How to Handle Bad Reviews of Your Book

I’ll be upfront–this blog post is as much for me as it is for you.  Catharsis. 

My first book, Enemy in Blue, has been selling wonderfully.  That means one of my goals in writing the book is starting to be fulfilled.  Namely, people are reading a story about a difficult and challenging subject.  What does that mean?  It means that some people are getting REALLY pissed off.

Okay, no worries.  I knew that would happen and am glad it has.  How else can you draw attention to a controversial subject?

That said, it still stings to get bad reviews.  I believe I had the honor of a recent reviewer saying my book would destroy Kindles because readers would barf all over them. Excellent.

With Enemy in Blue out a little over a year now, and having gotten a few bad reviews, I’m going to do this for you, and for me–okay?

There is No Final Answer in this Blog Post

Let me be upfront about one more thing.  I don’t have the final answer regarding how to handle bad reviews.  This is almost as much about me asking the question as me answering the question.  Further, this is a very emotional analysis.  You can’t really rationalize bad reviews, especially the really bad ones.  So, understand off the bat that you may very well deal with bad reviews differently.  Just like we all deal with emotions differently.  That’s fine.  In fact, it’s good.

Don’t Kid Yourself, Bad Reviews are Inevitable

I’ve heard this a few times.  “It’s not going to happen to me.”  Hold on while I choke back a laugh.  If you’re selling books, even if you’re selling the best book ever written, you’re going to get bad reviews.  Imagine if you went into a movie theater after an award-winning movie like The English Patient played.  You think everyone in that theater would give it 5 or even 4 stars?  That movie bored me out of my mind.  Bottom line, everyone is going to have a different perspective.

Add to the whole perspective issue the fact that with our books, people sometimes buy our genres when they don’t really like our genres.  For instance, if you wrote a romance and a person that typically reads and enjoys thrillers picks up your book, guess what, you’re behind the eight ball to start. The final exacerbating factor to getting bad reviews? Complete anonymity.  People can hide behind nondescript profile names on Amazon and leave nasty reviews.  Without the buffer of face-to-face interaction, there’s nothing stopping a bad reviewer from letting loose.

In short, if you’re selling more than a book a month, you are likely to get some bad reviews.  So, what to do with them?

Don’t Feed the Monster!

You can respond or comment on bad reviews at Amazon’s site.  Did you know that?  Well, you do now.  But, before you go responding to every person that leaves you a review, whether good or bad, remember this.  That cloak of anonymity?  If you, the author, start responding to people’s reviews, you intrude on the anonymity that people enjoy about Amazon.  They like the fact that if they want to, they can leave a bad review to “warn” other consumers about a product.  Similarly, they like leaving a good review when they have enjoyed a product.  If you step into their space, it will no doubt get ugly.

As an example, I have heard an anecdotal story of an author that responded to a bad reviewer, got into it with the person that left the review with back and forth posts on Amazon, and then Amazon lifted that author’s book from the website.  Yessir, don’t forget, Amazon cares about their customers more than their suppliers.  And, rightfully so.  Thus, think twice before you engage.  Secondly, if you engage, I would expect that other consumers would be more inclined to do the same.  Stated otherwise, your response could piss 1, 2, 3, etc. people off that may otherwise have just put your book down and not left a review.  But, if they see you advocating on behalf of your book, then they may feel justified to advocate against your book.

Again, the short and sweet of this section is to take your punches and move on.

Can Those Bad Reviews Actually…Help?

Let’s just take a behemoth book for example.  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  That book has a whopping 7,254 reviews!  (An interesting analysis for another day is trying to determine the ratio of sales to reviews.  At last count, The Hunger Games sold about 18 million copies.  That means only 0.04% of people have left a review.  Innnnteresting).  Out of those reviews, Ms. Collins has 210 one-star reviews.   You think those have hurt her sales?  How about we take a classic, Pride and Prejudice?  Over 1,000 reviews, including 57 one-star reviews.  How about this trending book called Fifty Shades of Grey?  Out of 3,360 reviews, there are 962 one-star reviews.  Almost 1/3 of the reviews have been one-star!  Guess where it is ranked?  #1 overall on Amazon in the United States.

