Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 146

Preparing for a Panel

By Elizabeth S. Craig @elizabethscraig






Tomorrow, November 14, I’m on a panel for
the Get Read online conference—a
conference that’s all about helping writers learn more about effective
marketing.

My panel is “Publishing Your Way To
Success.” The description:

The core
thing that connects writers to readers is the stories you craft – be it
fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry or any form of writing. In this session, we
explore how releasing new work can grow and more deeply engage your audience.


It panel runs for about 40 minutes and
starts at 1:45 p.m. ET.

I tend to enjoy panels, although
as a rule, I’m not fond of public speaking. 
Panels are easier for me and I get a lot from listening to the other
speakers…occasionally to the point where I forget what the original question
was and have to ask for it to be repeated when it’s my turn.

A good panel is the result of good
moderation.  I’ve been on panels before
where the moderator lost control of the panel—we veered wildly
off-subject, ran out of time for audience questions, and once didn’t even have a chance for
everyone on the panel to talk. 

I remember one panel I was on, years
ago.  I felt good about it.  I sold my books at the end of the panel and
one of the audience members came up to me and said confidentially, “I felt so,
so sorry for you.”  She patted me on the hand.

I gaped at her in horror.  Had I had some sort of horrid wardrobe
malfunction?  Why on earth did no one let
me know?  Then she said, “You know.  Because that one person went on and on and
you didn’t get a chance to speak.”

Oh. 
Well, even though I assured her that the panel hog hadn’t bothered me at all and I never care if I don’t get
as much of an opportunity to speak…it had certainly bothered her.  And since then I’ve noticed that folks in the
audience do look uncomfortable when one person is speaking at the expense of
the other panelists.  A good moderator reins in a chatty speaker.

I’ve done online interviews quite a few times before, but
this online panel will be a first for
me.  Dan
Blank, the conference organizer, is using an application called BigMarker to run the conference. I tried
it out a couple of times and found it very easy to use the
interface.  You can listen in as an
audience member without video or audio, or turn it on as a panelist.   There’s even a button you can press to
‘raise your hand’ to indicate to the moderator that you have a question.  And a chat box on the side of the screen.

I did warn Dan that I likely wouldn’t be
able to chat, listen to the other panelists, and recognize when it was my turn to talk. :)  My
multi-tasking has limits.

Here are
my tips for being on in-person panels:

Find out the book selling protocol at the conference. Are we allowed to sell our books at the
event, after the panel?  Is the
conference buying the books through a bookseller or are we responsible for
bringing our own books? If we bring our own books, we need to know that crucial fact in enough time to order some copies.

Be conscious of over-promoting while on
panels.  It tends to stand out if we
bring up our book title every time we answer a question or have all of our
titles on the table in front of us during the panel.  I usually have one or two books, tops, on the
table (if the conference even allows them).

Ask how they handle book selling.  Sometimes you sell
books right after your panel in the same room, sometimes you go to a commons
area outside of the room, sometimes you have a special area to report to at a
specific time.

It’s also important to know if someone
else handles the purchases while you sign, or if you’re signing and ringing up customers. (Which is a nightmare for me…I tend to get
flustered.)  If you’re not sure, best to
come with a calculator and with extra dollars to make change with.

I’ve watched panels, as an audience
member, where panelists were thinking so hard about how they were going to
answer the question that they didn’t appear to be listening to the other
panelists as they spoke.  Definitely
doesn’t look good.

Sometimes,
the conference forgets to supply water. I like to have a small water bottle
with me, just in case.

Online
conferences/panels:

Well, your guess is as good as mine.  But I do have general tips for doing Skype
and other interviews, and you can find
the post here.  Mainly, I make sure
the lighting is good (artificial lighting is usually better than sunlight),
that the audio and the camera are working, 
that I put the animals away so they won’t jump into view of the camera
or bark, and find/wear my makeup...which
is, as I recall, in the children’s bathroom since it was last used to help with
special effects for their Halloween costumes.

Any tips for panels?  Things I missed?

Thoughts On a 99 Cent Sale

by
Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig





It’s been a very long time since I’ve
sold anything at 99 cents.  I’d read
some blog posts that advised against it. 
I’d heard readers say that it was tough finding anything good at 99
cents.

Then I started reading those same
things…but it was now arguing against a $1.99
cent price point.  The best, most recent
examination I’ve got on the subject is this post by writer Molly Greene: “Ebook Pricing: What’s The
Perfect Number?”  

The entire post is
worth a read.  Here is an excerpt where
Molly quotes Smashwords CEO and
founder Mark Coker on
various price points:




Per Coker, “I see untapped opportunity [at the $3.99
price point], where indies may be able to raise prices but not suffer unit
decline.” He concludes “some authors are underpricing.” Smashwords data also
reveals …

$.99
remains popular, but shows a big drop compared to their 2012 study.


$.99 to
$1.99 underperforms in terms of earnings. (Per Coker, $1.99 is “a black
hole.”)
$2.99 is
the most common price point with indies.
$2.99 to
$6.99 is the sweet spot for maximum earnings.
Indies
have virtually abandoned the $9.99 price point compared to 2012’s study.


I totally agree about the problems
surrounding the $1.99 pricing.  I may
have listed a book at that price once, briefly, but I yanked it out of there
quickly.

Personally, I’ve found that keeping one
of my books free is helpful.  I
currently have the two most recently self-published books at $3.99, where they
tend to still sell well, and an older title at $2.99.  (And yes, one of my books is currently free,
as usual.)

I can’t really even remember the last
time I ran a book at $.99, which must mean it was a couple of years ago.  Since I have a book for free, I didn’t
really see the point of running another book so low.

But I decided I’d run a very, very short
99 cent experiment.  It was, actually,
fewer than 24 hours long. I figured January was always a nice time to have a
small spike of income (January being the month I’d receive income from
November sales).  If there was a spike.  Sales have been steady for me this fall and
I’ve not really seen that slump I’ve been hearing about, so I decided to give
it a go and run it for my latest title.

The nice
thing, though, about running a 99 cent sale is that you have a degree of
control over the start and end of the sale. 
When I make a book free, for instance, I’m listing it as free on
Smashwords, then allowing Amazon to price match that price.  Sometimes, it takes days for Amazon to catch
on.  Then, when I’m ready to shift the
free sale to another book, I raise the price on Smashwords.  Sometimes it takes the various retailers
days to get the message to raise the price (Sony, I’m looking at you).  So Amazon continues to match the free price
while it’s still getting the message that some retailer out there continues to
list it at $0.  I don’t have complete
control over the start and stop of that promotion.

For a $.99 sale, I just click over
to my book’s Kindle Direct Publishing bookshelf and adjust the price to
$.99.  Amazon has a pop-up window with a
disclaimer that it may take as many as twelve hours for the change to take
effect.  It only took a couple of
hours. 

I ran the sale on a newer title and
watched as it cracked the top 2,000 of the Amazon bestseller list—before the
sale, it was bouncing between the top 8,000—12,000.  Then I went back into the bookshelf and
raised the price to $3.99 again.

