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MarkJH6	Author looking for some help	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1 (08/24/08 7:10 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Tags : None Hi everyone, I'm very happy to say that I've recently had my debut novel published and would love to swap thoughts and opinions on what makes a compelling read. Obviously, some of my motivation is market research, but if I don't ask people who are interested in books who can I ask! With this in mind, what do you think attracts a potential reader? Would it be the front cover or is it more likely to be on the strength of the synopsis? Just how important is the cover art and what really determines our decision to invest the time to actually sit down and read a book? As a new author, I feel these questions are very important, so any insights you can give will be greatly appreciated. It may help me not to make the same mistakes if I ever get around to writing another one! For anyone interested you can read more about my book, The Magic Lands, here: http://hometown.aol.co.uk...ey/myhomepage/mywork.html
gpcove		#1	[-]
Posts: 616 (08/24/08 2:59 PM) Registered Member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I don't think you can design a best selling book in the same way you can try to write a best selling pop record (well, maybe formulaic, best selling authors can, but no one else). You should write what you think is worthwhile and enjoyable. Assuming you can then get a publisher to read it and they become interested, they can tell you how to clean it up. Apparently, the average published writer in England makes £8000 a year (maybe $15k-$16k) which is a sideline income rather than a living wage. However, when you factor in the sales from authors who make multi-million pounds per year, the average lower paid writer is probably making more like £5k per year, which is pin money.
jephyork		#2	[-]
Posts: 6068 (08/25/08 1:22 PM) Golden Age Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	what do you think attracts a potential reader? Would it be the front cover or is it more likely to be on the strength of the synopsis? Boobies. -Jeph!
KenHonecker		#3	[-]
Posts: 870 (08/27/08 4:09 AM) Silver Age Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	First off title and cover, that's what catches your eye on the shelf. After that I am more likely to open the book to several different spots and read a paragraph or two then bother with a synopsis, I really don't care so much what a book is about as whether the writing style is one that interests me. A writer new to me has a hard time attracting my dollar but once I like someone I keep coming back. I Left My Soul in the Negative Zone
carabimero		#4	[-]
Posts: 6461 (08/27/08 4:25 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Good writing wins every time over a snazzy cover or anything else, for that matter. I wish you every success with your book and congratulations. Having some experience in the field, my advice is to submit your next work for literary representation. Its always good to have someone else represent you because it gives you more power.
MarkJH6		#5	[-]
Posts: 2 (08/27/08 4:30 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Thanks for the helpful suggestions. If anyone gets a chance to check out the synopsis and the excerpts, I would value some feedback on them.
gpcove		#6	[-]
Posts: 628 (08/27/08 6:27 AM) Registered Member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	What age is the target audience?
MarkJH6		#7	[-]
Posts: 3 (08/27/08 11:25 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I would say the target audience would be around 12 and up, but I'm hoping that some adults who are open to something that is a children's fantasy adventure that explores darker, more complex themes will enjoy it just as much
MarkJH6		#8	[-]
Posts: 4 (09/01/08 11:57 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I thought this review that was just posted on Amazon UK might be of interest. I'm really pleased with it because the reader absolutely 'got' what the novel is meant to be about. 'If ever you've strayed in a dodgy part of town you'll have felt what this novel at times conveys; a sense of anxious dread and paranoid suspicion. Evil doesn't play by the rules or rather it does but the rules are hidden. You're left constantly wondering what lurks beyond the next page and 'The Magic Lands' doesn't disappoint with twsts and turns aplenty. Surreal, beguiling, entrancing, deflating, uplifting and even at times demanding the book reminds you of life itself and I guess that's the point. I'd recommend this for the older teenager and above or a bright younger teenager as the concepts, whilst wrapped in a context akin to a child's story, are altogether adult and belong to a world we know in real life to be decidely grey and occasionally bleak. However there is hope - but again, as in real life, at a cost - and the reader is ultimately rewarded for the journey they take with the two boys and their companions. I'll leave you to discover what that is for yourself but if you like your novels to reach out, grab your brain and go 10 rounds instead of lying passive like the pulp they often are then I highly recommend this book to you. 'The road is cruel and dark, my friend.' '
MarkJH6		#9	[-]
Posts: 5 (09/30/08 2:08 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Just thought that I would post this in the spirit of balance, but I've just had my first really negative review on Amazon USA! After three five star reviews I got a one (count them!!) star review from someone who thought the book was not good at all. Oh well, you can't win 'em all
MarkJH6		#10	[-]
Posts: 5 (09/30/08 2:08 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Just thought that I would post this in the spirit of balance, but I've just had my first really negative review on Amazon USA! After three five star reviews I got a one (count them!!) star review from someone who thought the book was not good at all. Oh well, you can't win 'em all
jephyork		#11	[-]
Posts: 6255 (09/30/08 3:30 PM) Golden Age Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Hey, at least that means they're reading. -Jeph!
MarkJH6		#12	[-]
Posts: 7 (10/06/08 9:28 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	I thought I would let everyone know that my old AOL page with excerpts from The Magic Lands is closing. I have now created a new site that has the first two chapters from my book available to read. You can find it here: http://www.freewebs.com/markhockley/ Please do check it out if you get a chance. Comments are always welcome!
MarkJH6		#13	[-]
Posts: 7 (10/06/08 9:28 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	sorry-double post
gpcove		#14	[-]
Posts: 658 (10/06/08 5:49 PM) Registered Member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	So what sort of comics do you like then? Are you more of an Archives fan or a Masterwork man?
jephyork		#15	[-]
Posts: 6288 (10/06/08 6:20 PM) Golden Age Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Nicely put, gpcove. I was about to post something along those lines, but less tactful... -Jeph!
MarkJH6		#16	[-]
Posts: 9 (10/07/08 5:36 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Well I have a huge X-Men collection. I'm a big fan of the John Byrne stuff in particular. Other than that, the era I'm most fond of comes from the seventies and early eighties, but probably only because that was the time when I was buying comics and reading them seriously. I even worked in a comic store in the eighties. Those were the days
MarkJH6		#17	[-]
Posts: 10 (12/07/08 6:07 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite	Hope you don't mind me sharing this new review from Amazon 'This book is the story of two fourteen year old boys who find themselves transported into a realm of magic and nightmare. Reminiscent of the Chronicles of Narnia, the story quickly turns into a dark tale of nightmare, lust and cruelty as the two boys find themselves locked in a contest against the ultimate evil, with the stakes being not only their lives, but their souls as well. Joining Tom Lewis and Jack Barton as they journey through the contantly changing dreamscape of The Magic Lands is like sitting down with Alice In Wonderland and Rob Zombie to drop some acid. Loaded with iconic imagery, The Magic Lands is a tour de force into a surreal realm dominated by evil and insidious temptation.'

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