Stand with Rachel Ann Nunes and stand against plagarism!

Hello, readers!

Plagarism is a tough thing for an author. I've heard the saying, and I don't know who it's by, that "plagarism is the sincerest form of flattery."

(That might actually be "imitation," now that I think of it.)

Anyway. Well-known authors who find others plagarizing (that is, publishing the same or functionally the same works as their own) have a comparatively easy time of it: they can bring up the proof that their work was created first, have lawyers send cease and desist notices, sue, whatever. They have the money to do this, and the cases are often open-and-shut.

Independent authors, however, are in for harder times.

See, most of us don't have tons of money. Even those who are "relatively" successful, selling books daily, usually can't make it our career - and if we can, then all that money is going to food and sleep and electricity or pens. Not a lot left for lawyer's fees.

Rachel Ann Nunes is an independent author who has run afoul of a plagarist. She has presented sufficient evidence to convince me that her cause is just. The plagarist, Tiffanie Rushton, was a teacher who used her students' names and email accounts in order to publish positive reviews of her stolen work and negative reviews of Nunes' in an attempt to discredit her. To raise money for the civil lawsuit, Nunes has started a GoFundMe campaign. Unfortunately, donations are lagging - it's been four months and she is only about a third of the way to her goal.

I'm supporting Rachel Ann Nunes and all independent authors who want their works protected. Creating art, including books, and then watching someone else steal and profit from it without reservation would be terrible. It would be like pulling out someone's heart.

This is the link to Rachel's GoFundMe campaign. Please stop in, read the evidence for yourself, then give what you can. http://www.gofundme.com/standingagainstplagiarism

Independent authors need you.

Thanks,
Jason P. Crawford

Troll Reviewers--WTF, Guys?

Good evening.

We've all heard the stories of authors reacting badly to reviewers. It happens. Kathleen Hale is a prime example of that occurring, and her actions kicked off the great book blog blackout week and the #haleno campaign.

And I believe that. Reviews are for customers, not authors. They should be, must be, sacrosanct, in a way that free speech must be sacrosanct, to preserve the freedom to express unpopular opinions in a safe forum, to air all viewpoints, to discuss all topics.

...But even free speech has a limit. Most of us agree that hate speech is not protected. Unwarranted attacks against another person are not protected under free speech. And this, also, should apply to book reviews.

Here's what I mean:
Recently, an author named Stephanie C. Fox came under fire for some viewpoints she expressed about human overpopulation and childbirth. Some people took offense at her viewpoint, This happens; anyone involved in discussions online is bound to piss someone off, amirite?

But then, these people decided to gang up and ruin Ms. Fox. They discussed this online, then marched to Amazon and wrote falsified reviews. All one-star, all posted on the same day, not one a verified review of the material.

And I have proof: Here is the screen capture of one of their discussions. If you cross-reference the names, you'll notice that many of the reviews have the same or similar names to the people commenting.

Again, I wouldn't want to interfere in free speech. Even threads like this, where people vent vitriol about things they disagree with, I accept and permit. But this is not only an open forum, but these attacks are masquerading as legitimate customer feedback. Maybe they'd really have hated her book. But to attack someone in this manner is reprehensible and unacceptable, and it makes both real readers and authors wary of one another.

As full disclosure, I have not read Nae-Nee either. It might be terrible. All these reviews might be justified. 

This does not change the basic reality, that reviews are supposed to be honest assessments of work, not vicious attacks against another person.

As far as I know, Ms. Fox has not responded to the trolls. I, however, am taking what action I can: I have sent a message to Amazon requesting that the offensive reviews be removed. I am pasting a copy of my letter to them below.

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Please provide the following information to help us answer your question:

1. What is the name of the Kindle book or reading material that you are having trouble with? Nae-Nee - Birth Control: Infallible, with Nanites and Convenience for All.

