Florence Witkop's Blog, page 81
April 1, 2013
Self Promotion
Self-promotion is on my mind a lot these days because the very first professional promotion of any kind starts April 8th for Spirit Legend, my third book, my fourth e-published anything. I never had to self-promote before because I sold my works to publishers and they took care of the rest.
My first foray into promotion uses the simplest promotional package I could find. I figured I’d start easy and gradually work my way up to complicated. My experience with this simple package makes me realize what’s behind something I’ve noticed that puzzled me greatly. Why many not-so-great books get wonderful reviews and sell well while other, possibly better books, don’t get reviewed and don’t sell at all.
The reason is simple. There’s nothing easy about promoting books. Nothing!
This first foray of mine into publicity doesn’t require me to do anything except spread the word about a Book Blast that starts April 8th and continues for a week. I’m to name the book blogs that will feature Spirit Legend but that’s not hard, I have a list. Then all I have to do is check the blogs on the days they are featuring my book and comment and reply to comments if there are any questions. Which, by the way, the promoter said may not happen because it often doesn’t.
Sounds easy, right? Wrong! I’ve already learned that spreading the word isn’t simple. I do know many places where I can post information of this kind, but each place has rules. Different rules for different places and I’d better not break any of them!
So that’s where I am now. Slogging through the muddy waters of mentioning my Book Blast. That’s all I’m doing and I’m already lost. I’m sure that when the Book Blast begins, I’ll find myself equally lost as I pick my way through the maze of book blog etiquette. And It’s possible that none of it will be worth the effort and expense. Sales may not increase. Name recognition may not be helped.
But no matter the result, I’ve learned something. Authors who figure out how to work the system sell books while those who don’t know how to do it right sink like stones. Now I know why a book I read by an author who can’t even write a sentence in decent English is not only selling very, very well, I know why her novel is being chosen as ‘best of’ in several categories. And it’s happening even though many reviews of her novel commented on the fact that her English is very bad. Some reviewers were shocked and turned off by her poor grammar.
Yes, the story line of her novel is good. Excellent. Still, with so many other books out there that also have excellent story lines and, in addition, are easy to read, I suspect that the reason she’s selling so well while others aren’t is that she knows how to self-promote. She knows how to work the system.
I wish her luck. I just wish every writer out there could learn those same deceptively simple skills.
Anyone out there know the secret? If so, please let all writers know. Most of all, let me know in time to get things going for my Book Blast!
March 25, 2013
Narrowing Down To The End
I just finished reading a fairly good book. It was a fantasy about a group of people who traveled to another, magical world, got separated as soon as they arrived and, as time passed, got together again. Each time they got together there was a conversation describing what had happened while apart. Because several characters were separated, I read at least half a dozen conversations describing their time apart. Actually, one conversation repeated several times as the same information was told to different characters. Using almost the same words
In that respect, the book was true to life. In real life, people repeat the same conversation every time they tell someone else the same story. And what happens? Listeners roll their eyes and tune out. Same thing happens in fiction. Because it’s boring.
I loved The Hunger Games. I read every word describing the first Hunger Games. But I admit that I skipped most of the descriptions of the future Games. Because I knew how they worked. I knew how they were organized. I didn’t need or particularly care to read more of the same.
It’s true that some stories should contain what might be considered an overabundance of a certain kind of scene. Car chases in car chase movies. Fights in martial arts movies. And there are a few others. But not very many others.
So what to do? How to handle a situation where familiar information must be provided several times?
Ever seen a funnel? One of those things that’s used to pour stuff from a large container into a smaller one? Ever notice how it’s wide at the top and narrow at the bottom? Most stories should resemble a funnel. Lots of description, tons of details, at the beginning. The fat part of the funnel But as the story progresses… and especially as it nears the climax… use fewer words, have your character say they understand and get on with the story, skip whatever isn’t essential. Get on with the story and trust your reader to fill in the blanks. Most readers don’t want the rush to the climax to be slowed with unnecessary, nonessential information that slows things down and puts a damper on the excitement.
In other words, trust your reader’s intelligence. If you laid your foundations well in the beginning, as the story progresses they can fill in a few blanks all by themselves. And they’ll thank you for it.
March 19, 2013
The Making of a Series
I believe I’ve mentioned before that I’m technologically challenged. But I bought a book called WordPress for Dummies and, hopefully, following their instructions, I’ll actually create a working link from the web page that’s home to the book blast to this blog. That’ll be the ‘trying out’ part of this post. To see if it works. To see if I can actually do it. So here goes (drum roll):
http://www.blackliontours.com/#!spiri...
Okay. That’s it. Did it work? Can readers connect? Please, please, please let me know!
If so, it’s a huge relief and, come book blast week, I may temporarily replace my home page with something about Spirit Legend that will also contain the link. If that actually happens, then I’ll truly know how to do links. But I’ll also be doing it because I want to get the word out about Spirit Legend. Marketing sucks but it’s a necessary component of writing.
The reviews for Spirit Legend have been wonderful. I want to give each and every reviewer a big hug because everyone who has read it has liked it. The only negative criticism has been to wish the book was longer so the reader could get to know the characters better. A flaw that I hope to correct with my next novel, Wolf Legend, which will be book 2 of the Legend series.
