THE SOURCE now available

The Source by Michael Bertolini is now available from the fine retailers (click the link on the right) or directly from the author. Pick up your copy today!

The Source

Bertolini, Michael J

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Available for Pre-order!

 The Source by Michael Bertolini, with commentary by Alan Dark, is available for PRE-ORDER right now from Smashwords, link below. It is a Horror Thriller with some clear nods to H.P. Lovecraft and the wider Cthulhu Mythos while maintaining its own feel. Be sure to check it out, the E-Book will be available on July 1st, 2026 while the Print book will be available for purchase July 4th, 2026. 

Also, if you pre-order the e-book RIGHT NOW from Smashwords the price is only $2.99, but if you wait, the price will increase to $3.99 in June and $4.99 once it releases in July.

👉  Pre-Order THE SOURCE on Smashwords 👈

So you got a 1-star review...

You wrote a book and it's out there for the world, and... you see a 1-star review on Amazon.  You will understandably question your life choices, especially if you did everything yourself or paid actual human money for services (if someone is accepting monopoly money, please let me know). But this isn't the time to give up; you're a writer, and negative feedback shouldn't send you into a tailspin of questioning and mixed family dynamics of failure.  But a 1-star or 2-star review can be useful for you, and you shouldn't let it ruin your day.

Why Reviews Feel So Important

A review is a different sort of feedback; it's usually unrequested. Now you might ask for a review but that's not typically the case. What you will likely be seeking, at least in the early stages of writing, is constructive feedback. You want this feedback to improve your craft, but a review of a published work can often leave you feeling depressed because it mentally attacks all of your insecurities (known and unknown).
But reviews aren't for you, they're for prospective readers and consumers. Even if someone writes a scathing review, it might be enough to make another reader intrigued. The blank review is easily ignored, but the one with three paragraphs is typically more attractive to other buyers. When I buy online, I read reviews to see if they validate my preconceived ideas or if I need to further examine my needs. But any review can do this, from 5-star to 1-star. If someone doesn't like a product, I'd rather know why.

5 Essential Mindset Shifts for Review Resilience

1. Your Book Is Not You

A review is not an attack on you or anything else that you produce. Probably. People suck and there are people that get a thrill out of causing other people misery. But don't let it get you down, you wrote a book and that is evidence of your strength.

2. Know Your Ideal Reader

You need to know your audience. Know your audience before you write, and write for your audience. Don't write a romance novel for sci-fi fans or a comedy for horror fans; write a story and your audience will find the piece. If someone leaves a 1-star review but doesn't even bother reading other books in the same genre, ignore it. 

3. Accept That Reviews Will Sometimes Hurt

Just move on. It might sound cold, but move on. Consider this a justifiable time to get some wine and/or a pint of ice cream and watch the cheesiest of cheesy movies, but then move on. A bad review should NEVER cause supreme levels of depression.

4. Understand That Rating Systems Aren't Consistent

Reviews mean different things to different people. I already told you that I don't let a 1-star review decide a purchase for me, and that I blatantly ignore reviews that don't say anything meaningful (regardless of the star rating); so a 1-star review only means that the reviewer didn't like your book.

5. Silent Readers Usually Love Your Book

Most people don't leave reviews, especially if they like something. It might sound counter-intuitive, but you will likely get direct emails from fans rather than a review. Feel free to urge fans to leave reviews, maybe even offer something in return for a review of any kind (such as a hitherto unpublished short story). Or submit your book for ARC reviews; these are people who agree to a review in exchange for a free digital copy of the book, and they usually won't leave less than a 3-star review.

In summary...

Reviews can suck but they're inevitable; don't let them get you down. 

Children's Books

 M Presents Publishing doesn't publish children's books, but that doesn't mean the market doesn't exist for them. To that end, I wish to share an email I just received from Authors Publish regarding a course that they're offering. I haven't personally looked into it and space is limited, but I wouldn't want to deprive anyone interested from at least checking it out:

Want to write and publish kids books -- with guidance from a successful author? You are invited to participate in Writing for Young Readers with John Claude Bemis.

This course is for writers who want to explore the art and craft of writing children's books, get expert guidance on the publication process, and personal feedback on your writing.

John knows the industry: He's a successful children's book author, with books published by Penguin and Disney. Plus, he's an award winning teacher who is very skilled at sharing his knowledge.

This course is specifically designed for writers who want to work on books for children, including picture books, chapter books, and middle grade books. 

