List of books and upcoming books

Promotion of stories

I do not allow any promotions of anyone's stories in the comments of my stories or on my wall. I will delete the comments and posts once I see them. I barely promote my own stories on my page and only mention them in a comment if someone posts a book review and doesn't include my screen name or name.

I understand new writers want people to read their stories. But doing this without asking the author will irk the author faster than anything.

We all want people to read our stories. But there's ways to get readers without stepping on anyone's toes.

1. Find an eye catching cover. I had to learn how important covers were so people would read my stories. Yeah, I wasn't great at it, and a few people made me covers. I acknowledged them when they did as a thank you.

2. Write something worth reading. Everyone writes crap when they start. It's how we learn. But with time we get better.

3. Make sure you have interesting characters other than what the hell they wear or their hair color. A brief description will suffice. The books that caught my attention didn't have these right off the bat. Example: I'm a female whose average height or petite with brown hair and brown orbs. (Do we have a ghost running amuck? People don't have orbs. They have eyes with irises.) I wear ripped, skinny jeans, a top which is fabulous, and some type of footwear. Okay, that's tells me nothing, and I can't relate to the character.

4. You need a plot. The characters need something to do or achieve. Are they supposed to stand around all day long? Watch the news. You'll get a billion plots that you can write about.

5. You're not original. Sorry to say, but you're not. Everyone has writing about the same things. It's how you write that makes the difference.

6. Add some emotions and humor. A dull character will turn readers away. No humor is also a no go for me. People do laugh in real life. If all a character does is cry, they live a sad, sad life. Nope. I'm outta here.

7. Grammar and spelling. For the love of all good things, do a quick grammar and spelling check on your stories. You're not always going to catch everything because writing isn't perfect. I can deal with a few mistakes. I can't deal with a chapter riddled with them. It drives me nuts trying to keep track of what I'm reading.

You would not believe how many edits I do with my stories before I release them to paperback. The Gray Brothers had over 20 alone if that tells you anything.

8. Format properly. It's okay to put spaces between paragraphs and dialogue. It's even better when the dialogue of two characters aren't in the same paragraph. One long paragraph for a chapter is a big no for me. It gives me a headache.

9. Find out what genere people enjoy reading before suggesting your book to them. This is where people make their mistakes with readers. They send their book to someone without checking to see if that's what they read. I've gotten a low rating because someone chose one of my books to read, and it's not something they usually read. Trust me. I've looked at their reading lists. My books don't fit into their reading preferences. And some are something else with their reviews and comments. Then you got the trolls that will rate a book one star to be spiteful. (Thanks for the negativity. You just got more people to read my stories.)

10. If you follow these tips, and you're still not getting readers then you need to start over. I've pulled stories when I wasn't happy with them and rewrote them. Red's Wolf is a perfect example. Maverick might be on the chopping block next. A few others I had pulled completely and shelved them until I can figure out what to do with them.

In closing, follow the tips and stop promoting your stories on other writer's work or walls. It won't endear you to them.