“Bait and switch?” asked my husband,
eyebrows raised and trying to figure out what I'd done, when I told him that the books were selling like hotcakes at
$3.99.

“No a bit.  I didn’t falsely advertise one
price and make the reader pay a higher one. I just paid for brief visibility.”


And that’s what it feels like to me—that
I’ve sacrificed income for visibility. 
And the sales for the other titles also increased. 

This sale occurred on Friday night
through Saturday afternoon.  Writing
this on Sunday afternoon, the book is still in the top 4,000.  This type of thing is clearly good for a spike in sales instead of a long-term
strategy.  Regardless, I’m sure I’ll be
glad to get the proceeds when the Christmas bills arrive in January. :)

Now, of course, this won’t work out as well for everyone.  And not everyone
will want to list a book that they’ve invested a lot of time and energy in at
$.99, even temporarily.  But for someone
who might have several self-published books out (I have four right now) and
who wants the ability to control the dates of a sale—this might be a good
experiment to try.

Have you experimented with the price
points for your books?  What is your
comfort zone, in terms of pricing? 

Image: MorgueFile: imelenchon

Twitterific

  by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig





Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming)
which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It's the search
engine for writers.




This
week-- November 13-14:  Get
Read – Marketing Strategies for Writers:
Dan
Blank’s We Grow
Media is a  two-day online conference for
authors looking for promotion strategies--and, ultimately, readers.  Speakers include Porter Anderson,
Chuck
Wendig, Dan Blank, Jane Friedman,
Therese
Walsh, and many others.  (I'm one of the scheduled speakers and am
also am serving on the advisory board.) 
More information about the conference and registration information can
be found here.







If you use the
discount code elizabeth, you receive $20
off the conference price.




Check out the new
resource for writers.  It’s Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure
Writer’s Support Group website.  There you’ll find pages of links to
resources—writing tips, publishers, agents, queries, self-publishing,
marketing, contests, and publications for writers.




Friend and fellow
mystery writer Margot
Kinberg has put together a crime fiction anthology: In
a Word--Murder.  The ebook retails
for $2.99 and proceeds from its sales benefit Princess
Alice Hospice, in memory of Maxine Clarke, a supporter of and good friend
to the crime writing community.  One of
my stories is in the collection, too...my first attempt at short fiction.
:) 




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How to nail NaNoWriMo: http://dld.bz/cT3Ej @nailyournovel

Ways of approaching setting in your
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Why Writing Alternate History is Both
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5 Signs You Are Reading Too Much YA: http://dld.bz/cTzU3 @mittenstrings

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Self-publishing--breaking into the solid
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@porter_anderson  @thecreativepenn
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Lessons learned from launching book two
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A co-publishing effort in Italy and its
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@marcellovena @MikeShatzkin

3 signs you should give up on a story: http://dld.bz/cTDbt @KMWeiland @Porter_Anderson

A closer look at ebook subscription
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@Porter_Anderson

30 Inspiring Quotes on Writing and
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Creative Mind Mapping for Novelists: http://dld.bz/cTzUY @livewritethrive

Self-Publishing: The Business License: http://dld.bz/cTzUZ @nataliewhipple

5 ways to overcome the limitations of 1st
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Tips For Writing A Better First Scene: http://dld.bz/cT4Ta @lindasclare

The Lee Strasberg Method School of
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Customizing Genre: http://dld.bz/cT4TU @publisherswkly

Lecture series on YouTube offers tips for
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Six Ways To Describe A Character In First
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Inside Inner Conflict: http://dld.bz/cT4U7 @mooderino

The Art of Paragraphs: When to Hit Enter:
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Describing a Character's Physical
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What Writing the Second Novel Is Really
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10 Social Media Apps that Save Writers
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5 editing tips: http://dld.bz/cT4YA @JackieKessler

On Diversity and Character Depth: http://dld.bz/cT4YC @literaticat

Know when to show, not tell: http://dld.bz/cT4YD @lindasclare

Twitter Tips for Writers That Will Help
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Where to Find Free Premium WordPress
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Quick Manuscript Editing Tips: http://dld.bz/cT4Zn @iulienel @fantasyscroll

The One Thing You Must Do Before Taking
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Will publishers accept a previously
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Parting Ways with Your Agent: http://dld.bz/cScNP @ElisabethWeed

Plot twists keep readers guessing: http://dld.bz/cT6N2 @lindasclare

Success and Writing—What Keeps Us Going: http://dld.bz/cT6N7

Quality trumps quantity when it comes to
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What makes NaNo good for writers? http://dld.bz/cT6Rd @ava_jae

How to Overcome RSI While Building Your
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7 People Who Will Help You Fire Up Your
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How To Reduce Reader Fatigue: http://dld.bz/cT6Zk @ashkrafton

Ins and outs of pen names: http://dld.bz/cT6Zp @kristinerusch

Deepen your protagonist by giving him a
world view: http://dld.bz/cT7aF @DonMaass
@writerunboxed

A writer's experience with BookBub: http://dld.bz/cT7bR @ChesterCampbell

Common typos to avoid: http://dld.bz/cT7ca @MiladyDewinter

Start a New Novel in 22 Easy Steps: http://dld.bz/cT7cj @donnagambale

How to write a 5-minute Story: http://dld.bz/cT7cn @sheiladeeth

Tips for giving your story originality: http://dld.bz/cT7cx @Saumya35

Unclear Transitions: http://dld.bz/cT7c7 @Ross_B_Lampert

Dialogue as "character
communication": http://dld.bz/cT7cC
@gointothestory

Tips for busting writer's block: http://dld.bz/cT7cH

3 Ways To Build a Healthy Writing
Routine: http://dld.bz/cT7cP @galleycat

Playing with Story Structure: http://dld.bz/cT7da

Scene Pacing: Balancing the
"Beats": http://dld.bz/cT7dd-
@lindasclare

7 Tips for Amazon Keywords and Best
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@passivevoiceblg

What scriptwriters should know: http://dld.bz/cSbyq @scriptmag @LeeZJessup

The Three-Act, Eight Sequence Structure: http://dld.bz/cT7v2 @AlexSokoloff

Why Writing is a Partnership: http://dld.bz/cT7v5 @Woollz

The current state of self-publishing: http://dld.bz/cT7vB @jamesscottbell

Seven Tips for Writing How-to Books: http://dld.bz/cT7vD @Writers_Write

What To Do If Your Plot Doesn't Hang
Together: http://dld.bz/cT7vP @raindance

7 Twitter tips for writers: http://dld.bz/cT7vU @wherewriterswin

Supplementing Your Blog With Expert
Guests: http://dld.bz/cT7vY @BloggingTipsCom

Balancing Inner/Outer Conflicts: http://dld.bz/cT7wd @lindasclare

Count Your Rejection Letters Proudly: http://dld.bz/cT7wk @galleycat

When you're a fiction writing professor: http://dld.bz/cT7wt @glimmertrain

5 Tips for New Authors: http://dld.bz/cT8hx @StacyClaflin

How the world's most creative people get
their ideas: http://dld.bz/cT8hD

5 Ways to Untangle Plot: http://dld.bz/cT8hH @awesome_dawn

Why Writerly Words Are Not Your Friend: http://dld.bz/cT8hM

Adding magic to the real world: http://dld.bz/cT9rN @JCareyAuthor @lytherus

Categorizing your book into a genre: http://dld.bz/cT9rP @passivevoiceblg

The popularity of Black Science Fiction
is rising: http://dld.bz/cT9rS
@StaffordBattle

