Wednesday Writerly Ways~Oops, Was it Something I Said

I sure hope so.  I know I've been absent from this blog hop for a while but an email this morning got me thinking.

I read all emails and comments with a grain of salt. Some emails and reviews are hopelessly hostile while others are good. Both are helpful and I'll tell you why. Comments to this blog are harder to judge, but it is still in the mix as feedback.

I always use me as an example. Zombie Apocalypse: Redemption has a 1-star rating. Not my proudest achievement. I finally got around to reading the reviews. The email was a follow up to the review. A friend emailed me with concern on how I felt about it.Yes, I'm slow and late to the party. Mainly because right now, I just have bigger fish to fry in my skillet of life in general. Yes, it stings a bit from my author point of view, but it is still one of my best sellers in fiction.

The comments, you don't have to go to Amazon. I'll post them here.

Nothing Personal

By John C. Brewer on February 8, 2013

Format: Paperback

I wish indie authors would take the time to have their work properly edited at the very least. Here we have a 152 page book (which is really short) self-published, on sale for $7.99 and the first two pages alone have enough grammatical errors to receive a failing grade in an English class. I applaud any author's attempt to get their work out there, and hope this author continues, but if English is not your native language you need to spend a few hundred bucks on a professional editor so people can see how creative you are and experience the magic of your story instead of being distracted by poor editing.

 

Thought I was going crazy..................

By Peggy B on May 31, 2012

Format: Kindle Edition

Okay, so one line reads - "The guard outside the lab had said something about a world class The only thing he could the amount would be gym and track in silo #2." Huh??? I re-read it twice, three times, rubbed my eyes, shook my head to clear out the cobwebs and read it again. I am not making this up - this is exactly how it appears in the book (along with hundreds of similar lines). WTF - does this guy not proof read???? And, to top it off, sometimes the characters "talk" like hillbillies with a lot of "what do ya want"s and "is that how ya"s and "outta"s and sometimes not. I would not have given it even 1 star but apparently Amazon reviews won't let you give any thing no stars.
I support the "independent" writer and I don't expect everyone to be Stephen King but, come on, throw the reader a bone and at least make a stab at proof-reading - okay?

 

Good or bad? I don't know.

By Misselaineous on November 28, 2011

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

I have no idea if this is a good story or not. Between bad grammar and lack of syntax, there were the continuity issues, so I'm lost. Then there are the quotation marks in lieu of apostrophes. It"s driving me crazy. When I grammar/spell checked this review, it caught every one of the author"s errors. (It even caught my purposeful ones.) I must say I admire anyone for putting their "stuff" out there, but PLEASE, edit first. I had a writing teacher in college who said no matter how bright, funny, or insightful you are, if you can't speak or write properly, no one will ever know. I read this on my Kindle, so I'm using Kindle locations vice pages. So here are a few of the errors I've found...
Location 222: "Of course, they could have put a transmitter on her car or tracked her by satellite. minute, old girl. She was letting tendencies run away with her mind." I'm still not sure what this means even though I read it like 5 times
Location 233: "Whoa, wait a her paranoid." Huh?
Location 260: "There were six bedrooms upstairs. Their grandmother had twelve and raised all of them in the house." Did Grandma have 12 kids or 12 bedrooms, this house or another one?
Location 265: "She peered into the refrigerator and saw the box of specimens still waiting. Warning to the general attacks, and anyone who was bitten was to go directly to their nearest hospital." Continuity is totally lacking here, and elsewhere. I mean, the very next location is a newspaper article, I think?
Location 307: "How her mentor had asked her opinion, sent her samples, and how she"d gotten specimens from her cousin of victims." I had to read this sentence 4 times to make out the meaning.Was her cousin a victim?
I'm not sure I'll finish this one.

Really bad right?  I make no bones of having formatting issues with Kindle. It shows up fine with the proofreading before publishing but in the downloaded copy, it's a mess.

 It all depends on your point of view too.

My stance is a love it or leave it one, and not without some measure of gratitude. Gratitude? Yes, gratitude. I'll tell you why. The person took the time to write a comment. Some rather lengthy ones at that. And yes, I could come back with some scathing comments and excuses of my own, but I refrain. I know it needs work but I'm not able to do it right now.

Anytime you can get someone to comment, IT IS A GOOD THING. It's worth its weight in gold.Whether they liked it or didn't like it is for the most part irrelevant. Of course we'd all like glowing reviews, would we? That isn't always the case.

I've consider striking a chord with a reader a positive thing with readers where they feel compelled to comment. Is that a bad thing? One even took the time to spell/grammar check it for the review. Now that thorough. Time is everyone's most valuable commodity. That in itself earns my respect and a closer look. I won't make excuses. The book has some problems. Little did I know that I was suffering small TIAs during the writing and editing of this book. That only showed up in the MRI following my big stroke.

I've mentioned several times about comments to this blog being negative, but that also is a point of view thing.  Recently, real life has stopped me commenting on a lot of blogs that I usually do. For two months or more. With the juggling act I'm doing now, time is platinum. The best I can do is read the blog posts and sometimes comment. What do I feel the need to comment on. A blog that really twists my mind and makes me think. A momentary pause in what is happening around me. It has to make me take the time to give feedback.

