Cover Reveal: Gods on the Mountains

Here is the front cover design for my upcoming fantasy book Gods on the Mountains, with a new release date of April 29.

The artwork itself was done by the awesome Mari, who can be found on her Twitter account, as well as her website. I highly suggest checking out her work; it is simply amazing. It was great working with her, and as any author knows, it's fascinating to see how other people interpret your characters. I'd like to thank her for the great work she did on the cover.

10 Least Favorite Screen Characters

I was tagged by my wife to do my Ten Least Favorite Screen Characters (ie., characters from a TV show or movie). Like my wife, I'm going to provide a brief explanation so that if I offend or shock anyone, I can explain my position. I'll tag people on the Twitter post for this.

There are maybe a handful of spoilers throughout this post, but probably not any huge shockers. Just a fair warning.

Topanga (Boy Meets World)

You know what's funny? I like Boy Meets World. It's a fun series, and there are plenty of good episodes that resonate with me as much as an adult as much as they did when I was a kid. But when I watched it again, I found that I could not stand Topanga. Part of the problem is her self-righteousness and pushiness, which never (in my opinion) gets addressed or rebuked sufficiently. The biggest example of this for me was the one Christmas episode where she stays at the Matthews' home, and starts pushing her family's Christmas traditions on them; then, come the end of the episode, it's Cory who has to apologize?! Excuse me? Are we not going to address Topanga's manipulation of a family to which she was a guest?

It didn't help when it became a trope how, every season, Cory and Topanga would break up, become drama llamas for several episodes, then get back together. It made the series annoying for me. Partly this was because I've had friends in real life who have gone through such relationships, where they break up with someone three or four times before they finally break up for good. Partly this was because it just made the story lines so predictable. I didn't care whether or not they got back together, because I already knew they would. It's kinda like when people die in Dragonball Z; I'm not gonna mourn for them, because I know by the end of the story arch they're just going to be resurrected. More importantly, it seemed like a lot of times the break up was a result of either something Topanga did (though Cory was certainly guilty a few times), or because of some shallow reason Topanga had for said break up. Cory's interests in her at some point seemed more like an obsession, and in my opinion he had broken up with girls in previous episodes for less legitimate reasons than he did with Topanga.

In fact, while re-watching the first few seasons, I started wishing that Cory had ended up with Wendy rather than Topanga. One of the few times as an adult I've been tempted to write a fanfic, really...

Bella Swan (Twilight film series)

Granted, I don't like Bella Swan in the book series either, but unlike Edward (whom Robert Pattinson made somewhat more likable...creepy stalking aside), Bella is even more unlikable in the movies. It goes without saying that Kristen Stewart's acting in those films is some of the worst acting I've ever seen in cinema history period. She makes Steven Seagal look like Ian McKellen. Read this line out loud: "Whoa, what is going on?" Congratulations, you just read it with more depth and feeling than Kristen Stewart did. I seriously believe that every scene with her was done in one take. It didn't help that every other actress in that movie did a good job in their respective roles, causing me to repeatedly think, "Okay, why didn't they get the role of Bella?" Say what you want about Anna Kendrick, I think she could have done a better acting job as Bella than Stewart.

But acting aside, the character is just completely unlikable. She goes through the film with a perpetual "Woe is me, my life sucks" persona. I don't like girls who behave that way in real life...why would I want to spend 2+ hours with a fictional main character like that? Her obsession with Edward is equally as mystifying in the films as it was in the books, and her ability to just go from Edward to Jacob made me doubt if she fully understood what romance really was. She seriously ranks among the top least liked characters in literary or film history for me.

Hermione Granger (Harry Potter film series)

Some of you are probably shocked by this choice, since I've talked on Twitter about being a fan of Harry Potter; I also follow JK Rowling on Twitter, and have used her on this blog as an example of how a good author behaves. So let me tell a little story to explain myself...