Enrollment in this course is strictly limited to just 22 students. 

If you’re thinking about enrolling, I encourage you to learn more right away.

Book covers

You've written your manuscript and edited to your satisfaction, and now you wish to publish. While M Presents Publishing is usually open to novels, perhaps you want to publish it yourself and you want to absorb all of the costs and maintain all creative control. 
At M Presents Publishing, I believe authors should absolutely have a measure of creative control. Let me handle some of the stuff, like finding a competent editor, and getting a few covers to choose from that I feel is appropriate; you can worry about selling and writing your next great manuscript, we both win.
Ok, with my sales pitch out of the way, here's my advice for the day: the cover.  Most authors know that a superb book cover image is critically important. It’s the first impression that your prospective readers will have of you as a professional author and brand. Within a fraction of a second, your cover either draws a reader in or turns them away.

 

What Makes a Book Cover the Best?

The best book covers aren’t just beautiful—they’re strategic. A cover should be designed to attract readers in two seemingly contradictory ways: Broad appeal and targeted appeal:

• Broad appeal - It should be eye-catching and stand out on a bookshelf or digital storefront.
• Targeted appeal - It should immediately signal to your target readers that this book is for them.

Broad Appeal: Making Your Cover Stand Out
A strong book cover should grab attention, even at a glance. In a sea of books, your cover needs to be visually striking enough to stop a reader from scrolling past. This means:

• Using Bold, High-Contrast Imagery - A flat, washed-out cover is easy to ignore. Strong contrast helps a cover stand out in a digital store or on a crowded bookshelf.

• Having a Clear Focal Point - The eye should be drawn immediately to the central element, whether that’s a character, a symbol, or a striking title treatment.

• Readable Typography - If your title or author name is difficult to read at thumbnail size, the cover loses effectiveness.

Targeted Appeal: Speaking to the Right Readers
While broad appeal helps a cover stand out, targeted appeal ensures that the right readers are drawn in. This means your cover should align with the genre, tone, and themes of your book.
Sticking to genre conventions helps ensure that your book cover has broad appeal while also targeting the right readers. Think of genre conventions as visual shorthand to attract readers who enjoy your genre while filtering out those who might not.
You can determine genre conventions by:

• Researching popular books - Browse bestseller lists on platforms like Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble. Take note of the common elements in these covers.

• Analyzing key elements - Look at color schemes, typography, imagery, and overall mood.

• Regularly browsing your genre - Trends change, so staying updated on new releases ensures your cover remains competitive.

Following genre conventions makes it easier to attract the right audience. As I primarily publish horror, I'm going to stick there; however, scanning Amazon in other genres will give you an idea of what to do: 
Horror utilizes stark contrasts, eerie imagery, and fonts that create an unsettling effect.

First Impressions Matter
Your book cover is often the only thing a potential reader sees before making a purchase decision. If the cover doesn’t immediately convey genre, tone, and professionalism, you risk losing the reader before they even read your blurb.

Avoid Common Cover Mistakes

• Choosing a Cover That Misrepresents the Genre - If your book is a high-paced thriller, but your cover looks like a romance novel, readers will be confused, and you may end up with negative reviews from people expecting a completely different story. Don't let anyone fool you, a book is judged by its cover.

• Overly Complicated Designs - A cluttered cover with too many elements can be overwhelming. The best covers use a simple, effective composition with one or two main focal points.

• Unreadable Text - Tiny or overly decorative fonts may look stylish, but if the title isn’t immediately legible, the cover loses its effectiveness. Text that's too close to the cover's edges can also become unreadable. I recommend at least 1/2 inch of distance to either edge of the cover, but I also believe that you shouldn't restrict your book by sticking to my rule.

• Ignoring the Thumbnail Factor - Most readers will first see your book as a small image in an online store. If it doesn’t stand out in thumbnail size, it won’t get clicks.

Ensuring Strong Composition: What Makes a Well-Designed Cover?
A well-designed premade cover will already have these factors accounted for, but it’s still important to analyze the design critically before purchasing. Look for:

• A strong focal point - The central image or text should immediately draw the reader’s eye. Make the reader curious.

• Balanced Layout – Elements should be arranged in a way that guides the eye naturally across the cover. The common convention is the 'Z' pattern with the title at the top of the cover and the author name/subtitle at the bottom. We tend to read left to right, the cover should emulate that.

