HIDDEN PIECES Reviewer Appreciation Giveaway

Have you seen the official book trailer for HIDDEN PIECES?

In order to help get the word out about my latest release, I'm asking people who have read Hidden Pieces to consider posting a short review to the book-buying/review websites they frequent regularly. You can find links to several larger American sites in the sidebar by clicking on the icons on the "Available Now" widget. You can also review on international book-buying websites, as well as library sites, online community sites (Goodreads, Booklikes, YA Books Central, etc), school sites, your own blog or FB/Twitter/Tumblr/YouTube/Instagram, etc.

Because your time is valuable, I've created an early reviewer appreciation giveaway. The first 50 readers (INT) who post an honest review of 50 words or more in three different places and fill out this form will all be mailed 2 signed HIDDEN PIECES bookmarks and a magnet.

Sorry. Terrible pic. Can you tell I posted this in a hurry?

But that's not all. One random winner out of 50 entrants will receive a $25 gift card to Amazon, B&N, your local indie, or an international equivalent. If HIDDEN PIECES gets 50 Amazon reviews by October 1, I will give away a second $25 gift card, so tell your friends who read the book to enter too. Contest ends October1st.

This is not an attempt to score more positive reviews. Any rating (or no rating on sites where that's allowed) will qualify you. Good reviews, critical reviews--I won't even read them unless you're a winner and I have to verify you. Honestly, the worst review is no review at all. Please see below for more info on how I feel about reviews.

This is also not me expecting you to go out and buy my book and read it ASAP. I will do another one of these giveaways in December for people who read the book after it is more widely available in libraries.

My one request: As usual, I made several (over 150) changes to the book between the printing of ARCs and final copies, including editing two scenes to make the identity of the final culprit harder to guess. If you're reviewing the ARC, please note that in your review. Thanks :)

Curious about why I want reviews so badly? Keep reading:

I've blogged about this before (search reviews), but my thoughts have changed over the past couple of books. I don't read reviews much anymore. I will read extremely early ones just to see if people are reading my book the way I'm hoping they will, and I will read most of the ones tweeted at me because I feel like people who tweet reviews at me want me to see them and it seems like the least I can do after someone takes the time to post about my work. Occasionally, I will read other ones, but these days in any given week in addition to working and volunteering, I might be promoting a book, revising 1-2 books, and drafting/outlining 1-2 books. That's a LOT of voices in my head, so I try to minimize the reviewer voices--positive or critical--that get in there too.

But even if authors aren't reading them, reviews can impact the success of a novel in several ways. [Reposted from an earlier blog post.]

1. There's the obvious way, where if a book has a lot of positive reviews, then a prospective reader might be more willing to take a chance on it. Positive reviews have the power to influence readers who are "on the fence."

2. There's the inverse (converse?) where a negative review might prevent someone who wouldn't like the book from picking it up, which is also a good thing. Multiple people wrote negative reviews for Liars, Inc. on Goodreads because it has sex and F-bombs. Some people aren't bothered by those things at all, but I don't want to offend anyone who is and scare them off from checking out my PG-rated books like Girl Against the Universe.

3. Sometimes just the sheer numbers of reviews (say 60 on Amazon vs. 10) is enough to cause a potential buyer to click for more info. The only reason I ever clicked on Susan Ee's Angelfall is because it had a massive number of reviews, and I really enjoyed that book. Volume of reviews can influence casual browsers who might click on "People who bought [Book] also bought [Other Book]" links.

4. Most book-buying websites also have algorithms that cause the more "popular" books to come up more frequently in site "If you like [Book] you might be interested in [Other Book]" features and targeted emails, etc. This placement can be tremendously helpful in getting the word out about a new book to targeted audiences--almost like free advertising. One way a book's "popularity" is measured is by number of reviews.

5. So-so reviews can also sell books. One of the three-star reviews I've seen for GATU was extremely well-written and complimentary--the reviewer mostly felt that book was kind of long. (It is.) If a reader sees that and likes long books, that might be even more persuasive than a 5-star review. Also, everyone knows that not all 3-star reviews are the same. Some reviewers have their reader-meter set to LOVE and three stars means the book let them down. Other reviewers have a "no five star" policy since no books are perfect, and three stars might be a really good review from them.

6. Even one-star reviews can sell books. I will openly admit that when I see a book being obliterated with one-star reviews, my curiosity is piqued and my sympathy-response is activated. I am more likely to read that book. Also, some one-star reviews are more "it's not for me" than "no one should ever read this." One of my Liars, Inc. one-star reviews says this: No matter how I didn't like the plot/decisions of the characters, I will say the writing was exceptional, and the book is a fast read. I love flawed characters and fast reads. That's basically a blurbable quote from someone who "borderline-hated" the book.

So those are my reasons for wanting your reviews. Are you an author? Why do you want reviews? Are you a reader? What is it that makes you write a review for one book and not write one for the next book?

Thanks for considering writing a review for HIDDEN PIECES. Here's the link to the giveaway form again if you need it. And if you plan to read the book later this year, no worries. I'll run another reviewer appreciation giveaway in December, if not before.

2017 Reviewer Appreciation Giveaway

Hi guys :) Happy belated Halloween! You might be too old to trick-or-treat, but you're never too old to head down to the local grocery or drug store to pick up some delicious candy at bargain basement prices :D

This is another Reviewer Appreciation Contest that I'm running to encourage people who have read my books to review them, and to encourage people who might have access to my newer releases but haven't read them yet to give them a try.