Our conclusion?  Bad reviews don’t always spell doom for your book.  Especially since we aren’t selling a high priced item, such as a tablet, people are still willing to plunk down a few bucks to give something a shot.  On top of that, I have heard from readers that some bad reviews actually lend credibility to a book.  When readers see nothing but positive reviews, they tend to think something fishy is going on.

So, remember a few things.  You’re gonna get bad reviews.  Cry, scream, throw things–you ain’t gonna change it.  When you get bad reviews, don’t exacerbate the situation by responding to them.  Create voodoo dolls, go for a run…whatever.  Just don’t respond.  Finally, those bad reviews won’t necessarily spell the end of your book.  Work on getting some good ones by submitting your book to friends, family, and other authors.

There, I feel better.  What about you?  What do you think?  Go on, comment and get a little healing yourself.

Microsoft to Invest $300 Million in the Nook–Game Changer?

Very interesting play here.  Microsoft is going to invest $300 million in Barnes and Noble’s Nook.  Microsoft has a history of running other company’s products into the ground, so I wonder if this will be any different.  If successful, however, this could change the landscape of ereaders a bit.  Here’s the article:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/47228151

Books Aren’t Only Ones Feeling the Pinch. End of $60 Video Games

I found this interesting because the video game industry is undergoing some of the same pricing issues that we are seeing in the book industry.  Namely, the introduction of quality, inexpensive products is pressuring the traditional, higher priced products.  Sound familiar?

http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/why-end-60-video-game-near-181412574.html

 

“Daring to Cut Off Amazon”

Another very interesting article on the impact of Amazon on the publishing industry.  ”Daring to Cut Off Amazon,” by David Streitfeld of  The New York Times.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/47060947// 

Publishers of all sizes are struggling to survive in the face of the online giant.  Where do you think the industry is headed?

12 Writing Tips from Ray Bradbury

With all the marketing and promotion that can go into our books, sure seems like it’s easy to forget about our craft.  With that in mind, it makes sense to post a great video and article about a presentation that Ray Bradbury gave, in which he discusses the keys to being an excellent author.  I guess if you’re going to listen to someone, Bradbury isn’t the worst example you could have, huh?

http://www.openculture.com/2012/04/ray_bradbury_gives_12_pieces_of_writing_advice_to_young_authors_2001.html

Scintillating Interview with Author Zoe Sharp, Creator of the Bestselling Charlie Fox Series

Zoe Sharp and I met in a Facebook group for authors, and I’ve got to say that I was intrigued with her Charlie Fox series right off the bat.  She has amazing reviews, and her covers are fantastic.  Haven’t gotten to reading one yet, but her latest book Fifth Victim is in my queue.

A Charlie Fox Thriller

This is the first interview I’ve done, and I’m happy I did.  So interesting!  And, I lose my man card–sucks.  Without further ado, Zoe Sharp!

Derek Blass: Charlie Fox is the heroine in your bestselling series. Tell us about her.

Zoë Sharp: Charlie Fox is definitely someone you want on your side in a fight. She’s ex-British army, kicked out in the middle of a Special Forces training course after a brutal attack by a group of her fellow trainees. The start of the series is the turning point in her life, when she comes under threat again and this time she discovers her inner killer instinct. From teaching others how to protect themselves, she progresses into the world of close-protection, protecting others. It’s a profession for which she’s well suited, and one of the few legal options open to ex-military personnel who want to use their skillset to best advantage.

I tried very hard to keep Charlie human and female—definitely not a ‘guy in nylons’. She’s torn
between going too far and not going far enough. She has a vulnerable side, but cross her and she’ll
take you down. My favourite quote about her came from the Chicago Tribune: “Ill-tempered,
aggressive and borderline psychotic, Fox is also compassionate, introspective and highly principled:
arguably one of the most enigmatic − and coolest − heroines in contemporary genre fiction.”

DB: What inspired you to start the Charlie Fox series?

ZS: The very first crime novel that really caught my attention was THE MISFORTUNES OF MR TEAL
by Leslie Charteris, since republished both as THE SAINT IN LONDON and THE SAINT IN ENGLAND. I
loved the character of Simon Templar ‘The Saint’, mainly because he went against the convention
that the detective had to be the hero of the book.

