Let's Hop Around Novel Spaces!

I was asked to do a blog hop and then nominate two other authors to carry it forward. I nominated Liane and hopefully we can hop around Novel Spaces to talk about Works In Progress (WIP). Would love to know what all of you are working on!

I've been pretty mum about my third novel in the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries. Time to let the rabbit out of the hat!

http://coraramos-cora.blogspot.com/2014/11/from-stars-to-page.html 

Judging a Book

I'm going to repost from the "Heard on the Backseat" section of my much ignored blog.

Me: You can't judge a book by it's cover.
Eleven year old daughter: Unless it's the back cover.

This comment was timely because it came at a time when a slew of emails were going back and forth about the blurb of the upcoming book Musical Youth. The blurb is one of the more important components of a published novel. First the reader checks out the cover and if that intrigues them enough, they flip it (whether in reality or online) and read the back. If you can't hook them with the blurb then you may as well give up right away.

So I'm going to write about what I've learnt about writing a blurb and how we constructed the Musical Youth blurb.

1. (Optional) An eye-catching header. We went with "Music, Discovery, Love"  centered and large at the top.

2. (Optional) A Tag line. This can be in question form, something that intrigues the reader. For Musical Youth we asked the reader their opinion "Can one summer make the difference of a lifetime?"

3. Then we briefly introduce the protagonist and characters. It's a good idea to introduce them by name, so that the reader connects to them right away. Give a bit of their essence and the relationships that make them interesting. With Musical Youth the name of the protagonist is interesting in and of itself, so we're already way ahead of the game.


Zahara is a loner. She's brilliant on the guitar but in everyday life she doesn't really fit in. Then she meets Shaka, himself a musical genius and the first boy who really gets her. They discover that they share a special bond, their passion for music, and Zahara finds herself a part, not just of Shaka's life, but also that of his boys, the Lion Crew.

4. The Problem statement. What is a book without a problem, something which affects and fundamentally changes the protagonist? The blurb should give an idea of what the protagonist has to overcome so that the reader (who now considers the protagonist among their best friends) is drawn in to the meat of the book. This was the biggest challenge in the development of the Musical Youth blurb. It was difficult to balance giving away enough to create interest and not giving away too much of the plot. Check out the end result on Amazon. #MusicalYouth

5. Finally, there is the conclusion that gives the readers an idea of the type of book that they are about to read. We could have gone with something like "Musical Youth is a beautifully crafted novel with a musical thread running through it" but someone beat us to that, unfortunately.

And that's the end of that. Of course this is just one approach. Tell me about your experience with blurb writing? How important is it in the process to publication?

NaNoWriMo No

This month, if you are an author, a lot of people are probably asking you if you are participating in NaNoWriMo, AKA National Novel Writing Month.

My reply is an inevitable "No." It's not that I don't think it's a good idea, or that it's a waste of time. I just know how I work. For starters I hand write my manuscripts which is slower in and of itself. Then I just work slowly. I tend to write a bit in the morning and then do other things the rest of the day. I don't spend hours writing. I'm not sure I could. 

None of that adds up to 50,000 words in 30 days. But it does add up to the occasional novel and or novella. 

But it does leave me on the outside for an entire month while other people freak out over word counts and plot problems. 

Sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I could participate. I can see the appeal of the challenge. And it must be satisfying to see the words rack up and have something to show for a month of hard work. At the same time, most of the authors I know reach the end of NaNoWriMo, and promptly metaphorically shelve their NaNo novels in perpetuity, never to see the light of day.

So what exactly is there at the end of all that stress? Bragging rights? A sense of accomplishment? Well, I don't exactly know. But I do know that if you get to the end and make word count, have yourself a treat! You've done something at least. You wrote.

National Authors' Day - 11/1/14

Below is a little info regarding National Authors' Day, which was on Saturday,11/1/14. I had never heard of it, though from this info from The Free Dictionary, it's been around for a while. A day to honor authors, well if that ain't something special!!

I celebrated the day with fellow GA Peach Authors, Rhonda McKnight, Marian L. Thomas, Darrell Mitchell, Ravry Sloan, and Lesley D. Poet. We had a great time at the SW Library in Atlanta, answer questions from readers, discussing our books and the literary business, and Darrell and Lesley performed a couple of spoken word pieces. It was a great day. (a few pics below)

So Happy National Authors' day - here's a high-five, a pat on the back, and a cheer for each and every one of you! Write on!

