It probably won’t happen because I don’t use Yahoo mail. Apparently, people with Yahoo mail have had their email addresses “spoofed” by spammers. This is not an uncommon thing in this day and age. It happens a lot to people who a) put their email addresses out there on websites and such regularly, b) it happens to people who have gotten a virus, and c) it happens to people who use those free POP3 mail accounts like Yahoo and Gmail.

A lot of authors, readers, and others on Yahoo groups have had their Yahoo mail accounts send out spam recently. The spam is being sent, not to individual people so much as it’s being sent out to the Yahoo groups. Most groups have rules about spam and will ban you if you do it.

But here’s my problem with that rule: Usually, when something like this occurs, it’s not the fault of the person whose email address was spoofed. It could happen to anyone who has a Yahoo mail account.

Banning the person doesn’t make a lot of sense when it was something they didn’t do on purpose. Groups whose mods and owners get obnoxious and ban these victims show incredible ignorance. I would prefer not to be on a group with someone who doesn’t understand how technology works and uses a situation like this to be mean. Also, if all the groups start banning their members who have been spoofed, pretty soon they won’t have too many members because most of them use Yahoo mail, Gmail, and Hotmail.

The other problem I have with this witch hunt attitude is that I’ve seen mods and owners turn a blind eye to authors who spam and promo outside the rules of the group. Those are their favored authors I suppose, but to me, a rule is a rule. If you are not the owner, you shouldn’t be breaking the rules and allowed to get away with it.

I see a lot of posts that start with “I’m sorry if you feel this is promo but…” and then they promo something. The mods might email the person after and delete the message from the group’s web interface, but those who use email to receive their Yahoo group messages (the majority of us) have already gotten the message and deleting it is closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.

And what about those people who break the rules of one or two promo posts allowed per day? I can’t tell you how many authors I’ve seen break this rule. I have my Spam filter set to put anything from them directly into the Spam folder. It’s rude. And it’s hugely annoying. I don’t want to read five sexy excerpts from the same 20K book every day on 50 loops for weeks on end. I’ve read more than a quarter of it with those excerpts! I understand posting one or two promos on every group that allows promo that day, but c’mon. Some of the stuff I see is just nuts. Those authors aren’t getting more readers, they are growing their list of readers and authors who have them on auto-delete.

Another thing about all this that gets old is the litany of emails from half the group telling each other that the Spam email is a Spam email. C’mon. Give it up. One or two people announcing it is all you need. Do you think we can’t read? That you have to reiterate it over and over? I rather think I have enough brain cells to figure this out without the endless repetition.

Okay, I’m about to step off my ranty little soap box here in a moment, but before I do, I want to encourage those of you who have been banned and/or spoken to in a mean, obnoxious, and unnecessarily harsh manner by a group mod, to NOT FEEL BAD. You are better off out of a group run by someone who is ignorant and arrogant. If they cannot behave professionally and courteously, you don’t need to be there. I don’t care how “popular” they currently are. Popularity can wane and situations like there where someone you thought was sweet turns into a virago are often catalysts to the decline of their popularity.

If you feel I’ve been a little more ranty than usual, you’re probably right. However, I rather think I have more to back my opinion in this than others do. You see, I’m an IT professional and have been for almost 16 years. Companies PAY ME to be a tech and run their network. I have to know how this stuff works.  And yanno, I wouldn’t have been a Network Admin for this long had I not made it a point to know my job and do it well.

So, go ahead and ban me all you mods and group owners who feel free to become obnoxious over the spamming stuff that’s going on with Yahoo mail and Yahoo groups. Go ahead and take me off your groups. I don’t really want to see your meanness and your ignorance anyway. It just makes me disgusted at the state of mankind and humanity. And all of you who have been banned for this spam attack, feel free to email me. I’ll tell you about some groups where the owners and mods are not only educated about this sort of stuff, but who have a hell of a lot more compassion for their fellow man than these mean people do.

Hey, Moderator! Ban Me! is a post from: Lex Valentine

The idea to use a character who has a strong presence in my head didn’t come easily to me. At The Bar, Weylyn is a hero in his own right. No secondary character at all. When I envisioned who he would be years after his story in The Bar, I wrote The Were & Chair where he meets his mate. Again, no secondary status.  Now, in Common Ground, I’m relegating him to the lesser role.