One winner will receive a $50 gift card to Amazon, Etsy, or Society 6, or a 50-page manuscript critique. (For more about my critique experience, check out Manuscript Critique Services.) International winner can also choose from $50 in books from The Book Depository or Wordery. You don't have to buy a book to enter. You can review an ARC, or a borrowed/library book. There are also two options to enter w/o reviewing by tweeting/retweeting about the contest and my recent cover reveal. If you choose the critique, you must turn in your pages by April 30, 2018.


Wondering why I'm running a reviewer appreciation giveaway? Here are some reasons why reviews are crucial to authors (repeated from a previous contest):

1. There's the obvious way, where if a book has a lot of positive reviews, then a prospective reader might be more willing to take a chance on it. Positive reviews have the power to influence readers who are "on the fence."

2. There's the inverse (converse?) where a negative review might prevent someone who wouldn't like the book from picking it up, which is also a good thing. Sometimes I’ll read a negative review that says “This book had too much swearing and underage drinking” or “I hated that this book had a love triangle.” Readers are totally justified in not liking those things. However, those things don’t bother me, so those reviews they don’t affect whether I’ll buy a book. Other reviews says stuff like “I hated that the heroine’s pet kitten died a brutal death.” When I read that, I’m less likely to pick up a book, and that’s actually a good thing for everyone involved. Maybe it means that I don’t buy a book I was thinking of buying, but I am much more likely to buy the author’s future books if I haven’t labeled her or him in my brain as a “Violent Kitten Death Author.” 

3. So-so reviews can also sell books. One of the three-star reviews I've seen for GATU was extremely well-written and complimentary--the reviewer's biggest criticism was that book was kind of long. (It is.) If a reader sees that and likes long books, that might be even more persuasive than a 5-star review. Also, everyone knows that not all 3-star reviews are the same. Some reviewers have their reader-meter set to LOVE and three stars means the book let them down. Other reviewers have a "no five star" policy since no books are perfect, and three stars might be a really good review from them.

4. Even one-star reviews can sell books. I will openly admit that when I see a book being obliterated with one-star reviews, my curiosity is piqued. Also, some one-star reviews are more "it's not for me" than "no one should ever read this." One of my Liars, Inc. one-star reviews says this: No matter how I didn't like the plot/decisions of the characters, I will say the writing was exceptional, and the book is a fast read. That's basically a blurbable quote from someone who "borderline-hated" the book.

5. Most book-buying websites also have algorithms that cause the more "popular" books to come up more frequently in site "If you like [Book] you might be interested in [Other Book]" features and targeted emails, etc. This placement can be tremendously helpful in getting the word out about a new book to targeted audiences--almost like free advertising. One way a book's "popularity" is measured is by number of reviews on the site.

6. Sometimes just the sheer numbers of reviews (say 60 on Amazon vs. 10) is enough to cause a potential buyer to click for more info. The only reason I ever clicked on Susan Ee's Angelfall is because it had a massive number of reviews, and I really enjoyed that book. Volume of reviews can influence casual browsers who might click on "People who bought [Book] also bought [Other Book]" links.

7. Reviews can provide helpful feedback to authors. I say "can provide" because a lot of authors don't read their reviews. Even for authors who do, it's often the case that if you read ten reviews, you'll find several different opinions on the same thing, none of which is more "right" than the others. But I find early reviews helpful to see if readers are interpreting the basic themes of my books in the ways I had hoped, and I know plenty of authors who have found reviews valuable from a critique standpoint.

RULES FOR ENTERING:

1. You must have read a book in order to review it.
2. Reviews must be at least 50 words long. Reviews that you have posted in the past also count. No need to edit or update, unless you need more words.
3. You can copy/paste the same review to different sites for multiple entries.
4. You must fill out the Raffecopter below, providing links/identifying info to your reviews by November 30, 2017.
5. This giveaway focuses on my 2017 releases (2 hardcover, 2 paperback) because those are the books I really need to be promoting right now. But if you have reviewed The Art of Lainey or Liars, Inc., know that I am grateful <3

If you want to enter but you don't generally leave reviews because you're not sure what to say or not comfortable sharing your prose publicly, consider just leaving a list of things you liked and/or didn't like about the book. That adds up to 50 words pretty quickly :)


OTHER FINE PRINT STUFF:

The dangers of running a giveaway likes this include that people will plagiarize/write fake reviews to qualify or that people will think I am bribing readers for positive reviews. It's important to me that neither of these things happen. So:

1. If I think your review is fake or plagiarized (meaning that you copied someone else's review, not that you used quotes from the book--that's totally fine), I will disqualify you from consideration without notification.

2. Any honest review of 50+ words qualifies you to win the prize. 5 stars. 1 star. A Goodreads review with no rating if that's how you roll. I probably won't even see your review(s) unless you're the contest winner and I have to click over to verify you, and even then you won't hurt my feelings if you didn't like the book, I swear :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Got questions about the giveaway or about reviews? Put 'em in the comments.

Holiday Reviewer Appreciation Giveaway

Hi guys! Happy December :)

I've talked a lot about why reviews are important. For example here and here. I even wrote specifically about negative reviews here. Tl;dr is that reviews matter for a lot of reasons, but one of the most crucial is they function as free publicity and help sell books. I realize it takes time and effort to leave reviews, which is why I try to do a couple of these contests each year to thank the people who are willing to go that extra step.