Author's Day, National

November 1

The idea of setting aside a day to celebrate American authors came from Nellie Verne Burt McPherson, president of the Bement (Illinois) Women's Club in 1928. McPherson was a teacher and an avid reader throughout her life. During World War I, when she was recuperating in a hospital, she wrote a fan letter to fiction writer Irving Bacheller, telling him how much she had enjoyed his story, "Eben Holden's Last Day A'Fishin." Bacheller sent her an autographed copy of another story, and McPherson realized that she could never adequately thank him for his gift. Instead, she showed her appreciation by submitting an idea for a National Author's Day to the General Federation of Women's Clubs, which passed a resolution setting aside November 1 as a day to honor American writers. In 1949 the day was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Sue Cole, McPherson's granddaughter, was largely responsible for promoting the observation of National Author's Day after her grandmother's death in 1968. She has urged people to write a note to their favorite author on this day to "brighten up the sometimes lonely business of being a writer." Flying the American flag on November 1, according to Mrs. Cole, is another way of showing appreciation for the men and women who have created American literature.

Grow or die- the evolution of a group blog

There is a saying, “If you don’t grow, you die.”  I believe that.  And I believe that growth involves evolution, or simply put, change. 

A few months ago original novelnaughts, Liane, KeVin, Marissa, and I did a podcast interview with LaShaunda Hoffman of Sormag.  It was all about Novelspaces blog.  One of the questions she asked was how is it that Novelspaces group blog is still going strong after five years when so many group blogs have arisen and disappeared in that time.  The answer that was given is that Novelspaces is a drama-free zone where the authors involved actually like and respect each other.  While that is true, now that I’ve had a few months to meditate on it, I think another reason for the success of our blog is our ability to grow and evolve; the ability to change with the time.

Five years ago when the group first started, most of the members were traditionally published.  The blog posts had a lot of discussion about writing, writers’ lives, office space, experiences being published, storytelling, editing and organization.  There was a lot of information about the writing process and writing as a craft which reflected where we were at that time.  There was also a pervading almost elitist view that traditionally published authors were more “validated” than indie authors.  And as for vanity presses: frowned upon.

A few years ago I started seeing a shift in blog posts.  As authors left and were replaced by others we saw more Indie authors sign on.  We saw some who previously questioned the authenticity of indie publishing going that route.  We saw traditionally published books being re-released independently as rights were reverted.  But more telling is the tone of the blog.  We saw quite a few posts validating indie authors, and extolling the advantages of going the indie route.  As a group, novelspacers were evolving.

Today I see a lot of posts about marketing and promoting.  That tells us a few things: 
1.    The changes in requirements of an author
 Whether indie published or traditionally published authors are expected to market themselves.  Once ago a traditionally published author wrote the book, submitted the manuscript and the publishers took on the marketing and promoting.  Now even with the major publishing houses, the author has to do a hefty portion of the marketing and promotion.

2.    Where novelspace authors are in their careers
Both those of us who are traditionally published and those who were originally indie authors have now in some way or other dappled in publishing whether it is independent or small press.  We no longer see writing as merely a hobby, but as a career whether we hold other jobs full time or part time.

3.    It is a reflection of the diversity we now find among novelspaces authors
Just like in the larger universe of authors, novelspaces authors are not only writers.  We are writers, publishers, illustrators, promoters and marketing specialist.  Sometimes one person wears so many hats it’s tough to distinguish the different offices.  It also tells of the complexity of the authors’ roles in today’s market.

I also see a lot of posts about social media.  A few years ago, the prevailing Novelspaces view of social media seemed to be that of a ‘time sink” where people were too distracted by it, many claiming they had to disable their internet in order to write.  Quite a few authors told of their discomfort using social media because they were private persons.  Since then I’ve seen discussions of social media as a marketing tool.  Many extol its use as a marketing tool, but I can see some people already questioning its effectiveness.  Is that an indicator for the future of social media in marketing?

The point about all these observations is that the success of Novelspaces as a group blog lies in its ability to evolve.  I’ve seen the evolution and that evolution reflects the changing markets, the changing roles of authors, the changing perceptions.  The reason why we have not collapsed is because we as a group have grown. 

“If you don’t grow, you die.”  The parallel cliché is “if you don’t evolve, you become extinct.”  Novelspaces didn’t die, we didn’t become extinct, because we've grown, we've matured and we've evolved.

What say you? Do you agree?  I would love to hear your take on this.

Creating a Buzz

In the world of social media, it feels like it is all about the hype. Whether you like it or not, social media is a great place to get your readers excited about your upcoming or existing book. One way to create this hype is to get readers involved in the creative process.