Yet, I can already see that a great deal of Common Ground will be shaped by Weylyn’s unique personality. In a menage a quatre, you’d better have strong personalities to deal with the repercussions of sex outside your bond with your mate. Weylyn and Keir have an open relationship in the sense that they do have sex with other people, just always with their mate along for the ride too. They are a team and when they decide to take on a temporary partner for fun, it’s with the understanding that that person is there for both of them to enjoy.

Slotting such an adventurous couple into a story about Marius Granville seems awkward. Well, it is awkward. Marius is very straight laced. He doesn’t let go of his emotions. He doesn’t do outrageous things. Weylyn is all about the outrageous. When Marius begins to fall for Sair and discovers that to have her he has to become involved with Weylyn and Keir too… well, it’s a big step for Marius to take. He’s been strictly heterosexual up to this point, but now the woman he wants more than anything is asking him to step out of his comfort zone.

Pushing Marius out of his comfort zone wasn’t the difficult part either. I knew Sair could do it. But pushing him into a M/M situation and not having him be squicked out… that was the thing I had problems with. Until I hit upon the idea of bringing Weylyn to this book. If anyone could suck Marius’s cock and not make the vampire feel like he’d lost his masculinity, Weylyn could.

And that is how I happened to bring a strong character, a main character, into a book where he stands in the secondary slot. It’s a very important job I’ve given him and I truly think he is up to it. He’s a special character and holds a piece of my heart because of it. No one can roll with the punches like Weylyn. I hope that when Common Ground comes out, you will see exactly what I mean. It’s my intent that you fall in love with Marius and Sair… and with Weylyn and Keir as well.

Auld Lang Syne is a post from: Lex Valentine

Dedication

For Ross Harrison Koty,
who nearly fell out his bathroom window throwing his boots onto the roof, who put ashy boot prints on his pristine white tile, and who put up with a Disney themed Christmas tree in his bachelor pad… all to make a little girl believe in Santa.

And for the many Tales fans.
Thank you from the depths of my heart.

This freebie is for the people who love this series. It’s not a standalone Christmas story at all. If you haven’t read the other books you’ll have no idea who these characters are. As for the other dedication… he won’t ever read this free story. In fact, I doubt that I will ever speak with him again and that makes me sad. He brought a lot of light into a very dark life. Two very dark lives. But I don’t matter nearly as much as my daughter does. He gave from his heart and made her life better. I wish he still spoke with her so he could share in her excitement as she starts at the Art Institute. He’s an artist too, but with a camera. I’m sure one of the reasons she loves art so much is because he gave her an appreciation of it at a young age.

At any rate, I digress to the personal and that’s not really what this blog is about. So going back to the writing, the tie in is that when you write you sometimes have to draw from the well of your personal emotions and experiences. In this free story, every character assesses Christmas and what it means in their heart. Hence, the title Holiday Hearts.

I created the cover art for this book and I wanted it to be Christmas red but still warm and welcoming with a sense of the Darkworld. I think the fire in the shape of heart reminds us that the main characters are dragon shifters. I know that the cover seems warm to me so I hope that it is for you too.

And so, I drew from the Christmases of my heart to bring you this story and cover. I hope that when it’s up (later tonight or tomorrow) that you will download it and find it to be enjoyable. When you read, you should remember all the people in your life who did something like Ross did. Remember the special something they did to make you believe… and then relive that Christmas from your heart.

Merry Christmas, from my heart to yours.

Christmas in Your Heart is a post from: Lex Valentine

Sunday December 13^th is the special Holiday Edition of Gay Day at my Yahoo Group.  Gay Day is the one day a month when the best authors in GLBT Romance stop by to post excerpts of their new and upcoming releases.

Along with the copy of Melting the Slopes, which I’ll be giving away, the following authors will be stuffing many more stockings by offering giveaways you can enter to win.

Cocked & Fully Loaded/featuring Tengo una Pistola by Bryl Tyne

S.J. Frost will be giving away a print copy of Conquest

Clare London is giving away 2 of her Christmas Shorts

A.J. Llewellyn is giving away a two week membership to Massive Studio to promote his latest book, Bad Cops

Saved by Love’s Blood by Stephani Hecht

Muse’s Vacation by Jaime Samms

Take It Easy by AKM Miles

Lynn Lorenz – will be offering up a Holiday Goodie Bag which will include a print copy of David’s Dilemma

Lex Valentine will be giving away the readers choice of either

Love Me Dead or Fire Season

Jambrea Jo Jones is offering up one copy from her backlist which includes Heart Song & Runaway Man

The following amazing Authors will be popping in and out to post excerpts of their latest books and chat:

Carol Lynne – Poker Night: Different Suits

William Maltese – Love Me Dead & Melting the Slopes

P.A. Brown – L.A. Boneyard

J.P. Bowie – Murder Above Fourth & Bound in Blood

Simone Anderson – Finding Love

Andrew Grey – Love Means…Courage

The day will begin from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST in the Ethan Day Yahoo Group where we’ll be posting excerpts, running contests for free books, and chatting about all the new and upcoming releases from your favorite authors.

