Yet Another Come-Uppance!
Two people have asked Amazon for refunds for their cheap digital copies of my novel Revelation.
Damn!
And it's words like that that are likely the reason.
This book has a minister for a main character and a church steeple on the cover. It probably gives some readers the idea that the story is going to be as bland as pureed snow.
It's not. This minister is in Chapel Hill and he thinks an obscene word by the second page. He also has a body, conflicting desires, and a high level of irritability.
Maybe I need to change the cover: make the sky dark or add a disclaimer such as Warning! This story contains "language" and human appetites!
Categories: enhancing creativity
Comments
Or you can just leave it as is and enjoy the shock value…
And that has the appealing advantage of saving me some time, Lynne.
How disappointing. Is your book listed under Visionary Fiction? If not, that could be part of the problem, if so, the reader should know better. I know we can't please everybody with our books, but it's nice when we reach our nitch audience. Cultural Creatives? Anyway, it's nice to meet a fellow visionary fiction writer. Best of luck with your work.
And I think you and I are both on the same list of Visionary Fiction writers on GoodReads. Yes?
No, just make the minister a vampire and have him battle zombies with holy water. Along the way, have him discover that the president of the United States is the Antichrist.
It will sell like hotcakes.
How about your write that one, Ben. In your spare time.
Peggy, some of literature's greatest and most beloved classics have been banned, burned, and brutally criticized – Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird come to mind – by people felt threated by them because of a gap in their understanding, to put it kindly. This is their problem, not yours. Keep the faith, Frances
Thanks, Frances. And I just noted that your name on the comment is spelled France’s Schultz. Possessive! Seems appropriate at the moment.
Oh man!
I'm so sorry to hear this. How frustrating!! Well, I'm still a big fan anyway!!
(((hugs)))
Thanks, Beth. Amazon doesn’t ask people why they return a book — so I can’t be sure.
Hi Peggy – I just saw this and thought of you:
http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/06/staying-steady-on-the-publishing-rollercoaster/
She's my favorite agent blogger.
Stay strong! We need more great books to read!
Another case of life imitating art. Sounds like something a member of that congregation might do. You as the author reveal what you see and everyone with Mia-matched expectations gets a little huffy. 🙂
I hadn’t thought of that, Kay. Interesting! And what does Mia-matched mean?
That's too bad, but the miss expectations were theirs, not your problem. The cover certainly leads one in a certain direction.
I've just read "In One Person" by John Irving. Talk about miss-expectations!!!
His cover shows a woman unhooking her bra. It doesn't really hint at the type of book it is, until you have read some of it and see the connection.
Do you like that novel, Kenju? Irving’s, I mean.