Jade Varden's Blog, page 13
June 4, 2015
Writing 101 Redux: Book Pricing
Lots of indie authors are great at writing blurbs and creating attractive book pages, but when it comes to pricing things get tricky. For people whose strength lie in words, numbers can get frightening.
Visit this week's Throwback Thursday Writing 101, and find out what you need to know about pricing your ebooks.
Visit this week's Throwback Thursday Writing 101, and find out what you need to know about pricing your ebooks.
June 3, 2015
Writing 101: What You Can Do with Book Clubs
Book clubs are used by readers who want to get together and talk about what they’re reading. But authors can’t afford to overlook these casual clubs. Indie authors should start using them at every possible opportunity. Do it, and you could sell more books and get lots more readers.
The Ends and the Means
For this exercise, convince yourself of two things. First, you are an amazing writer and everyone ought to read your stuff or they are missing out. And second, you are incredibly assertive. You will need both the confidence and the strength, or you may not get anywhere at all. But if you can believe these things, you can start promoting yourself to book clubs in a whole lot of different ways.
Hi, I’m Jade: Find local book clubs close to where you live. You can locate them through Facebook often. Keep an eye out when you go to public places as well. Book clubs often advertise in gyms and at grocery stores. Contact these clubs and offer to join a meeting as a guest speaker, or to offer electronic copies of your book for free if they would like to select your book to read. Offer to host a club meeting for them if you have a place to do so. Make sure all your books are on display when you host the meeting -- maybe not overtly, but clearly enough. Reach out personally to these clubs, promoting yourself as a local author, and see what happens.Look, We’re Connected: Get online. Many, many book clubs no longer physically meet each other. They can just as easily get together in online chats, through Skype or on forums. Start looking for clubs that match your genres and writing style, and start reaching out to them. You can just as easily offer to speak to these groups, or write a stirring forum post about books. I’m Here, See: Don’t be humble anymore. If you’re on Goodreads and you see some forum book club looking for nominations, nominate yourself. Offer up your book, keep offering it up and don’t stop. Be ready to give it to a book club whenever they want it, and don’t be afraid to ask them if they want it.
Find the book clubs, and start courting them. Be personable. Be confident. Be brimming with free books. If you do it enough, some club somewhere will accept your book as their reading choice. Do yourself a favor, and sit in on their discussion if they’ll let you, or offer to do an author Q&A. This will give you feedback about your book, and that’s something all writers need. If any of the people in that club like your book and tell even one friend outside the book, you may make another sale. That’s free advertising, and that’s why you need to use the book clubs when you can.
The Ends and the Means
For this exercise, convince yourself of two things. First, you are an amazing writer and everyone ought to read your stuff or they are missing out. And second, you are incredibly assertive. You will need both the confidence and the strength, or you may not get anywhere at all. But if you can believe these things, you can start promoting yourself to book clubs in a whole lot of different ways.
Hi, I’m Jade: Find local book clubs close to where you live. You can locate them through Facebook often. Keep an eye out when you go to public places as well. Book clubs often advertise in gyms and at grocery stores. Contact these clubs and offer to join a meeting as a guest speaker, or to offer electronic copies of your book for free if they would like to select your book to read. Offer to host a club meeting for them if you have a place to do so. Make sure all your books are on display when you host the meeting -- maybe not overtly, but clearly enough. Reach out personally to these clubs, promoting yourself as a local author, and see what happens.Look, We’re Connected: Get online. Many, many book clubs no longer physically meet each other. They can just as easily get together in online chats, through Skype or on forums. Start looking for clubs that match your genres and writing style, and start reaching out to them. You can just as easily offer to speak to these groups, or write a stirring forum post about books. I’m Here, See: Don’t be humble anymore. If you’re on Goodreads and you see some forum book club looking for nominations, nominate yourself. Offer up your book, keep offering it up and don’t stop. Be ready to give it to a book club whenever they want it, and don’t be afraid to ask them if they want it.
