Category: Bookish Question

Which character would you choose for Book Week fancy dress?

Bookish Question #191 | Which character would you choose for Book Week fancy dress?

Book Week and dressing up wasn’t a thing when I was at school. Even now, it’s not common in New Zealand. I can only remember one instance of my children dressing up for Book Week.

When my son was about eight, her persuaded us to buy him a three-piece suit to wear to a family wedding. He later wore the suit to school for Book Week—he was James Bond. I have to admire his choice.

If I was going to pick a character to dress up for during Book Week—and if money was no object— I’d choose to dress as Caroline Delacroix, heroine of A Gilded Lady by Elizabeth Camden. Caroline is secretary to Ida McKinley, First Lady of the United States, a role that requires a lot of fancy, expensive gowns to attend fancy, expensive functions.

But Caroline’s beautiful dresses were nothing in comparison to the $8,000 gown Ida McKinley wore for the inauguration ball:

Cream satin, embroidered with silver thread, and lavishly embellished with crystals and pearls … the gown was fit for a queen and tailored to perfection.

I couldn’t spent $8,000 on a single gown now, let alone in 1901 or whenever McKinley was President. But I still enjoy looking at pretty things, and we’re talking imagination and fantasy … I wish I’d been able to see the gown or even find a picture.

What about you? Which character would you choose for Book Week fancy dress, and why?

Does an author's online behaviour affect your buying behaviour?

Bookish Question #190 | Does an Author’s Online Behaviour Affect your Buying Behaviour?

We live in the era of “cancel culture”.

Some people try to say it’s new, but it has existed in various forms since before the time of the Pharaohs (for example, Thutmose III tried to literally erase Hatshepsut from history).

I historically knew this concept as boycotting—individuals choosing not to buy products from organisations if they disagreed with the organisation’s business practices. This can be a good thing: if consumers decide not to support organisations that use child labour or slave labour, those organisations might be persuaded to change their practices.

It can also be a practical thing. Vegetarians can choose meat-free alternatives to a steak dinner. People who are lactose-intolerant can choose dairy-free alternatives to cheese and ice cream. That’s consumer choice, not cancel culture. Consumer choice is a feature of a capitalist economy.

As such, it is my consumer choice which businesses I choose to support financially.

And that includes the books I read. There are some authors I don’t read because they write in genres I don’t read. That’s consumer choice, not cancel cultures. There are some authors I don’t read because I just don’t relate to their topics or style of writing. Again, that’s consumer choice. But I will admit that there is a small handful of authors I’ve stopped reading because of something they wrote online—generally about book reviews.

If an author says they want honest book reviews from readers (and most do), then they have to understand that “honest” does not mean “glowing”. Authors, please don’t have an online hissy fit when a reviewer posts a less-than-glowing review. Don’t write a retaliatory blog post explaining why you were right and the reviewer was wrong. Please don’t mock specific reviewers because they didn’t like your book.

Act like an adult. Be professional.

Not everyone will like your books, just like not everyone likes kale or kombucha. Understand that if I (or any other reader) chooses not to buy your books, that’s our free choice as consumers. 

Just make sure that the reason I choose not to read your books is because you’re writing in a genre I tend not to read, not because your writing isn’t up to standard … or because you’re known for being a badly behaved author.

What about you? What affects your buying behaviour? Would you choose not to buy certain books based on the author’s behaviour?

Do you prefer to read small town or big city settings?

Bookish Question #189 | Do you prefer small town or big city settings?

(And is that related to where you live or have lived?)

I spent most of my school years living in small towns. The first had a population of around 5,000 people. I knew everyone at my small primary school. There were only two classrooms when I started, so I knew or knew of all the families in the area with school-aged children.

I enjoyed living in that small town, but there were disadvantages. The high school wasn’t great, so it was probably good that we moved before I reached high school age. Our next home was in an even smaller town, population around 1,500. There was one primary school, and we were all bussed to the next two (population around 10,000) for high school.

I’ve also lived in cities. I lived in Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city, for nine years. I lived in London, England, for ten years. Living in a big city has advantages—more facilities, better jobs— but it also has disadvantages—more traffic, more crime, more expensive.