From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. CST we’ll be hosting another LIVE Chat which is pretty much a free for all, anything-goes-chat that’ll inevitably have you uttering the phrase, “What the f**k?” : )

Stop by to catch up with your favorite authors and join in all the fun!

May you all have a truly Happy Holiday Season!

Ethan

I will be there with my reindeer horns and jingle bells on! Gonna talk about the contract (which has been offered but isn’t in hand yet) for Where There’s Smoke, my M/M urban fantasy novella that is part of The Phoenix Prophecy series. Hope to see you at the SNOW HO GAY DAY!

A HO HO HO Gay Day is a post from: Lex Valentine

Jennifer Leeland is singlehandedly responsible for the fact that I am published. She goaded me in blog comments until I submitted something. Goaded is perhaps the wrong word. She inflated my ego bigger than the effing Garfield balloon in the Macy’s parade by telling me I was frickin’ brilliant. And I will never, ever let her live it down that she kept saying that to me until I stopped denying it and started wondering if she was maybe just an itty bitty bit right.

This Christmas Jen pulled out all the emotional stops. What she did with The Christmas She Rules reminds me of what I did with Ride the Lightning… create a heroine with a tragic past who uses the lifestyle to both protect and punish herself. While my Emily is submissive, Jen’s Pamela is the ultimate Domme. You’ve seen her in the other books Jen’s written about this community. You’ve wondered what her story would be. Now, Jen’s told it.

The Christmas She Rules gives you a heroine whose strength and expertise will leave you gasping for air. But she is also a heroine whose vulnerabilities begin to appear as a submissive like none she’s ever had before cracks her composure and makes her… feel. If you read The Trust She Yields, The Secret She Keeps, and The Mask She Wears, you know who Pamela is – or think you do – and you will definitely want to read The Christmas She Rules so that you will come away finally knowing who Pamela really is.  You will also come away with the knowledge that Jennifer Leeland is some kinda author. If you don’t believe me read the book. And remember that I said this when you get to the scene where Pamela literally climbs on Christian as he’s hanging from the ceiling. Fuck. Yeah.

The other gem I have for you is one that Jen herself recommended on her blog. Not that I noticed that until tonight. Great minds like the same great things apparently. And this great thing is Josh Lanyon.

The Dickens with Love is written in that spare, but lush style that is so very Josh. His books are cinematic. I can see each scene, hear the characters breathe, smell the scents… Yet, Josh doesn’t waste a single word. Nothing is flowery. Nothing is scenic. Every word counts. And does double duty even. His is a voice you cannot shake and I found myself returning to The Dickens with Love repeatedly after my first read. Yes, you heard me… repeatedly.

I could not get enough of James and Sedge.  And the thin line between sex, relationships, and true love became oh, so much clearer for reading this book. It made me hot. It made me cry. And it wrenched my heart.  I wanted to find love on Christmas Eve when it snows in L.A. I found myself leaving work each night after that first reading, looking for the snow. (Of course, it didn’t snow in the O.C., but I had ice on my windshield one morning. Not that it counts.)

It takes a true master to wring those sorts of emotions from you without laying out the characters’ emotions word by word on the book’s pages.  You understand Sedge’s love so much better not just because of what Josh says but also because of what he doesn’t say.  Only a master wordsmith can convey emotion by what is left to the reader’s imagination.

I am still not done with my Christmas writing or reading. One of my first 2009 Christmas offerings released today, Christmas in Hell. It’s a whopping $1.89 and I hope you will stop by Pink Petal Books and get yourself a copy. A city girl, a cowboy, a wet Christmas Eve and a rickety barn. Sounds like a plan for love. *wink* I still have my M/M Christmas story to finish and then my freebie Antaeus family story.

When I finish my writing, I have the Santa Mug by my friend Patric Michael to read. I’ve saved Patric for last because he has a habit of pulling too much emotion from me. I haven’t read it yet, but I’ve heard the raves of others, and I know Patric. You will LOVE his Christmas book.