Find the book clubs, and start courting them. Be personable. Be confident. Be brimming with free books. If you do it enough, some club somewhere will accept your book as their reading choice. Do yourself a favor, and sit in on their discussion if they’ll let you, or offer to do an author Q&A. This will give you feedback about your book, and that’s something all writers need. If any of the people in that club like your book and tell even one friend outside the book, you may make another sale. That’s free advertising, and that’s why you need to use the book clubs when you can.
June 2, 2015
Writing 101: What Hasn’t Been Written Yet?
Why aren’t your books selling? It could be that your book is too similar to books that are already out there. Lots of authors find themselves telling the same stories over and over, and I maintain that anything that Shakespeare didn't write, the Greeks already wrote. To that end, lots of Shakespeare stuff looks like the Greek playwrights. So if you’re looking for a new idea anyway, look around the book market. And ask yourself this question: what hasn’t been written yet?
A Tale of Two Writers
So, you probably don’t think of Julia Child as a writer. If you think about her at all, it’s most likely you’re thinking of Dan Aykroyd. That’s what I think about: a tall woman with a high-pitched voice, showing me how to cook a turkey. But Julia Child was also an incredibly successful writer, and not just a world-famous chef. She noticed a book that didn't exist, and she wrote it. That’s pretty much what all authors want to do, and she succeeded at it.
Another writer, a woman named Julie, followed Julia Child’s example. She wanted to write about cooking like Julia Child, and started a blog to describe her successes and failures in working her way through “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” by Julia Child. Her blog became a highly successful book, and then it contributed to the feature film “Julie & Julia.” They were both somewhat unconventional writers, and they were both incredibly successful at what they did.
So how can you write something that no one else is writing? The answer is much more simple than you think: by being yourself. Both of these women didn’t run around asking everyone for advice about what to write. They just wrote what they felt like writing. Both wrote about food, and both did it in such a unique way that they managed to gain worldwide attention for it.
The book that hasn’t been written is the one that you have not yet written, the book that says something that only you can say. It’s there. Go write it.
A Tale of Two Writers
So, you probably don’t think of Julia Child as a writer. If you think about her at all, it’s most likely you’re thinking of Dan Aykroyd. That’s what I think about: a tall woman with a high-pitched voice, showing me how to cook a turkey. But Julia Child was also an incredibly successful writer, and not just a world-famous chef. She noticed a book that didn't exist, and she wrote it. That’s pretty much what all authors want to do, and she succeeded at it.
Another writer, a woman named Julie, followed Julia Child’s example. She wanted to write about cooking like Julia Child, and started a blog to describe her successes and failures in working her way through “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” by Julia Child. Her blog became a highly successful book, and then it contributed to the feature film “Julie & Julia.” They were both somewhat unconventional writers, and they were both incredibly successful at what they did.
So how can you write something that no one else is writing? The answer is much more simple than you think: by being yourself. Both of these women didn’t run around asking everyone for advice about what to write. They just wrote what they felt like writing. Both wrote about food, and both did it in such a unique way that they managed to gain worldwide attention for it.
The book that hasn’t been written is the one that you have not yet written, the book that says something that only you can say. It’s there. Go write it.
June 1, 2015
Having a Wild Imagination Isn’t Always a Good Thing
Every author needs to have a good imagination. Writers must envision entire people and settings, visualize action and see scenes play out. It’s good to have an imagination, but not always. Some authors maybe get a little too creative with their thoughts. In some ways, I think Bram Stoker was a little crazy. He had a really wild imagination, and you won’t believe where it took him.
Conspiracy Theory
Most people know Bram Stoker for “Dracula,” that chilling tale of the immortal Count who must drink blood to continue his unholy ways. Fewer people are aware that Stoker was also a conspiracy theorist who wrote what he called non-fiction. One of his most popular --and peculiar-- theories is that Queen Elizabeth I was, in fact, a dude in drag.
Bram Stoker says that Queen Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, actually died at age 10. When the servants learned that King Henry VIII was coming to see his daughter, they went to the town of Bisley to get a lookalike. The only child who resembled the Princess was a boy, so he was dressed in her clothes.
