Newly Published Fantasy Book: Bane King By His Own Hand

[Hal Zucati]

Keith . Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What the hell is a Mumper? Little guys with huge
> cheeks?


Mumper
Noun beggar.
Consider also: pauper, muffler, starveling, panhandler, cheater, deceiver, mumbler, cadger, freeloader, moocher, pouter, sponger, sulker, hummer, tramp, friar, fumbler, sponge.
Verb begger.
Other mendicant, deluder, diddler, hoodwinker, humbugger, maunderer, murmurer, mutterer, scrounger.
Expression sturdy beggar, poor man.

- Hal

[Hal Zucati]

leslee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> " . . . he meets wizards, mages, dwarves,
> merfolken, a sorcerer, evil Mumpers . . ."
>
> . . . housewives, ditch diggers, garbage
> collectors, beet farmers, dog catchers . . .


You forgot the:
civil service workers, gas station attendants, dishwashers, grape squashers, pig farmers, street sweepers, chimney cleaners, and self published authors.

- Hal

[Frank Baron]

Hal said (in response to my well-written and empathetic post on page 1):

Honestly, this earnest writer doesn't expect anything from the internet. Except sarcasm, scorn and snotty comments.
Which is exactly what this thread has collected. And for the record, the only wake I've ever left was a wake of chaos.
- Hal

Now you've gone and hurt my feelings, Hal. Darn it. And it being so close to Christmas and all.

I was ennobling your quest! I likened it to that of one of the greatest characters in the history of literature fer petesakes!

Sheesh.

And you come steamrolling back here, a couple/three weeks post-spam, to check and see if your drive-by at this watering hole bore any fruit. You know, like maybe somebody actually bought and read your opus. Heck! Maybe somebody loved it and gushed and you could, like, grab a quote and plaster it all over the interweb on the next round of spamming!

And when that didn't happen - when, in fact, some people reacted to your spam the way, well, the way people on message boards respond to drive-by spammers - you lash out in an angry manner.

Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'm just too darn delicate for this sort of drama.

Excuse me...I think I have something in my eye....

[Hal Zucati]

Frank,
While I can appreciate your point of view, please understand that I'm not attempting a "drive by", even though it appears that I have.
I was looking around at places where other non-famous authors hung out and talked and thought this looked promising. What exactly should I post? I've got a book available to be read, yes I'd like to sell a few copies but more than that I just thought this was the way to have folks take a look at it. Amazon.com has a "look inside" feature that lets anyone view any part of the book for free. So I figured it was valid to post here, in the newly published authors forum.

I get that there is a lot of spam, but you have to admit, most of the replies I got to my 1 posting (only one in one forum here) were not only negative but some quite hostile and mean.
I don't have all day to scan and reply to this or any other forum. So yea, my replies may be all at once after some time has passed.
And really, "well written-and empathetic"? You took an opportunity to saddle up with the gang of other folks who didn't bother to do more than take a jab at me.

I thought this was a place to post and have a discussion about my work but I can see now that it’s a tightly guarded sanctuary for mean-spirited anonymous writers.

- Hal Zucati



Frank Baron Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hal said (in response to my well-written and
> empathetic post on page 1):
>
> Honestly, this earnest writer doesn't expect
> anything from the internet. Except sarcasm, scorn
> and snotty comments.
> Which is exactly what this thread has collected.
> And for the record, the only wake I've ever left
> was a wake of chaos.
> - Hal
>
> Now you've gone and hurt my feelings, Hal. Darn
> it. And it being so close to Christmas and all.
>
> I was ennobling your quest! I likened it to that
> of one of the greatest characters in the history
> of literature fer petesakes!
>
> Sheesh.
>
> And you come steamrolling back here, a
> couple/three weeks post-spam, to check and see if
> your drive-by at this watering hole bore any
> fruit. You know, like maybe somebody actually
> bought and read your opus. Heck! Maybe somebody
> loved it and gushed and you could, like, grab a
> quote and plaster it all over the interweb on the
> next round of spamming!
>
> And when that didn't happen - when, in fact, some
> people reacted to your spam the way, well, the way
> people on message boards respond to drive-by
> spammers - you lash out in an angry manner.
>
> Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'm just too darn delicate
> for this sort of drama.
>
> Excuse me...I think I have something in my eye....

