Ty Patterson's Blog

Cover and blurb of The Reluctant Warrior. To be published soon.
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The Reluctant Warrior, Warriors series, Book Two

You can't turn down a mission when you don't exist

Broker didn’t want to help Isakson. They had history.

However, when the call requesting his help came from the most unexpected source, he put history aside and heard Isakson out.

The mission seemed simple enough. Help the premier law enforcement agency in the country clean its house.

Broker delved deeper and found that it wasn’t as straight forward as it looked. Cleaning up would require taking on the most ruthless, fastest growing criminal gang in New York.

This was a mission for his team, the Warriors. They were an elite trouble shooting force that didn’t exist. A team that went in where other deep-black, Special Ops teams feared to tread.

There were just three problems with the mission.

One was that they had to come out of the shadows and end up being the hunted.

The second was that they would never win this war.

The third was being stalked by a mysterious assassin.

An assassin who was better than them.
-----------------------------------------Coming Soon

The Warriors made their first appearance a while back, in The Warrior, and were very well received by thriller fiction fans.

If you have read The Warrior, the first book in the Warriors series, you'll know it didn't follow the conventional thriller plot ! There are enough conventional thrillers around and I wanted mine to be different. If you haven't read it, please do give it a whirl, here: http://goo.gl/zpx4VH

I am happy to announce that the second book in the Warrior series, The Reluctant Warrior, is now in the final stages of editing, with a go-live in the second half of August.

In the next fortnight, I will announce the blurb and cover (sneak peek below) and also intimate the publishing date.

image:

I am looking to have 5000 likes on my Facebook author page and 5000 followers on my Twitter account from readers, reviewers, bloggers and writers, by the end of March.

will love your help in making this happen.

my accounts are

http://www.facebook.com/AuthorTyPatte...
https://twitter.com/typatterson67

please like/follow me over there.

thks
Ty

Enough said.



Check out The Warrior on Amazon and Smashwords.

Check out The Warrior on Amazon and Smashwords

http://amzn.to/14TGB5m
http://amzn.to/YdAftk
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...

This is a guest post on my blog, http://pattersonty.wordpress.com/, by Joe Hempel, founder of Top of the Heap Reviews, www.topoftheheapreviews.com

WHO SAID WRITING ISN’T WORK?

Let’s face it: Writing is tough!

You first have to have an idea that you think is good enough people want to read it. Then you Imagehave to actually dedicate the time to put it on paper. After that, you have to go back and make edits, and once it’s back from the editor you’ve to do more edits, and re-writes, and rinse and repeat! Oh, and don’t forget an eye-catching cover! And after all that, you have to decide weather you want to send it to publishers or go the self-publishing route!

But even then, your work is not done! If you are lucky enough to land a publishing deal with your first, second or tenth book, you still have to let people know that it’s out there! Most publishers will delegate you to the back of a list, and some publishers make you PAY to have the book that THEY PUBLISHED put on a list that’s in a type so small you need one of those brand spankin’ new bionic eyeballs to see!

So what do you do? Obviously it’s a little easier to get seen if you have a publishing deal. I mean, your book will probably get into stores, and you can physically walk in and pick it up, go to the counter and say “Hey, that’s me! Want me to come in a do a signing?” and the local stores might be able to set you up. But your name is on a book, and it’s in stores, and while it might get lost within the shelves, it’s easier to get people to buy something that has been traditionally published.

If you are self-published, then that’s just a whole different story. With the advent and wild popularity of the eBook and with KDP from Amazon and Pub It from Barnes and Noble, and Smaswords, and Feedbooks, and etc. etc., the list goes on; hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people are putting their stuff out there to be consumed by e-reader owners.

So how do you make your stuff stand out from the rest?

First off, make sure it’s good. If the product is good enough, it will get read. Word of mouth is a very powerful thing, but it works both ways. If you didn’t do your job and hire an editor, and do re-writes, and please for the love of God don’t do your own cover in paint and a digital camera, and actually put the amount of work in that is required, then word of mouth will be that it’s horrible. The result will be that any future works won’t sell because the first one sucked. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Unless you’re Dr. Who.

