Good Reading and Indie Publishing Advice

One of the things I have enjoyed this summer is reading.

I have read a number of good books, and several bad ones as well.  The one that sticks out is The Old Man & The Monkey by George Polley.  It is about an unusual friendship.  It demonstrates how well animals can bond with humans and detect and share their feelings.  When I was done, I actually mourned that the story was over.  That is a sign of a powerful book!  I know it is available on Kindle.

As far as the books I was disappointed in, they all had similar problems and could have easily been good books.  Indie publishers are getting a bad name because of a few simple things that aren't being done.
1.  Use your spell-checker.
2.  If writing non-fiction, make sure that your information doesn't contradict itself.  It would also be nice if it was actually correct as well.
3.  You MUST have a proof-reader, preferably one that speaks English and knows at least some basic grammar and punctuation rules.

I get so frustrated when I have this urge to get out my "red pen" and correct the book and send it back to the author.  It is even more frustrating when the errors are so bad that I can't even figure out what is trying to be said.  I like doing puzzles, but not when I just want to loose myself in a good story.

There is a lot of good technology that makes writing easier, but nothing can take the place of a pair of human eyes!  There are things that a computer just can't pick up because it doesn't get the meaning or tone of the story.

It doesn't matter how good of a writer you are.  There are mistakes you will never see because you ARE the author.  It is just a fact of writing.  A good proof-reader will help you take a good story and make it great.  Proof-reading may even take a bad story and make it great.  Read the acknowledgements of any book and you will realize that writing is actually a "team sport."

The moral is:  Before publishing, proof-reading is a MUST!

Thank you to those authors (and their teams) who helped make my summer enjoyable by writing good books.

One of my Favorite Authors - C.A. Goody

C.A. Goody is one of my favorite authors.  She isn’t too well known, but she should be.  She is the author of a series of “children’s” books that feature Charlie the cat.  I put children’s in quotes because they are good enough that adults can enjoy them as well.  She told me her goal was to write them so an adult could read them with a child and both could enjoy them.

The books are about Charlie’s various adventures from Charlie’s point of view.  The very first one I read was “Charlie Moves to Arizona”.  It was so funny reading about Charlie discovering the Arizona desert.  It helped me realize how unique an area I live in.

I believe Ms. Goody is the only author who has written a book that both my mother-in-law and I have enjoyed.  We have totally different tastes in books and that is OK.  I figured she would be hesitant to read a children’s book, but I was pretty sure she would enjoy it.  When I handed her a Charlie book, I told her, “If you aren’t enjoying this by the end of the first chapter, don’t bother reading it.”  She didn’t even make it through the first page without laughing.

My mother has just been reading “Charlie and the Rodent Queen”.  She told me last night that she is enjoying it, despite feeling rotten.

Now, if I have whet your appetite to read about Charlie, Ms. Goody has “Charlie’s Halloween Adventures” available as a free PDF on her website.  Go on over there and check it out.  I haven’t read it yet, but I’m sure it’s good.

Oh, you need to know the website?  Here it is: http://charliethecat.com/