Why I publish by William Ashanti Hobbs
Why I Self-Publish
Might as well handle this question up front. The answer is quite simple: I am of a generation that will do for ourselves when others won’t do for us. Having earned a doctorate in creative writing and finding myself in many academic circles, I am made aware time and time again of what I now call the “institutionalization” mindset. Inmates in prison can become institutionalized, meaning that they become conditioned to depend on the order of prison life. They come to crave the need to be told where to go and when, to not worry about bills and the complexities of life beyond prison walls. Some have earned some special status there, the go to man for this or power broker for that group of men. Many commit crimes just to return to prison for that comfort. If people can be conditioned to require a place as violent as prison, people can become accustomed to anything and therefore, become afraid of everything outside of that environment.
Such is the case for many in academia.
The conceit that if one’s writing was exceptional enough, someone of a long-standing publishing house would have published it is strong among scholars and various art snobs alike. I fell for that for quite some time, trying to blend in. Fortunately, circumstances worked in my favor that allowed me to return to my old self.
I am of the hip hop generation of moguls such as Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, Master P, Diddy, Too $hort and countless others who believed in themselves when the business community would not. Each of these individuals took their music and sold it out of trunks and anywhere else they could to get going in their careers. They made the industry recognize them as opposed to waiting to be recognized. Such was the case for writers such as E. Lynn Harris, Zane and others. When publishing houses had every excuse in the book for them, they made it happen on their own terms. This is the main reason I self-publish, but not all of it.
I was a self-publisher as an undergrad at Florida A&M University. I was inspired by said moguls mentioned above and founded Meroen Press when I was 21. It was mainly a move at independence when family members did not take my aspirations seriously. I ran with a crew that published an underground magazine called THOUGHTS. Through that forum, we were able to criticize the school administration in ways the school sanctioned paper never could. So the sweet taste of freedom runs deep in me.
Even though the published novels won me the fellowship that allowed me to earn my doctorate, I put Meroen Press aside as I matriculated. I entertained the idea that it was only tactic for the desperate that were not good enough for mainstream. While I sent manuscripts out and played the waiting game for agents to return calls, I’ve seen many pathetic novels published by major houses and have learned from those on the inside that whether a writer lands anything with one is a complete crap shoot.
The recession has made publishing companies even more skittish to try new talent. My wife already works downtown and arranges book signings for visiting authors. I am a beast at graphic arts (my minor in college), had some disposable income from teaching and was already exploring how facebook, blogging, amazon.com and the like was making publishing easier for others. I’ve always enjoyed the satisfaction of accomplishment in having my own business. To top it off, I am an admirer of art that thrives outside of the mainstream and am forever leery of settling down into any sort of rut. Too many advantages were lining up. So there, in short, I self-published because to not do so seemed ridiculous. True, authors like Pulitzer prize-winning novelist Robert Olen Butler are saying that self-publishing in this day and age definitely has merit (refer to my podcast interview with Butler – http://withinthepagesofmylife.mypodcast.com/).
There are articles of how to do it in well-respected publications like Poets & Writers Magazine for those who require that validation from on high. Luckily, I felt the same way on my own. Would I work with a major publisher? If the conditions are right, absolutely. It would have to be a relationship that allows me to be highly involved in the marketing and promotion. I would have to continue to help other writers through Meroen Press (my wife’s children’s book, a damn good book, is on the way) Perhaps a deal where I could keep my company as an imprint and they took over distribution. Either way, I intend to retain a sense of control too many others give away out of a lack of confidence in themselves or for some false sense of legitimacy.
Does Size Matter? Choosing Your Book Size
Does Size Matter? Choosing Your Book’s Size
By Irene Watson
What size should your book be? Both beginning and longtime authors have to make this decision with each book, and depending on the kind of book, it can be an easy or a difficult decision. Here are some basic guidelines for determining your book’s size depending on the kind of book you are publishing.
Fiction
Fiction books are the easiest for choosing a size. Most novels and short story collections are one of two sizes-the mass market paperback size (4.1×6.6) and the slightly larger 6×9 size (occasionally some are 4.1×7.4). Books that are 6×9 have become more popular in recent years-they also usually cost more to buy than mass market paperback sizes-partly I think so publishers can charge more because they look more substantial. In any case, either size is acceptable for fiction. These sizes are appropriate because novels are some of the most portable books from how readers use them. Novels should be easy to hold, relatively light, and portable so readers can take them on airplanes, read them on the beach, etc.
