Isn't it great that technical assistants know what they're talking about (LOL)

For all of you writers out there who travel or might travel internationally, my experience today is a real eye-opener. Read to the end of this post for some interesting info.

I'm going to Australia from the U.S. on Saturday, and know the voltage is different. I looked everywhere to find out if my Dell laptop has universal or worldwide power or needs a converter. In other words, with the right plug adapter will it convert from 110-120v to the Australian 220-240v power?

I spent almost an hour on the net trying to find out at the Dell website. No luck, so I tried to email my question to them. A message popped up saying this sort of email info wasn't available to me and I would have to call. So I called the technical support number, gave them my model number and the express service tag number which supposedly would give me quick service and a quick answer. The tech support rep who was most likely in India pondered the question for a bit, then said, "I really don't have that answer."

I asked if there wasn't a specification for the model that might have the answer. He seemed as though he was on another planet. "Specification?"

"Yeah, you know those techie type of things I would expect a technician to have access to..."

"Oh well, you will have to talk to a field rep. I'll connect you."

Rings followed by an answer. I went through the whole song and dance again, only to be told I wasn't speaking to a field rep. I was speaking to an operator. "Who did you wish to speak to?"

"A field rep."

"May I ask why?"

I explained my problem. She said, "No, you must talk to a technical rep."

"But, that's who transferred me to you. They said I needed a field rep."

Next stop, field rep. Once again the whole story plus once again looking up the Service Tag number on the bottom of the laptop. This time I got smart. I wrote it down. After a bit of back and forth, and for the umpteenth time asking if there were any specifications available, he said, "You must speak to a technical rep for that kind of answer."

I wondered if I might have entered the Twilight Zone or Ground Hog Day. I told him the tenchnical rep referred me to him. "Oh, no. Not that technical rep. I will give you an 800 number for another technical rep." By now about 45 minutes had passed. So I called technical rep #2. You know the drill. He listened, then said, "Let me look up all the features on your laptop."

"Please, I don't need to know the features. I've had it for over a year. I just need to know if it will blow up if I plug it in to an outlet in Australia without a converter. I have converter kits, but they say don't use with a blow dryer, shaver or laptop. Truly, I don't know what they're good for except putting some dollars in the manufacturer's pockets." I was almost out of patience.

He gently said, "Bear with me. I need to go through the features to see if the information you need is one of the features." I listened to elevator music while he read. "I am very sorry, but I do not have the answer. I suggest you go to the store where you bought it and ask them."

A few hours later I was at Best Buy once again explaining the question and my dilemma. The Geek Squad didn't know, but showed me some plugs they use for foreign outlets stating they were self-contained converters. They were not. They were simply plug adapters as the fellow in accessories explained. He showed me a powerful converter kit, good up to 90v output, but suggested I check the back of my power adapter just to make sure.

I figured the computer salesperson could do that on their model but he told me they don't have the power units available to look at. I asked if he could look on a box to see if it was listed. He said the info wouldn't be there.

At long last, I bought a $39.99 high wattage converter kit the salesperson said should work with the laptop. Back home, when I looked at the specs on the back of the power adapter to make sure it was compatible with the converter as he suggested, guess what I saw written on the back? INPUT 110-240v OUTPUT 50-60 Hz.

Hmmm. Sounded suspiciously like the power source actually DID have power that would work in Australia. I quickly logged onto a search engine and typed "What does Input 110-240v mean?" AHA! It means it automatically converts up to 240v and all I need is a plug adapter which I already have. The site added to make sure it also said 50-60 Hz. I was home free.

Tomorrow I will return the $39.99 converter kit and as for all of those lost hours, well...it was a learning curve. Something to use in a story one of these days.

The moral of the story -- The voltage capability is in the power adapter, so if you are traveling abroad and have a question look at the writing on the back of the power adapter. Maybe someday someone will tell the technical support and sales people about that.

Miffed in Marina Del Rey

About mispronounced words

.Sometimes there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to the way certain words are pronounced. Because of that, when listening to an audio book, it isn't unusual to hear cities, streets, places, descriptive words pronounced wrong. It happens in some really wonderful books. Because I listen to lots of audio books while driving between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I might be more aware of it. Books recorded by powerhouse publishers are no exception, by the way.