For this international giveaway, the winner will have a choice of a $25 B&N gift card, or a signed copy of any of the books you see in this post. (For Ferocious and TIHIH, you'll receive a signed ARC.) You can earn points for reviewing any of my last four novels--Vicarious, Girl Against the Universe, Liars Inc., and The Art of Lainey. You can also earn points just by tweeting or by leaving a comment about how to encourage readers to write reviews.

The dangers of running a giveaway likes this include that people will plagiarize/write fake reviews to qualify or that people will think I am bribing readers for positive reviews. It's important to me that neither of these things happen. So:

1. If I think your review is fake or plagiarized (meaning that you copied someone else's review, not that you used quotes from the book--that's totally fine), I will disqualify you from consideration without notification.

2. Any honest review qualifies you to win. 5 stars. 1 star. A GR review with no rating if that's how you roll. I probably won't even read your reviews unless you're the contest winner.



RULES FOR ENTERING:

1. You must have read a book in order to review it.
2. Your review must be at least 50 words long. (Reviews that you have already posted also count. No need to edit or update, unless you need more words.)
3. Reviews can be written in any language.
4. You can copy/paste the same review to different sites for multiple entries.
5. You must fill out the Raffecopter below.



IDEAS FOR WRITING REVIEWS: 

I know some readers aren't comfortable writing reviews, which is why I kept the length requirement short and included other options to enter the contest. But if you want more entry points, here are some things you could incorporate into reviews that might be more fun for you than just writing them in "book report" formula.

1. Pretend you are an author writing an official blurb for the book jacket. What would you say to the world about this book if you had to condense all your thoughts into one or two sentences?

2. Make your review two lists--the things you liked the best and the things you liked the least about the story.

3. Make your review a mini "editor letter" by commenting separately on the prose, voice, setting, plot, and characters.

4. Pretend you are the book's publicist and it's your job to come up with good comparison titles. End your review by saying "Fans of [these books] and [these movies] will enjoy [book] because [reasons.]"

5. Choose your favorite quotes from the book. Tell how each
affected you and how it connects to the overall story.

Do you have other ideas for "reluctant reviewers"? Share them in the comments :) The Rafflecopter comment question is about how authors can encourage readers to leave more reviews. It's generally unethical to pay reviewers (exceptions being things like Kirkus Indie, etc.), so authors and publishers frequently trade free books in exchange for reviews. That sometimes works well at the publisher level, but the expense of sending books is often too much for individual authors and doesn't always pan out in the form of reviews. I would love to hear any suggestions you guys have on how to score more honest reviews, especially on book-buying websites.

Thanks and happy holidays :) See you in January when I'll be giving away a signed copy of Kristen Simmons's Metaltown!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Questions about the giveaway? Put 'em in the comments :)

VICARIOUS: Reviewer Appreciation Giveaway

Hi guys :D In case you missed it, I revealed the cover for FEROCIOUS as part of the YA Scavenger Hunt. I love love love love it, maybe even more than the cover for VICARIOUS. I honestly can't decide. Check it out in extra-large size:

We're not releasing the official description for the book yet, because it will be hard to do so without spoiling any of the twists in Vicarious, but I'm going to give away a signed ARC to one lucky reader (INT) who has read and reviewed Vicarious online.

Wondering why I'm running a reviewer appreciation giveaway? Here are some reasons why reviews are important to authors:

1. There's the obvious way, where if a book has a lot of positive reviews, then a prospective reader might be more willing to take a chance on it. Positive reviews have the power to influence readers who are "on the fence."

2. There's the inverse (converse?) where a negative review might prevent someone who wouldn't like the book from picking it up, which is also a good thing. Sometimes I’ll read a negative review that says “This book had too much swearing and underage drinking” or “I hated that this book had a love triangle.” Readers are totally justified in not liking those things. However, those things don’t bother me, so those reviews they don’t affect whether I’ll buy a book. Other reviews says stuff like “This book was really slow-paced and took 250 pages to get to the inciting incident” or “I hated that the heroine’s pet kitten died a brutal death.” When I read that, I’m less likely to pick up a book, and that’s actually a good thing for everyone involved. Maybe it means that I don’t buy a book I was thinking of buying, but I am much more likely to buy the author’s future books if I haven’t labeled her or him in my brain as slow-paced or “Violent Kitten Killer Author.” 

3. So-so reviews can also sell books. One of the three-star reviews I've seen for GATU was extremely well-written and complimentary--the reviewer mostly felt that book was kind of long. (It is.) If a reader sees that and likes long books, that might be even more persuasive than a 5-star review. Also, everyone knows that not all 3-star reviews are the same. Some reviewers have their reader-meter set to LOVE and three stars means the book let them down. Other reviewers have a "no five star" policy since no books are perfect, and three stars might be a really good review from them.

4. Even one-star reviews can sell books. I will openly admit that when I see a book being obliterated with one-star reviews, my curiosity is piqued and my sympathy-response is activated. I am more likely to read that book. Also, some one-star reviews are more "it's not for me" than "no one should ever read this." One of my Liars, Inc. one-star reviews says this: No matter how I didn't like the plot/decisions of the characters, I will say the writing was exceptional, and the book is a fast read. I love flawed characters and fast reads. That's basically a blurbable quote from someone who "borderline-hated" the book.

5. Most book-buying websites also have algorithms that cause the more "popular" books to come up more frequently in site "If you like [Book] you might be interested in [Other Book]" features and targeted emails, etc. This placement can be tremendously helpful in getting the word out about a new book to targeted audiences--almost like free advertising. One way a book's "popularity" is measured is by number of reviews.

