Authors Love Reviews

It's True! Authors Love Reviews!

Most authors love to get reviews. Especially good reviews.

But even bad reviews are helpful.

Besides the opportunity to learn from mistakes and errors, Amazon counts bad reviews as well as good reviews in the number of reviews for a book.

A higher number of reviews is factored into the book's Amazon rank, though no one outside Amazon's development team knows exactly how that works.

I've seen authors ask for good reviews only, but in my opinion, that is short-sighted.

What Authors Learn from Bad Reviews

Bad reviews occur for a number of reasons, including the reader simply didn't like the book, the book didn't meet expectations, the book was riddled with grammatical and spelling errors, or the author made a mistake.

There are as many reasons for bad reviews as there are reviewers.

Since I began my author's journey in 2017, there are a number of things I have learned from bad reviews:

• I inadvertently changed a character's name (sometimes in the same paragraph. EEEKK!)
• While moving chapters, instead of moving them, I duplicated them
• I changed the spelling on a character's name
• When I purposely changed a character's name, I did a global search and replace, without realizing the character's name was also the name of a month that was used in a scheduling scene. Thus my book had a month called Violet.

Some of these were quite funny. There are more. I am grateful to the reviewers who pointed out these issues, since it gave me the opportunity to correct them and upload the new files to Amazon.

At present, I have corrections to make that will be completed and uploaded over the next two weeks. Keep an eye on the Your Content and Devices section of your Amazon account to update the books you have.

What Authors Learn from Good Reviews

First and foremost, reviews help authors learn that their writing isn't crap. Even many-times published authors fall prey to doubt at times. Good reviews help bolster them through bad times, which include working with recalcitrant characters who insist on going a different direction than you thought they would, cruel comments from readers or fellow authors (not to be confused with constructive reviews or comments), and even the fear that the next book will never be as well-received as the last.

Reviews such as this one on Wolf's Duty start my day right and make me want to write more!

To Read this on Amazon, click the image of the review, then click Top Reviews and select Most Recent.

I was always told to never make a decision on a blue day. I try to live by that. The times I didn't I most often regretted the decisions I made. On blue days, I reread my four- and five-star reviews. They help cheer me up when nothing seems to be going right.

Among the things I learn from good reviews are which characters readers most identify with and which storylines they want to continue. Magnus (Wolf's Quest, Wolf's Guard, Wolf's Duty, Wolf's Dragon) came about because someone wondered what would happen with Bess.  Stacy (Wolf's Heart, and hinted at in Wolf's Duty) became Jonathan's mate when a reader worried about the faithful beta in my series.

So, the most important things I get from reviews are ideas for new stories and books.

Take care,

Texas Ranch Wolf Pack Series

Dictation and Writing

Dictation and Writing

The most talked-about dictation software for authors is Dragon Naturally Speaking.  

After reading the reviews, it’s probably the best available. 

I would love to have it, but it’s not quite in the budget. Yet. 

With arthritis in my hands and fingers, typing isn’t always easy. 

I write in Microsoft Word which I subscribe to as part of Office 365.

Dictation Software You May Already Have

Imagine how thrilled I was to discover the newest version of Word now has a Dictate command. 

Does it work? Yes, but you have to be patient with it until it learns your voice. As with Dragon, you have to speak your punctuation. So you have to be patient with yourself, too, while you learn how to ‘write’ verbally.

In the newest versions of Word, the Dictate command is available on the Home ribbon. Click the down arrow below the Dictate command and select the language you wish to use. 

The first time you use the Dictate command, you’ll be prompted to enable permissions for your microphone.

To use the Dictate command, click it. The icon changes and displays a red dot. Speak into the microphone, remembering to speak your punctuation. When you’re through, click the Dictate button again to stop recording. 

Want to Learn More?

For more information, check out Microsoft’s Dictate your documents in Word

If you don't use Word, but use a Windows 10 PC, you can also dictate using the Dictation Toolbar in Windows. For more information on using Windows 10 Dictation, check Use dictation to talk instead of type on your PC.

Microphone Needed

You will need a good microphone for dictation. My personal choice is the Blue Snowball USB Mic. I purchased mine after I saw my daughter’s. I really like that the mic doesn’t have to sit right in front of your mouth. 

