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I just saw the movie “Saving Private Ryan”, and it was a horrible romance. I mean there was no sex in it at all, therefore I’m giving it one star.

or,

I just read “To Kill a Mockingbird”, and there was hardly ANY action in it. It was boring, a horrible action book—I’m giving it one star, even though I didn’t actually get past the first few chapters.

These may not sound familiar, but if you browse through reviews of different books, and I do now and then, many of the low ratings come from perspectives like these. Someone is expecting to read a particular kind of book and they’re disappointed when it doesn’t match their preconceptions, or they expect EVERY book to be the kind of book they like. The truth is that there are many kinds of films and novels, and each one is trying to accomplish something. Maybe it’s entertainment through pure action, or maybe it’s trying to make the reader think.

It’s useful to actually read the book description and , if possible, sample text from the book. Books fall into different genre, from romance to scifi to drama to mystery and so forth, and within each of these there is still a spectrum of sub-genres and types. Insisting that one flavor  (lots of action and shooting or lots of gratuitous sex) be imposed on every book read leads to a kind of flatness. My suggestion: find out what kind of (flavor) book it is before reading it (as much as is practical), then try reading the ones that past this muster.  if it’s not your cup of tea then stop reading it, but if you don’t actually read a book all the way through then don’t rate it. Other people may be look precisely for the kind of book you don’t like. That’s one of my own criteria. I will not rate a book I didn’t finish, and I won’t rate books based on my preconception of what the book was. I evaluate books based on what that book’s mission was and on whether or not it fulfilled the author’s clear intent. Of course I do have objective criteria as well: Did the plot make sense—was it self consistent? Were the sympathetic characters sympathetic and compelling (and did I think about the characters after I’d finished reading)? Did the dialog flow well, or was it stilted? Did I learn anything reading this book—did it make me think (if it was intended to make me think)?

Rating a book is more complex than “was it what I wanted to read?”

What are your thoughts on reviewing books?

An annual plant is a plant that grows and lives for a year or so and then dies. A perennial will live for two years, or longer, maybe indefinitely. For me, this same description can apply to books as well. There are books I find that are good to read, but I really only want to read them once and when I’m done, I will probably not think about them again. They don’t become a regular part of my thinking, or my life. Then there are books that stay with you—where the characters take up permanent  residence in your mind and you’ll see parallels in the world that remind you of that book—those characters—those situations. These are the books I like the best, because the characters are not only sympathetic (or antithetic), they are relatable; you understand their thinking and, while reading, they are a part of you. That doesn’t mean I don’t like ‘annual books’, too—I do. But they come and go and when I’m done, they’re mostly gone. Some excellent books fall into this category, too. I could name some, but then the classification of annual versus perennial book is a subjective thing, although (I think) many can agree on certain perennial books. Books like, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, or “The Godfather”. The characters in these books are as real as the people around you—and they last; the themes and heart of the story make them timeless books.

Even though I use multiple editors, my own eyes, and a proof reader, errors inevitably remain in books. This is because after reading something so many times one stops seeing the errors—our brains automatically fix things without us being aware of it. I’ve never actually seen a “perfect” book, but we should all strive to do the best we can within reason. I intend to collect errors in the book I AM, normally typos or a missing word. As I go through the book, or as people email me errors they find in the book, I’ll post them here. After a while, when I think I’ve found as many as I can, I intend to “fix” them.

I keep a paperback edition of each book near a chair in my office and that’s the copy I use to find errors. I use a highlighter pen to mark them. Feel free to post errata you find in the comments section below, or email me using the link on the web site.

I’ll collect errata sent in that are not on the list below and add them to the list. When my next book, BOSWORTH, comes out I’ll send a signed paperback edition copy to up to five of the people who’ve submitted a valid error not already listed. This quasi-contest will end when I release BOSWORTH, at which time I’ll start a new search competition for that book.

Errata List:

Page 98, last paragraph, 5th line from bottom: “no matter much” should read “no matter how much”
Page 138, 5th line from bottom: “An extension event” should read “An extinction event” (this was a spellchecker error)
Page 198, middle of page: “Not hard to see now, isn’t it?” should read “Not hard to see now, is it?”

Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A look into the future where Earth is ruled by a benign alien race living in ships orbiting the Earth. Look up from virtually any place and you can see their ships.

But why did they come? They aren’t slave masters and don’t seem to need anything from us?

Childhood’s End is an engrossing look at a what if scenario. We move from character to character through the book, and forward in time. The characters are “real-ish”, if a bit stereotyped, and a bit dated, having been published in 1953. Clarke is more focused on plot than on building complex characters. This plot is interesting and I have read the book at least twice over the many years I’ve owned a copy, but Clarke’s real, hidden, focus is on something else I won’t spoil for you, but which falls into the message category.

Still, I liked the book and if plots and themes are what drives you forward, this book’s for you. If you’re looking for complex relationships and sympathetic characters you won’t be drawn in, nether will it appeal to you if you want to see a lot of action and violence. It does offer a philosophical look forward at humanity that is unique in some respect, and consistent with another famous book of his 2001 A Space Odyssey.

I marked it with 3 stars when I originally rated it, mostly because I like more character depth, but it is a good read nonetheless, and (from me) 3 stars is not always a bad rating.

View all my reviews

I compare building a novel to how I imagine making a movie, or creating a painting would be. Now there are different types of paintings, just as there are different kinds of movies. Would you compare A Clockwork Orange with The Godfather? Yet both have quality and both have a unique place in our history.

Of course the most important part of a novel is a good story—an interesting tale, well told. This is essential, but at the same time it may not be enough. There are good stories that are poorly told, or told without any depth whatsoever. I look at the plot as the line drawing, before a painting is done—it basically describes the “what” of the story, but lacks color, texture, and character. In the same way, a film may be described in storyboard format.

I write in layers, much as many painters paint in layers and some film makers paint a cinema in layers. By this I mean that I try to capture the plot first—more so than just an outline. My plotting phase is mostly in my head, although I’ll break a story down into chapters, so I know which parts of the story are told when. When I write my first draft, I tell the whole story, although I may not flesh out every character in detail. I DO make sure that at least a few chapters contain much more depth about the main character —something to let me capture the tone of what I’l paint in more detail overall. These samples of near-final product help keep me on track.

Once I’ve created the draft, I’ll go back and begin to add layers to the story——the color and textures of the places, the people, the story. Normally I’ll have thought about the backstory quite a lot. I want the world being created to be consistent and to feel real, even if there are many speculative elements to it. People aren’t bland 2-dimensional constructs. They have frailties, likes and dislikes, and even affectations that betray their feelings. All of these need to be added and “feathered” into place. The same applies to the world, and to the story, just as a film gains depth from its soundtrack—and from the actors (after all a film is a collaborative creation). It may require from 10 to 100 passes over the story-painting-movoe before I feel it’s ready for the editor. I rate the “doneness” of a novel by its maturity from level 0 (a rough draft) to 5 (ready to publish), although this is not a measure of the number of times I’ll wind up reading it. I read “The Boy Who Ran” 200 times, sometimes changing just a few words.

Lastly, I should say that, while writing a story I “see” the story happening in front of my eyes, just as if I’m watching a movie.

As a lifetime Physicist, I’ve was reading up on the progress in 3-d printing and related technologies tonight. Interestingly, you can buy a CNC Mill (computer numerical control) milling machine for 1500 dollars, capable of making things like an AR-15 weapon (see the Ghost Gunner 2 CNC mill, for example). As technology progresses, the average person will be able to make fairly sophisticated parts and machines, and I can envision construction of complex molecules—essentially allowing people to make chemical compounds—in the not-too-distant future. People are already “printing” organic tissue and organs in labs. And of course cheap FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) technology has been around a long time, and it provides the tool for making complex electronics, simply by “programming” circuits. These FPGA’s are quite sophisticated, you can probably program (create) a fairly powerful computer using them, along with some simple power handling auxiliary components on a PC board. The concept of societal “control” of knowledge, and manufacturing is quickly slipping away (or has slipped away), just as control of secure data is already a myth—proving, once again, that the concept of such absolute control is an illusion.
Just as we’re seeing an increase in people and organizations hostile to our society, we’re also seeing the democratization of many of the tools that bring advanced technology to the individual troublemaker or small group of troublemakers. Even the machines to make machines can be built. The greatest, most powerful weapon in existence is the human brain.