The only real consideration in choosing between the two sizes of fiction books is how thick the book will be. A large novel like Gone With the Wind (my mass market copy has 1,024 pages) would be easier to read as a 6×9 which I would guess would run more around 800 pages, simply because your hand would have to apply less pressure to hold it open, especially if you’re able to hold a book open with one hand-a small feat for most men who have larger hands, but more difficult for women. You don’t want to make your book a size that is awkward for your readers to handle, no matter what kind of book you are publishing.
Children’s Books
Children’s books come in a wide variety of sizes. If they are novels with chapters, then I’d recommend the above sizes for fiction, but for picture books, you want a larger book that will display the pictures to more advantage. Even if you pick a hardcover book, you want it to be lightweight so children can easily open it. Larger sizes also mean the book is thinner and easier to hold. Books that can stay open by themselves are a definite advantage; a larger size and the right binding will make them do so.
You also want a book that is easy to hold open. Remember that with picture books, adults often read them out loud, and they will hold them open wide so children can see the pictures.
With picture books, you want to make sure you determine the size of your book before you get far into your project so you can plan out the individual page layouts. With children’s books, you’ll want pictures to match the text, so you’ll want to plan out what the illustrations will represent, and if you have pictures on each page or every other page, you’ll want to figure out how much text will go on each page, which requires you to know the book’s size so you can write the proper amount of text to fit the page.
Knowing the book’s size beforehand is imperative for the illustrations so they can be drawn at the size of the final book; otherwise, you’ll have problems later with the resolution when you try to shrink or enlarge the photographs to match the book size.
Nonfiction
Nonfiction books allow the most flexibility when determining size. Depending on the book’s purpose and contents, a simple non-fiction book is appropriately sized at the same options for fiction books. More complicated books with photographs or charts may benefit from a larger size.
The main thing is to make the book look substantial enough that readers will feel they are getting their money’s worth. A large but thin book with 50,000 words in it may make the reader feel it is overpriced at $15.95, but a book at the same price with the same word count may look like a good buy if it is smaller and thicker.
One small publisher of non-fiction titles told me his goal is for all their books to be roughly 200 pages. The company sells books ranging in size from 6×9 to 8.5×11, but the size is determined by what will result in that 200 page goal. Why 200 pages? They’ve determined that size makes readers feel they are getting their money’s worth without feeling the book is too long and intimidating to read it.
If you’re going to have photographs in your book, you probably want a larger size so the pictures do not look small or cramped but can be viewed easily, and the larger the book, the more the photographs will stand out. Depending on your audience, books with lots of photographs or illustrations, including pictorial histories and art books, or books with lots of graphs, timelines, genealogy charts, or other special design elements may be best in coffee table sizes.
Covers
Finally, consider your book cover. When posted online, your book will look small regardless-book images at Amazon are at most two inches in size. But in a bookstore, a larger book is going to stand out amid stacks of mass market paperbacks. Books too large to fit on a regular bookshelf might make some bookstores less willing to carry them, but in most cases, large books are more likely to end up on display tables where they will easily be noticed rather than be buried on a shelf with only their spines showing.
Remember that the cover is the first thing the customer will see, and it is first and foremost what will affect the vast majority of customers’ buying decisions. A bigger book might well make the difference between it being bought over another simply because it stands out more.
Other Considerations and Recommendations
The size of your book has many other considerations involved with it such as the size of the font in the book. Larger books can have larger fonts so they are easier to read. You might even be considering producing a large print book for people who have difficulty reading.
Most importantly, you need to consider your potential customers. Go to the bookstore and look at books on topics similar to yours. See what you like and don’t like about their sizes. Ask bookstore owners what they would recommend. Talk to printers and book designers to see what they would recommend as well.
In the end, size does matter, so find the book size to satisfy your customers.
Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.
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The Elements of a Book Proposal
The Elements of a Book Proposal – You Can Get a Book Deal!
