Jennifer Senhaji's Blog, page 9

Leave it to the Professionals

Leave it to the professionals, that is not what I always say.
I like to do things myself. There is a sense of pride and accomplishment in being able to say, "I did that all by myself."

But as with many things in life, sometimes we all need a little help.

I put together mock ups for my ebook cover myself, I read all the instructions to format for ebook platforms, but in the end I decided to hire a professional. A professional cover designer and formatter.

Thank goodness I did.

L.J. over at Mayhem Cover Creations http://mayhemcovercreations.com/ has done an amazing job. I love, love, love my cover. It has all the qualities I was looking for. I sent in my mock ups and told her what I was looking for and she put a beautiful cover together for ebook and print. I can't wait for the big cover reveal.

Squeee!!!

L.J. over at Mayhem Cover Creations http://mayhemcovercreations.com/ is also handling the formatting for ebook  and print. I have seen two proofs so far and they look professional and fabulous.

Squeee!!!

Every time I see a new email in my inbox from L.J.  I want to start jumping up and down like a crazed fangirl with excitement. It means the professional finishes are almost done. I am in the home stretch.

This is my first experience with publishing. I am learning everything as I go. Everything is exciting and now since I have a professional in my corner, everything is coming together with a professional finish, which saves me so much stress.

Stress is something we all have too much of already. A professional just took all of the worry of getting the formatting and correct cover done off of my shoulders.

Now I can concentrate on the Release.

Sweet Dreams is coming...Soon!

Ok, one more...Squeee!!!

Like and Follow my Author Page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jsenhaji13 for Book and Author Recs and updates on my self publishing journey.

My website is live. Take a peek at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Building up to a Release!

 In my opinion, building up to a Release is a delicate thing.
You can't rush it, but you can't spend too much time on it either or you run the risk of irritation.

You need to make the right moves and create enough excitement so that the Release is explosive, not anticlimactic.

Ahem...I do write romance so I know what some of you must be thinking, but I am not talking about that kind of release, although I guess the above does apply as well.

No, I am talking about building up to the Book Release.

Ok, have you stopped blushing now?

Good.

Building up to my book release is complicated. I have a date in mind, but I don't want to announce it until I am absolutely sure that everything is in place. I wouldn't want an unforeseen hiccup to force me to reschedule, that would be bad form in my opinion.

So as I work with my format and cover designer to get the Amazon, IBooks, B&N Nook and Smashwords versions finished along with my print version (yes, if everything goes as planned I will have a print version available on Amazon for purchase as well) I have discovered there is so much more to do in producing the final version.

I thought once the manuscript was final, I could format, upload and then market for my release date.

Here is what else I have to do.

Finalize my Author Bio for the back of my print book and end of my ebook
Finalize the blurb for the back of the print book to grab a potential reader
Finalize a book synopsis for ebook sites
Finalize my web banner that I will use on my website, Twitter and Facebook
Coordinate with my designer on a cover reveal and blog tour
Set up for pre-orders with all retailers
Add links to my website for all retailers

And announce Release Date.

Whew, these were unexpected tasks that take longer than you would think.

So, I must pace myself, not rush. Timing is imperative.

After all is said and done I want my Release to be explosive!

Like and Follow my Author Page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jsenhaji13 for Book and Author Recs and updates on my self publishing journey.

My website is live. Take a peek at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Flipping Hot!

Flipping Hot! That is what I was thinking today when I arrived at my son's Little League Baseball game at 6pm and my dashboard read 90F.

Which lead me to think of the word hot, which lead me to think of my main character, which led me to think of stomach flips.

You see where I am going with this.

I write romance. My book Sweet Dreams, coming Summer 2014 is a contemporary romance. There is chemistry, there is a love story, there are laughs.

I'll be honest and say there are also some hot moments in the book that make my stomach flip.

Yeah, you know that feeling. When your stomach feels fluttery when thinking about that special someone that makes your pulse race. When you kiss that someone for the first, second or third time. When just seeing their face makes you feel like you just drove over a dip in the road way too fast.

Yeah. That feeling. The stomach flip. One of the best feelings in the world. I believe it is comprised of anticipation, nerves, attraction and excitement.

The build up between my two main characters definitely makes my stomach flip which I'm hoping means I have created some great chemistry on the page. When you read it, I hope it will make your stomach flip as well.