This technology revolution also inspired the ideas used in The Balance back in 2011, when I wrote the first draft of that book.

—Things I think about at 3:00 in the morning when I should be sleeping and don’t feel like writing.

If you’ve read The Balance, I’d love to hear what you have to say. I can also answer questions, as long as they don’t reveal spoilers for Part 2

Like acting, writing is not a real way to make money, so if you’re writing because you think you’ll make a living at it, don’t.

I was reading an article on acting recently and on how most actors will never make enough money to even support their acting expenses, let alone paying their rent. It’s much the same way for writing. While it seems as though it costs nothing to write a book, publishing a passable or good book and then marketing it takes money.

Besides the free time consumed (time where you’s do better with a minimum wage job), you need to make sure you have the tools to write and communicate, you’ll need to factor in the costs of editors, proof readers, book interior design, cover design, production of books to give away, marketing / advertising expenses, an enormous amount time to manage the marketing, mailing costs, contest fees and book fair fees, and the cost of driving to independent book stores, carrying inventory for consignment sales, it keeps going . . .
There are millions of books published every year—yes, millions. Of these fewer than 1% of them will ever sell even 1000 copies, and if yours was one of those lucky few, your profit from these 1000 copies won’t even pay for one of the expenses I listed above. You’d need to be in that rarified atmosphere where your book sells many thousands to actually make a living.

If you write, write because it’s what you love to do, and if by some miracle you make a few dollars—maybe enough for a meal at a fast food place , or maybe an actual living—then count your lucky stars.

The Audio Edition of “The Boy Who Ran” (IPPY 2014 Gold Medal Novel) was released on March 25 and is available from Audible, Amazon, and iTunes

The audio edition has been revised and is narrated by Lyssa Browne (Cedar House Audio). Lyssa has performed for other audio books, video games, and film.

A sample audio clip can be found here:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Boy-Who-Ran/dp/B01DE62HGQ

I inadvertently started thinking about and writing parts of The Balance Part 2, subtitled “The Wastelands and the Wilderness” these past two days. Individual scenes started coming in and I decided to capture what I was seeing while it was fresh. That’s how much of my writing happens—I visualize the places and see the story unfolding, like watching a movie, and write down what happens.

I’ve had the basic story plotted out for a while. I like to say I see the shape of the forest but not where all the trees are. But I just spend an evening detailing the plot, not chapter-by-chapter, but thread-by-thread. The Balance Part 2 will begin with a significant event that drives the rest of the story and soon divides into four separate threads, including the primary one. I worked out a lot of details tonight but a few remain with less resolution for now.

I still plan to travel to southern France late this summer to continue research on the book DISOBEDIENCE, but may either work both books in parallel (I did this with The Boy Who Ran and The Balance), or complete The Balance Part 2 first.

On other news, The Audio Book for The Boy Who Ran should be out by April 1 and the novel I AM should be published on time late this spring.

M

The Beta Readers have agreed to read I AM, even though it’s in a somewhat rough form. My objective is to get the manuscript to editing by April 1.
I have a couple more scenes to add, plus I am thinking of incorporating a technical appendix at the end of the book, because there are a lot of electro-optic and astronomical references in the book—not surprising since roughly half the story takes place at an astronomical observatory.

Still on track to have the book published by summer.

I received and reviewed a 15-minute sample of the recording for the audio book edition of The Boy Who Ran.  The completed book is due to me on March 31 and I plan to release the book shortly afterward. Lyssa Browne (of Cedar House Audio) is narrating the book.  Look for it to be available by mid April.

I’ve chosen a cover image for the novel I AM.

I AM is a science fiction novel set just a few years from now. A comet form the Oort cloud is on a collision coarse with the Earth, and the book follows an astronomy student as she copes with tragedy in her life and watches the progress of this Earth killer.