By Nancy Peske
To sell a nonfiction book to a publishing house, you do not have to have the entire book written, and even if you do, you must submit a book proposal (usually via a literary agent) to procure a book deal. The reason is that the publisher needs to know if investing the money in publishing your book will pay off. Your book proposal must make a compelling case that this book, written by you, is needed in the marketplace.
Here are the core elements of a successful book proposal:
Start with a 3-5 page overview describing the book, why it fills a hole in the marketplace and is needed now, and why you are the right person to write it. Describe the audience for the book and the benefits it offers.
Add an author biography. Include what you have done and what you are doing right now to maintain and build your platform: your visibility and credibility that allows you to have a loyal following that will be eager to buy your book. Note any relevant writing experience you have, and any media experience. Include information about the number of followers you have thanks to your newsletter, website, blog, and social media outreach. Note where you live (no, you don’t have to live in New York City to get a book deal, but it’s good for them to know what time zone you are in and whether you live in a strong “book town”).
Include a marketing statement. Tell the publisher what you are willing to do to get the word out about the book and sell copies. Offer suggestions for easy, low-cost things the publisher can do, such as submitting to specific types of magazines (for example, they will know to send it to Parents magazine, but they might not know to send it to Adoptive Families magazine). Suggest niche media outlets. The idea is to give them a wider range of ideas and show them what you’re willing to do, too (such as research all these wonderful niche markets).
Do a short Table of Contents for the book followed by an expanded table of contents, also known as a detailed outline. Offer at least two paragraphs about what will be included in each chapter. (Also, don’t describe any chapters you are actually including in the proposal as that would be redundant. Instead, just note that the “Sample chapter is included.”)
Provide a writing sample. Some say you should include an introduction and chapter 1; I think that the overlap between the book’s actual introduction and all your descriptive material in the overview and expanded outline makes that overkill. Send in chapter 1, and a section from another place in the book if it will read quite differently from chapter 1 (for instance, if you have a recipe section in your health book, provide some recipes).
Work in the specs of your proposed book. Somewhere in the proposal, note when you can deliver the book, the length, and the format (hardcover or paperback) if that is very important to you and both are options. Publishers generally want the book delivered within six to nine months, maximum, unless you’re writing a work requiring substantial research. As for length, you can specify page count based on the number of words that fit on a typical page (take a look at a book that is about the size, shape, and length of the book you envision, count the words on a page and the number of pages, then do the math). As an in-house editor, I was taught it’s best to specify word count in contracts so that’s what I do in book proposals as it’s much more accurate than a page count. A typical length for a self-help book these days is about 70,000 words (it used to be 100,000 back in the day), but how many words fit on a given page will vary based on the design of the book.
Include endorsements if you can, and even the promise of a foreword by someone with an impressive name if you can procure a commitment. You might be surprised by who will agree to write an endorsement or foreword at an early stage of the book! And if they say no, you can always come back to them later when you have more material to show them (but don’t promise what you can’t deliver; wait until you get the thumbs up from your foreword writer before including it in a proposal).
Before submitting your proposal, consider having it evaluated by an industry professional who can help you tweak it, fill in any gaps, and make it as strong as possible, whether that professional is a literary agent or a freelance editor with extensive book publishing experience who can help you polish your proposal before it is sent to the agent. Spell check it, have another set of eyes proofread it (this is where a friend with great grammar skills is a terrific asset), and double check that you have included all the important elements. Make sure your book proposal makes it impossible for a literary agent, and then an editor, to say no to taking on your nonfiction book project!
Nancy Peske is the author, ghostwriter, and developmental editor of many bestselling books including the coauthored Cinematherapy series with over 340,000 books in print. She has worked in the book publishing business for over twenty years, including as an in-house acquiring editor at a major New York publishing firm. Her website is http://www.nancypeske.com.
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Hooking Your Readers
Hooking Your Readers
By Cindy A Christiansen
What makes a reader pick up your book, read the first page and then either put it back on the shelf or buy it? It’s having all the key ingredients to a spell-binding beginning.
