Have you signed up for the DPP newsletter?
Subscribers got early access to the current (12/25/22) issue of Instant Noodles (that’s right, they got the password to get to read it before the general public!).
And this month, we have a freebie that we hope authors can use to help them meet their goals.
Have you signed up for the DPP newsletter?
Subscribers got early access to the current (12/25/22) issue of Instant Noodles (that’s right, they got the password to get to read it before the general public!).
And this month, we have a freebie that we hope authors can use to help them meet their goals.
Have you signed up for the DPP newsletter?
Subscribers got early access to the current (12/25/22) issue of Instant Noodles (that’s right, they got the password to get to read it before the general public!).
And next month, when we send out our January newsletter, we going to have a freebie inside that we hope authors can use to help them meet their goals.
Follow our blog? YOU CAN SUBMIT NOW! Submissions are capped at 50, and about half of those will be chosen, so don’t delay.
Good luck~
Anyone who knows me well has heard me rave about Tom Robbins. One story that I especially like about him is that, along the path of his career, he found drumming. Like Ringo, drumming, but more like a drum circle sort of drumming, as I understand it.
So why drumming?
If you know Robbins you know he is a slow writer. He’s not cranking out a book a year, and he is, for me, perilously old now… meaning I might not get another book out of him.
Robbins, one of the most unique writers ever, uses drumming to help him find the music and rhythm in his writing, and also to fight procrastination. When the mind wanders, as Robbins’ mind surely must, the drumming helps him refocus on his writing.
What can you do with a writing coach? You can meet, as often, weekly, or as little, every other month, as you like, but when you meet with me you will have to hand over some of your writing: a page, a chapter… you’re going to get there. We can work on your schedule; we can read your work to each other to check on the music and rhythm in your writing; we can try exercises; we can craft your online author presence. I help you give your writing the time, grace, and respect it needs, and I make you accountable so that you finish your damn novel. Robbins has a dozen books. That is not enough for me, and I wish he had more. Those books have gotten me through some dark nights, and some long days. Who is waiting for your book? Who will you rescue from a long dark night with your story?
Coaching is so reasonable and so worth it. For $50/hour, and you can split that into 2 half hour meetings if you like, you get editing, planning, encouragement, a clear head, and the friendship you need to get your book done. When you’re Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas, I can help you wake up and get to the keyboard. And it’s my favorite thing to do, after reading Tom Robbins, that is.
BTW, late bloomers, did you know Robbins was just on the cusp of 40 when he published his first book? And it took him 2 years to write it?
And did you know that all coaching inquiries come with a free hour-long Zoom meeting to talk about what you want and if coaching is right for you?
If you really want to be a writer, and you have an idea, or many ideas, but you just don’t know if you can do it… if you just don’t know if you are an author, but you want to be, coaching can get you there.
Good luck with your book~
Much love~ Dianne, possessor of an MA and an MFA, writing teacher and encourager for over 20 years, and Tom Robbins’ #1 fan. My favorite book: Still Life With Woodpecker.
Find out all about coaching, shoot me an email (dianne@devilspartypress.com) or fill out the nice form Dave made.
Did you know that Jeffrey Keeten is one of the top reviewers on Goodreads? He became interested in DPP books a few years back, and has since partnered with us on many projects, including writing short stories for us, and introducing Halloween Party ’21.
For Halloween Party ’23 Jeffrey is acting as guest editor. He’s reviewing all the entries and picking those that will get published as well as curating the flow of the work within the book.
One thing that’s always captivated me about Jeffrey’s reviews is that they go well-beyond “I like it/I didn’t like it.” He often researches the author, and has read other works by the same writer, and will do a deep dive into the whole canon. Here’s a sample review from Keeten on The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.
Take one look at the in-depth review and you can see why we’re incredibly grateful to have this gifted reviewer and editor and author on the HP team. Thanks Jeffrey! We can’t wait to see what you do with HP ’23.
Get Jeffrey to review your work. Submit to HP ’23 today!
PATHOS, the long-awaited fourth issue of our online, free-to-read and free-to-submit-to, literary magazine, INSTANT NOODLES, is now available. This issue features over sixty submissions including original poetry, short fiction, and art. Various submissions feature an MP4 recording of the authors performing their work, so you can read or listen.
Thanks to the many, many contributors who helped make this issue a huge success!
Why do you try a new restaurant in your town?
Is it because you’re desperate to get out of the house, have someone else cook for you, or do you like to be the first to try anything new in town, or maybe you’re a foodie?
Or is it because your local paper told you it was good? The food critic on the town Facebook page said it was yummy. The neighbor on Nextdoor said it was a lot of food!
