A little help for authorsA few authors asked me how I make my blog posts look so neat on Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4264484.Erika_M_Szabo/blog I made this video and tried to explain it as simply as possible. If you find this video useful, feel free to share it with author friends and in your groups. The audio quality is not top-notch because I can't afford a good system, but I hope it's clear enough to be helpful. We're in this publishing jungle together and help each other. Watch the videoThe codes to add to your postIf you find this video useful, feel free to share it with author friends and in your groups.
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A spider had found its way into my room, and as usual, I gently swept it into a box and carried it outside. Walking to the back of the property I let the spider out of the box on the porch of the old, rundown cottage. "Make your home here," I said to the spider. "You'll be happier here than in my room." As I walked back to the house I thought about Kati. She was my childhood friend, the gentlest person I've ever met. Even as a young child she was constantly aware of the surroundings, especially living creatures. "They deserve to live a happy life," she would say. "Don't step on that flower, it's so beautiful!" she warned me when we played in the field. "Watch out! The ants are carrying a grub to their nest. Walk over there!" Kati’s influence made me a better person. She passed away when we were seventeen. She had an inoperable brain tumor. But her gentle, loving nature had a huge impact on who I am today. Was that the purpose of her short life? To teach people to respect the life of every living creature? Remembering Kati made me think about how we touch people’s heart and even influence them every day. We don’t even think about it, but a look, a touch, or a few words could make a huge impact on someone’s life. Picture credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaeUq_mep2M At the very beginning of my nursing career, I had a middle-aged deaf patient who came to the ER with an interpreter. I asked her questions, checked her vitals, gave her a gown, and pulled the curtain around her bed to give her privacy to change. After the doctor examined her, I went back to her room a few times to draw her blood, hook up her IV and so on. When the admission was done, I went back to take her up to her hospital room. She motioned to her interpreter and started moving her hands. The lady was looking at her and started interpreting what she said in sign language, “Thank you for looking at me when I’m talking. When I speak to someone, they’re looking at my interpreter and they’re dismissing me like I’m not even there. You’ve shown me respect throughout my visit by acknowledging me as a person.” I didn’t know what to say, so I just gave her a smile. However, from then on, I paid a lot more attention when I approached people. Everyone deserves respect and attention and making someone feel dismissed leaves a painful emotional scar. Compassion leaves a markI'll always remember people who showed kindness, respect, and acknowledged me as a person.
The woman with a full shopping cart told me to go ahead of her in line because I only had a head of lettuce in my hand. The young man who gave me his seat on the bus when I was pregnant. The construction worker who paid for my coffee when someone stole my valet out of my purse in the line in the coffee shop. The nurse who sat with me quietly, holding my hand, when my mom passed away in the hospital. Did anyone leave a mark on your soul? Did anyone with words, actions, or showing an example make you want to be a better person and pass on the kindness you've been shown by others? ~Erika M Szabo What is the difference?Critique is a detailed analysis, assessment, and evaluation in a detailed and analytical way. Criticism is the expression of disapproval based on perceived faults or mistakes. A review is a form of subjective critique that expresses the reader's opinion. Being a writer is hard and building critique is important to every writer. Authors need feedback in order to grow as writers and the goal of the person who critiques an author's work is to point out the areas that need improvement, without crushing the author's spirit. Every writer goes through different stages of their writing career and even those, who are just at the beginning, need encouragement. A good critique is a valuable feedback that the author can use to make the story even better, and therefore more likely to be loved by many others. Authors need feedback to improve their overall writing skills. I often read reviews posted on fellow authors' books who write the same genre, and sometimes I'm amazed at how well some readers point out in their reviews the areas that need improvement. Such as being more consistent and clear with the storyline, dialog, and character development. These reviews are very valuable to any author no matter what stage they are in their writing careers. A good and valuable critiqueI'm not an expert when it comes to grammar, and I tend to write long-winded, complicated sentences. This reader managed to point it out in a building way while stated what she liked in the story: "What really bothered me about the book was that it didn't seem to have been edited. And not just normal eBook errors. There were homonym errors and structural sentence errors! Somebody needs to have a talk with that editor. But, overall, mostly very enjoyable. Fresh idea. I will be reading the sequel." I've found a great editor who helped me snip and split my complicated sentences without changing the story and edited the homonym words, therefore, the second edition of the story was well edited. Moreover, I had ideas to change and add to the story, which reflects in the third edition, again edited by a great editor. And because the story got too long, I split the two books into a trilogy. Now I'm almost satisfied with the story. The third edition doesn't have any reviews posted yet, so I'm eagerly waiting. According to statistics, one of about every hundred reads result in a review, and my books are not there yet. Bad reviewsIsaac Asimov said, “Writers fall into two groups: Those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review.” Yes, bad reviews hurt, no matter what anyone tells you. But reviews such as the following few are just simply hurtful and don't help the author: "Horrible read." "Waste of time... good grief!" "Is fantasy so dire and bleak. This is unreadable." "Just words on paper." "Like propping up some sticks and calling it a fire - this book has no spark." "Total Junk, did not finish." "Could not get past the poor writing to finish the book." But, bad reviews could be valuable tooSome of Stephen King’s latest novels received up to 500 one-star/two star reviews on Amazon.