I saw the first Harry Potter movie as a late teen, and had never before read the books. I thought it was okay as far as movies go, but I just did not like Hermione as a character. Then my wife introduced me to the books, and as I read them, I discovered something amazing...I liked Hermione. No, I loved her. I found, as a character, I could relate to her in so many ways, and she came across as someone I would have loved to hang out with if I'd ever gone to Hogwarts. She actually became one of my favorite characters in the book series.

In the movies, most of what made her enduring was removed, and the bits that made her human were amplified to the point of annoyance. Her initial unattractiveness (frizzy hair, buck teeth, etc.) was removed, and her studiousness was treated more like snobbery than a character perk. A lot of scenes that made me sympathetic to her were changed so that she was more of an unlikable character. For example, the scene where she throws birds at Ron: in the book, she did it because Ron was a jerk to her; in the movie, she does it because she's a jealous twit.

While Emma Watson can be a good actress, her portrayal of Hermione also hurt my opinion of the character. A lot of her lines are delivered in an unnecessarily dramatic fashion, so that even ordering a salad sounds like she's in some great peril. Her rebuking of other characters, treated in the book as her being the sole voice of reason, is in the films treated more like nagging. By the later films, I found myself absentmindedly saying "Shut up, Hermione" whenever she got upset. It also didn't help that Emma Watson acted with her eyebrows - no, I mean it. Look at her in most of the films, and you'll see she lifts her eyebrows at every other syllable in her line. In some scenes it became so prevalent that I would start counting out loud. Miniscule as this may sound, that part became distracting about her character. If you still don't believe me, start a drinking game over it, and watch any of the movies. I promise you'll be wasted thirty minutes in.

Danny (The Shining, 1997 version)

I'm not going to go into a debate over which version of The Shining is closer to the book, better as a film, etc. I can understand where some of the frustrations Stephen King had with Stanley Kubrick's interpretation, and why he might have wanted to see a different take on the story put to film. People are probably divided on this issue, and I know there are valid arguments on both sides.

That being said, I absolutely hated Danny in the 1997 version of The Shining. That nasal, congested voice of his got grating after about ten minutes. I think they were trying to make him a cute kid that would be enduring, but they overdid it. I started rooting for the hotel, I ain't gonna lie.

Olivia Benson (Law & Order: SVU)

I could probably write a whole blog post on all the problems I have with L&O:SVU, but one of them is the character of Olivia Benson; in a way, she represents everything I find wrong with the series.

For one, she has a self-righteousness, so prevalent in a lot of cop shows today, of "I'm always in the right, even when I'm breaking the law, let alone the US Constitution." Her character will violate police codes of ethics, then get upset if the federal government or another department does the same to SVU. Um, hello? Pot calling the kettle black, much? Is the NYPD's Special Victims Unit somehow immune to checks and balances? There was one episode where she and other officers stalk a suspected rapist - who had been acquitted in court of all charges, mind you - and embarrass him at his workplace and in public until he finally confesses of his crime. Look, I'm not minimizing the crime of rape, and rapists should be brought to justice, but that isn't how our legal system is supposed to operate. If someone is found innocent in the court of law, they're declared innocent unless better evidence comes up. When you reach a level of stalking and public embarrassment, you're breaking the law. Yes, police investigators, try doing that in real life - I'm sure Internal Affairs would be very happy to tell you what happens next after the guy you're bothering sues the city.

For another, her character randomly arrests people at first suspicion, and then is shocked - shocked, I tell you - that she has to let them go because they have nothing more than circumstantial evidence. WHOA! No way! Dang! Curse you, "reasonable doubt"! If only we, I dunno, lived in a dictatorship or police state where the slightest bit of evidence could get you executed! In one episode she had a man convicted of rape, and after the man is found guilty he commits suicide. Then, later on in the same episode, she discovers...oops, he was the wrong guy! Yes, that's right, because of her shoddy police work, she arrested, got convicted, and publicly humiliated the wrong man, and was the catalyst for his suicide. Does she show any remorse? Does she show regret that she drove a man to kill himself due to forever being marked by the law as a suspected sex offender? Nope. Of course not. She's a member of SVU, and they're above all moral and legal rebuke and correction. Remember, they're always in the right, even when they're in the wrong.