6. Sometimes just the sheer numbers of reviews (say 60 on Amazon vs. 10) is enough to cause a potential buyer to click for more info. The only reason I ever clicked on Susan Ee'sAngelfall is because it had a massive number of reviews, and I really enjoyed that book. Volume of reviews can influence casual browsers who might click on "People who bought [Book] also bought [Other Book]" links.

RULES FOR ENTERING:

1. You must have read Vicarious in order to enter.
2. Your review must be at least 50 words long. (Reviews that you have already posted also count. No need to edit or update, unless you need more words.)
3. You can copy/paste the same review to different sites for multiple entries.
4. You must fill out the Raffecopter below, providing links/identifying info to your reviews.
5. There are more points for Amz/B&N than GR/your blog because right now those are the places where more reviews will really benefit the book, and also because I'm hoping this giveaway might encourage people who reviewed on their blog/GR to cross-post those reviews to Amz/B&N.

If you want to enter but you don't generally leave reviews because you're not sure what to say or not comfortable sharing your prose publicly, consider leaving a list of things you liked and/or didn't like about the book. That adds up to 50 words pretty quickly :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

OTHER FINE PRINT STUFF:

The dangers of running a giveaway likes this include that people will plagiarize/write fake reviews to qualify or that people will think I am bribing readers for positive reviews. It's important to me that neither of these things happen. So:

1. If I think your review is fake or plagiarized (meaning that you copied someone else's review, not that you used quotes from the book--that's totally fine), I will disqualify you from consideration without notification.

2. Any honest review qualifies you to win the ARC. 5 stars. 1 star. A GR review with no rating if that's how you roll. I probably won't even read your review unless you're the contest winner. And if you didn't like the book and would prefer a $10 gift card to Amazon or Book Depository instead of an ARC, that's fine too.

Got questions about the giveaway or about reviews? Put 'em in the comments.

GATU Early Reviewer Appreciation Giveaway

GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE is finally out in the wild!!

Photo by Canadian blogger Amanda Stav (@bbbblogca)

I am really proud of this book. Not only is it fun and romantic, I think for readers who are dealing with anxiety or fear, it will resonate on a deeper level. Maguire has a great support network and a loving family, but things inside her head are pretty dark. My wish is that reading about Maguire slowly overcoming her issues will bring comfort and hope to people who are currently struggling. And if you're not struggling, then there's that whole fun and romantic part ;) Click here for more info about GATU and to read the first three chapters.

Aila made this and I am still in awe.

In order to help get the word out about Girl Against the Universe, I'm asking people who have read the book to consider posting a short review to the book-buying/review websites they frequent regularly. You can find links to several larger American sites in the sidebar by clicking on the icons on the "Available Now" widget. For your convenience, here are links to Amazon, B&N, and Goodreads. 

Because your time is valuable, I've created an early reviewer appreciation giveaway. The first 40 readers (INT) who post an honest review of 50 words or more in three different places and fill out this form will all be mailed a copy of a limited edition fan art postcard created by Aila from One Way or an Author and a limited edition "Life is risk" sticker created by Ri from Hiver et Cafe. If you've already received Ri's sticker in your Uppercase box, I will send you a different cool sticker made by Silvana from The Book Voyagers. If you don't normally write reviews and 50 words feels like a lot, consider writing a "What I liked/What I didn't like" list format review.

But that's not all. One random winner out of 40 entrants will receive a $10 gift card to Amazon or an international equivalent. This giveaway is mainly geared toward getting some of the 250 people who have rated the book on Goodreads to write or cross-post honest reviews, but anyone who has read the book is welcome to enter. Contest ends June 1st.

Curious about why I want reviews so badly? Keep reading:

I've blogged about this before (see the reviews tag), but my thoughts have changed over the past couple of books. I don't read reviews much anymore. I will read extremely early ones just to see if people are reading my book the way I'm hoping they will and I will read friends' reviews and most of the ones tweeted at me because I feel like those probably won't crush my fragile writer soul ;) Occasionally I will read other ones, but these days I am try to do this full-time writer thing and that means in any given week I might be promoting 1-2 books, revising 1-2 books, drafting 1-2 books, and outlining 1-2 books. That's a LOT of voices in my head, so I try to minimize the reviewer voices--positive or critical--that get in there too.

But even if authors aren't reading them, reviews can impact the success of a novel in several ways.

1. There's the obvious way, where if a book has a lot of positive reviews, then a prospective reader might be more willing to take a chance on it. Positive reviews have the power to influence readers who are "on the fence."

2. There's the inverse (converse?) where a negative review might prevent someone who wouldn't like the book from picking it up, which is also a good thing. Multiple people wrote negative reviews for Liars, Inc. on Goodreads because it has sex and F-bombs. I would love to see those reviews on book-buying websites even though they'll lower my overall rating, because I don't want people who will dislike one of my books to buy it. GATU has neither sex nor F-bombs and I'm not willing to risk losing a potential reader forever to make one sale.

3. Sometimes just the sheer numbers of reviews (say 60 on Amazon vs. 10) is enough to cause a potential buyer to click for more info. The only reason I ever clicked on Susan Ee's Angelfall is because it had a massive number of reviews, and I really enjoyed that book. Volume of reviews can influence casual browsers who might click on "People who bought [Book] also bought [Other Book]" links.

4. Most book-buying websites also have algorithms that cause the more "popular" books to come up more frequently in site "If you like [Book] you might be interested in [Other Book]" features and targeted emails, etc. This placement can be tremendously helpful in getting the word out about a new book to targeted audiences--almost like free advertising. One way a book's "popularity" is measured is by number of reviews.