The heat today also made me think of summer, making my stomach flip for an entirely different reason.

I am releasing my book Sweet Dreams this summer. I haven't announced the date, but we are getting close.

Manuscript is final, copyright is filed, contract with cover designer is signed, cover design is being finalized...It is getting close.

I am so excited, the anticipation is amazing, I am nervous and my stomach is flipping.

Summer is getting closer, and I love the warm weather. Time for sipping cool drinks in the shade and swimming in the sun.

Summer is also time for the release of my first book, Sweet Dreams.

It's flipping hot!

Like and Follow my Author Page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jsenhaji13 for Book and Author Recs and updates on my self publishing journey.

My website is live. Take a peek at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Formatting, Frustration and Hugs

Formatting and frustration and frustration...

Anyone who has had to convert a manuscript to acceptable ebook format knows what I am talking about.

If you haven't had the pleasure yet here are a few tips to hopefully save you some time when you do.


1. Never do anything without making a back up of your manuscript!

2. Activate Show/Hide feature in Word to reveal hidden formatting.

3. Never use tab or space bar to indent paragraphs. Always format paragraph with a .3" or .5" first line indent for fiction. There are other options for non-fiction without indents, but do not use the tab or space bar.

4. In Microsoft Word turn off Autocorrect and Autoformat and start with Normal Style modifying your Headers separately including a Page Break Before setting in your Heading format.

5. Remove page Headers and Footers along with page numbers.

I have taken notes and read Smashwords Style Guide by Mark Coker founder of Smashwords which is a Free Book designed to help you through the process. It has the information you will need to make the process easier. You can find it and download it at https://www.smashwords.com/

What is funny is that in the Smashwords Style Guide, Mark tells us Step 6 is to Hug a Loved One. I love the way he writes, always talking to the reader, not at the reader, but this made me laugh.

If my computer and my hair survive the process I will let you know if there are any other tips.

For now hugs, I need hugs.

Like and Follow my Author Page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jsenhaji13 for Book and Author Recs and updates on my self publishing journey.

My website is live. Take a peek at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

Ready, Set, Copyright!

Well it is almost time to submit my final manuscript for copyright.
I say almost because before I submit, my manuscript has to be as close to perfect as I can get it.

This week I have been doing my final proof read so I can do just that and wouldn't you know it there are additional corrections and edits that still need to be made. So I guess reading my own book one thousand times is not enough to catch everything. One thousand and one times will hopefully do the trick.

Not to mention that I just decided to add an additional outtake to the end of the story retelling a pivotal chapter from our heroes point of view. Yes I am a genius, at least in my own mind .

Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.

Basically you go to http://www.copyright.gov/ and can submit your work digitally for a steal at $35 per work.

So as soon as I can finally get through this last (hopefully) edit, I will submit for copyright and then it is off to the races.

Like and Follow my Author Page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jsenhaji13 for Book and Author Recs and updates on my self publishing journey.

Covers and Pop


When I say Covers and Pop I am not referring to music, but to that which is one of if not the most important marketing tools for any book; the cover.

When I am looking for my next read and browsing the shelves at my local Barnes & Noble, my eyes focus in on one thing; the cover. This is what catches my eye and draws me in. This is what pulls me over to the self and causes me to pick up the book and read the jacket.

I am sure, positive even there are thousands of books out there that I might enjoy just as much as the book I pick up, but because the cover doesn't catch my eye, I will most likely never discover these gems.

The books that catch my eye usually contain an abstract or symbolic image and almost always have great color pop.

Now there are plenty of books on my shelves at home that feature a couple in an embrace, a landscape or even just a title, but those were found mostly because they were featured books on the shelf or because I was looking for a specific title or author.

The romance genre especially tends to showcase images of people of the book covers, whether it be contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal or any other variation. As a reader I would rather not have an image of the characters in my head, but instead form my own.

So for my cover what will I do?

I have about 4 or 5 different concepts for my cover that I am trying to decide between. All of which I hope will catch the eye. All will include some sort of color pop, but if I am going to include an image of a person, I think I will go more abstract. Either super close up or a distance shot so as to let my reader form their own images of the characters. Above is my first concept which features the profile of a woman close up. I love the color and if I decide to go with this concept, I will forward the image to a professional to create the actual cover. I am creating the concepts because I am a visual person and seeing them side by side will help me decide.