Finally, Mariska Hargitay is immensely overrated as an actress. She has the Milla Jovovich problem of having perhaps two facial expressions: slightly concerned, confused look; and smug, cocky look. Granted, once in a while she does a regular smile, but that's when we're lucky. I don't mean to continually focus on the actor behind a character rather than the character themselves, but even if they had chosen someone competent to play Benson, I would still hate the character.

Jimmy Sands (Bats)

Bats is a terrible horror movie overall, and one of the things that makes it so bad is it has perhaps one of the biggest examples of a "token black character" that I have ever seen. It's not that Leon (yes that's his full name) is a terrible actor, it's just that the movie doesn't know what to do with him. His purpose is to literally be a black character and say wise cracks every now and then. What's more, about 99% of his lines are ignored by the other characters. You could literally remove almost every scene of him, or line said by him, and you would lose nothing of substance. If someone wanted to teach a group of film students on what a token black character is, Jimmy would be the archetype.

Big Bird (Sesame Street)

 
Like Boy Meets World, I enjoyed watching Sesame Street as a kid. Most of the characters were fun, and are still enduring as an adult. However, the one character I could not stand, even as a little boy, was Big Bird. Most of the characters were portrayed as simple minded in the sense of being naive or child-like in their thinking, but Big Bird took things too far. Sometimes his stupidity just got aggravating to the point where I was amazed the other characters tolerated his antics. Even to this day, when I watch the Christmas Eve special, Big Bird's concern about how Santa gets down the chimney receives no sympathy for me (given Santa's supposedly done it for like, y'know, the past 2000 years with no problems).

I also watched all the Big Bird films as a kid, and every single one made me, at some point, want to smack Big Bird over the head. The only part I enjoyed was a part of Big Bird in China, where Big Bird goes to a restaurant and asks the host to give him and his dog friend the samples from the front window. The host keeps telling him (in Chinese) that the samples are plastic, and hence not edible (something that a regular person would figure out, even without speaking Chinese), but Big Bird keeps demanding they be served. There's a part in that sequence where the guy turns to the camera and gives a look of utter despair for his situation. I remember seeing that as a kid and thinking, "Yeah, man. I feel your pain. I'm with you."

Nathan Algren (The Last Samurai)

Again, I could probably write a whole post on all the problems I had with The Last Samurai, but a large chunk of it is because of Tom Cruise's character. In fact, Nathan Algren is probably a good examination of all the problems of what I have in the vast majority of Tom Cruise's film characters. Perhaps the biggest problem is that Nathan Algren comes across like a bit of Tom Cruise Mary Sue. Given Cruise's egotism, past accusations of editing films behind a director's back to make himself more of a film's focus, as well as the fact that in every role it just seems like Tom Cruise acting like Tom Cruise but under a different name...that charge could probably be valid.

The Mary Sueness of Nathan Algren shows throughout the film. In just six months of training (part of which was spent going through alcohol withdrawal and recovering from a serious wound) he is suddenly a talented samurai warrior, and is even able to take down ninjas. Yeah, OK, Miyamoto Musashi spent his whole life perfecting the craft of swordsmanship, but Tom Cruise can do it in under six months...yeah sure whatever. Then at the end of the movie, he gets shot umpteen times by a Gatling gun, but then appears later in the film perfectly fine; I half expected him to say to the other characters in a John Cleese-ish voice, "I got better!"

Perhaps the biggest offense of all is the fact that Algren kills off a samurai, then said samurai's wife, upon meeting Algren, says he smells like a pig...and then, in literally the very next scene, she's gazing at him with loving concern as he's getting beaten up. By the end of the film, not only will she be in love with him, but her kids (the children of the man Algren killed) will adore him and laugh and play baseball with him. I'm not saying if someone killed my father I would never learn to forgive him, or treat him with human decency...but I can promise you I won't be treating him like my dad after a few months, let alone will my mother be falling in love with him.

