tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post2650521430166156026..comments2023-02-21T00:26:51.051-08:00Comments on Why Isn't My Book Selling?: A Singapore Love StoryVictorinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06052077366367623323noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-64555698546326586332012-10-27T14:00:57.403-07:002012-10-27T14:00:57.403-07:00Thanks for that update.
Good to know but I think...Thanks for that update. <br /><br />Good to know but I think your comment about "don't think most people know about it" is on the mark. <br /><br />As something for the Singaporean market, it would probably work because people there would know and recognize it. Oddly, when I searched for "singapore skyline" I didn't get a single ferris wheel. <br /><br />Apparently it's called the Singapore Flyer. <br /><br />Live and learn. Nathan Lowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09485325283120491298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-14536948224100401852012-10-17T09:33:04.940-07:002012-10-17T09:33:04.940-07:00I thought the author name was the title, which mad...I thought the author name was the title, which made me wonder if the book was in English. I would have skipped it if I was browsing because I would assume that it was written in a language I can't read.Ruth Madisonhttp://www.ruthmadison.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-15663232875477698762012-10-17T00:50:38.257-07:002012-10-17T00:50:38.257-07:00I love the cover art. It's beautiful and captu...I love the cover art. It's beautiful and captures the genre. I even like the font. However, I do have issue with the font placement. Originally, I thought Low Kay Hwa was the title of the book and "A Singapore Love Story" was the subtitle. Personally, I think it's great to display the author's name proudly. However, it shouldn't be at the expense of the title. The title is illegible unless it's blown up. Even the title on books by well-known authors are visible. I also have trouble reading the praise at the top of the book because of the rainfall/snow. And again, the caption at the very top is difficult to read because of the size of the font. I think the title of the book is rather lacking also.<br /><br />I think the product description needs a bit of work. It's boasted as a bestseller, but at the bottom proclaims it hasn't even reached 10k downloads. The description also reads like a non-fiction book rather than a novel.<br /><br />First 300 words: I like the first line. Death right off the back is also an attention grabber in my book. The rest of the first 300 words… Loved them also. :) Based on the first 300 words, I would purchase this novel. I did notice your book is only on Amazon. You might be able to expand your market by publishing at Smashwords or Barnes and Nobles (PubIt!).<br /><br />I didn't even realize the book started in chapter 5 until Victorine mentioned it. However, I think it would be a GREAT place to start. Maybe if you erased the chapter 5 reference and use it as a prologue as sorts. Don't even have to label it as prologue… start it right there.<br /><br />:) I actually like the writing style. My only caution would be with the comma usage. Some of them are misplaced.<br /><br />So recap. Great cover art but I'd suggest some font adjustments. Also, the title could use a revamp. I also agree with Victorine about the yellow sticker. It's on the side of gaudy. Description needs a lot of work. I suspect that is what turns readers off the most. First 300 words are great, in my opinion.<br /><br />Anyway. I would buy this book today if it were in ePub version. The writing works for me, and it's in a genre I enjoy (foreign romances). Plus the $0.99 makes it an impulse by for me. I will note, nothing about this says YA though. Marriage to me is adult.Reena Jacobshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16860984511692822921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-90127888781300832652012-10-16T23:27:35.533-07:002012-10-16T23:27:35.533-07:00The cover title is confusing. I thought the title ...The cover title is confusing. I thought the title was a subtitle, and kept looking around for the title. But the first person POV is not done well, either. Starting many sentences with "I" is quite amateurish and does not bode well for a refined story. Yolyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12778449137944643803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-27222524336071925042012-10-16T21:51:07.504-07:002012-10-16T21:51:07.504-07:00I agree with what others have said (non-specific, ...I agree with what others have said (non-specific, blah blurb and choppy writing) but for me, the main problem is the cover. I've seen this cover around a bit. I thought the author's name was the title, and also I have no idea how anyone could get a romance or paranormal vibe from this.<br /><br />I don't even know how people can tell that it's 3D art. I see a man in business shirt with his face silhouetted, and I think: this is non-fiction about the stock market.<br /><br />Yes to everything people have said, but IMO the cover is most in need of a lot of TLCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-13821464130601230052012-10-16T16:56:52.483-07:002012-10-16T16:56:52.483-07:00Nathan asked: "Is there a big ferris wheel in...Nathan asked: "Is there a big ferris wheel in Singapore like there is in London?" <br /><br />Yes, and it's actually taller than the one in London. Of course, I only know that because I was there on vacation last year. I don't think most people know about it, so it might not be a good image to useAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-649593370965054042012-10-16T13:22:11.412-07:002012-10-16T13:22:11.412-07:00The prologue had me just fine until this: "Le...The prologue had me just fine until this: "Let’s experience the growth of the two hearts caged by winter acquiescing to the warmth of summer—from different points of view."<br /><br />It's like a narrator suddenly steps into a first-person narrative, and that's pretty confusing. <br /><br />Also, to start chapter 1 with: "I was molested when I was seven years old." I was like, "Whoa, boy, slow down this train!!!" lol! I don't mean to be crass, but we've just experienced a rather vivid shower death, to be followed up immediately with this confession. It's just a bit much. Having read just this, I would wager that the story is either too unbalanced, or pulling for high-drama, which is sort of off-putting. <br /><br />Of course, if that's the case throughout, that would require a book doctor or developmental editor, rather than a simple copy-edit, and that's a lot more work in revisions. <br /><br />The images on the cover seem fine enough, apart from whatever that ferris-wheel looking thing is on the left - I don't know what that's doing. But where I think it's not speaking to its genre are the solid bars on the top and bottom. You rarely see those bars on YA fiction covers of any sort. Mostly you see them in *adult* romance. It's a small but subconscious thing that could be signaling to YA readers that this book is not for them. The font sort of says "adult romance" to me too. YA covers usually employ a more youthful font. <br /><br />Hope that helps, and good luck!Laura Rae Amoshttp://lauraraeamos.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-69383038437883542732012-10-16T13:15:32.796-07:002012-10-16T13:15:32.796-07:00Yeah. Confusion.
