Rob Bignell's Blog, page 364

Which social media is best to promote your book?

Increasingly
we
interact through social media, a catch-all term for various web-based and mobile technologies that allow the user to generate content. Rather than rely solely on traditional media, such as newspapers and television, writers today have to get the word out about their book utilizing social media outlets, which includes Goodreads, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogs. Indeed, the advantage of social media is that it allows people with like interests to connect, share information, and discuss topics, meaning you can directly reach those potential readers who are most likely to buy your book.



So which social media outlet is the best way to tell the world about your book?



That in large part depends upon your readers’ use of social media. Therefore, you probably need to have a presence on all of them.



However, some are outlets are worthy of more attention. My personal experience in promoting my own books is that some do seem to be more productive than others, and it’s largely a matter of which genre I’m writing in. My fiction and poetry do well via Facebook, Goodreads, and traditional media. My nonfiction does well via LinkedIn and traditional media. Neither genre does well on Twitter...but one way to be taken seriously by traditional media apparently is to have a Twitter account with followers, so there’s some secondary benefit to it.



Goodreads recently ran the results of a survey about where readers discovered or found new books. While Goodreads arguably is not the most subjective source for such a survey, I’ve found that with own my own titles and anecdotally in discussing with my clients (I run an editing business) how they sold their books that the results seem to bear out:

>>Known author 96%

>>Friend offline 79%

>>Goodreads friends 64%

>>Goodreads recommendation 60%

>>Bookstore 59%

>>Library 54%

>>Amazon.com 54%

>>Goodreads browsing 43%

>>Newspapers 40%

>>Author’s website 26%

>>Radio 19%

>>Facebook 14%

>>Television 9%

>>Publisher’s website 8%

>>Twitter 6%



What conclusions can you draw from the survey? Focus your promotional efforts on Goodreads, getting yourself in bookstores and libraries, and receiving traditional media exposure via newspapers. And while a presence is necessary, don’t spend a lot of time trying to sell your book via Twitter, your publisher’s website (such as CreateSpace), or Facebook.



Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Avoid placing attribution before dialogue

During
my years
of editing, I’ve found that dialogue often gives beginning fiction writers trouble. In an effort to make clear who is speaking, the writer often ends up slowing the story’s pace and making for a clunky read.



For example, when an exchange is going on between two characters, there’s no need to state who’s speaking (also known as “attribution”) before giving their quotation. So instead of writing:



Tony said, “Where was it – we’ll cancel.” Amanda said, “It was at Southside Clinic, but they’ll charge me if I cancel.” Tony said, “I’ll call them and explain. You are seriously injured; you need to get to a hospital.”



Instead write:



“Where was it – we’ll cancel,” Tony said.



“It was at Southside Clinic, but they’ll charge me if I cancel,” Amanda said.



“I’ll call them and explain. You’re seriously injured; you need to get to a hospital.”



The exception is when a new character is introduced. In the above example, if Tony is a new speaker, entering upon dialogue between Amanda and Sarah, then we need to write that Tony is the speaker before his quotation is given. But as he's addressing Amanda (the last one who spoke before Tony entered the conversation), we also need to state that Amanda is speaking (Hopefully, though, the lines given make clear that she is speaking not Sarah).



Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Avoid card tricks in the dark when writing

No one
likes a show off. Unfortunately, one way novice writers slow their story is by saying “Look see what I can do!” When they use such authorial cleverness for no purpose other than to show off, they’re guilty of using “card tricks in the dark,” a term coined by American science fiction writer Lewis Shiner.



A common example of “card tricks in the dark” includes a humorous scene that has no point other than to be humorous. And it probably does elicit laughs because it is humorous. But the scene – like every other word, sentence and paragraph the author has written in the story – ought to have a dramatic payoff.



A humorous scene might offer a dramatic payoff by relieving tension. Shakespeare does this when he inserts the humorous monologue of a drunken clown into “Macbeth.” That provides dramatic payoff because the audience then does not become numb to the deaths and violence unfolding in the play. The monologue offers the added benefit of advancing the play’s theme.



Or a humorous scene might help establish the characters’ motivations and personalities. The kind of jokes a character tells and how the characters react to it tells much about them. However, once that’s been established, there’s not much need to keep doing this with humorous scene after humorous scene.



Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Your main character must fail

During the
rising action, your main character must attempt to resolve his central problem yet always fail. There are several ways a failure can occur:

g Barrier - In this case, the main character’s solution is inadequate to the task at hand. For example, he may try to blow up a bioweapons, facility but his explosives are unable to penetrate an undetected force field.

g Misjudgment - The main character may misjudge what the problem is to be resolved. For example, the main character may give his girlfriend flowers in an attempt to make up after a fight, but she doesn’t accept them because she no longer has feelings for him so the gesture is meaningless. When the main character is guilty of misjudgment, often the problem moves even farther away from his solution and becomes more difficult to resolve.

g Partial solution - Sometimes the main character only solves elements of the problem. For example, when sent to assassinate a pair of scientists working on a biogenic weapon, he kills one but the other escapes.

g Temporary triumph - On occasion, the main character’s solution may only be a temporary fix. For example, the main character may succeed in destroying an invading alien race’s scout ship. Then a larger, more powerful scout ship arrives.

g Complication - The main character’s solution may work but has no immediate payoff. For example, to determine how to get home when lost, one needs to know where he is. The main character may discover that information, but he still needs to make the journey home.

g Reversal - There are instances when the main character’s solution actually makes the situation worse. For example, while destroying an enemy’s bioweapons lab, he accidentally releases deadly bacteria into the atmosphere, and the winds are carrying the germs right toward his nation.



Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Editor appears at Northwind Book Fair

Special thanks

to Northwind Book and Fiber in Spooner, Wis., for hosting the Northwind Book Fair where 20-plus regional writers (including yours truly) were available to meet with readers to talk about books. I promoted my book Headin’ to the Cabin: Day Hiking Trails of Northwest Wisconsin at the fair; the book features trails in and near Spooner as well as Washburn County. Missed the book fair? No worries. The Rice Lake (Wis.) Public Library is hosting a book reading/signing on Saturday, July 27, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The library is located at 2 E. Marshall St., in Rice Lake.



Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Should you turn your life story into a novel?

Ever think
to yourself, “My life has been so messed up I ought to write a book about it”? Quite a number of people – including many famous novelists – have had the same idea.



But is your fictionalized autobiography really a great novel worth writing?



In a sense, all authors write about their past. A person is the sum of his or her own personal experiences, and bits and pieces of what has occurred to them can’t help but wind up in our writings. A character may be a conglomeration of two people we once knew, a setting may be our cousin’s house that we visited each summer, a name might be drawn from that kid in third grade just because it sounds right for the character in your story.



As for fictionalizing your entire life in a single story, however, the verdict remains out.



There certainly are advantages to writing about your past. First, you’ve experienced that life – and hence the story – so relating motivations and characters’ emotions as well as describing settings theoretically should be easier. There’s simply less to make up. Secondly, you’ll likely feel passionate about what you’re writing. Indeed, you felt these experiences deeply, and no doubt they were life changing. That can make for a powerful story.



At the same time, there are disadvantages to fictionalizing your past. Chief among them is that you run a risk of libeling someone. If readers close to you, such as family members and friends, can tell that specific characters are your mother, brother or boss, then you may not have fictionalized the piece enough. Just changing the real person’s name of “Anne” to “Ann” or even “Amy” or “Jan” certainly isn’t satisfactory – and neither is repeating word for word what they’ve said or did.



That’s a legal issue, though. A significant technical problem is that your life story just may not fit into the standard storytelling formula. Typically a novel needs to have a character with a central problem to solve, makes at least three efforts to resolve that problem, and then ultimately does so in a climactic scene. Let’s face it – most of our lives simply don’t unfold like that. Rewriting your life story to fit this fictional format ultimately may make the tale feel contrived.



The challenge in fictionalizing any life story, though, is ensuring that it reads like a narrative rather than an autobiography. Indeed, most readers picking up a novel want to hear a story that shows, not tells. A personal story told like a biography too often comes off as exposition, which soon can be dull to read. And that perhaps is the tie-breaker: Whether or not your life story will work as a novel largely depends on your ability to write interesting, quality fiction.



Need an editor?
Having your book, website, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Pages needed for website promoting your book

Once you’ve
determined the appearance of your website, the next step is to plan how it’ll be organized. This is called the site architecture. You’ll decide what pages will be on your website and the order in which they will be arranged.



Generally, I recommend that you have at least the following four pages at your website:

g Home page – This page introduces readers to your book. It should include headlines and body copy that tout your book, just like the teaser on a book’s back cover.

g About the Author page – This gives the author’s biography. It should include the author’s photograph.

g Sample Pages page – Give readers a sample chapter (preferably the first chapter if you’ve written a novel) that will hook them into buying your book.

g Contact page – This gives an email and probably a snail mail address that the media or fans can reach you at.



I also recommend – but must honestly advise you that it's not necessary – that you also have the following pages:

g What Others are Saying about the Book page – This is a running collection of favorable quotations culled from reviews of or reports about your book.

g Interview with the Author page – Readers are very interested in their favorite authors, wondering how they wrote their books, about their personal lives, and what advice they might dispense about writing or the book’s topic. You can make up the interview with yourself or with permission use one that someone else has done of you.

g Photo Gallery – Large, downloadable pictures of the author and the book cover appear on this page. It largely is meant for the media, which may need high quality photos for articles appearing in newspapers, magazines and on the web.

g Blog – Use a blog to keep readers updated about your next book signing/reading, your next book, thoughts about other books (or the topic you’re book is about) and more. It should be updated at least once a week.

g Keynote Speaking page – This page explains how to set up book signings/readings or keynote speaking addresses with you.

g Online store page – One way to make money off your book other than royalties is through merchandising. For example, you might sell clothing, coffee mugs, and other goods related to your book.



