My writing New Year’s resolution is to charge boldly into the new year, embracing the Gulp and Whee mentality I first discovered in the last part of 2010.
My spiritual New Year’s resolution is related to this one, so I’ll post this idea to my Joy blog as well. (Yes, I do compartmentalize and categorize my life. I know I’m not supposed to.)
The G and W mentality is perfectly exemplified in this anonymously written poem that inspires me again every time I read it. I hope it challenges and encourages you, both in your spiritual journey and your writing one.
The Road of Life
At first I saw God as my observer, my judge,
Keeping track of the things I did wrong,
So as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die.
He was out there sort of like a president.
I recognised His picture when I saw it, but I really didn’t know Him.
But later on when I met Christ,
It seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride,
But it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back,
Helping me pedal.
I don’t know when it was that He suggested we change places,
But life has not been the same since.
When I had control, I knew the way.
It was rather boring, but predictable. . .
It was the shortest distance between two points.
But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains,
and through rocky places at breakneck speeds.
It was all I could do to hang on!
Even though it looked like madness,
He said, “Pedal!”
I worried and was anxious and asked, “Where are you taking me?”
He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn to trust.
I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure.
And when I’d say, “I’m scared,” He’d lean back and touch my hand.
He took me to people with gifts I needed,
Gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy.
They gave me gifts to take on my journey,
My Lord’s and mine.
And we were off again.
He said, “Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage.
Too much weight.”
So I did, to people we met, and I found that in giving
I received, and still our burden was light.
I did not trust Him at first, in control of my life.
I thought He’d wreck it.
But He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
Knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
Knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.
And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places,
And I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze in my face
With my delightful, constant companion, Jesus Christ.
And when I’m sure I just can’t do any more
He just smiles and says. . . “Pedal!”
Author unknown
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
The Road I've Taken
I am NOT going to make weekly, regular posts to my blogs after all. And I will no longer feel guilty about these sporadic and undisciplined bursts of inspiration at the keyboard either.
My reasoning is that if I have to perform to a timetable, I will be tempted to write drivel just to meet my deadlines. There’s enough drivel on the e-waves. So my new resolution is to write ONLY when I feel I have something that at least one person will benefit from, or enjoy reading.
That’s why I suggest, if you haven’t already, you sign up with FeedBlitz to receive notices about current activity in this space. They’ll send you an e-mail when I’ve posted something new. In the meantime, you can forget about the blog and get on with your own exciting writing journey.
So here, for what it’s worth, is an example of what the process of choosing a title looked like in my case:
The struggle for me was to choose between a title that would capture the attention of potential readers and one that would be true to the story I had written. I couldn’t seem to come up with a compromise that would give me both.
This worried me a little. The idea that the story I had written might not capture the attention of any readers niggled at the back of my mind, but doing something to fix the story felt like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube, or a baby back into the womb. So I decided I’d have to work on the title instead.
I began by checking out the titles of fiction books that are selling right now. Many of them were only one or two words long. Short and sweet. I decided that works, as long as those one or two words are the right ones.
Zinovy’s Journey fits the short and sweet criteria, but many people complained that it wasn’t gripping enough. So I needed to jolt my pre-conditioned thinking out of the deeply entrenched rut my mind had dug over the last thirty years of plodding down the muddy road of writing this story and try to come up with a more exciting alternative.
(It’s amazing to me how many metaphors have to do with roads or journeys. Or is it just that I notice them more, like you notice how many white cars there are on the road when you’ve just bought a white one yourself?)
It’s also amazing how hard it is to climb out of the rut. I needed a big jolt. Since I find brainstorming a great way to overcome writing ruts, I made a brainstorm list of all key words in the story, as I suggested in the last post. My list included the following mix of themes, symbols, and significant objects:
blood
river
water
life
repentance
knife
rape
death
forgiveness
redemption
love
choices
freedom
orphan
lion
cross
Now, how to narrow the list down? The most riveting words were the more concrete ones—blood; river; water; orphan; knife; lion, cross. Things a reader could see or touch. Those things could also easily be portrayed on a book cover. I’d heard that the color, red, is especially arresting on book covers, so I took the concrete, red object and began working with it.
Blood. Can’t get much more gripping than that.