But I quickly began reading the classic thrillers by authors like Frederick Forsyth, Jack Higgins, Alistair
McLean and Clive Cussler. They were great books—I’ve always loved action and pace—but I couldn’t
help noticing that the female characters tended to be a bit on the wussy side. They screamed and
fell over and twisted their ankles a lot, and had to be rescued by the men. I wanted to read about a
woman who could fight her way out of a corner and do her own rescuing. I couldn’t find quite what
I was looking for on the shelves of my local library, so I decided I was just going to have to write my
own. Charlie Fox was the result.

DB: How did your career as an author start?

ZS: I wrote my first novel when I was fifteen, which my father—bless him—typed up for me. (OK, this dates me horribly—pre-computer days!) It did the rounds of publishers and received what’s known in the trade as ‘rave rejections’. Everybody loved it but nobody actually wanted to publish it. It still sits in a box in the attic somewhere.

On the Triumph

Slightly daunted by this, I spent my teenage years doing weird jobs like delivering yachts and being a horse-riding instructor and then ended up writing magazine articles about motoring. In a fit of wild optimism, on the strength of my first accepted article, I gave up my job to turn freelance. That was in 1988, and I’ve been making a living writing ever since.

Some years later, I was doing a regular column for one of the car magazines and every time my photograph appeared in the mag, I received death-threat letters. Really nasty, cut-out-of-newspaper jobs—like a ransom note—telling me they knew where I lived and my days were numbered.

This had two effects. The first was I took a sudden and very earnest interest in learning self-defence, which has come in enormously handy not only as research, but also because I occasionally do self-defence demonstrations at conventions like Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, and CrimeFest.

DB: “Fifth Victim” is your latest book. What is Charlie up to in this latest installment?

ZS: FIFTH VICTIM sees Charlie on Long Island, the playground of New York’s wealthy and privileged, looking after Dina, the daughter of a rich businesswoman, from threat of kidnap. At the same time, Charlie is trying to come to terms with the after-effects of her last job in California, during which her lover was shot and left for dead, and is still in a coma.

It’s a book about not knowing what you have until it’s gone, and about what you might be prepared
to do in order to get it back.

DB: Now more than ever, there are tons of books being published. Why should someone dig into
the Charlie Fox series?

ZS: Oh, that puts me on the spot, doesn’t it? And I’m a Brit—we blow our own trumpets really badly. Read them if you like a good story, a fast pace, a heroine who’s real and damaged and resourceful, and who grows as the series evolves.

Last year I put up the whole series in e-format so people can finally start from the beginning without difficulty. If you want to dip a toe in the water, there’s also FOX FIVE: a Charlie Fox short story collection, which contains five stories of Charlie that span her career and give you a real taste of the character and the world in which she moves.

Apart from that, I’m going to quote one of my heroes in the crime thriller genre, Lee Child: “If I were a woman, I’d be Zoë. If Jack Reacher were a woman, he’d be Zoë’s main character, Charlie Fox.”

DB: On a personal note, your Facebook page has you sitting on a Buell motorcycle. Does that say
something about your personality?

ZS: Oh Derek—you lose a Man Card for that It’s a Triumph Street Triple, not a Buell. (Charlie rides a Buell Firebolt in FIFTH VICTIM, and still has a Honda FireBlade sitting in storage at home in the UK.) I’m tempted by a Ducati Monster next, actually …

But, to get back to your question, I suppose it does. It says I’m not averse to calculated risk in certain areas. That I like to move fast, but always stay in touch with my surroundings and what’s happening around me. When you ride a motorcycle you’ve got to be there, every second, looking for threats and hidden dangers before they appear. If you snooze or you’re likely to end up dead. These were characteristics I wanted for Charlie, too, which is why she rides a motorcycle in just about every
book in the series.

DB: For the authors out there reading this, what thoughts do you have on a path to success in the
industry?

ZS: Wow, how long have you got? Basically, the first—best—thing you can do is write the very best book you can. If you’re going the indie publishing route, get the book professionally edited and proofread and get a really great cover. Do what you can to get your name out but without ramming it down people’s necks. Be professional, be polite, and pay it forwards. Take reviews—good and bad—with grace and equanimity. Listen to all editorial comment but then apply the rule of thirds:

One third of advice you follow absolutely.

One third of advice you consider.

One third of advice you ignore completely.