2. Which device are you using to access the content (e.g. Kindle Paperwhite, PC, iPad, etc.)? Not relevant

3. Please describe the problem, including any error message that you see, and any troubleshooting steps that you have already tried.

This book has been the subject of fraudulent reviews. As the result of something the author posted in an unrelated forum, several people chose to attack her, submitting one- and two-star reviews over the course of a single day (the evening of the 20th and through the 21st). I believe that these reviews should be taken down, as they do not represent true customer opinions, but are represented as such.

I have evidence that these reviews are the result of a "plan" to ruin Ms. Fox, which I can submit upon request (this email does not allow me to attach or paste it): a facebook post wherein many of the reviewers discuss their actions and laugh about the distress this is likely to cause Ms. Fox. 

I know that reviews are an important customer resource. Therefore, you should remove these reviews in order to preserve the integrity and validity of this resource.

Thank you.

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If you have comments, I would love to hear them. Please don't think I'm attacking readers, or the freedom to review and express opinions. If you DNF a book, review it. If you think that the author uses the word "gosh-darn" too much and every character sounds like an idiot, say so. If the work makes you feel uncomfortable because it seems overtly racist, let us know. But don't bring anger from another venue and use it to destroy someone's life's work.

Writing your best work

In his amazing memoir On Writing, Stephen King talks extensively about his body of work. In particular, he mentions The Stand, his massive post-apocalyptic epic story. It's widely considered to be the best thing he's ever written.

And this frustrates him to no end, apparently.

See, he's glad that people like it, of course, but he wrote it over 25 years ago. He doesn't like the implication that his best work is behind him.

I've just released my third novel. Several of my readers have said that it's the best thing I've written so far, the best mechanically and stylistically. This makes sense - as far as writers go, I'm still a novice. I haven't even finished my first million words, after all :) Mr. King is one of the most prolific writers of genre fiction in the world, wildly successful by any measure of the word. It's not surprising that some people think that some of his earlier stuff is better than his latest.

What intrigues me is his reaction to it. Not that he was mean or rude, but that he continues writing even when that opinion is expressed, widely. He keeps going, trying to create something better and better, writing what makes him happy. That's what makes a true writer - he doesn't need to do it for money, anymore, so he does it for happiness.

To all the writers out there who do it because they can't do anything else, thank you. You endure the slings and arrows of those who feel entitled to exactly what they want because you love the work. You endure self doubt and worry because you love the work.

And, because you love the work, we do too.

So thank you.

The Writing Contest - What is it good for?

Writing contests.

As I began my independent writing career, I found several (as in, dozens if not a hundred) of writing contests that wanted my work. Most of them asked for money, but the chance for exposure and prestige loomed large if I could just muster the funds.

Which contests should I enter?
Which ones would give me the most cachet?

I did my best to do due diligence. I found out about "vanity" awards, or "award mills." I knew enough to avoid the actual scams, or contests that didn't do what they promised, but which ones were worth my money?

I couldn't tell. There were conflicting reports. What qualifies an award as "vanity?" Some sources said that anything that cost money should be avoided--but I couldn't find many awards that didn't. Some said that, if they had more than three or five categories, they were vanity...but there are tons of books out there, in many different genres. Is that really the case?

I entered a few, won a silver medal in one, got valuable feedback from another. I would happily recommend the Wishing Shelf awards to any author, as they are inexpensive (under $50) and provide feedback from at least 15 readers. It took me a while to receive that feedback, but it was cross-posted to Amazon.co.uk and to Goodreads, which is a wonderful bonus.

Authors, I ask: Have you entered/won any writing competitions? How did you market your victory? Was it worth the time and/or money?

Readers, I ask: Does an author being "award-winning" mean anything to you? If you see that on a book cover, does it draw you in? What connotations does that phrase have for you?

Thank you in advance. I appreciate the feedback.

Jason P. Crawford

Free? Or not?

Hello, faithful readers!

So many authors offer something on "perma-free" status; basically, they give away part of their portfolio in hopes of attracting readers. Then, the theory goes, the readers are more likely to, having seen your writing prowess, head over to your other, non-free works.

