Thomas: Every ten episodes, we answer your questions. You might be thinking, “Wait a minute, you answer questions all the time.” That’s true. Sometimes we do full episodes on deep questions.

But a lot of you send smaller questions that aren’t quite big enough for a whole episode, and they’re still great questions. That’s why we set aside these Q&A extravaganzas.

Question 1: What do I do if I promised a review and the book is terrible?

Thomas: The first question is from Cadel Sterling.

“I found a local self-published author with a really cool-sounding premise, and I bought his e-book and told him I’d review it. It stinks. Just awful. Painful to read.”

Jim: First, I’ve been there.

Thomas: Me too. I have quite a few unfinished books on my bookshelf.

Jim: Cadel’s real question is, “What do I do now? Hide and pretend I never read it, or honestly review it, knowing agents and publishers might read my review? Is blasting someone’s half-a-star book going to hurt or help my career? Where do I take it from here?”

Thomas: Before we answer, I want to zoom out for a second. Some people may be responding to your book this way.

If you’re wondering why you’re not getting reviews, even though people promised they’d review your book, it may be because they don’t want to hurt your feelings and they didn’t like it. This is why it pays to hire an editor who will give you honest feedback and help you improve. You can’t always trust early reader feedback.

But Cadell, what should you do? Jim, I have thoughts, but I want to hear yours first.

Jim: When my first novel, Rooms, came out, I asked a number of people to endorse it. I got some glowing responses, but one guy wrote back and said, “I just didn’t get it. It didn’t work for me for these and these reasons.”

I appreciated his honesty because it helped me grow as a writer.

So, I do think you’re doing the author a bigger favor by being honest, gently, gently, gently. Not just, “It stinks,” but “This is why it didn’t work for me.”

My second piece of advice is, I would not review the book publicly.

Thomas: Yes. Don’t post that critique on Amazon or Goodreads. Don’t shatter someone’s hopes and dreams. Review unto others as you would have them review unto you.

Jim: I wouldn’t put up a review. I wouldn’t destroy the guy. But I would be honest enough to say privately, “This is why it didn’t work for me.” Just make it clear it’s your opinion.

Thomas: One concern is whether you got the book free with the understanding, “I’m giving you a free copy in exchange for a review.”

If that’s the case, one token of goodwill, since you’re not going to review it, is to buy the book.

Send a kind note. Find something you genuinely liked. Then say, “It didn’t work for me for these reasons, but keep going. To show support, I bought a copy.”

I’ll tell you, most authors will forgive a lot if you say you bought a copy. It’s the universal love language of self-published authors. You may have been the only person who bought his book that day, and you made his day.

Speak the truth in love. Don’t be cruel. But don’t blow smoke and say, “Your book was great,” if you hated it.

And remember, there’s no universally good book and no universally bad book. There’s an audience for most books, even if some audiences are bigger than others.

I’m reading a terrible book right now. It’s poorly written, and it’s the sequel to another poorly written book. I still bought book two because it’s my kind of humor. It’s nerds and programmers and wizards, and it’s really stupid, nothing deep. It’s pretty terrible, but it’s fun, and I enjoy it. I’ll probably buy book three.

Question 2: Can I be on your show?

Thomas: Question two is, “Can I be on your show?” We get that one a lot.

My quick answer is this. If you want to be on our show, at the very least, listen to our episodes on how to be a guest on a podcast. Then mention, “I listened to your two episodes on being a guest, and here’s what I can do to help your listeners.”

We’re picky about who we bring on, and we don’t do a lot of interviews. You’ll notice we haven’t done an interview in a bunch of episodes.

The reason is we’re looking for guests who have a lot to offer and who can get to the point quickly. We don’t want to waste your time. We try to keep the show short, and part of how we do that is by having guests with clear expertise and clear value.

And if you’ve written a children’s book and had success marketing children’s books, we are desperate. Jim and I know nothing about marketing children’s books. If that’s you, email us at novelmarketing.com.

Jim: The longer answer is yes, we’d love to have you on the show if you can talk about marketing in an area we haven’t covered, or if you have real expertise.

Consequently, we will promote you and your book, but not the other way around. We’re not going to promote your book just because you want your book promoted.

