Heroes and Bad Reviews

Sometimes distractions can lead us away from our goals. Often times I find myself getting tunnel vision when I am writing an idea and that's not always the best thing. For the stories I am developing, I had a point A to point B plan and that was not the way it should have been. There is more to a great book than who, what, when, where, and why. An explanation can be developed from those, but not a great story. Sometimes stepping away and doing other things can help you reclaim your idea from a narrow vision and assist you in turning a good idea into an magnificent book.

In October, I purposely stepped away from my stories and kept myself from writing. Why? I felt like I was becoming bored with the process. I still had idea I knew were good, but I felt like something was lacking in my writing. I needed to find a way to develop more than just an A to B story. My first book Rumbling Heart was more than an A to B story and it shows in the quality of the development not only of the work, but also the characters and the atmosphere. Sometimes reading a book can help you reevaluate and refocus on what you are trying to do. In my case though, being able to now see things from a different angle is a double-edged sword.

I looked over my work and even over some reviews and bits of feed back I have gotten over my work. The good reviews are always nice, but it is the bad reviews that always stick with you. Why? Just human nature I suppose. Here is a snippet of a negative review RH got and my response to it.

Negative reviews happen. There is no way around it. Being a writer I accept that and I know there will always be people who either do not understand my work or, for whatever reason, want to find reasons to make it seem as if I did a huge disservice to the human race. I did find it interesting that this person thought her review was constructive. You can see my response to her review in the photo as well. Her response was once again nonconstructive. I liken this review to calling someone names because that is essentially what they did. If you feel the need to call me (or my work) "stupid" without offering any reason as to why you felt that way or any way to improve it, the review is completely pointless. Offering no way to improve on something is about as bad as crying because you didn't get your way. If I were a coach and I told a child they were terrible at football or whatever other sport I was coaching them in, I wouldn't remain a coach very long. Obviously you cannot really liken coaching to reviewing a book or a movie or whatever else you can give feedback on. Reviewers aren't coaches. I realize that. But at the same time people who do offer feedback need to understand that the main reason you give feedback, be it positive, negative, or mixed, is so people who develop their ideas can improve and make things better the next time around. What is the point of simply calling people or their work names? Sounds to me like certain individuals either lack the ability to express themselves or they feel the need to tear someone down.

Success also breeds negativity.

I will not say I am very successful. I haven't sold a ton of books and I haven't made all kinds of money at this. It was never really about money anyway. I have over the last year and a half gotten hurtful messages and emails from people who see that I was somehow able to hash it out and write a book. Not many people can say they've done that. Sure, some people can write a small story, but my first book was 475+ pages. A little long, but anyone has to admit that writing a book of that size takes time and commitment. My followup to my first book is much shorter, but still comes in at about 300 pages. No small feat. Another big story for me which is about 70% complete will probably come in at about 275 pages. Again, not many people in the world can say they can sit down and accomplish such a thing. I am not saying I should automatically get a great review for the effort, but I would hope that people like me...artists...deserve at the very least a review explaining exactly why our work is either good, bad, or mixed.

A good review does not always have to be positive. If you gave me 1 or 2 stars, but explained why this or that was unappealing to you, I could respect that. Not offering any explanation whatsoever makes me think the person is either just looking to be mean or trolling. In a way, they are kind of the same thing.

If you are a reviewer like I am from time to time, do the artist a favor and explain why you think one way or another. In the end, we will thank you for it and so will other readers.

 

 

Recorded Butterflies - Cover Reveal

Here it is. Simple, nothing splashy. Just the way I like it. Can you find the butterfly? You will probably miss it the first time.

The Waiting Game

Sitting here and waiting for my book to arrive is gonna eat me alive. To know it will be available in print is beyond exciting. I ordered my proofs and that's why I can't sit still. Could also be Parkinson's, but i doubt that. Technically, my meds cause Parkinson's symptoms, but let's not go downhill. Apparently, the books have already shipped and should be here in a few days. I ordered three copies so I can give a couple away. I want to keep one for myself so I can always have something from my writing days.

It's Live

Rumbling Heart is now live on three major book outlets. Go pick it up if you like! I am sure you all will enjoy it!