So my Christmas rules are… read the good stuff and let the authors make you cry or smile and wring warm fuzzies from you. The best of the season is upon you. Make the most of it with these books.

Christmas Rules is a post from: Lex Valentine

I don’t know how many of you have discovered that the author you’ve been regularly chatting with online is not what he/she tells you they are. I know I’ve found out the truth about a couple of authors who portray themselves as something far from the truth of their lives.  In one case, it meant nothing because I had invested nothing. I just chalked that person up as a liar. In the other case, I felt used. Now, why should I or anyone else feel used or think of these people as liars? It’s the internet. Everyone lies there, or so I’m told, as if that makes lying to people a-okay.  Why would you feel used?

The truth in my world is this: People who talk to you on a regular basis, who interact with you daily on groups and IM and Twitter, are people you begin to develop a relationship with. In any relationship, you should be truthful about yourself or someone’s feelings will get hurt and the relationship thus becomes damaged. If you consider these people your friends, why wouldn’t you tell them the truth? Why would you say you are a man if you are a woman? Why would you say you’re 25 if you are 50? Do you think your fellow authors and your fans won’t love you if you are a 50 year old woman instead of a 25 year old man? Don’t you think that the strength of your writing would hold up with them? If you don’t think your writing is good enough to capture them without you lying about who you are, what does that say about your work and your dedication to the craft?

I use a pen name. That’s not to say that there aren’t people out there who know who I am, where I live, where I work, and what my real name is. There are LOTS of people who know those things about me. And who I am when I talk to you on the loops is who I am if you were talking to me in my living room or the parking lot at Staples. I don’t mind divulging my age. I don’t mind telling you about my latest problems with my kid or my DH. There are some things I hold back, but I would hold those things back from most people anyway.  I am an open and honest individual and I want my fans and readers to know who crafted the characters they love. I want my fellow authors to see me as a forthright, honest, fair-minded person who has no qualms sending out a goodie bag with my return address on it nor any qualms speaking my mind.

Those of you who hide behind lies about who you are inside and who make yourself out to be something you are not just in the hope of getting more sales… I feel sorry for you. I am more inclined to buy books from an author known for his/her ferocious honesty than one who makes up a persona just to sell books.

So yeah. I think that about covers my thought for the day. What are your thoughts on made up personas?

Who Are You? is a post from: Lex Valentine

Someone is a big fan of Lex Valentine. This person loves Lex so much that they apparently bought all three of the Tales books that are out currently. It’s very flattering. Well, it would be if it weren’t for Google Alerts. Google Alerts showed me where this fan posted all three of my books on one of those pirate message boards. This person apparently loves Lex’s books soooo much that they even went to the trouble of copying the review blurbs from each book’s page here at LexValentine.com to ensure that the board members would be interested in the books.

Wow. They must really love me to want to share me with the world like that.

Some of my author pals asked if I pissed. I’m not. I’m incredibly sad. I’m not so stupid that I think we can eradicate the world of thieves and pirates who take money from our pockets by giving away our copyrighted works. I’m just really sad that someone would buy my books and love them so much that they just HAD to give them away to everyone else. This person made doubly sure that people would download those pirated copies by putting up all my glowing reviews.

I’m very sad to say that I don’t think that’s a true fan. I give away lots of copies of my books. More than I should probably. It’s really easy to win one of my contests actually. I never made it difficult. Yet, this person still felt the need to do this.

If too many of my “fans” do this, you may not see any more Lex Valentine books. Know why? It’s because I use the royalties I receive from my books to keep my computer up and running. Without a computer, there are no more books.

More pirates = less royalties = no money to fix computer when it breaks = no books from Lex.

It almost makes me want to just stay at The Bar Story. Almost. I know I have fans that are not like this fan. I know they understand that I live paycheck to paycheck, supporting a family of three and a lot of furbabies. I have a kid in college and a DH with dependency issues. I have health issues. And there is never enough money to go around.

So if you happen to know a fan who gives away my books because the books are so awesome they just can’t help themselves, let that person know that they are bringing about the eventual demise of Lex Valentine. Maybe then they won’t like me so much that they have to copy from my website and distribute my work for free.

Fans or Thieves? is a post from: Lex Valentine

How eager are you to be published? Do you burn to have something accepted? How far will you go to “make it”? There’s been so much out there lately about warning signs from publishers: poor editing, late payments, and other stuff. Sure, it’s a dream come true to get published, but do you want that at any cost? Or are you willing to pay your dues and learn more about the craft, do your homework about the places you submit your work to, and perhaps shelve your dream for just a little while until your work is good enough for a worthy publisher to take?

