I'm often asked what books/authors I would recommend
from readers who have read all of my books and are looking for more good
reads. If you're one of those folks and are looking for a good read, I
have provided my top 40 picks for novels by some of my favorite
authors. Enjoy.
I’ve seen a good number of blog posts recently from fellow authors focusing on the issue of reviews, which can be, and often are, posted by folks with rude dispositions, grudges, agendas, etc. For a new author, even an honest negative review can be soul crushing. To the experienced author, with thicker skin, negative reviews can be a distraction. So the advice being given is generally this: don’t read reviews for your books. Sounds good on the surface. By not exposing yourself to these negative opinions, you are protecting yourself from the pain delivered by Internet trolls with nothing better to do than harass an author. The troll might be angry after reading the first line of a book sample, or might disagree with the pricing, or might be annoyed that Harriet Klausner gave your book 4 stars, or any number of silly reasons for an anonymous rant. And YES, these people should be ignored. They’ve likely taken to the Internet for attention, because the people in their real lives have begun ignoring their sour mood.
I was recently asked, on Facebook, what advice I had for self-publishers. The answer I gave was unconventional and not at all helpful in the short-run, but I believe it is the best advice I can give. Before I give it here, let me give you some background information.
Last year I published something like 17 books. I honestly can’t remember the exact number off the top of my head. I think part of my brain is trying to forget the mad rush that was 2011. Out of those books, five were backlist (already written), seven were co-authored (I didn’t do all the work). But five of them were written in 2011. The average author writes one, maybe two novels in a year. When readers and other authors hear that I write more than double that amount, the next thing out of their mouth is, “How do you write so many books?”
Picture this. I’m standing in front of an eager throng of reporters. I’m well dressed and looking far more metrosexual than usual. All eyes are on me, desperate for information…about someone else—Jeremy Bishop. Who is this dashing writer who appeared out of nowhere and became a #1 Amazon.com horror author overnight? His first novel, TORMENT, is loathed by an angry few and adored by many. But he’s a mystery. No one knows who he is, or where he came from and yet, I know him, I promote his books, and claim to be his “friend.” It’s reminiscent of how Peter Parker always happens to get the best pictures of Spiderman. So the questions come to the only potential source of information available to the world. Me. And the question everyone is asking is: Who is Jeremy Bishop?
Take a moment to imagine the life of a full-time author—someone who sells enough books to not have a day job. What do you see? The author, dressing in a dark t-shirt and black sports coat, writes one, perhaps two novels a year if he’s prolific. He lives a casual life in his house by the ocean. He travels the world, spending vast amounts of time in the more romantic European countries and writes the trips off as “research,” on his taxes. He experiences all of the sophisticated sounds, sights and flavors he so adeptly describes in his novels. Six months of the year, he sits in a very clean office surrounded by artifacts collected from around the world, sipping wine and writing happily on a fancy laptop. The other six months of the year, he’s living the life and enjoying his wealth.
I’ve seen a good number of blog posts recently from fellow authors focusing on the issue of reviews, which can be, and often are, posted by folks with rude dispositions, grudges, agendas, etc. For a new author, even an honest negative review can be soul crushing. To the experienced author, with thicker skin, negative reviews can be a distraction. So the advice being given is generally this: don’t read reviews for your books. Sounds good on the surface. By not exposing yourself to these negative opinions, you are protecting yourself from the pain delivered by Internet trolls with nothing better to do than harass an author. The troll might be angry after reading the first line of a book sample, or might disagree with the pricing, or might be annoyed that Harriet Klausner gave your book 4 stars, or any number of silly reasons for an anonymous rant. And YES, these people should be ignored. They’ve likely taken to the Internet for attention, because the people in their real lives have begun ignoring their sour mood.
Picture this. I’m standing in front of an eager throng of reporters. I’m well dressed and looking far more metrosexual than usual. All eyes are on me, desperate for information…about someone else—Jeremy Bishop. Who is this dashing writer who appeared out of nowhere and became a #1 Amazon.com horror author overnight? His first novel, TORMENT, is loathed by an angry few and adored by many. But he’s a mystery. No one knows who he is, or where he came from and yet, I know him, I promote his books, and claim to be his “friend.” It’s reminiscent of how Peter Parker always happens to get the best pictures of Spiderman. So the questions come to the only potential source of information available to the world. Me. And the question everyone is asking is: Who is Jeremy Bishop?