I’ve also lived (and am still living) in a mid-sized city (population around 100,000). Well, that’s big for new Zealand, but mid-sized for the rest of the world.

I’ve lived in tiny towns and big cities. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

And it’s the same with books. I enjoy small-town series where the characters are linked, and there are common characters across all the stories. I’ve enjoyed stories where the setting is almost another character. But small-town stories can get a little predictable, because there are usually only a limited number of occupations that make sense in a small town.

Big city settings open up a lot more opportunities in terms of careers and therefore characters and plots. I also like novels where the characters have unique careers, and these are usually set in big cities (e.g. Elizabeth Camden and Washington, DC, and Roseanna M White and London). Their characters have ranged from librarians to spies, but all needed the city setting.

I don’t mind whether a novel has a big city or a small town setting.

What is important is that the setting is right for the plot and characters.

What about you? Do you prefer small town or big city settings? Or both?

Which author would you like to invite to dinner?

Bookish Question #188 | Which author would you like to invite to dinner?

Tough question.

I could say one of the writers of the Bible, like Moses or David or Paul or John. But I won’t, because I figure we’ll have time in eternity to debate what Moses really thought about Pharaoh, or what John really saw in that cave in Patmos and would he describe it differently if he knew about modern technology.

I could say any one of many of my favourite Christian authors, alive with us or alive with Jesus. But again, I figure there will be time in eternity to discuss books with booklovers (because surely all authors are also booklovers?).

I could say Arthur Randsome or Enid Blyton or Anne Digby or one of many favourite authors from my childhood.

Or I could say any of the wonderful authors I’ve met at the conferences I’ve attended in New Zealand and Australia (although I actually have had the opportunity to share a meal with many of them).

So how do I choose? Who would I like to invite to dinner?

I’d like to invite the not-yet-published author who doesn’t know if their story is good enough. If their writing is good enough. If they are good enough.

I’d like to encourage them that while we should all pursue excellence in our writing, its not about being good enough. As Christian writers, it’s about about being obedient to God’s call on our writing life. It’s about writing and publishing what he’s called us to. And it’s about being part of a community of writers—Christian or not—to learn from and share with, to receive encouragement from and to encourage.

So that’s who I’d want to invite to dinner: the writer or author who needs a little encouragement.

What about you? Which author would you like to invite for dinner, and why?

What do you like to read about in author newsletters?

Bookish Question #186 | What do you Like to Read About in Author Newsletters?

My favourite author newsletters are ones that are more than just a sales pitch.

What do I like?

I like to know a little bit about the author’s life.

Because I don’t want a day-by-day diary (especially not if their life is as boring as mine), but enough that they are more than a paragraph on the back cover of a novel.

I like something funny.

Because I like authors with a sense of humour who aren’t afraid to show it.

I like short.

Because long newsletters leave me feeling I’d rather be reading one of their novels.

Some of the author newsletters i read have a predictable pattern, which I like. One newsletters has a 3-2-1 pattern—three topics, with three points about the first, two about the second, and one about the last. One  newsletter always ends with a short prayer.

Some authors share favourite books and authors, which I like.

What I like less is when authors promote other authors without having read their books first—I’ve had more than one bad experience in buying a book recommended by an author in their newsletter, and now I’m sceptical.

What I don’t like with author newsletters is receiving them too often.

Yes, it’s fine for authors to send more than one newsletter to announce a new book launch, but some authors seem to ramp up to a newsletter every day when they are launching. That usually has me hitting the unsubscribe button: if I’ve already bought the book, I don’t need to be asked again. If I didn’t buy it the first three times I’m emailed, I’m not likely to buy it the next ten times either.

I like knowing which books my favourite authors are reading and enjoying. I like knowing what they’re working on. And I like knowing a bit about the author’s life and where they live.

What about you? What do you like to read about in author newsletters?

Do you read author newsletters?

Bookish Question #185 | Do You Read Author Newsletters?

Author newsletters are part of the standard marketing package for savvy authors.

They are more reliable than social media, in that authors can be pretty sure the email will end up in the reader’s email inbox.

I’ve signed up to a lot of author newsletters over the years, and unsubscribed from most of them.