Famous writers get bad reviews. As a matter of fact, the most famous books have at least 6 to 10% one start reviews. Bad reviews are not a death sentence for a book. In a twisted way, bad reviews give a book legitimacy because their very presence indicate that the good reviews must be genuine. A reader told me once in my post's comments when I was feeling a bit down about a one star review: "If I see nothing but 5 stars I’m thinking the author got all his friends, family and associates to write a lot of butt-kissing reviews." Reader and writers, share your experiences! When people wear their thoughts on their facesSome people have such talkative faces that I can read their minds almost word for word.
Others with expressionless faces make me nervous because I never know what they're thinking behind the "frog face" I call it. Today when we finished lunch at the diner, my hubby stopped in the bathroom and I went out to the parking lot to wait for him in the car. A woman about my age with heavy makeup and two pounds gold and diamonds all over her body was right behind me. I opened the passenger door, turned to get in, and I happened to look at her face. She glanced at my car and then me with an expression that told me what she was thinking: "Scratch my f****g car with that piece of junk and I'll sue your ass off." Then as I put my foot in the car and sat down, her expression changed. Clearly she was thinking as she stared at my face for a second while touching the pea-size diamond on her finger: "She doesn't have makeup on and she looks better than me. She must use Botox. She's not married but she was with a man in the restaurant." I closed the door and rolled the window down while she unlocked her BMW and sat in still looking at me. I could guess what she was thinking: "I'm better than you!" That smug "I'm better than you" expression on her face did it! I said to her, "Ma'am, I really like my old Subaru, it's been faithfully taking me to places the past nineteen years. I don't wear makeup, never had Botox, and I only use almond oil as moisturizer. I'm happily married but I don't like to wear jewelry. You felt the need to feel sorry for me and look down on me because I don't own an expensive car and don't wear jewelry to show my status. Did I read your mind correctly? By the way, first expressions are usually wrong." I smiled at her. The surprised expression on her face was priceless. She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it grasping for air. Finally she managed to croak out, "What... are you... are you a mind reader or something?" "Did I guess correctly what you were thinking?" I asked. "Well, um... you did. Word for word, except I wasn't thinking that you look nice, but I thought that your skin is fu***g gorgeous without makeup and you must have had a chemical peal or something. I was jealous, I admit." My hubby got in the car so I said to the woman, "Have a nice day, ma'am." We drove away but she might still be in that parking lot trying to figure it out what happened and who I was. She might be thinking that I'm really a mind reader and will never realize that she wears her judgment, jealousy, and smugness, on her face. Living in a mansion, driving the most expensive car, looking like a Christmas tree decorated with gold and diamonds, might make life more comfortable, but it doesn't make anyone better or worth more than others. At the end, we all go out in a box leaving everything behind. What makes a difference is how people we connect will remember us. I'm pretty sure something like this happened to you a few times in your life. Tell me about it! ~Erika M Szabo |
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