My feedback-Sometimes it's a support thing, in gratitude for commenting so often on my blog, and the other times its because of a strong emotional response to either agree or disagree. The last is the greatest to me as a blog writer. It proves that I can touch people where they live.  The "Oops, was it something I said?" You betcha! Not really an oops because I did it on purpose...writer that I am.

As a blogger, I write what is in me to write. As a writer, I do the same. Comments and emails are always good feedback even the negative ones.

The one good thing of being the age that I am now is that I can audit a college class for free each semester. When I heal enough and after my husband dies, I may just do that for an English grammar refresher. I'd be going into it with fresh eyes having forgotten or misplaced most of it anyhow. It can only be a positive step forward, right? Death, for me, is the absence of learning.

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

Monday Mailbox ~ Blogger and Internet Friendships

Over the past years of turmoil that make up, in part, the Murphey Saga, I have been repeatedly touched by the kindness of "strangers." These people have opened their hearts to me and laid them bare.

While I have never had a face to face meeting with 99% of them they offer me their encouragement, support, compassion. friendship, and a whole lot more. They offer me laughter and knowledge, and tears and concern.

All of these things are precious to me.

I wish to offer back my sincere gratitude to all of you! Sometimes just saying thank you isn't enough. For once words fail me.

A Flood of Emails on Electronic Acupuncture

I got 32 email concerning my use of electronic acupuncture and naturopathic/alternative medicine. I gather there is an interest. I'll pick one and share.

Joyce wrote:
...I want to , need to learn more ways and better ways to deal with the spasticity.  Where can I learn more about the electronic acupuncture that you talked about.  Naturopathic medicine to deal with spasticity.  .??? I never want a repeat of this week and it is not over yet.  Help!  
 
I already sent an email back to Joyce and here is my response.

Hello Joyce,

Infections are always a bug-a-boo with all part of the body. Even if you don't know it's there. I tend to listen to what my body is telling me. For me, the first sign of infection is malaise because I've always been a do person. While I may not know the cause, I know something is brewing. I also have this weird sense of smell that can smell an infection on myself and others. I can usually pinpoint the location within 72 hours. That's one of the reasons I made an excellent trauma nurse. The body relatively screams at me what's wrong. I know, I'm Abby Normal. That's also why I started searching for naturopathic/alternative medicine schools.

I guess the first thing I should ask is does your husband have any electronic devices implanted in his body? Like a pacemaker or pain control units to his spine, if so he cannot use this device. The device is the ETPS 1000. It's a neurostimulator like e-stim, but it's placed on acupuncture points. It works by sending a pinpoint electrical charge into the nerve. Unlike general e-stim it doesn't have a large pad but a tip like a ball point pen.

This is the LINK to my particular model. There are many and they all do the same thing. Google ETPS and you'll see what I mean.Mine has control dials for the amount of charge (patient's tolerance) and polar settings to excite or sedate. I've actually used it for years. I have no idea what the going price is, but I paid $250. You will need a prescription from your neurologist. It is battery operated and can be done by yourself or to others. I just found it on Amazon for cheaper, so maybe it's approved in the US now. When I bought mine back in the 90's it had to be ordered from Canada.

I actually have a working knowledge of acupuncture so I know the spots, but it isn't necessary with the books you can buy. Has you or your husband had an EMG run? You hear higher static sound with tightly contracted muscle, this works on the same principle with high and low pitched tone. At the highest point you hit the nerve-muscle junction and the point of the causing the pain and spastic muscle. Although the book shows general points, you are on a search and destroy mission. Find the highest pitch (squeal) for the maximum benefit.

Just after my stroke, the muscles tightened unbearably. Trying to do the ROM exercises became a daily chore lasting precious minutes getting the joints relaxed enough to move especially in my wrist. I pulled out my acupuncture needles and inserted them into my forearm and the base of thumb and fingers too. After a few minutes I found the bunched muscles relaxing. Then I remembered this unit I bought for my husband for his pain control that sedated nerves. I tried it and it worked. I got more range of motion doing the exercises. It was me marrying modern and ancient philosophies like I usually do.

Now keep in mind that I am also on the maximum allowable oral Baclofen, Zanaflex, and Valium at night for muscle spasms. Or rather I only take the Valium at night because it will be the straw that breaks the camel's back and puts me to sleep. I am also on a Botox injection schedule of every 3-4 months...5-6 months had me in agony for a month to a month and a half. Because it is available for me. I do not forgo modern medicine but look for ways to augment it.

The two books I strongly recommend are Natural Health: Pain Management for the 21st Century and Natural Heath II: Health Maintenance for the 21st Century. Both are published by Accmed and written by Bruce R. Hocking. Even if you don't order the unit, they are invaluable for understanding massage points.

Hopes this helps your husband.

Jo

There's no perfect fix for spasticity. Doctors cannot even agree what causes it or why some stroke survivor get it and others don't.

 

You have to first define the mechanism of what is broke to fix it!