I know. That’s not what the authors want.

But I see unsubscribing as doing the author a favour for two reasons:

  1. Most authors have to pay a mailing list provider to send their emails, and the cost usually depends on the number of people they have in their email list. If I’m on their list but never open their emails, I’m actually costing them money.
  2. Open rates can affect email deliverability. If I never open their email, then that could lead to their mailing list provider to start sending their emails to spam or junk. If I’m on their list but never open the emails, I might be affecting their ability to send emails to their genuine fans.

I signed up to a lot of email lists as a result of free promotions i.e. the author gives away a free ebook if you sign up to their email list.

I often sign up as a low-risk way of finding new authors to read.

If I read and enjoy their free book, I’ll usually stay on their email list. If I don’t like the book—or if the author’s emails are too boring, to salesy, or arrive too oftethen I’ll usually unsubscribe.

The newsletters I’m most likely to read tend ot be short and have some personality–they show a little it of the author and their life. They’re not just about selling books. They don’t come too often (weekly or monthly is great. Daily is too often). And they’re not too long.

And on that note, I’ll stop before I go on too long!

What about you? Do you read author newsletters?

Do you participate in online author groups?

Bookish Question #184 | Do you participate in online author groups?

I’m part of several active Facebook groups for authors (as well as a few for readers).

I’m also a member of dozens of Facebook groups for authors which I never visit because they are nothing but havens for post-and-run spammers. I should probably do myself a favour and leave the groups, I forget I’m in the groups because I never see the posts.

Off topic, but that’s one reason (of many) why it’s not a good idea to spam Facebook groups: no one will see the posts, so what is the point?

Anyway, it won’t surprise you to hear my favourite Facebook groups are the ones where the admins keep a tight lid on spam. In fact, “no spam” is a rule in all the groups I’m admin for.

Off topic again: it always amazes me how many so-called writers can’t read group rules that say things like “no links” or “no self-promotion” or “no spam”. Either they can’t read the rules, or they think they’re above the rules. Why else would you spam a group that forbids spam, or post links in a group that says no links?

Several of the writer groups I’m in are member-only groups i.e. only paid members of a specific writing organisation or paid training course can join the group. Those are some of the most useful.

Others are general groups that anyone can join, as long as they agree to the group rules (e.g. no spam).

My favourite groups are:

Australasian Christian Writers

Christian writers (and readers) from Australia, New Zealand, and around the world. An excellent place to ask questions and get advice that’s not US-centric.

Christian Writers Downunder

The first online author group I connected with, thanks to Paula Vince inviting me.

International Christian Fiction Writers

In this group “international” means “not from the USA”, because it’s important to know there is more to Christian fiction than the books published by the major US-based publishers.

SPF Community

A free group by Mark Dawson of Self Publishing Formula. He also has paid groups of those in his paid courses. This isn’t a Christian group so the content is sometimes a little more adult, but Mark is one of only a handful of writer coaches who earns more from writing and publishing than from teaching. As such, he is walking the talk rather than talking the walk.

Association of Christian Writers

Yes, another ACW. This one is a writing group for British Christians, and they allow non-members to join their Facebook group.

Christian Authors and Writers

The biggest group I’m a member of, and which has a lot of new writers and unpublished Christian authors.

Strengths for Writers

Author and Gallup-certified Strengths coach Becca Syme discusses the application of Gallup Strengths for writers … and for life in general). If you’ve every wondered “why do I find it hard to …”, then Becca has the answer.

Each group serves a different purpose.

Some allow me to learn, some allow me to teach, some allow me to connect. All are important.

I’m also a member of many reader groups … but that’s a topic for a different post.

What about you? Do you participate in online author groups?

Have you read more or less books than planned in 2021?

Bookish Question #183 | Have you read more or less books than planned?

We’re halfway through 2021 already (and I’m sure it’s a sign of age that the years are going faster and faster).

It’s been a busy six months, and the last few weeks have been beyond hectic. It’s “the season” at work, which means my three-day-a-week job has morphed into four days in a good week, and six in a less-good week.