(Of course, working out which third is which is the tricky part …)

The final piece of advice is that persistence is everything in this game. I have often thought there are more persistent published writers than there are talented published writers. You’re going to take a lot of hits—somebody once told me that writers have to face more criticism in a year than most people face in a lifetime. How you respond to those knock-backs will define you. Keep working to improve your craft.

DB: Do you have a “must” when you’re writing (i.e. music, coffee, a great view, etc.)?

ZS: LOL! I’d love to say I have a rider that includes a permanent supply Jelly Belly jelly beans (with the cinnamon and root beer ones removed) and fresh-brewed Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, but in truth, I’ll write anywhere and under just about any circumstances.

If I’m at home I do listen to music a LOT when I write. Nothing creates the mood or atmosphere I need for a particular scene faster. But really, if you’re a writer, you write wherever and whenever you can. All I need is a pencil and a load of scrap paper (also known as a myPad or an iBrain) and I’ll scribble.

In fact, I’ve found I work better if I make detailed notes just before I start on each new chapter, so time away from my computer can often be really productive. And long car journeys are great for untangling knotty bits of plot. I often work on my laptop in the car. But NOT while I’m driving!

DB: What’s next in the pipeline for you in terms of books?

ZS: I’ve delivered the next in the series, DIE EASY: Charlie Fox book ten, to my publisher, so now I’m indulging myself. For years I’ve had an idea for a supernatural thriller that I’ve kept putting off writing. Its time has finally come! I started in early March and am already halfway through the story. After that I’m going to start on what I hope will be the first in a trilogy with a new female protagonist who’s a bit like Charlie … with the brakes off. Plus I have a standalone crime thriller that’s waiting for edits, and then I’ll be back to Charlie for the eleventh installment in the winter. (She says breezily… Actually, I’m having cold sweats thinking about the amount of work I’ve taken on this year, but I’ve always thought that sleep is very overrated!)

DB: You obviously have a loyal base of readers. Anything you want to say to them?

ZS: “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!” Without readers, we’re talking to ourselves in an empty room. The feedback I get from people constantly touches me. Writing can be a very isolated business and knowing that your voice is being heard and liked and understood is wonderful.

A satisfied reader is always a writer’s best friend.

Derek, thank you so much for inviting me to chat. It’s been a blast!

Don’t you just think she’s great?  Can’t wait to dig into your books, Zoe!  All of here books are available on Amazon, but click on this cover to start with Fifth Victim!

Another Charlie Fox Thriller!

Thinking About Adding Some Song Lyrics To Your Novel? Think Again.

Okay, gotta admit that I almost made this mistake.  In fact, I DID make the mistake, but thanks to a small group of amazing authors I associate with on Facebook, I caught it before publishing my second book.  The mistake–using the lyrics of another person’s song in the book.

In the back of my mind, I thought two things.  First, I’m no mega-bestseller, so who the hell cares?  Second, fair use, right?  Wrong.  Starting with the second point, there is no fair use for songs because they are too short.  Apparently, it is acceptable to use thetitleof the song, but none of the words.  Not even a couple.  As to the second point, even if you’re not a bestseller, you can get nabbed for using what amounts to copyrighted material from another artist.  And, removing the reference won’t necessarily help you avoid a lawsuit.  Finally, citation to the song is not sufficient to cover your butt either.

In short, get permission to use the lyrics, just avoid using another artist’s lyrics at all, or write your own damn song!  Good luck writing Stairway to Heaven though…

Here is a very good article I found online by Lori Lake on the topic (it spells out the legalities in more detail).  http://www.justaboutwrite.com/A_Archive_IntellectProp3.html

Should You Stay With Kindle Direct Publishing Select?

Is there a more prominent question to be asked and resolved right now for indie authors?  There certainly isn’t a more pressing time, as many of us are coming up on our first renewal window.  And, as that window approaches, I’m seeing more and more authors take a stance on this issue.  Question is, what areyou going to do?

