Carmen DeSousa

No matter what you do in life, a third of the people will love you, a third will hate you, and the rest will be indifferent. Get over it and Write On! Yes, I'm talking to myself. If you're listening, GREAT! It's good advice! Is it easy advice? Heck No! For some reason, even though that percentage is rather low on my books--the percentage of people who hate my books runs about 4.6%--it still hurts.  Note: I only averaged the 'firsts' in my books, the books I actively promote. Because if I go to the second, third, and fourth books in my series, those numbers drop drastically. Obviously, if readers don't like my first book, they don't go on to the rest of my books in a series, so those books receive little to zero one-star reviews. So...if the number of one-star reviews we receive is less than five percent--Thank God ALL of the 33 1/3% of the haters don't write reviews--why do we get so depressed when we receive a one-star review...

First things first, I need to read my end-of-the-year post from last year to see where I've been and if I've done any of the things that I wanted before I move onto my goal for this year. So excuse me for a second while I drop down to the bottom of this page and read last year's posts. Here's a fun video while you wait, that I truly believe helps me not worry about the little stuff--such as poor reviews. It's a hard lesson, but one of the things I learned last year was that a few bad reviews don't hurt an author. In fact, I think they help! A note about the video, something that--based on a lot of yapping from the general public--I think many people miss. Taylor Swift isn't the prettiest young lady in the public eye, and she isn't the best singer, but she knows that. Notice, she can't do the moves of her back-up dancers, she's clearly not a ballerina, and to make her point, she falls at the end. She also brings in a lot of average Jane...

Some of you have heard me say that, and it’s funny, but it’s also a curse. It’s a sign of obsessive-compulsive behavior, which I have, but fortunately, I have learned to control—to some degree. My father recognized this trait in me first. He saw that I would rearrange my room, throw away edible desserts, and wad up pages upon pages of notebook paper until I expressed my thoughts clearly. He lovingly reprimanded me by saying, “A perfectionist will never be perfect.” Wow, it was a hard lesson , and I don’t think I’ll ever master it, but I’ve learned to just let go, to not expect perfection in my house, my work, or my writing. I’m not perfect, and I never will be, but I will strive for a comfortable area where I do not have to work fifteen hours a day. Please remember, I said, "try." I am a perfectionist, so I will strive for that elusive perfect   anything   to grasp on to. But when I don’t meet it, please give me a break; tell me softly, so I don’...

This is a question I hear every day. Along with other comments such as, "Readers aren't buying anything but free books anymore", or "If I promote another author's book, I'll lose a sale." A little recap from the previous posts in this series before you look at the list below. Although Amazon's algorithms are confusing, authors and book aficionados like myself, who watch the book market daily, have come up with an estimate of what it takes to be on the first page of Amazon's bestseller list. A bestseller rank of 3 to 8 means you’re selling about 4,000-plus books a day! Do the math on my first star pupil below with 483 days in the top 100. That's almost two million books. Yes! Readers are still  buying  eBooks, even if they're not four-star rated, and even if the eBook cost more than the Wal-Mart paperback version. Reviews of top-selling books on Amazon 13,500 revs avg . 3.8 483 days in top 100 5 star : (5,...