F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

fpdorchak

Write A Review!

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Strength and Protection In Cooperation! (By Deep silence (Mikaël Restoux) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
It’s a Team Effort! (By Deep silence (Mikaël Restoux) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
I don’t like to prod readers into doing this every time I talk about books, but I think doing a blog post about it is okay.

Writing reviews helps authors!

Reviews help get the books out there, and if you really like the work, give a great review, that only helps more (though an argument can be made that even bad reviews gets your work out there: “there’s no such thing as bad press“…). It’s all about word of mouth…passing on information through your own personal network. When you love a movie or book you talk about it, and that’s all we’re doing, here. But in writing this stuff down you preserve it for future and continued use. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

It helps keep authors afloat!

People do read them. I even read them. It’s what can initially get someone to buy a book…and buying books keeps authors in business. Sure, you can pass books on to others, but if you don’t buy books…authors don’t get paid—especially Indie authors who do not get advances.

Now, this next part will sound a bit odd…but, if you like a book and write a great review it can balance out negative reviews. I know, sounds self-serving, but I hadn’t even considered this part of reviews until I read a post by ex-agent on the topic. Buuut…it’s true.

You’re not going to please everyone.

When I read reviews I always compare the ratio of poor reviews to the good ones in anything I’m researching. Bad books notwithstanding (of which your book very well could be but hope it isn’t…), negative reviews are written for different reasons…not just because a book is “bad”…some people are just mean-spirited. Some people are jealous. Some people are the competition and perform less-than-savory practices (some business competitors—I’m not saying authors would or have done this, and I certainly hope they do not—but some business competitors have actually paid people to write negative reviews; Amazon does crack down on this practice whenever discovered). Some people just trash everything…are always looking for ways to beat down another in any way possible…it’s the only feeling of power they feel they have. That’s a sad thing. I’m not even sure most of these people are even aware of their behavior.

And all that said, as authors, we need to avoid responding to such negativity, as Craig Stone discusses, and let the readers handle those negative reviews. So, please resist the temptation to respond to the angry and the negative. Let it go.

But…if you truly enjoy something…write it up! On Amazon, Twitter, Goodreads, et cetera! On your own blog! Just write it up anywhere public! Don’t let the mean-spirited squeaky wheels get all the attention And if you do write up a review, please pass the link my way (see contact info below). If you’d like a copy of the cover to go along with your review, contact me and I’ll send you a file of the cover art. As long as you properly attribute the work and cover art, you can freely send it to anyone and everyone!

It’s hard to get your name out there loud enough in today’s world. It’s even harder for Indie published authors who have even fewer resources and “brand name appeal.” Don’t get advances and promotional budgets. Anything you can do to help your favorite author is a Godsend. Get your friends to write reviews…get them to post blogs, do interviews. Send e-mails! Tweet it up!

Again, thank you all in advance for everything!

Contact me: I may be contacted at fpdorchak at fpdorchak dot com for cover graphics to include on reviews, for interviews, or speaking engagements. Do you have a favorite radio station? Contact them about interviewing me—I’ll give away free books!

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Words. They Affect Us. (fpdorchak.wordpress.com)

Update on WIP: First Comments In!

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Not Out Of The Woods Yet. (By Galatà Maria Grazia [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
Not Out Of The Woods Yet. (By Galatà Maria Grazia [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
I just received my first set of comments in on my WIP, and wow, I am so humbled and honored by this reader’s thoughts—and, well, praise—for the work-in-question! My head’s still spinning! I still have three other’s inputs I’m awaiting, but this first set of comments are quite encouraging!

So, here are some comments from Edie Scott, who has graciously allowed me to reprint her comments and use her name. Edie is a big reader across all genres. After she had finished reading my WIP, I’d sent her some questions to help me assess the whole effort. I’ve included some my questions (the others give away too much of the story, so I left them out of this post) where necessary, and deleted content that would give away too much of the story or is of a more personal note:

Overall: Edie says: “Well, I have to say that this story really was very impacting….”

Question: So, did you think it all “fit” the story?

Answer: Everything fit so well. To use an old cliché, it fit like a glove. There was no getting lost in the “action,” there were no questions and no left over ideas just hanging out there. The story certainly required the reader to “get lost” in the book or they would lose so much of the story line, but this fit…perfect!!!

Question: Wasn’t “too much”? Yes, graphic, but did the scenes “work” for the given story? I was trying to strike a contrast between the mental and the physical. It had to be stark.

Answer: I think if you would have been less graphic the story would have been less intriguing and less grabbing. I honestly felt the story grab me from my current reality into what was truly happening in this guy’s mind. <Deleted material> the book was one I couldn’t put down…the other “scenes” <deleted material> detailing and deepening the storyline….

