Rob Bignell's Blog, page 385

SBM gives editor’s ‘Hikes: Games’ thumbs up

My book

Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities received a positive review Monday at Seattle Backpackers Magazine. “This great little guide contains enough ideas to engage even the most stoic, couch-loving tween,” wrote Erika Klimecky, editor of SBM and a book about her trek through Nepal. “All in all, Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities is a great resource for parents who need a little (or a lot) of help encouraging their kids on the trail.” Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities can be purchased online or at independent bookstores in Minneapolis and the Wisconsin communities of Eau Claire, Menomonie and Hudson.



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.

Why you want reviews written about your book

By getting the word out about your book, the goal is get people to talk and write about it. This largely will occur when reviews of the title begin to appear. Such reviews might run on blogs about your genre or subject matter (hence the importance of sending them a press release to make them aware of your book), on Amazon.com or Goodreads pages for your book, or even in published periodicals.



Potential readers often base their decision to buy a book on the reviews. For most, it’s a far more important factor than the price. And the more reviews you have on your page, the better the odds that a potential reader will purchase your book.



Some writers unfortunately fear reviews. After all, your book is your baby, and no one wants someone criticizing their infant, especially in public. Remember, though, that negative reviews aren’t necessarily bad for you. Just because one person doesn’t like something about your book doesn’t mean another reader won’t like it either – indeed, some readers may not want what the negative reviewer claims was missing from the book and so actually are more inclined to make a purchase in spite of it. Further, if bad reviews appear alongside good ones, a potential reader is more likely to believe that the positive reviews are genuine. If only good reviews of your book appear in your Amazon.com page, then potential readers may believe you’re stacking the reviews in your favor.



Another advantage of reviews is that they tend to increase traffic from social media sites to your website or on online page where your sell your book. If the reviewer posts his review to Facebook or Tweets it, then that’s just one more place that someone will learn about your book; if it’s of interest to them, they’ll go to your site to find out more.



Finally, reviews increase the “stickiness” of your page at Amazon.con or Goodreads; that is, the more reviews there are about your book, the more time a potential reader will spend on your page. And the longer they spend at your site, the more likely they are to buy the book – or at least to remember the title and make a purchase at another time.



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.

Write a winning blurb for your book’s back cover

The most important part of your book’s back cover is the cover blurb. This is the text on the back of the book that attempts to convince a potential reader to purchase the book. To a degree, it tells about the book, but it is more advertising than synopsis.



Once you’ve hooked a reader into actually picking up your book at a brick or mortar store, they’ll likely check out the back cover blurb to see if the book matches what they’re looking for. If writing a novel, the reader might want to learn that there’s lots of action and adventure or perhaps a character undergoing a significant ethical crisis (Much of what the reader is looking for depends on the genre). If writing nonfiction, the reader probably will want to see if the book contains answers to all of the questions in her mind about the subject.



There are no hard and fast rules about writing a cover blurb except that you should thoroughly think about who your audience is and how to best appeal to them in fewer than 200 or so words. You may want to read the cover blurb of several published books in your genre to get a feel for how other authors or marketing wings of major book companies are attempting to accomplish that. You’ll probably notice some common denominators.



Typical elements of a cover blurb include:
n Headline – This line or two aims to pull the reader into checking out the rest of the blurb and usually is in all caps and in larger type than the text that follows. For example, you might write “The aliens came bearing gifts” or “Sophie swore she’d never fall in love again.”

n Compelling paragraph – This can take a variety of forms. It might be a few intriguing lines of text from the book that establish the novel’s central problem or dilemma. It could be positive quotations from reviews. It can be a list of interesting characters and their traits or personal issues.

n Intriguing synopsis – In three or four sentences at the most, summarize the book, focusing on the central problem or major ethical dilemma facing the main character. Don’t give away the ending, though!

n Encouragement to purchase book – At the end of the blurb, in a larger point size than the text before it (but smaller than the headline), encourage readers to purchase the book, such as “An all new stunning novel by Randy Polk!” or “This is your field manual to hiking with kids!”



If possible, sneak the book’s title and author into the blurb.



The blurb can double as a “description” of the book on your website or your Amazon.com page. For example, the back cover blurb of my book Hikes with Tykes with some minor modifications also is the wording on my website’s home page and is used as the book’s description at Amazon.com.



Here are two examples of back cover blurbs (as used on the book’s websites):

n Novel

n Nonfiction 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.

Editing client releases first book, ‘Made This Way’

An editing
client of mine, David J. Daynes, published his first book this past week. “Made This Way” follows Daynes’ own personal story of an adopted boy who as growing up struggles with the realization that he is gay and comes to understand that God stood by his side through all of his trials. Along his journey, Daynes is a victim of a teacher’s sexual abuse, overcomes alcoholism, and meets his biological mother. “I re-live my nightmares,” Daynes said, “…and eventually come to terms with my sexuality – and my religion. … It truly was an incredible culmination of Heavenly influence.” Daynes’ book is available at Amazon.com and other online booksellers.



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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Editing client releases 'Twin Identity'

Editing client releases first novel in four-part saga

An editing
client of mine, Vance Pumphrey, published his first novel this past week. “Dragma’s Keep” is the first book in the four-part Valdaar’s Fist Saga, an epic fantasy tale. The legend of Valdaar’s Fist survived many years even after it was reported destroyed in ages long since passed. Since the purported reappearance of this ancient foe of chaos and good, however, many a sorcerer and high priest can be found poring over ancient tomes and moldy manuscripts. But now an unlikely and motley band has set out in a quest to recover the powerful sword. Though trapped in an underground labyrinth and facing an array of evil beings, they’re greatest foe may turn out be themselves! The book can be purchased online.



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.