I'm currently listening to Loitering With Intent,  a good book by Stuart Woods featuring his attorney/sleuth Stone Barrington. Stone and his former buddy on the police department, Dino, are investigating in Key West, Florida.

Now, most of us have seen the word "conch" and if I'd never been to Key West, I wouldn't have realized it's pronounced wrong many times throughout this book. They want conch burgers, they talk about all things conch and the reader, who is a good reader, pronounces it just like it's spelled--con-sch. Therein lies the problem. When I was in Key West I did the same thing and was quickly corrected. The correct way to say it is "conk" like a blow to the head.

It's not a big thing unless you know how it should be pronounced. Then it is really annoying, kind of like fingernails on a blackboard. As I said, it happens to the best of them. Four of my books have audio editions also with fabulous narrators. However, there are a few mispronounciations in them, too. Mostly street names and a few Yiddish expressions the Silver Sisters' mother likes to use.

That raises the question, and I've thought about it before:  If there are words that are a little off the standard, should the author provide a short glossary clearly showing how to say the word when submitting the manuscript so the reader knows how to say it? In the case of a word like kugel, (which is a noodle pudding)  should it include a note about what it is?

I've decided to do just that if any more of my books are recorded. What do you think?

INTERESTING REPORT ON EBOOK TRENDS

This spring dedicated e-readers as well as “multifunctional” devices gained ground even as computers continued to lose ground. The portability and instant access to data is greatly contributing to the growth of eBooks and Kindles. The net result is between May 2010 and May 2011 consumer buying habits  found all of these devices nearly neck-in-neck with computers.

According to the Book Industry Study Group's "Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading," e-book buyers continued to spend more money on e-books while cutting back on purchases of print titles. Oh, those of little faith who mere years ago said eBooks were not real books.

In September, e-book buyers reduced spending on hardcovers and paperbacks by 40% each. What a significant drop! The survey also shows the impact the holiday season had on overall book buying. After receiving or buying devices in December, the percentage of e-book buyers who increased their spending on all book formats rose to about 35% in January, and then fell back slightly in May.

Amazon remained the dominant place to buy e-books, with more than 70% of e-book buyers using the store to buy titles in May 2011. Barnes & Noble.com stayed ahead of the iBookstore and iTunes in May with about 27% of e-book buyers going to B&N.com, while e-book buyers using the Apple stores stayed below 10% (and actually fell slightly from January). The only issue that e-book buyers said became more of a hindrance in buying e-books between May 2010 and May 2011 was the cost of titles, with prices rising from about 22% to 28% for e-book buyers.

According to consumers, receiving free chapters or samples had the biggest impact on getting them to buy an e-book in May, while reading an online review fell to second place.

In that regard, Writers’ Tricks of the Trade, 39 Things You Need to Know About the ABCs of Writing Fiction is now available in Kindle and eBook and the paperback can be pre-ordered at Amazon. Click here for an Amazon "Look Inside"  through Chapter 3 to whet your appetite.

Today I learned more about "hashtags"

Learning to navigate the internet and social networks is a never-ending task. I'd heard about hash-marks but never really checked into them. Today I found an article called 10 Twitter Hashtags for Writers on Publishing Talk.

What an informative article and why haven't I been using them!! I learned that hashtags are nothing more than words or phrases used in tweets wth the # symbol in front of them. No spaces, just squash them together. EXAMPLE: #amediting. If you are at the editing stage, it lets people know and you can ask for advice. The hashtag becomes a link and you can click it to see whose tweets contain that hashtag. This can greatly extend your Twitter reach. The article lists 10 useful hashtags for writers.

Check out this twitter link: https://twitter.com/#!/publishingtalk. I'm following them now and look forward to discovering lots of great info.

MORGAN ST. JAMES
www.morganstjames-author.com

What you can learn from a BAD REVIEW

I hear feedback from many authors. What is one big fear? A bad review. Many of us have had that experience, justly or unjustly,  and it can be traumatic.