5. So-so reviews can also sell books. One of the three-star reviews I've seen for GATU was extremely well-written and complimentary--the reviewer mostly felt that book was kind of long. (It is.) If a reader sees that and likes long books, that might be even more persuasive than a 5-star review. Also, everyone knows that not all 3-star reviews are the same. Some reviewers have their reader-meter set to LOVE and three stars means the book let them down. Other reviewers have a "no five star" policy since no books are perfect, and three stars might be a really good review from them.

6. Even one-star reviews can sell books. I will openly admit that when I see a book being obliterated with one-star reviews, my curiosity is piqued and my sympathy-response is activated. I am more likely to read that book. Also, some one-star reviews are more "it's not for me" than "no one should ever read this." One of my Liars, Inc. one-star reviews says this: No matter how I didn't like the plot/decisions of the characters, I will say the writing was exceptional, and the book is a fast read. I love flawed characters and fast reads. That's basically a blurbable quote from someone who "borderline-hated" the book.

Ri's sticker on the left was included in this month's Uppercase Box.
Silvana's design on the right took second place in a contest I ran in April.

So those are my reasons for wanting your reviews. Are you an author? Why do you want reviews? Are you a reader? What is it that makes you write a review for one book and not write one for the next book?

Thanks for considering writing a review for GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE. Here's the link to the giveaway form again if you need it. And if you plan to read the book later this summer, no worries. Like I said, I'm mostly hoping to persuade people to cross-post reviews already written. I don't want anyone rush-reading to qualify for this. I'll run another reviewer appreciation giveaway when the paperback releases if not before.

Reviewer appreciation contest for LIARS, INC.

Hi guys. I'm soooo excited that so many people are reading and enjoying LIARS, INC. Thank you for your support <333

You're not going to see much of me online for the next six weeks because I am completely immersed in edits for both of my 2016 books. First there will be GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE (formerly called BAD LUCK CHARM) from HarperTeen, tentatively in May, and then VICARIOUS from Tor Teen, tentatively in August. GIRL is romantic and funny, but also thought-provoking and poignant. VICARIOUS is dark and mysterious and slightly sci-fi. I actually finished writing VICARIOUS almost two years before I finished GIRL, but it's releasing later, just one more example of how every book's path to publication is different.

If you know me at all, then you know how strongly I believe that reviews are essential to a book and author's success. Here are some basic reasons why:

• More reviews can result in better placement on book-buying websites.
• More reviews can encourage casual shoppers to pause and consider a book.
• Good reviews encourage on-the-fence shoppers/readers to give the book a try.
• Critical reviews can keep people who would not like the book from buying/reading it.

I think some people miss how critical reviews can help. Example: if you were offended by the profanity or sexual situations in LIARS, INC., I want people to read your review and see that. Because readers who don't mind those things won't be dissuaded, and people who do mind those things are much more likely to pick up my "cleaner" books like LAINEY or GIRL if they have not been offended by something else I wrote. Make sense?

And now onto the contest! But just so we're clear:

What this is:

• A way for me to encourage people who have read the book to share their thoughts with others via reviews.
• A way for me to encourage people who have already reviewed the book to cross-post their reviews to additional sites so more potential readers can find them.

What this is not:

• Me trying to bribe readers for good reviews. ANY honest review of the book that is 50+ words will count.
• Me expecting people to buy my book to qualify for a contest. It's in lots of libraries--look!

Hello Maggie Stiefvater and Amy Tintera. I love your books!
Thanks to @FlytoFiction for this image.

Here's how the LIARS, INC. review contest will work. 

In order to enter, you need to be at least 13 years old and have read LIARS, INC. If I think your review is fraudulent or plagiarized, I'll disqualify you.

Then you need to write an honest, preferably non-spoilery review at least 50 words long and post it in at least three places. [Note: If you read an unfinished advanced reader copy, I'd love it if you would mention that in your review, as I made a ton of tweaks to the final book that I think strengthen the story. A summary file of the changes I made is available upon request via email.]

The most helpful places for me are probably book-buying website like Amazon, B&N, Book Depository, etc. but I know not everyone uses those, so feel free to also post your reviews on Goodreads, your blog, your local library website, your local indie bookstore website, a friend's blog, your tumblr, your Instagram, your Youtube channel, the printed or online copy of your school newspaper, etc. I'm flexible. If you put it someplace other people can read it, I'll give you credit.

Fill out this LIARS, INC. Review Contest form before the end of the day on May 15th to be officially entered. US and international participants are welcome. I will choose a winner by May 18th and mail/order your prize by the end of May.

Oh, right, the prize!

One randomly selected winner will win a two-sided black LIARS, INC. T-shirt, a keychain mini-flashlight, 2 magnets, and 2 signed bookmarks, all wrapped up in crime scene tape and packed in an official evidence bag.

Sorry, the Lucky Charms are not included, but as a bonus I'll throw in a YA thriller book of your choice ($18.00 US max price) from The Book Depository. If you enjoyed LIARS, I recommend something like GET EVEN by Gretchen McNeil, DANGEROUS BOYS by Abigail Haas, THE CEMETERY BOYS by Heather Brewer, or I HUNT KILLERS by Barry Lyga. But hey, it's your book--go crazy! Of course you're also welcome to select LIARS, INC. if you don't have a finished copy or THE ART OF LAINEY, which is absolutely thrilling in its own way, because Micah <333

As another bonus, I will send two signed bookmarks and a magnet to the first ten people who fill out the form and give me their mailing address.

