Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Talky Talks


We’re in the last week of August—can you believe it? That also means we’re down to the last two ways I’ve thought of for you to support your indie author friends. I know you know at least one of us, with how many people write and publish these days. You may not know you know them… but there are ways to find these things out ;-)

So far this month, we’ve bought, read, and reviewed our friend’s book, we’ve told others about it, we’ve refrained from telling our author friend about any errors we found in the book, and we’ve encouraged them to continue writing—even if we didn’t really enjoy the book we read. So today, I have a (probably) more fun way you can support the authors in your life.

#7: Talk to Them


What?! I want you to talk to your friends?! How dare I?!

Well, it’s really just that simple, and it’s probably something that’s at least occasionally occurred to you to do.

Talk to your author friends about the projects their working on now. Most of us, from what I’ve heard, are working on a couple projects at a time. We have all sorts of ideas in our little writer noggins, you know.

So, talk to us about it!

We’d love to tell you all about the new characters in our heads, the stories we’re working on, the ideas we have spiraling around inside us. Most of us are probably getting pretty good at not giving away spoilers too, if that’s your thing.

But really, when you talk to us about our writing, please don’t mind a few spoilers. We can’t help it if we just really want to tell you about this epic scene we got to write today, or this really good idea that came to us while we were in the shower.

Thing is, what are the odds that you’re going to distinctly remember this one conversation anyway? I’ll tell you. They’re slim. So let us talk, let us tell you about our stories and our ideas, and let us talk freely about them, if you can.

I understand that for some of you, spoilers are the bane of your existence. You hate them. You simply cannot abide them. But that doesn’t mean you can’t talk to us at all about our work at all. I guarantee we have lots to say that wouldn’t involve a single real spoiler, while still telling you all about our current projects.

So, talk to us.

That’s it.

That’s all you have to do.

Just talk to us about our projects, let us talk about our work, our passion, our love. Let us share it with you. We really want to.

[love]

{Rani Divine}

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Courage


I have one question for all of you. One very simple question, to which I simply cannot fathom the answer:

How on earth are we already this far through August?! 

*sigh*

We’ve been talking about the best ways you can support your author friends and help them thrive in this chaotic world that has too many voices spiraling all around it, and somehow, we only have three points left. I really don’t know how that happened.

At this point in our series, we’ve bought and read the book, we’ve reviewed it without nitpicking about any typographical errors we may have found, and we’ve even told all our other friends that they should read the book too… but you know what, there’s something we haven’t even touched on, in ways to support your author friends.

#6: Encourage Them


And I don’t just mean that you should be encouraging about the book they’ve already released. I mean that you should encourage them in everything they do. Encourage them to keep writing, remind them how much you liked their first book and tell them that they can (and should) do it again. Tell them that you want to see them succeed with their passion.

I’ll tell you right now, this is one of the best ways to be a friend to anyone. It’s not just about the monetary things, or spending time together, or being supportive when things are good or bad. It’s about being the kind of person who’s a constant reminder that dreams can be achieved.

You could do that, for your author friend.

Really, you could do it for all your friends.

Be an encouragement. Even if you don’t like the book, find something good to say about it. Talk about how many other people have read and loved the book, if nothing else.

Honestly, it’s okay if you didn’t like the book. I have lots of friends who haven’t enjoyed my books. But I know that they read my books, and that they tried to like them. They supported me. They even encourage me to keep writing them. And that’s the part that really matters. They’re being my friends, by being encouraging and supportive.

In return, I get to do the same for them. I get to support them in what they’re doing, and I get to encourage them when they have rough days.

I love doing it for them—but I love it even more, knowing it’s my turn to return the favor.

[love]

{Rani D.}

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Nitty


Hi guys! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m glad you stopped by.

All month long, we’ve been talking about ways you can be supportive of the authors in your life. And honestly, I think this extends to authors you don’t know all that well, too. Maybe just your favorite authors. Because, when I think about it, authors aren’t always treated well, even by the people who claim to be their biggest fans.

At this point, we’ve bought and read the book, we’ve reviewed it, and we’ve even started telling everyone we know that they should read the book too. But, there’s something too many of us do, which we shouldn’t do at all.

#5: Don’t Nitpick


I’m looking at you, grammar nazi. I don’t care if you find an error in the book. I really don’t. I don’t need to know that you found errors and inconsistencies, and I don’t know why you think that’s helpful to tell me, especially after the book is already on the shelf.

It would be like you learning to dance and having a recital, and me, having never really danced before in my life, then picking out all the things I think you need to work on and giving you a short presentation about it.

Please, whatever you do, don’t point out all the errors in the book.


I know you think you’re being helpful, I know you’re trying to be a good friend by pointing out the errors so we can get them fixed, but for many of us, getting them fixed isn’t possible. If we’ve traditionally published, or we’ve gone through the process of getting books actually printed (not just eBooks), then it’s not always feasible for us to fix those typos.

Your pointing them out to us only shows us that our work wasn’t as perfect as we’d hoped. And in fact, it’s nearly a slap in the face. It’s like telling us that our work was good, that you liked it, but that it wasn’t as good as it should’ve been, and then telling us why. It's a form of arrogance, in writer's eyes, that someone who isn't a writer would come up to us and tell us what we did wrong. And I think you'd see it the same way if you were in our shoes. I really do. 

We already know there are errors in the book. We do. Trust me. They're in every single published book on the face of the planet. I've even found them in the Bible. We don’t need to hear about those errors from someone else, especially someone who is our friend. We need you to support us, tell us we did a good job.

You don’t read Stephen King’s books and email him all the errors you’ve found, do you? (and trust me, there are errors in his book). No, you don’t. That would be ridiculous. And when I found a typo in the Bible? I laughed it off and kept reading.

So why do you do it to us, the people you know and love?

Just a little food for thought.

[love]

{Rani Divine}