I have arrived!

The other day Nelson Telson – The Story of a True Blue Blood received its first negative “review” on amazon.com.  There is a reason why I put the word review in quotation marks.  Was it a review?  Or was it simply a bad rating by a disgruntled person on Christmas Day?  The “reviewer” (pardon the quotes, but I just can’t help it) didn’t say what it was that made her not like it.  All she wrote was, “Kids didn't like it and neither did I. No one even finished it.“  And that was that.  No explanation.

   Based on sales, school donations and Kickstarter rewards, I’m guessing about 400 people have read the book.  To date on Amazon it has twenty-four 5-star reviews where reviewers explain why they love and recommend the book; one 4-star, “It was perfect for young readers! A lot of useful knowledge introduced in a easy read...,” and then this little 1-star Christmas gift.  Yes, it is a gift.

   At first I was perplexed. What?  Someone, not just one person but a whole family, didn’t like my book, and didn’t even have the courtesy to say why they didn’t like it - on Christmas Day, no less.  I looked at her other reviews; she was a real person and not just a troll.  She’d reviewed only one other book, non-fiction, a movie, and a bunch of consumer items.  Who is this person/family who didn’t like my book?  And why didn’t they like it?  It wasn’t so much the lousy rating as the lack of substantiation that irked me.  But it got me to thinking:  What are the differences between reviews, opinions, and ratings? In this world of instant messages, texts and quickie online ratings, it only takes a few seconds to rate a book.  Just a click of the mouse and a few curt words is all it takes to be a “reviewer.”

Review - A book review usually consists of these basic elements:

• A brief description of what the book is about without being a plot spoiler.
• What you liked and/or didn’t like about it (characters, plot, pace, style, emotional impact, denouement, etc.) and why.  Was it satisfying, or were you left wanting in the end?
• A summary to wrap it up – the type of reader you recommend it to (or why you can’t recommend it); any authors or books you’d compare it to, its value, stuff like that. 

Opinion - Due to the nature of the beast, and the modern reader’s time constraints, an Amazon “review” a.k.a. opinion is shorter.  Opinions are just that, but still require a modicum of supporting evidence.

• Give it a star rating between one and five
• Briefly explain what you liked and/or didn’t like about the book and why you rated it the way you did.  “I didn’t like it.” isn’t sufficient, however, “I didn’t like it because it is poorly written, the plot feels contrived, and it contains gratuitous violence that I find offensive…” would suffice on a quickie online opinion.

Rating - Click the star, and because the program demands it, write a few words.  No explanations necessary, unless you’re in the mood to write an opinion or review.  If you are too lazy or disillusioned  to actually read a book to the end, this is the perfect option for you.

   The thing that all three of the above have in common is that they are subjective in their nature, and as with the judgment of any work of art, be it writing, painting, theater, music or whatever, it’s what the experiencer brings to the table that colors his opinion.   And in the case of the 1-star “reviewer” I respect that with all of my being.

Why have I arrived?

It’s not because I sold a million copies or went to St. Louis with the companion science curriculum in hand.  It’s not because the book has become part of many schools’ core curriculum. It’s not because a few literary “gatekeepers” reviewed it favorably. It’s not because I got a movie deal with Disney.  It’s because I know now that my book is part of the bigger picture. It made me feel whole. Thanks unhappy Christmas Day rater for the perfect gift.

Lists Not Resolutions

People often ask me how I manage to find the time to do all of the things that I do.  In addition to my teaching classes each week, I also manage to run regularly, and get a painting in now and then.  In the first six months of this year I illustrated, designed, formatted, made final edits, did a Kickstarter campaign, fulfilled rewards and thank-you notes for over a hundred backers, and released my book.  That was the easy part.  With the daunting task of marketing, I’m navigating unknown waters.  From the outside it might look like I’m highly productive, but internally I feel like I’m spinning my wheels.  As my son keeps reminding me, frequent blogging is a very important part of market visibility.  With Christmas less than a week away, I’m writing this while my eggs dry.  Every year since 1984, I’ve been making these intricate painted eggs as gifts.  No shopping for me, just egg-making.  At one point I was cranking out 48 eggs for the people on my list.  This year I tried to whittle down the list and made a dozen to sell and another 30 to give.

So, people ask, “How do you do it?”