Most of Stoker’s proof of this theory is highly circumstantial, to be kind. Known as the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth never married. There is some suggestion that she carried on sexual affairs, but not in Stoker’s theory. To his way of thinking, she never married because that would reveal her secret. Stoker believes she wore wigs not because they were fashionable, but to cover up male pattern baldness. Also, the Queen was very smart. Clearly, too smart to be just a woman.
Having a wild imagination can lead to interesting, if somewhat insane, conspiracy theories. It can also lead to amazing stories like “Dracula.” But there is always danger when one goes lurking in one’s own mind. It’s dangerous territory, and your brain is capable of tricking you into believing almost anything.
In other words, it’s good to imagine and to create. But don’t let your imagination run off with you, because it is fully capable of driving you insane.
Conspiracy Theory
Most people know Bram Stoker for “Dracula,” that chilling tale of the immortal Count who must drink blood to continue his unholy ways. Fewer people are aware that Stoker was also a conspiracy theorist who wrote what he called non-fiction. One of his most popular --and peculiar-- theories is that Queen Elizabeth I was, in fact, a dude in drag.
Bram Stoker says that Queen Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, actually died at age 10. When the servants learned that King Henry VIII was coming to see his daughter, they went to the town of Bisley to get a lookalike. The only child who resembled the Princess was a boy, so he was dressed in her clothes.
Most of Stoker’s proof of this theory is highly circumstantial, to be kind. Known as the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth never married. There is some suggestion that she carried on sexual affairs, but not in Stoker’s theory. To his way of thinking, she never married because that would reveal her secret. Stoker believes she wore wigs not because they were fashionable, but to cover up male pattern baldness. Also, the Queen was very smart. Clearly, too smart to be just a woman.
Having a wild imagination can lead to interesting, if somewhat insane, conspiracy theories. It can also lead to amazing stories like “Dracula.” But there is always danger when one goes lurking in one’s own mind. It’s dangerous territory, and your brain is capable of tricking you into believing almost anything.
In other words, it’s good to imagine and to create. But don’t let your imagination run off with you, because it is fully capable of driving you insane.
May 28, 2015
Writing 101 Redux: Quotation Punctuation
Every good book has dialogue in it, and that means you're going to have to use quotations. Are you using them right way...or do you just think you are?
Read this week's Throwback Thursday Writing 101 post to find out, and master quotation punctuation.
Read this week's Throwback Thursday Writing 101 post to find out, and master quotation punctuation.
May 27, 2015
Writing 101: Everyday Advertising
In case you haven’t looked at Amazon lately, trust me when I say that there are a lot of books out there. I probably follow at least 5,000 indie authors on Twitter, and I’m sure I’ve barely scratched the surface. So how will you get people to choose your books over another author’s? Everyday advertising can help you a little bit every day.
Hey, Look at Me!
There are small things that you can do on a regular basis to get your book and your name out there. And maybe you won’t start selling a million books a month, but it’s not going to do you any harm if you sell 5extra books a month will it? So try integrating these everyday advertising tricks into your daily routine, and see what happens.
This space for rent: Do you use your laptop, tablet, or cell phone in public? Do any of these items contain a sticker or screensaver that promotes your books? Why have you waited so long to do this? Change your backgrounds, your screensavers and anything else you can change and turn it into a promotion for your book. A clever tagline, a link and an arresting image are all you need.Oops, I did it again: Say you just happen to be in a Best Buy or the electronics section of the Wal-Mart. Let’s suppose that somehow, all the computers have your Amazon author page or your blog on the screen. If you’re there shopping anyway, it’ll only take a few minutes to make that happen. We’re the same, you and I: If you’re not on Twitter as an indie author, get on there. What are you thinking? Now, identify well-known, mass-market authors who are in your genre or otherwise write subject matter similar to yours. Now tweet to them and mention your book. Something like “your book Fancy Paperback reminds me so much of my novel Indies Rule,” or “Kristen in Red Shoes is so much like Marybelle in my book Anxious.” If the author never responds to you, who cares? That’s not the point. The point is to get that author’s fans to notice, and to get them to associate you with that bestselling author. My John Hancock: Do you email? Post on forums? Leave comments on places? Make sure you have a signature that you’re using for all those places. Make that signature splashy and graphically pretty. Make sure it includes your name and a link where people can find you. And use it during all your Internet activity to leave advertising everywhere you go.
