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[A713]Ashanti Dont Need You
by Mike Scantlebury, Mik
The surfer clicks on a page and finds that he's arrived at Chapter 5. He discovers the hero is already on the case, relentlessly pursuing the murderer of Imogen Halstead, rich heiress (Who? The surfer has no idea who this is, for a start). Worse, he has no idea why Inspector Chancely is there, and why he is letting our hero run the investigation. (Isn't it his job? He's the police!) Worser, the surfer has no idea why the little group (including a girl, don't forget the pretty girl!) is lurking in the basement of the Town Hall. Why are they there? How did they get in? Why do they have to be so quiet, and who are they waiting for?

In desperation, the surfer clicks ahead, to the final chapter. Scanning the page he finds answers to questions, (mainly the ones he hasn't asked). He finds that Thomas murdered the rich young playgirl. (Who's Thomas? He doesn't know, since this character didn't appear until Chapter Seven.) He finds that Inspector Chanceley has disappeared, although he may have been replaced by another policeman, Sergeant Something-or-other. (But why? Was he demoted? Was the Inspector transferred? Was he murdered, when he unwittingly stumbled on the former murderer trying to cover up his crime?) Finally, the novel ends with the hero disappearing off on holiday with the pretty young girl. (Uhh, who was that, exactly? The surfer scans back to Chapter Two, looking for clues, but there's no girl there. Is she someone he ought to know? Has she been in other books in this series? Is she a kind of ?Batgirl? assistant to our hero? The surfer is baffled.)

No. It doesn't work. Murder Mysteries are written in a strict order, and the author expects the reader to read it in the same sequence. Clues are scattered around the text, and when the reader arrives at the conclusion, s/he is expected to sigh, and say to themselves ?Oh yes, of course. I should have got that?. In short, mystery writers don't need surfers. They can't benefit from people who pick up their books, scan a few pages here and there, and then complain that they ?don't get it?. The mystery reader, on the other hand, is someone who likes to see the plot laid out in order; likes to get to know the characters and hear their stories; likes to be thinking about how the book might turn out. That sort of reader wants something to think about and savour, ie the complete opposite of the internet surfer.

The surfer is someone who wants immediate answers. They want information, fun, thrills, excitement, interest - without having to make any sort of effort on their part. They want a reaction now, straightaway. They don't want to have to wait, especially for The Last Chapter. They have the attention span of a gnat and the literary aspirations of a politician. Really, they are completely the wrong sort of person for books, real old-fashioned, written books. The surfer wants Summaries, Synopses, Extracts, Feeds, maybe, but never a whole book. Wow, boring, man.

So, the real mystery then, is why so many Internet Authors waste their time trying to attract surfers? These authors spend hours constructing web sites that are glamourous, interesting; stuffed with video extracts, cartoons, pics of people and places. They agonise over eye-catching headlines and intriguing sub-heads. They are struggling to create interest and catch the eye of the passing surfer. Why? Don't they realise that the internet surfer may have clicked on their site by accident? The may be ?passing through?. They may be looking for something and been diverted to the book site by chance. Yes, they may be intrigued by the picture, but they haven't got the attention span to bother to read what it means and why it's there. Worst of all, they haven't got the level of interest to work their way through your site to find out where the extracts are - the Synopses and sample chapters - and definitely don't have the time or the inclination to read any of your stuff, let alone buy a book (or even a download).

If you are an Internet Author, then you know full well that you want to attract customers. Get this - surfers don't buy books! They buy CDs, sweatshirts, souvenirs of Venice Beach and surfboards. They are never, ever, going to devote hours of their time to reading one of your books.

No. A much better plan could be had by looking at the success of Waterstone's in England. Tim Waterstone was an assistant manager in W H Smiths the newsagent, many years ago. He was bored and frustrated in his job, and painfully aware that the way Smiths set out their books, like tins of beans in a supermarket, wasn't appealing to customers. Summoning his courage, he left his cosy job and set up his own chain of bookstores, working to his idea of what the people who actually came in off the street and bought books wanted. His shops had rows of bookshelves made of ancient stained wood. They were quiet and respectful places to be, with dim light and curtains on the windows. The staff were mainly young, knowledgable and enthusiastic. They seemed to be enjoying their jobs. The stores were large with lots of quiet corners where customers could pause, examine books and enjoy the experience. There were overstuffed sofas and chairs, where customers could sit and read. Later, coffee shops were installed in the shops too. Customers could spend hours there, dawdling over their purchases, relishing the books and the experience. It was relaxing, comforting and reminiscent of a bygone age. Still, Tim Waterstone sold shedloads of books. He made so much money and was so successful that W H Smith stepped in and bought him out.