Question: The ending make sense?

Answer: The ending shocked me to be honest with you and that is why I think it was awesome! I expected the story to just continue how it was <deleted content>. However, the ending you chose almost made me want to stand up and cheer for Benjamin…it actually made me feel happy and excited for him.

Question: Any other comments?

Answer: I saw this question last night and gave it a lot of thought. I’m not one to tell you what you can do better because in all honesty what you do is great. You have gone so out of your comfort zone and so far out of the box with this one and then to have it turn out so intriguingly and mind-bogglingly, what could you possibly do to make it better?

I think you actually are successful with this new path…to me because the broad difference between what you are used to and what this book entails…that should totally boost your confidence to write anything you want! That’s the idea of a great author…a person who can write variety and be brave enough to embark on an entirely different story line…your you…I can never think of any kind of criticism, constructive or otherwise…I just love what you write.

***

Thank you, Edie, for all your support and generous words!

As mentioned, I still have to receive additional comments from three more readers, including my Cover Dude, Lon Kirschner (also keep an eye out for some near-future blog posts, probably starting this Fall, where Lon and I are going to highlight and comment on some of his work, which I love! I’m really looking forward to these posts!), then incorporate them, format them, then will release it to the world. I’m still hoping for a July/August 2015 release!

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The Man With No Name

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Well-Heeled Magic. (By Julien Bertrand (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
Well-Heeled Magic. (By Julien Bertrand (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
The Man With No Name.

Magic Man.

He who sports work boots and flannel.

Mows his lawn at night.

This is a character I’ve written about in two of my novels, Sleepwalkers and Psychic, and a short story, “Tail Gunner.” The Man With No Name (aka “MWNN”) is a character I had the idea for way back. He makes himself known through…well, interesting means, which I don’t exactly want to give away. I have at least one more novel planned for his appearance. It would be in line with the previous two mentioned books. And even then he won’t be finished with by any stretch. My intent was to have him pop up in various pieces of fiction—short stories and novels. A crossover character. I like that idea and it’s quite in keeping with what he does. When I wrote “Tail Gunner” it was cool how he seamlessly incorporated himself into the story (he was the carnival’s Ticket Taker). He got his second name, “Magic Man” when I’d been driving to work one morning and passed by this van with “Magic Man” on its side. It just fit.

Talking about “Tail Gunner”…it still affects me on a creepy level.

Shiver.

Chicken skin.

Every time I go to the gym and walk by that now-hurtful-decible-levels-screaming-music-for-Zumba/whatever room where I first met my tail gunner, I look to that overhead fan. Yesterday (as I originally wrote this post, May 14th) that fan was spinning in an empty room (it isn’t usually spinning in an empty room). My tail gunner must’ve known I was gonna write about this.

Anyway, back to the MWNN. He is perhaps the coolest character I’ve ever written. He gets around…knows stuff…is kinda Forrest Gumpish in a certain way (think “JFK”). And he hearkens back to some of my earliest writing (my fifth manuscript of the 12 in whole or in part in my novel-length repertoire; only five are/will-be published, counting my current WIP). Back to when I was hot and heavy into the dream of getting published. The “halcyon days,” if the term be used. I was literally in the middle of creating all these new manuscripts, one right after the other. I’d finish one…then uninterruptedly start the next one. It was a wildly creative part of my life and I loved it! Now, I’m going over previously created material and publishing the better of them. There is at least one other trunk-manuscript I’d love to rework and publish, my second manuscript, Village Idiot. We’ll see….

But, I digress.

As the MWNN is sometimes wont to do!

So, who is this man with no name?

Though his origins are detailed in Psychic, he’s very much a part of me…or I’m a part of him? He embodies a lot of how I like to think of my perfect self: wears flannel, jeans, and boots. Does what he wants, when he wants…by slightly funky means. Helps others out. Filters out the bullshit. Did I mention he wears flannel? Sometimes a trickster. Always has a sense of humor.

He explores places most people aren’t interested in going…or are afraid to.

He’s bad-ass enough without resorting to weaponry, martial arts, or whammy shots.

And I love that he mows his lawn and weeds his garden at night.

Drinks iced tea. Loves his iced tea.

He is…the best part of me.

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Another Probable Death Vision

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Hello, Again, Reaper. No, Not Yet. (By Jesus david piña (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
Hello, Again, Reaper. No, Not Yet. (By Jesus David Piña [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
Yesterday, while driving back from a trip to Wyoming with a couple of others, I had another vision similar to the one I described about at an intersection in Arizona, in The Grotesquery.

