“I think it’s stupid…

…and you’re weird.”

Yep, that’s an actual quote from an in-person review of my new book, Back in the Habit. A co-worker started the morning with, “I finished your book. I liked it, but…” That’s never a good sign. She then asked what the Swedish nun and the facial moles were all about.

I explained that I’d come across folklore in which the location of a facial mole indicated personality type: Greedy, loyal, treacherous, loving, etc. It fascinated me, and I knew I had to use it in a book one day. The title of this post is the response I received. (I’m evil enough to tease you by not revealing what the Swedish nun and the facial moles have to do in Back in the Habit.)

I was innocent enough once to think that when I had a book on bookstore shelves that these slap-in-the-face incidents would be a thing of the past. (I’ll pause while the choking laughter from all published Inkspot readers subsides.) Reality hit soon, in the shape of… reviews.

I learned right away that unless my publicist sends a review along, I don’t read it. I have rhino hide, but a snarky review will always find the cracks in it. Reviews aren’t for authors anyway—they’re for readers.

Besides, I have something infinitely better than any review. I have fans.

Fans are awesome. Total strangers email me to tell me they love my books. Total strangers come to my book signings and ask me to sign their copy. This is as good as standing on stage basking in audience applause (been there too). My books on bookstore shelves are the result of years of work. Fans show me that it was all worth it. They more than make up for people who somehow feel compelled to tell me that I’m weird and my ideas are stupid. (I smiled and shrugged at my co-worker when she said that. There was really nothing else to do.)

Without readers, my books would be gathering dust in a desk drawer.

Thank you.

Reviews Rollercoaster

Keith here.

The rubescent glow that Lynn Farris's review of Drop By Drop on Examiner.com left on my cheeks has scarcely begun to fade:

"I found Drop by Drop... to be an exciting political thriller as well as a fascinating philosophical political treatise. While the political thriller part offered the reader an excellent whodunit, the philosophical discussion is what makes it a powerful book to read....

"I love the title Drop by Drop because it serves as a metaphor for so much occurring in the book and perhaps society today. Drop by drop we are giving up our civil liberties. Drop by drop we are losing our principles. Drop by drop, our government officials break the law and others ignore it....

"I thoroughly enjoyed this book and believe that readers of all political persuasions will like it as well. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this as an upcoming movie. Five stars out of five."

Now I understand that Examiner.com is not the New York Times, but I don't care. (Well, maybe a tad, but why the Times doesn't hire Ms. Farris is beyond me.) Any author will tell you the real joy of writing is connecting with that one reader, the one who sends you the laudatory email, the one who leaves you a Facebook message that she is gifting a dozen copies for Xmas. (BTW, I am not a friend of Ms. Farris, except now on Facebook and that doesn't really count, does it?)

Of course, it works the other way, too. Well-known mystery writer and critic Hallie Ephron gave my second book, Smasher, a real put-down in her Boston Globe review a couple of years ago:

"We follow the narrator as he caroms among the story lines.... Too bad, because with so much going on, this novel desperately needs a main character with an emotional core that can hold it all together".

I suspect a few more people read the Globe's reviews than read Examiner.com's. While this less than stellar review might have hurt just a little less than committing hari kari with a butter knife, research shows that Ms. Ephron did me a favor. A study in Marketing Science found that "For books by established authors, a negative review led to a 15% decrease in sales." Well that makes sense. But "for books by relatively unknown (new) authors, however, negative publicity has the opposite effect, increasing sales by 45%." This 45% is roughly the same, if not a little higher, than for positive reviews.

Those of us who are not quite selling as many books as James Patterson, Stephen King, or Dan Brown can take heart. A great review warms our hearts. A bad review increases sales. A win-win!

Inkspot News - July 23, 2011

Lots of press this week for several Midnight Ink authors.



Two items for ROBIN ALLEN's clean, humorous amateur sleuth mystery, If You Can't Stand the Heat.