Which brings me to the subject of how series come into existence. Not that I knew I was beginning a series when I wrote Spirit Legend. That came later when I admitted to the cover artist, Laura Shinn, that I couldn’t come up with a decent title, and the only reason I admitted to her how lacking I was in that respect was because she required a title so she could put it on the cover she was busy designing.
Well, it seems that Laura Shinn is a very creative person. She came up with the title Spirit Legend. I used it and it was perfect.
Then, as I began my next novel, it occurred to me that it, too, was about a legend, this time of huge wolves … possibly direwolves from prehistoric times … that were reputed to have been seen on a remote island in Lake of The Woods between Canada and the USA. And that the book I planned to write after that one was also based on a legend. The Greek legend about Ceres, goddess of agriculture.
And so a series was born. Might only be three novels, but, who knows, it might be more when the creative muses start whispering in my ear. And believe me, when they whisper, I listen.
March 18, 2013
The Making of a Series
This post is partly to say ‘hi’ to my favorite people… readers of my blog… but it’s mostly to try out a link to the web page that’ll be very important for Spirit Legend for the week beginning April 8. And to say a bit about how series are born. At least, how mine was.
I believe I’ve mentioned before that I’m technologically challenged. But I bought a book called WordPress for Dummies and, hopefully, following their instructions, I’ll actually create a working link from the web page that’s home to the book blast to this blog. That’ll be the ‘trying out’ part of this post. To see if it works. To see if I can actually do it. So here goes (drum roll):
http://www.blackliontours.com/#!spirit-legend-by-florence-witkop/c22dh
Okay. That’s it. Did it work? Can readers connect? Please, please, please let me know!
If so, it’s a huge relief and, come book blast week, I may temporarily replace my home page with something about Spirit Legend that will also contain the link. If that actually happens, then I’ll truly know how to do links. But I’ll also be doing it because I want to get the word out about Spirit Legend. Marketing sucks but it’s a necessary component of writing.
The reviews for Spirit Legend have been wonderful. I want to give each and every reviewer a big hug because everyone who has read it has liked it. The only negative criticism has been to wish the book was longer so the reader could get to know the characters better. A flaw that I hope to correct with my next novel, Wolf Legend, which will be book 2 of the Legend series.
Which brings me to the subject of how series come into existence. Not that I knew I was beginning a series when I wrote Spirit Legend. That came later when I admitted to the cover artist, Laura Shinn, that I couldn’t come up with a decent title, and the only reason I admitted to her how lacking I was in that respect was because she required a title so she could put it on the cover she was busy designing.
Well, it seems that Laura Shinn is a very creative person. She came up with the title Spirit Legend. I used it and it was perfect.
Then, as I began my next novel, it occurred to me that it, too, was about a legend, this time of huge wolves … possibly direwolves from prehistoric times … that were reputed to have been seen on a remote island in Lake of The Woods between Canada and the USA. And that the book I planned to write after that one was also based on a legend. The Greek legend about Ceres, goddess of agriculture.
And so a series was born. Might only be three novels, but, who knows, it might be more when the creative muses start whispering in my ear. And believe me, when they whisper, I listen.
March 11, 2013
Eco-fiction
I recently joined a new group on Goodreads. I don’t belong to many groups and I’m very picky about the ones I do join. But this one sounded interesting when I ran across the name. So I took a look. What’s eco-fiction?
As it turns out, eco-fiction is what I write. Okay, it’s one genre my work fits into, along with several others. Because, like many writers, I don’t worry about fitting my story into any one box. The result, honesty forces me to add, is that when it’s time to market what I’ve written, I’m truly frustrated because… surprise, surprise… it doesn’t neatly fit into any one genre. Thus it’s difficult to market.
Anyway,to return to the subject of this post, it seems that eco-fiction is fiction of any kind that celebrates, describes, or promotes the natural world. Dune is eco-fiction.
Really? Well, if Dune fits the genre of eco-fiction, my books do too, as well as those other genres my books have been assigned to. Fantasy. Sci-fi. Contemporary. Paranormal. Romance. And so on. And I’m sure other writers have books that fit this genre and aren’t being marketed as such because they don’t know the genre exists. Just like I’d never heard of it until I ran across that group on Goodreads.
But I have a special feel for this new label. Eco-fiction. I love it! I plan on using the term as often as possible. Who knows? Maybe it’ll become mainstream.
March 8, 2013
The Storm That Inspired Spirit Legend
It happened on July 4, 1999 and was the largest blow-down ever recorded in North America. It devastated a large part of northern Minnesota, only lasting about 20 minutes but with winds in excess of 90 miles an hour.
We were in the house that day. We happened to look out and saw the darkest,lowest-hanging clouds we'd ever seen. Then, in the blink of an eye, it looked like the earth was being lifted into the sky. We ran for the basement.
We were fine but the damage that storm did to the forest will be felt for generations. Our daughter was on a trains soon after the blow-down and later described miles and miles of trees laid flat and all in one direction, as if a giant comb had been run through the woods. She spoke of seeing that scene for hours and hours as she looked out the window of the train. And we thought the forest would never be the same.
