2. Describe features and benefits when pitching your book.  For instance,  the key feature of my novel To Kill An Armchair Husband,  a dark comedy is that it’s a dark comedy.  I build this feature into the sub title, so the main title wouldn’t scare off potential readers. And so my family members, namely my husband and children, wouldn’t freak out.  The subtitle, a dark comedy also serves to describe the benefit. The book is a comedy, therefore a reader should find the story entertaining and laugh . . . a lot.

3. Believe in your book. An author must be absolutely convinced that his or her book is good, that it’s worth X dollars and X hours of someone’s time.  This confidence must come across  everywhere, in person, on the author’s website, on promotional materials, etc., etc., etc.  If you’re shy or uncertain, then fake it till you make it, baby! You wrote it, it’s published, now go for it!

Terri

With the popularity of eBooks growing by leaps and bounds, might we actually be moving backwards in terms of cover art? Once upon a time, books were bound in thick but plain colored leather or even fabric. Titles and author names were displayed in dark print or sometimes gold leaf on both cover and spine. Only the rich purchased books and these were displayed on book shelves were quantity was often viewed as more impressive than quality. Law books and other scholarly works continue this tradition of plainness, as if to emphasize the complexity of what is contained within. Maybe to challenge or perhaps to confirm that you can judge a book by its cover.

Over time, dust covers became trendy. They became a way to distinguish one novel from the next, not just to protect the book underneath, but to catch the eye of the potential buyer and to add space on the flyleaf for a well written hook, the author’s credits and bio and maybe a photo. Cover art became a new standard in publishing and became integrated into the marketing efforts of all types of publications propelled by the popularity of paperbacks. Consider the distinctive black and yellow graphics of the For Dummies series or the Fabio type models featured on the covers of certain romance novels.

Standard book sizing to fit on standard book shelves at libraries and brick and mortar book stores added to the importance of cover art. If all books were to be lined up with only the spine showing, what colors and fonts and features would scream out to a passerby, “Pick Me!” And, what Pick Me attributes will now translate into thumbnail sized images on web sites where so many books are now being selected for purchase or electronic download. Even when you have the option to click here to make the image larger, how much of an influence will cover art have on book selection in the digital age?

I believe it will still have a marketing value. That creative art adds a positive impression before we even crack open a novel and read the first sentence. But, I also believe that cover art will modify as conditions change and purchasing habits alter. And, in terms of book reading and status, I am just waiting for the Coach or maybe Prada custom covers to buy for my Kindle…

1.  ” Be Impeccable With Your Word”    Opposite:  Lie. Gossip.  Manipulate.

2.  ”Don’t Take Anything Personally”  Opposite:  Take offense at everything. Start fights.

3.   ”Don’t Make Assumptions”  Opposite:  Don’t communicate your wishes clearly.  Be passive-agressive.

4.  “Always Do Your Best”  Opposite:  Be a slacker. Make excuses. Half-ass it.

Creating rules of conduct for each of your fictional characters  is essential. That way you’ll know how Ralph will react to Patsy the prostitute, to getting fired from his job, to receiving a major inheritance. How a character thinks and behaves is integral to plot development and to character arc.

Anyone have a good synonym for character?

Define your characters’ principles or lack there of early in the process. Your story will flow much more smoothly if you do.

And don’t forget to have fun, that’s why we do this in the first place.

Here’s an excerpt:

The frontier of publishing is changing rapidly with advancing technology; with the recent weakened state of the economy, publications moving into virtual territory, and practically the whole world moving into cyberspace, things sure aren’t what they used to be. And if you’re stuck and don’t know which direction to go, it’s even more frustrating.

To the rescue: The LitSisters. Based in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area, LitSisters is a group of five fabulous literary ladies who have decided to design their own destinies. Rather than fight the tide, they’re rolling with the changes. What they have in mind could open up a new and improved avenue by which writers interact, cooperate, and publish.

Thanks to Marissa Yeamans, the lovely journalist who interviewed us, and to Attribute, for such a great article!