Reacting to the bad news

Your worst nightmare has come true. The book you thought would be a blockbuster has gotten a bad review. Does that mean the world will come crashing down around you? Maybe yes, and maybe no.

Sure. You do have to acknowledge that there is always the possibility that the reviewer’s comments were well deserved, in which case it may be something to heed for your next book. But, before you go bonkers, ask yourself this question as the author: How many good reviews have you gotten vs. bad ones?

Then put on your reviewer’s hat. Was your book edited well? Did the plot hold together? Was the writing tight? Is there a market for your genre? There are so many factors that might come to light when a reviewer or reader attacks your baby.   

     

Keep an open mind

The first thing to remember is to keep an open mind, and sometimes that’s hard. Maybe you’ve seen the rash of posts on Facebook about a self-published book on Smashwords that got a bad review and set off a firestorm of comments from Facebook Friends and retaliation by the author because she simply got very angry.  In this case, I felt the reviewer’s critique was valid. The angry author could have learned a lot from what was said, had she kept an open mind.

What the reviewer said

Among other reasons for giving the book two stars, the reviewer pointed out: “One reason is the spelling and grammar errors, which come so quickly that, especially in the first several chapters, it’s difficult to get into the book without being jarred back to reality as you attempt unraveling what the author meant.”

We have all seen books like that, and it’s a real turn-off.

To be fair, I previewed the first twenty percent of this book, a benefit which is standard for most Smashwords books. I didn’t find lots of spelling errors—perhaps they were corrected in a subsequent edit—but there were many grammatical errors. As for editing, it really needed tightening and a good going over to eliminate sentences like this one: She carried her stocky build carefully back down the stairs. What did she do? Pick up her build while gingerly placing her feet on the stair treads?

Were I reviewing it, I would have asked, “How many pages can an author dedicate to discussing a fish dinner?” In this case she filled several opening pages with boring conversation about the fish dinner. She would have lost me right in the beginning. As a reviewer, my suggestion would have been to boil the opening down to a few paragraphs.

Be careful about becoming hostile

If you simply get hostile and tell yourself the reviewer is stupid, you will never consider whether they could have been right. Speaking from experience, I haven’t received many bad reviews for my own books. They are usually 4s and 5s. But, I have gotten a few stinkers. When that happens, sure my feelings are hurt, but I try to analyze what the reviewer said and why. I have found some things I now spot right away as I write my current novels.

What their comments might tell you

Do their comments absolutely mean the book wasn’t good? Perhaps it simply was not their thing. Did the reviewer have a personal agenda that got shaken up by the book? I got one review that cited the reasons the reader gave it three stars. Every one of those points was an emotion I’d been striving to touch in the reader. It turned out, this reader wrapped it up by saying she didn’t like sad books, but felt it was well written and that it kept her turning pages.

So what did that mean ultimately? My take was that I touched her deeply. In my mind the 3 star became a 5 star because the book did what I wanted it to.

Is the review by a reader on Amazon, or is it a professional review? Unfortunately, some people who review on Amazon have the sole purpose of shooting bullets at the author. I know that sounds judgmental, but if that happens, click their name and look at some of their other reviews before going into meltdown. Particularly if there are snarky remarks. I had one like that for Devil’s Dance (a novel I wrote as Arliss Adams that had many excellent reviews).

React appropriately, then move on

What did I discover? That this reviewer prided herself on being the toughest reviewer in her book club. She had generated many bad, snarky reviews including several on books that otherwise had top ratings. She was very clear in stating that she rarely gave anything over 2 stars and loved to pull books apart. I let out my breath after reading that. Sadly, those readers have no idea what that can mean to the author. If you review on Amazon, be fair.

Even if you don’t like the comments, they might be valid

But what if what she said had been valid? In that case I could have learned from this review if only I was willing to relax my defenses. A few things are imperative when you get a bad review. Accept what is valid without vehemently defending it, even when you know in your heart the reviewer might be right. Be sure to consider the comments from all angles.