WPR interview with editor now available

If you missed the recent Wisconsin Public Radio interview me of about my debut novel, Windmill, it’s now available online. During the interview on the Dec. 7 Spectrum West program, which covers arts and the humanities in west-central Wisconsin, host Jim Oliver and I discuss: how a windmill in eastern Wisconsin became the genesis for the novel; why the novel is set in Nebraska; and how the book almost wasn’t published. We also briefly look at my other books, the Hikes and Tykes volumes and the poetry collection Love Letters to Sophie’s Mom and list the bookstores where you can purchase the books. You can listen to it by clicking on the audio icon below (do a right click and hit "Open") or by going online to the WPR archive page for the Spectrum West program.

WPR interview

Bookhouse in Dinkytown hosts ‘Windmill’ reading

Thank
you to Bookhouse in Dinkytown for hosting a reading of my debut novel Windmill on Saturday. The Minneapolis bookstore allowed me to introduce my books to a number of great readers unfamiliar with my writings. Among the highlights of the reading was a visit from Morgan Holle (see photo at right), my star reporter when I was the editor at the Prescott (Wis.) Journal, and his wife Heather and son Owen. Morgan won five first-place writing awards from the Wisconsin N
ewspaper Association during my tenure as editor, and years later I unwittingly hired his cousin to be a reporter for a suite of business magazines I was editing in San Diego. It’s a family of great writers! If you missed this month’s book readings, no worries; I’m in the process of scheduling additional appearances during the first quarter of 2013 in River Falls, Hudson and elsewhere.



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's debut novel on sale at Hudson store

Promote book with Goodreads author’s page

A number of websites exist where readers go to find more great books by sharing their thoughts about what they’ve just read. For the moment, Goodreads appears to be the most popular of those sites. Because of this, savvy authors have set up their own pages on Goodreads – not just because they’re voracious readers but because doing so is a good way to promote their own books. Makes sense, doesn’t it? If you sell hunting and fishing supplies, wouldn’t you “hang out” at websites that discuss hunting and fishing? So why wouldn’t authors hang out readers’ sites?



Recognizing this, Goodreads allows published writers to create their own authors page. Like Amazon.com’s authors page, it’s a great way to promote your book. You can provide biographical information about and photo of yourself, links to your website and Twitter site, and a list of your favorite genres and influences.



But don’t stop there. You can do a lot more at Goodreads, including:

n Offer a roll call of your published books with their book covers on the photo

n Provide a feed from your blog

n List your upcoming events (such as book readings or keynote addresses)

n Share excerpts from your book

n Post videos

n Include line from your books that others like and have posted in Goodreads quotation lists (which, by the way, get high rankings on Google search engines)

n Pen a quiz about your book

n Set up for book giveaway prior to launching your next title



By the end of 2012, Goodreads boasted nearly 4.5 million members. While not all members actively participate in the site and while not all readers will be interested in your book (After all, if I primarily read science fiction, I’m probably not interested in your latest YA romance.), that’s still quite a reach – more than twice the number of people who receive The New York Times’ Sunday Book Review.



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.

Bookends on Main hosts successful book reading

Thanks t
o Bookends on Main in Menomonie, Wis., for hosting my book reading of the novel Windmill on Thursday and to all those who attended. Among those there – my fifth grade teacher (see photo at right), my best friend from elementary school, a couple of high school friends, and a visit afterward from the athletic director (and his wife) when I attended Menomonie High School in the early 1980s. We also had time to read a few selections from my recent poetry collection, Love Letters to Sophie’s Mom, which was only fitting as a Menomonie native inspired it.



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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Design a back cover that sells your book

While
the front cover may catch a potential reader’s attention, it hardly guarantees a sell. If the reader is interested, she’ll probably turn the book over and read the back cover.



Your goal now: Get them to realize via some fantastic back cover salesmanship that this is a book they can’t pass up.



Almost certainly the focus of your attention ought to be on the blurb. This typically is a quick synopsis of the book, like an advertisement for an upcoming television program. It doesn’t give away the book’s ending but typically tells about the story’s major conflicts. Usually it appears at the top of the back cover. The blurb is so important, that we’ll dedicate a future entry to this.



A bit less important is the author’s bio. In two or three sentences you want to tell a little about yourself, focusing on why you’re qualified to write this book, especially if you’ve penned a nonfiction tome. It usually appears near the bottom of the back cover. A picture of the author often accompanies the bio. Many mainstream publishers leave off the pic as superfluous or an added expense, but since you’re self-publishing, why not indulge yourself? Indeed, many readers have a positive response to such photos (as in, “Wow, he’s important enough to have his picture on the cover!”).



If you have a website or a blog that promotes the book or you as an author, be sure to include that as well. There’s no reason to include the http:// portion of the web address, though; just start with the www (The exception is if there's no www. in the address). This also can boost the credibility of your authorship.



If you’ve created your own publishing company, include its name on the back cover as well. Adding the city where the company is located also is a nice touch. Doing so helps dismiss the impression that your book is self-published, which for some people – though that number is a minority – causes you to lose credibility.



Whatever you do, do not forget the price. While this may not seem like a big deal if using print on demand, sometimes your books will be carried by local booksellers, especially if you are doing a book reading there. Potential buyers of your book will want to know how much they need to pay, often a factor in their decision of which of two books to buy.



Almost no reader cares about the barcode or ISBN, but you’ll need both of them on the back cover if you plan to distribute your book. An ISBN is required by law on books you sell, and with the barcode is used by your distributor to track the book from printer to warehouse to shipping route to sale online or brick and mortar store. Tuck these two items at the bottom of the back cover where they won’t distract a potential buyer (Indeed, many self-publishing companies require that it appear in the back cover’s lower right corner).



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.