Read the full length article.

1. Outright mocking of stereotypical habits.  Men, women, sex …the opportunities are endless. Make it funny but not malicious.
2. The over-the-top situation commonly referred to as a farce. Create the ridiculous then crank things up even further.  Restraint has no place here.
3. Tongue-in-cheek. Subtle humor requires finesse and perfect timing.  Ask this VIP question. Will your audience get it?
4. Crude and rude can equal funny. But don’t go for broke. Gross and nasty are generally turn-offs.
5. Unlikely pairings.  An eighty year-old grandma wearing a thong, a push-up bra, and stilettos.  Kinda scary, kinda funny.

There were several stories in the trades this past week that draw the reader to an inescapable conclusion: the paper book is antiquated. The new way to read is with an e-reader. If there’s anyone out there who is still unfamiliar with the term, e-readers like the Kindle, Sony Reader and the Nook are hand-held electronic devices with very readable screens, adjustable font sizes and a glow similar to a back-light.

They are available for purchase in the $200-400 range. For around $10 you can download most any book onto it. In fact, many classics are available for free. E-readers hold about 1500 books and some have expandable memory beyond that. This way you could load your entire summer reading list and then some onto a hand-held device the weight of a mass-market paperback. Given its convenience and portability, digital books are a clear winner, right? Maybe.

Certainly there is room for e-readers in the book world of tomorrow. In fact, the fastest growing purchasing demographic of these devices is 55 to 65, likely because of the font and lighting features I mentioned earlier. There are prolific readers who are happily freed from toting numerous books on vacation and frugal readers who are tearing through Austen and Dumas gratis or enjoying the lower, paper-free price of a download.

But for all that, there are people like me. I love the feeling of a book in my hands. The smell of it. I like to curl up with it on the couch or stretch out on a chaise in my garden and smell the bougainvillea. As I sit in my office writing this, I”m surrounded by books. They’re my friends. In this new world, what would be on my shelves? I have a first edition of Tess of the D’Urbervilles that’s 120 years old. It doesn’t matter if I can read it on a Kindle. Solzhenitsyn can’t sign my Nook like he signed my copy of The First Circle.

No, paper books will never die. We readers become attached to them as children and that’s a love affair for the ages. As a writer, I celebrate the concept of making literature more available to people and I am happy for their ability to get it in whatever medium they want. But you’ll find me forever haunting the stacks, looking for the next paper-bound adventure to strike my fancy.

In the second half of the twentieth century two things happened. The first was that multi-national conglomerates took over every company they could leverage, including publishing houses. These corporate titans didn’t read great literature, they read spreadsheets. And they weren’t interested in new voices. They were interested in dollars. Suddenly, the ninety/ten rule was out the window and profit was the new king of New York. It became harder and harder to enable new voices to be heard and literature began to suffer for it.

Now the second thing that happened began, slowly, to negate the first. In the second half of the twentieth century technology began to take off at lightening speed. From the B movie sci-fi scenarios of the fifties we wound up in the nineties, where everyone had a computer in their house, to the new century where many people carry one in their purses or bags. And the playing field began to level.

These days, with traditional publishing only willing to take a chance on a known quantity, writers are looking to technology to give them voice. And technology has responded in full force. Welcome to the era of the Indie Author. Writers are now taking their destiny into their own hands, eschewing traditional publishing for methods they can control. The Indie Author movement is spreading like a wildfire through the west and traditional publishing has no hope of putting this fire out. Newer writers as well as established authors are exploring the opportunities that technology and pragmatism have joined together to create. Publishing 2.0.

A librarian friend recently expressed concern on this issue, citing Barbara Bush is an Alien as an example of why the Indie Author will always be viewed skeptically. But I don’t think so. The market will shake out the silly, the irrelevant, and most importantly, the badly written. But for those who are looking for the next frontier, this may be it. And to them I say, “bon chance.” ]]> http://litsisters.com/2009/11/20/publishing-2-0/feed/ 0