[Keith .]

What do you want most in life? How far would you go to get it?

Bane, a handsome dragon rider who longs to be king, knows exactly what he wants. He decides to make his own luck to achieve his dreams. Bane sets out on a long and twisting path and finds he has to travel farther and endure more harrowing obstacles than he could ever have imagined.

Bane finds himself hewing through solid rock seeking gold and jewels, facing great colored flaming dragons and beautiful women, exploring exotic castles, and fighting hideous monsters along his way. With his beloved older cousin as constant companion, he meets wizards, mages, dwarves, merfolken, a sorcerer, evil Mumpers, and makes new friends and enemies at every turn.

After countless miles he finally reaches the one place in the entire realms he most hoped to find. Does he indeed make his own luck? Does he achieve the dreams he set out to fulfill? Does he triumph over bizarre creatures and cultures, or does fate thrust upon him an ultimate defeat?

Bane King By His Own Hand is available on Amazon.com: link to Amazon purchase page

Thanks for reading.
- Hal Zucati

Are you honestly referring to your above OP as an invitation to hang out and talk? There's nothing wrong with forum members discussing their books. I've read several novels by members and some were quite good. We're a community and support is a big part of it. But what you did was dump a commercial on the board, complete with Amazon link, and check back 2 weeks later probably because no one had ponied up money. If you want to participate and also mention you have a book, then by all means do so. Participate. Start fresh. Don't revise history. Just my take.

[leslee]

Hal, if you can't stand even the most mild heat, perhaps you should avoid the kitchen. Your original post was poorly-written and we pulled it apart. That's what happens here.

[Frank Baron]

Hal said: ..."I thought this was a place to post and have a discussion about my work but I can see now that it’s a tightly guarded sanctuary for mean-spirited anonymous writers."

Actually, Hal, you didn't think too long or too hard about what kind of place this was. You just saw it as another spammable site to add to your list.

Do you check the other sites every two or three weeks too? As Dr. Phil would say, "How's that workin' out for ya'?"

Hal, you disrespected this community and then you come back three weeks later to cry that we're a bunch of meanie-heads.

Grow up.

And this is my real name.

[D K]

Hal,

I don't think anyone saddled up and went hunting Banes. You need to realize you have more going against you with your approach than for you. Here's a breakdown:

1. This is a community forum where people come for advice, help, bitch, complain, critique, and promote work if you've earned your stripes. You haven't earned your stripes. Even if you started with something a bit more personal in your post it would have helped. Eg Hi my name is Hal, I'm new to this forum and a new writer who's just published my own work...I'm not saying some here won't have a go still but at least the effort is there.
2. Writing is a business and when you're promoting the work it should be solid. Spelling mistakes on your website, in the 3rd para of your novel (yes I peaked in Amazon), and poor use of POV (again, yes I peaked in Amazon), does not bode well for you. And you read the fallout from that.
3. Bottom line, your approach was spam. Your approach is no different then those teenage boys in white shirts who stop you on the street to preach God's word on your linch break. I'll give you credit for not posting in every thread like others have in the past.

Now a question. Why did you decide to self publish? What factors did you consider? Did you explore the traditional route? If yes, what was your experience?

DK

[Hal Zucati]

Yea, I figured that by putting a quick blurb about the book (from the book) right up front and then showing where it was newly published. It'd give me a starting point. I guess I could have been more neutral and simply given some personal information first.
- H

[Hal Zucati]

I get that.
This isn't my first wagon into the Wild West.
I am always surprised though how fast the "pulling apart" hits and how long it takes for people to actually start talking. I suppose it's a two-way street.
- H