If any of my words hit home with you today, read these articles and the comments. The pain these authors suffered will not be in vain if you and I and others learn from their mistakes. The last link has advice and info for those who are or have been caught in the crossfire of bad pubs.

If you take away anything from these links and posts, you should take away the knowledge that your desperation to be published is chum for sharks so you’re better off learning patience now and saving your limbs (your manuscripts) from the razor sharp jaws of the unscrupulous.

Karen Knows Best – E-Publisher Does a Runner and Screws Her Authors

EREC – Smokey Moon

EREC – Considering Smoke

Mary Winter – Recovering From Publisher Issues

That bit above was an article type post that I wrote and posted to some Yahoo groups this morning. It was a news-style commentary on what’s been going on in this industry. From a personal perspective, as a relatively new author on the epub scene, my next words to you are not much different.

I went at this “getting pubbed” thing full bore late in August 2008. Yes, only last year. However, no matter how driven I was, I had the patience to be cautious where I subbed my work. I waited an entire 6 months for Cobblestone to give me thumbs up for The Pixie Prince. I wanted to be pubbed, but I was not so desperate for it that I sent my work to places that didn’t strike me as completely on the up and up. If the pub pinged my beware-dar, I steered clear.

I had been encouraged to submit my work to a new epub by some people who were very enthused about them. When I started digging into the stories and articles about them, my beware-dar went off. I read things that told me I would not be comfortable sending them my work. So I didn’t. Had I been desperate to be pubbed I probably would have. But I’d been looking around and listening to authors I knew who were at places like Liquid Silver and Cobblestone and EC. I gave this new epub a wide berth for several reasons and I am glad I did.

I went with Pink Petal Books for a reason too. Mary is a very solid author who has been with a lot of pubs. She has a sound business model, is very ethical, and a hard worker. Yes, PPB is a newer pub, but Mary isn’t cramming it down everyone’s throat in a big media blitz of “Oooh, lookit me! I’m the next big thing!” She has been careful and methodical about her company’s growth. She takes care of her authors, encouraging them and nurturing them. She was just as happy for me that I got that Cobblestone contract as she was to receive Fire Season’s first draft in her email. She cares about the people who trust her enough to send her their babies. THAT is the kind of small pub I don’t mind giving my work to.

Yes, I’m on a mission toward the big houses (Loose ID and Samhain), but I will always give PPB my work too. The owner has earned my respect, loyalty, and friendship. I can count on her and in this industry that is something seemingly harder and harder to find.

Please pass this post and these links to any authors and would be authors you feel would benefit from it.

Learning From Mistakes is a post from: Lex Valentine

As an author, you do yourself a mighty disservice if you get excited to receive a contract and don’t read AND understand what you signed. There are a lot of authors in this industry who have been ripped off and hurt when a publisher closed it’s doors. There are lots of authors hurt every royalty payout day because they signed a contract that gave the publisher the right to basically charge that author for the cost of doing business.

What you know – or rather what you don’t know – about your publisher and their business practices and their contract clauses can hurt you. Maybe not today, but at some time it could. If you get a contract, and you don’t know what those clauses mean, you need to ask someone who does. Not someone at that house, but an independent someone. Find out the truth. Know who and what you are dealing with before you give your baby – your manuscript – into their keeping. Make sure you know how much of that cover price you are entitled to or whether most of it will go to the publisher for things like their credit card fees and shipping costs.

Take a run over here to Mary Winter’s blog where she shows you what kinds of clauses in a contract are huge red flags for an author. This blog post could save you money and heartache. I advise you to read it, bookmark it, and use it as a guide to helping you discover what you should know.

What You Know is a post from: Lex Valentine

Noble is the publisher for my book The Wise Guy. I decided to try for one of the open slots in their Child of the Week series because all of the other authors were multi-pubbed, fairly well known in these circles, and mostly – if not all – were Cobblestone authors too. Those of you who are familiar with me and my work know that I have a submission in at Cobblestone. In fact, it’s been there 164 days I think. Since the 15th of October. I thought this series would be a great opportunity for me since although I had three contracts under my belt at the time I sent in a proposal for The Wise Guy, I had yet to have a release.

Just prior to release day, the seven authors in this series had a little discussion about a big release day promo that included all of the authors. The little discussion got a little heated. Well, maybe not heated but uncomfortable. The upshot was no promo went off with all authors in attendance. Everyone did their own thing and although I showed at one of the events I frankly just kinda felt left out in the cold while other authors who weren’t in the series were showcased as part of this promo. Now, granted, I suppose I could have asked to be included, but I’m the noob here. I don’t always do what I should in part because of ignorance and in part because I don’t want to feel like or be perceived as some arrogant buttinsky.