So yes, he becomes a great warrior in a short span of time, and everyone loves/fawns/adores him, even those whose family members he's bumped off...Algren totally is a Tom Cruise Mary Sue. And like every Mary Sue, he's unbelievable and unrelatable as a character.

Belle (Once Upon a Time)

I liked Belle in the original Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast. In the ABC TV show Once Upon a Time...not so much. Whereas Belle in the animated film could be strong and independent while still being a likable character, Belle in the TV show is just annoying. Part of it is her bookworm trait seems more like something attached to her character because it was part of the original canon, rather than an actual part of her personality. She also does some amazingly stupid things, like try to trap a monster in a village full of lots of innocent people. The fact they teamed her up as the love interest of my favorite character, Rumpelstiltskin, didn't help matters.

Have you ever had a character you hated so much in a TV show or movie that, when something bad happens to them, you respond with cheers rather than tears? Belle was one of those characters for me. There's an episode where Captain Hook shoots her. Even though she doesn't die, I literally cheered when that happened! That, along with Rumpelstiltskin going ape-crap and Hook getting hit by a car, led me to tell my wife, "This is the greatest episode ever!"

The Entire Cast of Ghost Writer

OK, I'll admit, I'm cheating here; I'm including an ensemble cast rather than an individual person. However, given these kids acted as a bit of a single-minded organization centered around their literary demiurge, I'm including them as one.

I tried watching Ghost Writer as a kid. I really did. I liked the concept, and I've always been a fan of mysteries. However, these kids are rock stupid. No, I'm not being mean. Really. I'm serious. These kids were dumb. I'm sure in real life all these actors are nice, intelligent people, but the characters they played were dumb as bricks. It took them a week to solve a mystery I think the real police - or any real detective - would have resolved in a day. The biggest example to me was the episode where they came across a container with these words, with some of the letters covered up by dirt:

WA**ING
HAZA*DO**
*UBSTANC*

I remember watching this episode as a kid about the same age as the characters, and immediately thinking, "Oh, it says Warning Hazardous Substance." Did the kids in the show get it right away? Nope. They were like, "Wow, we need to record this and figure it out later!" Then when they get back to their headquarters, they were still stumped as they mulled it over. Finally they were like, "Wow, this is so hard! We need to get out the dictionary!" I was literally yelling at the screen and throwing stuff - one of the few times in my life I've ever done that. I just could not believe anyone would be that incapable of figuring out something that was so freakin' simple. And these kids want to be detectives?

God help us all...

Book Teaser - Gods on the Mountain

Below is the book teaser for my upcoming fantasy book "Gods on the Mountain."

"Gods on the Mountain" Update

This post is an update on my fantasy novel Gods on the Mountain. Just a reminder of the plot:

In the mountains of Calambria, the dwarf tribes have disappeared, and merchants have been expelled. Two are assigned to investigate this mystery: Edmund, a human from the Order of Magi, who are gifted with the ability to utilize the elements; and Diane, an elf from the Sisterhood of Dagger Maidens, who excel in close combat. As they attempt to uncover what has happened, they discover betrayal and secrets not only from outside the continent, but from within as well. Soon they uncover a plot with dangers that will go well beyond the mountains.

At the moment, I'm done editing it, and have sent it to some beta readers to receive feedback from them. If anyone would like to volunteer to fill in the last beta reader position, feel free to contact me. The due date is still tentatively set to April 2.

The cover art is being designed by Mari Trini Morales, and should be done by March 22. There should be a cover art reveal soon after that. Mari's website can be found here - I highly suggest checking her out, as she's an amazing artist.

Other bits of information and fun things will be posted on my Twitter account. Follow to find out more, hear the latest updates, or just correspond with me (I don't bite, I promise).