Everyday promotion can help you sell a few more books here and there, and that’s never going to hurt. All these tips are free, because there’s nothing like free advertising, so all you have to spend on them is time. Use them, and see what happens.
Hey, Look at Me!
There are small things that you can do on a regular basis to get your book and your name out there. And maybe you won’t start selling a million books a month, but it’s not going to do you any harm if you sell 5extra books a month will it? So try integrating these everyday advertising tricks into your daily routine, and see what happens.
This space for rent: Do you use your laptop, tablet, or cell phone in public? Do any of these items contain a sticker or screensaver that promotes your books? Why have you waited so long to do this? Change your backgrounds, your screensavers and anything else you can change and turn it into a promotion for your book. A clever tagline, a link and an arresting image are all you need.Oops, I did it again: Say you just happen to be in a Best Buy or the electronics section of the Wal-Mart. Let’s suppose that somehow, all the computers have your Amazon author page or your blog on the screen. If you’re there shopping anyway, it’ll only take a few minutes to make that happen. We’re the same, you and I: If you’re not on Twitter as an indie author, get on there. What are you thinking? Now, identify well-known, mass-market authors who are in your genre or otherwise write subject matter similar to yours. Now tweet to them and mention your book. Something like “your book Fancy Paperback reminds me so much of my novel Indies Rule,” or “Kristen in Red Shoes is so much like Marybelle in my book Anxious.” If the author never responds to you, who cares? That’s not the point. The point is to get that author’s fans to notice, and to get them to associate you with that bestselling author. My John Hancock: Do you email? Post on forums? Leave comments on places? Make sure you have a signature that you’re using for all those places. Make that signature splashy and graphically pretty. Make sure it includes your name and a link where people can find you. And use it during all your Internet activity to leave advertising everywhere you go.
Everyday promotion can help you sell a few more books here and there, and that’s never going to hurt. All these tips are free, because there’s nothing like free advertising, so all you have to spend on them is time. Use them, and see what happens.
May 26, 2015
Writing 101: Juggling Books
Staying focused on a single book is a good way to immerse yourself in that narrative and fully realize the world you’re creating. But as I have proven to myself, it’s not always possible to write under ideal circumstance. Lately I’ve been juggling books, but I think I’ve figured out why sometimes it’s necessary to do so.
Fridays We Wear Pink
Obviously it’s better to stick to one book from the minute you get the idea to the second you publish it on Amazon, and I’ve walked that route before. But sometimes, your creativity doesn’t always cooperate with your publishing plans. I’ve learned that there is a benefit to juggling books. Sometimes, you’ve got to work on the book that suits your mood.
Lately I’ve been making myself work on a project that’s been brewing ever since I started writing the Deck of Lies. But I keep finding myself getting drawn toward another project instead. There have been days when I actually end up working on both. One of them has been very easy to write. The other has been a truly epic struggle. And I’ve spent a lot of time feeling like I’m unfocused, and trying to force myself to concentrate on just one of these books. But just recently, I figured out why I can’t. And I learned that sometimes, juggling books is really the only thing you can do.
You can change the project you’re working on, but you can’t always change your frame of mind. I realized that the book I keep getting drawn to, the project that’s coming so easily to me, is in a pretty dark place. The frame of mind that I’ve been in recently put me in the perfect place to write darkness. Things aren’t so dark in the other book. Believe me, they’ll get there...but they aren’t there right now. When I’m in a lighter mood, I might get drawn back to that other book and start neglecting the one that I’m so captivated by right now.