Who are you really? Who knows about you? Are you a former president, co-writing a book with another famous person, and your already overflowing wallet gets a little harder to get into your back pocket?
Or are you just… you? Like me, you could just be a writer, writing quietly at home.
Well, if your book is going to sell, newbie to being published, it’s going to sell online (and maybe 10 copies at your local bookseller). If you pay-to-play, and the “publisher” gives you a box with a thousand books in it, where are you putting them? On a shelf… at home?
It’s not a secret. When your book is available, in print, you have a few days, to a month, where your book is “hot,” meaning the people who know you, or who are local to you, are noticing it. Then, it’s over, and you should turn your focus to your next book.
That ride was short!
It reminds me of when I did community theater as a kid. We would practice almost every Saturday from January to June, and then, two weekend performances, Sat. & Sun., so four total, and it was over. Photos went in the local paper after the fact, and the lights went down until the following January.
You want your book to sell, to be a topic of conversation, to be on NPR! I know I do. But NPR doesn’t know you, and even if they did, there are so many other people who have a track record who also put out books the exact same day and time as you about the same thing, and they are getting on NPR, not you, because they were already on there two years ago.
Okay Captain Bringdown. Now what?
What I want most, as an author, is to be read. I want to know someone liked my book/story/poem. And sales would be nice too
Most new authors will generate most of their sales from Amazon. You will probably generate more sales than you will reviews. Our first book sold into the hundreds on Amazon, but got 9 reviews there.
Nine reviews is not building a web. It’s not being suggested to people. “Mary bought Book A and Book B, you bought Book B. Mary gave Book B a high review, and Book A. Would you like to look at Book A? Amazon actually asks me on my Alexa about the authors I buy for my daughter. “Grace Lin has a new book out. Can I put it in your cart for you?”
At somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-50 reviews Amazon will start building the web for you.
Our author sold many many more than that, but those friends/family/random people didn’t review it.
Ahhh, my fellow rugged American individualists…. most people are not like that, and want to read something that has a good review that other people liked, a lot, like 4 and 5 stars a lot.
Who can get those reviews for you?
Well, certainly we tell everyone we know about you and ask, over and over, for reviews, but if people don’t know you, why are they listening to me? They want to see someone else write one. They want to know what to write. Are you going to judge their writing skills? Will some jerk on Amazon judge their writing skills? Will someone blame them if your book turns out to be a flop? (If we publish you, you’re not a flop. We know what we’re doing when we choose a book to publish.)
What is your strategy for getting reviews?
Will you send out a newsletter?
Advanced reader copies?
Will you ask today, and next Wednesday, and the following Thursday, again and again, “Did you write that review for me yet? Can I give you a sample and a bottle of wine to thank you for your effort?”
That is what sales is. Asking, knocking on the door, again, and again, and again.
In the old days you only had to do that with agents. Today, the book industry has blown wide open. And this lets in more older authors, BIPOC, LGBTQ, and women. Great! But, those folks are going through publishers who don’t have an auto-order for a thousand books at Barnes and Noble.
Which book are you going to buy with your limited income? The one with two reviews? Or the one with 30, and Mary, who bought it, also bought The DaVinci Code, which you loved too!
And for that I am truly sorry.
But, one thing we can do, list the Kindle for free. Ask people, and ask them again, and go over to their house and help them to download your book free and then help them write a review.
And if your book isn’t running a free promotion, this does mean, in the case of Amazon, that your friend or relative may have to buy the book on Amazon to be able to leave a review there. It isn’t always the case, but it is sometimes true. And that could end up costing them, or you, if you give them the cost, the price of the book or anthology.
And, so what?
This is the cost of doing business.
This is the cost of a latte, or two.
And you already do it ALL THE TIME anyway. Yes, you do:
When we help each other out through reviewing, we help ourselves out, too. It’s a matter of literary survival.
IS THIS CHEATING?
And what about that local book club you belong to? Are they reading your book and your friend’s book? If not, why not? Have you asked them to? Are they supporting you? It is, really, a small thing to ask, but if you have a mystery book club and you or your friend managed to get a publisher to publish your mystery, then why would they not read it? Maybe they cannot read it until next year, okay, but they put it in the rotation. And then you help them leave reviews.
None of these things is going to transform you into a New York Times bestseller overnight, but I don’t know how else you’re ever going to even begin to head in that direction, or how the indie publishers who do this work on a shoe-string are going to keep being there to give no-name authors the chance they deserve.