Final Formatting

Starts today! After I settle a few personal matters that will take me out today, I will be formatting which shouldn't take long at all. Just have to add a few credits and we're ready for publication.

Closer

Not much longer till the release of Rumbling Heart. I am getting nervous. I am trying to keep myself from going through it for the 36th time. I keep telling myself the book is ready and there isn't anything that needs to be done with it. I can only fight this urge so long till I know I open it up and read through it one more time.

12 days.

 

Movie Poster

I made a movie poster which you can see below. I added a release date...sort of. I purposely did it so I can make myself work on it. I figured if I put a release date it will light a fire under me and kinda of force me to work on it, even on days when I don't really feel like I want to. The interesting thing about it is that i carries an appropriate rating. Enjoy.

Lots of Edits

Ruby's project is moving along nicely. I would say about 80% done with her stuff, but even then it gets one more look to be sure.

My stuff is still getting rewritten and editing like mad. I've dropped about 4500 words out of it overall which is not bad, but it needs more. My goal is 25k words at the very least. I'm not sure if I will hit it though as I am already in chapter 7 of 28. Who knows, I might make it. If I don't, it's not a huge deal. I just want the book to be shorter so people aren't overwhelmed by it. 500 pages is a lot to ask people to read. 60 years ago that wasn't a huge deal, but people have changed. Either way, it's no longer 513 pages as it was. Now it's closer to 500 and dropping so if I can get it to 450 that would be great.

In case you missed them, here are the two covers I did in the last couple of weeks. The first is for Ruby's book and the second is for mine. Hope you like them.

Clip Clip

Just a quick note.

Slowly but surely version 2.0 of Rumbling Heart is getting smaller and although last night saw it only shrink by 37 words, today should hopefully see it go down by at least another thousand words. As I've said before I hope to clip a good 20-30k words from it altogether. If I can get it down to 475 pages, I would really find that to be a major achievement. Anything less would be even better. Well, I am back to work on it, but not before I leave you with a copy of something I work up last night. Not sure if I will use it, but it maybe the cover for version 2.0

Last Night is Free via Amazon Prime Lending

I've decided to give Amazon Prime lending a try to see how it all works out. So far in just one day, I've already got sales which is nice. The Prime lending, in case you are not familiar with it, basically means you can "borrow" a book from Amazon with no due date. They have a program where members pay a set amount to be a prime member which is about $78 a year and you get all sorts of benefits. Honestly, I'm not too into that sort of thing, but I know some people are doing it and if you happen to be one of those people, feel free to have as look at Last Night. If not, no worries. It's still just $.99 so not like it's a massive amount of money to check out what I consider to be one of the best things I've ever written.

You can check out the book on Amazon here.

Slash and Burn

To slash 2 thousand words in a single stroke is pretty harsh, but when you are gutting out a bad angle from a good story, it has to be done. I am in the process right now. There will be some filler to write, but I don't mind doing it because the story in the end will be much better. It simply wasn't seeded in reality so when it grew as big as it did, it looked good, but not as beautiful as it could truly be so something had to be reworked. I knew exactly what the issue was and as has always been my motto, less is more. In this case, I am cutting an angle that was over complicated and required far too much explaining and the reader was getting lost by it. The rest of the story is terrific and the characters got enough development. It will also require me to look over a few other works but that is alright. In fact, it will give me a little more to add to the work that comes right after this one which is small by my standards anyway.

This one at it's last stopping point was a massive 222k words. Yes, a monster. I have slashed out a lot and already it's below 220k,  closer to 219k. May not seem like a lot, but I am only on chapter 3 of 28 chapters. I am thinking I may be able to get it to as little as 180k words which would be terrific. I just don't want anything to feel rushed. If i have to leave it bigger, then I will. However, if in the end I can say I slashed 42k words and the book turned out amazing, that's a major accomplishment.

Back to the pit.

Writers and Honesty

I am going to get some hate mail for this post, but this will be nothing new for me.

Being that I am a writer by profession, I obviously know a ton of other writers of various genres. While in college, I was an English major so I know a thing or two about literary writing. Not saying I am the all knowing, just saying I know good writing when I see it. This is my 2 cents.