It’s never easy to write a book, but sometimes it ends up being much harder than you thought it would be. Some books may take you into dark places and put you in dark moods, and you may need to turn to a different book project to put yourself in a different frame of mind. Or, you may find yourself compelled toward a book because that’s the frame of mind you’re already in. When your mood changes, it may be time to change book projects...for a little while, at least.
Maybe sometimes, juggling is really the only thing you can do as an author to get from one book to the next -- or from two books to the next. Or, I’m making excuses for myself because I’m still suffering from a fear of commitment. Either way, I’m working on two books and I still haven’t ruled out a dual release. We’ll see how it plays out.
Fridays We Wear Pink
Obviously it’s better to stick to one book from the minute you get the idea to the second you publish it on Amazon, and I’ve walked that route before. But sometimes, your creativity doesn’t always cooperate with your publishing plans. I’ve learned that there is a benefit to juggling books. Sometimes, you’ve got to work on the book that suits your mood.
Lately I’ve been making myself work on a project that’s been brewing ever since I started writing the Deck of Lies. But I keep finding myself getting drawn toward another project instead. There have been days when I actually end up working on both. One of them has been very easy to write. The other has been a truly epic struggle. And I’ve spent a lot of time feeling like I’m unfocused, and trying to force myself to concentrate on just one of these books. But just recently, I figured out why I can’t. And I learned that sometimes, juggling books is really the only thing you can do.
You can change the project you’re working on, but you can’t always change your frame of mind. I realized that the book I keep getting drawn to, the project that’s coming so easily to me, is in a pretty dark place. The frame of mind that I’ve been in recently put me in the perfect place to write darkness. Things aren’t so dark in the other book. Believe me, they’ll get there...but they aren’t there right now. When I’m in a lighter mood, I might get drawn back to that other book and start neglecting the one that I’m so captivated by right now.
It’s never easy to write a book, but sometimes it ends up being much harder than you thought it would be. Some books may take you into dark places and put you in dark moods, and you may need to turn to a different book project to put yourself in a different frame of mind. Or, you may find yourself compelled toward a book because that’s the frame of mind you’re already in. When your mood changes, it may be time to change book projects...for a little while, at least.
Maybe sometimes, juggling is really the only thing you can do as an author to get from one book to the next -- or from two books to the next. Or, I’m making excuses for myself because I’m still suffering from a fear of commitment. Either way, I’m working on two books and I still haven’t ruled out a dual release. We’ll see how it plays out.
May 25, 2015
Writing Like Truman Capote
As you can probably tell, I'm fascinated with the process that other writers use. I read their bios and interviews so I can look back at their lives and successes...and see if I have anything in common with them. But if I want to start writing like Truman Capote, I’m going to need to get a whole lot weirder.
Down When I’m Loaded
Truman Capote never started a new writing project on Fridays. And if you think that’s weird, you ain't read nothing yet. To call him eccentric is far better than he deserves. By most standards, the author of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "In Cold Blood" acted like a straight-up nutjob. Writing like Truman Capote is possible in the literal sense. To get started, lie down.
That's how Capote wrote: lying down. He used a pencil, and in his other hand held a cup of coffee...or a martini, and often a glass of sherry. Capote famously indulged in drink. For most all authors, drinking while writing is a truly terrible idea.
Capote was also superstitious, bizarrely so. He wouldn't even get on a plane if there was more than one nun aboard. He would not keep more than three cigarette butts in his ashtray, and put the spares in his pocket.
In other words, Truman Capote was truly one of a kind. Writing while lying down probably won't help you write a book like "Breakfast at Tiffany's." It probably won't help you write at all; I have written while lying down, and it's incredibly uncomfortable. Writing with a pencil is time-consuming and I do not recommend it. And if you write while intoxicated, you are not likely to be pleased with the results most of the time.
How other authors write is interesting trivia to know. It's a fun fact to throw out at a party or in a writers forum, and maybe a Jeopardy question one of these days. But you shouldn't ever try to write like another author, whether you want to copy their prose style or lay down on the couch with a martini in your hand. Truman Capote found his own very unique ways to write, in the way he put words on the page and in the way he went about his process. All writers have to find their own ways to write as well.