I’m making significant revisions to The Boy Who Ran, primarily in specific wording choices and I’m also clarifying some of the thing in the book I found confusing. I started this primarily to create an audio script version, prior to making the audio book itself, since not all written words make good audio scripts. But I saw a lot of small errors and then became aware of mistakes I’d made. Te audio version should be out in early April, and I may release a second (revised) edition of The Boy from the audio script. If so that probably won’t happen until after the audio book is out.

After reviewing all of the audio auditions for “The Boy Who Ran”, I chose Lyssa Brown to narrate the book. From the original 30 auditions, three people were among the final group I was considering, and choosing wasn’t easy. In the end Lyssa’s interpretation was near perfect, and she hit all of the qualities with her voice and reading I was looking for.

Lyssa is part owner of Cedar House Audio Productions (based in Seattle), and her audio resume can be found on the web site for that company:

http://www.cedarhouseaudio.com/index.php

Right now, I’ve started a learning process to create an audio version of The Boy Who Ran. Since it’s only a 38,768 word book (that would be a novella for adults, but is a novel for Middle Grade), my education process should be less painful. That is, my mistakes will hurt less. I’ll use The Boy as my first effort (just as I did for publishing, although the draft of The Balance was written first). A audio version of The Balance should follow a bit later, since every production, paper, Kindle, or audio, requires an investment of both time and money on my part, and I’m just a micro-publisher.

I’m working through ACX, which is an AMAZON company exchange to match voice artists with authors. I’m often asked questions about this, such as: why don’t I record it myself. In my case, I know that my voice wouldn’t last through the whole book, and I prefer to work with professionals anyway. The same applies to editors, designers, and so forth. You get a better end product when you work with experienced pros. I know this is true and I’m all about the quality of the finished product.

This week, I’m receiving audition recordings from voice artists—often these are actors or actresses who do voiceovers, but sometimes they are teachers. I’ll be reviewing the recorded auditions (probably several times) until I feel I have a good match for this book. I may also contact the artists to ask a question or two. The demo interpretation may be close to what I want, or I may hear something in the voice or expression but want to make sure everything is a proper fit. I went through so may many revisions on The Boy to achieve exactly what I wanted, but I may not have the best notion of what works best for an audio book version.

I plan to make a decision for a first and second choice next weekend and then contact the person to see if we can work out an agreement and a schedule.

Meanwhile, I’ll work on I AM—I’ve been lazy lately—and try to get it into shape for the editing runs. I’m still hoping to release the paperback and Kindle versions of that in the late spring.

I updated the advanced-look excerpt form the upcoming Science Fiction book, I AM.

The excerpt contains the short prologue and the first interlude as well as Chapter 1.

https://michaelselden.com/i-am/

I AM is a science fiction story set in the near future.

A copy of Foreword Reviews magazine arrived yesterday in my mailbox. The blurb about THE BALANCE in the 5-Star books finally came out. Only books receiving a Clarion 5-Star rating can advertise in this section of the journal, and the quote in the ad comes from the review. Foreword Reviews is a trade magazine read by librarians and other book professionals
THE BALANCE is a Young Adult Dystopian Science Fiction novel

https://michaelselden.com/the-balance/
An excerpt form the book is available on this web page

The book, I AM, is a science fiction novel being written for a New Adult / Young Adult audience. The first draft is complete and I’m working on revisions. I’ve been playing around with different structures, voices, and tones, wanting to achieve just the right feel for the book. Naturally, I’ve also stuck as closely as is practical in a speculative fiction book with certain rules. While I will create speculative elements in a book, I usually try to make sure that the science parts are correct, and that there is a rationale for how the non-science parts work.

I AM explores events leading up to an extinction level event, caused by a massive comet from the Oort cloud, which originated from about 1 light year out. Of course the story has its own unique twists—after all cometary annihilation has been explored before. This book will be different.

I’ve posted a few items on the web page dedicated to this book, including a one-page excerpt, which I plan to update, adding the entire first chapter. To that end, I’ve asked the editor with whom I work to take a brief pass over the text.

Click Here for The Web Page for I AM or, if you prefer, copy this link:

https://michaelselden.com/i-am/

Sign up to win one of 7 copies of The Balance, which I’m offering through GoodReads. Click on the GoodReads widget below for details.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Balance

by Michael Selden

Giveaway ends November 30, 2015.

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at Goodreads.

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