Others criticize this idea, claiming that it provides a glut of material for free and makes it harder to convince anyone to pay for good work. Why would readers pay for what they can get for free? Also, many people (you know who you are!) pick up anything they see for free, whether or not they actually intend to read it, resulting in inflated figures compared to actual readership growth.

I'm on the fence about it. I know I wouldn't put a novel on perma-free, but short stories are a possibility. I'd like to hear what others think: does an author having work for free make you more inclined to check them out? If the free work was high-quality and enjoyable, does it make you more likely to purchase their other books (for reasonable prices, of course)?

Thanks for your feedback!

Tricking your way to a bestseller...and ruining it for everyone else.

Here's something else I heard about on Goodreads: Apparently, some authors have taken to shanghai-ing their way to the coveted New York Times Bestseller title by having several people as "collaborating authors" on a boxed set--several novels sold as one product. Often, one of these authors will be a traditionally published writer with some exposure.

They price the collection (ebook, of course) on Amazon at 99 cents. Four or five novels for less than a dollar.

Naturally, lots of people jump on such a good deal. This results in a huge surge of sales, propelling these folks into the Top 100 ebook list on the New York Times Bestsellers.

And, forever after, these authors can call themselves NYT Bestselling Authors.

Blarg.

That list is supposed to mean something. It's a big deal--or it was--to end up on the NYT Bestselling list. Readers still think it's something to take notice of. If the people doing this are producing poor-quality work (which is likely, if they need to cheat to get noticed), then soon that association, that interpretation, will fade and all the legitimate NYT authors will suffer for it.

What the heck?

Moreover, this ruins the idea of legitimately creating a collection, for fear that you'll be lumped in with the cheaters. I think, personally, that a collection of first novels by a group of authors who respect one another's work and are in a similar genre or style would be awesome. It would need to be priced appropriately, of course, but it would be a great way to get visibility and readership, borrowing from each other, exposing readers who might never have seen the other authors in the collection.

But if I do that, am I a cheater? I have to admit that being a NYT Bestselling author would be a pretty awesome appellation, but I wouldn't be expecting that. Just hoping to help myself and my fellow authors expand our audiences.

Still. Perception weighs heavily. Because I got the idea from cheaters, it makes it feel like it's cheating.

What do you think?

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Good morning!

I've been involved in many different discussions on websites and in-person about different writing styles, and the books that I've read recently run the gamut. Here are some things I've noticed, as well as my stance on them. Remember that "writing rules" are not for everyone, but can make a good place for a new writer to start or an experienced one to try a change or a challenge.

1. 1st person vs. 3rd person POV. This is a big one, and it's really divisive amongst authors. Some authors swear by 1st person, claiming that it brings the reader closer to the character, while others claim the exact opposite, that 1st person breaks the verisimilitude of the story. I prefer to read 3rd person, but I have read many good examples of 1st person. I almost exclusively write in 3rd.

2. Past tense vs. present tense. This is even bigger than the last one. Again, many authors (romance is a big place you'll find this, as well as a lot of Young Adult) believe that writing present tense helps bring the reader into the story. Others adamantly disagree. I am one of the disagreers--I don't enjoy present tense in any way, shape, or form, and will shut a book if it's written in present. I just can't immerse myself in a present tense story.

3. Adverbs or not? "Common" writing wisdom is to eliminate adverbs when possible, because they are sometimes considered a sign of weak writing, implying that the writer is unsure of his/her ability to convey an idea without additional words. Others trumpet that English is a poetic, artistic language if one desires to use it that way, and that well-placed adverbs can add to a story. I prefer to not use adverbs without due consideration--my first draft will have some, and each one I see I weigh carefully to decide whether or not I want it to be there.

I'll continue to add to this list in future installments, but I want to hear from you. What do you think about each of these? Do they affect your reading/writing/both/neither?

Thanks!