Tips for avoiding the self-pubbed look: http://dld.bz/cT9rU @PaulaatAME

Publicists aren't wizards: "I can
get it there but I can't make them love it": http://dld.bz/cT9sh
@PJNunn

How Silence About the Realities of
Publishing Hurts Authors: http://dld.bz/cT9st
@KameronHurley @locusmag

11 types of plots: http://dld.bz/cT9s3 @shalvatzis

4 Tips to Solve 99% of Your Writing
Problems: http://dld.bz/cT9tq @Janice_Hardy

3 tricks to sharpen your proofreading
eye: http://dld.bz/cT9tw @LaurelGarver

The Novelist's Guide to Writing (Only)
What you Know: http://dld.bz/cT9t4
@cdivakaruni

5 Ways to Make Your Novel Unforgettable: http://dld.bz/cT9tA @victoriamixon

Thoughts on Social Reading and Other
Intrusions: http://dld.bz/cTDgJ

Hashtags for writers: http://dld.bz/cTDgP @AdriennedeWolfe

How to Use Scrivener's Cork Board: http://dld.bz/cTDgU @ava_jae

5 1/2 Reasons You Should Kill a Draft
Blog Post: http://dld.bz/cTDgX @copyblogger
@demianfarnworth

5 Reasons You Should Take Questions From
Your Audience: http://dld.bz/cTDgZ
@RobBiesenbach

How to Create Your First Invoice as a
Freelancer: http://dld.bz/cTDhq @carefulcents

3 objectives of a proposal (and how they
can motivate you after a writing break): http://dld.bz/cTDhx
@AngieDicken

3 Easy Tips For Better Email Interviews: http://dld.bz/cTDhz @ticewrites

Which eBook Publishing Platform is Best? http://dld.bz/cTDh8 @KristenEckstein

How Not to Fire an Agent: http://dld.bz/cTDhN @byDougRich @scriptmag

12 Things That Will Happen in Your 1st 3
Months of Blogging: http://dld.bz/cTDjc
@lindadessau

Simple is the Key to Telling a Story: http://dld.bz/cTDj3 @SouthrnWritrMag

Setting Up a Blog Tour: http://dld.bz/cTDj6 @DavidBCoe

Considerations when setting up a website:
http://dld.bz/cTDjH @fictorians

4 Tips for Dealing with Plot Holes: http://dld.bz/cTD5e @RinelleGrey

10 Tips For Utilizing WordPress To Start
Your Website: http://dld.bz/cTD5h @Firmology

Scene Arcs: http://dld.bz/cTD5r

The Request to Revise and Resubmit: http://dld.bz/cTD5V @JulieEshbaugh

How To Conduct a Live Facebook Author
Interview: http://dld.bz/cTD6r @MsBessieBell

When Fear Is a Good Thing for Your
Writing: http://dld.bz/cTD6E @Christi_Craig

How to Plot With the Three-Act Structure:
http://dld.bz/cTD6H @janice_hardy

Deep POV Basics: http://dld.bz/cTD9v

It's Hard to Trust the Process: http://dld.bz/cTD9K @fictionnotes

Good advice 1 writer finds hard to
follow: http://dld.bz/cTD9R @tmAlexander

Fight for unabridged audio rights: http://dld.bz/cTDAh @thebookseller

3 Ways To Build a Healthy Writing
Routine: http://dld.bz/cT7cP @galleycat

Scene Pacing: Balancing the
"Beats": http://dld.bz/cT7dd -
@lindasclare

What scriptwriters should know: http://dld.bz/cSbyq @scriptmag @LeeZJessup

The Three-Act, Eight Sequence Structure: http://dld.bz/cT7v2 @AlexSokoloff

The current state of self-publishing: http://dld.bz/cT7vB @jamesscottbell

Seven Tips for Writing How-to Books: http://dld.bz/cT7vD @Writers_Write

The popularity of Black Science Fiction
is rising: http://dld.bz/cT9rS
@StaffordBattle

How risk averse publishers kill trends: http://dld.bz/cTGCd @JanetKGrant

Ways Novelists Can Brainstorm Plot and
Scenes: http://dld.bz/cTGCk @livewritethrive

How to switch point of view without
confusing the reader: http://dld.bz/cTGCq
@nailyournovel

10 Steps to a Creating a Book Launch
Team: http://dld.bz/cTGC2 @anitahigman

Top 20 Literary Quotes About Short
Stories: http://dld.bz/cTGC9 @amandaonwriting

Benefits of having a publicist: http://dld.bz/cTGCE

Adapting a book to film--What Stanley
Kubrick got wrong about "The Shining": http://dld.bz/cTGCJ
@salon @magiciansbook

Despite competition from digital
entertainment, there are young readers excited about books: http://dld.bz/cTGEr

An explanation of show, don't tell: http://dld.bz/cTGFR @maria_mckenzie

18 Months of Social Media: One Writer's
Progress Report: http://dld.bz/cTGGh

25 Questions To Ask As You Write: http://dld.bz/cTGGn @chuckwendig {lang}

How Literary Agents' Responsibilities and
Compensation are Changing: http://dld.bz/cTGG4
@chrisrobley

Top Writing Tips for Self-Published
Authors: http://dld.bz/cSbvW @PublishersWkly

3 Ways to Use Dialogue to NAIL Great
Characters: http://dld.bz/cTGG7 @niniehammon

Conscious writing: http://dld.bz/cTGJX

Overcoming Writing Road Blocks: http://dld.bz/cTGKe

Science Fiction Romance vs Romantic
Suspense: http://dld.bz/cTK4P @dmburton72

The better way to self-publish: http://dld.bz/cTK4U @author_sullivan

Why Facebook Contests Really Do Work: http://dld.bz/cTK5e @lizstrauss

6 Tools That Stop Computer Distractions
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@Trekity

How we present ourselves plays into our
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Why Getting Some Negative Reviews Can Be
Positive: http://dld.bz/cTK58 @jodyhedlund

Romantic, Thinker, Skeptic: Using
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Power Up Your Prose With Poetic Devices: http://dld.bz/cTK5R @martinaaboone

It's better not to imagine ourselves as
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Completing Your Novel Plot

Guest Post by Jack Smith



At some point in drafting a novel, you
will probably see the need to add more actions or events to complete the
plot.  You know the story isn’t
complete.  You may need to rethink where
your story is going.  Try this process:

Write a
brief summary of each chapter.  This is
time-consuming, but once you have concise summaries, you will be able to
see your novel’s overall direction more easily.  Sure, you can read and reread your novel
itself, but sometimes you can forget what happened first, second,
etc. 