You can accomplish a great beginning with four easy tips:
1. Establish who, what, when, where and why.
2. Ascertain what kind of story you are writing.
3. Let the reader care about the character(s).
4. Set the tone of your book from the beginning.
Let’s take a closer look:
1. ESTABLISH WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE AND WHY.
Fiction writing is no different from any other writing. You must answer all of the “w” questions right up front as much on the first page as possible without being obvious. Let’s look at each one:
WHO: Give the character’s name right up front to establish from whose point-of-view (POV) the story is being told. In first-person that is “I”. In third-person you want the name to reflect the time period, the personality of the character, and the tone of your book. Think about how you want the reader to relate to the character.
In my current work in progress, my heroine’s name is Lizzie Cantrell. I point out in the story that Lizzie is not short for Elizabeth but that her mother named her after Lizzie in the play, Rainmaker. She is an artist looking for adventure. The hero, however, is Phillip E. Van Dyke. He insists that his employees call him Mr. Van Dyke, and if they call him Phil, he is extremely upset. Seriously injured, he is determined to keep people from getting too close. By having everyone use his formal name, he believes he can keep his emotions locked away.
Choosing the right name can greatly impact how your readers relate to your characters.
WHAT: To establish a relationship between your reader and your character, you need to suggest what the character is trying to gain or lose based on their goals. In the story above, Phillip keeps pulling up his turtle-neck. I suggest there is something wrong, but I don’t give it all away yet. You need to suggest what is going to happen and make the reader curious to find out.
WHERE AND WHEN: Let the reader know up front in as little detail as possible where your book is taking place and what time period. You don’t have to state the precise date, however that works in some cases. In contemporary novels, any detail about modern conveniences is usually sufficient. For a historical, use something that signifies the time like an event, war, invention, etc.
WHY: Again we don’t want to give the story away, but this is where you reveal what drives your character and why. You just need to give a clue as to why they are pursuing what they are to let the reader know more is to come.
This may sound complicated but it’s not. Here is an example from “A Novel Approach” by Kathy Jacobson that shows all of this important information in just a few short sentences:
Liz had nothing against sleeping with men, but she never again wanted to be married to one. After three years of freedom, even Jeff’s wealth didn’t look like a good trade-off. She smiled at him across the breakfast table and handed back the diamond ring she’d almost cracked a tooth on.
“It was clever of you to hide this in my muffin, but I really can’t accept it.”
Here’s the summation: Who – Liz. What – she’s declining a marriage proposal. Where – her breakfast table. When – three years after her divorce. Why – she prefers her freedom over wealth. Everything in one neat little paragraph. Wow!
2. ASCERTAIN WHAT KIND OF STORY YOU ARE WRITING.
The next important part of a beginning is starting with an important action when the character’s life changes. A good resource for understanding this is Orson Scott Card’s MICE quotient taken from his book, “Characters and Viewpoints”. This will affect your beginning in different ways. For MILIEU it would be when the character enters the new environment. If you are writing an IDEA story, you want to start with something that affects the question being asked. When writing a CHARACTER story, you would concentrate on the character’s emotions concerning the change in environment. With an EVENT story, you begin with the event that pushes the character into a new adventure.
Don’t start your book with the character’s back story. Begin with the circumstances that changes the character’s life. Back story is very important and can be added throughout the book in interesting ways, but starting out with the character’s life story is boring to the reader and you will lose them.
You do, however, want to have your character performing some natural task to make your reader identify with them. Then take them on the journey. If you throw them into the middle of the action too quickly, the reader is confused about what is happening, who the character is, or why they should even care.
3. LET THE READER CARE ABOUT THE CHARACTER(S).
Make sure you give the reader a reason to relate or like your character. You can accomplish this by making sure your character has goals and their reasons for their choices are clearly stated, especially that first scene. Make sure your scenes are well thought out according to POV. Remember that if you switch POV you lose the tension in the scene. It is important to stay with the opening character long enough for the reader to bond with them.
4. SET THE TONE OF YOUR BOOK FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
Choosing your genre will help determine the tone of your book. Is it suspenseful, humorous, or gory? Your writing needs to reflect that. Even your synopsis should reflect the tone of your book. The editor needs to know you can project the same tone that the book will be written in.
Well, that’s it. It sounds simple enough and really it is. It takes some thought and practice, but it can be done. Given these four tips, you will write a book that will hook your readers and keep them turning pages. Good luck.
