Your Website and Marketing Your Book

I wanted to share two things that recently have helped me with my website and marketing The Unwanted.

First here's the problems or issues I've been having. I use Google Analytics to monitor my website traffic. I've had my website since December and have gotten a decent amount of traffic to my site when I was advertising on Google Adwords or Facebook ads however the one trend I was seeing is that a majority of those that visited my site would immediately leave within 20 seconds. So I asked myself why & what can I do to change this. Here's what I've come up with so far and it's working.

1. My main page took too long to load. What I realized was that I was using too many pictures or photos on the page and not enough text. I was using PNG files for all my headers and getting too creative for my own good. So I've gotten rid of all but a handful of pictures and photos on my main page and now it loads much quicker. Since I've made this change the average visiting time has gone from around 30 seconds to over 4 minutes. (Not joking) Now you may not be a technical person and you may have someone who does your website for you. Make sure they check the load time for your pages. Just an FYI...

2. Tell your visitors what kind of a book they can expect. Again, most visitors were stopping by my site and immediately leaving even though I had the great synopsis from the back of my book right there for their reading. This was really frustrating me because most people who have read the back cover seem interested in the book. But the problem wasn't the synopsis... the problem came to me during a recent sale of my book.

I recently started a new job for AT&T (my day job hehehe) and had brought in copies of my book to display at my desk. My trainer who sits across from me came over and started asking about my book. More specifically he asked me, "What kind of book is it?" So I told him the following, "My book is a science fiction adventure action packed story that gradually gets more intense with each chapter all the way to the end and leaves you wanting more." (pretty good sales pitch I thought lol) And it worked. He said, "That's the kind of book I want to read. I'll buy a copy from you."

So I had a sale but more importantly I had a revelation. When people visit my website they don't want to read the intriguing synopsis first. What they want to know is "What kind of book is this." It was at this moment that I realized I had not told them in plain words what they were looking at. So I have recently added a plain, straight forward description of what The Unwanted is about. Here is what my site now says:
"The Unwanted delivers an adrenaline rush that rarely comes from reading a book. Cover to cover this science fiction action adventure will get your heart pumping and leave you begging for more!!!
(G/6 Chronicles is not responsible for loss of sleep or symptoms from adrenaline overload.)"

Since I have added this description next to the picture of my book my page visit count went from just over 1 page per visit to over 3 pages per visit in the first day. There wasn't a single person who visited my site that left immediately.

I had just wanted to share those two marketing tips with my fellow forum friends and hopefully it helps you in some way.

Blessings
Daniel L Carter
Author of The Unwanted Trilogy
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Review of 'The Last Cordate' by Alison Winfree Pickrell

Two already failed in their mission. Now the fate of the datta rests in Talasa's hands...


The Last Cordate is one of the most interesting books I have read in quite some time. Although this book is categorized under Fantasy it is unlike your typical story. Mrs. Pickrell paints an allegorical picture of the Christian faith while addressing the state and heart of mankind. We follow Talasa our protagonist who lives in a perfect (heavenly) part of the world called Ny-Da which originally was formed from the tear of Da (God). She is called to be the last Cordate, the Nydian chosen every ten years to carry grief from the planet. Mrs. Pickrell follows Talasa's walk through the fallen, downtrodden planet as she tries to fulfill her mission which is to trek to Quala-Da the town where Da (God) rests.

Now that you have the setup of this story here's the scoop. The Last Cordate is difficult to get into at first. There is a great amount of explaining of the terminologies so much so that there is a glossary in the book for your reference. If you're looking for an easy read this is not the book for you. But also remember that the Dune series was so complex that they had to put a glossary and definition of the words in them and yet it is questionably the best science fiction novel series ever written. Having said that, I truly enjoyed this book more than I thought I was going to. Once I got it in my head who Da-Dat-Shee was and the breakdown of the three parts of that name along with some other interesting names and terminology I was hooked.

I will also warn you that unlike Hinds' Feet on High Place, which is also an allegorical story, this book is not meant for very young children. I thought that it was going to be a much younger age appropriate book but as the story progresses Mrs. Pickrell delves into the demonic and base aspects of the planet's inhabitants. As a Christian there was such an overwhelming recognition of the truth of scripture being brought through the story that when this evil rears its ugly head you may be shocked. 