Second, you need to hit the Internet hard. Get involved on Facebook, on Twitter, on Google+, Reddit, Linkedin, and any other social network than you can think of. Get involved in forum groups; just don’t show up and say, “Hi! My name is Jim, buy my book,” though, then never come back. Hit up sites that do book reviews. Make sure the book reviews are honest and good. If you see a site that generally just goes a couple paragraphs for a full-length novel, you should probably steer clear.

If you have a relationship with your readers, they will buy your stuff regardless. Just look at Scott Sigler: He gave his stuff away FOR FREE in an audio book podcast format, and hit the New York Times bestseller list. Hugh Howey was self-published and his Wool Omnibus hit the New York Times bestseller list, which has also been optioned by Ridley Scott for the movie! He now has a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster.

What do these two authors have in common? They are very connected to their readers in one way or another.

Third, hit the pavement. Even though you may be self-published, it really can’t hurt to get some business cards and pamphlets made and then pimp them out to local bookstores. If you get even one person to pick up that card or pamphlet and then buy your book, they could go on to tell people how incredibly good it was. Then you’ve earned yourself a few more sales, and maybe one of those people will be driven to write a good review. And as most of you know, reviews drive sales.

So, let’s talk about ratings. For me, a five star rating doesn’t hold as much weight as a three or four star rating. Why? Some authors like to tip the scales and pay for reviews. Yes, it’s unethical and in no way, shape, or form should it ever be done. Recently, John Locke, the first independent author to sell a million eBooks on Amazon, came under fire because word leaked that a lot of his five star ratings had been purchased! Sometimes, he gave his book away in exchange for a good rating. Other times, he asked people to buy it but promised a full refund for a five star review.

On the other hand, if there is a three or four star review, I’m more apt to believe that the book was actually read by that person and even more so, was inspired to write an honest review for it. I do give five star ratings, but rest assured if you see my name by that review, I’ve read the book. The moral of this story is that yes, ratings drive sales, but just because it’s not five stars doesn’t mean people won’t buy!

Fourth, you need to brand yourself. When people see your book, you want them to say, “I want a book by that guy.” An eye-catching cover is a must in a world of sub-par eBooks. If they didn’t spend time to create a good cover, they probably didn’t spend time to make their product good, either. Place your name close to the title and a like type font. Make your name stand out, and over a couple books, people will see the name before the title. And if your previous work was good, they’ll buy newer works because the name on the cover is you and the book couldn’t possibly be about ice cream and unicorns and entitled Spiders are Gross. (Okay, maybe that’s extreme but you get my point.)

None of the above is going to guarantee that you become independently wealthy, or that you’ll even make enough to support yourself. It’s not even a guarantee that you’ll gain a single sale. But you’ll be out there and you’ll be seen.

Now what you should not be doing is posting on the forums every day and spamming your book. Or, if you have sent it out for review, don’t pester the reviewer about when it will be done. Most good review sites will get to it, but have a three to four and sometimes SIX or more month backlog. Don’t be the squeaky wheel, because it won’t get greased.

It takes time to build an audience, and it takes even more time to retain them! You need to have a consistent flow of content, be it tweeting, blogging, Facebooking, etc. And it needs to be things other than your book every single post. After all, socializing is what those sites were intended for, not advertising. Be social.

Most importantly, you have to take criticism on the chin, get back up and do better next time. You aren’t going to please everyone, and the sooner you understand that the better off you’ll be.

The moral here is to love what you do. This world isn’t third grade story time; this shit is hard! If you are doing it to make money, buddy, you are in the wrong field. This is a high risk, no rewardbusiness, especially if you don’t really love writing. Believe me, it will show up in your work if you don’t like what you do, and it Will. Not. Sell.