Is there a lesson here? Waterstones is the ideal sort of bookstore for people who actually enjoy books. If you could design a bookselling website that was as relaxed and comforting as Waterstones, you are far more likely to sell books than having a site that looks like MTV. It means that your virtual store won't be very appealing to surfers, but then, who needs them?

Not Internet Authors, that's for sure.

For instance, there's a lot of people out there seeking advice because they've written a book. A lot of people. Almost as many as the number of people who give advice to people - who've written books. Most of that advice is meant to be helpful, but is, quite frankly, wrong.

For instance, I saw an article the other day which said that it ?was OK to publish on the internet?, (which is patronising enough), but then went on to say that it was important that the book ?had all the usual things in it?, so as to ?impress the Critics?. Why? Why do Internet Authors need Critics?

The problem, as I see it, is that these ?Advisors? don't seem to realise that being published on the internet is a new kind of experience. It's not like Traditional Publishing, which has dominated the world of letters for the last 250 years. It isn't a ?cheap imitation?, or something that you do while you're waiting for a ?real publisher? to notice your book and make you an offer. It's a whole different world. If you get your book onto an internet publishing site like Lulu.com, you will be able to get a few copies printed, enough for yourself and your friends, and maybe that's all you really want. You will stop there. Of course, you have the other opportunity, which is to carry on, do the ?submitting to publishers? thing, like all authors do, (even though you've seen your book in print - internet print), and wait by the mailbox like other authors do, hoping against hope that you're going to get good news. And wait. And wait. Just like other authors do, playing the game that publishers have been forcing authors to play for the last few hundred years.

If you think that Traditional Publishing is the right way to go, really the only way, the one true way, then yes, Internet Publishing is going to seem like a weak and pale imitation. More important, the books that come out from the Internet Publishers, are going to look all wrong. After all, Internet Published books are mostly laid out and planned by amateurs. Authors, that is, but rank amateurs when it comes to layout, design and book jacket artwork. These authors may find, (as I found), that getting your picture properly sized is a minefield, and matching pic and text is easy to get wrong. Page numbering is another quagmire. The result? Books that purport to be ?paperback novels? but look nothing like the things you pick up and buy in the shop.

That's what this woman was getting at, with her advice. She wanted Internet Authors to make sure they put a nice blurb on the back; a tempting extract on the front page (like ?real? publishers do); and ensure that the ISBN information was all correct and properly laid out on the reverse of the Title Page. Lost? Confused? Don't worry. My advice is more simple. Pick a book off your bookshelf and copy that. When you upload your own manuscript to Lulu and begin the long journey of becoming an Internet Author, copy what you can see in one of your ?normal? books. Make sure you have the same first few pages, and draw up a Dedication Page for instance, and Contents Page, or whatever you can see the proper publishers doing. (Like me, I put in a ?Cast of Characters? page into my romantic novel, but only because I saw that other similar authors had done it first!)

As a result, your Internet book will look and feel ?normal?. This is what the woman was advising. Most particularly, she was worried that if Critics received a copy of your Internet book and it somehow looked different - looked cheap, badly printed, poorly laid out - then they wouldn't take it seriously and wouldn't give it a good review.

Who cares? What are the chances that any reputable Critic is going to get hold of a copy of a book that is published on the Internet? Would any Internet Author dare send their self-produced novel to a national newspaper for review? I mean, what if the Critic liked it and orders flooded in - how are you going to print off the thousands of copies you will need? How will you get them distributed to bookshops?

No, Internet Publishing is a different game. First and foremost it's about satisfying the author, and finding a way to put your well-loved and crafted manuscript into book form, so you can enjoy that frisson of holding your book in your hand. Second, it's about impressing your family, your friends, your neighbours and their dog. It's not about rivalling the Traditional Publishing companies. It's about filling in that gap between ?published? and ?unpublished? for all those aspiring authors who have been passed over, ignored and generally reviled for the past few generations. It's also about giving readers more choice.

It's not, definitely not, about pleasing Critics. Internet Authors don't need Critics.

Article Source : Tips For Essay Writing

Mike Scantlebury has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Writing and After Divorce. Mike Scantlebury is an Internet Author. His download site includes sample chapters and synopses, and he provides a link there to Lulu, where you can buy his novels as real, printed, store-quality books.The site is at. Mike Scantlebury's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
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