It was a reasonable choice, since the theme of blood runs throughout the story. Zinovy is a professional assassin who has an aversion to the sight of blood. He doesn’t know why he’s got this problem, because he’s repressed the memory of watching KGB agents murder his mother when he was five. The aversion is reinforced by his cousins’ deliberate slaughter of the baby chicks he loved and cared for when he was a child living in their home. Several bloody murders occur in the story, and the slaughter of a lion pride, to harvest the male lion’s heart for ritual purposes, is also bloody. Then there is Zinovy’s vision of the cross, with blood dripping down into the dirt at his feet.
So I took the word, “blood,” and tried to think of another word I could pair it with. Some possible choices were other words in my brainstorm list. I tried Blood Redemption; Blood River; Life-Blood. But none of them sounded just right.
Then I realized that every instance of bloody death in the book was of innocents—people or animals. This realization actually clarified for me a major theme in the book that I’d not noticed before—another benefit of brainstorming key words.
And so I came up with the title, Innocent Blood. Then I tried the new title out on my friends.
I watched the faces of people when I suggested it. They were gripped, for sure. Some thought it was a good attention-getter. Others said it sounded too much like a vampire novel.
Note to writers: You will rarely be able to let your critics make a firm decision for you about anything. You can’t even go with the majority vote, because in most cases there won’t be one. But market testing the title did help me see what issues I would have to contend with.
Here’s where I began to worry about the places my title would take readers if they googled it. I googled, and didn’t like the neighborhood. It wasn’t a place my story could settle down and feel at home in. Yes, the words worked. Innocent Blood was an accurate picture of one of the major themes in the book. But it just didn’t feel right.
So the process came down to a decision between a gripping title that I couldn’t really get comfortable with, even though it fit the story in some ways, and a title that portrayed the real essence of what the book was about.
My chosen title is what the story is really all about--Zinovy's journey toward the discovery of the meaning of his name. I’ve found I can’t make it anything else. It might not be the most marketable title, but another conclusion I’m coming to is that I can’t let market concerns drive my artistic decisions. They can ride in the back seat, but other factors will stay behind the steering wheel.
The process was useful, even if it led me back to square one. At least I can say I’ve explored other options. I resolve, now, to forget about the road not taken and focus on the road ahead, hoping it will lead to the specific readers my story is intended to touch.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Five Steps Toward Finding the Right Title
As you know, the title you choose for your book will greatly impact the success of your publication and/or marketing. Maybe that’s why it’s so difficult to settle on a name for the story. I’ve wrestled with this decision for months now, but the need to begin designing a website and producing marketing materials has forced me to make a final decision.
In my next post, I'll describe how I worked through this process and came to a final decision about my own book title. In this post, I'll give you the basic outline of the process, in case you’re in this stage of your writing and might find the ideas helpful.
So here’s a summary of the process.
1. Do research. Go to a local bookstore, or Amazon.com, and check out titles of books that jump out at you. Since they grab your attention, these will likely be ones that sell well. Libraries are also useful for this purpose, but less so because their books include ones that aren’t current. If you go to the library, browse the "new acquisitions" shelf or the “suggested reading” section. Look at these titles deliberately, asking yourself why you notice them, and thinking about what questions they raise or what associations you connect with in them. Just going through this process will subconsciously affect your thinking as you go back to the task of naming your own story.
2. Brainstorm. Make a list of every theme, keyword, visual image, significant object, or key geographical location in your story. Images and objects will usually make more powerful title words than themes or keywords, but this is a brianstorm list so don’t limit yourself at this point. (A powerful object or image would be one that is linked to the plot, or important to the protagonist, or something that recurs throughout the book.)
3. Choose words from this brainstorm list and try to connect them. If you can connect one word with another word on the list, that's great. But you could also simply create a phrase around your chosen word; connect your word with other words that might be associated in the mind of a reader; or, best of all, connect your word with one that will suggest a conflict or a paradox. When you've come up with some possible ideas. . .
4. Investigate potential titles on the internet. You’ll want to know if there are other books already out there by that name. You’ll also want to check cultural associations with those words, to see if they fit with your story. When you do this, you’ll discover where the internet would take potential readers if they were to google your title in the future. This is important. You don’t want to lead readers into an uncomfortably strange neighbourhood! (More on this next post.)
5. Finally, get other opinions. Try out your top choices on friends, especially those who have read your manuscript. Read their body language when you make your suggestions. Watch their faces. And when they tell you what title they prefer, ask them why. Then weigh the validity of their reasons when you decide what advice to take and what to ignore.
So this is what I did. It helped. If you’ve gone through this process already and have ideas to add, please do so. I love comments. I’ll put them into a future blog post if you don’t mind.
