Hey Folks,
I’m alive. Yesterday I took a much-needed “do (almost) nothing” day and basically did (almost) nothing.
I did blast through an online workshop. I visited the Internet a bit and we went to the grocery and I read. Otherwise I did nothing.
But I’m back. This morning I’ll commute to the Hovel (about 200 feet from my house), coffee in hand, and write a short story. No idea what that will be at the moment.
Then this afternoon I’ll work on a copyedit that came in. It’s short. I hope I’ll be able to finish it this afternoon or early evening.
Topic: Reviews (sigh)
I’ve all but given up on seeking reviews for my work.
I never did actively “seek” them, other than mentioning, now and then, that I would appreciate a review if a reader enjoyed one of my novels. I’d still appreciate it, I guess. If Amazon would let it stand.
But this morning I read Nick Hoffelder’s article (see “Of Interest” below) and clicked a link in his article to see what the new algorithm engine ReviewMeta said about the very few reviews I do have on the first novel I ever wrote, Leaving Amarillo.
As a test, I keyed in the Amazon URL for Leaving Amarillo and found ReviewMeta had marked my reviews with a “warning.”
To my undying anger and frustration, I found a “warning” label, meaning suspicious reviews/reviewers.
But I also found the very first review (a valid one, like all reviews of my books) that anyone left for me had been deleted by Amazon. That reviewer said my first effort, which took me 20 days to write from beginning to completion, was a great story that was very well plotted.
I’m not worried about myself. I’m self-actualized. I know my stories are good and my reviewers and reviews are clean.
But it begs the question: If a minor albeit prolific author like me who garners only a few reviews (if that) per book can be labeled as inviting fake reviews (I don’t), how harmful could Amazon’s (and ReviewMeta’s and Fakespot’s) bovine excrement algorithms be to authors with hundreds of reviews?
And much more importantly, how much of my time should I devote to getting valid, clean reviews when any of those “engines” is likely to pan them and when Amazon is likely to remove them arbitrarily anyway?
Screw it. All of this nonsense leads me back to the same two conclusions I always draw:
1. My time is much better spent writing than seeking reviews or other marketing activities; and
2. The best thing you can do to market your work is Write the Next Book.
Eventually the algorithms will be replaced by a fairer, more eyes-open system, though probably not in my lifetime.
And if I (you) keep writing and putting work out there, more readers will discover it.
***
To the Hovel around 9. Some hemming and hawing and false starts, and by 11:30 I’d written another short story with a little over 1600 words. Up to the house for a break.
Back to the Hovel around noon, when I found Bill Gates’ bunch was updating my writing computer.
Now my writing computer has the WiFi switch turned OFF. Plus I’m well out of range of ANY WiFi signal. Yet an update was ongoing.
Who the hell voted this guy General Manager of the Universe? Who the hell told him it’s his sole domain to decide what’s better for everyone else?
For my next trick, I’m going to take the back off my writing computer and removed the damned WiFi card. Maybe that’ll keep Mr. Gates’ damned hands in his own pockets for awhile. Or at least the hell out of mine.
No more writing today. I’ll take what I have and go do a short copyedit waiting for me in the office.
See you soon.
Of Interest
See “Dangers of Not Trusting The Creative Voice” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/dangers-of-not-trusting-the-creative-voice/. I’ve already asked Dean’s permission to repost this as a guest post over on the big site in July.
See “Riding the Writer Roller-Coaster” at https://killzoneblog.com/2018/05/riding-the-writer-roller-coaster.html.
See “Authors Are Taking Friendly Fire in Amazon’s War on Fake Reviews” at https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/05/12/authors-are-taking-friendly-fire-in-amazons-war-on-fake-reviews/.
To check the status of reviews on your own books with ReviewMeta, click https://reviewmeta.com/.
Finally, if you’d like to hear Craig Ferguson and Robin Williams riffing on accents, watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvPxRyIWWX8.
Fiction Words: 1687
Nonfiction Words: 730 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 2417
Writing of A Storyteller (novel and short story collection)
Brought forward…………………………………………………………………… 44837
Day 16… 3117 words. Total words to date…… 47954
Day 17… 2680 words. Total words to date…… 50634
Day 18… 1278 words. Total words to date…… 51912
Day 19… 1687 words. Total words to date…… 53599
Total fiction words for the month……… 28614
Total fiction words for the year………… 189900
Total nonfiction words for the month… 5000
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 54470
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 241683
Calendar Year 2018 Novels to Date………………………… 3
Calenday Year 2018 Novellas to Date…………………… 1
Calendar Year 2018 Short Stories to Date……… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 30
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 5
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………………… 182