My first interview as an author

Booksgosocial.com interviewed me about the release of Fear of Mystics. The interview can be found here . If anyone else wants to interview me, by all means let me know!! I love talking about my books, other people's books and the process of being a writer. Heck, I will talk about the weather with you, if you ask!

A little self-loathing...

I, like most artists, am hopelessly insecure. Many people do not see that. My wife, who does see it, says it is like my care and compassion for others. It is hidden behind a natural skepticism and general confidence that belies the truth of my fragile soul. It  is often true of artists that they are sensitive individuals looking for validation and acceptance. This is very true of me.

I woke today, a day when the second novel of my series is released, in a near panic and anxiety over the thought that "no one will buy my book." I want people to read it. I want that far more than I want to make money on the book, though that would also be nice. When I was a professional actor, I used to write poems. These were poems meant only for me, and they talked about the feeling of being on stage, the feeling when one hears the applause, the laughter, or the crying (if you are really good). I am addicted to appreciation. There is literally nothing I like better than hearing that people like my work. It fills me up to the top with joy and happiness. The problem is that cup which holds the joy and happiness is full of leaks, and I constantly need to refill the cup.

So, all day I have been freaking out. In the early afternoon, I went to apologize to my wife for my weird behavior. She looked at me, smiled, and told me, "That's okay. You did this every time you release a story."

I was, naturally, flabbergasted. I asked, "I do? With each story?" She nodded and I questioned, "What is wrong with me?"

She smiled again, and said, "You are an artist. I know exactly how it feels. And, I know it is coming. I began preparing for your freak-out yesterday."

My wife is a brilliant visual artist. She works in paint, photo, digital design, and she teaches art-journaling. Having her affirm my artistry was really nice. But, realizing I am this transparent is worrisome. My choices were to find a way to hide this part of myself or own it. So, here I am, owning it. I am putting this out there, so my readers can know a little bit more about me. Also, so they can know that the simplest phrase can mean the world to me. "I liked it" is all it takes. If you can scrape together $2.99 to read Fear of Mystics, or $0.99 to read Age of Mystics (or either of the short stories), please drop a line to let me know what you think. It will calm this ravenous beast in my chest, and help me immensely. Thanks a ton!

Find my work here!

Fear of Mystics available on Kindle tomorrow!

Hey all!

Fear of Mystics, the second novel in the Saga of Mystics series, will be available bright and early tomorrow!

Follow the stories of the Cravens, the Wards, Eric Fine, and the Hermit as they continue to adapt to a world without technology, and a world suddenly alive with mystical powers.

It is $2.99 on Kindle. Get your copy today!

Click Here to go to the Amazon page!

Exciting News!!

Fear of Mystics will be released on Tuesday!! Pre-orders will start today for those of you with delayed gratification issues like myself.  However, in addition to this, the price on Age of Mystics ebook has been reduced to $0.99 permanently. So head over to amazon, get your Fear of Mystics Pre-order and your Age of Mystics copy for a grand total of only $3.98! And keep up to date on future releases by following my Amazon Author Page at www.amazon.com/author/cwalters

Amazon's reviewing rules

Trust me. I understand the rules that Amazon has put in place to control reviews. It is make sure that no one games the system, and thereby tricks potential readers into buying a crappy book. It is a good idea. But, it is flawed for the reasons I will describe.

In my genre alone, there are over 2 million books available at any given time. I hover around #130,000 at the moment with Age of Mystics. This is a constantly changing number based on Amazon's algorithms. At one point in April, I made it into the top 25. That was a good day, but the numbers drop off as initial readers are replaced by secondary readers. As of today, a reader with no connection, or information about my books, would have to go through the other 130,000 books to get to mine. The best way to combat this within the system is reviews.

Amazon's algorithm takes views, clicks, purchases and reviews into account. The heavy emphasis is on reviews. They don't have to be good reviews, just reviews. Actually, Amazon has stated that a breadth of ratings is better for their algorithm than all five star reviews. So, every author wants to have reviews. There are special promotional things which happen when one gets 50 reviews for one product. It is easy to see why one might want to manipulate their reviews for personal gain. This is strictly forbidden by both Amazon and the Federal Trade Commission.

So, what is an author to do to get noticed? I started out asking everyone I know to read the book and review it. It should be noted, I have never asked any of you for only good reviews, I want your honest opinion. I mean, sure, I might think you are a dick if you give it an unfair review. But at this point, an unfair review still helps other people find my book. But, here is the problem, anyone "I know" is expressly prohibited from reviewing my book, as are other authors in my genre and anyone who has any contact with me. Essentially, anyone who would read my book is not allowed to review it. Once someone has read my book, and liked this or my Facebook page, they are not allowed to review. That is just stupid, and I refuse to comply. Nothing bad happens, you get a notice that says you can't review that item.

This leaves me with what I am actually requesting of those who have read my book. It is simple. Write a review that will help another reader decide whether or not to read my books. Write what you actually thought, don't pitch it. If you liked it, say you liked it. If you didn't like it, say you didn't like it. If you thought it was okay, say that. As a writer, this isn't about making money to me (though that would be nice). This is about getting more readers. I love my stories, and I want more people to read them. If you don't like something, tell me so I can work on that. If you like it, tell others, especially people who don't know me, or have contact with me, or write contemporary fiction. And tell them to write a review after reading it.

By the way, this is the full wrap cover for the physical copy of Age of Mystics. Isn't it cool?  I have two copies on my bookshelf. They make me so happy.

Begging for reviews

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Leave reviews. Don't overthink it. You don't have to get wordy, don't let the blank review scare you! Be a pal, leave a review!