While not concentrating on my writing, I occasionally have people ask me to read their work who want "an honest review." I am ok with that. I'm not the kind of person to massage another's ego just so they can feel good. If i see flaws or what I feel are flaws in someone work, I point it out. I feel i give real literary reviews. I don't just tear into a work and say hateful things like "THIS IS AWFUL!" or "This author sucks!" No. Sorry. That's not professional or helpful in any way. What I do point out are both the good points and the shortcomings of a book. Perhaps a character was left underdeveloped or maybe there was a loose end that was left untied. I will point those things out in a heartbeat. I will also offer praise if warranted. If the story was solid with good character development and keep the reader interested, I will say that as well. I very rarely give 5 star reviews because I feel that almost any book can always be better. That being said, I;ve discovered one thing in the writing community.

Writers do not want honesty.

They want someone to rub their shoulders and tell them that they're the next frickin Hemingway. They want only reviews that make their work sound like it's the next Harry Potter series. It's not! It's clucking horrifying! Ok, maybe not that bad, but it can definitely use some work. I cannot tell you how many people have stopped following me on twitter, have placed me on ignore, and have flat out just lied about me all because I gave what I felt was a very honest and objective review of their work. I had someone unfollow and ignore me because I gave their work a 3.3/5 on a competitor's website. Hey, last I checked, 3.3 out of 5 is not too shabby. It's obviously not perfect, but I'm also not calling your work complete and utter dog [expletive deleted].

To all my fellow writers, I say this: Grow thicker skin! The world is not a nice place. People are mean and vicious and some of them will only want to tear you down. If you get a legitimate, critical review of your book, take those words and think about them and learn from them. As a writer, I do feel we are on the same team. Heck, the same family, and like a good and loving brother, I will tell you when you need to brush up on a few things. I've had people call my work complete crap and that's ok. I've also had beneficial reviews and because of those I am becoming a better writer.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Image via Wikipedia[/caption]

Early On

Through the first 6 chapters, the rewrite is looking so much better than the original. It is pretty insane just how much you learn about yourself in a year. I think I've finally found a writing style that fits my personality. I think early on I was trying too hard to make certain language and insight work, so much so that some of the message was lost in translation. I am simplifying those areas that were too obtuse and making the language easier to comprehend. There are still a few things in there that are purposely difficult to understand and I am keeping them in there for certain reasons pertaining to the story itself.

Once the rewrite is done for RH, I will move onto RB. Emily will need minimal rewrite, maybe a little tinkering here and there to make sure story lines are kept in tact.

Once EM is done, then it's back to the final book. I am already 70 pages onto it. The last one will need major editing when i get finished with it. As it has progressed, I have no doubt that it will easily hit 200k words, probably even 230k which is too large. I don't want it to be any larger than say 215k words and that's pushing it. I would like to see it stay around 200k at the most so that people still get all they can from the final installment, yet do not start falling asleep toward the end.

You can still purchase the current version of Rumbling Heart over on Amazon, but I won't blame anyone for waiting till the rewrite is done. I don't see it taking anymore than 10 more days.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Image by Phillie Casablanca via Flickr"][/caption]

Rewriting

Through the past year, I've learned a lot about myself and about writing. I've learned that there are times when I need to dive into a little more detail and there are also times where I can be long winded. I've slashed thousands of words out of my work since I began, but sometimes thousands just isn't enough. I also believe I've found my place in the writing world. On more than a handful of occasions, I've been told I tend to write more as a story teller. That may seem like a general term for a writer, but I believe it's not. Sometimes people write simply to inform you on certain events so that you know what happened. Other writers, story tellers, take you by the hand and let you walk with them as they lead you down the very same road it feel that they once took. So often I am asked if the events in my book are real because of the way I've written them. For many, it feels to them as if I am presenting to them a glorified anecdote and calling it a book chapter. I am ok with that.

