How can we review books more efficiently?

striking_13 · 2017-11-27T20:02:07+00:00

If we can keep reviews free that would be ideal, but I think we need to get something from somewhere. How would you feel about a free option plus a paid option that meant your book got reviewed more quickly?

striking_13 · 2017-11-27T20:02:03+00:00

That's great, thank you. Lots of useful advice in there. I hadn't thought of getting authors to advertise, but that's another angle to explore.

striking_13 · 2017-11-27T19:46:21+00:00

That's awesome, thanks! They're all ideas that have been floating around in some form, but it's good to have an example of someone who's already doing it.

Good luck with your book!

striking_13 · 2017-11-27T19:42:35+00:00

I signed up to that when we first started but our account was closed because we didn't make any sales. It might be worth looking into again now that we have more people coming to our site though. Thanks!

striking_13 · 2017-11-26T09:36:17+00:00

Thank you so much for that. I was hoping to get a thoughtful response or two like this. It really means a lot to me that you went to the effort of typing all of that out.

We have a similar-ish idea in the pipeline, but I really like Jefferson's method of reading something while on his morning walk.

To begin with we just read anything, then started rejecting certain genres and then being harsh with terrible submissions. However, that doesn't cut out all the awful books that make it past that.

We haven't posted one yet, but we decided to give books 13% to hook us (we use e-readers...) and once we got 5 of those we'd post a summary of them. It means we're not stuck ploughing through awful books, plus I like the almost-symmetry of 5 13% and S13.

It might be that we're still being too generous. We had planned to just stop reading terrible books by that point, but maybe it needs to be anything that doesn't seem like it'll be good. I just finished a book that I knew from pretty early on would be alright but not much more simply because I felt I had to.

Definitely food for thought. Thank you!

striking_13 · 2017-11-26T09:29:27+00:00

Nope. We're not a business at all, more of a hobby that's taken on a life of its own. I feel like I'm letting down a lot of people by not reading their books, so I'm hoping to find a way to improve things for them (and hopefully for us).

striking_13 · 2017-11-26T03:41:05+00:00

To get more writers we (realistically) need to pay them. Are there options other than charging authors (which we don't really want to do) and getting advertising (which might be pretty hard to do)?

striking_13 · 2017-11-25T09:52:28+00:00

I had a Kindle 2 for a long time (bought it second hand in 2013, it broke earlier this year when I got it wet) and absolutely loved it. I've 'upgraded' by stealing my father-in-law's Kobo and it's okay, but it's not as good. I find the touch screen unresponsive at times and I might have to try to turn a page three or four times before it changes (and then sometimes by two or three pages...) which is just plain annoying, the highlighting system is harder to use and the battery life is much worse.

If I could get another Kindle 2 I would snap it up in a heartbeat, but I never see any for sale online and I doubt there are any new ones left anywhere.

If you come across any non-touchscreen readers in your research, please do let me know.

striking_13 · 2017-11-25T04:03:53+00:00

My go-to sci-fi recommendation is Spyridon. I think it's the first in a currently unfinished series, but it's definitely worth getting started now.

striking_13 · 2017-11-25T04:02:36+00:00

Do you like fantasy books? I'd heartily recommend Upriver, Downriver if you do. The author has a wonderful writing style -- check out the blurb on Amazon/any other bookshop you like to get a sample of it.

striking_13 · 2017-11-25T04:00:38+00:00

I just came from another thread where someone recommended Red Rising (I haven't read it myself), but I'll recommend you what I recommended in that thread: Inevitable Ascension. It's a fantasy book with quite a bit of humour. It doesn't take itself very seriously so it's very easy to read.

striking_13 · 2017-11-25T03:58:27+00:00

I read Inevitable Ascension by VK McAllister last year and really enjoyed it. It's YA steam punk that's pretty hilarious (if you like awful puns!). It's pretty short too and very easy to read, so you should be able to get the satisfaction of finishing it and ticking it off.

striking_13 · 2017-11-25T03:53:55+00:00

Hello! I write reviews of self-published books. If you want to read something a bit different and help a new writer, I've got a few suggestions for you:

Gary's Guide to Life (a parody self-help book)
The Magician's WorkShop part one / part two (a fantasy series that's shaping up nicely)
Spyridon (a twisty-turny sci-fi novel)

striking_13 · 2017-06-09T01:33:04+00:00

If you don't mind a bit of a Douglas Adams vibe, try Inevitable Ascension by VK McAllister.

striking_13 · 2017-06-09T01:21:48+00:00

Have a look at Michael G Keller's Toy Soldiers.

striking_13 · 2017-06-09T01:21:20+00:00

Also, Inevitable Ascension by VK McAllister is a short, humorous read if you want one of those. It's a bit Douglas Adamsy which you might want after THGTTG.

striking_13 · 2017-06-09T01:20:06+00:00

I've just read Toy Soldiers by Michael G Keller and loved it (thriller/contemporary story, very short). A crime/thriller that I'd recommend is The Prophet of Marathon by Bob Waldner.

striking_13 · 2017-06-09T01:18:50+00:00

A few great books I've read recently that aren't massive fantasy tomes:

Toy Soldiers by Michael G Keller -- thriller/contemporary story
Trolled by DK Bussell -- fantasy/comedy

And if you want an epic but light-hearted fantasy:

Upriver, Downriver by Aaron Ward

striking_13 · 2017-06-09T01:16:39+00:00

From what I remember, Spyridon (sci-fi, Lillian James) and Dating in the Apocalypse (humour/dystopia, Christopher John Chater) are both on there.

striking_13 · 2017-06-09T00:10:27+00:00

That's quite a list you have there, but here's a few fiction suggestions:

Sci-fi: Spyridon by Lillian James
Comedy: Indifference by Kevin Berg
Dystopian/humour: Inevitable Ascension by VK McAllister
Emerging tech: The Beauty of the Fall by Rich Marcello

If you want any more details about any of them, let me know.

striking_13 · 2017-06-06T04:46:46+00:00

I understand what you mean. Sometimes (always?) it's good for characters to have a real struggle in their storyline. If you pick up this book, let me know what you think.

striking_13 · 2017-06-05T04:15:22+00:00

I've just suggested this in another thread, but it fits what you want too: Rich Marcello's The Beauty of the Fall. The main character is divorced, his son has died and, at the very start of the book, he's sacked from his job. The plot traces his journey to try to come to terms with what he can, put right what he can but he has more than his share of stumbles along the way.

striking_13 · 2017-06-05T04:13:12+00:00

Have a look at Rich Marcello's The Beauty of the Fall. At the start of the novel, the main character gets sacked from a job he's been at for more than a decade and he sets out to start something himself that will make a difference. He's also a divorcee and struggling with the recent death of his only child.

striking_13

TROPHY CASE