Carol Steele

Writer. Can't say what's good. Just here for the whine.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

Sending query letters and when asked for my marketing plan I silently scream. I know I can't type: "To accept the guidance of your marketing team." I have a professionally constructed web site, answer all emails, post reviews on Goodreads, and am here. Insanity or me?

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@SOOPLLC They've not written a book is irrelevant. Is the criticism thoughtful? If it's nothing more than "I like" or "I don't like," it's not worth my time. A gourmet cook spends over two hours creating a meal for someone who prefers fast food; is the eater's opinion valid?

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@MJG_Write Congratulations! Best wishes for solid sales!

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@CoachBru My last paid full-time job--dog walker. Enough said.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@timfrankovich 15! Well done!

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@ladyg70 @TheGallantChef @AngusFraser5 Multiple authors sharing a table is smart, but the setup must look intentional. Authors should be nicely dressed, appear ready to chat, and the table must be curated. Craft show shoppers are impulse buyers, and you need to visually draw them.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@TheGallantChef @AngusFraser5 The 50m includes both ISBNs and ASINs and has stayed constant the last two years I've been looking. I think getting into libraries is great, a friend actually hits up individual libraries and has been successful. Best wishes to us all!

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@DNicholsAuthor I should have added you can find one through the Editorial Freelancers Association, it's been around since 1970. That's where I found mine.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@DNicholsAuthor If your book is longer than five pages, you need an editor. John Grisham, James Patterson, Margaret Atwood all have editors. (Just to drop a few big names.)

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@EnnsLindy Congratulations! And your website looks great, too! Best wishes for continued sales.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@TheGallantChef @AngusFraser5 Also, there are roughly 50,000,000 books on Amazon today with 6.3 million actually selling. Regardless of print on demand, you need to be noticed to be in demand.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@Michaelchoong5 Two years ago I attended a couple of Valley Educational Center for The Creative Arts (VECCA), Woodstock, VA meetings. Googled them this week. Cline's name was mentioned. Happened to check Amazon. Saw her book. Said, "why not?" Boom. No regrets!

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

Just finished reading Avis Afterward: A Utopian Fiction and loved every dang page! It's JB Cline's debut novel and it gets two thumbs up from me. Utopian Fiction is not a go-to read for me, but I jumped out of my comfort box and am so glad I did.
Her prose is excellent, pure pleasure to read her words, even the yucky scenes. All the characters are distinctive, the story moves, and the words are chosen, not slopped onto the page to be sorted out later.
I laughed, I grinned, I cried, and when finished, I walked away knowing my time was well spent.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@christinamkopp I see Winkie's last line: "A lot of people really really hate this book." Is that his point? Does it matter? I can dislike a book, but acknowledge it's significance.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@ladyg70 @IvarsOsis1 That's a great question for all emerging authors and I'd love to hear their thoughts. For me, I'm continually surprised by the volume of authors seeking representation in any form.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@Evelyn_544 Her shorts.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@ReedsyHQ If you decide, you are in control and would you decide to be reckless? I think the sentence fights itself.

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@KoalaQuillHQ You showed up this morning, checked you out, what a hoot! Is it possible to relate too much? I'm sitting on my completed (pro edited) 78,000 soft-boiled mystery. One, got my website up: https://t.co/ItrtdRqTdN Two, send out awesome queries (already polished.)

[Carol Steele @CSteeleWrites58]

@GlenWeatherhead Congratulations!!!!