Brainstorm
more conflicts to complete the plot.  I do say
“brainstorm” because you can’t be sure these conflicts will work until you
get back to the writing itself.  
Will they work once you dig back into your characters?  Would your character do this, do
that?  Hard to say.  Don’t force it.  But try it out, and maybe your character
will end up doing something even more interesting and compelling. 


Decide where
these conflicts go.  Here again, this is tentative.  You might decide to include a given
conflict in Chapter Three, but really it will work out better in Chapter
Six or Seven, or Ten.   But for now,
write down where the conflict might go.  
Choose a colored type (red maybe?) so it’s easy to spot these
tentative places to include tentative new conflicts.
Add your new
conflicts to your novel manuscript.  It might be
best to re-read your novel up to the point where you intend to add new
material—to get back in the swing of the work.  To get a sense for the mood and tone at
this point.   Once you’re ready to
include new conflict material, let your imagination take over.  Get back into your characters.  See them, hear them speak, let it
happen.


Plot usually doesn’t fall out of the sky
and arrive fully intact.  It takes doing
and redoing.  This is only one process
you might follow.  You might need to go
through this process one or more times. 
Once you’ve done so, re-read your entire novel and see if it’s
complete.  Don’t depend entirely on
logic.  Does it sound and feel complete?



Jack Smith is author of the novel Hog to Hog , which won the George Garrett Fiction Prize (Texas Review Press. 2008), and is also the author of  Write and Revise for Publication: A 6-Month Plan for Crafting an Exceptional Novel and Other Works of Fiction , published earlier this year by Writer’s Digest

Over the years, Smith’s short stories have appeared in North American Review, Night Train, Texas Review, and Southern Review, to name a few. He has also written some 20 articles for Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, as well as a dozen or so pieces for The Writer.




He has published reviews in numerous literary journals, including Ploughshares, Georgia Review, Missouri Review, Prairie Schooner, American Review, Mid-American Review, and the Iowa Review.


Smith taught full-time at North Central Missouri College for some 24 years, and  has also served as Fiction Editor for The Green Hills Literary Lantern, an online literary journal published by Truman State University, for over two decades. Learn more about Jack and his work in the November 1 edition of PIF magazine.

Thoughts on Social Reading and Other Intrusions

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A couple of months ago, I read an
interesting post on social reading: Is Social Reading the End of an Intimacy?  Porter Anderson
discussed the topic on Jane
Friedman’s blog for his Writing on the Ether
weekly column there (excellent coverage of publishing industry topics
there, if you haven’t checked it out). 

I’ve kept thinking about the post, since
this social aspect keeps slipping into ebooks I’ve been reading.  I’ve gotten used to the underlined passages,
for instance, although they startled me the first few ebooks I read.  The fact that I’ve gotten used to them is
what makes me think about Porter’s post.


The underlined passages may not be such a
huge deal, but as Porter put it, it could get more extensive:

“I’m
imagining pop-up notes nudging me with other readers’ bright ideas; reviews
rolling all over the place; and marginalia marching around the glowy screen of
my preferred tablet reading device.”

What does
bother me (and this is device intrusion, not specifically social media):

When my Kindle tells me that I have 5
minutes left in my chapter. My device has been timing my reading and applies it
to unread text.  This is my device
interacting with me.  It makes me feel as
if I’m racing the clock…and since I definitely don’t need to be reminded how
very little free time I have, it gives me a harried feeling.  Clearly, I need to turn this feature off (now
to figure out how to do that).

What
doesn’t bother me:

Seeing a request at the end of the book
to like a book on Facebook, tweet about it, or buy the next book.  I don’t do any of those things, but I don’t
mind seeing the request.  But I read on a
survey in the last year (tried to find the survey and can’t, darn it) that
readers frequently feel irritated when they get these requests at the end of a
book… that reading should be a sanctuary from social media.

Underlined passages don’t bother me. With
my Kindle in hand, I’ve been at book club and watched as folks have fumbled
through their printed books, looking for just the right passage to illustrate
their point.  I’m able to immediately
find that passage because the thing has been underlined by 500 people.  Not wanting to be a know-it-all, I just wait
for them to find their spots.

Underlined passages are also useful for
writers—these underlined spots create helpful research as to favorite scenes
and what worked for readers.  You can
check out the ones readers underlined on your book’s page on Amazon. 

What
sometimes bothers me:

Reader comments while I’m reading a book…this bothers me.  And you’d think it wouldn’t, with my
background. For the record, I’m the daughter of a now-retired high school
English teacher. For my first twenty-two years, I rarely read a book that
didn’t have annotations in the margins or underlined passages (unless they were
library books).  I do believe it may have
warped me because I write in nearly all of my print books.  But Daddy’s notes were a teacher’s notes and
I found them insightful.  I don’t have
the same interest in other readers’ marginalia.

But! 
I don’t mind reading notes after
I’m finished with a book, when I’ve already drawn conclusions for myself.  Then I do like to read others’ opinions and
analyses. Book club meetings have maybe softened me up for some forms of social reading in my
ebooks.  But only on my own terms and
only after I’m done with a novel. 

What’s
probably key with social reading, from a publisher/developer perspective:

Porter hit the nail right on the head
here, for me: “And our busy developers gussying
up social reading platforms need provide us with an escape. An OFF button. I
will use it. Indeed, if I can’t turn off these fine features when I want to,
I’ll be as anti-social in reading as I am (some tell me) in life.”

Yes. 
I have to be able to turn it all off. I have to turn off highlighters,
forget about annotations, and not “share” at the end of the book unless I darn
well want to.  I can’t deal with too much
clutter in the margins. And I’m with Porter about hearing blather from
readers—inconsequential information that has nothing to do with the book.  I’d want more insightful comments…sometimes.  And sometimes maybe I want to just read and
be by myself with my thoughts.

As a writer, though, I’ve noticed the
fact that I have gotten used to some of
this intrusion, as I mentioned earlier in the post.  This makes me think that our future will
feature books that are a lot more interactive in a social way.  If I can so easily get used to it in my
middle age, my kids accept it as a matter of fact.  Although I feel somewhat divided on this, I
have a feeling that it will be one of many ways we keep writing and reading
relevant to a new, computer-native generation.

How do you feel about social
reading?  




******


Friend and fellow mystery writer Margot Kinberg has put together a crime fiction anthology: In a Word--Murder.  The ebook retails for $2.99 and proceeds from its sales benefit Princess Alice Hospice, in memory of Maxine Clarke, a supporter of and good friend to the crime writing community.  One of my stories is in the collection, too...my first attempt at short fiction. :) 
 

Image: MorgueFile: Alvimann

 

Success and Writing—What Keeps Us Going

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

In many ways, I’m the biggest lurker out
there.  I do try to comment on friends’
blogs, but for the vast majority of the blogs I visit in a week (which is in
the hundreds), I skim and share. 