10 Favorite Screen Characters

I got tagged by CL Schneider to do a "10 Favorite Screen Characters" blog hop. Basically, list ten of your favorite characters from a movie or TV show. I'll put the people I tag on the Tweet for this post.

Now let's get down to it...in no particular order...

The Third Doctor (Original Doctor Who series)

"You, sir, are a nitwit!"

Audrey II (Little Shop of Horrors)

"I'm a mean green mother from outer space!"

Doc Holliday (Tombstone)

"I have not yet begun to defile myself."

Number 5 (Short Circuit)

"Your mama was a snowblower!"

Daniel Plainview (There Will Be Blood)

"Did you think your song and dance and superstition would help you, Eli?"

Elsa (Frozen)

"Don't let them in, don't let them see..."

Nabeshin (Excel Saga)

"It's Nabeshin!"

Nekron (Fire and Ice)

"I must admit that until this moment the idea of mating with her filled me with loathing..."

Theoden (Lord of the Rings Trilogy)

"So it begins..."

Crow T. Robot (Mystery Science Theater 3000)

"Kids, today's word is booger!"

Title Reveal

Revealed the title for my fantasy work-in-progress today on Twitter. I included the graphic seen at the top of this post. As you can see, the title is Gods on the Mountain, and is tentatively scheduled to be released on April 2. Admittedly this might change if problems develop, however my followers will be notified, and it might at most be pushed back another month or so.

The original title I suggested on Twitter was "Gods of the Mountain." A lot of people liked it, but others didn't. I appreciated the feedback from the latter group, and tried to get my brain to think of alternate titles. All the ones I thought of were equally disliked by others, or just didn't seem to fit the story. I kept returning to my original idea (which I know is generally a creativity no-no), because it seemed to fit the storyline (which I gave a synopsis of here). Without giving too much away, a major point of the story is the role of three gods: one real, one fake, and one supposed. Likewise, this element takes place around events in the mountains of Calambria, the continent where this story takes place.

Work in Progress Update

I recently finished writing the first draft of my Work in Progress. At the moment it's over 150,000 words, and is currently being edited by my wife - a self-professed "Grammar Nazi" who volunteered for the job. She's hoping to be done with it by this week, after which I'll  go through and double check it myself.

Here is a basic summary of the plot:

In the mountains of Calambria, the dwarf tribes have disappeared, and merchants have been expelled. Two are assigned to investigate this mystery: Edmund, a human from the Order of Magi, who are gifted with the ability to utilize the elements; and Diane, an elf from the Sisterhood of Dagger Maidens, who excel in close combat. As they attempt to uncover what has happened, they discover betrayal and secrets not only from outside the continent, but from within as well. Soon they uncover a plot with dangers that will go well beyond the mountains.

After I get done with the editing, I intend to follow the next guideline:

1. Come up with a title for the dang thing (currently working on this while the editing is going on).
2. Send the polished draft to beta readers for further opinions and changes.
3. Design the cover art for Kindle and print.
4. Publish!

My goal is to publish within the beginning of March.

I hope to discuss and explain this further in future blog posts. Please let me know in the comment section if you have any other questions or comments.

Using a Writer's Journal

"I have about five or six random doodles right here."

Do you use a writer's journal or notebook when you're planning a book or a series? Or even just for random ideas?

I asked this question on Twitter some time ago, and pinned it on my page to see if I could garner some responses. Some people said they just kept everything in their head. Others said that they definitely did, and filled it with various ideas that came to mind. I was originally the former, since I was pretty good at remembering things. Usually I would make a single document with a list of characters, important places, and a synopsis of where my story was going. I didn't start writing until the synopsis was all figured out, though I permitted myself improvisation or adding things to the story as characters and plot elements developed.

Over time, I began to wonder if there would be some benefit in a writer's journal. Finally, I stopped by CVS Pharmacy on the way home from work and bought a $4 pocket journal (because there was no way I was spending $50 on one of Barnes & Nobles' journals). I started jotting down world building ideas, and facts about my current fantasy Work-in-Progress (still unnamed at the time of this writing). I was just collecting ideas, but soon I found that I was enjoying this. I started doodling animals and creatures in my world, and creating maps to help better plan where my characters would go, and what cities or peoples they would encounter. I started sharing them on Twitter, and had people faving, retweeting, and commenting on them. I shared my doodles and notes with my wife, and received feedback from her regarding them.