Meanwhile, may this Christmas season bring you Freedom, Unbroken by pain or loss. May you find Room in your heart for the one who longs to be the Light Lifting your spirit as you walk into the coming year.
(Check out these four titles above. They're on Amazon's list of Top 100 Editor's Choices for 2010.)
In my next post, I'll describe how I worked through this process and came to a final decision about my own book title. In this post, I'll give you the basic outline of the process, in case you’re in this stage of your writing and might find the ideas helpful.
So here’s a summary of the process.
1. Do research. Go to a local bookstore, or Amazon.com, and check out titles of books that jump out at you. Since they grab your attention, these will likely be ones that sell well. Libraries are also useful for this purpose, but less so because their books include ones that aren’t current. If you go to the library, browse the "new acquisitions" shelf or the “suggested reading” section. Look at these titles deliberately, asking yourself why you notice them, and thinking about what questions they raise or what associations you connect with in them. Just going through this process will subconsciously affect your thinking as you go back to the task of naming your own story.
2. Brainstorm. Make a list of every theme, keyword, visual image, significant object, or key geographical location in your story. Images and objects will usually make more powerful title words than themes or keywords, but this is a brianstorm list so don’t limit yourself at this point. (A powerful object or image would be one that is linked to the plot, or important to the protagonist, or something that recurs throughout the book.)
3. Choose words from this brainstorm list and try to connect them. If you can connect one word with another word on the list, that's great. But you could also simply create a phrase around your chosen word; connect your word with other words that might be associated in the mind of a reader; or, best of all, connect your word with one that will suggest a conflict or a paradox. When you've come up with some possible ideas. . .
4. Investigate potential titles on the internet. You’ll want to know if there are other books already out there by that name. You’ll also want to check cultural associations with those words, to see if they fit with your story. When you do this, you’ll discover where the internet would take potential readers if they were to google your title in the future. This is important. You don’t want to lead readers into an uncomfortably strange neighbourhood! (More on this next post.)
5. Finally, get other opinions. Try out your top choices on friends, especially those who have read your manuscript. Read their body language when you make your suggestions. Watch their faces. And when they tell you what title they prefer, ask them why. Then weigh the validity of their reasons when you decide what advice to take and what to ignore.
So this is what I did. It helped. If you’ve gone through this process already and have ideas to add, please do so. I love comments. I’ll put them into a future blog post if you don’t mind.
Meanwhile, may this Christmas season bring you Freedom, Unbroken by pain or loss. May you find Room in your heart for the one who longs to be the Light Lifting your spirit as you walk into the coming year.
(Check out these four titles above. They're on Amazon's list of Top 100 Editor's Choices for 2010.)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Ten Words You Should Kill Before They Murder Your Writing
I’m going to take a detour around the self-publishing topic to provide a list I promised a fellow volunteer at the Surrey International Writer’s Conference last week. Julian, this post is for you!
I first learned about this kind of word list from Angela Hunt in a workshop at Mt. Hermon Writers’ Conference. She told us we should avoid “weasel” words, and pointed out that they pepper our writing if we don’t deliberately work to avoid them.
In the world of non-fiction, words are termed “weasel” when they blur the truth—when they are used either to deceive the reader, or to protect the writer from having to defend his or her statements. In fiction writing, I think they should be called weasel words because when we use them we weasel out of the writer’s responsibility to choose words carefully.
We do have a responsibility, as writers, to choose our words carefully, but there’s a more practical reason to concern ourselves with weasel words. David Michael Kaplan says: “Any words that aren’t working for you, are working against you.” Eliminating weasel words instantly makes the writing more effective. It’s well worth the time it takes to use that trusty “find” tool to ferret out every one of these pesky critters (Why does that phrase make me think of Randy Ingermanson?)
Words I work hard at avoiding fall mainly into four categories: they are either unnecessary, vague, overused or weak. My actual list of weasels is 40 words long, but I’ll start here with my ten favourites:
1. Very: Absolutely (;-)the worst offender. Very overused (;-), and unnecessary 99.9% of the time.
2. Many: In the category of non-specific words showing (or not showing) amount. Others are several, most, few, etc.
3. There: When used to begin a sentence. See my May 12 blog post, In the Doghouse.
4. Was/were: Because they usually denote passive voice.
5. Thought/realized: Indicate telling, not showing. If you’re in your POV properly you won’t need to mention that your character is thinking or realizing. See post Deep Point of View, October 6, 2008.
6. Felt/seemed: Same problem. They’re words that show state of being, rather than action. Show the feelings and impressions whenever possible.