Some of what I see and have seen over the
years makes me sad.  I’ve seen writers
talk about how beaten-down they’ve been from the rejection cycle, from reader
reviews, from lack of family support or publisher support. I’ve seen a lot of
self-doubt and a lot of people quitting. 


Interestingly, though, I’ve seen a lot of
writers who blogged that they were quitting writing only to pop back on the
scene months later.  They couldn’t stop.


I understand where they’re coming
from.  I have over 450 customer reviews
on Amazon for at least two of my books.   I’d say at
least one or two out of every four or five is a real stinker.  The worst are the ones that you get
absolutely no helpful feedback from whatsoever—hey, at least give me something
to correct, y’all. What didn’t you
like?  I’m always
searching for ways to improve.  Did a
character seem flat to you? Ending wasn’t believable?  Protagonist was unsympathetic?  Is there some sort of takeaway, some sort of
actionable tip that I can get from this wretched review?  For heaven’s sake…just let me know.

What keeps me going are the three or four
out of every five reviews who enjoy the books and take the time to write a
customer review to say so. I can totally understand writing a review for
something you dislike (you’re angry you
wasted your valuable time), but it’s a real gift when readers write a positive
review.  Similar to the negative reviews,
it’s also helpful if they pick out what they do like so much—so that I can provide
more of it next time.

It’s human nature to feel more motivated
to complain about something that bothers you than to praise something that you
enjoyed or that worked well. This was brought home to me last week.  My son is in the process of researching
college review websites where students and alum write in or are videoed talking
about their school.  A large number of
the hundreds of reviews are negative, no matter what college he looks at.  I reminded him—kids who are unhappy with
their school are more likely to put it on the record than someone who’s
enjoying a mostly positive experience.

We can’t only focus on our reviews and
our sales stats.  Ultimately, many of us
write for ourselves.  Even if all my
readers abandoned me tomorrow, I’d still be writing.  Writing isn’t only a habit, it’s a way of
looking at the world.  That lens is
always there.  I write about the things I
see, the things I don’t see, the things I wish I saw, the things I’m glad I
don’t see.  I’m sure if I weren’t writing
these things down, I’d end up talking to myself, spilling over with all the
ideas that rattle around in my head and all the different character voices that
chirp up.  Yes, writing is much better
than simply being a flaky woman muttering to herself.

Although I’d write if I had no
readers…the main reason I write is for my readers.  I love hearing about things I’ve done right
so that I can duplicate it in future books. 



 I came across an interesting post (in my lurking) recently—“Dear
Writers: Success Is Mattering to Somebody” by Kyran Pittman.  Her takeaway point (the whole post was
inspiring, I thought):

You don’t
have to be the next big thing to be a success in writing, or in anything else.
You just have to make the next thing that matters to someone and go on to make
the next thing after that. One thing that matters after the other, for as long
as you can. That’s work anyone can be proud of.

She summed it up well.  The reader emails, the positive reviews, the
encouraging notes on Facebook—those are what keep me writing in the public area
(I’d never stop writing, privately).  And
they also function as quality control…I hate disappointing readers.  That’s the reason I keep plowing ahead,
trying to get better, sucking it up during the days when I know I’ve written
some really awful passages.  I’ll fix the
story, I’ll improve, I’ll deliver something for readers to enjoy…and if some
don’t enjoy it, I can try to pull out the constructive criticism to build with
next time.  

What keeps you going? 
 Image: MorgueFile: mercucio2

Twitterific

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig





 

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming)
which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It's the search
engine for writers.




November 13-14:  Get
Read – Marketing Strategies for Writers: Dan Blank’s We Grow Media is a  two-day online conference for authors looking
for promotion strategies--and, ultimately, readers.  Speakers include Porter
Anderson, Chuck Wendig, Dan Blank, Jane
Friedman, Therese Walsh, and many
others.  (I'm one of the scheduled
speakers and am also am serving on the advisory board.)  More information about the conference and
registration information can be found here.




If you use the
discount code elizabeth, you receive $20
off the conference price.

Check out the new
resource for writers.  It’s Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure
Writer’s Support Group website.  There you’ll find pages of links to
resources—writing tips, publishers, agents, queries, self-publishing,
marketing, contests, and publications for writers.




20
questions to ask when creating your setting: http://dld.bz/cTcAm
@daycathy @jtdutton





Believable Characters: Applying
Personality Types: http://dld.bz/cTcAv
@JuliaReffner








Free writing
sprint/virtual retreat from @DIYMFA Nov. 16-17 offers
motivation and tips for finishing your book: http://bit.ly/1hkZYv8


What Do Your Characters Falsely Believe? http://dld.bz/cTf8g @jamigold

A test of standing desks--more proof they
make you productive: http://dld.bz/cTf8j

Reasons why horror is important as a
genre: http://dld.bz/cTf8r @kevinlucia

Writers & Inspiration: 5 Things to
Consider: http://dld.bz/cTf8z @YAmuses

The Key to an Unforgettable Opening Line:
http://dld.bz/cTf85 @paperblanks

Looking at control as a theme in books: http://dld.bz/cTf8A @CuriosityQuills

The Value of Planning Your Ebook: http://dld.bz/cTf8C @ninaamir

Write Your Book: A Guide to Getting
Started and Staying Productive: http://dld.bz/cTf8K
@KDillabough

Writers: Break The Rules—Run With
Scissors: http://dld.bz/cTf8U

The Heightened Sensitivity of Romance
Readers: http://dld.bz/cTf8W @PacificStand

Middle-grade novels for girls vs boys: http://dld.bz/cTf9c @glencstrathy

Breaking Into the Comic Book Industry: http://dld.bz/cTf9h @jasonboog

A site for getting ideas: http://dld.bz/cTf92

It's time to kill the idea that Amazon is
killing independent bookstores: http://dld.bz/cTf98
@qz @passivevoiceblg

What Drives a Book Reviewer to Drink: http://dld.bz/cTf9C @stefanvucak

Are We Too Concerned That Characters Be
'Likable'? http://dld.bz/cTf9J @mohsin_hamid

Mining Your Manuscript for Modifiers: http://dld.bz/cTf9N @AimeeLSalter

Is Pinterest Right for You? http://dld.bz/cTf9R @authormedia

Why Authors Should Believe in Their
Websites: http://dld.bz/cTjRf @fictionnotes

How to handle receiving an addendum to
your contract: http://dld.bz/cTjRr
@kristinerusch

12 Facebook Groups for Writers: http://dld.bz/cTjRC @thewritelife

3 Ways to Find Better-Paying Freelance
Writing Jobs: http://dld.bz/cTjRV @ticewrites

Writing and the Creative Life: Mind
Wandering: http://dld.bz/cTjSf
@gointothestory

10 Characters That Turned to the Dark
Side: http://dld.bz/cTjSh @rajanyk

Anticipating Reader Wants: http://dld.bz/cTjRx @Kid_Lit

Tag the Trait: The Game of Character
Description: http://dld.bz/cTcAF
@WyattGBessing

5 ways to see if your novel is ready to
face the world: http://dld.bz/cTkZb @rxena77