Cindy A. Christiansen is a multi-published fiction writer. Visit her at:
http://c.a.dragonfly.googlepages.com Send her an email from her contact page to be entered in a drawing for a fancy, beaded, dragonfly bookmark.
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Short Story Writing Tips For Beginners
Short Story Writing Tips For Beginners – Use Vv Mnemonic, Get Published
By Sridhar Chandrasekaran
Are your verbs arranged sequentially while you write a story? Vv set is a mnemonic where “V” stands for Verb and the big letter V and small letter v visually symbolize the arrangement of the verb sequence. This succession could be representing anything that blows up in the beginning and narrows down towards the end of the story. It could be an idea, an emotion or an event that grows and fades. For instance, a narrative could be well thought-out from past to present, big to small, high to low or a set to a subset to absorb the audience consciousness.
Let us take 4 verbs that start with a bigger intensity and ends with a smaller intensity. For instance, “Run” is an intense verb when compared with the verb “stand”. All other verbs such as rush, dash, jog, trot, walk would fall in between the verbs run and stand. Now, let us use them in writing a short episode to show a sequence of events of a character.
Tugging his loose trousers, John, a 20 year old hunter, ran hastily to save his life from this cruel untamed lion that fiercely dashed towards him in a thick Jungle. He altered his moving directions swiftly to brain tease the loin. After couple of hours of combating away from the eyesight of this ferocious animal, John thrived, ultimately. Soon, he was able to relax himself in a far-flung where he paused exhaustively breathing to calm himself from this horrendous nightmare.
In this incident, the highest intensity of “running” gradually comes down to “pausing” or “resting” meanwhile, the audience are taken on a roller coaster ride of intensely anxious emotion to a soothing restful frame of mind.
9 out of 10 novelists develop this kind of dramatic effect, striking dynamic feelings, to amuse the audience and occupy their mind till the end of the narrative tale.
For writing assignments contact sridharsix@gmai.com
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Book Writing – 25 Tips on Getting Started Writing a Book
Book Writing – 25 Tips on Getting Started Writing a Book
By Glen Ford
Here are 25 tips on getting started writing a book:
1. Before you start know who you are writing for. Spend some time building up a character sheet on your target reader.
2. Before you start, identify what your target reader’s pain points are. Seeking to avoid those is the greatest motivation your target reader will have to read your book.
3. Before you start, identify what your target reader’s pleasure points are. The desire to reach these will help provide motivation to your reader.
4. Before you start, identify what your target reader’s problems are. Solving those will help to keep your reader reading your book.
5. Before you start, write down how your book will help avoid the reader’s pain points, solve their problems, or help them achieve their pleasure points.
6. Before you start, identify why you are writing. By identifying your pain points or pleasure points, you’ll help to motivate yourself to finish.
7. Make a sign of why you are writing. Use large letters, oversized pictures and whatever else you need. Post it over your computer. Or better still make several! Post them around your home where you can’t help but see them when you are doing something else.
8. Know in advance how you will publish book. This will affect the format and length of your book.
9. Know how many pages you want the book to be.
10. Know the style you will use. Do you want to use a conversational style? Or a formal or academic style? The type of book you are writing will help to limit your choices.
11. Have a system for designing and writing your book. This is probably the most important tip. Having a system will help to ensure you have a good book and that you finish it.
12. Use a cognitive tool to develop your outline. It’s much easier to build up your outline when you use a tool that works with your mind, not against it.
13. However you create your outline, make it detailed down to the paragraph. You can easily write a hundred words on a point you’ve already been given. But writing 2500 words on a topic (i.e. chapter) is very difficult.
14. Do your structural editing on the outline. Some of the older systems hold off editing until the whole book has been written. The problem is that you may end up having to make wholesale changes (i.e. rewrites) if you have a structural problem. By editing while the book is in outline form, you can identify and fix structural problems while they are easily fixed.
15. Have a separate space to write in. By having a specific space, you’ll train yourself to write when you’re in that space.
16. Have a specific time scheduled for writing. Not only does it help stop you avoiding writing, it helps set up the writing habit.