What I found was my writer's journal became a nice little database to collect ideas that popped in my head or quotes I heard. It also became a pocket sized reference source that I could turn to in my story if I needed to remember a place name or the name of someone important in my world's history. It likewise encouraged me to think more on my world and how it functioned, and what it's history was like. If I had time before work, or I was sitting somewhere bored, I took out my journal and began to jot down any ideas that came to my mind. It got to the point where my journal joined my wallet, keys, and cell phone in the prestigious "I feel naked leaving the house without this" group. It has become a part of my writing which makes it fun and engaging.

Don't worry - I'm in no way saying you aren't a "real writer" unless you use a writer's journal. If you're like some of the people who replied to tweet and you like to just keep things in your head, that's absolutely fine. To paraphrase a Reese's commercial: there's no wrong way to plan your story.

Yes, I write 1-star reviews (and here's why)

I had an interesting experience last week on Twitter, after I shared some links to a 1-star review I had written on Amazon. This led to sharing other 1-star reviews, and soon all the people with whom I was speaking said something to the affect of, "Whoa, dude! I do not want you reading my books!" I think they were half-kidding...but half-kidding also means they were half-serious. Some people on Twitter became downright terrified of me because I had written some 1-star reviews. And not only that, but I had written detailed 1-star reviews, outlining everything I found wrong with the book. People were worried that I would find their book, find every tiny flaw in the style of the Cinema Sins YouTube series, and tear their book apart.

So yes, I confess that sometimes I write 1-star reviews. Now let me expand on that...

Let's first establish that if you read most of my reviews (especially if you've also read the books I've reviewed), I think you'll find I'm actually pretty gracious. When I read a book, even if it's in a genre I'm not particularly fond of (eg., romance), I ask myself this one question: "Is the author doing a good job in their role?" So take the example of the romance author. Are the characters likable? Can I relate to them as people? Do I care what happens to the characters? Is the description understandable? Is the plot interesting rather than tired and cliche? Do I want to finish the story? Even if I don't like the romance genre, if a romance author has fulfilled all this, then they can probably expect at least a 4-star rating from me.

I think part of the problem today is that so many people react with extremes. They didn't like something? Automatic 1-star! They sort of liked something? Automatic 5-stars! No one seems to think, "Alright, even if I didn't like this, it has some merit"; or alternatively, "Alright, I thought this was nice, but there were a few flaws." So, if you receive a 1-star review from me, it's because your book has reached a level where I personally do not believe it is even ready for the market. Which means yes, I really truly do believe your book deserves a single star rating. I try to reserve 1-stars for what I believe would be a complete waste of time for the average reader.

If I do write a 1-star review, do I make it thorough? Yes, I do. However, that's because I don't believe in writing negative reviews that amount to, "This sucks. The End." If I offer someone constructive criticism, I let them know my reasons for said criticism. The best professors I had in college were the ones who could look at my work and say, "You're bad at this. Don't do this as much. You're good at this. Hone in on this.", etc. I try to do that for authors, whether I like their work or don't particularly care for it, because I believe it is only respectful that, if you disagree with someone or believe their work has flaws, you attempt to explain to them why you feel that way.

But this also brings up a much larger problem within the Indie Publishing community, which is review fishing. That is, writing positive reviews in the hopes of getting positive reviews back. One might even lump in here writing positive reviews for friends just to help them out. While this isn't true across the board, some people think they are entitled to highly rated reviews. Keep in mind here that I am not saying if you like someone you shouldn't review their work. If you have a good friend and they wrote a book, go ahead and review it! The problem is when we begin to say, "OK, I'll write a positive review not necessarily because the book itself was good, but to give them a higher rating and make others think it's good." That's where our intentions become flawed.

