What I Wished Readers Knew

on May 16, 2013

I’ve been getting a lot of fan letters and new FB likes lately with UNDER THE COVERS about to be released in May, TWISTED in June, and FORGOTTEN SINS in July…and I LOVE it!  There are a few things I didn’t know before becoming an author that I wish I’d known…and here they are:

1)       Authors with NY Publishers have no say in the price point of the books. None-zippo-zilch.  I have no clue how much my book is priced at until I either see it in a store or check online retailers.  🙂

Under the Covers2)      Those of us with traditional publishers don’t create our own covers.  I see the cover after it’s pretty much ready to go.  Having said that…I’ve LOVED my covers!  The graphic arts departments at Kensington, Entangled, and Grand Central seriously rock.

3)      We have no say in whether a book gets printed or not.  Or whether it’s available in e-book or not.  These type of things are never guaranteed in a contract.  Of course we want them in both e-book and print.  Always.  So far, I’ve been fortunate.

4)      We know not to read reviews…yet we do.  And yeah, sometimes we take them personally…and wish year-long yeast infections on the reviewer.  Yeah, I’m talking to you—mean reviewer.  And…we can tell if it’s a personal issue and not something to do with the book…even if somebody tries to mask it.

Twisted e-book5)      When someone gives us a poor rating on Amazon or GoodReads because the price of the book is too high…we think she’s a moron.  (See number one above.)

6)      Once we get several reviews…we realize that the EXACT same thing one reviewer just loved is the reason another reviewer didn’t like the book.  This is a great thing…because then we realize we can’t please all the people, and we should just go write the next book…and stop reading reviews.  🙂

7)      We’re taken aback and overwhelmed by the kindness of readers and how they’re willing to go out of their way to help promote our books.  (Yes, FB street team… I mean you.)  It’s very humbling, and I hope I express how much this means to me and how much I appreciate all of my readers.

Forgotten sins _6-728)      Reading fan mail is the best part of many days.  Thanks for sending fan mail!

9)      There’s no magical muse.  Honest.  We just have to sit down and write when we’d rather be doing laundry sometimes.  This actually is a job.

10)   We feel an incredibly strong loyalty to our readers and really, really, really don’t want to let you down.  Ever. 

Reviews for Claimed are pouring in

on November 3, 2011

Hi all! First, thanks for the incredible support during the first week of CLAIMED’s release!  If you get the chance to read the book, drop me a line and let me know what you think.  I just (about ten seconds ago) sent the copy edits of TEMPTED to Megan at Kensington.  This is the first time we’ve had electronic copy edits instead of hard copies, but I think I got the hang of it.

If any of you are anywhere near Cd’A Idaho next Wednesday, (Nov. 9th, 4:00pm to 7:00pm) we’re having a signing party for CLAIMED at Gourmet Way in Hayden.  There will be wine, yummies, and books…as well as some door prizes.  I’ve found if you ply people with wine, they buy even more books.  Who knew.  🙂

So, I’ve been getting google alerts from different reviews for CLAIMED, and thought I’d share a few.  Click on the review name for the entire review.  Here they are:

Good Choice Reading:    I consider myself a HUGE fan of Rebecca Zanetti’s “Dark Protector’s” series. Which is Fated now Claimed. Before I started blogging, I wasn’t a paranormal fan. And now I’m hooked. Not only am I hooked but I’m hooked on this series. Rebecca’s books have a little bit of everything. It has Action, Science, Romance and my favorite it’s sexy! It’s so sexy it’s steamy. Though it has sexy and steamy scenes, it’s written very tastefully. I love her writing. PERIOD. This series has become one of my favorite series.

Hanging with Bell’s Review: This series is different and I just so happen to love different so this series is a win/win for me. The men in the story are sexy and so alpha that they will have you falling hard and fast. The story sucks you in from page one and just keeps on going. Not only is there action and heat but the sexual energy will capture you from page to page.

Reviewer Nikki Brandyberry:  Emma and Dage burn through each and every page! His push and her pull creating an incredible friction that lights the page on fire! Rebecca Zanetti combines excellent story telling and incredible world building to give readers a sexy thrill ride wrought with action they won’t forget!  I give Claimed by Rebecca Zanetti 5 stars!

EBook Obsessed: 5 stars.  The science introduced in the changing DNA and the effects and development of the virus add a unique and very interesting aspect to this series which keeps it from being just another vampire story.  Add to that the impending war between the Vampires and the Kurjans.  This all makes for a very exciting series.

Lynn Rush:  5 out of 5 stars. I really love Rebecca Zanetti’s writing. So visual and engrossing, I can’t put her books down until I’ve read just one more chapter (and lost hours of sleep!)

Anyway, those are a few of the recent reviews I’ve found.  Thought I’d share.  🙂

CLAIMED’s first Review…

on August 8, 2011

Hi all!  The fabulous Wanda over at Good Choice Reading just posted the first review for Claimed.  She seems to like the Kayrs brothers.  To quote Wanda, “all the brothers are sexy. If I were one of their mates, I wouldn’t let my mate out of my sight. The power they all possess will make any woman fall on her knees (Literally).”  🙂

Also…there’s a contest going on at Good Choice for an ARC of Claimed as well as a signed copy of Fated.  I think the contest runs until next Sunday.  Drop by here and comment to win.

My First Scathing Review

on March 13, 2011

So, I received my first one-star customer review the other day.  Reviews are popping up on book seller sites as well as reader sites.  On this particular site, I have eleven reviews.  Ten people loved FATED and gave it either four or five stars – mostly five.  One person hated it with the passion of a hundred suns.

They tell you not to read the customer reviews.  People get ticked over prices, over covers, over stuff the writer has no control over…and then rant about it in a review.

I read the review.  It was hilarious.  She hated the book.  Not the cover, or the price or anything like that…the actual book.  She took great pleasure in deleting FATED for all time from her e-reader.  The review made me laugh.  I mean that sincerely and not with sarcasm.  While this woman went into great detail about how much she hated the book, she was kind of…well, funny.  Great sense of humor.  And the things she disliked were the very things other people loved.

I’m tempted to send her CLAIMED when it comes out just to see if she hates it as much.  I’m not going to, of course.  You don’t send free books to people who hate your writing.  That’s just dumb.  But, I am curious.

There’s an expression in this business that I dislike.  “Nobody likes hearing your baby is ugly.”  Here’s the thing.  I have two babies and if someone calls them ugly, we’re heading outside.  This is my book.  Not my baby.  Some people aren’t going to like it.  I’ve always known that.  But I truly didn’t expect to enjoy the scathing remarks. 

I guess if I had a bunch of one-starred reviews, I wouldn’t be so tickled.  Or maybe if the attack was on me and not the actual book, I’d be upset.  But this gal kept to the story and explained her position, using some pretty good humor.

Everyone says writers need a thick skin.  I don’t have one.  Really.  I’m rather sensitive.  But I am able to put things into perspective.  One person’s opinion is only that.  An opinion.  The other people who’ve left reviews so far love the book.  I love it.  My agent, my editor and my critique partner love it.  Publisher’s Weekly recommended it.  Yet, this woman with her sense of humor didn’t.  That’s okay.

Perspective is crucial in this business.  If your first form rejection from an agent destroys you…then find another creative outlet.  Because that’s only the beginning.  I find that a sense of humor helps as well.  See the humor.  We need it.