It became very clear that the author took great time and consideration on how to present this allegory and she touches on deceptions and lies that many of us as readers can identify with. I give kudos to Mrs. Pickrell for putting forth a story that not only entertains but has a statement of truth and righteousness as it's core foundation. I give The Last Cordate a rating of Enjoyed. I look forward to more of her stories in the future.

If you wish to check out Alison Winfree Pickrell's website for more of her books please visit
http://www.alisonwinfreepickrell.com/



Blessings,
Daniel L Carter
Author of The Unwanted Trilogy
(Ratings are MUST READ, ENJOYED, ALRIGHT & WASTE OF TIME.)

Experts are divided on the future of bricks-and-mortar bookstores

The rising popularity of electronic books and online book sales, combined with a sour economy, has Miriam McCarter worried that more tough times are ahead for bricks-and-mortar bookstores.
"It's not good for the industry, as we know it," said McCarter, a co-owner of Special Occasions on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Winston-Salem.
She said her sales are down more than 40 percent from this time last year.
McCarter said that people like...(For the full article go here)

Blessings,
Daniel L Carter
Author of The Unwanted Trilogy

Barnes & Noble in Trouble?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100804/bs_nm/us_barnesandnoble

 

Currently Reading

Here's a list of upcoming reviews for books I have recently received. I have a lot of reading to do. lol
 













Blessings,
Daniel L Carter
Author of The Unwanted Trilogy

The Unwanted Trilogy

The Unwanted is book 1 in The Unwanted Trilogy written by Daniel L Carter and published by OakTara. Other similar books include, the Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson and Percy Jackson & The Olympians series by Kevin McKidd.

in reference to: The Unwanted Trilogy (view on Google Sidewiki)

DREAM REACHERS TRAILER!

Check out the trailer for the Dream Reachers book.

Review of "Fatal Revenant" by Stephen R Donaldson

Fatal Revenant is book 2 of The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I have to say that after so many years I was pretty stoked about this four book series and was happy with the first book The Runes of the Earth. However I can't say the same for Fatal Revenant.


Warning!!! The following contains spoilers.

Linden Avery is a great character. She is compassionate, a mother, a doctor and intricately connected to The Land that makes up this fantasy series. Having said all of that I am exceedingly disappointed with the stupidity of this character in book 2. At the end of book 1 we are left with Linden Avery being confronted by none other than the deceased Thomas Covenant and her autistic son Jeremiah who is apparently no longer afflicted by his condition. She's confronted by these two figures and the conflict to believe or not to believe they are who they say they are begins. I'm sorry Mr. Donaldson but it's very evident that they aren't who they say they are and if you want us to believe that Linden Avery would somehow be fooled by this is not plausible. I feel like I'm not given enough credit as a reader as I read page after page of mind games between the three characters. The only reason I read to the end was in hopes that I was somehow wrong and you had strung me along to emphasize the twist. But alas nothing. The end of book 2 is exactly what I thought it would be from the very beginning and the two Fatal Revenants (Fake Thomas Covenant & fake Jeremiah) do not surprise me to find out they are not the real people. This was a waste of an entire book and a waste of my time and money. If the last 2 books are anything like this one then it becomes apparent that the only reason for this series is to make more money and not to actually tell a story. I cannot recommend this book. I give it a rating of Waste of Time!
(Ratings are MUST READ, ENJOYED, ALRIGHT & WASTE OF TIME.)

FYI to all Self Publishing Companies

I'm sorry people but I have to vent. If you are a self publishing company or organization please oh please be responsible with your advertising. What I mean by this is don't use fear and intimidation or overly biased endorsements to try and get people to use your services. Today alone I received an email from a self publishing group stating that they know many published authors who get little to no money for their books because of the publisher they used. Really? I'd like to know who these authors are and I'd like to know how 'you' know them and their finances in such detail. And please stop saying that Mark Twain was self published. That's so idiotic. So was the apostle Paul and John but I don't see you quoting that either...you know why?... because it's idiotic. It has no relevance to modern day culture and business.

I will stipulate that given the current publishing industry and the lack of accepting new manuscripts by most in the industry that self publishing can be a viable choice but... and I say BUT strenuously... writer/authors should spend at least a year submitting their work first before considering going self publishing and even then I would suggest possibly trying longer. There are some smaller publishers that, IF YOUR WORK IS GOOD, will want to pick you up. Make sure your writing is good and I mean by that, you've gone to people who aren't family or friends and have gotten legitimate feedback on your work. There is nothing more frustrating to a reader than getting a book, spending money on that book and having it stink to high heaven. Make sure your work is beyond good if there is such a thing then think about self publishing. 