17. Use music to create a mood. Whether that mood is reflected directly in your writing doesn’t matter. Baroque music, for example, is known to help thinking. If you’re writing romance, Frank Sinatra or French blues may help you get in the romantic mood.
18. Have a comfortable chair. Pain is not conducive to writing!
19. Have everything you need to write always at hand. That way you don’t have an excuse to waste writing time.
20. Turn off the phone. Interruptions are a great excuse to waste writing time. Avoid them.
21. Have a user id on your computer that doesn’t allow access to games or email. The second most common excuse to avoid writing is reading emails.
22. Set rules for interruptions. You can’t expect your family to give you writing time if they don’t know when it’s appropriate to interrupt you and when it isn’t.
23. Start by editing your writing from the previous day. This will get you in the mood to write. And when combined with a detailed outline, will help you to avoid writer’s block.
24. Write first, write fast, edit later. If you are always going back and correcting what you do, it will take much longer to write your book. And it will be an unpleasant task. By following this advice you’ll find you finish quicker, your writing is better, and you’ll enjoy writing more. So you won’t be as tempted to avoid doing it.
25. When push comes to shove, there is only one tip that truly matters. Sit down and write! If you never start you’ll never finish.
Do you want to learn how to write a book in 24 hours? Take my brand new free course here: http://www.learningcreators.com.
Do you want to read more free information like this? Go to my blog: http://www.learningcreators.com/blog/.
Glen Ford is an accomplished consultant, trainer and writer. He has far too many years experience as a trainer and facilitator to willingly admit.
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Five Clever Ways to Make Story Characters Memorable
Five Clever Ways to Make Story Characters Memorable
By John Yeoman
When introducing minor characters, especially in a novel or long story, give them a ‘character signature’ on their first appearance. This helps the reader to remember them later. When we first meet a person in the flesh, we note their physical shape, face, dress, manner of speech and behaviour. And usually in that order. Involuntarily, we tend to ‘file’ our memory of that person by the characteristics that we first noted.
Of course, as we get to know that person – as in the case of a major character in a story – our first impressions are overwritten by all manner of other things. The character ‘develops’. But if we rarely or never meet that person again, as with a minor character in fiction, our initial memory sticks. That is a ‘character signature’. Here are some ideas for crafting one:
a. Physiognomy or body shape.
Be imaginative in your ’signature’. Readers are unlikely to remember, merely from your description at the outset, that a person is tall, short, thin or fat. But they will remember ‘he heaved into the room, as massive as a bank vault door’. You can then remind them of his bulk later with variations on that signature eg: ‘he eased his weight into the chair’; ‘he smiled, and the vault creaked open; ‘his face slammed shut’, etc.
b. A facial quirk.
In his Dr Thorndyke stories, Austin Freeman makes his amiable inventor Polton unforgettable with one word. Every time Polton appears, his eyes or face ‘crinkle’.
c. A habit of dress.
We tend to prejudge people by their clothes. (If we didn’t, the fashion industry would collapse.) So any peculiarity of dress can give our characters a ’signature’ eg: ‘her scarf was a piece of chewed string’. If the woman appears later, we need only make a reference to someone wearing a ‘chewed-string scarf’ to identify the character.
d. A tic of speech.
Almost all of Dickens’s minor characters have some oddity of speech. Remember Sam Weller’s Cockneyisms and his pronunciation of ‘v’ as ‘w’? Perhaps one of your minor characters could reiterate a distinctive phrase eg: ‘it cannot be denied’ (with later variants like ‘it is undeniable’, ‘nor can I deny it’, etc).
I once gave a dotty old squire the catchphrase ‘as you say’ so that his friends could mercilessly lampoon him by echoing it:
‘as you say’, ‘would you say?’, ‘do I say, sir?,’ etc. Someone would only have to whisper with a wink ‘as you say’ – and the reader would know that the squire was about to appear! To make a character repulsive, of course, you could have him or her mindlessly repeat the word ‘whatever’. (Or whatever…).
e. Some oddity of behaviour.
How would you feel if a colleague at work, whom you’ve known for twenty years, greeted you every morning with a handshake?
Gratified or nonplussed? It depends on your culture.