In case you’re new to the game, or you’ve lived under a rock for the last three months, Kindle Direct Publishing is the means by which you can publish your ebook on Amazon.  About three months ago, KDP announced the select program, whereby an author could take advantage of a huge promotional tool in exchange for your ebook being listed exclusively on Amazon.  The huge promotional tool is the ability to list your book for free for five (5) days during your three month KDPS agreement with Amazon.  Going free, in and of itself, is just the first of a one-two punch.  The second punch is that your free downloads “transfer” over to your paid ranking when you come off of free.  Thus, you do not get any royalty credit for the free downloads (obviously), but you do get credit in terms of where you rank when your free period is over.  To be clear, this can be HUGE (which is why I put it in caps, okay?)

PROVEN RESULTS

Let’s start with this–I have experienced and witnessed some amazing results in the KDPS program.  First, as to my own book Enemy in Blue, I have gone from being in the 20,000-30,000 ranking range to the 1,000-2,500 range.  That’s going from maybe a couple books sold a day to around 50.  Second, I was part of an Indie Book Collective event where one of the authors (Nina Bruhns, Catch Me If You Can) experienced an almost unimaginable jump.  Her book reached the top 10 in all free books, came out onto free and reached the top 30 in all of paid, and her backlog of books is now completely kicking ass.  She is selling tons of books.  Would that have happened without KDPS?  Maybe, but it certainly didn’t happen before KDPS.

If the results were a one-off, I’d let you know that and probably counsel against KDPS.  However, the results are not anomalies, which leads me to my conclusion that KDPS is the most significant marketing tool that we indie authors have at the moment.

CHANGING LANDSCAPE?

I ended the last second with the caveat “at the moment” because things can change on a moment’s notice with Amazon.  From my own personal experience, I seemed to get a bigger “transfer” based upon the number of downloads in my first free giveaway than my second.  There are rumblings that Amazon is not giving as much credit for free downloads in KDPS now as they were at the beginning of the program.  Essentially, they are making it more difficult to climb the rankings based solely upon your downloads. This could make the value of the primary benefit of KDPS less attractive.

Adding to the changing landscape is saturation in our target markets.  This is purely speculation, but I think there’s an upper limit to what people are willing to throw onto their devices.  If they have 50 books that they have downloaded for free, are they really going to add the 51st, 52nd, etc.?  Even if they do, will they ever read them?  This also begs the question, are people going to become accustomed to getting books for free?  Will they still pay $2.99 for a book when they know that it may go free in the next several months?  Is that the world we (as indie authors) want to create…and do we have any say in it to begin with?

I think a very interesting indicator of where readers are headed is the report generated by Kindle Nation Daily with respect to the successes of their sponsors.  Here’s the link to the results: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AlfzLsx6vYzodHZaUWJ6QS0tdC1Rb1pFay1sNW5pSHc&gid=18  If you take the time to analyze the results over the last few months compared to the last year, for instance, you’ll see two things.  First, many more authors listing their books for free and paying for advertising space to do so.  Second, the numerical jump in ranking for books that are free versus those that are paid is significantly different.  To me, this means that readers are becoming accustomed to free rather than paid.  (Now, this may largely be a result of the shift in who advertises on Kindle Nation Daily, i.e. more free books, but it is the only empirical data we have as to results from advertising).

STILL THE BEST GAME IN TOWN

Things can change on a dime.  Just look at what KDPS did to our world.  As things currently stand, it is a must to use the KDPS system as an indie author.  Nowhere else are you going to get 5,000, 10,000, or 20,000 downloads of your book.  Even if 1-2% of those people actually read the book, you’re still better off.  Further, no other distribution system (i.e. Apple, B&N, Smashwords) provides usany marketing tools of anysignificance.  Will all your ebook eggs be in one basket for 3 month periods?  Yes.  But, is there really only one basket that’s going to lift you to success as an indie author?  Eh, kinda.  At least right now.  I don’t see many authors gloating about how they sold 1,000,000 books on Smashwords or B&N.

In sum, I simply don’t think there’s a better way to expose your book right now, and I don’t think there’s a better way to climb the bestselling ranks.  Could that change in a year?  Sure.  Could that change in a month?  Absolutely.  Until it does, I’ve got to stick with KDPS.

Is What You’re Doing Really Marketing Your Book?