A word to all aspiring writers and authors in this forum: There are sites on the web that you can go to that will give you insight as to who is a legitimate publisher and who is questionable. The first place is Predators & Editors. This is a good place to start. Also there is a forum to discuss the topic of who is a legitimate publisher @ absolutewrite.com.

Sincerely,
Daniel L Carter
Author of The Unwanted Trilogy
(No I am not self published but I had thought about it.)

Character Interview with Janet Renard from "The Unwanted"

Intro DLC: I want to welcome our readers to this interview and introduce Janet Renard from my novel "The Unwanted". Thank you Janet for taking time out of your schedule to be here today.

Janet:  Thank you Mr. Carter. Anything for my creator. (laughs)

DLC: Why don't we start out with introducing you to our readers?

Janet: Sure. My name is Janet Marie Renard. I'm a mother of five children, three boys and two girls. Until recently we've been living at my uncle's ranch in Oklahoma for the past nine years and may I say it's been a whirlwind for every moment. I use to be a nurse before becoming a full time mother. Now the children are my life.

DLC: Great, thank you. I like to start out interviews with some 'get to know you' questions. So I have a series of questions and I want you to give me the first answer off the top of your head. OK?

Janet: (laughs) Shoot.

DLC: What's your favorite color?

Janet: Red

DLC: What's your favorite ice cream?

Janet: Ben & Jerry's Mocha Swiss Chocolate Almond. mmmm (laughs)

DLC: Favorite meal?

Janet: General Tsao Chicken with pork fried rice.

DLC: OK now I'm getting hungry. (laughs) Favorite movie?

Janet: That's a hard one but I'm going to go with Children of a Lesser God.

DLC: Favorite book? (chuckles)

Janet: Oh you're just being funny now. Well I'm not going to fall for it. (laughs) My most recent favorite would have to be Rocky Mountain Oasis by Lynnette Bonner.

DLC: (laughs) OK you got me on that one. Favorite style of music?

Janet: Living in Oklahoma all these years you got to know I love country music.

DLC: Then who's your favorite country singer?

Janet: I love Kelly Pickler!

DLC: And my last question for getting to know you is what's your favorite TV show?

Janet: Well that's a hard one. I was never much of a science fiction fan until the kids came into my life. Now I'm addicted to so many shows. I guess I'd have to say Eureka is my most favorite right now.

DLC: Me too. Now the questions get a little more tricky. I don't wish to drudge up bad memories but I would be remise if I didn't bring up the subject. You had been married before the children came along, are you able to talk a little bit about what happened?

Janet: (scoffs) I knew you'd ask me about this...(chokes up)

DLC: I didn't mean to pry I thought the readers should understand what you've been through.

Janet: (clearing her throat) No it's fine. I need to talk about it more. I married the most wonderful man Marcus Jacob Renard at the age of twenty. We met at the hospital where I worked. He was in the IT department fixing our computers at the hospital. We hit it off immediately and within eight months we were married. For almost two years we enjoyed marital bliss. But then it happened. Marcus received a job proposal from a large corporation to run their entire IT department. (chokes slightly) He was flying to Rochester, New York for an interview when his plane's electrical systems malfunctioned. At least that's what I was told happened. The plane crashed just outside of Buffalo, New York and there were no survivors. That was eleven years ago...

DLC: Marcus wasn't the only person close to you that you've lost.

Janet: (nods) That's true. Both my mamma and Aunt Jenny died in a car crash together. I was only sixteen at the time.

DLC: It must have been hard for you growing up.

Janet: I won't lie. Life hasn't been easy. If it weren't for Uncle Leigh I don't know how I would have handled it all.

DLC: Now your uncle is your father's brother correct?

Janet: Yes. (scoffs) Boy, you aren't leaving anything out. My father Eugene was a missionary to South America. He died from a viral infection in his heart while on a missions trip. They weren't able to get him to a hospital in time. He died when I was less than two years old so I don't really have many memories of him.

DLC: Thank you Janet for sharing. Let's talk about the children. It's very evident that you love them dearly but they're not your flesh and blood children are they?

Janet: No they're not but I'm still their Mamma.

DLC: Oh definitely. Would you share with our readers their names and how they came to be with you?