And on this subject, I have a bit of a horror story...

Several years ago, I played a game entitled The Movies. It was somewhat inspired by The Sims, except here you could make your own movie studio and design your own movies from a collection of pre-made scenes. What was really cool was you could upload your movies to the game designer's website and get other people to watch, rate, and review them. One such person I had met on The Movies forum came to me and asked me to rate his film. I watched it, and I liked it. It wasn't a Kurosawa successor, but I thought it was alright, so I gave it 4-stars. When the guy saw it, he lost his mind! He contacted me on IM, and berated me for not giving him a full 5-stars. He claimed that his film "deserved it" and that I was an a--hole. When I apologized for upsetting him, I received a curt "Whatever" and was blocked.

Obviously this was over a silly computer game, but people can be like this about their written work. Some people go ballistic over negative reviews. Even more saddening is that there have been recorded instances where an author who has received a negative review from another author will gather up his buddies and go spam that other author's books with negative reviews. Yes, you read that right - some people do revenge reviewing. This instills a level of fear in some authors (and I'll admit, this thought has crossed my mind a few times) that if they write negative reviews, people will be out to get them. Perhaps there's even a fear that, if you review one author's work negatively, you may get backlash in the community and become the black sheep.

Brothers and sisters, things ought not to be this way.

When we review, we should review honestly. If you really did like the book, then fine and dandy. If you didn't like the book, you're entitled to your opinion. If you write a positive review just for entitlement, or to keep a good name for yourself, then you're being dishonest to potential readers. If you review one of my books, don't give me 4-stars or 5-stars because you think you're doing me a favor or you think I now owe you something. Give me 5-stars, 4-stars, 3-stars, 2-stars, or 1-star because you think my work deserves that score. Let other readers know if this book is worth their time and money. We should treat all authors equally.

And please, if you get a 4-star review, treat it as a good thing.

Things That Ruin Indie Publishing

When I first stepped into the world of indie publishing, I didn't realize just what kind of world I was stepping into. Thankfully, my experiences have been for the most part positive...but, as with anything a person becomes involved in, the negative aspects soon rear their ugly heads. To open up discussion on this, I thought I would give a simple list of things which either hurt indie publishing or give it a bad name for readers who may be used to more traditional publishing.

I don't claim to be the end all be all expert on indie publishing, so please don't take this blog post as canon or dogmatic pronouncements made ex cathedra. These are simply observations I have made myself, or complaints I've heard from other indie authors. Also keep in mind that I'm not trying to target any one author or person with this entire list; again, these are just general observations made. Yes, some examples will be cited or referred to, but this isn't meant as an attack post.

All that being said...are there any disturbing trends you have noticed? Feel free to leave a comment, and I just might add it to this blog post!

1) Unnecessary high prices.

When you look at most indie novels available for your e-reader, prices can vary from $2 to $5. Many times, authors will put their novels on sale for $0.99, or even let it go free. Keyword here: these are novels I'm talking about. For the amount of length you get to read, this is a pretty good deal, and when compared to books done by major publishers, you see the price is about the same.

Some people, however, will publish a 38-page book for $5...and even higher. It's as if people think they can publish the short story they wrote in high school and get a few bucks from it. I recently came across one indie author who was selling his 52-page novella for $16.95. I am not making that up! People really do pull stunts like this.

Not only is this kind of careless pricing going to hurt potential sales, but it makes readers believe that indie authors are simply out to make a quick dollar. To all authors who are doing this: seriously, please stop it!

2) Abysmal editing.

Typos are everywhere in the printed medium. Even in traditionally published books, there are typos (try reading Twilight and you'll see what I mean). This doesn't mean typos are okay, mind you; typos should be avoided at all costs. However, a few typos here and there might be overlooked by more forgiving readers. You forgot one punctuation on this one page? Is the rest of the book readable? OK, cool, we'll let that one slide; just remember to correct it in a future edition.