It is for that reason that I am going through my previously released works and rewriting certain portions of them. Obviously, even after going over them countless times, there are still a few piece of the books that simply do not flow as well as I want them to and even a handful of grammatical errors. From my very first serious work to Rumbling Heart to my latest release Emily Martin, my style has morphed and become something very different that how it originally started. I've discovered my shortcomings and taken hold of my strengths. For this reason, I have decided to take on a simpler, story telling approach to my work from here going forward. In the first book, there is quite a bit of story telling, but I believe I made certain instances far more complex than they needed to be from a grammatical perspective. For this reason, I am sure that RH will go from about 220k words to something a little smaller; maybe about 210k. Still quite large, but smaller and still telling the exact same story. At one time I was going for more of a Hemingway type approach and style, but it seems that many of her techniques died with him all those years ago as some of my critics are calling portions of the work "old" when it comes to style. It was for this reason that I tried what I did with Recorded Butterflies. I took on a very different perspective with this work and I think i did alright. It still wasn't exactly what I was wanting to do, but I did it.

The latest book Emily Martin is the one I am the most proud of. I found my strengths with this book and I was able to really connect with my Emily character as she tells the story. While I felt I was almost one in the same when it came to my character John, it turns out that I was more in sync with Emily and the way she saw her life and handled her station in life. It was obviously not the way she grew up or the life she lived, but it was more of the place she found herself as an adult. The feelings that she had kept pent up inside her were something very close to my own so I was able to really speak from her perspective. I will make updates to this work as well, but only for the sake of continuity. Even after the release of my final work in the series, I think I will still be most proud of Emily because of the way I was able to convey my feelings through that character.

That being said, I have work to do.

 

Visit Richard's Amazon author page here!

No Breaks

My attempt at forcing a break from writing is not working. I wanted to give myself a good month from it so I can prepare to head back to Austin and just so I can unplug, but it's not working. I cannot stop thinking about the final RH book. I know it won't stop bothering me until I just up and write the darn thing so I might as well do it in between the times where I am looking for apartments and permanent work. Unfortunately, writing isn't paying me much. That being said, I did get a royalty check the other day which was nice.

The name of the last book? Not saying, at least not now. I am just going to work on it and get it outlined and first drafted. I don't want it to exceed 450 pages, but we'll have to see how it goes. This will be the first time I've written where I am looking to keep pages to a minimum. I want over 375, but less than 450. We'll see how it all goes.

 

Last Night - The Movie

I've spoken to a director about some of my work and we are currently discussing taking one of my stories and turning it into a short feature film. While the talks have just gotten underway, it is still a very exciting idea that one of my works could be made into something more substantial that just a few words on a piece of paper. It's still very early, but we will continue our dialog as the weeks progress and hopefully, it will take us somewhere. Sometimes things like this can take a lot of time, but I am hoping we can get the ball rolling fairly quickly. With time, the two of us plan to sit down and rewrite the story into a workable script, something that can be converted into film while still getting the message across. Depending on the length of the script, we're not quite sure at this point just how long the short will be. I'm not a film director by any stretch of the imagination so I will leave those estimates up to them.

Still, the prospect that this could turn into something more is very exciting as I'd love to have one of my works expanded upon like this. While I was hoping that Rumbling Heart would be looked at, I have no problem starting small as Last Night is a much smaller, easier story to turn into a film as the production costs will be very light and workable. RH on the other hand would require possibly millions to produce.

We all have to start somewhere. I hope this pans out.

You can check out the short story for free over at Smashwords.com or by clicking here.

[caption id="attachment_1093" align="aligncenter" width="442" caption="Cover of Last Night"][/caption]

The Synopsis - Emily Martin

Emily Martin will be available Tuesday September 27th, 2011 @ Smashwords.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and Amazon.

Emily Martin Synopsis

Dreams like this must die.

After hearing some of the most shocking news of his life, John Allen is beside himself. Although his suspicions about his wife hiding something were supported, he never once thought she’d be hiding something as big as this from him.

In this installment, the third book in the Rumbling Heart series and follow up to Recorded Butterflies, the way in which our story is told shifts and looks to John’s best friend Emily as she tries her best to share her insights, telling the tale as it unfolded following the months after that fateful night in Los Angeles. As Emily escorts John through what will ultimately be the toughest time in his life, she too is forced to look within herself as she deals with the reappearance of a man she wished she’d never met. As the months go by and the day which she and John fear the most arrives, she finds her life slowly spiraling out of control all while taking on even more responsibility that she never imagined would be entrusted to her.