Janet: Absolutely. I love talking about my kids. What mother doesn't? Well let me tell you their names first. There's Marcus, obviously named after my late husband, Anna, Zackary, Angela and Sampson. There's a lot to how they came to be with me but I'll try and keep it short. My co-worker Michele Townsend and I had been hired to work as nurses on a drug study that was supposed to help couples who were unable to carry pregnancies to full term. As many drug studies, there are two control groups. We both worked the night shift and were responsible for one of those groups. There were five pregnant women we were responsible for all of which couldn't speak any English. I knew something was wrong about this study but the money was real good so I tried not to think about it too much.  Each of the women were starting their second trimester when we came on board. There was a lot that just didn't feel or seem right about the entire study but by the time we realized just how wrong, it was too late. All five of the women in our group were induced into labor just hours before our shift started. When Michele and I got to work we found out an emergency staff meeting had been called. We were taking a break outback of the facility before this meeting was supposed to happen. That's when we overheard that Dr. Scharf, who was the head of the study, had hired off duty police to kill the entire staff and the five infants in the nursery. We barely escaped with our lives and all five infants. The only safe place I knew of was my uncle's ranch. He had a cabin way up in the hills of his ranch that I use to go to as a child.

DLC: Wow!

Janet: Yeah, you're telling me. (scoffs) It didn't take a genius to figure out that they probably weren't doing a drug study for pregnancy. And that became clear as the children started growing quickly. I mean real quick. Michele and I could hardly keep up with all five of them. They were constantly hungry, crying, getting into everything you can imagine and then some pretty strange things started to happen. I've worked in maternity wards at hospitals before and these children were not normal. My heart aches knowing what I know now about what was done to them by Dr. Scharf. If it weren't for Uncle Leigh and his help I don't know what we would have done.

DLC: Now you've mentioned your uncle Leigh a couple times, you're close right?

Janet: Uncle Leigh is the father I never had.

DLC: But there was a time several years back when you two weren't so close, correct?

Janet: You really don't pull any punches do you? There was a time right after my husband Marcus died that we had a falling out. It wasn't Uncle Leigh's fault. The blame was totally mine. I lost it. Right after the funeral Uncle Leigh tried to console me and point me to God. I didn't want to hear it. I'd had enough loss in my life and I blamed God. We fought that afternoon and I told him God didn't care so why should I. That's when I moved to Poughkeepsie, New York to work for St. Francis hospital. If that fight had never happened I wouldn't have been able to save the children. God worked it all out for the good and Uncle Leigh and I are close again. We've made our peace with each other.

DLC: Janet I want to thank you for taking the time to be here today. This interview has been very informative and I look forward to writing more about you in the future.

Janet: It's been a pleasure and keep them books coming. (laughs)

For more information on 'The Unwanted' visit our book sample page for the first 3 chapters.

BOOK SAMPLE

Book Signing of 'The Unwanted'

Time	September 18 · 11:00am - 1:00pm
Location	Alpha & Omega Parable Bookstore 1601 Penfield Road Rochester, NY
More Info	Daniel L Carter will be signing copies of his book "The Unwanted" book 1 of The Unwanted Trilogy @ Alpha & Omega Parable Bookstore between 11-1 on Saturday September 18th. All are invited to participate! We will be giving away 2 free autographed copies of "The Unwanted"!!! First copy will be given at 11:30 and the second copy at 1:00. You must be in attendance to win. ... Prizes will be awarded!!! 2 $10 Gift cards to Alpha & Omega Parable Bookstore & 2 people will win lunch on us. Prizes are to be drawn at 12:00 & 12:30. To be eligible to win you must be present during drawing. If you have already purchased a copy of "The Unwanted" please feel free to come to this event to have your book signed. To find out more about "The Unwanted" please visit our site @ www.g6chronicles.com

End of Summer Book Giveaway of "The Unwanted"

G/6 Chronicles is hosting 2 great end of Summer book giveaways. You have 2 chances to win an autographed copy of The Unwanted book 1 of The Unwanted Trilogy.

Here is how you can enter:              

1. Join as a follower on Daniel L Carter's blog @ http://danielleighcarter.blogspot.com/ then send an email to contest@theunwantedtrilogy.com with your full name.

2. Sign up for our G/6 Chronicles Newsletter @ newsletter@theunwantedtrilogy.com with the Subject: Giveaway. Please include in your email your full name.

You can do both and be entered twice in our drawing.

(We request that if you partake in our giveaway that you would be willing to do a short review of 

The Unwanted on either Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Christianbook.com. The review is not required but encouraged. The point of these giveaways is to promote awareness of this great story. We thank you for your support.)