As another bonus, I'll send two signed bookmarks and a magnet to another five random people who fill out the form before May 15th and give me their mailing address. So even if you're not first, you can still win some fun swag!

If you don't want swag or you've already won it from me and don't need more, just don't include your mailing address on the form.

Questions? Put them in the comments :)

How to engage your critics (if you must) in a safe and productive way

Here's a thing about me--I hate hurting people's feelings. I hate it even worse than having my own feelings hurt. This isn't because I'm a super speshul snowflake or anything. It's just how I'm wired--overactive conscience, conflict-avoidant, poor ability to deal with guilt. Because of all that, I'll admit it--I struggle to understand people who write mean-spirited book reviews. What I don't struggle to understand, is that they have the right to do so.

If you have a twitter account, you've seen at least fifty tweets from authors and bloggers in the past couple of days saying that the correct response to a negative review is to just keep rolling, brush it off, write more books. They're right, and this is what I do most of the time. However, I have responded to critics on multiple occasions--four that I can remember--and all of those interactions produced positive outcomes where both parties walked away with a greater respect and understanding for each other. So a friend asked me to blog about how I do it, and I thought I'd give a few tips. NOTE: I still believe the best response is usually to shut the review window and write more books, so please do not take this blog post as a recommendation to engage your critics.

Also, I am paraphrasing review quotes and actual correspondence with reviewers out of respect for privacy, but the people I'm talking about are more than free to elaborate in the comments section and share their links.

Tip #1: Utilize a cooling off period.
I recommend at least three days. You might need longer. You need to wait long enough that you've stopped physically shaking. You need to be able to fall asleep at night without obsessing for hours. A writer-friend once pointed out a blog post about book packagers and work-for-hire writing. This blogger had only just discovered the concept and to her it was kind of suspect. "Why would anyone want to develop someone else's ideas?" she wondered. "Don't these writers have their own ideas?" [paraphrased] This article went on to mention my work-for-hire pseudonym by name, like "How does Fiona Paul feel about [this] or [that?]" My immediate response was rage, because all I could see was someone calling me out in a blog post without bothering to try to contact me, and then presuming that I was a lesser writer because I opted to write for a book development company. After I calmed down a little (okay, a lot) I realized the article wasn't accusing me of anything--it was asking questions. I didn't like what it was asking, but they were legitimate questions from someone who wanted to know. And if she wanted to know then other people wanted to know. And people think all kinds of bad things about book packaging, but a lot of them aren't true. So with the blessings of Paper Lantern Lit, I contacted her and offered an interview. I ended up writing a three-part series about WFH in general and my experiences in particular. And even though my books are probably never going to make this blogger's favorites list, she has made my favorites list as an unflinchingly honest voice in a sometimes all-too-fake world. I like to think she feels similarly about me.

Tip #2: Recognize it's not all about you.
Even if a review calls you racist, sexist, homophobic, intolerant, unintelligent, etc., it's not a review of you because this person does not know you. They are often incorrectly attributing your character's words and actions to you. Even if your villain says something reprehensible and ten characters call him/her out on it, some people will still take offense to particular words or actions, and that's their prerogative. I tend to agree with what Stephen King says in On Writing, [paraphrased] that my characters do and say offensive things because that's who they are and I'm merely transcribing their words and thoughts. But many reviewers have "hot button issues" so if you included violence against women, violence against animals, two much swearing, a love triangle, etc., they are going to hate your book on principle. I am not saying you are "right" or that reviewers who hate your book are "wrong." There is no right and wrong. You can write about anything you want, but unless you write about a glass of water sitting on a table, chances are your work is going to offend some people.

Tip #3: Recognize it might not even be about your book.
It might be 100% about your particular writing and story. Or it might be about the ten love triangle books someone read before yours, and yours just happened to be the one that made them snap. It might be because they're sick or currently suffering and your character is being a whiny baby about problems that pale in comparison. It might be because your main character reminds them of a girl who tormented them in high school. It could be a whole lot of things that they may or may not even realize. We don't read books in vacuums.

Tip #4: Figure out why you want to contact them.
Wrong answers:
--To yell at them.
--To tell them they hurt your sensitive feelings.
--To tell them they have gotten a fact, or plot point, or theme wrong.
--To explain to them how they missed your point and clarify the awesomeness that is your book.

Possible right answers:
--To thank them for spending time reading and reviewing your book, IF you mean it.
--To clarify a point, IF they asked for clarification in their review.
--To apologize if they pointed out something that personally offended them, and after careful consideration you agree with them and wish you hadn't written it. I would tread carefully here though, because as I mentioned, it's really hard to write an authentic book without anything that could be construed as offensive. Books are usually about people. People say and think and do offensive things sometimes. Such is life.

Tip #5: Recognize and strive to reduce the perceived power differential.
This one is hard for me because I feel like I'm about as intimidating as Mary Poppins. I'm just one single chick holed up in a tiny apartment cranking out stories on a kitchen table that is actually patio furniture. But bloggers don't intuitively know who's a well-connected, high-powered NYC writer and who's not. Bloggers might not even know that some writers are paid $250 for their first book and others are paid $250,000, even though when you set the books side-by-side you can't necessarily tell the difference. But even though I'm not a super-successful Manhattan hotshot, I'm still an author with books on shelves and access to publicists/industry insiders. And that means seeing a Goodreads response or email from me in an inbox after a negative review could cause some anxiety. [NOTE: Never engage publicly on twitter or in a comment thread--that will always feel aggressive.] I personally strive to treat reviewers as equals. I'm not a better person because I'm an author. I'm not necessarily even a better writer. And in many cases, I'm less informed about the publishing industry. I'm not embarrassed to admit that and I'm grateful to bloggers and reviewers for what they've taught me.