If you reluctantly agree with them, you have learned something for the future. If you honestly can’t find the flaws cited, MOVE ON. Don’t harbor ill feelings or insecurity. If you do, the only one who gets hurt is you.

Happy writing.

USING THE RIGHT FORM OF A WORD

Something I saw on the news yesterday was so appropriate to the "You Don't Say" presentation I will be making for Sisters in Crime Los Angeles on October 9 that I had to write this.

My presentation is all about navigating the English language--a language peppered with bloopers just waiting for you to commit them.

Even editors aren't exempt. You see using the wrong form of a word, if taken literally, totally changes the intent of the sentence or phrase and is a terrible booby trap.

What I saw yesterday was a commentary on the deplorable state of our economy. It was part of a feature I like to watch called The Rant. They always put the written comment up on the screen. This one spoke about a "waist of money."

My first thought was why didn't someone catch that, which was rapidly followed by a giggle because I pictured the implications of a waist of money. Things like "pulling in your belt" led to imagining all these politicians parading around the House and Senate with money belts cinching in their waists --- or would that be wastes?

You can really have some fun with the wrong form of the right word. Take for example using "slight of hand" instead of "sleight of hand."

"Do you need to master SLIGHT OF HAND to be a good magician?" Hmmm. Don’t know that the size of the magician’s hands has anything to do with it. Although, with bigger hands, he could probably hold more cards."

SLIGHT is an interesting word. As an adjective, it means having a slim or delicate build or structure; as a transitive verb it means to treat with disdain or indifference, and as a noun it generally would be a humiliating discourtesy.

YOU DON'T SAY!

Morgan St. James

www.morganstjames-author.com

FIRST ISSUE OF THE WRITERS' TRICKS OF THE TRADE NEWSLETTER

Many thanks to the contributors to the first Writers' Tricks of the Trade Newsletter.

Each month the link to the current newsletter will be in the NEWSLETTER box to the right.

In this debut issue we have articles by Sunny Frazier, John Brantingham, Don Helin report on Ken Follett's presentation at ThrillFest, Dan Poynter, myself and a book review by Jackie Houchin.

Look for listings of conferences, helpful books, writers' resources and more.

Brags are welcome. Let others know about your successes. This newsletter is designed to provide writers with news, education, entertainment and helpful tips.

I edited the Sisters in Crime Southern Nevada "On The Prowl" newsletter for nearly three years. For those who enjoyed it, this will replace "On The Prowl" and offer even more with an expanded distribution.

To receive the blog and newsletters directly when posted, just click the SUBSCRIBE and click the way you want it delivered in the dropdown box.

Thank you to the participants in the Savvy Authors Chat

I would like to thank Melinda Pierce at www.savvyauthors.com for inviting me to host today's Writing Tight chat. There were many participants and I also want to thank them for attending. We had a good chat about this particular writing technique and I look forward to more sessions and to presenting workshops at the Savvy Authors site.

Groups like this are very valuable to both published and aspiring authors. Writing can be a solitary pursuit and interaction with people with similar goals and interests, whether on the internet or at group gatherings, is always stimulating.

OTHER NEWS: Today the Kindle edition of Writers Tricks of the Trade: 39 Things You Need to Know About the ABCs of Writing became available on Amazon. EBooks and paperback to follow soon.

An invitation to join Morgan St. James in the Chat Room at www.Savvy Authors.com on Thursday evening, August 4

I’ve recently become involved with www.savvyauthors.com and am delighted to say that I’ll be hosting some online workshops for them in the future.

 In the meantime, I’ll be hosting an online chat about WRITING TIGHT this week on Thursday, August 4. It’s free, interactive and runs from 9:00-10:00 p.m. EST, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. Central, 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Mountain time or 6:00-7:00 p.m. PST

 WRITE TIGHT ONLINE CHAT ON SAVVY AUTHORS –CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

 This is a great website for all authors to know about and utilize. Savvy Authors started with a simple conversation between two writers trying to figure out how writers at various stages of their career could help one another to achieve their goals. Whether it be promoting their new release, or finding a way to break through chapter three on their first book, the idea was to create a website where authors could network and gain motivation.

See you there,

MORGAN ST. JAMES