However, if an author self-publishes, and doesn't put any effort into editing their work, then the results are tragic. Punctuation mistakes abound, spelling mistakes make reading a chore, and awkward sentence structures rule the day. I've come across books that read like English wasn't the author's first language (and sadly, it was), as well as books that are so incoherent in sentence structure that they seem like the ramblings of a madman.

Readers might expect typos and glaring errors on a blog post, or a fanfiction website, or an internet forum with a "creativity" section, but if they're going to give money for what they expect to be a refined book, they should at least be honored by an author who puts time and effort into making certain that errors are kept to a minimum and the end product is as polished as possible.

3) Terrible cover designs.

For this section, I feel like I could just point people over to the website Lousy Book Covers and be done with it. If you want an example of why making a good cover can be important, then that site is chock full of them. For a lot of people, this is what they think of when they think of indie publishing.

The sad thing is, for many of the novels shown on Lousy Book Covers, I've actually gone to Amazon and read the samples, and have found that...many of them are actually pretty well written. The writing itself isn't half bad. In fact, sometimes it was really good. Unfortunately, when a potential reader comes across the work, they may not get the chance, or gain the interest, to pick up the book and read it, or even take a look at the sample chapter. They'll take a look at the cover, say, "By the gods, that's bad," and move on with life.

I understand that many indie authors (like myself) are working on a shoestring budget, and may be worried about how much they'll have to pay in order to get decent cover art. However, I would highly suggest that, if you invest in one thing for your book, it be this. There are websites where you can find premade or custom made covers, and there are artists out there willing to do work for you at an affordable cost. Some authors have spent $300 on their covers, but others have found decent covers for closer to around $50. Either way, the end result is that your book has a cover that doesn't look like someone's 12-year old dabbled in MS Paint for a few minutes.

An article worth reading on this subject is WillowRaven's post on their blog regarding the difference between cover design and covert art, as well as the difference between custom covers and original covers.

4) Terrible pen names.

A lot of indie authors use pen names, which is absolutely perfectly fine...but most make an effort to make certain the names they use are reasonable. They should, at the very least, sound like real names. So please...don't call your Cat Kicker. And don't call yourself by an internet handle like catkicker9000. That's cute on an internet forum, but not on a book.

And please, please, please, please don't call yourself by a fan version of another author's name. Don't call yourself B.K. Rowling. Don't call yourself George R.R. Tolkien. Again, you might laugh, but some indie authors have actually done just that.

5) Irrational author behavior.

Most well known authors are too busy with their day-to-day lives, or with their promotions and next projects, to bother with every internet critic of theirs. By contrast, many indie authors seem to not only have the time, but the passion, to go on a crusade and destroy anyone who dares suggest their book is terrible. If you want one major example, go and read my post on Norman Boutin, who has become internet infamous for his tirades and antics.

Nobody likes receiving a one-star review on Amazon. Nobody likes hearing someone tear their book apart. Nobody likes hearing words akin to "this sucks." However, that is part of putting your piece of art out onto the market and letting people comment on it. It doesn't matter if you're a classic writer like Dante Alighieri or a famous author like Stephen King...at least one person out there is going to absolutely hate your work. Many indie authors are aware of this, and have found ways to thicken their skin or train themselves to overlook criticism. They are, like Elsa, able to "let it go."

Other indie authors don't do this. They will respond to every single criticism with hostility. They will take the time to rant against negative reviewers on Amazon, or pull stunts like writing revenge reviews against said authors, or using sock puppet accounts to write positive reviews in an effort to "balance out" their score. Some have plotted with their agents or editors to get back at their credits. You're probably laughing, but I wish I was making half this stuff up. If you want some wonderful case studies on the various antics authors will go to in order to silence or blacklist their critics, go and look at the "Authors Behaving Badly" series on Pocketful of Books. What grown people are capable of doing will astound you.

UPDATE - February 18, 2015: Adam Dreece, over on his blog, has written a post on the same topic. It's worth a read.