School is starting next week, and I need to take a little break. I'll be back soon.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
They Say Authors Shouldn't Spam, But What is Everyone Else Doing?
Okay, I don't know what's going on, but lately I've seen ads popping up EVERYWHERE.
Take Twitter for instance. I haven't been on the site in a while now. A couple of months anyway and when I finally did get on to share my news that I published WHEN WE WERE IN HEAVEN (my one and only promotional Tweet) I was hit with advertisements to get rid of unwanted belly fat and how I could get my bachelor's degree in less than two years. (Sorry, already have mine and it took 6 through no fault of my own.)
Then, I was doing some stuff to my other blog, through Google Chrome because that's the only way I can get my pictures uploaded, when BAM, a bunch of pop ups started happening and I couldn't get rid of them. I finally had to shut down my computer to close all the pages.
What the *&$#& is going on?
When I first started blogging, I saw blogs that had ads on them. It's called AdSense, and I guess how it works is for every time a person clicks through to the ad, the blog makes money. Yeah, okay. I guess if that's how you want to blog, fine. It's just not my thing. I blog because I have something to say. I don't blog with the hope I'm going to make money.
They say we need to build an online relationship with readers and not to spam them every five seconds with unwanted crap. I used to Tweet all the time about my books, but then THEY said it was a no-no. That wasn't the way to sell books. But I see it all the time on Twitter. Every other Tweet that hits the roll is a link to buy a book. Or a review with a link. Or a ReTweet with a link.
And now, they have these big glaring ads coming in as well. Do I really want to see spam about how to enlarge my penis, (sorry no penis here) or any other crap they're trying to sell? Do the marketing directors of these huge conglomerates think that we will click on these links? Are they really so stupid that they think we'll trust them not to infect our PC's?
It's bad enough I get emails all the time from crazy people in other countries telling me I've won 8 million dollars in a foreign lottery and for only a small fee (thousands of dollars) I can be the recipient of the cash.
Yeah. Right. Like I'm going to fall for that.
So why would anyone in their right mind click on any of the links on Twitter or through Google?
I have all my stuff on my computer. Thousands of hours of writing material, not to mention pictures. Would I really want that to be corrupted? I don't think so.
I mean, it's bad enough we only get to watch tv for 8 minutes and then are bombarded with commercials. (Thank God for PBS!) It takes an hour to watch a whole program that's only 42 minutes long.
Yeah, sure I get it. That's how they sell. We're not living in the same world we used to. When newspaper ads were all they had. But jeez criminy, is this what it's all coming down to now? Ads, ads and more ads.
Pretty soon, we'll all just be walking billboards. Buy This, Buy That, Buy ME!
Makes me just want to get off ALL social media.
But then again, I live a solitary enough life as it is. Social media IS really the only way I get to be sociable.
Tell me -- Do you click through on anything you see that may interest you? Or are you still old school and Google the brand you want to buy and click on the trusted link?
Robynne Rand (c) 2013
Take Twitter for instance. I haven't been on the site in a while now. A couple of months anyway and when I finally did get on to share my news that I published WHEN WE WERE IN HEAVEN (my one and only promotional Tweet) I was hit with advertisements to get rid of unwanted belly fat and how I could get my bachelor's degree in less than two years. (Sorry, already have mine and it took 6 through no fault of my own.)
Then, I was doing some stuff to my other blog, through Google Chrome because that's the only way I can get my pictures uploaded, when BAM, a bunch of pop ups started happening and I couldn't get rid of them. I finally had to shut down my computer to close all the pages.
What the *&$#& is going on?
When I first started blogging, I saw blogs that had ads on them. It's called AdSense, and I guess how it works is for every time a person clicks through to the ad, the blog makes money. Yeah, okay. I guess if that's how you want to blog, fine. It's just not my thing. I blog because I have something to say. I don't blog with the hope I'm going to make money.
They say we need to build an online relationship with readers and not to spam them every five seconds with unwanted crap. I used to Tweet all the time about my books, but then THEY said it was a no-no. That wasn't the way to sell books. But I see it all the time on Twitter. Every other Tweet that hits the roll is a link to buy a book. Or a review with a link. Or a ReTweet with a link.
