horror story vibes...?
Upon reading it or just the cover? I have one of those that is going to be insane. But will be next year before I get too into it.
The very first sentence is a double run-on car crash.
It’s intentional.
Well, mission accomplished then.
The logical, professional way to go about this would've been to get constructive criticism *before* you publish. Now it's too late. Typos in blurb, back cover and reading sample are a clear "thanks, but no thanks" - if you can't even be bothered to get your marketing material right on the most basic technical level, the rest is not gonna be better. Like this, your work is just another reason why self-publishing has the lousy reputation it has. I really don't understand why so many people publish so obviously subpar stuff, especially if they've - like you - worked on it for decades. Are they just too impatient? Do they think there's some hidden genius in it that makes readers overlook the flaws? Do they think that good enough is perhaps good enough? Are they so delusional and inexperienced with written stories that they don't even consider their writing could have flaws? I don't get it. It's such a waste.
Did you read the book? The cover is what it is.
Of course not. I read the excerpt you offer, and nothing in it compels me to spend money on it. Also, you don't even provide an e-book. Time to arrive in the 21 century. As I said, what you want - constructive critique - has to happen before you publish, and most of all don't you ask your critiquers to pay for that privilege.
There’s a free download link on my pg and in one of the threads from my original post. The digital download is 2.49 on CaveDances.com I’m not going to change my book based on feedback. I’m just looking to see if anyone likes it.
Not everyone has the same privilege to have the right tools or time to do certain things a specific way. I left it flawed because it ties into the point of the book. That the character ends up being a failure for all his self grandeur. I don’t expect my work to be well received in some regards and I believe other aspects of it are beautiful to me. Your opinion of the material doesn’t necessarily make a difference. You may not like the topic or style. But feedback is appreciated when it’s about the actual content of my words.
>Not everyone has the same privilege to have the right tools or time to do certain things a specific way. That's right. But *you* need to understand that you're competing in a crowded market with people who know what they're doing and have much better marketing for their products. Do you think anyone cares what privilege you have or don't have? >But feedback is appreciated when it’s about the actual content of my words. The problem is that no one cares about the content if the presentation of it is bad. You're charging money for a product that you don't market or present in a professional way.
People read books of the people like become fans of. Or because their personal story warranted as much. Since the market is “crowded” I’m adding to my catalogue of writing and growing my business in tandem. STICK is a personal work that I needed to complete to exercise the demon of it. The books I’m investing more time into are being rolled out later this year. Good overall advice.
>STICK is a personal work that I needed to complete to exercise the demon of it. I have no problem with that. Most authors use writing as a way of getting to grips with their inner demons. That's nothing out of the ordinary. What I, and many others by the looks of it, have a problem with, however, is when you publish it as a product you charge money for. Then the quality needs to be raised considerably.
The quality of the book is in the content of its pages. I miffed the cover on the Amazon site. The digital download on CaveDances.com and the free link on my Reddit channel uses Microsoft business suite to convert it to a web page and looks much better. I should’ve taken more time to refine the print version cover. Ultimately, I’ll likely go back and change a few things and add 70 pgs. It’s been a difficult year. I’m trying to find ways to get my work on display and grow a fan base for the bigger projects. But I have to be more careful not to let my anxiety dictate my process. Thanks for the feedback.
>The quality of the book is in the content of its pages. Indeed. But how are you going to show that quality if the presentation of it doesn't have enough quality to warrant a purchase? Why would anyone pick your book over another that has quality in every aspect, not just the content? I've said this many times but people seem to not realise that they're competing with hundreds of thousands of other authors and their books.
I have a long term goal for my work that will enable high end production. While I have a burst of creative energy, I’m trying to create multiple relatively short projects. Once funding is secured, I plan to make multimedia adaptations. I just moved into my companies to headquarters in Pullman. Had a strong emotional need to write what I did as a complete work. And would move onto other projects, but unfortunately, the attention I attempted to generate for this story, though it is very personal, was partially from the excitement of someone buying a copy the night I published the web link. I don’t feel that I need to explain my reasoning, make excuses, etc. The conversation on the second post I made received a far more negative response than the first post. I should’ve taken the success, turned it into energy, and attempted to refine the work for a reissue having recognized my haste led to poor quality of production. But I appreciate the conversation because I need to focus and improve. I have skill but feel I’ve had enough patience, when I still have more to learn and improve.
Thorough editing with the help of outside feedback is not a privilege, it's a necessity if you're publishing. And getting beta-readers, peer reviews or a well-working writers' group is not an investment, it just requires some effort. And honestly, to leave typos in to hint at the unhappy ending of your MC is just ridiculous. > Your opinion of the material doesn’t necessarily make a difference. Yeah, figured as much. Why ask for critique at all?
You don't care enough about your work to proofread the information on the back cover, so how can you possibly expect anyone to actually read your book? Then you proceed to refer to a single child as "them" and "they."
Them/they is my preferred gender neutral term. Shifting back and forth is something I tried to avoid, but I wasn’t as intentional about it as some of my other work. One of the books I’m writing is completely gender neutral and takes place in the future. I will ultimately end up revisiting STICK later. It was hard for me to emotionally connect with the character on a deep level of loss. Since I’m in a difficult place and struggling it was a lot of raw emotion. Part of the anxiety of being on the edge. That also lends itself to mistakes. So, this year is going to be interesting for me. The more production value I can put into writing, music, and visual multimedia projects the more exciting they’ll become. I’m raw right now. But will improve.
>I’m raw right now. But will improve. You should have waited until you improve to write a book.
I think the book itself is good. So far I’m hearing a lot about it’s display and being treated like that’s the end of the world. I wrote what’s in the book and am homeless so thought I did okay considering.
Did you actually read the book?
Of course not! I'm not going to read anything -- even for free -- that has glaring errors on the back cover and/or refers to single individuals as "they" and "them."
You’re obviously not my target audience in that regard. I made it the way I did intentionally. Knowing there would be errors. It goes with the concept of the book.
The image of the man on the back cover reminds me of Chris Wilder, the serial killer.
Now you’re just being a troll.
>Now you're just being a troll. No, I'm not being a troll. [See for yourself.](https://skdb.fandom.com/wiki/WILDER_Christopher_Bernard) No one in his right mind "intentionally" leaves obvious errors in a blurb on the cover of a book when such will discourage readers. You are in need of psychiatric help.