Grumble Thread

[french frank]

Surely the gate was a kindness, as you were saved the bother of opening it on your trip next door to deliver a letter...

No. There was no gate as the old wooden one had fallen apart so I got a local blacksmith, at great expense, to design and make a cast iron gate to keep out the local cats and dogs who used to come in and mess on the front area (too close to the road to be a garden). The local hardware shop has two styles of sign: SHUT THIS GATE or Please shut the gate: I prefer to leave it to people's common decency . (I understand postpeople are instructed to leave the gates as they find them.)

[teamsaint]

Amazon reviews. Grrrrrr...... When I published my first novel back in 2023, within 24 hours of it appearing as available, someone posted a 1* review with no text. At that point, I'd not sold any copies! Sometime later, someone else posted a 1* review claiming to be someone I know, it's not them because I know for a fact that they haven't read it. Amazon's so called "help desk" is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard and I've been passed to 3 different departments trying to make them understand that the reviews are clearly fraudulent. It's taken and hour to get to this stage...Apparently they'll call me within the next 24 hours...

Sorry, but I wouldn't get you hopes up. Their criteria for taking malicious reviews down are so strict as to be almost useless.
Sadly there are plenty of people out there with an agenda, one way or another. There may be somebody publishing in the same area who is looking to kill competition.

The only answer is to swamp the negatives with lots of positives. If you can get friends/relatives/existing readers etc to put in some reviews the nonsense will soon get drowned out. Maybe do the ebook very cheaply to encourage sales for a while , and do a bit of keyword advertising . It can be a huge help.
My son got his book into the top 1000 after using these kind of common tactics, and then organic sales followed.
It's tough, but good luck.
( And apologies if you know this stuff already).



And while we are on publishing grumbles....AI copycat books. What a nasty little area. And a LOT of it happening.

[Jonathan]

Sorry, but I wouldn't get you hopes up. Their criteria for taking malicious reviews down are so strict as to be almost useless.
Sadly there are plenty of people out there with an agenda, one way or another. There may be somebody publishing in the same area who is looking to kill competition.

The only answer is to swamp the negatives with lots of positives. If you can get friends/relatives/existing readers etc to put in some reviews the nonsense will soon get drowned out. Maybe do the ebook very cheaply to encourage sales for a while , and do a bit of keyword advertising . It can be a huge help.
My son got his book into the top 1000 after using these kind of common tactics, and then organic sales followed.
It's tough, but good luck.
( And apologies if you know this stuff already).



And while we are on publishing grumbles....AI copycat books. What a nasty little area. And a LOT of it happening.

Thanks teamsaint, they rang me back around 6pm and said they'd pass everything on to another department. I'll let you know what happens!

Thanks for the advice, my readers have been quiet and sales have been low. I've tried to encourage them but with no luck this far. I'll try the targeted advertising, I'll look into that at the weekend 🙂

[teamsaint]

Thanks teamsaint, they rang me back around 6pm and said they'd pass everything on to another department. I'll let you know what happens!

Thanks for the advice, my readers have been quiet and sales have been low. I've tried to encourage them but with no luck this far. I'll try the targeted advertising, I'll look into that at the weekend 🙂

Also worth considering advertising on Facebook/ X / TikTok.

The return on investment may not be great ( my son typically spent about £1 to make £3, ) but again it can help drive sales and get those reviews and high category rankings.
There is plenty of better advice than I can give out there, so do have a look to see what might be appropriate for your book(s).

[teamsaint]

If anybody decides to conduct a 'Most Hated Innovation of Recent Years' poll, I shall vote as frequently as allowed for 'chatbot'.

We ain’t seen nothin’ yet, sadly.
The future is already here, and we ought to be a lot less comfortable with it than we are IMO.

[french frank]

The future is already here, and we ought to be a lot less comfortable with it than we are IMO.

Yes, people are bonding with their chatbots and AI social media friends. I was on the bus yesterday at the time the schools were coming out and 95% of the children sat silently scrolling through their phones, not communicating with anyone or even talking to each other on the bus.

[LMcD]

We ain’t seen nothin’ yet, sadly.
The future is already here, and we ought to be a lot less comfortable with it than we are IMO.

I've been feeling far from comfortable with the future for quite a while now..

[vinteuil]

I was on the bus yesterday at the time the schools were coming out and 95% of the children sat silently scrolling through their phones, not communicating with anyone or even talking to each other on the bus.

... wretched for them, and so wrong : dare I say a relief for peace-and-quiet-loving adults sharing the bus?

[vinteuil]

I've been feeling far from comfortable with the future for quite a while now..

... I'm not that comfortable with the present


.

[AuntDaisy]

... I'm not that comfortable with the present

Could you swap it? Socks are always popular.

[vinteuil]

Could you swap it? Socks are always popular.

[AuntDaisy]

Sorry, couldn't resist. (Currently enjoying the past with "The Rescue".)

[vinteuil]

Sorry, couldn't resist. (Currently enjoying the past with "The Rescue".)

... in the cast list, if you were baffled by 'Davm Ooodland' - further research indicates it was Dave Goodland

(No AI involved)

The list of plays put on by Radio 3 in 1988 is daunting - (unimaginable now... )

https://suttonelms.org.uk/r3-1988.html

[AuntDaisy]

... in the cast list, if you were baffled by 'Davm Ooodland' - further research indicates it was Dave Goodland
(No AI involved)
The list of plays put on by Radio 3 in 1988 is daunting - (unimaginable now... )

Music: Benjamin BNITTEN.
Yes, it's heartbreaking to read Nigel's lists & old Radio Times pages.

Since this is the grumble thread, I'm happy to moan endlessly about the destruction of Radio Drama, particularly on R3.

[LMcD]

Music: Benjamin BNITTEN.
Yes, it's heartbreaking to read Nigel's lists & old Radio Times pages.

Since this is the grumble thread, I'm happy to moan endlessly about the destruction of Radio Drama, particularly on R3.

Fans of 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads' have known for a long time that 'The only thing to look forward to is the past'.