I’m a reader first and foremost, and I really, really loved ‘This Plague of Days’, the post apocalyptic story that first introduced me to Robert Chazz Chute.
This man writes well with a capital ‘W’, and his 70 tips for Indie writers is a must read.
And yes, there really are 70 tips. You’re welcome. 🙂
cheers,
Meeks
If you overcome your demons and publish, more demons await. Keep these 70 pithy tips in mind when the unholy fanged ones come for you:
- Write for a particular person or write for yourself. Just choose the right audience.
- Some go to the drugstore for coconuts. Ignore them. Write for people who read your genre.
- When you give away free books, some readers who would never read your genre will snap it up. Lower ratings often ensue.
- Write for people who actually like to read.(Yes, there are posers.)
- Feedback from chosen supporters is helpful.Not all supporters can help in a measurable way, but boosting your morale counts, too.
- A slim minority of reviewers think snark is sport and heckling is intelligence. They’re mistaken, but who’s going to convince them otherwise? They’ll only know if they ever dare to write their own book.
- Listen to your editor and yourself…
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Meeka's Mind 
May 2nd, 2022 at 7:55 pm
these are awesome! Well said!
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May 3rd, 2022 at 8:58 am
He’s a really good writer too. 🙂
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March 7th, 2022 at 7:28 am
Thanks for sharing this, Andrea. I’m going to read through them. Can always use some wise advice. Hugs.
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March 7th, 2022 at 7:44 am
Maybe it’s just me, but I found it eerie how many points resonated with me. And how many made me laugh. 😀
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March 7th, 2022 at 8:03 am
I had the same reaction. Lol.
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March 7th, 2022 at 9:05 am
Great minds. 😉
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March 6th, 2022 at 10:31 pm
Fantastic tips! Really relate to #18 – perfectionism being a personal bugbear. Sharing with my writer’s group. Merci Meeks!
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March 7th, 2022 at 7:55 am
lmao – welcome! But don’t thank me, I’m just the messenger. Robert is the mind behind the tips. 😀
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March 6th, 2022 at 2:05 pm
I read them all. 😀
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March 6th, 2022 at 2:32 pm
-giggles- I may have skipped one or two. 😉
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March 6th, 2022 at 4:50 am
Hi Meeks, thanks for sharing this list. I thought it was hilarious. I am so glad I am not easily influenced by other people.
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March 6th, 2022 at 11:34 am
I try not to be, but even after all these years, I still have to take a mental breath before I say I’m a writer. Not sure I’ll ever feel completely comfortable with that label. That’s also part of the reason I won’t join any critique groups. Too many egos trying to prove to themselves that they /are/ writers.
That said, I have a few people I trust utterly. They’re writers and they’re my betas. I know that whatever they say to me is not tied to ego. I’d be lost without them.
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March 7th, 2022 at 4:30 am
HI Meeks, I am glad you have your ‘go to’ people. I have recently found a group of lovely and supportive writers who I share my work with. Prior to that it was only my developmental editor and my publisher who read my books pre publication. Oh and my greatest critic, my mother [smile].
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March 7th, 2022 at 7:49 am
I’m glad you found your ‘go to’ people. They are literally worth their weight in gold! -waves at Robbie’s Mum-
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March 6th, 2022 at 2:30 am
You got me with the tip “When you give away free books, some readers who would never read your genre will snap it up. Lower ratings often ensue.” I’ve often thought that but never heard anyone else voice it.
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March 6th, 2022 at 4:52 am
Hi Jacqui, I’ve never given my books away for free other than a few on book tours. This was an interesting point though.
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March 6th, 2022 at 5:33 am
I give Book 1 in my trilogy away when I’m about to publish the next. But, not that big a deal for those on KU.
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March 6th, 2022 at 12:03 pm
Yeah, a lot of readers are on KU so ‘free’ has been devalued a bit.
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March 7th, 2022 at 4:40 am
Different things work for different people, Jacqui. Your books are quite a niche market so I doubt people who are not interested in history would download it.
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March 7th, 2022 at 7:47 am
Finding your ‘target audience’ is hard part.
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March 6th, 2022 at 12:02 pm
‘Free’ is not as powerful a tool as it once was.
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March 6th, 2022 at 11:45 am
Yes! When I review books outside the comfort zone of my own genre, I always admit that up front. Usually though, if I review outside my genre it’s because I’ve really loved the story, but still.
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March 5th, 2022 at 8:04 pm
Great share Meeks-big smile-
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March 5th, 2022 at 8:05 pm
Thanks, Carol. Love it. 🙂
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March 5th, 2022 at 1:19 pm
I’m off to read, but #3 is SO true. And I don’t think you convert these readers, at least not from their reviews. And they always seem to have to review, to blame the author for a book they CHOSE to read – and shouldn’t have. They want their TIME back for a free book. They are so angry for making a bad choice, they have to blame SOMEONE.
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March 5th, 2022 at 2:15 pm
Yeah, it’s a bizarre situation. It’s as if some people are just busting with anger and reviews give them an outlet for that anger, whether it’s justified or not. I suspect they enjoy the thought that we, the authors, will agonise over their words for days or weeks or possibly forever.
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March 6th, 2022 at 4:18 am
‘Book is too long by a third.’ Someone who expects you to take a dense, closely argued book like Gone With the Wind, and eliminate one of Scarlett’s three husbands, and a third of the covered length of the Civil War background. Ha! Where are my scissors?
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March 6th, 2022 at 11:36 am
Dear god…seriously????? And I’ll bet that half of them can’t even string a grammatical sentence together. Wow…
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March 6th, 2022 at 1:36 pm
They’re unhappy because they should have read the description more carefully – one of those was from a Goodreads giveaway – before downloading.
I can usually tell within a couple of pages if something is going to satisfy my reading needs. I would think someone reading my first ten pages would have given up by then if it were not what they like to read. Apparently not.
I am grateful – there is nothing that looks more fake than a book with only 5* ratings – but it’s hard to get the newbies to understand that (we were all newbies once).
It is the custom on several FB groups I’m in to congratulate those startled by their first 1* or 2* rating – and welcome them to the club. It takes some of the sting out of it.
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March 6th, 2022 at 2:35 pm
lol – yes! Totally agree. Nothing but 5 stars always looks suspicious to me too. There should be a club for 1 star authors. I’d be in it like a shot. 😉
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March 6th, 2022 at 3:24 pm
There is – you’re in it if you have one.
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March 7th, 2022 at 7:57 am
I’m in! I’m in. 😀
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