7. Quite: A vague qualifier, in the category with almost, kind of, and my personal favorite: a bit.
8. Thing: Why not say what the thing is? It’s more specific, and therefore more vivid. Something, anything are also in this family of words.
9. Vast: An example of any word that indicates hyperbole. Unnecessary exaggeration. Extremely, hugely, minutely, absolutely are other examples.
10. Actually: One of the words David Kaplan lists as equivalent to the “uhs” and “wells” and “you knows” in conversation. Actually, this might be the worst one!
I’ve been checking out Kaplan’s book as I write, and have rediscovered "Chapter Nine: Revising Your Prose for Power and Punch." I’m going to re-study that chapter and go back to my manuscript one more time. He’s got a better list of words and says all I’ve been trying to say much better.
Get his book: Revision: A Creative Approach to Writing and Rewriting Fiction.
P.S. Interesting note on weasel words from WordIQ.com.
"Though the imagery of the term suggests that it implies the concept of a weasel as being sneaky and able to wiggle out of a tight spot, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language says that the term actually comes from the weasel's ability to suck the contents out of an egg without breaking the shell; thus, weasel words suck the meaning out of a statement while seeming to keep the idea intact."
I first learned about this kind of word list from Angela Hunt in a workshop at Mt. Hermon Writers’ Conference. She told us we should avoid “weasel” words, and pointed out that they pepper our writing if we don’t deliberately work to avoid them.
In the world of non-fiction, words are termed “weasel” when they blur the truth—when they are used either to deceive the reader, or to protect the writer from having to defend his or her statements. In fiction writing, I think they should be called weasel words because when we use them we weasel out of the writer’s responsibility to choose words carefully.
We do have a responsibility, as writers, to choose our words carefully, but there’s a more practical reason to concern ourselves with weasel words. David Michael Kaplan says: “Any words that aren’t working for you, are working against you.” Eliminating weasel words instantly makes the writing more effective. It’s well worth the time it takes to use that trusty “find” tool to ferret out every one of these pesky critters (Why does that phrase make me think of Randy Ingermanson?)
Words I work hard at avoiding fall mainly into four categories: they are either unnecessary, vague, overused or weak. My actual list of weasels is 40 words long, but I’ll start here with my ten favourites:
1. Very: Absolutely (;-)the worst offender. Very overused (;-), and unnecessary 99.9% of the time.
2. Many: In the category of non-specific words showing (or not showing) amount. Others are several, most, few, etc.
3. There: When used to begin a sentence. See my May 12 blog post, In the Doghouse.
4. Was/were: Because they usually denote passive voice.
5. Thought/realized: Indicate telling, not showing. If you’re in your POV properly you won’t need to mention that your character is thinking or realizing. See post Deep Point of View, October 6, 2008.
6. Felt/seemed: Same problem. They’re words that show state of being, rather than action. Show the feelings and impressions whenever possible.
7. Quite: A vague qualifier, in the category with almost, kind of, and my personal favorite: a bit.
8. Thing: Why not say what the thing is? It’s more specific, and therefore more vivid. Something, anything are also in this family of words.
9. Vast: An example of any word that indicates hyperbole. Unnecessary exaggeration. Extremely, hugely, minutely, absolutely are other examples.
10. Actually: One of the words David Kaplan lists as equivalent to the “uhs” and “wells” and “you knows” in conversation. Actually, this might be the worst one!
I’ve been checking out Kaplan’s book as I write, and have rediscovered "Chapter Nine: Revising Your Prose for Power and Punch." I’m going to re-study that chapter and go back to my manuscript one more time. He’s got a better list of words and says all I’ve been trying to say much better.
Get his book: Revision: A Creative Approach to Writing and Rewriting Fiction.
P.S. Interesting note on weasel words from WordIQ.com.
"Though the imagery of the term suggests that it implies the concept of a weasel as being sneaky and able to wiggle out of a tight spot, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language says that the term actually comes from the weasel's ability to suck the contents out of an egg without breaking the shell; thus, weasel words suck the meaning out of a statement while seeming to keep the idea intact."
Monday, October 25, 2010
Duh!
I just figured out, by experience, how to rate a boutique press. You research the publisher enough to get a look inside some of the books he's published.
If you feel the slightest twinge of embarrassment for even one of the authors, because of the content, or the quality of the writing in his book, it's a vanity press and you don't want to go there.
