We all run up against that heart-wrenching phrase: “I don’t like your work.” Criticism takes many forms, but that basic sentence is at the heart of it all. The key is not to take it personally. I know everybody says that, but here’s the logic behind it, as I see it:

The details of “I don’t like your work” typically fall into two camps.

1. They don’t like your work for technical reasons such as pacing/structure/horrible grammar/etc.

2. They don’t like your character’s actions and think your narrator should yank all his own teeth out just so he’ll shut up and someone else can take over telling the story.

The first type of criticism should be considered from a technical perspective, sifted through, and perhaps applied accordingly. As long as it doesn’t compromise your beliefs about your personal style.

If the criticism falls into the “I don’t like your characters and their actions” camp, it may be tempting to immediately dismiss it. Or, on the other hand, it might make you lose all faith in what you’ve created. Don’t do either. Not yet.

The latter form of criticism always seems more personal. They’re not making externally legitimized comments on grammar or structure; they’re attacking your characters, those precious creations. The important thing to remember is that they did not do this to hurt you. They weren’t thinking about your feelings when they made the criticisms. They were thinking about their feelings in response to your book. So before you dismiss it or take it too personally, ask yourself: Do I really care what this person feels? Is this subjective input valuable in any way?

They don’t do it to hurt you. They’re responding selfishly to reading, which itself is a selfish act. It allows us to ignore everything around us and disappear into a world of our choosing simply because we don’t want to deal with the outside world for a little while. We read because we want it to be all about us and our imaginations and emotions, not about phone calls and whining kids and complaining spouses. People own their reactions very deeply, and the key is to distinguish between a selfish, subjective reaction and one with value that can be legitimized by consulting dictionaries and grammar guides.

Weigh the criticism that way. It’ll spare you a bit of sanity.

Let’s be honest, there are some pretty sad looking author blogs/sites out there. They’re the kind that are obviously constructed using a barely-altered template with unused widgets hanging around, a lousy colour palate, and an illogical flow of information.

Most times, I don’t think it’s the author’s fault. A badly laid out blog is usually the result of technical ignorance rather than bad decision making. Not everyone knows how to set up or deactivate widgets. Not everyone knows how to change a template or colour palate. These mistakes are forgivable, but I still don’t feel very warmly toward these sites and the people they represent. It assumes that your content is good enough to overcome poor presentation. It’s probably not. 

If you’re using a free service like WordPress or Blogger, do not accept the template you have when you first sign up. These templates have One-Size-Fits-All syndrome, and therefore don’t fit anybody’s needs perfectly. Look through the theme catalogue from your provider and select a template that works for you.

Do you photoblog? Find a template that will best showcase your images.

Is your book or platform focused on nature? Find a template that’s in line with that theme.

Do you want a clean look without many graphics or sidebar widgets? Find one that suits your style.

After you set up your blog and template, get rid of any sidebar widgets you don’t intend to use. These often include calendars, category lists, meta data, etc. Not having them on your fledgling blog looks better than having an unused widget hanging around — it’s like printing an unfinished illustration in a picture book.

When it comes time to set up your pages, look at the blogs and sites of authors you admire or who you think have nice websites.

How are their bios presented?

Do they have dropdown menus or many individual pages on their navigation bar?

Is the site cluttered, or organized for easy content access?

Take your cues from the people who have succeeded in your genre.

Brand your blog or site. This means using an image easily associated with your product (such as its cover art), and making it a visual focal point of your website. If you write several types of books or perhaps a series, consider branding specific pages of your site only.

Monetize. I don’t mean that you should sign up for Google AdSense (though it might make you a bit of money). In two years of blogging I’ve made less than $5 off that program, but many people have done better than that. Just don’t bank on it. By monazite I mean list with Amazon Affiliates, Book Depository Affiliates, and whoever else sells your book. Put affiliate links on your site so that whenever someone clicks, you not only get the royalty rate from that sale, you also get a few cents commission.

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It may not have happened yet, but sooner or later it will. The little column marked “Units Refunded” on your Reports page will show a number higher than zero. If you’re anything like me, your first thoughts might look something like this:

Evil Voice in the back of my head: “Well f*** you too.”

Me: “Well f– wait, you already said that.”

Evil Voice: “[Insert  profanity].”

Me: “Is it me?”

Evil Voice: “The world does not revolve around you. It’s an ebook. You’re virtually anonymous to these customers. Why would it be about you?”

Me: “Well…fine. They’re entitled to refund it.”

You won’t like it, but the fact is that having a refund policy is important to the smooth operation of a business. They key is to take the high road and not regard refunds as a personal attack. Your book is very personal to you, but buying and reading a book involves a lot of subjective factors.

Consider these reasons why your book may have been refunded:

1. The customer genuinely did not like your book and regretted paying for it. This is a pretty broad classification, and the refund could be motivated by anything — they didn’t get along with your characters, didn’t like the writing style, found typos and purple prose, etc.