As NYT Bestseller and co-author of the Walking Dead books, Jay Bonansinga, told me the other day: “Fall in love with the work itself… not the rewards.”

I’m Joe Hempel, the founder of Top of the Heap Reviews, and I thank you for reading.

You can get hold of me about this article and read my book reviews or author interviews at www.topoftheheapreviews.com.

You can like me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/topoftheheapreviews.

Or you can hit me up on the tweety bird @topheapreviews.

If you would like me to review your work, just use the contact form in the “For Authors” section of the website by clicking the e-mail link and filling out the form. I will put you on the list and I look forward to reading your work!

interesting discussion on Jane Friedman’s blog on commodity publishing and some comments about genre fiction, and the superiority of writing of literary fiction over that of commercial fiction.

http://janefriedman.com/2013/01/08/se...


where do i stand on this? obviously i am a thriller writer and by that tag i wouldn't be rated by the literary elites.


who cares?

all i want is to write the best possible thrillers that live long in the readers memories and imaginations.

"He hadn’t had a proper meal in several days. He would go without for as long as it took. He had snatched sleep in fifteen minute bursts for more than a month. Regular sleep was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

He had left his children and blended in New York, hoping he could melt in the teeming pot. They had found him.

He was in the Catskills now, had been here for a week, six hundred thousand acres of vastness rendering him insignificant.

Forcing his way through the dense undergrowth, he looked at his phone yet again, for that elusive all clear message. When he looked up, two shadows detached themselves from the thick gloom and he knew.

He would not see another day again."

Started writing the sequel to The Warrior this week, tentatively titled The Brotherhood

I started writing my thriller exactly a year back, finally publishing it on Amazon earlier this month.

It has been an interesting learning experience:


What inspired me to write this book?

It was a challenge by my wife who noticed that I had slipped into a comfort zone. I have always been ambitious (an immigrant who makes it in another country had better be!). She knew that I used to write and that I could write and challenged me to write a book. After taking up the challenge and having written the book, I have realised that the book writing was not just about doing something different, doing something I loved, but also about not allowing the routines of life determine and shape me.

Who are the primary readers of my book?

I have written my book for fans of thriller, action and adventure fiction. Those who like Lee Child or Robert Crais or Harlan Coben might like my book.

How long did it take me to write the book?

It took me a year. The book is not very large, it is about 50k words, however the demands of a full time challenging job meant that it took me a year to write, edit and publish the book.

How did I come up with the title?

The book is about a central character who was a Special Forces soldier and i wanted to convey the sense of warrior spirit in him, of righting wrongs, of helping people, and hence I chose this title.

Why did I choose this cover?

I commissioned Ros Clarke, http://theoldshed.me/book-and-web-des..., for the cover and she came up with the elegant cover.

What was the hardest part of writing my book?

It was finding and making time. Being full time employed in a very demanding job, time is scarce to come by. When I started writing, I used to haunt various forums and came across many writers who churned out several 1000 words a day. This was depressing since I could not find the time to do that. Over a period of time, I realised what was more important was to write at my pace and write the best story I could, than getting into a race with other writers.

Did I do research for the book?

Yes. Any good writer will research locations, plots, action sequences and I did the same. There were often days when my book did not progress since I was researching the right action sequence or the location.

Did I learn anything from writing my book?

I have always been an ambitious person and liked setting and achieving targets. Writing a book was so different from my conventional goals and after having written the book, I now realize that one can really achieve whatever one wants, so long as one is prepared for the sacrifice and there is a support system around you. So many of us get caught in the routines of life. Completing those routines feels like achievement. However, if we are prepared to stick our head above the parapet, be ready to stand on the cliff’s edge, have a support system around us, we can not only move mountains but also climb them.

The Warrior was my climbing my fiction/thriller mountain.

What do I want to say to my readers?

Please read my book. Hopefully you will enjoy it. Hopefully it will stay in your imagination long after you have finished reading it. And remember you can move and climb your mountains too.