What Do You Do When Your Muse Is On
Vacation? http://dld.bz/cTkZc @write_practice

The Tension (and Relationship) Between
Creating and Consuming: http://dld.bz/cTkZd
@thatguyKC

Dealing With Telling and Backstory in an
Opening Scene: http://dld.bz/cTkZf
@janice_hardy

Be sure, as a writer, to listen to
yourself: http://dld.bz/cTkZg @hughhowey

Want to Be Successful? Beware of
End-of-the-Rainbow Thinking: http://dld.bz/cTkZj
@kristenlambtx

Story structure in Harry Potter:  How Rowling became a billionaire by following
the rules: http://dld.bz/cTkZ3

World-building Tip: 15 Details to
Remember: http://dld.bz/cTkZT @ava_jae

Getting Real About Writer's Burn Out and
Social Media Demands: http://dld.bz/cTkZV
@cateartios

Write More Easily: Understanding,
Embracing and Moving Beyond Resistance: http://dld.bz/cTmab
@aliventures

Why Don't Publishers Believe in Author
Websites? http://dld.bz/cTmaR @janefriedman

Exploiting Your Rights: http://dld.bz/cTmaY @susankayequinn

Emotional Barrier in Fiction: Why is it
so important for you to learn how to cross it? http://dld.bz/cTmba
@NakedEditor

Branding 101: What Is Your Brand? http://dld.bz/cTmbw @jamigold

A Warp Speed Analysis on the Influence of
SF: http://dld.bz/cTmb4 @SmartBear

Writing the Opening Scene: http://dld.bz/cTmb6 @janice_hardy

Rowling's outline and The Book
Architecture Method: How they both can push your writing to a new level: http://dld.bz/cTmbA

The Slow Release—Not the End of the
World: http://dld.bz/cTpFM

Punctuation with Conjunctions: http://dld.bz/cTpFS @writing_tips

5 Ways to Pace Your Story: http://dld.bz/cTpFY

Writing the High ROI Screenplay: http://dld.bz/cTpGp @joeteevee

Write What You Love: http://dld.bz/cTpGr @jamesscottbell

Handling showing vs. telling: http://dld.bz/cTpGQ @Margo_L_Dill

How long should it take to write a novel?
http://dld.bz/cTpKr

Write YA When You Don't Read YA? http://dld.bz/cTpK7 @KaitGetsLit @womenwriters

4 Reasons Your Concept Counts Above All
Else: http://dld.bz/cTpKT @Bang2write

The Ultimate Story Checklist: http://dld.bz/cTpMc @cockeyedcaravan

Are you an author or a publisher? How
indies are making their own rules: http://dld.bz/cTpMK
@nailyournovel

Your Non-Fiction Self-Publishing To Do
List: http://dld.bz/cTpMQ @theprexpert

Why Your Book Pitch Matters (Even If
You're Self-Published): http://dld.bz/cTqVy
@JFBookman

4 Ways To Reach The Right Audience For
Your Book: http://dld.bz/cTqVD @ebooksandkids

20 Literary Tumblrs: http://dld.bz/cTqVP @BuzzFeeders

How to Use Free Public Domain Art: http://dld.bz/cTrPD @Louise_Myers

17 Problems Only Book Lovers Will
Understand: http://dld.bz/cTrQh @BuzzFeeders

10 Ways to Use Audio to Sell More Books: http://dld.bz/cTrQj @bookgal

4 Ways to Sell eBooks Directly to
Readers: http://dld.bz/cTrRS @PaulaatAME

Discovery: Another Buzzword We're
Wrestling to Understand: http://dld.bz/cTrSg
@bookgal

How to Get Your Book Reviewed On Amazon: http://dld.bz/cTrSy @CathyStucker

5 Profitable Places To Sell Your Books: http://dld.bz/cTrS4 @FutureofInk

Authors and book clubs: http://dld.bz/cTrSQ

How to Choose Keywords and Categories for
Your Kindle eBook: http://dld.bz/cTrTe
@FreelanceSw

Video Marketing – Trick or Treat? http://dld.bz/cTrUz

12 novelists tell their scariest
bite-size stories: http://dld.bz/cTtYY @salon

Why You Should Be Blogging Your Origin
Story: http://dld.bz/cTum8 @JFBookman

Expose the inner thoughts of your
protagonist: http://dld.bz/cTumF

What Terrifies Teens In Today's Young
Adult Novels? The Economy: http://dld.bz/cTuqh
@valdesmarcela @nprbooks

Writing Secrets from Cheesy Halloween
Movies: http://dld.bz/cTu8R @jeffgoins

Writers' Halloween Fear List: http://dld.bz/cTu9n @RMFWriters

NaNoWriMo: Should You Participate?Plus
NaNoWriMo Comics, Musicals and Songs: http://dld.bz/cTvv5
@inkyelbows

Literature's haunted houses: http://dld.bz/cTweQ @guardianbooks

Don't rush to publish: http://dld.bz/cTwj2 @Porter_Anderson

Using Villains to Shape Your Hero: http://dld.bz/cTwNa

Killing the Top 10 Sacred Cows of
Publishing:Book as Event: http://dld.bz/cRE6D
@deanwesleysmith

The View From Book Six: http://dld.bz/cTwNA @megrosoff

Tips on Upping The Stakes: http://dld.bz/cTwNS @JHBogran @angelaackerman

7 fulfilling writing careers: http://dld.bz/cTwPj @thewritelife

50 Cliched Dialogues to Ban From Your
Script: http://dld.bz/cTwPG @Mentorless

17 Struggles Of Getting Ready For
NaNoWriMo: http://dld.bz/cTwt9

7 Haunted Libraries From Around the
World: http://dld.bz/cTund @paperblanks

How to Avoid the Self-Published Look: http://dld.bz/cTum6 @PaulaatAME

5 Tips for Creating an Urban Fantasy
World: http://dld.bz/cQGnW @cairnswrites

The 7 Most Common Misconceptions About
Science Fiction Publishing: http://dld.bz/cN5FJ
@io9

What to know about writing memoir: http://dld.bz/cTzTV @MacGregorLit

Reinventing your book: Reinventing the
Length: http://dld.bz/cTzUm @TheresaStevens

Ten Things an Author Should (or
Shouldn't) Do: http://dld.bz/cTzUv
@Martinthewriter

What to Expect From Working With A Book
Publicist: http://dld.bz/cTzUx @theprexpert

Adding mystery into a story: http://dld.bz/cTmQ3 @PAShortt

Those who stick with print books just
want to show off: http://dld.bz/cTnb4
@AndrewCouts @Porter_Anderson

Reasons to write for free: http://dld.bz/cTtcC @alexisgrant

As Amazon faces disappointment in its
publishing arm, is the company really in retreat? http://dld.bz/cTpnt
@Porter_Anderson

Keeping readers interested in a mystery
when they know the culprit from the start: http://dld.bz/cTsBX
@mkinberg

What Makes NaNoWriMoNoGo for Two Writers:
http://dld.bz/cTu8J @Porter_Anderson
@ChuckWendig

Character types in romantic suspense: http://dld.bz/cTxNj @camillelaguire

All about National Novel Writing Month: http://dld.bz/cTtZm @fantasyfaction

On Translation

 Translator Julie Rose has translated some of France’s
most highly prized writers, both classical and contemporary and is best known
for her critically acclaimed translation of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece,
Les Misérables. Rose has always been an avid
reader of crime fiction. She just translated The Greenland Breach by Bernard Besson, a cli-fi spy novel recently published in English
by Le French Book.