Question 3: Should I self-publish a novella for free while I’m querying agents?

Thomas: Question three is from Dave Smale.

Dave asks, “I’ve pitched my debut novel to multiple agents, but it’s been crickets. I’ve also written a novella. Should I self-publish the novella and give it away for free to get my name out there while I’m trying to get an agent? Is that good marketing, or am I thinking like an artiste? Thanks, and keep up the great work.”

My answer is, a lot depends on how good that novella is, and whether it’s been professionally edited.

If it’s something you put together quickly, I’d be hesitant to put it on the internet, even for free, because it may be the first thing agents see.

But if it’s great, and especially if it’s set in the same universe as the novel you’re querying, it can help you show traction.

Jim: It’s a catch-22. Some people really want to be traditionally published. Ten years ago, I understood that more than I do now, because indie publishing has changed so much.

If you self-publish and later go traditional, the agent or publisher may ask, “How many copies did you sell of that novella?”

If you say, “I sold 200,” they might assume it wasn’t successful. If you say, “I sold 20,000,” they’ll sit up and take notice.

If it’s phenomenal, that path can work. But make sure it’s phenomenal, and that requires a strong editor who will tell you the truth.

Thomas: One way to inflate numbers is Kindle Unlimited, and free promos through KDP. You can say, “My novella has been downloaded 3,000 times,” which is true, and if they ask, you can clarify it was free for two days.

Free promos can also help you get reviews and feedback and start building an audience.

I’m not against giving books away for free. I’m a big fan of it. That’s how I built my following for nonfiction. For fiction, it’s harder, but a novella is exactly the kind of thing that can work well as a free sample. It’s bite-sized, it leaves them wanting more, and it helps them fall in love with your characters.

So you’re thinking in the right direction. It just has to be good enough that it doesn’t make you look bad.

Question 4: What should I put on my website if I’m not published yet?

Thomas: Question four is from Carol Magai. Carol says, “I’m an emerging author. I’ve almost completed a novel, and I’ve written 20-plus short stories, but I haven’t submitted them for publication. I understand it’s important to have an author platform, a website, a blog, et cetera. If you’re not yet published, what kind of things should you upload to your website? Should you upload a sample chapter from the book you’re working on? Sample short stories? All your short stories to show your range of style? What should I put on the website to show my writing?”

Why is platform advice so confusing for novelists?

Thomas: This is one of my beefs with how marketing is taught at writers’ conferences. You probably heard “You need a platform” at a conference, where they gathered everyone in a room and gave the same advice to everyone.

In reality, platform before the book is far more effective for nonfiction. For novelists, it’s much more about marketing after the book launches.

I’m not saying don’t have a website. I’m saying you can breathe.

If you’re a novelist and you don’t have a book out yet, you can get away with a simple “my book table” page when the book is coming out. If it’s not even published, and you don’t have a cover, you could do a one-page site with a short bio, a photo, and maybe a simple progress update.

People generally won’t get excited about your novel without reading something first. Also, for fiction, readers are less likely to discover you on Google. They find you on Amazon.

So, I’d take one short story, if it’s good enough, and publish it for free on Amazon to start gathering real readers. I wouldn’t worry too much about the blog.

And I say this as the website guy. I literally run a company that builds websites for authors. For a novelist with no book out, it’s not that important right now. Your website is often more about selling book two than book one.

Now, nonfiction folks, totally different. You can go from zero to tens of thousands of dollars with a blog. I’ve done it. I’ve helped clients do it.

This is the dirty secret of nonfiction. Most people buy nonfiction because they want to feel good about it, and then they don’t read it. They buy the diet book because it makes them feel healthy without cracking it open. In fact, I bought a diet book this week that I already plan not to read.

What should Carol do with those short stories?

Jim: Carol says she’s written 20-plus short stories and hasn’t submitted them for publication. Carol, that’s amazing.

Short stories are a different art form than novels. I’m not saying that automatically means you’ll be a successful novelist, but writing 20 short stories is no small thing.

I would take your ten best, or even your five best, and start submitting them to anthologies and contests. That’s the kind of thing that can get you noticed.