And now, they have these big glaring ads coming in as well. Do I really want to see spam about how to enlarge my penis, (sorry no penis here) or any other crap they're trying to sell? Do the marketing directors of these huge conglomerates think that we will click on these links? Are they really so stupid that they think we'll trust them not to infect our PC's?
It's bad enough I get emails all the time from crazy people in other countries telling me I've won 8 million dollars in a foreign lottery and for only a small fee (thousands of dollars) I can be the recipient of the cash.
Yeah. Right. Like I'm going to fall for that.
So why would anyone in their right mind click on any of the links on Twitter or through Google?
I have all my stuff on my computer. Thousands of hours of writing material, not to mention pictures. Would I really want that to be corrupted? I don't think so.
I mean, it's bad enough we only get to watch tv for 8 minutes and then are bombarded with commercials. (Thank God for PBS!) It takes an hour to watch a whole program that's only 42 minutes long.
Yeah, sure I get it. That's how they sell. We're not living in the same world we used to. When newspaper ads were all they had. But jeez criminy, is this what it's all coming down to now? Ads, ads and more ads.
Pretty soon, we'll all just be walking billboards. Buy This, Buy That, Buy ME!
Makes me just want to get off ALL social media.
But then again, I live a solitary enough life as it is. Social media IS really the only way I get to be sociable.
Tell me -- Do you click through on anything you see that may interest you? Or are you still old school and Google the brand you want to buy and click on the trusted link?
Robynne Rand (c) 2013
Thursday, August 1, 2013
I Applaud J.K. Rowling
With the publishing world like the weather these days, (wait five minutes, it will change), the hubbub over J.K. Rowling's apparent try for anonymity is lessening.
I for one applaud Ms. Rowling's attempt at gaining another name for herself and her work. I mean, if you're one of the most famous authors in living history, (next to Stephen King), no matter what you write will be scrutinized down to the last undotted i.
Look at what happened to CASUAL VACANCY. Panned by the critics, nothing she could ever write would compare to Harry Potter. I'm sure she knew that going in, and for God's sake, CV was an adult book. It wasn't meant to compare to HP. But everyone did it nonetheless.
I maintained that she should have found herself a pen name for that book. But, not knowing her on an intimate basis, I couldn't tell her that.
I'm glad she tried to do it with A CUCKOO'S CALLING. I'm sorry it didn't work out. I would have liked to have read it without the notion it was written by J.K. Rowling. No matter how we say we wouldn't compare, deep down I know I probably would have. But then again. Maybe not.
I think I've read two of the Harry Potter books. Yes, they were entertaining. Yes, they were very well written. But they were also out of my genre. I don't read paranormal kid/tween/YA lit. If that's even the genre classification they are. (Truthfully, I think they're their own genre now.) But with HP, Rowling could do whatever she wanted. It was her world, her characters, she could create at will, the more fantastical the better.
With her two adult novels, she needed to stick with what adults know. Contemporary world, with contemporary characters. No pulling ghosts out of picture frames, or griffins, or magic.
However, if I read CUCKOO'S CALLING by Robert Gailbrith and I liked the book, then I would have liked the author. If I found out later it was actually written by J.K. Rowling, I would have thought she was a good writer regardless of what her name is.
I don't blame her for wanting to find out if she was a good writer. Or that she could make it in the publishing world without the use of her real name. People do it all the time.
I know a woman who writes erotica. She's a stay-at-home soccer mom who goes to church every Sunday, assists in her kid's classrooms, and does volunteer work at the old folk's home where her grandmother resides. Do you think for one second she wants people to know she's really a mass producer of triple xxx porn? Okay, tasteful sex-capades. There is a "story" behind her erotica. She's not just writing sex for sex sake.
And although J.K. Rowling is famous for Harry and friends, why should she submit herself to the scrutiny of the public eye when she wants to write something else?
I mean, how do you know if you're "good enough"? And I believe that's all she wanted. Was to find out if she was good enough. Sure she didn't sell many books, most first time authors don't. But she did get some good reviews out of it. So there was something.
When I first published REMEMBERING YOU, it was under my Anne Gallagher name. Everyone was aghast that I, as a writer of sweet Regency romances, could drop the F-bomb (in Italian mind you) so many times. I received one review (that was very good) but it was from a friend, so that was to be expected.
