C.S. Yelle's Blog

In all honesty, I used to get really hung up on bad ratings. I mean, it is an honest thing for anyone who creates something for the world to see to feel a little upset when someone doesn't like it or finds it lacking.

It would bother me to get a low rating without any review because I never knew where I fell short for this reader and believe it or not, I try to learn from the negative reviews and improve as a writer. After receiving a one star review that tells me why it was a one star, I would have that in the back of my mind when I am writing those scenes that left the reader feeling wanting.

I have also learned not to put ANY stock in poor ratings without a review. They are pretty baseless in my mind and after looking at the average rating for some of these individuals giving 1 stars with no feedback, I am shocked to see 1.3 or 1.5 average ratings with well over a thousand books read and rated.

All I would like to say to these readers is...YOU ARE READING THE WRONG GENRE!
If you can't find books in the genre you are reading that excite you and make you want more, maybe you are reading the wrong genre for you.

I would have stopped reading that genre after about 20 books if I didn't feel I at least liked one.

Read what you LOVE. Don't waste your time on what you don't like. There are too many books out there to choose from. Choose better.

That's all for now.

So far, 2013 has been a very stressful year. Without going into detail, many things have tried to derail my writing and while they may have slowed me a bit, I am pushing forward and working diligently crafting a worthy story to follow up Black Stones of Ter Chadain.
I understand that many of you have been waiting patiently over a year for the release of Book 3 in the Protector of Ter Chadain series and I am making great progress towards that end. But I want to assure you that I will not put out a story that does not follow the same level of excitement and action that the first two have been known for.
That being said, I am afraid due to my publisher's schedule and the timeline that is needed to complete Book 3, we are shooting for late winter or early spring of 2014 for the release.
Will Book 3 be the end of the series...I won't know for sure until I am finished, because if there is more story to be told, there will indeed be another book.
Thank you for your patience and I hope it will be well worth the wait.
CS Yelle

I had the great opportunity to go to an event featuring New York Times Best Selling Author, William Kent Krueger, author of Ordinary Grace.
While at the event, which was a intimate venue put on by The Reading Frenzy Corner of Elk River, MN, I had the chance to visit with Mr. Krueger at length about getting exposure especially in these times of infinite numbers of excellent books being produce each year.
While discussing the strategy of book signing events and developing a book store route, he pointed out that he hadn't published until he was around 50. I told him I was 49 and have 3 books out now and he smiled knowingly.
He encouraged me to keep plugging away and if I work hard enough the opportunities will eventually be there.
I am truly encouraged by his kind words and his inspiring story of working at his writing to assure his center and then doing what needed to be done at the moment until it was the right time for his writing to be his main focus.
What I take away from our meeting is that writing is my center and when I don't do it, I am not whole. Find your center, no matter what that is, and your world will be whole.

Hey everyone,
I wanted to blog to let everyone know that I combined my information and lost all my wonderful fans.
If you are a fan, please click your support for me again.
Much appreciated.