A Page from a Book
May 7, 2020 4:55 am Leave your thoughts
One of the Writer’s groups I lurk in often has themes and random requests.
I’m lazy and awkward with advertising the book. I never think my work (art/performance/writing) is good enough. Sometimes it literally feels wrong to promote it, particularly since King of Spades was released late 2017 too. The Darkrose Novels follow an agent who is part of a secret agency (New World Order/Powers that Be/Elites.) Aside from underhanded dealings and taking out people in power for political gain and interests, they have different departments within MDS HQ which create top secret technology. This might not sound like everyone’s thing…but that’s only one facet. Like any series, there are subplots and themes which touch on ethics, relationships, drama, action etc.
I’ve probably mentioned it before but I don’t like it when people ask “What’s your book about?”
Do you have the 3 mins needed for me to give you a gist or just the ten seconds you’ll grant me after you threw the question out there as “small-talk” (Ugh, I know I sound mean.)
My books are not small talk. No one’s are! And explaining 300+ pages to someone either makes their eyes glaze or makes you sound like you’re blowing smoke up your own a$$. So, now I just laugh and answer, “Oh you know the type, a secret agency, cute guy, advanced tech,” and literally (I count sometimes) 2/3’s of the time they will nod and say, “Oh, that’s cool” and then ask what you’re drinking or going to order. So…sharing some of my work is kind of awkward for me sometimes.
Last night I was in bed, finally comfortable and mindlessly scrolling my phone to get my mind off stuff and drifting off; cat picture, recipe, someone’s ugly kid, new movie being released, more police-state measures coming in, SHARE A PAGE FROM A BOOK YOU’VE WRITTEN.
I even looked over at the bookcase nearby which has old copies of King of Spades (with the original cover) and started talking myself into getting out of bed to get one, because why not? But my brain shut down and, the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the morning with my phone still in my hand, (which is gross.) I checked my cute good morning texts from no one and then realised I was still on the page asking for authors to share their writing.
Some people copied and pasted part of their WIP (work in progress,) others took pictures of an actual page from a print copy. I read a few pages from other people and was reminded that there are many subjects and themes people are drawn to writing about – which was very cool. KOS would be something I’d buy and read, it’s what I’d find interesting, but we all come from different lives and experiences, and all 7 billion of us have different preferences and tastes.
The first example of someone’s work was a page about a woman able to “entertain men from beyond the grave.” *cue a sigh I didn’t even know I was making until the end of it* (I’m sorry!) Nope, it didn’t sound like my thing -but- I appreciate storylines, twists, ideas and themes, language, turns of phrase etc. I can even feel satisfied that I’d been taken on an adventure by the end of it. Some people in this day and age where it’s so easy to throw away whatever we remotely dislike and then replace it within 2 seconds, might not even bother reading further. It made me want to just close the window and not bother posting my own page because it may get that reaction from some people – and no one had even said or done anything negative!
It was one of those days. LOL It’s been one of those days for weeks…
I also noticed that more than a few people chose pages rife with typos and/or grammatical errors, some to the point where I was trying to find out if English was their first language. There are some people who translate their original works from their first language and sometimes miss a few errors and it’s understandable.
On that note…
Indie does not mean sub-standard to traditionally published.
It doesn’t mean these books are ‘lesser’ just because someone in an office said it wasn’t the right fit for their publishing empire. There are books which have been made into movies that did not come from a known publishing house. The main difference I have noted is the money and editing processes. You’re given an advanced pay for the book and how many sales it might make. The editing process, (in addition to cover design, marketing etc) is all managed by your publisher. So, it must be a real kick in the face to find an error in your traditionally published book after you were under the impression the company would take care or it to a higher standard you might have found yourself.
The standard Indie authors hold themselves to is defintely a wide spectrum. And that was on display when I read through a few pages on this Writer’s Group thread. I know authors who spend hundreds of dollars getting their manuscript up to a standard they can be proud of and others do not. I appreciate this too. I appreciate the confidence of smashing out a book and making it available ASAP, being confident that you found all the errors prior to print. I like that your art was so awesome and a big achievement that the particulars may have escaped you on that one page.
I have a boo-boo or two in KOS too . Shit happens.
And, if it was like me and KOS, several rounds of edits by myself and others, and a professional over years, and it still had one line where it said “bowel” instead of “bowl” (LOL, yes.) then hey, you tried your best, let it go. I’ve found similar in traditionally published books too, it just happens to be that I tend to see more in the indie world because the market is free and awesome and allows people of all education levels, time constraints, leanings and subjects to have a chance at telling a story.
Here is the random page I posted. It wasn’t until after that I re-read it (first time I’ve read it in years) and started to pick apart sentences and also wished I had taken time and selected a part where Cleo makes a funny…but it is what it is.
This scene takes place in the middle of nowhere at a motel laden with a trap in the way of a smelly sleazy owner with an agenda.
KING OF SPADES.
TLDR:
*I posted a page from King of Spades into a Writer’s Group.
*I learned that a lot of people publish any genre they way.
*Cleo and Trent are awesome.
All content is no copyright infringement intended. All posts are opinion only and are subject to change due to experience, kicking ass and learning how to adult more effectively. If you don’t like it, don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. Elements of original content may be reproduced with expressed permission from Ever Eden.
Tags: Agent Trent Starr, askhole, cleo darkrose, Darkrose novels, editor, genre, illuminati, indie author, king of spades, KOS, new world order, NWO, Powers That Be, PTB, publisher, share, traditionally published, WIP, Work in progress