I awoke this morning with the answer: Lists

I dream up my lists in my sleeping hours, wake up, and jot down the stuff I dreamt about. I even have a list to make on my list!   My list today includes:

• Make holiday food list (from planned recipes for beef Wellington, lava cake, duxelles, bordelaise…)
• Grocery shop - that can wait until Monday
• Finish eggs (that means personalize the eggs, put the final finish on, let them dry, pack up the ones that need to be mailed, go to the post office, and move forward into the holiday)
• Get Phoebe’s gift, wrap grands’ gifts, pack and mail
• Call Perry’s – order 2.5 lb tenderloin (no silver)
• Horn Book award submission
• Order art supplies from Dick Blick
• Vacuum and wash floor – doubt that’ll happen
• Write blog post

Never before have I put blogging on my list, and when I woke up this morning I knew the only way I’d get it done is to put it on the list.  The list gets triaged, and some things can wait for another day.

The photo shows how I operate. 

There’s my egg list, today's list, art supply list, calendar with student list.

All the while I’m dreaming up my list for the New Year.

• Get a companion curriculum prepared for Nelson Telson
• Make a piece of really compelling collateral for the book that includes curriculum
• Make a reservation to the IRA convention in St. Louis in July (airline and hotel, too)
• Figure out how to engage educators and home schoolers
• Get the book in schools
• Sell the movie rights to Pixar, Disney or Spielberg
• Sell a million

You get the picture.  Now I can check that one off the list

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – no resolutions here, just lists.

Not old news

This morning I see Roger Sutton at The Horn Book has written an editorial.  You can read it here: http://www.hbook.com/2014/10/opinion/editorials/editorial-self-service/#comment-290974, and my response:

Hi Roger,

   Having initiated this with my original letter to you, I must take this opportunity to bring my intention to the discussion once again.  The exasperation I have felt just trying to get the book read by unbiased reviewers was the springboard.  Over the four months since releasing the book (old news already, eh?) I have been entering competitions (I'm out of luck with your "golden ticket" timeline, and was 2 weeks too late for entering this/next year's HB awards), not qualifying for reviews within exclusionary submission guidelines; writing letters to the likes of you, urging readers to review on amazon,  blogging and tweeting and twiddling and facebooking, and spending so much of my creative energy on these things, I'm jaded and weary—but I still believe in my book.

   That said, I can see how those in the industry see a single-handed writer/illustrator/publisher/publicist as way too close to the work to be objective, but we are not all like that.  As you said, self-publishing authors are now employing editors and collaborating with others to get those much-needed objective eyes to move the work into the best form possible.  I am lucky to have such sharp-eyed friends and the willingness to utilize criticism.

   Based on the input of readers, I believe in my work now more than ever. I’ve sold a few hundred, and have had nothing but positive feedback. It is being considered for a few One Book One School programs, a professor of science education has made it required reading for his science ed majors, and no matter how long it takes, it will find its way into schools, because yes, it’s that important, timeless, and good.  But I am only one person, now engaging as many people as possible to read Nelson Telson – The Story of a True Blue Blood.

   During our initial exchanges, since your parameters excluded my book from any possibility of review, I offered to send you a copy, no strings, just for your enjoyment.  You ask, "How can we make them part of the family?”  My offer still stands.

Sheesh, I feel like such a kid.

Kindle Book!

After much moaning and groaning and gnashing of teeth, I finally have a kindle version that looks great!  #nelsontelson #kidlit #horseshoecrab Check it out: Nelson Telson Kindle Book
Flying high :-)

Banned in Boston

So, how’s an independently published author supposed to go about garnering a few reviews in her home city?  My family has been in the Boston area since 1633.  I went to school in Boston.  I even consulted on the Boston in a Box board game, and appear in the credits.  But when it comes to getting the Boston Globe and Horn Book to take a look at the work of a home girl, all bets appear to be off.

            The email I sent Nicole Lamy, Books Editor at the Boston Globe, and a fellow Emersonian no less, has been ignored.  I’m guessing the media packet I sent her is moldering in the slush pile.

            After stirring up Roger Sutton at The Horn Book, and even getting him to admit that not all self-published books are terrible, I still can’t get a review!

            These so-called gatekeepers have everything locked up so tightly. They’ve secured the realm of publishing with the barbed wire of old-school rules and timeframes to keep out the independent riffraff at the expense of readers everywhere.  It is ironic that those whose job is to bring good books and the love of reading to the public are refusing to acknowledge some really good books that are as much a benefit to humanity as “traditionally” published works.