What similar foible of behaviour might – instantly – add a personality (or cultural) trait to a minor character? A habit of chewing their beard? Of inspecting their nails? Of covering their mouth while they speak? Of invading another person’s body space, intentionally or not? Of backing away from other people? Of avoiding eye contact? Etc.
Add this ’signature’ to a minor character – and echo it whenever they appear – and the reader will be reminded of their personality. Just be careful not to overdo ’signatures’ when portraying major characters. The key players in a story should quickly become so rounded and individual that the reader will be unable to forget them.
To gain further free writing tips – and download a free 7000-word minibook ‘How to Win Writing Contests for Profit’, brimming with practical ideas = go to: http://www.writers-village.org/tips.php
John Yeoman is founder of the Writers’ Village short fiction contest. A PhD in creative writing, he lectures at a UK university. He is the author of eight works of humour and has been a successful commercial writer for 40 years.
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Beyond Book Sales -Marketing and Diversification
Beyond Book Sales Income – Marketing and Diversification
By Karen Cioffi
I love the internet… you can find almost anything and learn just about anything by doing a search. My latest learning session was on a teleseminar and the guest speaker was Jack Canfield. For those of you who haven’t yet heard of him (this would be amazing if you are in the writing field), Canfield is the co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen had a dream. They would have a New York Times best selling book. But, the road to success wasn’t easy… they received 144 rejections from publishers. This did not stop them-they moved forward with visualization and positive projection techniques. Chicken Soup for the Soul came out in 1993. Since they didn’t have enough money for a publicist, they did their own marketing. By 1995, they won the Abby Award and the Southern California Publicist Award.
The information offered during the teleseminar was geared toward the strategies needed to make money publishing books through marketing and diversification.
Tips to Make Money Along with or After Book Publication
1. Have a platform
Start your platform when you are thinking of writing a book-don’t wait until you are published. Creating connections, contacts, and readers takes time.
2. Realize you will most probably not get rich writing books.
Yes, that’s right, you will not automatically become wealthy from book publication. But, while you won’t get rich, it will open doors that will not otherwise be open. This is the opportunity for diversification-don’t just look straight ahead-use your peripheral vision.
3. Learn how to market and sell YOU and your books.
Never stop learning about writing, marketing and promotion. Read about the subjects; attend conferences and teleseminars; join writing and marketing groups, and follow blogs that provide valuable and up-to-date information. But, remember, you don’t want to just sell your books, you want to sell what you have to offer along with your books.
4. Research areas you can diversify in
If you are published, there are a number of doors that will magically open. You can create e-books; you can present teleseminars or workshops; you can offer classes or coaching; you can even write a book about your experiences and successes.
Tip: Before you start charging for your expertise, offer some free services to help others learning to write and learning to market their books and themselves.
6. Never stop selling
Find new avenues to sell your books and services. Utilize some of the suggestions in #4 above.
7. Believe you can do it
This is probably the most important tip for success. Canfield is a firm believer in the power of tweaking your subconscious, and projection.
8. Pay it forward
As the Bible tells us, “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” New World Translation, Acts 20:35.
Aside from being good for you as a writer and marketer, giving back is good for the universe and our troubled world.
For more information on writing and marketing check out Karen Cioffi’s sites: http://KarenCioffi.com/
To sign up for her FREE monthly newsletter and get a Free e-book, subscribe at: Karen Cioffi Writing for Children
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Author’s Defined Niche Promotes Book Sales
Author’s Defined Niche Promotes Book Sales – What is Yours?
By Harriet Hodgson
I did not choose my current niche — grief resources — my niche chose me. Four of my loved ones, including my elder daughter and the mother of my twin grandchildren, died in 2007. After these loved ones died in succession I did extensive research on multiple losses and grief. So writing about multiple losses, grief reconciliation, coping, and recovery is my niche. It is a tough one. Books, booklets, videos, CDs and other products in this niche well only when consumers need them. Grief counselors and psychologists also buy these resources. Some publishers in my niche have gone out of business. Others are just trying to move existing inventory. Could niche marketing boost sales?
Eric K. Clemons, Paul f. Nunes and Matt Reilly explain the new niche marketing in their May 24, 2010 “Wall Street Journal” article, “Six Strategies for Successful Niche Marketing.” They think niche marketing is more than avoiding crowded and cluttered mass markets. Today, it is looking for “unique market sweet spots, those areas that resonate so strongly with target consumers that they are willing to pay a premium price.
