…it’s a strange paradox… I see and review plenty of other scribblers’ WURKS in the course of my week…. part of what I do as a small portion of my attempts to ‘give back’ or ‘pay it forward’ as we quill-scrapers say, is to download, once a week, books from other Authors, preferably new writers, and ultimately post reviews if they meet my own opinion of a four-star or five-star rating… 
now here’s the thing… over the five or six years that this ol’ Jurassic’s been involved in the eBook circus and other types of publishing, I’ve seen a whole range of stuff from the Author’s side… it’s quite incredible how much of it falls into a coupla categories, viz… first, there’s the Authors whose WURK is frankly patently amateurish… bad spelling, punctuation, stilted dialogue, plot holes wider than the Grand Canyon, but who rail against criticism/ negative reviews, in the misguided self-opinion that they are the next Lee Child or J.K. Rowling… 
then, astonishingly on the opposite side to that, there are tons of superb writers, excelling in narrative, story-telling, engaging character-development and impeccable WURD-smithing who aver that their own stuff is sub-standard… (lots of yeez Lads and Lassies out there do this—and yeez know who yeez are)… to this latter set, my unsolicited, not-so-‘umble advice is this—if yeez’ve got it, flaunt it!… there’s a WURLD of difference between literary narcissism and being justly proud of yer WURK… I’m not for a nano-second suggesting yeez become Spam-Merchants… that’s always a huge no-no… but there’s NUTHIN wrong with intelligently bringing yer masterpieces to the readership at large… the SOSYAL NETWURKS are there to be used sensibly… forget the what-yeez-had-for-breakfast Instagrams, and the look-at-my-cat-eating-his-nibblies selfies… millions… 
yes, millions of readers are keen to know where to find good reading material… the internet has heightened that focus… just look at Goodreads… Readers Forums online… Discussion Groups on all sorts of literature… get out there and be part of it…
…and here’s me putting my ideas where my mouth is—my wee Jack Calder crime thriller babies are downloadable all over the WURLD and many other places:
THE VIOLIN MAN’S LEGACY
UK amzn.to/1Hp3wbI
US amzn.to/1F4qTbk
Can amzn.to/18w496F
Aus bit.ly/1F4rSbk
VENGEANCE WEARS BLACK
SAVAGE PAYBACK
Canada amzn.to/1yXWRli
Australia bit.ly/1yGJ5ok
…see yeez later… LUV YEEZ!…
ALL MY BLOG POSTS ARE FREE TO SHARE OR RE-BLOG SHOULD YOU SO WISH—BE MY GUEST!
Thank you for all that you do to pay it forward to we wee inkslingers….your musings are worth many a masterpiece.
Oh…and Jack Calder rocks….but I’m getting antsy for number four…could you write faster please?
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..cheeers , m’Lady… number four, KILLER CITY, prob’ly done by end of June :):)
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Your post hits home for me and I see the full range on all my social media. I know I’m desperately afraid to be too “biggety” about my writing. I think it’s fine – I’ve got the spellering part down 😉 – but it isn’t and will never be my bread and butter. I agonize over posting Amazon links, worrying that folks will think – as I sometimes do of others – that I’m cluttering up the Reader with my Ego.
Certainly, having the positive reinforcement of writers I respect and admire would help. I’d be perfectly happy to be “followed” and “liked” or to have the odd “reblog” by a more widely-known writer / author. I think that it’s human nature to go where the “popular” folk are and the presence of a WP celeb can be as much a boost as being “freshly pressed” to a blogger.
It’s very difficult to shine among what is a very bright gathering. I see many bitter posts from competent, talented writers about the lack of interface and support here and it’s a shame. Mind, flooding the reader with those posts is as much a faux pas as too many “look at me” posts, IMHO.
Ultimately, striking the balance and one’s own comfort zone are the biggest factors for newbies and amateurs, methinks. Positive reinforcement of those efforts will always be part of that for this Scribbler.
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…yes, m’Lady, Karin… it’s all about balance really, isn’t it?… the same things you mention as biggest factors for newbies and amateurs holds equally for seasoned writers, I think …:):)
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I can see the attraction of narcissism–it sounds so theatrical and exciting….
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:):):)
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I totally agree, Seumas. First it has to be written and then you have to market it.. How can you market something you yourself don’t have confidence in. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your own work.
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…in all things, balance, m’Lady, Suzanne:)
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-grin- some of us grew up being told that tooting your own horn was a no-no. Cheers from another Jurassic. 🙂
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..in moderation, all things are acceptable in my book (pun intended!) cheers :):):)
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Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
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