'Like' your favorite image.
If you are in a situation where you have some control over your cover design, or if your publisher is willing to consider this marketing approach, you can post three or four acceptable versions of your cover and have your fans vote on the cover that they like the best by Liking it.

'What would you do if ...?
You can create a buzz about your book by presenting a synopsis of your protagonist's main problem (perhaps a little more than hat would appear on the book's blurb) and asking readers to discuss ways that they would extricate themselves from the situation.

'Like' if you would try this ...
Get your readers excited about your characters by revealing one of their more unusual qualities and asking your fans to like if they also do the same thing, or if they wish they could!

Giveaways
It's true that the aim is to sell books, but sometimes giveaways are necessary to get books into a few readers hands and getting them to start talking bout your book. So for any of the challenges that you post on your social media sites, whether it is one of the ones I suggested above or another, a giveaway is a great way to get readers excited about interacting with your page.

Have you used other social media methods to get your readers excited about your book even before publication?

Guest author Richard Brawer: What is the most important aspect of a novel?

Richard Brawer

Richard Brawer writes mystery, suspense and historical fiction novels. When not writing, he spends his time exploring local history. He has two married daughters and lives in New Jersey with his wife. Read book jackets, excerpts, reviews and find links to the Amazon for all his books at his website: www.richardbrawer.com

What is the most important aspect of a novel?

To me it is creating conflicted characters. Characters in conflict and how they will resolve their conflicts keep the readers turning the pages.

Conflicts can be anything from mild all the way up to knock-down drag-out fights. They can be scolding, bickering, differences of opinion, veiled threats, hurt feelings, sarcasm, warnings, silently questioning a person’s veracity, loyalty, truthfulness, and inner torment.  Conversations can start congenially and end up in confrontations.

The more the conflicts characters have and how the characters get out of those conflicts, the more depth the characters will have.

For example in my suspense novel a woman is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to death. The outward conflict is obvious. She has to escape prison and prove her innocence. However I also added a highly “flammable” inner conflict. As a teenager she was responsible for her sisters dying in a fire. It is her internal conflict about how she eventually comes to terms with being responsible for their deaths that runs throughout the story.

Conflicts can also change your story. I started writing my latest book, “Love’s Sweet Sorrow” as strictly a conspiracy/suspense novel tentatively titled, The Bishop Committee. The protagonist is a vice president of a large armaments company.  He uncovers evidence his CEO is in league with arms dealers selling weapons to terrorists.

To me that one conflict was not enough. I needed a strong female character who is opposite of the protagonist and therefore the two of them have conflicts they must work out. I made her a Quaker. What could create more conflicts than having the protagonist work for an armaments company and his love interest a pacifist? Their love and her faith are severely tested as they are drawn into kidnappings and killings to expose arms smugglers. As I wrote I realized I had a romantic suspense novel. My publisher and I worked to create a new title. The result was “Love’s Sweet Sorrow.”

How do you know you have created great characters in conflict? The simple answer is in the reviews of your novels. Here are assorted reviews from my eight novels.

“A Sympathetic Character” “A Strong Female Protagonist” “Characters are Uncomfortably Realistic” “Complex Characters”  “Excellent Characters” “A Very Resourceful Character”
“His characters are magnificent.”  “The family was made up of flesh-and-blood characters. They laughed, loved, argued, fought, and had adulterous affairs.”  “I loved this book.  The characters are so real.” “Quaker character adds a unique twist”

Conversely, this is what can happen if your characters are not conflicted: My wife was having a weekly Mah Jongg game at our house. I overheard the ladies talking about a book. One said the characters bored me so I stopped reading after 100 pages.

But reviews come after the book is written. What can you do to create conflicted characters while you are writing?

I think the best thing you can do is read books by major authors. While you read, analyze how the authors create characters and their conflicts.

Find a critique group that will give you honest feedback on character development, dialogue, voice, plot, conflict and setting.  But don’t automatically take anyone’s critique as gospel.  Remember, it’s your story.  Analyze the critiques to see if they have merit.  Say you have a six person group.  If one person criticizes something then it may or may not be valid.  But if three or four in the group say the same thing about a segment then you should take it under serious consideration.

I will give away Mobi format for Kindle or an epub format for Nook and other e-readers to everyone who wishes to read my latest book, “Love’s Sweet Sorrow.” I would hope you would then post a review on Amazon. This book is also available in trade paperback. I can give away the paperback to the first two responders to Liane’s blog. Please contact me at: rich1braw@aol.com.