The authors use jeans, nutrition bars, and premium ice cream as examples. Though the “sweet spot” approach may be applied to book marketing, it needs to be used a bit differently. Consumers are still buying books, but they are looking for bargains. Though you can still write in your niche, you may have to write shorter books or even booklets.
If you do not have a niche you may wish to establish one and it begins with answering these questions:
* What kind of writing do you enjoy most?
* What kind of writing do you do most?
* Is your style selling?
* Are you qualified to write on this topic?
* Do thousands of listings pop up when you search the Internet for your name?
* Have you developed talks to promote sales?
* Are you relaxed on radio, blog radio, and television?
Sherice Jacob, author of “Get Niche Quick!” thinks niche marketing comes down to what drives you to write. “What do you feel you could truly make a difference with, just by words alone,?” she asks. Once you have come up with your niche you need to determine if it is saturated. Other others may have written about this topic, yet you may have something new to bring to it.
“By putting a fresh new perspective to it can attract a whole new audience,” Jacob observes.
Reviewing your niche every so often is a good idea. Because my niche is challenging and rewarding, I have decided to stay in my established niche. You may decide to stay in your niche or move on to another. Do not feel guilty about either decision. A new niche is an exciting place and an old niche is a comfortable one. Your niche, whatever it may be, should allow you to explore, stretch, and grow. After all, that is what writing is all about.
Copyright 2010 by Harriet Hodgson
Harriet Hodgson has been an independent journalist for decades. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of Health Care Journalists, and Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, “Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,” written with Lois Krahn, MD is available from Amazon.
Centering Corporation has published her 26th book, “Writing to Recover: The Journey from Loss and Grief to a New Life” and a companion journal with 100 writing jump-starts. Hodgson is a monthly columnist for the new “Caregiving in America” magazine, which resumes publication in August. She is also a contributing writer for the Open to Hope Foundation website. Please visit her website and learn more about this busy author and grandmother.
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Amazon Launches Author Pages
Amazon Launches Author Pages
By Julia McCutchen
When it comes to understanding the psychology of purchasing books and other products on-line, Amazon stands out as a real success story. The innovative and customer-centred approach that Amazon has employed to create and maintain its dominance in internet retailing is impressive.
One of the latest new offerings from Amazon.co.uk is the launch of dedicated author pages. These offer customers a full bibliography, recommended titles and videos, which are said to be like having a ‘bookshelf of the author’s titles’ on the website.
There are also links to other related items such as DVDs connected to a specific author or book so that customers have plenty of choice for following up their interest further.
The same principles which are being used to such great effect by Amazon can be employed by all authors to build their success in the marketplace. The scale and details may be different, but the approach is worth paying attention to.
First and foremost, the inspiration for your book needs to come from within you, from your own passion to share your insights or stories with your readers. From this foundation, and always maintaining the integrity of your original ideas, building your awareness of what your readers are interested in and taking this into account when planning your marketing actions can be a winning formula.
Providing a multitude of ways for readers to learn more about you and your book(s) is increasingly important for all authors. Building your author platform with a website, blog, and social media connections to name just a few possible activities are all part and parcel of authors connecting directly with their readers these days.
Yet how about also making sure that readers are informed of related projects? You can provide links to audio recordings of readings or interviews you have done, video trailers or recommendations for readers on how they might follow-up their interest further via related articles or stories you have written.
Providing a first-class service for your readers in terms of regular access to quality information that is relevant and interesting will encourage them to connect with you and to continue doing so on a regular basis. You may not have aspirations to build an empire such as Amazon has done, but applying some of their principles of success to your own individual situation will undoubtedly support you to realise your own vision of successful authorship.
About the author
Julia McCutchen is the Founder & Creative Director of the International Association of Conscious & Creative Writers (IACCW) where writers discover their authentic voice – on the page and in the world. She offers FREE articles, audios and videos for writers at www.JuliaMcCutchen.com. For a FREE 10 Point Action Plan to discover your authentic voice plus information on training and the benefits of joining the IACCW writer’s community, visit www.iaccw.com
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