Anyway, a month later Noble starts these workshops on their Yahoo group. I had my day in the sun talking about making trailers and the power of branding and social media. The following weekend was a workshop on similar stuff… and promo. Now, when someone tells me that in order to do well as an author, I should be spending four hours a day on promo… do you realize how many flies I caught in my open mouth? To begin with, I don’t have four hours a day. I worked a 50 hour week last week and those kinds of weeks aren’t going to go away for the foreseeable future. For another, HELLO! I need to freaking WRITE!

Being told that about promo and making it as an author kinda put my panties in a bunch because yanno, I already have this really big soapbox that I get on regarding people who can’t write very well, are hand held by editors through five rounds of edits, and still end up with a book whose plot is kinda MEH, or those people who go to publishers that don’t really edit. I’m tired of buying books where the best part was the blurb and excerpt I saw on the groups. Because I’ve been burned in this fashion a few times in the past, there are publishers I will not buy from and will not sub to. I buy from them only if they put out something by an author I know delivers. And yeah, I did read those Dear Author posts that had everyone howling. And yeah, I did see some of what Jane from DA posted on Twitter on a Friday night recently. I had already decided that house wasn’t for me long before all the DA stuff came out. Maybe things will change with them and me, but for now I know who I want to sub to and I’m not deviating from that list.

All of that being said, if you believe the four hours a day of promo thing… that means all the stay at home moms are the only authors selling. Which, if I’m being snarky, makes sense in the whole scheme of things whereby I buy these books I see in promo on the groups because they seem like they would be great. I open em and read em, find them to be MEH and weeks later I see em winning awards. Maybe I better put the soapbox away now…

Despite the fact that I cannot promo for four hours every day, I know I can write well. I’ve been told this by people who would know. And I’ve been told this by countless readers on the groups when I have promo’d. Hordes of people have told me how great my excerpts and blurbs are. Most of them were glowing in their enthusiasm for my writing… most of them said they couldn’t wait to buy my books. Yet, according to my royalty statements… they have waited. And here is the crux of my rant.

Lip service. These people paid me lip service on those groups. At least a hundred or more of them… giving me lip service. This is like being fucked in the ass with only the promise of lube (that never materializes) and no damned reacharound either.

I’m an honest person. If I don’t like something or it doesn’t sound like my kind of book, I try to find something positive to say anyway. But that positive thing is NEVER “I can’t wait to buy your book!” when I have no intentions of buying your book.

I’ve become hideously cynical about the groups now. Yeah, I promo. Not a lot and I really don’t think it’s going to make a huge difference. There are people who say, “Oh, you just need to join three dozen group blogs and post to them to get your name out!” Well, I happen to think that isn’t any different than the groups. Yes, I do belong to the Flirty Author Bitches, but that’s not about promo for me. It’s about having a venue to talk about stuff that we got slammed on the groups for talking about. My own group, Tales of the Darkworld, really has no rules because it’s just starting up and we don’t do anything formally yet. And I just think a lot of the group stuff is… lip service.

I just want people to tell me the truth. And if they are interested in my books, I’d like them to show that by purchasing them. But don’t tell me in droves how wonderful I am, and what a big star I’m going to be, and how awesome my excerpts are, and how my stuff is going to the top of your TBB list… when you DON’T MEAN IT. By that I mean, you don’t put your money where your mouth is and buy the book and read it.

I’m sure someone will slam me for this post too. I’m sure they’ll say I’m asking people to buy my books. Yet, isn’t that what promo is? And I’m not asking people to buy my books with this post. I’m asking them to stop lying to me. Stop telling me you’ll buy it when you have no intention of buying it. Stop giving me lip service. I’d rather have your honesty so that my royalty statements aren’t a surprise. If a hundred people hadn’t sworn up and down they were gonna buy my books I wouldn’t have expected to see 50 sales on my statement. When I didn’t see 50 sales, I realized that the stinging sensation I had was my chapped butt cheeks from all the lip service.

Do me and all the other authors out there a favor… stop the lip service. You’ll save yourself some needless typing and you’ll stop getting people’s expectations up for nothing. I just want what I am prepared to give in return… honesty.

Have a happy Easter-Zombie weekend.

Lip Service is a post from: Lex Valentine