            If you’ve read Nelson Telson, and wish to recommend it to Roger, feel free to respond to this thread: http://www.hbook.com/2014/10/blogs/read-roger/challenge-self-publishers/.

            If you’d like to see the response to the letter in my last blog post, you can read it here: http://www.hbook.com/2014/09/blogs/read-roger/open-letter-self-published-author-feeling-dissed/

#hornbook #bglobebooks #nelsontelson  Flip me over.

My rant which just became a Letter to the Editors:

I find it hard to believe that, here we are in the age of communications, and publications such as the Boston Globe Horn Book are still stuck in the old industrial paradigm, serving only established publishing concerns when there are so many great independently published books out there, including my middle grade novel Nelson Telson – The Story of a True Blue Blood.  Google it.

When I read submission guidelines: “Books produced by publishers that are not listed in Literary Market Place are not considered,” it just breaks my heart to see that literary people whose job is to bring good books and the love of reading to the public are actually suppressing information and thereby robbing the very reading public they are supposed to serve.  Freedom of speech itself is wrapped up in this highfalutin reactionary, exclusive brotherhood between reviewers, agents, and publishing houses.  If you haven’t noticed, we entered the Information Age three decades ago; we’re riding the Third Wave now, and that includes independently published works of exceptional quality.  Hop onboard!

Yours truly,

Heidi Mayo

P.S. Were my book eligible in your exclusive domain, you would have received the following letter with my submission. 

Dear Reader,

I have enclosed my middle grade novel, NELSON TELSON – The Story of a True Blue Blood and supporting materials for your consideration.   For the sake of brevity, please find the synopsis on the back cover and brochure.

When I decided to self-publish, I embarked upon a very successful Kickstarter campaign that was funded 415% and covered all costs while pre-selling nearly 200 copies.  Based on the input of readers, I have come to understand the vast and outstanding value of this book to children, adults, and educators. 

Recently, I was excited to learn that the University of North Dakota’s Professor Lars Helgeson, Ph.D. has required Nelson Telson for his Primary and Secondary Ed. majors.  Additionally, a handful of middle school English Language Arts Coordinators have been happy to accept the book for inclusion in their libraries and English, Science, and Critical Reading classes.  This book will be adopted into core curriculums nationally as, along with its engaging story of fantasy and real-life characters and situations, it offers countless important learning opportunities about ecology, global interdependence, history, philosophy, relativity theory, and how perspective impacts reality, to name a few.  Enjoyed by readers of all ages, it’s a middle grade novel that grows up before your very eyes.

The enclosed book is of a special edition printed by Powder Horn Press (ISBN 978-0692234785) as rewards for my Kickstarter backers.  On page 199 there is a color feature not found in the books distributed online by CreateSpace Independent Publishing and Amazon (ISBN 978-1499538441).  A Kindle version will be available soon.

In the media packet you will find:

*   business card

*   marketing brochure

*   author Q and A

*   author bios

*   2 press releases

*   sampling of Amazon reviews

Links to video interviews and forthcoming articles can be found at www.heidimayo.com on my media packet page.

Thank you so much for your time and kind consideration. Enjoy the book!

AUTHOR’S BOOK-SIGNING EVENT at PLYMOUTH FARMERS’ MARKET

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Heidi Mayo

heidi@heidimayo.com

www.heidimayo.com

AUTHOR’S BOOK-SIGNING EVENT at PLYMOUTH FARMERS’ MARKET

PLYMOUTH, MA, September 8, 2014 – Local author, artist and teacher Heidi Mayo will be at the Plymouth Farmers’ Market at Plimoth Plantation, 137 Warren Avenue, Plymouth, MA on Thursday, September 18 from 2:30 to 6:00 for a special book-signing event.  Heidi will be available to answer questions and share her experiences about her just-published book, NELSON TELSON – The Story of a True Blue Blood, a story that takes place in Duxbury and Plymouth, MA.  Visit www.heidimayo.com for more information about this very special middle grade novel enjoyed by readers of all ages. Part of the proceeds will benefit Plimoth Plantation.

NELSON TELSON is available locally at Westwinds Bookshop in Duxbury, Plimoth Plantation Museum Shop, and online at amazon.com. 

The author loves presenting Nelson Telson to the public, media, groups, and schools.  To book an interview, appearance, or book signing, please contact heidi@heidimayo.com.