If you feel the slightest twinge of embarrassment for even one of the authors, because of the content, or the quality of the writing in his book, it's a vanity press and you don't want to go there.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Great Resources for Self Publishing
I'm on a guilt trip. It's been way too long since I've posted something useful on this site. So here's my penance. Short and sweet.
Today I got two great books in the mail. I could have gone to the library for them, but I decided these will be keepers--an important permanent addition to my writer's library.
A friend had told me how valuable Dan Poynter's advice was for her. She met him at a conference, and highly recommended his book, Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book. This book is credited with starting the current self-publishing revolution--the one I'm caught up in.
When I ordered Dan Poynter's book, Amazon recommended another one (surprise, surprise) and it's a keeper too. The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living, by Peter Bowerman, is an insightful, readable, relaxed introduction to the frantic world of self-publishing, with a dash of humor to keep you entertained as you learn.
Both these books are geared to non-fiction manuscripts, but I have already found helpful information for my situation. And I remain undaunted by Bowerman's warning that self-pubbed fiction is harder to sell than non-fiction. This bulldog has got her mouth around a bone and she's not going to let go until someone else takes a nibble or her teeth fall out.
Today my professional editor received my completed manuscript, as perfect as I can make it. Until he writes back and tells me all the things I still need to fix.
Onward and upward, my writing friends.
Today I got two great books in the mail. I could have gone to the library for them, but I decided these will be keepers--an important permanent addition to my writer's library.
A friend had told me how valuable Dan Poynter's advice was for her. She met him at a conference, and highly recommended his book, Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book. This book is credited with starting the current self-publishing revolution--the one I'm caught up in.
When I ordered Dan Poynter's book, Amazon recommended another one (surprise, surprise) and it's a keeper too. The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living, by Peter Bowerman, is an insightful, readable, relaxed introduction to the frantic world of self-publishing, with a dash of humor to keep you entertained as you learn.
Both these books are geared to non-fiction manuscripts, but I have already found helpful information for my situation. And I remain undaunted by Bowerman's warning that self-pubbed fiction is harder to sell than non-fiction. This bulldog has got her mouth around a bone and she's not going to let go until someone else takes a nibble or her teeth fall out.
Today my professional editor received my completed manuscript, as perfect as I can make it. Until he writes back and tells me all the things I still need to fix.
Onward and upward, my writing friends.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Self-Publishing To Do List
Publishing your own book is not as confusing or difficult as I thought it would be. So far, at least. One big asset, and I highly recommend you get one of these, is a professional consultant who is on your side--someone who knows the business, will give good advice and encouragement, and will answer your e-mails quickly.
My guy, Jeff Gerke, has all of these qualifications and more. I'm bugging him lots right now with questions and he's lightening quick with his replies. He is going to be worth all the consulting fees he charges me when it's over.
So here's my list of things to do, in chronological order:
1. Final Revisions. I want to make sure the writing is in top form. This will be the most expensive, the most time-consuming, and the most difficult item on the list. It will also be the most important one, by far. My guy, Jeff, will give me a "Comprehensive Critique" for around $3000, and a "Full Edit" afterward, if I want it, for another $3000. (It's extra expensive because it's such a long book.) Then I'll have to make the revisions. This might be a very long process!
2. Typesetting. Has to be done before the printing company can print the book. Some people do this job themselves, but I don't trust myself. I'm paying Jeff to do this too.
3. Book Cover Design. I have a strong idea of what I want the book cover to look like, so I am taking the iniative with this task. I will hire Jeff to do the final product, but I'll be sending him pictures to incorporate into the design. I had thought I would need to hire an artist to create the image I wanted. This would have been quite expensive. But when I read the great book, Doesn't She Look Natural?, by Angie Hunt, I noticed the cover image was a photograph. Using a photograph will be much cheaper, and I'm having lots of fun getting one. I've found three models who look enough like my three main characters to be related to them. How amazing is that? I'm hiring my creative son-in-law to do a photo shoot with the models posing exactly as I've pictured them on the front of my book. I have no idea if this will work or not, and if Jeff recommends some other design instead I'll listen to him. He knows what sells. But for now, I'm having fun playing around with the idea.
4. Printing. Finding the right printing company is important and takes a bit of research. There are many good services out there, but I think I've found the right one for this project--a young, energetic group of people, with state-of-the-art equipment--and I'm so happy with what they do I'm considering investing in the company. They will print one book at a time, for one penny a page, and mail it directly to the people who order it from my website. Some printing companies require you to buy hundreds of copies of the book up front, which have to be shipped to you and stored in your garage until you can get rid of them, if you can get rid of them! If you're in the market for a printing service, check out Snowfall Press.
