After that, I read off and on until a few years ago. My tablet and Kindle really pushed that. I started reading just about every day. I was ready books that were mostly free or cheap… and there are a lot of them. I read classics (public domain and free) as well as bargains I could get my hands on.

That was when things changed. Some of the books I read were not terribly good. I tracked one and had noted hundreds of mistakes in grammar, spelling and word usage. And I am NOT an English teacher… sorry, Language Arts. Anyway, the vast majority of those were science fiction and fantasy. There were a few literary fiction/thrillers/action books for good measure.

And then I said something to myself that changed my path…

Hey, self, you ought to write a book. You could do better than at least some of these… and they are selling them.

Lane’s bad idea

So I wrote a book. I wasn’t done, so I wrote another. And I had many of the pieces that had been culled from the first three… so I wrote another. That was the first four.

Number 5 was work. I actually had two other “books” in progress and needed to take a break because they weren’t ready yet, apparently. The real number 5 popped out.

Back to the point…

I started reading mysteries, thrillers, suspense, romance and other genres in order to help me better develop parts of my storylines. I went from enjoying mostly science fiction and fantasy… which is what I wanted to write… to reading and enjoying a much wider selection of genres… because that is what I was able to write.

A comedy, science fiction book is what I really want to write, but I haven’t found the story yet… I’ll keep looking, though.

Amazon uses an algorithm to serve up every product you look at. Books are no different. And at the basis f their algorithm is one central quest… to make a sale. In the case of books, reviews are what make the sales. Not just gushing 5-star reviews, but real, honest reviews from readers that enjoyed the book.

And those are tough to come by. I have a couple hundred sales, some from people that emailed me to tell me that they enjoyed a particular book. And spread across five titles I have… 12 reviews.

And that’s the challenge.

Another aspect of reviews is the access to other promotional venues that they open up. Several of the sites I have used to promote a particular title have a minimum number of reviews required before promoting a book. That means I can’t promote some titles because of a low number of reviews.

It isn’t just me. I belong to several author groups on social media. Everyone that hasn’t crossed the threshold has the same problem. It’s like the crest of a hill. Hit the top, and things get easier. Momentum picks up. The road becomes easier.

In closing… if you have enjoyed a book, especially one by a new or unknown author, take a moment to give an honest review, whether it be somewhere like Goodreads or Amazon. Wherever it may be, the author will thank you.

If you enjoy my blog, feel free to subscribe. There is a little form near the top of the page on the right (on a computer… I’m not sure where it will be on your mobile device). There’s a free ebook in it for you. And if you like my writing, head over to Amazon and grab one. I might suggest Triple Cross, my newest, or Planning Vengeance, which is the entry point ot the Dixon-Prince series. Thank you.

Escape – excerpt 1

Escape – excerpt 2

Escape – excerpt 3

I hope you enjoy the excerpts enough to consider subscribing and downloading the book. The newsletter subscription form is over there to your right just a little…

Thank you.

To make it a little more attractive to sign up for the newsletter, I am offering access to a FREE e-book for those that sign up. It isn’t for sale anywhere.

For my 2020 NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) I wrote a short (for me) novel and decided this would be a great place to utilize it. The book is called “Escape” and is the story of a young woman that is kidnapped and finds a way to escape. Then, six years later, when the kidnapper manages to get out of jail, he comes looking for her again.

Currently there no plans to offer this story anywhere else, so the only way to get it is to sign up for the newsletter. When you do, you’ll be sent a download link for it right away.

And, as always, I’d love your feedback.

• 

• 

• 

• 

FaceBook has always been more attractive to me. I have a vast array of friends on the network. Those I agree with and those I don’t. People I went to high school with, worked with and many others. I’ve been able to use it to get in touch with people I thought long lost from my life.

However, I think it is time for a change. MeWe and Parler are the newer kids on the block.

To be blunt, I am currently not as big of a fan of Parler. It is more “Twitter-like” and in too many ways. I see few voices and fewer diverse views. That doesn’t appeal to me. Many like the echo chamber, but I’m not one of them. Also, Parler currently seems to be of a “one-track mind”. All politics, all the time. That doesn’t work for me.

Some of the people I disagree with politically are people I really like personally. I want to know how their lives are going… see stories about their triumphs. Hear about the things that matter in their lives more than what has happened in DC this week or last.

MeWe is currently doing a better job of attracting my attention. I haven’t dived into a bunch of political groups, and my feed is much more diverse. Jeeps, Writing, Photography. There is a little political talk, but it isn’t overwhelming.

To me, whether I agree with the content or not, the mistake Twitter and FaceBook are making is telling me what I’m allowed to see. I won’t leave… not yet, there are too many people I care about on those networks… but I will not be focusing on them.

I’d love for you to follow me on either or both Parler (@JeepOnRock) or MeWe (LaneBailey)

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•