So, if this is a serious thing for you, you want to “make it” at this, you’d like to at least make enough $ someday for a nice vacation or a monthly car payment, you have to start digging away at this notoriety problem we all have by taking your eyes off of your manuscript long enough to help each other out.
BY THE WAY: It’s never too late to leave a review. You can start a whole new conversation by the review you post today.
SO BE A MENSCH: get the kindle of Bill’s book, for free, and post a review in the next week:
Can’t read that fast? Skim it, just to see what the writing is like. You’ll be impressed enough to know he deserves a review.
TO-DO:
#1. Get Bill’s book for free and review it.
#2. Develop a group of like-minded authors or friends and relatives and book club members who solemnly promise to give you a review in a timely fashion (within a month of publication).
#3. Buy books and give them to your local library and as gifts, etc. (or buy yourself the cheap Kindle version so you can post a review).
#4. Ask that any reading groups you belong to read your books.
#5. Create a budget for book purchases.
#6. Help people who may not know how to post a review post reviews for you, and help them write one.
#7. Keep the reviews short and sweet. “I loved it; you’ll love it too.” “Fast and fun read.” “Great way to spend a day at the beach!”
Thanks so much for your interest in DPP and for reading this blog. We love publishing people who the big guys ignore, and we thank you for helping us do what we love to do.
We’ll be back with more posts about this as we have time during this season of final grades for Dianne’s students, and awards-nomination season for our authors and their books!
Why do you try a new restaurant in your town?
Is it because you’re desperate to get out of the house, have someone else cook for you, or do you like to be the first to try anything new in town, or maybe you’re a foodie?
Or is it because your local paper told you it was good? The food critic on the town Facebook page said it was yummy. The neighbor on Nextdoor said it was a lot of food!
Who are you really? Who knows about you? Are you a former president, co-writing a book with another famous person, and your already overflowing wallet gets a little harder to get into your back pocket?
Or are you just… you? Like me, you could just be a writer, writing quietly at home.
Well, if your book is going to sell, newbie to being published, it’s going to sell online (and maybe 10 copies at your local bookseller). If you pay-to-play, and the “publisher” gives you a box with a thousand books in it, where are you putting them? On a shelf… at home?
It’s not a secret. When your book is available, in print, you have a few days, to a month, where your book is “hot,” meaning the people who know you, or who are local to you, are noticing it. Then, it’s over, and you should turn your focus to your next book.
That ride was short!
It reminds me of when I did community theater as a kid. We would practice almost every Saturday from January to June, and then, two weekend performances, Sat. & Sun., so four total, and it was over. Photos went in the local paper after the fact, and the lights went down until the following January.
You want your book to sell, to be a topic of conversation, to be on NPR! I know I do. But NPR doesn’t know you, and even if they did, there are so many other people who have a track record who also put out books the exact same day and time as you about the same thing, and they are getting on NPR, not you, because they were already on there two years ago.
Okay Captain Bringdown. Now what?
What I want most, as an author, is to be read. I want to know someone liked my book/story/poem. And sales would be nice too
Most new authors will generate most of their sales from Amazon. You will probably generate more sales than you will reviews. Our first book sold into the hundreds on Amazon, but got 9 reviews there.
Nine reviews is not building a web. It’s not being suggested to people. “Mary bought Book A and Book B, you bought Book B. Mary gave Book B a high review, and Book A. Would you like to look at Book A? Amazon actually asks me on my Alexa about the authors I buy for my daughter. “Grace Lin has a new book out. Can I put it in your cart for you?”
At somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-50 reviews Amazon will start building the web for you.
Our author sold many many more than that, but those friends/family/random people didn’t review it.
Ahhh, my fellow rugged American individualists…. most people are not like that, and want to read something that has a good review that other people liked, a lot, like 4 and 5 stars a lot.
Who can get those reviews for you?
Well, certainly we tell everyone we know about you and ask, over and over, for reviews, but if people don’t know you, why are they listening to me? They want to see someone else write one. They want to know what to write. Are you going to judge their writing skills? Will some jerk on Amazon judge their writing skills? Will someone blame them if your book turns out to be a flop? (If we publish you, you’re not a flop. We know what we’re doing when we choose a book to publish.)
What is your strategy for getting reviews?
Will you send out a newsletter?
Advanced reader copies?
Will you ask today, and next Wednesday, and the following Thursday, again and again, “Did you write that review for me yet? Can I give you a sample and a bottle of wine to thank you for your effort?”
That is what sales is. Asking, knocking on the door, again, and again, and again.
In the old days you only had to do that with agents. Today, the book industry has blown wide open. And this lets in more older authors, BIPOC, LGBTQ, and women. Great! But, those folks are going through publishers who don’t have an auto-order for a thousand books at Barnes and Noble.