We were wrong. The forest is fine now but we still see occasional small remnants of that storm.
So now you know what inspired the storm in Spirit Legend and what it did to the North Woods.
March 5, 2013
Creating Characters
A long time ago, I bought a book that promised to describe forty-five compelling characters that I could use in my fiction. As I read it, I realized that I knew someone who resembled each and every character it described. And there were forty-five of them! Wow!
But I realized something. The author simply described eight basic personality types that can be found in any psych textbook. But each type could be either positive or negative, which doubled the eight to sixteen. Then each of those sixteen types could become either major or minor characters, which doubled the already doubled number. And so on, until forty-five distinctly different fictional characters were fleshed out.
I thought, hey, if that author could come up with forty-five characters from a list of eight basic personality types, I could do the same with any similar list out there. And there are several different personality type lists out there. Just google the term and see what comes up. Then do what that author did, consider each type from different perspectives. And you, too, can come up with all the characters you could possibly ever need for all the books you ever intend to write.
Of course, there’s a caveat. I read the book, enjoyed every page, then ignored it. I suggest you do the same. Because, though people truly can be categorized, everyone is unique. So use the descriptions as basic guides, then flesh them out however you wish. The resulting characters might resemble people you know. Or people you can’t believe exist beyond your books.
Either way you’ll have wonderful characters to populate your wonderful stories.
Working Writer Tip: Creating Characters
A long time ago, I bought a book that promised to describe forty-five compelling characters that I could use in my fiction. As I read it, I realized that I knew someone who resembled each and every character it described. And there were forty-five of them! Wow!
But I realized something. The author simply described eight basic personality types that can be found in any psych textbook. But each type could be either positive or negative, which doubled the eight to sixteen. Then each of those sixteen types could become either major or minor characters, which doubled the already doubled number. And so on, until forty-five distinctly different fictional characters were fleshed out.
I thought, hey, if that author could come up with forty-five characters from a list of eight basic personality types, I could do the same with any similar list out there. And there are several different personality type lists out there. Just google the term and see what comes up. Then do what that author did, consider each type from different perspectives. And you, too, can come up with all the characters you could possibly ever need for all the books you ever intend to write.
Of course, there’s a caveat. I read the book, enjoyed every page, then ignored it. I suggest you do the same. Because, though people truly can be categorized, everyone is unique. So use the descriptions as basic guides, then flesh them out however you wish. The resulting characters might resemble people you know. Or people you can’t believe exist beyond your books.
Either way you’ll have wonderful characters to populate your wonderful stories.
February 28, 2013
Stories Are Like Races
Such races start out slow. The runners pace themselves. They check out the other runners. They learn all they can about the course. Just like writers, in the beginning of their books, provide a lot of background and character descriptions.
But, as the runners near the finish line, they pick up the pace. Ignore everyone and everything around them in order to concentrate on that sprint to the finish line.
I like books that do the same. That concentrate on what the action as the main characters sprint to the climax of the story.
Winning The Race
As you can see, I’ve changed my blog into a website with a blog component. I did so to facilitate sales of my books now that Spirit Legend is out there and selling. Feel free to check out the page Florence’s Books that leads you to the buy links of both Amazon and Smashwords if you want to see what the old lady’s writing is like.
But, not to worry, I’ll still post with tips on writing fiction. Not as often as previously because there are only so many tips I’ve learned over the years. But they’ll still come. Which leads to today’s tip: Pacing.
I’ve read a lot of books lately because their authors’ asked me to review them. For the most part, they were good books and well written. But, with the exception of two of them, the pacing could have been improved.
They weren’t jagged. They weren’t abrupt. They simply kept the same pace throughout the book. And that was their mistake.
Because writing fiction is like running a race. A long race if it’s a book because, in the case of stories, novels are equivalent to distance races. (If you are interested, my book Wanted Sharpshooter is about distance races for horses, something one of my daughters is involved in that I find fascinating.)
Anyway, in distance races, the runners start out slow and careful, conserving their energy and learning all they can about the race itself. Who’s in it, what they are like, what the course is like. Everything. And they stay that way until they know the finish line is getting close. Then they speed up. They pay less attention to the other runners and the course itself in order to concentrate their efforts on running faster. On sprinting to the finish line.
Writing fiction is like that. The closer you get to the end of the book, the faster the pace of writing should be. Forget those long conversations among characters that, in the beginning, were both wonderful and provided insights into the characters and the story. Forget the descriptions that go on and on and on, no matter that the setting is incomparable and essential to the characters getting where they need to be.
Instead, write tight as you approach that finish line. Eliminate everything except that sprint to the finish. Because the reader now should know the essential details about the characters and the story and should be caught up in the action and shouldn’t be distracted by any unnecessary words. Or sentences. Or paragraphs. Those details that are necessary should be provided in capsule form. In as few words as possible. So the reader doesn’t wish the writer would stop leading them through fields of unnecessary prose and would get them to the finish line in the shortest time.
So they can win the race.