You can set it to be cardioid, omnidirectional, or cardioid with a -10 dB pad. I haven’t used the omnidirectional setting, yet, but with the cardioid setting, the recording is clear, and the mic doesn’t pick up background noise.

Do I use it? Not as much as I would like to. I’m still learning, and at this point, if a scene is flowing, I can type it faster than I can remember to stop and speak the punctuation as I go. However, I am practicing with it so that I can eventually do most of my ‘writing’ by ‘speaking’ my story out loud.

Do you use dictation in your writing? If so, do you use Dragon, Word, or some other method of dictation recording?

Later,

Need Some Binge Reading? Check out the Texas Ranch Wolf Pack Series!

Available in Kindle Unlimited!

Tala Ridge Alpha Update

Tala Ridge Alpha Update

Since the lockdown started, we've been at home all but three days. 

Twice, two weeks apart, we went to purchase groceries. Once, we took a drive just to get out of the house for a bit. 

We didn't have the gas to go far, and even with prices low, we didn't want to stop for more. We saw several vehicles on the road but didn't stop anywhere. 

So, with all that time at home, you'd think I could get a lot of writing done. 

Truth is, I have gotten some done, but not as much as I wish. 

I've had to spend more time cooking (and washing dishes) than is normal, and I've been trying to get my sewing machine to work. It sews, now, but still has problems. 

I've been asked to sew masks for some local people, as well as other items. With my machine acting wonky, I'll get it done, it just takes a lot more time. I even thought about buying a new machine, but there's not a retail place within driving distance that isn't sold out of them.

Even so, I'm up to 23,159 words on Tala Ridge Alpha. Right now, I'm in the middle of writing the major conflict and climax. After that, I still have some minor conflicts to tidy up, as well as set up the next book in the series. I've run into a few snags, though. 

I need to contact a friend who has a background in police work to make sure I don't make glaring mistakes in the way I handle some upcoming scenes. It would be much easier face-to-face, but it will have to be done by phone. 

Here's a snip from my WIP, Tala Ridge Alpha:

Terrell stood on the second-story porch, clenched fists resting on the snow-laden rail, while he stared unseeing over the trees at the waning moon. Trying to remember his early life. Trying to remember the things the pack told him. He had no doubt they were true, but the events they related didn’t match his memories. Memories his father must have planted.

The lemony tang of truth had filled the room while the pack reluctantly told him about the night his father killed both Dana’s human mother and Terrell’s shifter mother. Ainle’s sorrow howled through his mind. In his distraught state, he couldn’t comfort the wolf. He had no comfort to give. Now, he had to find a way to tell his half-sister what happened to her mother. At least it could wait for a while since she left for Texas with her adopted parents over the weekend.

The door behind him opened, then quietly closed. Snow crunched beneath boots, but no one spoke. Terrell sniffed and recognized Josh. Though comforted by his friend’s presence, he perversely wished he was alone. He couldn’t believe his father did something so despicable. He knew the man was evil, but . . ..

Terrell sniffed, took a gasping breath, and blinked to hold back the angry tears that threatened. “How could he do that, Josh? How could he murder Dana’s mother and my mom? And then turn on the pack like that?”

Josh stepped up to the rail, one hand in his jacket pocket, the other holding Terrell’s jacket. Terrell glanced at the jacket held out to him, then turned his gaze back to the moon. The cold bit into his bare arms, but he didn’t want the coat. He didn’t deserve the warmth. Sighing, wordlessly letting Terrell know he was there if he was needed, Josh draped the jacket over Terrell’s shoulders.

One tear slipped through Terrell’s control and trekked down his cheek. “No wonder they’re so afraid of me. How do I fix this?” He spun to face Josh, his jacket falling to the snowy porch. “How?”

Josh shook his head. “I don’t know, Alpha.”

“Yeah. Neither do I.” He hesitated, then whispered, “He had to be insane. What if, what if I’m like him?”

“You’re not. King Nate wouldn’t have placed you as alpha if you were.”

Slapping mounded snow off the rail, Terrell stalked back inside. Ainle whined in his mind, but with the distress crushing him, Terrell didn’t know how to comfort either of them.

---

I hope you and those you love are healthy and safe.

Take care,

Texas Ranch Wolf Pack Series
Available in Kindle Unlimited!