Which book are you going to buy with your limited income? The one with two reviews? Or the one with 30, and Mary, who bought it, also bought The DaVinci Code, which you loved too!
And for that I am truly sorry.
But, one thing we can do, list the Kindle for free. Ask people, and ask them again, and go over to their house and help them to download your book free and then help them write a review.
And if your book isn’t running a free promotion, this does mean, in the case of Amazon, that your friend or relative may have to buy the book on Amazon to be able to leave a review there. It isn’t always the case, but it is sometimes true. And that could end up costing them, or you, if you give them the cost, the price of the book or anthology.
And, so what?
This is the cost of doing business.
This is the cost of a latte, or two.
And you already do it ALL THE TIME anyway. Yes, you do:
When we help each other out through reviewing, we help ourselves out, too. It’s a matter of literary survival.
IS THIS CHEATING?
And what about that local book club you belong to? Are they reading your book and your friend’s book? If not, why not? Have you asked them to? Are they supporting you? It is, really, a small thing to ask, but if you have a mystery book club and you or your friend managed to get a publisher to publish your mystery, then why would they not read it? Maybe they cannot read it until next year, okay, but they put it in the rotation. And then you help them leave reviews.
None of these things is going to transform you into a New York Times bestseller overnight, but I don’t know how else you’re ever going to even begin to head in that direction, or how the indie publishers who do this work on a shoe-string are going to keep being there to give no-name authors the chance they deserve.
So, if this is a serious thing for you, you want to “make it” at this, you’d like to at least make enough $ someday for a nice vacation or a monthly car payment, you have to start digging away at this notoriety problem we all have by taking your eyes off of your manuscript long enough to help each other out.
BY THE WAY: It’s never too late to leave a review. You can start a whole new conversation by the review you post today.
SO BE A MENSCH: get the kindle of Bill’s book, for free, and post a review in the next week:
Can’t read that fast? Skim it, just to see what the writing is like. You’ll be impressed enough to know he deserves a review.
TO-DO:
#1. Get Bill’s book for free and review it.
#2. Develop a group of like-minded authors or friends and relatives and book club members who solemnly promise to give you a review in a timely fashion (within a month of publication).
#3. Buy books and give them to your local library and as gifts, etc. (or buy yourself the cheap Kindle version so you can post a review).
#4. Ask that any reading groups you belong to read your books.
#5. Create a budget for book purchases.
#6. Help people who may not know how to post a review post reviews for you, and help them write one.
#7. Keep the reviews short and sweet. “I loved it; you’ll love it too.” “Fast and fun read.” “Great way to spend a day at the beach!”
Thanks so much for your interest in DPP and for reading this blog. We love publishing people who the big guys ignore, and we thank you for helping us do what we love to do.
We’ll be back with more posts about this as we have time during this season of final grades for Dianne’s students, and awards-nomination season for our authors and their books!
Why do you try a new restaurant in your town?
Is it because you’re desperate to get out of the house, have someone else cook for you, or do you like to be the first to try anything new in town, or maybe you’re a foodie?
Or is it because your local paper told you it was good? The food critic on the town Facebook page said it was yummy. The neighbor on Nextdoor said it was a lot of food!
Who are you really? Who knows about you? Are you a former president, co-writing a book with another famous person, and your already overflowing wallet gets a little harder to get into your back pocket?
Or are you just… you? Like me, you could just be a writer, writing quietly at home.
Well, if your book is going to sell, newbie to being published, it’s going to sell online (and maybe 10 copies at your local bookseller). If you pay-to-play, and the “publisher” gives you a box with a thousand books in it, where are you putting them? On a shelf… at home?
It’s not a secret. When your book is available, in print, you have a few days, to a month, where your book is “hot,” meaning the people who know you, or who are local to you, are noticing it. Then, it’s over, and you should turn your focus to your next book.
That ride was short!
It reminds me of when I did community theater as a kid. We would practice almost every Saturday from January to June, and then, two weekend performances, Sat. & Sun., so four total, and it was over. Photos went in the local paper after the fact, and the lights went down until the following January.
You want your book to sell, to be a topic of conversation, to be on NPR! I know I do. But NPR doesn’t know you, and even if they did, there are so many other people who have a track record who also put out books the exact same day and time as you about the same thing, and they are getting on NPR, not you, because they were already on there two years ago.
Okay Captain Bringdown. Now what?