Let's just hope you don't develop any weird superstitions about nuns while you're at it.
Down When I’m Loaded
Truman Capote never started a new writing project on Fridays. And if you think that’s weird, you ain't read nothing yet. To call him eccentric is far better than he deserves. By most standards, the author of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "In Cold Blood" acted like a straight-up nutjob. Writing like Truman Capote is possible in the literal sense. To get started, lie down.
That's how Capote wrote: lying down. He used a pencil, and in his other hand held a cup of coffee...or a martini, and often a glass of sherry. Capote famously indulged in drink. For most all authors, drinking while writing is a truly terrible idea.
Capote was also superstitious, bizarrely so. He wouldn't even get on a plane if there was more than one nun aboard. He would not keep more than three cigarette butts in his ashtray, and put the spares in his pocket.
In other words, Truman Capote was truly one of a kind. Writing while lying down probably won't help you write a book like "Breakfast at Tiffany's." It probably won't help you write at all; I have written while lying down, and it's incredibly uncomfortable. Writing with a pencil is time-consuming and I do not recommend it. And if you write while intoxicated, you are not likely to be pleased with the results most of the time.
How other authors write is interesting trivia to know. It's a fun fact to throw out at a party or in a writers forum, and maybe a Jeopardy question one of these days. But you shouldn't ever try to write like another author, whether you want to copy their prose style or lay down on the couch with a martini in your hand. Truman Capote found his own very unique ways to write, in the way he put words on the page and in the way he went about his process. All writers have to find their own ways to write as well.
Let's just hope you don't develop any weird superstitions about nuns while you're at it.
May 21, 2015
Writing 101 Redux: Do You Use That Too Much?
It's quite possible that you're using the word that too much in your books. To find out, read today's throwback Writing 101 tip.
Find out if it's raining thats all over your books, because you may discover that you're using too word way too much.
Find out if it's raining thats all over your books, because you may discover that you're using too word way too much.
May 20, 2015
Writing 101: Why Your Characters Need a Hobby
When the characters in your book feel more like real people, it’s a lot easier for readers to relate to them. That makes it a lot easier for readers to like your books. It sounds like a simple formula, but it’s not. That’s why it works to use little tricks throughout your books to humanize characters. This is why your characters need a hobby.
Humanizing Your Characters
All of your characters should be three-dimensional. That means they have hopes, dreams, fears, regrets, habits...and yes, hobbies. The more of this kind of everyday stuff you can integrate into your character, the more real they will feel. But you can’t give a character a hobby just for the sake of doing it. Everything you put in your book should be in there for a reason, and that includes the hobby that you humanize your character with.
Ideally, any hobby your character has will reveal something about that character or relate to the story in some way. A character who lives near the ocean, for example, may build ships in a bottle. A character who likes to read is identifiable to your readers, because they now have something in common. If you can integrate the hobby into the plot, even better. Maybe your character likes to bake cookies in the first chapter. Later in the book, the character bakes something for the love interest and thus captures their heart.
No matter how you use your character’s hobby, put one into the book to make the character more relatable and the story more believable. After all, lots of people have hobbies. Shouldn’t fictional characters have them as well?
Humanizing Your Characters
All of your characters should be three-dimensional. That means they have hopes, dreams, fears, regrets, habits...and yes, hobbies. The more of this kind of everyday stuff you can integrate into your character, the more real they will feel. But you can’t give a character a hobby just for the sake of doing it. Everything you put in your book should be in there for a reason, and that includes the hobby that you humanize your character with.
Ideally, any hobby your character has will reveal something about that character or relate to the story in some way. A character who lives near the ocean, for example, may build ships in a bottle. A character who likes to read is identifiable to your readers, because they now have something in common. If you can integrate the hobby into the plot, even better. Maybe your character likes to bake cookies in the first chapter. Later in the book, the character bakes something for the love interest and thus captures their heart.
No matter how you use your character’s hobby, put one into the book to make the character more relatable and the story more believable. After all, lots of people have hobbies. Shouldn’t fictional characters have them as well?