• Clear Text Placement – Title and author name should be positioned logically and remain easy to read. I know that I've released books with cover text at an angle, which was fine for a simple cover design, but it should be avoided.

• Contrast and Color Use – Strong contrast makes key elements stand out, ensuring readability and impact. I recently talked to a client about her cover mistake, how pastel blue font on a navy blue background would be difficult to read; it wasn't something she'd considered before but it makes sense.

The "Close Enough" Rule
Many indie authors get stuck searching for a premade cover that perfectly matches every detail of their story. But the truth is, your cover doesn’t need to be 100% accurate—it just needs to sell the book.
Readers will pick up a book based on the overall appeal of the cover rather than its pinpoint accuracy. If a premade cover correctly captures the essence of your book and fits the genre, it’s likely a strong choice—even if minor details don’t match perfectly.

Finding the Right Balance
Choosing the best cover for your book is about balancing cost, accuracy, and marketability. A well-designed cover can save you time and money while ensuring your book looks professional and appeals to readers of your genre.
If you insist on getting a decent cover yourself, SelfPubBookCovers.com (SPBC) might be your answer, there are also numerous graphic designers seeking your business; shop around. 

 

Show, Don't Tell

 

“Show, don't tell" is such overly-prescribed writing advice that even non-writers have heard the expression. Good writers both show and tell in order to create believable and lifelike characters, situations, and worlds. The important thing is that there's a fine balance between showing and telling so that these combine to form the full experience. Either one out of balance will produce off-balance fiction: too much showing is like reading stage directions, and too much telling is like reading a freshman essay.

So what is the balance, and how does one go about finding it? Let's look at both showing and telling separately, determining what each does well, before figuring out how to find that optimum balance.

Showing the Right Thing

One problem for inexperienced fiction writers—particularly those for whom “show, don't tell" has become ingrained—is that they want to overcompensate by showing everything they possibly can. They show every mundane and unimportant movement, every fidget, every gesture, to the point where characters look like a collection of tics rather than people.

Effective showing is selective showing—finding just the right action or movement or moment that conveys what it is we want the reader not just to understand but to experience, identify with, recognize, and feel. 

Consider this: you're going to write about a man uncomfortable on a date—let's say a first date—through showing. What kinds of actions or mannerisms would reveal this particular brand of discomfort? How would you convey first-date jitters through description of behaviors and small actions? Maybe absentmindedly beating Morse code with his fork on his plate? Or shaking his leg nervously so that the table shook and ice against the water glasses chimed? It's about showing us selectively and with focus in order to create a specific understanding of the characters and the scene.

Telling Us What We Need To Know 

One can accomplish a good bit about a character or situation by telling us something in a way that still makes us puzzle and think-for example, we know precisely what a writer means when we're given a line such as: “She was beautiful." The problem with such direct telling, though, comes from the fact that we do know precisely what it means. The line is nothing less or more than what it appears to be, and thus we simply shrug and accept it. But what about a line like the following: “She was so beautiful that men often seemed mad at her." What does that mean, exactly? How beautiful is someone in order to simultaneously attract and repel suitors? This line is pure telling, but it's also complex and intriguing. When we come to a line like this, we don't simply shrug and accept it but have to consider its full meaning and implication.

Effective telling opens up possibility, nuance, and complexity, whereas ineffective telling shuts possibility down.

The Balancing Act

The full experience of any scene thus comes from a fine balance of showing and telling, both directed toward giving the reader a total picture of the characters and situation. Both showing and telling only go so far to explaining everything to the reader; it is when they work together that your writing shines. 

Three Things Writers Should Do When They Start

“If I’m just getting started with writing, what are some things I should focus on?”

“What are some of the things I should avoid doing if I actually want to finish my book?”

I've heard questions like this asked before and I’m going to share the three things to focus on if you’re a brand new writer. 

Focus Area #1: Mindset

The very first thing I want you to focus on is your mindset. And the reason I say this is because believe that mindset is one of the biggest things that can prevent someone from finishing their novel. 

So, before you start writing any new novel, whether it’s your first or your third, you need to have the right mindset going into the process. And what do I mean by the “right” mindset? Well, two things really… 

First, you need to understand that your first draft is not going to be perfect. No matter how much time you spend thinking about your story, outlining your story, or re-writing those first few pages, it’s never going to equal a perfect first draft. 