What I want most, as an author, is to be read. I want to know someone liked my book/story/poem. And sales would be nice too
Most new authors will generate most of their sales from Amazon. You will probably generate more sales than you will reviews. Our first book sold into the hundreds on Amazon, but got 9 reviews there.
Nine reviews is not building a web. It’s not being suggested to people. “Mary bought Book A and Book B, you bought Book B. Mary gave Book B a high review, and Book A. Would you like to look at Book A? Amazon actually asks me on my Alexa about the authors I buy for my daughter. “Grace Lin has a new book out. Can I put it in your cart for you?”
At somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-50 reviews Amazon will start building the web for you.
Our author sold many many more than that, but those friends/family/random people didn’t review it.
Ahhh, my fellow rugged American individualists…. most people are not like that, and want to read something that has a good review that other people liked, a lot, like 4 and 5 stars a lot.
Who can get those reviews for you?
Well, certainly we tell everyone we know about you and ask, over and over, for reviews, but if people don’t know you, why are they listening to me? They want to see someone else write one. They want to know what to write. Are you going to judge their writing skills? Will some jerk on Amazon judge their writing skills? Will someone blame them if your book turns out to be a flop? (If we publish you, you’re not a flop. We know what we’re doing when we choose a book to publish.)
What is your strategy for getting reviews?
Will you send out a newsletter?
Advanced reader copies?
Will you ask today, and next Wednesday, and the following Thursday, again and again, “Did you write that review for me yet? Can I give you a sample and a bottle of wine to thank you for your effort?”
That is what sales is. Asking, knocking on the door, again, and again, and again.
In the old days you only had to do that with agents. Today, the book industry has blown wide open. And this lets in more older authors, BIPOC, LGBTQ, and women. Great! But, those folks are going through publishers who don’t have an auto-order for a thousand books at Barnes and Noble.
Which book are you going to buy with your limited income? The one with two reviews? Or the one with 30, and Mary, who bought it, also bought The DaVinci Code, which you loved too!
And for that I am truly sorry.
But, one thing we can do, list the Kindle for free. Ask people, and ask them again, and go over to their house and help them to download your book free and then help them write a review.
And if your book isn’t running a free promotion, this does mean, in the case of Amazon, that your friend or relative may have to buy the book on Amazon to be able to leave a review there. It isn’t always the case, but it is sometimes true. And that could end up costing them, or you, if you give them the cost, the price of the book or anthology.
And, so what?
This is the cost of doing business.
This is the cost of a latte, or two.
And you already do it ALL THE TIME anyway. Yes, you do:
When we help each other out through reviewing, we help ourselves out, too. It’s a matter of literary survival.
IS THIS CHEATING?
And what about that local book club you belong to? Are they reading your book and your friend’s book? If not, why not? Have you asked them to? Are they supporting you? It is, really, a small thing to ask, but if you have a mystery book club and you or your friend managed to get a publisher to publish your mystery, then why would they not read it? Maybe they cannot read it until next year, okay, but they put it in the rotation. And then you help them leave reviews.
None of these things is going to transform you into a New York Times bestseller overnight, but I don’t know how else you’re ever going to even begin to head in that direction, or how the indie publishers who do this work on a shoe-string are going to keep being there to give no-name authors the chance they deserve.
So, if this is a serious thing for you, you want to “make it” at this, you’d like to at least make enough $ someday for a nice vacation or a monthly car payment, you have to start digging away at this notoriety problem we all have by taking your eyes off of your manuscript long enough to help each other out.
BY THE WAY: It’s never too late to leave a review. You can start a whole new conversation by the review you post today.
SO BE A MENSCH: get the kindle of Bill’s book, for free, and post a review in the next week:
Can’t read that fast? Skim it, just to see what the writing is like. You’ll be impressed enough to know he deserves a review.
TO-DO:
#1. Get Bill’s book for free and review it.
#2. Develop a group of like-minded authors or friends and relatives and book club members who solemnly promise to give you a review in a timely fashion (within a month of publication).
#3. Buy books and give them to your local library and as gifts, etc. (or buy yourself the cheap Kindle version so you can post a review).
#4. Ask that any reading groups you belong to read your books.
#5. Create a budget for book purchases.
#6. Help people who may not know how to post a review post reviews for you, and help them write one.
#7. Keep the reviews short and sweet. “I loved it; you’ll love it too.” “Fast and fun read.” “Great way to spend a day at the beach!”
Thanks so much for your interest in DPP and for reading this blog. We love publishing people who the big guys ignore, and we thank you for helping us do what we love to do.
We’ll be back with more posts about this as we have time during this season of final grades for Dianne’s students, and awards-nomination season for our authors and their books!
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