Tip #6: Make sure both parties can potentially benefit from contact.
You don't know until you do it, but if your desire to reach out is all about you needing closure or answers, stop right there. Reviewers aren't spouses or bosses or family members. They don't owe you an explanation for anything. I reached out to a girl who wrote a somewhat scathing review of VENOM, my first work-for-hire book. Among other things, she detailed a lot of anachronisms, specifically with the dialogue and voice. Now some of this was what I was asked to do to make the book accessible (use contractions, etc.) but some of it was just fail on my part. Even though the book had several editors and a Renaissance expert, this reviewer brought up a lot of very solid points we all missed. My thought process went something like "Waaaaah. Poor me... Holy crap this girl is smart...I wonder if she'd be interested in reading the third book before it goes to the printer..." She was. I couldn't afford to pay her, but I sent her the very first ARC, thanked her for being a "delta-reader", and offered to write her a research reference if she ever needed. It turned out to be a win-win-win. A blogger felt heard and respected by an author. A book became better. And this girl is now my friend, supporter, and publishing colleague.

Tip #7: Recognize the potential for harm to your career.
You can do everything "right" in contacting someone and still manage to piss them off. Back when the internet was just a baby, I worked retail and restaurant work and remember my managers saying something like "A happy customer tells an average of 7 people about their experience. An unsatisfied customer tells approximately 23." Dude, I don't know what the updated figures are, but I can imagine. I still do not believe that a single person can "ruin a career" (except, perhaps, for an author ruining their own career) but there is always a risk in confronting someone, so be sure to weigh the potential costs and benefits before proceeding.

Tip #8: Err on the side of being overly polite and non-argumentative.
The first critic I ever contacted was when I was brand new to Goodreads. It was 2011. The sale of VENOM had recently been announced. And sure enough, someone gave me 2 stars before ARCs had even been printed. I didn't know back then GR permitted people to rate books based on how excited you were for their release. I didn't know anything. I had clicked "I accept the terms and conditions" without bothering to read them (we all need to stop doing this.) If I had it to do over this is one contact I would not have made, because frankly it was none of my business if she chose to rate my book without reading it. But back then my neurotic author brain was like "Who is this hater and why is she trying to sabotage my book?" and then "OMG, what if there are pirated copies of some crappy first or second draft floating around?" Either way, this 2-star rating had me panicked. (Naive, yeah, I know.) So I sent her a message like: "Hi. I'm brand new to GR and saw that you rated my debut novel. I was just wondering how you managed to read it so early. Basically I'm hoping there aren't copies of one of my old drafts floating around on the internet." She responded, very kindly, that she was a reader for a foreign publisher who had access to my latest draft. She went on to tell me her feelings about the book, including both positive and negative feedback. She ended by saying that perhaps it was wrong of her to post her rating almost a year in advance and offered to take it down until closer to publication date. I declined this offer and thanked her for responding. And I felt silly for doubting her. And then I got back to work. Can you imagine how differently that would have played out if I had been aggressive or accusatory? I could have burned a bridge with a major foreign publisher for all eternity. [ETA: a good rule of thumb is not to write anything you wouldn't be okay with the whole world reading.]

Tip #9: No answer is an answer.
If you reach out and get no response, let it go. Again, this isn't your spouse--it's a stranger. It's the equivalent of someone who viewed your profile on a dating site and clicked no thanks. You asked for a conversation and they politely declined. Who cares if that's not how you do things. The reviewer doesn't have to play by your rules. Move on, already. Don't you have a dog to walk or some laundry to catch up on or a hobby or maybe another book to write? Live your life, or seek help from a confidante or mental health professional if you can't.

Tip #10: Know when to say no.
There are some people it does not make sense to ever engage. Some reviewers are building a brand, and their review is more about their internet platform than it is about your book. People who DNF'd your book are not going to pick it back up because you tell them to (though they might pick it back up if a friend tells them to, as long as you don't act like a total psychopath first.) Most of your 1-star reviews will come from readers who either hated your plot (too late to tweak that), hated your writing style (I don't recommend changing that for 1 or 10 or even 200 people), or just deemed your book "not for them." Liking or not liking a book has an emotional component to it and even the most logical or impassioned argument in your book's favor isn't going to change someone's mind. When's the last time Fox News or the liberal media, depending on your leanings, changed your mind about something? I rest my case. Save your breath. Save your time and energy for your next book. Or better yet, why not engage with some of the people who wrote good reviews? You know, your FANS. In the end, aren't they the ones who really matter?

Review incentive for THE ART OF LAINEY

Hi peeps! I cannot believe some three years after I started writing THE ART OF LAINEY that it's now hanging out on shelves next to books by people like Maggie Stiefvater. Do you know that I interviewed her when I was an unpublished book reviewer for a review website back in 2010? I used to ask her questions on Verla Kay's blueboards and be so excited when she actually answered. And now my book...next to hers. Holy surreal life!

Is it me or does that copy of Shiver look a little...rumply?