I remember writing my first book about 20 years ago at this point and I thought: "wow, this is amazing, I'm going to be famous because of this" without thinking that this first draft was likely going to be full of plot holes, inconsistencies, and various errors that later edits took care of. I sent it off to agents and those that got back to me collectively said "first drafts need a little polish". It was horrible but it didn't let it keep me down.

And I know why we have these kinds of expectations—most writers are also readers. And the books we read are very often really, really good. But they turn out this way because they’ve been through multiple drafts, multiple rounds of revisions, and the author has no doubt had feedback from outside sources during at least one point in the process. But we don’t always think about all of that, right? We just see the final product, and then we set out to write a story that looks like the books we read. And that’s not realistic. Eventually, our stories can get there, I promise—but not at first. That’s just the way it goes. So, what is a more healthy mindset? What would I recommend?

The real purpose of your first draft is to discover your story—it’s to discover your characters, your story world, what’s actually going to happen in the plot, the theme or takeaway you want to leave readers with—all of that. Go into your first draft with the goal of discovering your story, and let the process be fun. Because guess what? Writing can actually be fun if you take some of the pressure off yourself, and if you don’t expect yourself to write the perfect first draft.  

Focus Area #2: Genre

The second thing I’d like you to focus on is your story’s genre. This is a big problem I face when reading shorts for an anthology but it's something a writer should consider and there is a phrase I'd like to share: Think about genres in two different ways—commercial genres and content genres. 

Commercial genres are sales categories that dictate where your book is placed in a bookstore or how it’s sold online. We can consider something like Young Adult Fiction. That would be a section in a bookstore or online, right? But if you set out to write a Young Adult story, what kind of story would you be writing? A YA romance? A YA mystery? A YA thriller? A YA action story set in a fantasy world? It would be really hard to write a Young Adult novel if you don’t know what kind of story you’re actually telling.

And this is where content genres come in. Content genres, such as my own favorite, tell writers what type of content needs to be in a story to satisfy readers of a particular genre. So, in other words, they provide an entire framework that will help you craft a story that works.  

Your content genre can tell you: 

• The type of goal your protagonist will pursue from start to finish
• What’s at stake if your protagonist accomplishes this goal or not
• Some of the key scenes and character roles you need to include 
• The main emotion readers are expecting to feel or experience
• And even the general theme or topic your story explores

And that’s a lot of stuff, right? This is why genre is such an important thing to focus on for new writers—it can honestly take so much overwhelm out of the writing process, and in my opinion, it’s an under-utilized and under-appreciated tool. 

So, if you’re just starting out, or even if you’re starting a brand new story, figure out the type of story you want to write. What is your story’s content genre? And then use that as the framework to craft your story within.  And if a publisher is seeking a specific genre, save everyone the headache of erroneously submitting.

Focus Area #3: Scenes

The third thing I’d like you to focus on is learning how to craft a scene. This is another thing that I think we don’t talk enough about in the writing community—and it’s such an important topic! 

Each scene, roughly every 1,500 words, needs a beginning, middle, and end; and your character needs to have a goal. They also need the agency to pursue that goal. All of these things are also required to write a story. So, if you can execute all of this on the micro-scene level, you will be much better equipped to tackle them on the global story level.

But beyond practicing writing scenes that work in your own draft, I recommend studying scenes in published novels. So, think about your favorite book, and then think about a few memorable scenes from that book. Go look for the scene structure in those scenes, and pick them apart to figure out what made you like them so much. This exercise will be so invaluable to you.

And the more you study scenes that work, the better you’ll become at identifying the structural elements and the craft elements that make them work. It took a lot of practice when I did this originally, but now, it doesn’t always feel so hard—and it’s almost something we just do instinctually. So, the same thing can and will happen for you if you just dig in and start breaking scenes down one by one. 

So, that is the third key area I would focus on if I was just starting out. And, no matter how experienced a writer you are, I think mastering the art of writing a scene is very important. 

Final Thoughts

So, that wraps up the three main areas I would focus on if I was a brand new writer—or if I was coaching a brand new writer, as an editor. Remember that your first draft won't be perfect, know what genre you're writing and write accordingly, and craft good scenes that contribute to an equally good story. Writing can be fun and rewarding if you put the effort in.

Remember that I am a professional editor and look publisher, and I'm here to help take your writing to the next level. 

EDITOR SERVICE

Michael, owner and operator of M Presents Publishing, is offering editorial services to those writers who aren't being published by M Presents.