I decided to republish it under Robynne Rand. I now sit with 7 reviews (4 and 5 stars) from people I don't even know. Naturally, I'd like more because I love that story, but hey... the only way to do that is to publish another book and I can't do that right now. Too many other things keep me from writing.
I hope Ms. Rowling tries to write another book. Under another pen name. This time I hope she self-publishes it. Better chance of making it than through a regular publisher. Then she'll really be anonymous. And she'll be able to find out if she's good enough for the masses. And the critics.
Then again, she's the richest woman in the world (next to Oprah) so she can do whatever she wants with her writing. Even though A CUCKOO'S CALLING wasn't selling, as soon as it was revealed she wrote it, the book hit the best-seller list.
So, if you're listening J.K. try it again. This time self-publish. You'll never know who you really are until you do.
Robynne Rand (c) 2013
I for one applaud Ms. Rowling's attempt at gaining another name for herself and her work. I mean, if you're one of the most famous authors in living history, (next to Stephen King), no matter what you write will be scrutinized down to the last undotted i.
Look at what happened to CASUAL VACANCY. Panned by the critics, nothing she could ever write would compare to Harry Potter. I'm sure she knew that going in, and for God's sake, CV was an adult book. It wasn't meant to compare to HP. But everyone did it nonetheless.
I maintained that she should have found herself a pen name for that book. But, not knowing her on an intimate basis, I couldn't tell her that.
I'm glad she tried to do it with A CUCKOO'S CALLING. I'm sorry it didn't work out. I would have liked to have read it without the notion it was written by J.K. Rowling. No matter how we say we wouldn't compare, deep down I know I probably would have. But then again. Maybe not.
I think I've read two of the Harry Potter books. Yes, they were entertaining. Yes, they were very well written. But they were also out of my genre. I don't read paranormal kid/tween/YA lit. If that's even the genre classification they are. (Truthfully, I think they're their own genre now.) But with HP, Rowling could do whatever she wanted. It was her world, her characters, she could create at will, the more fantastical the better.
With her two adult novels, she needed to stick with what adults know. Contemporary world, with contemporary characters. No pulling ghosts out of picture frames, or griffins, or magic.
However, if I read CUCKOO'S CALLING by Robert Gailbrith and I liked the book, then I would have liked the author. If I found out later it was actually written by J.K. Rowling, I would have thought she was a good writer regardless of what her name is.
I don't blame her for wanting to find out if she was a good writer. Or that she could make it in the publishing world without the use of her real name. People do it all the time.
I know a woman who writes erotica. She's a stay-at-home soccer mom who goes to church every Sunday, assists in her kid's classrooms, and does volunteer work at the old folk's home where her grandmother resides. Do you think for one second she wants people to know she's really a mass producer of triple xxx porn? Okay, tasteful sex-capades. There is a "story" behind her erotica. She's not just writing sex for sex sake.
And although J.K. Rowling is famous for Harry and friends, why should she submit herself to the scrutiny of the public eye when she wants to write something else?
I mean, how do you know if you're "good enough"? And I believe that's all she wanted. Was to find out if she was good enough. Sure she didn't sell many books, most first time authors don't. But she did get some good reviews out of it. So there was something.
When I first published REMEMBERING YOU, it was under my Anne Gallagher name. Everyone was aghast that I, as a writer of sweet Regency romances, could drop the F-bomb (in Italian mind you) so many times. I received one review (that was very good) but it was from a friend, so that was to be expected.
I decided to republish it under Robynne Rand. I now sit with 7 reviews (4 and 5 stars) from people I don't even know. Naturally, I'd like more because I love that story, but hey... the only way to do that is to publish another book and I can't do that right now. Too many other things keep me from writing.
I hope Ms. Rowling tries to write another book. Under another pen name. This time I hope she self-publishes it. Better chance of making it than through a regular publisher. Then she'll really be anonymous. And she'll be able to find out if she's good enough for the masses. And the critics.
Then again, she's the richest woman in the world (next to Oprah) so she can do whatever she wants with her writing. Even though A CUCKOO'S CALLING wasn't selling, as soon as it was revealed she wrote it, the book hit the best-seller list.
So, if you're listening J.K. try it again. This time self-publish. You'll never know who you really are until you do.
Robynne Rand (c) 2013
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