Goodreads Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors discussion

Help! I did not know where to put my panic thoughts. I, Malika Bourne and my co-author Grace Rose, now have our first novel in the galley , waiting our approval to be printed. Yay! Maybe.
If anyone read my stats, yet, you will already know that the two of us are clairvoyant and we talk to angels. We wrote about what we knew about, angels, and made it into fiction because.
Some are expecting free copies, which I am saving the books we purchased for 2 promotion give aways.They are expecting a fluffy cloud and harps book, but our angels [and more:] do things that you would not expect. They get drunk a lot, because they do things that they don't like to do or see. They play and dance doing the bunny hop and the conga line.This we know to be true,the angels play and have fun, but we did write it as fiction. Grace now thinks that people will have a problem with this.
I did have readers for parts of the book. One was from the writer's work shop; she wanted to read more and like my writing style.
Another reader is a therapist. The anecdotes are disturbing, but are neccesary so that it shows the contrast in the lives of the dual charter role of the main charater.She wants to read the entire book.
The third person to read it , hates Harry Potter Books. He did not read too much, but his comments were that it was too deep and he felt that it was really two books, He also thought that it needs pictures. This concerns Grace. I have assured her that I managed to pull all the pieces together to make a complete puzzle and it does have five distinct sections.It does pull together, I believe. I don't want to try and dumb it down to meet everyone's expectations of what the book is about. It will be a big surprise to everyone.
She has only reviewed the book chapter by chapter and approved it all. She worries that if I put the book up for review on this site and people comment that it sucks that I will be devastated. My goal was just to do my asignment and write the book and publish it. We accomplished that and I am satisified.
But what do we do about the people who are curious to see if we wrote them in the book? I doubt that they are the type to like urban fantasy or paranormal/ fantasy. I suggest that we tell them outright that it is most likely not their style of book.It is not for everyone. I am not sure ,yet exactly where it's niche is, yet.
I desperately need blind input, since nobody has read it yet. I do have part of the first chapter typed in my profile section. Please, any thoughts to encourage or point out the negatives that we may encounter would be appreciated. I don't have high hopes of it being great, realistically. It is just different and it is not for everyone.But what if the people we know hate it?
Please jump in...I am panic stricken. Thanks Malika

PS I apologize for not being succint.

Malika, first of all, stop and breathe. While critique criticisms are great, you have to remember that you're the author, not others. I think it's great to get constructive comments, but in the end, you have to make up your own mind on how you want your story to go.

It's important for all authors to research the industry to get in touch with what people are reading. I find places like Goodreads to be excellent forums to check out what people are reading.

There are numerous books about angels out there on the market--some channeled, some complete fiction. They drink, they smoke, they have sex, they pick up guns and kill each other according to one movie I saw. So you're free to write your angels any way you wish to. If a guy can write "Santa Steps Out" and get away with the content that's in there (which isn't my type of read but he was professionally published), you can certainly have your angels dancing.

I think every writer has been where you are. Their friends have been telling them it's fabulous the whole way, but when it's time to hit the shelves and into the hands of strangers, there is that fear that it may not measure up against everyone else's book. How will they handle those that pop a review condemning the book or your writing. You have to let that go. If you've dotted every i and crossed every t, editted the book to a professional standard, then you have nothing to worry about.

I do not believe there's a such thing as "too deep." And you don't do anything about your women friends who are curious to see if they were written in the book. If they want to be a character, they should write their own book. You may find that your readership may lay outside of those surrounding you.

As an artist, you do what you do, people will either like or not like it. Your job is to write it and put it out there then market yourself to the best of your ability.

Dear Chaeya, thank ou so much. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. I will relay this information to Grace. I think that what you said makes total sense and I recieve it as excellent advice. Thank you Malika

Malika,

I agree with Chaeya. You can't stifle your creativity because of one or two comments. Maybe elderly ladies won't like your work. So what? You're quite likely to do well with the younger crowd, which is more open to alternative ways of thinking. A case in point. My mother-in-law, whom I dearly love, did not like my science fiction book, yet it won a finalist place in Next Generation Indie Awards. My mother-in-law still greets me with open arms, though she'll never finish one of my books. I can live with that, and so can those who love my work.

One more comment. You might want to consider writing a non-fiction book about your angel connection. I have a very good friend who sees spirits, among other things. She wrote a non-fiction book about her experiences and it has been very well received. (Roll Around Heaven by Jessica Maxwell, and it won a silver medal from the Newberry Awards.) There is a very strong market in the spiritual/alternate thinking genre. A lot of people -- and surprisingly many are elderly -- are very much interested in this kind of thing.

Best of luck to you!

I agree. My story grew out of my own dealings with other entities. I'm not ready to put it in non-fiction form just yet. But since I visit a number of new age, pagan and metaphysical stores regularly, there are numerous books of this fashion.

To cmscovell. Thanks for the advise. Actually we have three books on the tabel to get printed and published that are non fiction. The big one is 'The Real Truth About Living with Angels. We gave it a plug in the section about the authors.
Actually, the angels channel what we write. I make the typo's, maybe or maybe it's 'them'.
I did do some research on the subject in non-fiction. We don't agree with the fluff on the shelves.Grace has channeled thousand of people for over twenty years. As long as the channeling is fluffy, people like that. But, when it comes down to doing inner work to grow spiritully, people back off. Sorry if this offends anyone. So, it was decided to write fiction in a code before we introduce deeper things. The Secrets of the Unwritten Book leaves a lot open for those who want to explore more. I hope that this was a wise strategy.This first publication is fiction! I hope that people enjoy reading it and not loose any sleep trying to figure out what it fact or fiction. My advise is to follow their hearts.
We have more serious books to follow for those who want to search deep inside.
Thanks, Chaeya, you are correct about the non-fiction available. The artwork is outstanding, but we don't always agree with the content.

I've a question. I'm working with a writer's group, and we want to publish a book of short stories written by each member. We've a talented group, and are thinking of self-publishing in order to experiment with different promotional techniques.

Has anyone worked with smashwords.com? Is there a better way to publish an e-book in the many different e-book formats?

Thanks,
Cliff Scovell
Prison Earth - Not Guilty as Charged
www.prison-earth.com