How did you get started in translation?




For me it started
when I moved to France in the 1980s, after graduating from Sydney University
and scoring a doctoral scholarship from the French government. The scholarship
wouldn’t have kept a gal in kirs royaux,
should it have been required to, so I did what everyone else did: I taught
English to French people in firms all over town and interpreted for visiting
delegations of administrators and business people of all stripes.







Interpreting was a
baptism of fire and it sharpened my focus. It led to a lot of related
translation work, as well as a lot of lovely long lunches.




Literary translators
can despise the technical, commercial and legal stuff. I like it. I like having
the illusion that I know about the “real world.” And it’s stood me in good
stead, particularly with Paul Virilio, France’s great critic of the modern moment
who talks a lot about technological innovations and their downsides. And, even
more so, with Victor Hugo.




Yes, tell us about Victor Hugo.

Les Misérables has to be the major highlight
of my translating career so far. Victor Hugo’s interest in the real world was
encyclopedic. He was never content to mention a thing, whether it was man-made,
like lace or jet beads or sewerage systems; or whether it was a natural
phenomenon. He had to know how it was made or formed and explore all its
features in minute detail.




That forensic
interest of Hugo’s, combined with his social awareness and spiritual and
emotional depth, make his great masterpiece as potent as ever. I loved
translating it, but it took three years and was horribly intense. I couldn’t
have done it without my very supportive husband and our energetic dog: she and
I frolicked over hill and dale every day for hours. That gave me the stamina to
keep going - and the love. Les Misérables
is all about love... and what happens when it’s missing or corrupted.




Why translate The Greenland Breach?

This is an
action-packed thriller. It’s as fast-paced and racy as a manga comic. That’s
not a putdown. Besson has an unerringly dramatic sense of structure. He shifts
the action constantly from one part of Greenland to another, and from Greenland
to Paris and Paris to the ship in the Arctic Ocean and back to France – Le
Havre, the Morvan, Normandy. It becomes symphonic, in a military kind of way,
as Besson whips up the action and the various times of the action (Paris time,
Nuuk time, etc.) into a series of crescendos on all fronts. It’s spellbinding,
and exhilarating. But all that swirling movement and the “dirty deeds” that
propel it have a point: they stamp this as melodrama. And the thing about
melodrama, as G.K. Chesterton once said, is that it’s sensational: the
audience’s reward is tears... or, in this case, floods of adrenalin. We are
always in the action. That makes us a vital component of the plot.




Did you face any particular challenges translating The Greenland Breach?




The biggest
challenge as far as terminology goes, for me, in a way, was the boat. One
strand of the action takes place on a ship that has been exploring Greenland’s
icecap. I was born and bred in Sydney, Australia, a uniquely beautiful city
built around water. Boating’s very big. But I’m a landlubber, or maybe a fish.
I like being in the water, not on it. I kept a long list by my keyboard of
perfectly banal, but to me mysterious, words like “bulkhead,” “stem,”
“forecastle”/ “fo’c’sle,” and even “starboard” and “portside” – always have to
think twice before I remember which is which.




The first “adult”
book I ever read as a child was a novel by Hammond Innes, set on a ship. The
sulfurous, claustrophobic, isolated world of that ship has stayed with me as a
locus of foul play and dirty dealing. Besson’s ship is exactly that, and more.
Death is always looming, from within and without.




****




A cli-fi spy
novel by prizewinning novelist and former top-level French intelligence
officer



The Greenland Breach by Bernard Besson
is now available. This eco-thriller has environmental catastrophe, geopolitical
fallout, freelance spies and Bond-like action. The Arctic ice caps are breaking
up. Europe and the East Coast of the United States brace for a tidal wave.
Meanwhile, former French intelligence officer John Spencer Larivière, his
karate-trained, steamy Eurasian partner Victoire, and their bisexual
computer-genius sidekick Luc pick up an ordinary freelance assignment that
quickly leads them into the glacial silence of the great north, where a
merciless war is being waged for control of discoveries that will change the
future of humanity.  Bestselling author Jon Land calls it “a spectacular
thriller.” Translated by award-winning Les
Misérables translator Julie Rose.

Who Says You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover?

  by Rebecca Yount







As a child I had a love affair
with book covers.

Wesley
Dennis's artwork that graced Marguerite Henry's 

stories
drew me in like a magnet attracts metal.




 So,
too, Arthur Rackham's illustrated edition of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in
the Willows.  It was Rackham's cover that initially attracted me to
the book that would become one of the most beloved of my childhood.




 
To this day, I cherish memories of the "olde fashioned" illustrations
from my early edition of Mother Goose.  At times I merely flipped
through the pages to revel in the pictures, rather than read the nonsensical
verses.






 And
I surrendered to shameless vapors over Beatrix Potter's charming illustrations
for Peter Rabbit and her other tales. 




 My
point is this: these evocative covers led me to read those books and their
successors.  In short, a passion for the cover preceded my love for the
story.




A
cover can make or break a book.  If it fails to convey the essence of the
story, the buyer will move on.  This is especially true for a first-time
author: the only thing readers have to go on is your book's cover.  Does
it attract them?  Does it intrigue them?  Does it speak to
them?  Does it compel them to flip through the pages, attempting to divine
your book's contents?




Ideally
a cover should announce to the prospective reader, "This book is going to
rock your world!"

 


I
am a new author, having had my debut crime novel, A Death in C Minor,
published as an e-book in the summer of 2012. The following November, my second
book in the series, The Erlking, was also published as an e-book. I
released the third title, The Ravenhoe Cauldron, on June 30th.




I
have been fortunate to work with Sarah Cotur, who manages to divine my
thoughts.  Being a graphic designer, Sarah is visual while I am
verbal.  While I am garrulous, she is a woman of few words.  However,
what Sarah does say matters.




Somehow
she and I have managed to override our individual quirks while having fun along
the way.  




"Designing
book covers, particularly electronic, is a relatively new design endeavor for
me," Sarah admits.




 "As
a designer," she continues, "I have learned that asking the right
questions and listening well is as important as the design skills
themselves.  From our first conversation, Rebecca immediately had an idea
about how she'd like to visually represent her novel.  I didn't have to
ask too many questions.




 "However,
it can be difficult to extract exactly the image a client (author) has
envisioned....  Even if the design is completely wrong, [designer and
author] will be literally 'on the same page' and can build upon feedback from
that first draft."




 As
Sarah infers, our initial effort was further complicated by the book being
electronic, rather than hard copy.  Does an e-book cover really
matter?  Is rain wet?