The winners names will be posted on September 1st at 8pm on www.g6chronicles.com, Myspace, Facebook, G/6 Chronicles Newsletter & Blogger.

Submissions for contest ends August 31st @ Midnight EST.

The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object: Blogoversary giveaway: Crescendo

The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object: Blogoversary giveaway: Crescendo: "Woot Woot! I made it a year! (In September. But hey, it’s getting close.) I got up to about 230 followers (yay) and am loving the book revie..."

Tools of the Trade

Like a lot of bloggers and authors or anyone trying to market on the internet we're always trying to find ways to get our product/site out to the public. One of the ways is using Keywords. For the bloggers you're looking to use words that search engines pick up. I suggest doing a Google or Bing search for keywords and the subject that you are most interested in. I like to go to Google Trends and see what the top searches are each week just out of curiosity. Whether it be this weeks number 1 Hot Topic 'zardari' or number 2 Hot Searches 'jersey shore season 2 episode 2', I like to keep an eye open for what people are interested in. If I find a topic or search that relates to what my blog or book is related to I try to incorporate it within my postings.

I do not encourage anyone to just put hot topics on your sites or in your postings if they have nothing to do with what you are promoting or writing about. (Yes I know I put Zardari and Jersey Shore in this posting. LOL It was just to make a point.) Be genuine in your postings but be wise also.

That is my 2 1/2 cents on the subject.

Blessings,
Daniel L Carter
Author of The Unwanted Trilogy

The Prairie Library: Marketing Your Blog: Post Two on Visibility

The Prairie Library: Marketing Your Blog: Post Two on Visibility: "PART TWO: This post is intended to give ideas to book bloggers who want to increase their readership using methods of marketing. I will be w..."

This is too cool!

A Guy Amongst Women!

I am a self professed Metrosexual. I love musicals, chick flicks, Children of a Lesser God and I enjoy hanging out with my wife. Having said all of that I am still confused and lost on several issues as of late.

1. What's this fascination with vampires? There is nothing sexy about someone sucking the life force from your body or being a member of the walking dead. We've romanticized these creatures into the ideal lover, boyfriend or whatever. I don't get it and to be honest I don't want to!

2. Romance novels? They are mostly about sex, not romance. As a man I can honestly and with great authority state that if you want your man to have sex with you in the manner these books portray he WILL DO what you ask of him. I can pretty much guarantee that. =) There's a lack of communication somewhere. I don't get it!

3. The derogatory use of the word GUY/MAN. I'm a guy. I like football, I scream at my tv when the Giants play, I love games, electronics, science fiction, fantasy, wrestling and goofing off every now and then. There is nothing wrong with any of these things. Please don't go around saying, "You're such a guy/man!" like that's a bad thing. Now granted there are some JERKS out there that treat woman badly. But please, on behalf of all the GUYS & MEN out there, I beg of you to please call them a JERK not GUY/MAN. I like being a guy/man. =)

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll get some interesting comments on this blog. LOL

Review of The Runes of the Earth: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

Stephen R. Donaldson's The Runes Of The Earth: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant brings us back to The Land where Thomas Covenant was the White Gold Wielder. For those of you who have not read the first six books of this series you'll want to start with Lord Foul's Bane. Mr. Donaldson does not disappoint in this much anticipated sequel set thousands of years after the first 2 series. I won't get into details because I really don't want to give away anything from the first 6 books for those of you who may be interested. However this time around we are following Dr. Linden Avery as she is transported back into The Land that she shared with her love Thomas Covenant. Although it had only been ten years in the real world thousands of years have passed in The Land. Mr. Donaldson does what he does best and that's get inside the head of the characters in such a way that you feel their innermost parts. Their thoughts and emotions are just as much an adventure as the story that unfolds around them. I can do nothing but praise these books for what they are...true fantasy at it's finest.

One of the most important things that I appreciated about this book is that Mr. Donaldson took the time to recap all six previous books and the main plot. Since it has been several years since the previous six books this was refreshing for me personally. Typical of his books they start out a little slow for my liking however once you get past the first couple chapters (yet still very important) you are transported into a fantasy of epic proportions. (I always wanted to say that)

I give The Runes of the Earth: The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant a rating of MUST READ for all you fantasy fans out there. I would however caution folks that this is not an easy read but a bit more complex than the average fantasy book that I've read in a while.