Interesting article referred to me by another author, entitled “The Uncommon Truth About Marketing Your Books.”  It poses a valid question–are we marketing our books, or just networking?  I really had to take a step back and consider my approach to getting exposure for my book.  Read the article and let us know what you think.  Specifically, are you marketing on Twitter or networking?  Or both?

http://www.passiveincomeauthor.com/the-uncommon-truth-about-marketing-your-books/#comment-150

Indie Author Report–Advertising with Kindle Nation Daily

Goodreads.  Facebook.  Bing.  Twitter.  Countless websites that have varying degrees of dedication to indie authors.  All of these are options for your precious advertising dollars.  And, all of them can be money pits.  Over the course of the next few months, I’m going to try to relay to you which ones work, which ones don’t, and why they have worked or not for me.  The first one on the list is Kindle Nation Daily (“KND”).

KND seems to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, website dedicated solely to books on the Kindle.  They have over 48,000 likes/followers on Facebook, and state the following with respect to their traffic:

“One way or another, we connect with over 84,200 readers every day.

In the past 30 days there have been 158,200 unique visits to our website, totaling over 349,800 page views. Over the past three months Kindle Nation Daily’s website traffic places it among the top 40,400 websites in the world, and among the top 8,200 websites in the U.S.

48,200 of you connect with us through Facebook, 26,700 though our email newsletter, and 2,025 through Twitter.  Between eInk Kindle  subscribers and subscribers to our free Kindle Fire app, over 9,100 of you are subscribers to the Kindle edition of our blog.

In the past 30 days you have visited 646,000 Amazon pages and purchased over 14,500 Amazon items directly from our website — and that’s just the paid items.”

Those are some big numbers.  That’s why I decided to take out an “Option A,” Special Sponsored Post with Facebook Triple Play (SSP-TP) advertisement with them.

When I say “them,” I am really referring to Stephen Windwalker, the founder/CEO and “chief bottle washer” at KND.  He was my primary contact, and from a customer service perspective, he was very good.  He responded relatively timely to emails (would give him an A-/B+ there, but I know he is inundated with correspondence).  From a customer accommodation standpoint, I give him an A+ for two reasons.  First, when I purchased the SSP-TP package, KND sent me three days when my ad would run.  I wanted to change those days a bit due to another event I was in, and Steve was happy to make that change.  Second, there was an issue with my ad not running on one of my days.  I emailed Steve about this and he immediately took ownership, and extended me the benefit of three more days of advertising due to the error.  THAT, my friends, is excellent customer service.

Another aspect of KND which I found to be of superior quality is the sponsorship tracking data provided on their website.  Steve has provided the results of advertisements taken out by authors for approximately the last year in a handy spreadsheet (click here to see).  That level of transparency is ridiculous, and almost unheard of.  You can take those results and do two things.  First, see what authors are using KND, and what their results are.  You’ll find that top selling indie authors such as Richard Bard use KND.  Second, look at the results, and the corresponding pricing during the events, to calculate what type of advertising may work best for you.  This is much better than the Google Adwords trial and error money pit.

For my advertisement, I priced my book at $0.99.  That decision was based on several factors, including the fact that my book would be part of a $0.99 single day event during the ad, Steve’s own recommendation, and my gut.  I made the $179.99 cost of the ad back and then some.  In full disclosure, I don’t think the advertisement was wildly profitable from a purely monetary perspective.  But, you know that profit isn’t everything, especially early in a career (or, you SHOULD know that).

Perhaps one concern I have with KND is that with the mix of free Kindle books they advertise, do those advertisements cannibalize purchases of paid books?  I saw one comment from a reader on KND’s Facebook page, and she essentially wrote, “Thank you KND for these great free Kindle books.  Since I bought my Kindle, I haven’t had to pay for a single book I’ve read.”  Yowch.  I’m sensitive to the fact that readers may start expecting their Kindle books to be free, and wonder how much of KND’s target market expects that as well.  Promotion of increased prices would be ideal.  However, I’m certainly not going to blame KND entirely or even in large part for what may be attributed to market forces.  It is something to watch, and I’m not sure you would have much success advertising on KND at price points above $2.99.

In short, I was very happy with KND’s customer service, very happy with the data available to me before I paid a chunk of money to advertise, and content with the results.  Enemy in Blue has held onto a low 1,000s rank since the KND ad (and the Indie Book Collective event referenced in my last post), and is now a top 10 seller in Legal Thrillers on Amazon.  Will I use KND again?  Absolutely–I intend to with my second book, the release of which is imminent!