I thought the title was "L...Yeah. Confusion. <br /><br />I thought the title was "Low Key Hwa" and I didn't really understand what was so low key about dying. Except corpses don't get too strung out about stuff. Maybe.<br /><br />I wasn't paying very close attention and it wasn't until I started reading the comments that I realized the error of my ways. <br /><br />Which sums up the basic problems with this book.<br /><br />So. <br /><br />Cover: No. I can't really tell what's going on but it looks like Poser art and isn't working well. Is there a big ferris wheel in Singapore like there is in London? I picture Singapore more like this: <br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Singapore_Skyline.jpg<br /><br />(sorry, I can't embed the link or the image itself)<br /><br />Blurb: No. Hook me with the story, not the story's pedigree. Too many questions, too little reason to read. I get to the end of that blurb and ask "Why don't I just look at the next book on the list?" <br /><br />First 300: The -5 chapter is kinda cute. Do you jump back to -4 sometime? <br /><br />The problem with the beginning is that you have this individual dead in the shower after about 200 words. <br /><br />I don't know anything about this person ... male? female? apparently young but no real indication other than most people get married relatively young -- at least the first time here in the West. I'm guessing naked since few people shower with clothes on. Probably Singaporean, although there's no reason s/he couldn't be a Brit left over from colonial days or even an expatriate American/Russian/Whatever. So, you got a naked (maybe Singaporean) corpse we have no connection to--no real reason to care that s/he died. <br /><br />Then you start in with a young person who's on the way to a molestation.<br /><br />So, yeah. Not a lot to tell me this is a love story on the cover...or in the blurb...or in the first few words. <br /><br />Fix the cover and blurb. The writing may be exotic enough to lure a few readers past the corpse in the tub and on to a story that might be just around the next bend in the page. <br /><br />And while you're thinking about it ... "A Singaporean Love Story" might make a good subtitle, but as an engaging title? Not so much. Nobody else has mentioned it but maybe something with a little more zip -- "Death Before Marriage" or "Til Life Do Us Part" or "Falun Gong But Not Forgotten" ... something that's more like a title. <br /><br />Something you can put in big letters on the cover so people know it's the title. Nathan Lowellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09485325283120491298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-23765006240197087432012-10-16T12:34:24.289-07:002012-10-16T12:34:24.289-07:00I get romance from the cover, except with the girl...I get romance from the cover, except with the girl being so filmy, and the other wispy stuff floating around, I see paranormal romance. I have no idea what the words are at the top and the bottom.<br /><br />The mention of best-seller in Singapore for six months should at least be a separate line. I would say International Bestseller if there has to be any mention at all. I would also drop the part about 10K downloads. Could be years before that happens.<br /><br />Too many questions in the blurb. There's also no mention of the age of the lovers or what is keeping them apart.<br /><br />The death scene is pretty good. <br /><br />Are there more flashback scenes labeled Chapter -4, Chapter -3, etc.? That's got to be confusing for anyone who downloads a sample. <br /><br />Since a date is given for the death in the prologue (Chapter -5), I would just go for the dates for each of the flashbacks as a title.<br /><br />I don't think the cover is as major an obstacle as the blurb. I would dump the whole thing and start over from scratch. <br />Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04832055618604176686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-9170364837611967512012-10-16T12:22:18.748-07:002012-10-16T12:22:18.748-07:00MeiLin Miranda posted on KB:
The title need to be...MeiLin Miranda posted on KB:<br /><br />The title need to be more prominent. Yes, the standard is the author's name should be foremost, but this takes it too far. And because the author's name is Chinese and this is an American market, the name initially looks like the title. The cover also doesn't "read" YA.<br /><br />The blurb needs to be completely scrapped. I don't know what the story's about except that apparently it's a love story set in Singapore. Otherwise, I'd have a go at it.<br /><br />The writing is choppy. If this is a translation, the author needs to get some help on it.<br /><br />I don't mean to be discouraging, but this isn't ready.Victorinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06052077366367623323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5142930702674170471.post-8125587476909062812012-10-16T11:35:50.537-07:002012-10-16T11:35:50.537-07:00I think it's chapter MINUS-5 (or a prologue), ...I think it's chapter MINUS-5 (or a prologue), but it's confusing. gjnoreply@blogger.com