Sincerely,
Daniel L Carter
Author of The Unwanted Trilogy

(Ratings are MUST READ, ENJOYED, ALRIGHT & WASTE OF TIME.)

Relationship Advice

I'm often asked how long have I been married. Usually I'm asked right after I've mentioned how much I appreciate my wife or how much I adore her. When I say I've been married over 14 years they look at me funny. Probably because they expected we are newlyweds still. Then I sometimes get a follow up question asking something like, "how do you stay so in love with each other?". The 'Christian' answer is usually, "Jesus is the center of our life," but I feel like that is a cop out because what people really want to know is what are the practical things you do that make your relationship work. Now I will say that Jesus is most certainly the center and main reason for our marriage staying strong but I know many Christian couples who struggle with their relationships and even get divorced.

So what's the key? Well the first misconception is that there is only one key. Jesus is the foundation of a relationship but there are many other things that need to be built upon that foundation to make things work. What I'm about to share is my opinion and what I've experienced.

1. Jesus (Obviously) I will tell you now that any relationship outside of the Lordship of Jesus Christ is a crap shoot at best. True faith and honest walks with God are going to get you through the tough times that will come. I promise you they will come and you will both be stretched and pulled emotionally, spiritually and sometimes physically.

2. Friendship: If you are dating or marrying someone because they are attractive you are going to be sadly disappointed later in life. Other men and woman will look better than your spouse and you will be attracted to them. Friendship on the other hand is vital to a couple staying together. If you can't stand the person you're dating or they are borrow to hang around then get out of the relationship now even if they are a model/superstar. All else will fade away with time and the only things you are going to have left are Jesus and friendship.

3. Common Interests: Likes, Dislikes, Activities... These are very important. If you have very little in common with the person you are dating you are less inclined to like the person you are dating. Again I see many people dating because the other person is 'HOT' not interesting. The saying opposites attract may be true but it is no reason to get into a relationship.

4. Respect: If you don't have respect for each other then get out of the relationship now before it's too late. Let me give you a definition of respect so that I'm clear on what I mean.
Respect: to hold in esteem or honor, to show regard or consideration for, esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person.

If you don't have respect for each other than you are with the wrong person.

5. Give 100%: What I mean by this is don't be with a person in hopes that they are going to fulfill you as a person. The Bible says that God made the 2 into 1. This is a miracle. Often I hear people say I need to find my other half. If you're not complete as a human being before getting into a relationship then your troubles will become worse not better. Putting 2 halves together to form a whole person is not a miracle. Putting 2 completely whole people together and making them into one functioning powerful entity is the miracle. In the relationship give your all, 100%, not 50%. When you are both doing this then a wonderful relationship comes to existence.

There is so much more to share but if you can grab hold of these 5 things then you'll do well in your relationships.

Bad Books!

I'm sure this has happened to all of us readers at one time or another, you start a story and can't get past the first three pages. What do you do? Well I had this happen recently and quite frankly it's frustrating. I know that many people have gone the self-publishing avenue but please, oh dear Lord please have someone or someones critique your work who will give you an honest opinion. Point of view is important, having a point is important, great description means nothing if you don't have a plot to go with it.

I will not state the name of the book but please people be honest with your work. Give it to others to review. Heck send in several pages to professional editors who'll give you an honest critique free to show you their work. The first time I wrote my first novel it sucked! Seriously it sucked! And I knew it sucked so I went to someone who was willing to give me an honest critique.

Sorry if I'm venting and someone out there may have read my book and thought it still sucked. Sorry if that happened but my publisher disagreed with you and so did several other folks that I ran it by before it was submitted for public consumption and being presented as a viable story. Not everyone is going to like your story but there are processes your story should go through first before saying, "Hey I wrote a book and I'm selling it. I'm just like (put favorite author here)."

I know this seems harsh but when I can't continue reading a book because it just isn't telling me a story I get frustrated.

That's my two cents on the subject. Anyone else want to chime in on their thoughts?

One of my favorite cartoons

Movie Quote Trivia Of The Day!

Movie quote trivia of the day: I'm thinkin'... I'm thinkin'... I'm thinkin'...

Promoting Your "Whatever" Online

I stumbled across this site as I was doing some research for promoting my book The Unwanted. This is one of the best level headed articles about online promotion that I've found to date.

http://www.spacejock.com.au/MarketingYourBookOnline.html

Enjoy,

Daniel L Carter
Author of