We were switching off with our driving, and at the time I was in the back seat of the vehicle. I was alternately reading and cleaning off my iPad’s tons of emails as I looked out the window. It was a stretch of two-lane road between Riverton and Casper, Wyoming before the Interstate takes over at Casper. As I’m cleaning off e-mails, I suddenly have this image of all of us in a car crash…including an article stating that one of the passengers had been on his iPad. I internally sneered at being “that guy.”

I looked up.

I saw the silver front grill of a white, late-model Ford truck bearing down on us.

We were halfway into the oncoming lane’s traffic.

I heard a shout from one of the two in the front seat.

We jerked back into our lane.

Besides thinking WTF, the next question in my mind was why the hell hadn’t that truck swerved out of our way?

I won’t go into why we had drifted into the on-coming lane’s traffic. The fact that we had…and I’d again had another mental image just before another probable accident…is the point.

If I’m going to continue having these things, I’d really like to have them with a little more room for error, if you know what I mean.

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The Grotesquery (fpdorchak.wordpress.com)

It's Been So Freeing…

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Happy! By KenBerthold (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Happy! By KenBerthold (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
…going Indie!

No longer do I feel like I’m writing “toward” contests and agents and editors…but for readers. Well, as if I ever really did feel that way. Not so much “toward” the aforementioned, but, you know…had to go through them to get to all of you.

I am writing what I want to write and getting it out there.

So, sure, much can be made of the necessity for gatekeepers in the industry to keep things up to a certain standard, and yes, a certain argument can be made for that…but other arguments can also be made for going indie. The big one is that I now have four books out, with a fifth this year…whereas before…I had none.

This bears repeating: I have four books out with good reviews….whereas before I had none.

Am I pulling in revenues hand over fist from these efforts?

No, at least, not yet…but I have four novels whereas before that I had none. And readers are enjoying them. I have added “into the Wild” a handful of efforts that will be new to the readers who have never heard of these stories. Whether or not I rake in millions, I am finally fulfilling the part of me that has always wanted to be a published writer. To the part of me that has always wanted to help the world to look at itself differently. To give a new perspective on life and what may go on in the backgrounds to our lives. To add a little enjoyment to people’s lives. Sometimes I just want to write a story because it’s a cool idea.

So…nothing too deep in this post…just an appreciation for where I am now, in my publishing career…an appreciation for the readers in my life…for all the Mandys and Edies and Wendys and Lons and Pams and Pauls and Marcs and whomever-else-I-missed in my life, whereas before this I would never have met nor known any of you (well, except for Edie! ;-] ). I got into social media only because of my writing…but the friendships (virtual and otherwise) I have created over the past few years has been most enriching. The support for indie publishing has been incredible and surprising. You’ve all been great friends and supporters! Thank you—all of you—for your support!

And to new readers…I hope I’m able to entertain and enlighten and that we’re further able to learn from each other…to spread the joy of reading and writing!

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It’s Been So Freeing…

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Happy! By KenBerthold (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Happy! By KenBerthold (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
…going Indie!

No longer do I feel like I’m writing “toward” contests and agents and editors…but for readers. Well, as if I ever really did feel that way. Not so much “toward” the aforementioned, but, you know…had to go through them to get to all of you.

I am writing what I want to write and getting it out there.

So, sure, much can be made of the necessity for gatekeepers in the industry to keep things up to a certain standard, and yes, a certain argument can be made for that…but other arguments can also be made for going indie. The big one is that I now have four books out, with a fifth this year…whereas before…I had none.

This bears repeating: I have four books out with good reviews….whereas before I had none.

Am I pulling in revenues hand over fist from these efforts?

No, at least, not yet…but I have four novels whereas before that I had none. And readers are enjoying them. I have added “into the Wild” a handful of efforts that will be new to the readers who have never heard of these stories. Whether or not I rake in millions, I am finally fulfilling the part of me that has always wanted to be a published writer. To the part of me that has always wanted to help the world to look at itself differently. To give a new perspective on life and what may go on in the backgrounds to our lives. To add a little enjoyment to people’s lives. Sometimes I just want to write a story because it’s a cool idea.

So…nothing too deep in this post…just an appreciation for where I am now, in my publishing career…an appreciation for the readers in my life…for all the Mandys and Edies and Wendys and Lons and Pams and Pauls and Marcs and whomever-else-I-missed in my life, whereas before this I would never have met nor known any of you (well, except for Edie! ;-] ). I got into social media only because of my writing…but the friendships (virtual and otherwise) I have created over the past few years has been most enriching. The support for indie publishing has been incredible and surprising. You’ve all been great friends and supporters! Thank you—all of you—for your support!

And to new readers…I hope I’m able to entertain and enlighten and that we’re further able to learn from each other…to spread the joy of reading and writing!

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