As she fights to maintain her poise through it all, she is constantly asked to endure more and more and before she knows it, she begins to feel as if she is carrying the world on her shoulders. Stress reaches its maximum and soon she is forced to watch her best friend’s mental state gradually devolve into deep denial all while his wife slowly slips further and further away.

As she recalls the various memories from that time, she thinks about John and about how much he’s changed her life and she soon reveals what many of us thought all along. She also thinks back to the times she spent with John’s wife Olivia, and it doesn’t take her long to come to the conclusion that she didn’t love her simply as a friend, but instead, more like a sister.

Filled with heartache, drama, surprises, laugh out loud moments, and ultimate loss, Emily Martin takes you on a journey of the world as seen through her eyes, telling the story of her best friend John and how he is forced to deal with one of the hardest situations a person could face. She also exposes you to her inner most thoughts as she explains her decent into madness due to the near constant torment from the man that took her dignity from her as he works his way back into her world. As time marches on, the subtle cracks in her character slowly begin to become evident, but that suddenly seems like a side story as you are treated to an ending so wrapped in lunacy, you may begin to question yourself. Could this be it? Could this really be the end? All dreams must come to an end, but in some cases, they die a long and painful death.

Many Thanks

I just want to take a moment to thank all of my Twitter and Facebook followers and fans. Because of your continued support, I have cracked the top 50 on Smashwords.com. Of all the authors up there, as of this moment I am currently #42 most popular / viewed which is a terrific achievement. Hopefully, we can keep it going. It would be amazing to crack not only the top 10, but maybe even become #1.

Be sure to tell all your friends about the free work I offer there which include copies of the original Rumbling Heart as well as Recorded Butterflies which is the 2nd book in the series. There is also a new short on Smashwords as well called On The Way Home which is written by one of the RH characters. Its sort of a tiny peek into what you might expect to see from the 4th and final installment in the RH series.

One additional work on there is a short called Last Night about a struggling writer and a conversation he shares with an ex athlete. While it may not seem like much in the first few pages, by the end, you will find yourself questioning not only the narrator, but also the decision that he makes regarding his friend. You will either nod your head or be completely shocked. At about 5600 words, it's a short read and it's free so be sure to give it a look.

Ty all again for the continued support and I hope to keep you all entertained.

UPDATE!

I've moved up in ranking, currently sitting pretty at #12. Top 10? Let's hope for it!

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/richardallen

 

[caption id="attachment_1083" align="aligncenter" width="466" caption="On The Way Home cover"][/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recorded Butterflies is Now Free

I've dropped the price for Recorded Butterflies to free via Smashwords.com. Currently, Rumbling Heart is also free so you can download both books for absolutely no cost to you. Head on over and check it out while you can. You can download it as a PDF or you can DL a file that will work with your Kindle, Nook, and several other popular eReaders. Thank you all again for your continued support of my work and I look forward to feedback. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @RichardAllenRH

"Emily Martin" Release Date Set

On Tuesday, September 27th, Emily Martin will be available for purchase from BN.com, Amazon, and Smashwords.com. A Facebook event has been created which is located here. Thank you all for the continued support as I look forward to getting more feedback on this next installment of the Rumbling Heart series. With just one more to go, this book will bring several things into perspective and get you all set for the final book.

 

Emily Martin switches gears a little and tells the story from the perspective of John Allen's best friend, Emily. With just one last installment to go after EM, this book gives readers an inside look into Emily's mind as she reveals what she really thinks about John, Olivia, and even the meddlesome Donna as she journeys with him through one of the most difficult times in his life. While giving her two cents on virtually every detail of John's life, Emily is also dealing with her own problems as someone from her past comes back into her life, looking only to cause major issues for her. Being the woman that she is, she finds a way to cope, albeit a questionable one, and soon that decision sees her walking down a path she never thought possible.

Full with intrigue, heartache, loss, and at times, laugh out loud humor, Emily Martin will take you by the hand and show you a side of her you never knew existed, and when the final two chapters are upon you, you will see something so unexpected, you will find yourself begging for the final book as you will not be able to wait to see how it all ends.