 

I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. While I do have a Ph.D, it's not in medicine. I'm just an ordinary stroke survivor looking for ways to combat what has happened to my body and try to make it better.

Does it relieve all my pain? No not 100%. Does it relieve all the spasticity? No, there is still some that you can see in the previous picture. The is no fix all. I just have found it helps me. 

 

I also treat the muscle spasms with an herbal blend of Rosemary, Red Thyme, Epsom salt, and Marjoram herb steep it into a very strong tea and soak in a bath tub. (steep time 30 minutes) These herbs and mineral have natural muscle relaxing qualities. I use a cup of each in a 2 quarts of boiled water.

Wednesday Writerly Way ~ Online is Easy

Marketing online is easy with social media, right? I mean there are tons of sites that you can promote your books as an author. Is there such a thing as being online too much? How do you know you are reaching your target audience?

I'm on MySpace, GoodReads, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, SheWrites, belong to a large number of writerly sites for authors and readers alike, and follow blogs when written. If I spent any number of hours on these sites I'd never get any writing done on any WIP. Besides there are tons of indie and traditional authors doing the same thing...get to know me, howdy, I wrote a book, buy my book blurbs in 140 characters or less, and websites and blogs. It's a disorganized mess out there with tons of competition. So what's my angle?

I've been accused a time or two of having Montezuma's Revenge of the mouth...talking too much. My blog isn't any different. While most blogging experts say to keep blogs short and sweet, I do just the opposite. My blogs are meaty chunks of succulent details that you can't help but sink your teeth into and come back for seconds. The only thing short about me is my stature, but then only if I'm not riled up because I can get ten feet tall and in your face if the circumstances warrant it. I've made full grown, good old boys cower in fear. My blog is my perfect platform for my condition and it works for me.

Those other places, I check in weekly unless there is an event going on. I get weekly digests of who said what and when that happened while I was away. I do spent quite a bit of time, several times a day, in emails. There may be a three week backlog in my answering you back.  I'm there but not there. They are my silent salesmen working 24/7 just like this blog does. My Amazon author space and Smashwords is updated automatically as I publish. My blogs and twitter comments are posted on several site usually within twenty-four hours of posting them...I'm all about double or triple duty uses with one effort. That's because I have a life too, don't we all?

Be it tenacity or pure mule headed stubbornness, however you cut it. We as indie authors face the same challenges without a Big 6 publisher holding our hand or offering support. We have our own support and hand holding network of friends and authors...like Indelibles and a host of other sites.

So how much of an online presence do you need? A lot, but if you can find options that allow double duty for the same action, grab it and run. I'm averaging 5,000 to 10,000 hits a month on this blog so for me its exposure. If everyone that stopped by bought even one of my books, I'd be rolling in money. I realize the more likely number from sales is 10% of that. I spend a lot of time doing the analytics thing. I analyze what is the best use for my money and time is money. Although the experts say that blogging doesn't relate to book sales I beg to differ...mine does. In each of my books there is a section in the about author that I add contact information. Yep, this website is listed. It works for me. I can see the numbers.

I did something really smart or very stupid during the Smashwords "Read an e-book" promotion. I set all my books for free except one. Over 100 books flew into people's e-reader formats. But Jo, that's money out of your pocket. Yes, it is. I advertised the sale everywhere listed above, but only 100 books were downloaded. That's good news and bad by my calculations. I really expected the number to be higher on the bad side of the scale considering it was five titles. Conversely, my sales to B&N and Apple accounted for 200 books paid for tipping the scales the other way. So I lost some money during the promotion but made twice as much in sales in other areas...go figure. It was a gambled risk that worked out. Sometimes an author just wants to see what happens and to get books into readers' hands.

Seeing how I advertised the sale everywhere along with quite a few other authors the numbers of downloads didn't sway the numbers too much. So the question I pose is why spend hours upon hours promoting a book online? Use your time and resources wisely. I know I do.

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

Monday Mailbox ~ How I Edit *Redux*

It's Monday and it's time to answer your questions. As you may have noticed this particular post has been up first on my blog for a month now! That's because it first published on February 11th instead of March because of a hiccup with either my computer or Blogspot. Sorry about that and hopefully it will not happen again. But now it IS March 11th, FINALLY. The first two months I had repeated glitches or ghosties in my blog. I've added to my list because of another visit from Abby.

What are the steps to self-editing? EB

My reply...

EB,
If you've read my blogs, you know that I only just recovered some of my self-editing techniques after my stroke here. Since then, I've had a couple of visits from "Abby," my Abby Normal brain. I still don't feel 100% confident about the process yet as I once was.

• Redundancy- this includes over use of the same words. Saying the same things over and over again. There are limits.
• Filler words such as "that"
• Passive sentences "to" plus a verb
• Read it aloud- if you have no speech impediment like I do, you'll find mistakes.
• Changes in POV, point of view. Switching from one character to another's mind or what they know ot switching up the "I" and "you."

So far that's about it as far as I remember. I know there is a lot more to it. I'm still waiting for more nocturnal visits from "Abby" for my personal editing to be restored.

What is your main tripping point in editing?

Keep writing and loving the Lord.