The German edition of MR. MONK AND THE BLUE FLU just came out, and is already getting some very nice reviews, including this one (in German, of course!) from Alligatorpapiere. He likes the first two books in the series, too.
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author & TV Producer
The German edition of MR. MONK AND THE BLUE FLU just came out, and is already getting some very nice reviews, including this one (in German, of course!) from Alligatorpapiere. He likes the first two books in the series, too.
Self Promotion Alert!!!
According to you and your brother, that’s how you should have started your post.
Wow, I love your hypocrisy.
You accuse Beneaththecover.com and Yvonne Divita of existing for self promotional reasons, and use this as a reason to devalue what they have to say.
Here is a perfect example of YOU using your blog site to promote yourself.
The fact that I am not a book industry insider is irrelevant when it comes to pointing out the obvious.
With this post you are doing exactly what you accuse beneaththecover.com contributors of doing.
Hypocrite.
Matt Knox
Matt,
The difference between what Yvonne is doing with her “advice” on Beneaththecover.com and what I am doing here is considerable…and obvious.
You are right, I am using MY BLOG to promote MYSELF.
I am not going on another site and posting advice that says “the very best mysteries written are the ones published by Penguin-Putnam.” You see, that would be a conflict of interest, since they publish my books and I have a financial relationship with them. It would be a huge ethical no-no.
But Matt, as you rightly point out, I am here on MY SITE, the one with my name and picture across the stop. This site is quite clearly all about me and my books. You may have noticed all the book covers running down the right-hand column. Clearly, me posting a link to a positive review is self-serving, self-promotional, and nothing else. And that’s the difference. It CLEARLY is. That is the expressed and obvious purpose of my website, of which this blog is a component.
My “advice” on the other hand, like staying away from vanity presses and to be wary of those who run them, is something I have no stake in. I have no hidden profit agenda, no conflict of interest. I am simply warning aspiring writers to avoid being suckered. My advice can be taken, or ignored, at face-value.
If Yvonne was sharing her self-serving advice full of falsehoods on her vanity press website, that would be one thing. But doing it on another site that claims to offer “news” and “advice” is something else altogether.
Beneaththecover is presenting a falsehood, that they are simply a clearing house of news and advice when, in fact, the news and advice is slanted to sell the products and services offered by their contributors.
Lee
Out in Germany, eh? That’s pretty good. It’s nice to see a success unfold step-by-step. It’s an interesting process.
So far, I’ve read the first five chapters, as well as “Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants” twice (and divided the chapters into their sections.) The character of Natalie seems to me to be the real achievement in the books. Mr. Monk has a tendency to tell people how they should think instead of contenting himself with trying to educate them how they should think, and I personally find the latter to be sweeter. But Natalie is trying to be kind and understanding and helpful to everybody and has a nice emotional maturity to her.
Anyway, your logic, Lee, and the depth of your arguments, their clarity, and your willingness to respond to persons like Matt, who don’t see things your way, is building your credibility amongst the thoughtful, I would guess.
Matt – Dude! Think before you shoot your mouth off. Lee is absolutely right, and I don’t often agree with him. It’s his blog about his work and his life, etc. I’ll go even further … he could go on other sites and say is publisher is publishing the best stuff out there. This could be absolutely true … and why shouldn’t he say it? He isn’t trying to dupe desperate people out of their money or exploit their hopes and dreams. Use a little critical thinking there, Matt.
I would guess that Matt, despite his protestations, is involved somewhere down the line with a vanity press. Either that, or he’s more naive than he sounds.