1. Virginia Wood, long-time food editor of the Austin Chronicle, wrote a wonderful review in the current issue.

"My most enjoyable reading diversion so far this summer has been a new culinary mystery..."

2. For one week (7/20/11-7/27/11), Amazon.com is selling the Kindle version of the book for $2.99.

* * *

DEBORAH SHARP's Mama Sees Stars (September 2011) received a starred review in Library Journal.

"This zany fourth entry in Sharp’s series is a feature worthy of the big screen...The mystery aisles can always use more humor, and Sharp delivers..."

* * *

JESSIE CHANDLER's Bingo Barge Murder was featured on local Minnesota station KARE11 as a great summer read.

"If you like funny, fast-paced Minnesota flavor..."

* * *

For one week (7/20/11-7/27/11), Amazon.com is selling the Kindle version of JESS LOUREY's Knee High by the Fourth of July for $1.99.

Bells and Buzz

For years I worked in human resources, and one of my biggest challenges was getting managers to complete their employees’ performance reviews in a timely and effective manner. While emphasizing the positives, managers had to include “Here's what you could do better.” Hard message to deliver when almost everybody thinks they’re giving their all and wants the bigger raise tied to the performance rating.

Of course, performance ratings should be tied to objective, measurable goals. One time I joined a company that used a very subjective essay style of performance appraisals. In an appraisal for a dentist, I read one sentence summing up her skills and three sentences about the wonderful kuchen she baked for the department. Geez Louise. I had to laugh, but we changed the company’s rating methodology pretty darn quick.

Training for performance reviews always included the instructions that any employee who was meeting expectations should be rated a “3.” In fact, most ratings should be a “3.” Remember the bell curve in statistics? Any manager who rated their employees all fives or even all fours was not doing their job—and, yeah, I was the one who got to tell them that.

But now I’m an author, and I’m looking at all my ratings on Amazon and Goodreads. It’s a little harder to be happy with a “3” even though I should be. Ratings affect sales. Sales might be higher if everyone rated my books “5” or even “4.” Now I prefer the fives, appreciate the fours, welcome the threes, and tolerate a couple twos.

I’m happy people are taking the time to rate my book. It creates buzz, or at least the beginnings of the “b” sound. Ratings mean I have readers. Readers are good. Readers who publish ratings are even better. Readers who publish reviews are the most interesting. Of course, they’re a little like the kuchen—very subjective. But then writing is subjective: to tastes, to trends, to popularity, etc.

So I’m going with the old adage: There’s no such thing as bad publicity. Ratings and reviews are publicity. Therefore, I love them, regardless.

And I’m going to love my bell curve, too.

Blessed with "Bigmouths"

I signed a contract with Midnight Ink for books three and four in my Broken Vows mystery series. Pretty exciting considering the first book, For Better, For Murder, only came out in September. Given the continued interest in the series, that book must be doing all right. What a relief!

I need to thank my “bigmouths:” the people who talked up my book, some more excited than me to see it in print. My apologies if I miss anyone—and thank you, too.

First, the reviewers: Kirkus Reviews, CrimeSpree Magazine, Booklist, BookPage, Mystery News, Mystery Scene, Cozy Library, The Mystery Reader, and Once Upon A Romance. I credit my publicist, Courtney Kish, for seeking the attention of so many including The Finger Lakes Times and The Naples Record, distributed in the region where my series is set. In turn, a librarian who read about my book in The Finger Lakes Times invited me to speak at her library. Love it when promotion snowballs!

Then the librarians. Our local librarian took my book flyer to a countywide librarian meeting. Next thing I know, my book’s on loan in multiple branches and our town library held their first local author signing and book sale—and I was invited! Sweet!

And the booksellers. When I arrived at my second book signing, a woman was waiting. She said she comes to the bookseller every week and the manager puts the newest mystery releases in her hand. Mine was one. Great to know the booksellers are on the job!