 Whatever
early differences Sarah and I may have had regarding concept, we both knew that
both covers had to knock my books out of the park.




 Our
initial conversation about A Death in C Minor went something like this:

    
Me: "The story is about a mysterious man who is murdered with his own
kitchen cleaver."

    
Sarah:  "Hmm."

    
Me:  "So could you work up a cover with a bloody cleaver -- 
perhaps having it chop through the head of a musical note, since the female
protagonist is a concert pianist?"

    
Sarah: "I think you may need an illustrator."

    
Me:  "But I want you."

    
Sarah:  (Pause). "Okay, I'll take a crack at it.  'Talk to you
in a week."

    
A week later Sarah e-mailed her draft cover: a bloody cleaver impaling the head
of an equally bloody musical note.  She had created exactly what I had
asked her to do.

    
And it was all wrong -- which was entirely my fault.

    
So it was back to the drawing board.

    
Our second conversation:

    
Me: "Gee, Sarah, this cover is really gory!"

    
Sarah:  (Silence).

    
Me:  "Then again, it's what I had asked for, isn't it?"

    
Sarah:  "Perhaps some background would help."

    
Me:  "How about a suggestion of the story's English rural village in
the background? And a reference to a musical score?"




 Sarah
e-mailed her concept of the background to me: a village in the moonlight with a
ripped musical score slicing across the graphics.  It was pure genius!




 
And so A Death in C Minor is graced with a cover that has received
effusive praise.  It evokes the story, reaching out to the reader and
announcing, "If you enter this picture and walk with me down that moonlit
village path, you'll be in for the adventure of your life."




 Conceptualizing
the covers for the next two titles was easier.  By that time Sarah and I
were completely comfortable working together.  As a result, she created
two more knock-out designs that have also attracted considerable praise. 




So
don't ever delude yourself into thinking that e-book covers don't matter. 
A brilliant one can take the book to places you never imagined.




Is
there a Pulitzer Prize for book covers?  A National Book Award cover
prize?  Is there something akin to a book cover Academy Award?




If
not, there ought to be.  







 



Rebecca Yount's Mick Chandra series, A Death in C Minor, The Erlking,
and The
Ravenhoe Cauldron are published in e-book format and are available from
all major vendors. Her website is www.rebeccayount.com .

Who Says You Can't Judge a Book By It's Cover?

  by Rebecca Yount







As a child I had a love affair
with book covers.

Wesley
Dennis's artwork that graced Marguerite Henry's 

stories
drew me in like a magnet attracts metal.




 So,
too, Arthur Rackham's illustrated edition of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in
the Willows.  It was Rackham's cover that initially attracted me to
the book that would become one of the most beloved of my childhood.




 
To this day, I cherish memories of the "olde fashioned" illustrations
from my early edition of Mother Goose.  At times I merely flipped
through the pages to revel in the pictures, rather than read the nonsensical
verses.






 And
I surrendered to shameless vapors over Beatrix Potter's charming illustrations
for Peter Rabbit and her other tales. 




 My
point is this: these evocative covers led me to read those books and their
successors.  In short, a passion for the cover preceded my love for the
story.




A
cover can make or break a book.  If it fails to convey the essence of the
story, the buyer will move on.  This is especially true for a first-time
author: the only thing readers have to go on is your book's cover.  Does
it attract them?  Does it intrigue them?  Does it speak to
them?  Does it compel them to flip through the pages, attempting to divine
your book's contents?




Ideally
a cover should announce to the prospective reader, "This book is going to
rock your world!"

 


I
am a new author, having had my debut crime novel, A Death in C Minor,
published as an e-book in the summer of 2012. The following November, my second
book in the series, The Erlking, was also published as an e-book. I
released the third title, The Ravenhoe Cauldron, on June 30th.




I
have been fortunate to work with Sarah Cotur, who manages to divine my
thoughts.  Being a graphic designer, Sarah is visual while I am
verbal.  While I am garrulous, she is a woman of few words.  However,
what Sarah does say matters.




Somehow
she and I have managed to override our individual quirks while having fun along
the way.  




"Designing
book covers, particularly electronic, is a relatively new design endeavor for
me," Sarah admits.




 "As
a designer," she continues, "I have learned that asking the right
questions and listening well is as important as the design skills
themselves.  From our first conversation, Rebecca immediately had an idea
about how she'd like to visually represent her novel.  I didn't have to
ask too many questions.




 "However,
it can be difficult to extract exactly the image a client (author) has
envisioned....  Even if the design is completely wrong, [designer and
author] will be literally 'on the same page' and can build upon feedback from
that first draft."




 As
Sarah infers, our initial effort was further complicated by the book being
electronic, rather than hard copy.  Does an e-book cover really
matter?  Is rain wet?




 Whatever
early differences Sarah and I may have had regarding concept, we both knew that
both covers had to knock my books out of the park.




 Our
initial conversation about A Death in C Minor went something like this:

    
Me: "The story is about a mysterious man who is murdered with his own
kitchen cleaver."

    
Sarah:  "Hmm."

    
Me:  "So could you work up a cover with a bloody cleaver -- 
perhaps having it chop through the head of a musical note, since the female
protagonist is a concert pianist?"

    
Sarah: "I think you may need an illustrator."

    
Me:  "But I want you."

    
Sarah:  (Pause). "Okay, I'll take a crack at it.  'Talk to you
in a week."

    
A week later Sarah e-mailed her draft cover: a bloody cleaver impaling the head
of an equally bloody musical note.  She had created exactly what I had
asked her to do.

    
And it was all wrong -- which was entirely my fault.

    
So it was back to the drawing board.

    
Our second conversation:

    
Me: "Gee, Sarah, this cover is really gory!"

    
Sarah:  (Silence).

    
Me:  "Then again, it's what I had asked for, isn't it?"

    
Sarah:  "Perhaps some background would help."

    
Me:  "How about a suggestion of the story's English rural village in
the background? And a reference to a musical score?"




 Sarah
e-mailed her concept of the background to me: a village in the moonlight with a
ripped musical score slicing across the graphics.  It was pure genius!




 
And so A Death in C Minor is graced with a cover that has received
effusive praise.  It evokes the story, reaching out to the reader and
announcing, "If you enter this picture and walk with me down that moonlit
village path, you'll be in for the adventure of your life."




 Conceptualizing
the covers for the next two titles was easier.  By that time Sarah and I
were completely comfortable working together.  As a result, she created
two more knock-out designs that have also attracted considerable praise. 




So
don't ever delude yourself into thinking that e-book covers don't matter. 
A brilliant one can take the book to places you never imagined.




Is
there a Pulitzer Prize for book covers?  A National Book Award cover
prize?  Is there something akin to a book cover Academy Award?




If
not, there ought to be.  







 



Rebecca Yount's Mick Chandra series, A Death in C Minor, The Erlking,
and The
Ravenhoe Cauldron are published in e-book format and are available from
all major vendors. Her website is www.rebeccayount.com .