Some authors use other special web pages related to their book. For example, one of my clients whose novel is about living on the Oregon coast cleverly included a page of crab and fish recipes for dishes mentioned in his book.



Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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How to find a good editor or proofreader

Having your
story professionally proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In a publishing world where your story faces heavy competition, pieces need a second eye to make sure they are more marketable and to give them the edge. Even if your story is never published, having that second eye can provide insights that help you master your craft.



Before going on, full disclosure here: I’m an editor, and I run an editing and proofreading service.



Should you decide to have your self-published book professionally edited, you’ll first need to develop a list of potential editors for hire. That actually is easy enough. Type “editing proofreading service” into any search engine, and you’ll find a number of editors and proofreaders in business. A search through Craigslist likely will yield a few living in your area. You also can post your project on websites like Elance.com or Guru.com to solicit bids from freelance editors.



Once you’ve got a list of potential editors, the question then arises: What should you look for to ensure you have a good editor or proofreader? Consider these qualities:

g Experience – How many published books has the editor worked on? Are those books similar to yours (You wouldn’t want someone who’s only handled novels take on your nonfiction book; further, you wouldn’t want an editor who’s only worked on romances edit your science fiction novel). How long has he been in the business? Ask to see a portfolio of his work.

g Can bring own creativity and knowledge to the fore – While you may not want an editor to rewrite your book, you do want him to be talented enough to suggest how you might solve various problems, such as how to better develop a character or how to improve the organization of chapters in a section.

g Knowledge of basic software – If your editor doesn’t know her way around Microsoft Word or the word processing program you use, you’ve got a problem. You probably don’t want the editor to make proofreading corrections on paper only for you to have to make those changes to your book on the computer.

g Human not a machine – Many online editing companies, especially those that are 24/7 and national in scope, simply run your book through a souped-up spell and grammar check program. You could buy such software and do that yourself for much less. You want an editor who will read your manuscript line by line.

g Corresponds regularly with you – Editors are busy folk, but if handled as a freelance contractor, they should be able to keep you updated on their progress. When you have concerns or questions about specific sections or your book, they should be willing to discuss those matters.

g Ethical – An editor should neither be a literary agent nor a publisher and will not offer such services as they represent a conflict of interest. No referral fees should be paid to an editor by any agent or publisher, and the editor should not pay others to recommend them. Indeed, some online editors essentially run a scam in which they receive work from a friend who is a literary agent or publisher and who without reading your book suggests that you seek an editor (and guess who gets recommended) to spruce up your book. Each party – editor, lit agent and publisher – gets a kickback for “referring.”



Finally, recognize that editors have different views on how much rewriting they should do of your manuscript. Some editors are very hands-on with the submissions they accept for publication and have no ethical qualms about rewriting whole sections of it. In the hands of the right editor, such changes actually can improve a writer’s work. A case in point are the works of short story writer Raymond Carver, which saw significant changes after passing through the blue pen of his editor, Gordon Lish. Arguably, Carver owes his success and fame to Lish’s keen eye and rewording.



In contrast, some editors (myself included) are much more hands on, preferring to respect the integrity of the work. Such editors usually make proofreading corrections so that your book meets the publisher’s standards, which usually means conforming to the Chicago Manual of Style. On other matters, such as writing style, character development and plotting, they will suggest and discuss changes but leave it up to the writer as to whether or not to implement them. Given this, you’ll need to decide which editing style you prefer.



Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Fourth book in ‘Hittin’ the Trail’ series released

The next book
in my Hittin’ the Trail hiking guide series,
Hittin’ the Trail: Day Hiking Barron County, Wisconsin, went on sale today. The ebook lists dozens of great family-friendly trails in all of your favorite Barron County communities, including Rice Lake, Cumberland, Chetek, Turtle Lake and Cameron as well as the Blue Hills in neighboring Rusk County. Included is a primer about day hiking essentials, such as gear, clothing, navigation, and how to avoid various trail dangers. Day Hiking Barron County, Wisconsin is available as an ebook on Kindle, Nook, iBook/iPad, Kobo, and other formats.



Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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Avoid clever-author syndrome in storytelling

When we’ve
mastered some skill – say ball handling in basketball – we often like to show off. So when we’re on the sidewalk with the neighbor kids, we’ll spin the ball on a finger or perform some gravity-defying dribbling trick.



When writers resort to such showing off in a story, they’re guilty of clever-author syndrome. A term coined by CSFW’s David Smith, clever-author syndrome occurs when a writer uses literary razzle dazzle not to move the story forward but just to show us that he’s really smart.



For example, you might use unnecessarily large words that the majority of your readers never would know. Or you might make obscure references. Or you might be guilty of purple prose.



Just as a basketball player wouldn’t show off in a game to demonstrate he’s a great ball handler (the Harlem Globetrotters aside), so a writer shouldn’t show off in a story just to demonstrate he’s a clever guy. In both cases, it’s vanity rather than focusing on what really matters: winning the game for the basketball player and advancing the story for the writer.



Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

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