And my family. I’m not much of talker, but I’m blessed with a family of them. My dad gave bookmarks to restaurant waitresses and his exercise class. My aunt used this sales pitch: “My niece just published her first book, and you must buy it.” Under anesthesia in November, she pitched her nurse. My mother-in-law purchased more books than anyone else. My brother put me on his Facebook page. That’s how we learned his classmate from high school works for Llewellyn. Small world! A cousin selected my book for her book club discussion. My husband offered bookmarks to all his office visits and posted online announcements to his car buddies. Even my kids told their teachers.

Last, but not least, my friends. My fellow writers and critique partners took my bookmarks on vacation to Mexico and Florida, left them on subway trains, and carried them to mystery conferences. One sent my book overseas to the troops. My book club attended my first book signing, bringing their friends and relatives. My neighbors put my book on their Facebook pages. I was invited to guest blog and recommended through online lists and discussions. Best of all, my friends bought and read the book and suggested other people read it, too. Awesome!

All this leaves me grateful and with ample time to polish book four. Book three is done. I just wanted to be sure to thank my “bigmouths” and wish them—and you—a very Happy New Year!!!!

My Bad (Seed)

by Nina Wright

Recently a friend sent me a letter of complaint that he'd drafted after local authorities mishandled a neighborhood incident. He wanted my critique of the letter before he mailed it. Now, my friend is a darned good writer; his missive was a model of lucidity and concision. And yet I advised him not to send it as written. Why? The last paragraph contained cynical jabs at the town’s apparent attitude toward minorities. I wasn't sure whether those remarks, framed as they were, would yield the response he was seeking. Call me cautious, but I’ve learned the down side of sarcasm.

Some years ago I wrote a darkly comic play called Mimi’s Famous Company, which reviewers compared to The Bad Seed. If you know that film, you can guess that my play was about a truly evil child. Except my play was intended to be over-the-top funny…in a wincing sort of way. Mimi’s a teen-ager who has been raised by her extremely bitter single mother to believe that she deserves whatever she wants and shouldn’t let anyone stand in her way. Unfortunately, Mimi takes that advice literally and incapacitates or eliminates rivals and foes, including—eventually—her own mom. When my play ran in venues across the country, reviews ranged from “Black humor shines brilliantly” to “Utterly unfunny. The playwright demonstrates a disturbing lack of morality.”

Trust me, I know right from wrong. I didn’t write the play to advocate either ruthless child-rearing or matricide. I simply believe that certain imbalances can be best illuminated by dark comic exaggeration. Witness Dr. Strangelove.

Likewise, I’m a fan of Mark Twain’s Pudd’n’head Wilson, which is not only brilliant social satire but also a cutting-edge detective story. And I marvel at works by Peter Lefcourt (The Manhattan Beach Project and Di & I) and Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club and Diary).

I haven't flexed my own sarcasm much lately. Although Whiskey Mattimoe and friends trade barbs, most of the humor in that series comes from the dogs. No satire required when describing a species that licks its privates in public and dry-humps human limbs. Nonetheless, because I love dark guffaws, I can't resist sharing this 25-words-or-less summary of an American classic:
“Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets and then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again.”

That’s journalist Rick Polito’s wry take on The Wizard of Oz. I challenge you to have fun with cynicism. Come up with a skewed 25-words-or-less summary of something you've written. Here's one view of the Whiskey Mattimoe mysteries:

"An oversexed Afghan hound commits numerous felonies as bodies pile up and her reluctant owner tries not to get sued."

Better yet, share with us how sarcasm has gotten you into trouble. Mimi’s Famous Company produced the most uneven collection of reviews I’ve had to date. Ah yes. My “disturbing lack of morality” still makes me smile.

Nina Wright's latest releases:

Whiskey and Tonic, the third Whiskey Mattimoe mystery, and

Homefree, published by Midnight Ink's sister imprint, Flux/Llewellyn