There are so many books on the shelf at the store or online and since I am just me, Jennifer Senhaji, writer and publisher of my first romance novel, I will need to stand out from the crowd. I will need to find an image that pulls in Jane Reader at a glance while she is browsing for her next read.

Because lets face it, even if all my friends and family buy a copy, that won't even get me to 100 copies sold.

So my cover is crucial.

I just need to make sure it pops.

Like and Follow my Author Page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jsenhaji13 for Book and Author Recs and updates on my self publishing journey.

Hooks and Pitches

Hooks and Pitches, not fishing or garden tools, but marketing and publishing tools.
I've done a lot of research since starting my writing project and writing the book seems to be one of the easiest parts of the whole process. In addition to writing your book and editing and revising it to death, you also need to write a compelling synopsis which is usually about 3-5 pages that basically summarizes all the major plot points of your book including the resolution at the end. There is also the query letter, a 1 page introduction of yourself and your work to a prospective literary agent or publisher. It is hard enough to condense a 300 page book down to a 3-5 page synopsis let alone a 1 paragraph pitch in your query letter. And you also need a killer hook or pitch, which should be included in both the query and the synopsis.

For so many writers the query letter is the bane of their existence and now I can say I know why. How do you pitch your wonderful book with its interesting and amazing story to an agent in 1 paragraph? You can't just say "read this, you will love it". You have to make the pitch in your query letter so compelling that the agent, publisher or intern that reads it finds it different from the other thousands they receive. It has to identify the genre and general plot.

Not easy to do.

The synopsis needs to be interesting enough so that when and if your query letter gets a response from an agent or publisher and they want to hear more, you have a summary of the manuscript which they will ask for. They won't ask for the whole manuscript until they are interested enough to spend their valuable time reading yours.

Well, this process is just as important if not more so in my opinion when you start marketing. I found a great website and blog through networking on Twitter that hosts podcasts. The two websites are http://authoru.org/ and http://thebookshepherd.com/ One recent podcast was about this exact topic and was absolutely fascinating. Think for a moment about all the tag lines, hooks or pitches you know. Not sure what I mean, how about Nike, Just Do It. Ok, got it. There are so many brands and products out there that have tag lines, slogans, hooks, pitches, however you want to call them that we all remember. They are short, to the point and easy to remember.

How does this apply to me and my self publishing journey?

How do I get people to read my book?

Well, I need to sell them in the first 2 sentences. We are used to seeing these tag lines on TV when browsing for something to watch or more specifically on the book jacket in the bookstore or book description online we preview to decide if we want to buy. How do I know it is something I want to read? If I don't have a friend recommend it whose taste matches mine, how do I know the book will be good, entertaining, what I am looking for?

The hook.

I am working on mine and the goal is 2 sentences that grabs my target audience. Obviously someone who wants to read horror is not going to be interested in my contemporary romance. The goal is to create a hook that hooks my potential buyer into choosing my book as the next book they read out of all the other choices out there.

I'm working on it.

My hook(s) and/or pitches will become part of my brand, part of my facebook, part of my twitter and website, eventually on the back of my book jacket and part of the book description on Amazon, iBooks and Barnes and Noble Nook.

So sooner rather than later you will see my hooks appear as I get closer to my publishing date. I want you to read my book, I want you to want to read my book, I want you to buy my book, I just have to hook you.

Revise and Edit

This week I revised and edited and revised and edited and revised and... you get the picture. Now that I am planning on self publishing, I realize I will not have a big professional editor making sure my book is perfect before it hits the stands.

No, I am that person. I will be the one to make sure the spelling is correct, the punctuation is correct and most importantly (I think) the story is the best it can be.

Making sure the story flows for the reader; this can be really hard to do.

In my head, as I am reading it, everything flows perfectly. When I read my story it is like I am watching a movie in my head. I love my story, but I want and need to make sure that the reader does too.

How do you solve this problem?

Test readers; people I trust and respect that can read my manuscript and give me an honest opinion about my work.

So far my daughter has read almost every incarnation. Earlier on in my process I had 4 other test readers as well.

At this point I wonder if I will revise and edit until I have to force myself to stop or if I will get to a point where I know it is done.

I guess there is only one way to find out.