2. They speed-read the book to finish it within Amazon’s 7-day refund period and then apply for a refund. Free ebooks! But since hours of entertainment now costs less than a latte at Starbucks, it’s a highly dishonest thing to do.

3. The customer purchased your book by accident. This happens, especially with one-click buying. It might also happen if your book book’s cover and/or title are very similar to another book. Just look at how many people accidentally purchased Beyond Shades of Grey when shopping for Fifty Shades of Grey. 

Take comfort in the fact that it happens to all of us and remind yourself that it isn’t about you personally. Be polite and professional, even when the loss of 70 cents through refund annoys you.

I’m back to posting on the Self-Publishing Series since I’ve been working to re-list Wake with retailers again. For the past 90 days Wake has been listed with KDP Select with demands exclusivity with Amazon. Basically, I could only sell Wake for Kindle and computers/phones/tablets that are equipped to read .mobi files.

My experience with KDP Select was a positive one. Altogether ~3000 free copies of Wake were downloaded over a period of three days (March 1st & 2nd, April 1st). Each of my free periods was followed by a spike in sales. I could enrol Wake in KDP Select for another 90 days, but I’ve decided that it’s time to re-list the book with other retailers so that people with epub compatible devices can read the book.

The easiest way for a Canadian to do this: Smashwords.

In the past I’ve used Smashwords and Book Baby to list Wake with ebook retailers. As a non-U.S. citizen I’m prevented from using Barnes & Noble’s PubIt!, which requires a U.S. mailing address and bank account. I listed with them using Smashwords, and later used Book Baby because they offered professional ebook conversion and I’d had a few issues with the Smashwords meatgrinder.

Book Baby

Pros:

• Professional cover design and ebook conversion services
• Lists with all major ebook retailers

Cons:

• Costs $99 up front
• Requires minimum balance for payouts

Smashwords

Pros:

• Free services
• Lists with many retailers
• The only software you need to know is Microsoft Office
• Comes with a free ebook conversion guide
• They convert your .doc file into .epub, .mobi, .lrf, .pdf, etc.
• Generate coupon codes (good for giving out review copies)

Cons:

• Ghetto-ized by the huge rise in self-publishers
• Not for those without tech-savvy
• Slow process

When I enrolled Wake in KDP Select I opted out of my relationship with Book Baby, so essentially that was $99 wasted. I found Smashwords more difficult to use, but it turned out to be the better (read: financially beneficial) option in the long run.

Here’s how my second round with Smashwords went: 

1. I dug my original .docx file out of the bowels of my hard drive. It’s been about 8 months since I looked at the Word file.

2. I combed through my Word file for wonky formatting (tabs, misplaced headers, etc.). I found an entire chapter that was inexplicably in Optima pt 13. No idea how that got there. There were also a few lines throughout the file that were randomly sized beyond 12 pt. I had to make the text size uniform, normalize the style, and make sure indents were formatted properly. For how to do this, see the Smashwords Style Guide.

3. I saved the .docx file as a .doc file.

4. I had published Wake with Smashwords in the past and unpublished it in order to enrol in KDP Select. Smashwords still had Wake on file. All I had to do was re-upload a copy of the file (I also had the option to simply “re-publish” without changing the file. I chose to change the file because last time there were some problems with text size — no wonder).

5. My .doc file went through the Smashwords meatgrinder. I had two errors that would have excluded Wake from the premium catalogue: some text size was still wonky (!!!) and only the epilogue showed up in my table of contents (which Smashwords calls NCX…or NXC, I can’t remember; neither way makes much sense to me).

6. I wondered what to do about the TOC error because my .doc file didn’t have a TOC.

7. I fixed the text size issue again and re-uploaded the file. This time it passed through inspection with no errors. Within 2-4 weeks, Wake will be listed with Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony Reader Store, etc. and is, at the moment, available for download from Smashwords.

When Wake is listed on these retailer’s websites, I’ll send out a newsletter. If you’d like to be notified, sign up here or using the form in the sidebar.

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I’ve had Wake enrolled in the KDP Select program for the past 90 days, which means it has only been available for Kindle users and people who can read .mobi books on their tablet/smartphone/computer. I’ve gotten a few emails and tweets from people interested in purchasing Wake as an epub book for their Nooks, Kobos, etc. Wake will be available for sale in that format very shortly. Over the next few weeks I’ll be working to list it with Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Sony, Diesel, Stanza, and Aldiko. When it’s listed on these retailer’s websites, I’ll send out a newsletter. If you’d like to be notified, sign up here or using the form in the sidebar.

Dream is hosting a giveaway for a free copy of Wake this month. It is open to residents of the United States and Canada. It’s easy to sign up for Dream, and you’ll immediately be eligible to enter draws for all their regionally available books.

Good luck!

I’m giving away a Kindle copy of Wake on Tina’s Book Reviews this month. She’s running an Indie April feature, spotlighting independent and self-published authors. To enter, leave a comment on the post by the end of the month. Lots of books are up for grabs (see all the posts in the Indie April feature). Good luck!