5. Marketing. Because I want my books to be affordable to the average reader, I want to sell them myself. Selling through a retailer, or even on Amazon.com, would make my 500-page book way too expensive. Those middlemen are greedy souls. That's why authors publishing the traditional way only make a dollar or less on each sale. If I sell my trade paperback for $12, my profit on each book will be from five to seven dollars, and my readers will feel like they're getting a fair deal. Of course, the downside is I have to do my own marketing. The focus will be the internet. I'll look for sites related to the topic of my book and advertise on those sites. Because my book has an apocolyptic element, I am going to advertise on the December 21, 2012 website, which receives millions of hits a month from people around the world who are interested in "the end of the world as we know it."
6. Website. Because I'm selling the book myself, I'll need a proper website with all the bells and whistles (PayPal and Visa). This is another task I'm going to trust to a professional. The website will be my only interface with potential customers, so it's important that it looks good and works well. I'm looking for the right person for this job. I have lots of ideas for promoting the book on the web, so I'll pay someone to set up the site, then learn how to service it myself, so I can keep it current without spending an arm and a leg.
So that's it. Six things to do. Simple. And I'm pertty sure not#$hing kan go rong.
My guy, Jeff Gerke, has all of these qualifications and more. I'm bugging him lots right now with questions and he's lightening quick with his replies. He is going to be worth all the consulting fees he charges me when it's over.
So here's my list of things to do, in chronological order:
1. Final Revisions. I want to make sure the writing is in top form. This will be the most expensive, the most time-consuming, and the most difficult item on the list. It will also be the most important one, by far. My guy, Jeff, will give me a "Comprehensive Critique" for around $3000, and a "Full Edit" afterward, if I want it, for another $3000. (It's extra expensive because it's such a long book.) Then I'll have to make the revisions. This might be a very long process!
2. Typesetting. Has to be done before the printing company can print the book. Some people do this job themselves, but I don't trust myself. I'm paying Jeff to do this too.
3. Book Cover Design. I have a strong idea of what I want the book cover to look like, so I am taking the iniative with this task. I will hire Jeff to do the final product, but I'll be sending him pictures to incorporate into the design. I had thought I would need to hire an artist to create the image I wanted. This would have been quite expensive. But when I read the great book, Doesn't She Look Natural?, by Angie Hunt, I noticed the cover image was a photograph. Using a photograph will be much cheaper, and I'm having lots of fun getting one. I've found three models who look enough like my three main characters to be related to them. How amazing is that? I'm hiring my creative son-in-law to do a photo shoot with the models posing exactly as I've pictured them on the front of my book. I have no idea if this will work or not, and if Jeff recommends some other design instead I'll listen to him. He knows what sells. But for now, I'm having fun playing around with the idea.
4. Printing. Finding the right printing company is important and takes a bit of research. There are many good services out there, but I think I've found the right one for this project--a young, energetic group of people, with state-of-the-art equipment--and I'm so happy with what they do I'm considering investing in the company. They will print one book at a time, for one penny a page, and mail it directly to the people who order it from my website. Some printing companies require you to buy hundreds of copies of the book up front, which have to be shipped to you and stored in your garage until you can get rid of them, if you can get rid of them! If you're in the market for a printing service, check out Snowfall Press.
5. Marketing. Because I want my books to be affordable to the average reader, I want to sell them myself. Selling through a retailer, or even on Amazon.com, would make my 500-page book way too expensive. Those middlemen are greedy souls. That's why authors publishing the traditional way only make a dollar or less on each sale. If I sell my trade paperback for $12, my profit on each book will be from five to seven dollars, and my readers will feel like they're getting a fair deal. Of course, the downside is I have to do my own marketing. The focus will be the internet. I'll look for sites related to the topic of my book and advertise on those sites. Because my book has an apocolyptic element, I am going to advertise on the December 21, 2012 website, which receives millions of hits a month from people around the world who are interested in "the end of the world as we know it."
6. Website. Because I'm selling the book myself, I'll need a proper website with all the bells and whistles (PayPal and Visa). This is another task I'm going to trust to a professional. The website will be my only interface with potential customers, so it's important that it looks good and works well. I'm looking for the right person for this job. I have lots of ideas for promoting the book on the web, so I'll pay someone to set up the site, then learn how to service it myself, so I can keep it current without spending an arm and a leg.
So that's it. Six things to do. Simple. And I'm pertty sure not#$hing kan go rong.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
