BBF: Finding Books to Read by Kathryn Lively

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Welcome to day 2 of the Blogger Book Fair!

I’m over at Brandon R. Luffman’s blog today with a post on 5 Common Qualities of Successful Writers & Martial Artists. Here at the Fighter Writer, we have Kathryn Lively, who runs AReCafe.com, talking about something I’m sure many of you will find interesting: how she discovers new books worth reading.

Finding Books to Read
by Kathryn Lively

Hello, my name is Kathryn Lively and I have one of the best jobs imaginable for a book lover. I maintain the AReCafe.com, the news/review arm of All Romance eBooks, the leading romance eBookstore. My job revolves entirely around books, and every day I assist readers in finding something new to enjoy.

I have been asked by authors over the years what makes a book attractive to readers – what do you have to do to get somebody to click that buy button? I’ve always maintained that if you write a solid story, one that resonates with you, the readers will follow. Of course, it helps to do other things to ensure good exposure. Just a few things you want to consider when preparing a book to sell:

1) A catchy title. If a reader hears your book’s title out of context (e.g. without seeing a cover or website), they should have a good idea about the content. A title should not only define your book, but catch a reader’s attention. Many times I’ve picked up a book based solely on the title, without even checking the back cover blurb!

2) Quality cover art. A professional cover that aptly conveys the spirit of the story can help with sales. Whether you write romance, science fiction, horror, or mystery, the design should feature something important from the story that also appeals to the eye. You may be tempted to take on design yourself, but you want to watch for elements like font size and color, and how they’ll look in thumbnail sizes on websites.

3) Informative blurb. I hear from authors often that the blurb is their least favorite part of marketing. It involves writing the “pitch” that gets readers to buy. How do you condense a 300-page book into a paragraph? Yes, it’s a challenge, and it may take a few tries to get the right verbiage done. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Combine an attractive cover with a compelling title and summary, and you have a solid formula for attracting readers to your books. To learn more about adding your work to ARe, feel free to contact me at arecafe at gmail dot com.

About the Author

Kathryn Lively is manager of AReCafe.com, a social news and review site for romance readers and authors. She is also a published author – visit KathrynLively.com for her backlist.

Source: J.C. Martin, Fighter Writer