I've posted before about how important reviews are to me--yes, even the not-so-good ones. Because I believe more reviews will give my book a greater chance of success, I've come up with a review incentive. If you read and review THE ART OF LAINEY by June 3rd, and copy/paste your review in at least three places online, you can win an ARC of LIARS, INC, a copy of the e-novella INFINITE REPEAT, or a postcard signed by Lainey, Micah, Bianca, and me. Contest is international with limitations on the e-novella. More info on the contest form.

Micah says he worked hard on these postcards and you should want one.

Now you are probably wondering if you want an ARC of LIARS, INC. I mean, it doesn't even have a cover or flap copy yet. HarperTeen is still approving this stuff in-house, but I can tell you that LIARS is the story of  Max, Preston, and Parvati, who start a business selling lies and alibis to their classmates. Then one day Max sets up an alibi for Preston so he can hook up with a chick in Vegas and it's all good...until Preston never comes home. Did I mention Preston is a US senator's kid? Yeah, the FBI goes after Max and the evidence against him piles up. Max's CIA-wannabe girlfriend, Parvati, tries to help him prove his innocence, with some surprising results. Content info, FYI: there are F-bombs and sexual situations. I think it's a really cool book, but it's quite different from LAINEY. Keep an eye out for a cover reveal in the coming weeks because OMG this cover is going to be ridiculously awesome.

Happy holiday weekend to the U.S. peeps. Happy Sunday to everyone else.

What Reviews Mean to Me

In case you missed it, the lovely people at HarperTeen made The Art of Lainey available on Edelweiss a couple of weeks ago. That doesn’t mean everyone can read it for free, but it does mean if you’re a book blogger, book reviewer, bookseller, or librarian who is a registered Edelweiss user, you can probably access the text of the ARC.

If you are one of those people, and enjoy contemporary YA books, I would love for you to read and review my novel. I am grateful for every single review: the glowing, the critical, and all of those in between. I can’t speak for other authors, but here are a few reasons why reviews are so important to me:

1. Reviews provide helpful feedback. This isn’t the most important reason, but it’s the most obvious. If a lot of reviewers enjoyed the book, that tells me I did something right. If a lot of reviewers despised the book, that tells me that maybe I didn’t execute the story as well as I would have liked. It stings a little bit to read bad reviews, but they inevitably fall into one of two categories—the ones I agree with, which can be helpful in my future writing, and the ones I don’t agree with, which is simply a matter of different strokes for different folks.

True story: my very good friend Christina, who happens to be a book blogger and reviewer, was one of the first people to read The Art of Lainey. “I love it,” she said. “There’s only one thing I didn’t like.” She told me what that one thing was and it turned out to be something my publisher had concerns with too, something I thought I had addressed but maybe not well enough. I thought about Christina’s reaction. I went back to the MS and took a hard look at it. And I made a couple more changes because ultimately I agreed with her. My book is better because my friend had the guts to say “Hey, maybe you want to do this a little differently?” Thank you, C.

By the time you write your review, it might be too late to make changes to the book, but it will never be too late for me to consider your comments and use them to grow and improve as a writer. So please, please, if you know me in real life or online, don’t refrain from posting an honest review of my books because you don’t want to hurt my feelings. My feelings can take it, I care what you think, and also because…


2. Reviews sell books. When I stumble across a book on a website with tons of reviews, my initial thought is “Wow. This is popular. How come I’ve never heard of it?” It doesn’t matter if the average rating is 3.0 or 4.5—I’m immediately curious to find out what I’ve been missing. I don’t usually read indie published books (nothing against them, I just prefer to support the traditional publishing industry because I'm a part of it) but I bought a copy of Susan Ee’s Angelfall** when I saw how many reviews it had.  And I loved it--I’m buying the sequel. I never would have given that book a second glance if it only had 20 reviews—even if all 20 were 5-star ratings. No one expects a book to have only glowing reviews. Your middling or negative comments legitimize the positive reviews, if that makes sense. Also...


3. Reviews sell books to the right people. Sometimes I’ll read a negative review that says “This book had too much swearing and underage drinking” or “I hated that this book had a love triangle.” Readers are totally justified in not liking those things. However, those things don’t bother me, so those reviews they don’t affect whether I’ll buy a book. Other reviews says stuff like “This book was really slow-paced and took 250 pages to get to the inciting incident” or “I hated that the heroine’s pet kitten died a brutal death.” When I read that, I’m less likely to pick up a book, and that’s actually a good thing for everyone involved. Maybe it means that I don’t buy a book I was thinking of buying, but I am much more likely to buy the author’s future books if I haven’t labeled her or him in my brain as slow-paced or “Violent Kitten Killer Author.” 

I’ll be the first to tell you that if you don’t like funny romantic books or movies like Clueless and Easy A, that you probably won’t like The Art of Lainey. Maybe you think that’s me harming my sales, but I am looking at my long-term career, not just maximizing sales on one book. My second contemp, Liars, Inc., is much darker in tone and context, with dead bodies and plot twists galore. I am not sure how much reader overlap I will have between LAINEY and LIARS, and that’s okay. But I would rather not alienate potential LIARS fans  by encouraging them to buy LAINEY if it’s "not for them." So in that way, I see the critical reviews I get for LAINEY as possibly benefiting my overall career. Finally...

4. Reviews motivate me. On those days when I'm banging my head against the wall and wondering if the writing life is really worth it, I sometimes flip through my emails or reviews. When readers say stuff like "I loved this book!" or "this book helped me through a tough time" it reminds me of why the writing life will always be worth it.

**Angelfall is now being published by Amz/Skyscape. My copy was purchased before that sale happened.