As such, I haven’t had as much time for reading as usual. When I do finish work, I find my brain is often so fried that I can’t concentrate on anything longer than an email or blog post. This has definitely affected the number of books I’ve read. I’ve managed to keep on top of my reviewing list (well, I’ve managed to read them. Writing and posting the reviews isn’t going so well).

I volunteered to judge a couple of writing contests, and I’ve managed to get those books read and the scoresheets back to the organisers in good time. It’s a small win, but I’ll take it.

But my reading for pleasure has really fallen by the wayside.

According to Goodreads, I have read:

  • 45 books in total (against a target of 150)
  • 15 books off my to-Read list (against a target of 48)
  • 2 writing books (against a target of 12)

As you can see, I have a way to go … and possibly some books to check off as read. But “the season” will be over soon, and hopefully that means I can go back to a shorter work schedule and more time (and brain space) to read.

How about you? Have you read more books than planned, or are you also playing catch-up?

What's your view on chapter titles in fiction?

Bookish Question #182 | What’s Your View on Chapter Titles in Fiction?

Chapter Titles in Fiction—Love, Loathe, or Ignore?

Most of the books I read are on Kindle, and the Kindle book often defaults to opening at Chapter One. As such, I don’t see the Table of Contents to know whether there are chapter titles or not (although I suspect not).

It’s therefore a surprise when I do see chapter titles.

As it happens, I saw this question on Twitter this week. Most of the respondents seemed to like chapter titles … but they were also authors who used chapter titles. I’m not convinced that was an unbiased sample.

Personally, I’m not a fan.

Why not? Because too often, the chapter titles feel like they are telling me what’s going to be in the next chapter.

Here’s an example (from the Twitter thread I read):

Table of Contents with Chapter Titles that tell the whole story

While there are a couple of clever chapter titles, some are too obvious and “telling” what’s going to happen. It almost looks like a copy of their beat sheet (a tool some writers use in planning their novel). I can see that being useful for authors.

I’m not so sure it’s great for readers.

I can see this being useful in children’s fiction, especially for parents or teachers who are reading aloud to children. Having a “spoiler” chapter title give the reader an idea of what is coming so they can choose to stop reading at an appropriate time.

As an adult, it feels childish. After all, why read the book if I can get the essence of the story by reading the Table of Contents?

I know some authors use chapter titles when writing, both to remind them what they’ve already written and to act as a prompt for what should happen in the next scene or chapter. But they typically get deleted during editing.

It’s hard to come up with good chapter titles. If they’re not needed, why bother? Why not spend that time and creative effort on polishing the writing instead?

Overall, I either ignore chapter titles, or loathe them.

What about you? Are you a fan of chapter titles in fiction?

If so, can you suggest a novel where the chapter titles enhance the story?
Can you be enticed to impulsively buy books?

Bookish Question #181 | Can you be enticed to impulsively buy books?

Can I be enticed to impulsively buy books?

Is this a trick question?

Of course.

Why? Because I’m a reader.

I love reading. I love escaping to a world inside my head, aided and guided by the imagination of a skilled author. I love learning about people and places, and reading fiction is an easy way to learn (which is one of the reasons I dislike fiction that isn’t factually accurate).

The best way to entice me to impulse buy a book or books is to have a sales. Authors rave about those BookBub ads for a reason: because people like me buy the books. It’s hard to pass up a 99 cent book that’s on my wish list!

Another way to get me to buy a book is for the author to write a great book, and for a trusted friend to recommend that book to me. This could be in person, or through a book review.

The final great way to entice me to impulse buy a book is to have a paper copy on sale at a writing conference. I especially like the Omega Writer’s Conference in Australia, where the bookstall has been known to offer to post our purchases for us, so we don’t have to worry about annoying details like weight limits on flights.

But all these enticements only work if I like the look and sound of the book.

This means having an eye-catching cover, an intriguing title, and compelling back cover copy. A killer first line is also a help, especially if I’m flicking through a paper copy. And, of course, the price has to be right. I’m not prepared to pay more than about USD 5.99 for an ebook (and I’m a sucker for 99 cent ebooks), but I will pay NZD 25 to NZD 30 for a paperback … especially if it’s a book I’ve worked on.

What about you? Can you be enticed to impulsively buy books?