For example, Writer’s Digest has a short story contest every year. I think first prize is around five grand, plus a trip to New York. But there are lots of venues beyond Writer’s Digest: websites, anthologies, journals.

You asked about showing your range. Submitting will give you real feedback through acceptances and rejections, and you’ll learn what resonates with readers.

Thomas: Jim’s right. Sometimes I forget there’s this thing called the real world. There are still short story anthologies that get published.

A lot of “no-name” authors got their start in short fiction, especially in science fiction. Little names like Stephen King. It’s not as dominant as it used to be, but it’s still effective.

Question 5: Can I write both fiction and nonfiction, and can fiction lead readers to my nonfiction?

Thomas: Question five is from Nadine Hawkins. Nadine says, “I’ve plotted a number of books, both fiction and nonfiction, but I haven’t completed any of them yet because I still have this question about platform before I start writing them. Two questions. First, can authors write both fiction and nonfiction well? Second, I see my fiction as a doorway into nonfiction, specifically beginner Christian self-help. Can that work?” She adds, “My fiction is speculative romantic fantasy.”

Can an author do both well?

Thomas: With questions like this, I always think of that Dos Equis commercial, “The most interesting man in the world.”

He gives career advice. The camera zooms in and he says, “Find the one thing you do not do well, and then don’t do that thing.”

There’s power in focus. The reality is you almost never see authors who do both fiction and nonfiction well. It’s a small fraction of a small fraction.

It’s not unheard of. The ones who do it well are often famous because cross-promotion helps. C.S. Lewis is an obvious example. But it’s rare.

My general recommendation is pick one and master it. If you get good enough, you earn yourself a free shot or two in the other space. After you’ve sold a couple hundred thousand nonfiction books, someone will publish your novel on the chance it might work, and vice versa.

Now, Christian speculative romantic fantasy is a small niche. But that doesn’t automatically mean it’s a bad idea.

Genres are created by popular books. A book hits big, readers say, “I want more like this,” and a market forms around that demand. The Lord of the Rings did that for fantasy. The same thing happened with Amish fiction.

So don’t assume, “This niche is small, therefore I can’t win.” Sometimes being early is an advantage.

But I would hire an editor and get honest feedback on what you’re working on. Ask, “What has the most potential? What has resonance?”

Also, Christian self-help is crowded. There’s a whole aisle of it. You might be one of only a handful in your fiction niche. That can make it easier to stand out.

Can fiction be a doorway to nonfiction?

Jim: Nadine, the question I want to ask is: what do you love? Go deep and be honest. Do you love writing fiction, or do you love writing nonfiction?

You said, “I see my fiction as a doorway.” This might actually free you up.

That doorway is padlocked multiple times with unbreakable codes. People assume, “If I build a fiction following, I can move them to my nonfiction.” It usually doesn’t work that way.

It’s like being known as a great guitar teacher and then saying, “By the way, I’m also an expert water ski instructor.” People go, “Wait, what?” They know you for one thing.

So, if you’re thinking, “Whew, I really wanted to write fiction anyway,” great, write fiction. Or if you’re thinking, “Good, I really want to write Christian self-help,” then do that. You don’t need the fiction detour.

Thomas: This even happens within a single genre.

I love Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files. I read them all and couldn’t wait for the next one. Then I saw his other series, Codex Alera, which is epic fantasy, and I didn’t read it at first. Same author, a genre I like, and I still hesitated because it felt too different.

Eventually I tried it, loved it, and bought the rest. But the friction was real.

As a marketing person, watching myself as a fanatic reader was fascinating. It wasn’t about money. It was about risk, and guilt.

People hate starting a book and not finishing it. It makes them feel guilty. So, every book is a risk: “Am I going to like this?”

As a marketer, your job is to lower perceived risk. The more confident someone feels that they’ll enjoy the book, the more likely they are to buy and start reading.

Jim: All that said, it can be done. A Robin Williams can be the funniest guy alive and also do compelling drama.

But for every Robin Williams, there are plenty of Jim Carreys, incredibly funny actors who tried drama and bombed.

So, it’s possible, but it’s very challenging.

Thomas: Find one thing you do well and do that thing. Or at least find the thing you don’t do well, and don’t do that thing.

Jim: Do not do that thing.

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