How To Title Your Book. Posted on Mar 3rd, 2010 | 185 comments Lately I’ve been coaching several of my clients through the process of coming up with a good title for their book, so I thought I’d share my tips with you. Let’s start by acknowledging a few things. The publisher is usually responsible for the final decision on title, and in the query stage, it’s not that important. In fact, some agents have said they don’t pay any attention at all to titles. But at some point, you’re going to want to think seriously about this. Your title is part of the overall impression you’re creating about your book. Think of it this way: the better your title is, the better your chance that the publisher will decide to use it, rather than changing it.
So here’s what I recommend when you need a title, for either fiction or non-fiction. First, make sure you know the genre of your book, and identify what kind of feeling or tone you want to convey with the title. Time to start brainstorming: → Go back to your title list. Chrysalis - Informal Checklist for Author Web Sites. So I'm putting together a nifty new author web site. Since I do a lot of website work for my day job, I know what a huge pain it is to add in extra features after the initial design is finished.
Last-minute additions make the final result look crowded, and it becomes difficult for visitors to find what they're looking for quickly. Here's what I want to not forget: -Image of most prominent publication on the front page (larger than an average thumbnail)-Links to work that's available for purchase-Atmosphere, but in a way that doesn't detract from the pretty cover images-Author Resources-Press kit (easy to find)-Honors and Awards (include in press kit?) -Newsletter and social media contacts-Exciting information about future projects-Excerpts and free samples-Blurbs, review quotes, etc. -FAQ-Bonus material for devoted fans-Dedicated pages for individual books/projects-Embedded blog-Text bibliography-Contact form Am I missing anything?
The Magic Attic. Books Like Breathing. 25 Insights on Becoming a Better Writer. When George Plimpton asked Ernest Hemingway what the best training for an aspiring writer would be in a 1954 interview, Hem replied, “Let’s say that he should go out and hang himself because he finds that writing well is impossibly difficult. Then he should be cut down without mercy and forced by his own self to write as well as he can for the rest of his life.
At least he will have the story of the hanging to commence with.” Today, writing well is more important than ever. Far from being the province of a select few as it was in Hemingway’s day, writing is a daily occupation for all of us — in email, on blogs, and through social media. It is also a primary means for documenting, communicating, and refining our ideas. As essayist, programmer, and investor Paul Graham has written, “Writing doesn’t just communicate ideas; it generates them.
If you’re bad at writing and don’t like to do it, you’ll miss out on most of the ideas writing would have generated.” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. The 15 Rules of The Writer’s Code. 5 Great Bits of Wisdom from a New York Times Besteller | Jenny Hansen's Blog. It’s Techie Tuesday, my fine More Cowbell friends, and you know what that means, right? Some nifty piece of technology, know-how, or writing advice is coming your way.
Today, I’m delighted to bring you some tips from New York Times Bestselling Author, Susan Mallery. If you haven’t read her Fool’s Gold series, you are missing out! Click here to download one of her books really quick so you have something wonderful to dive into when you’re done being inspired by her sage advice. Groovy. I met Susan at my local RWA meeting this last Saturday. We had Mary-Theresa Hussey, senior editor at Harlequin and long-time chapter friend, in the morning. 1. The only way to give up your dream of being a published author is to stop writing. So what? No matter what you do, don’t give up. OCC’s motto is “One hand reaching forward, one hand reaching back, in a continuous chain.” 2. You aren’t going to achieve your goal if you don’t know what it is. Susan stressed that you must be focused on what you want. 3.
Strip Mining the Authors. Kristine Kathryn Rusch has written another important essay on the changing face of publishing. I’ll intersperse some excerpts with my comments, but this is one you’ll want to read in its entirety. There is, as always, a link at the bottom. As will be abundantly clear from Kris’ examples, traditional publishers and the new agents-turned-publishers are making a brazen grab for as many rights from authors as possible while reducing the amount of money they will pay authors for their books.
This is the new strip mining model for publishing. Why are they doing this? When the ship is sinking, some of the passengers start fighting over the lifeboats. With each passing week, the handwriting on the wall becomes more and more distinct. Big Publishing, the agents who rely upon it and the traditional bookstores that provide its lifeblood are sinking. Does this mean the end of publishing ships? From Kris: Kris talks about e-rights: Gold has been discovered in ebooks. Back to Kris: Why Persistence Matters | SHELLI JOHNSON. Persistence matters. “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never ~ in nothing great or small, large or petty ~ never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.
Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”~ Winston Churchill One of the main reasons that people fail to achieve their dreams once they start pursuing them, according to a variety of seminars I’ve attended, is that they give up too soon. They either underestimate the time it will take to achieve their goals or their ego gets in the way and they’re not willing to grow slowly. So they quit. Following a dream is sometimes a rough undertaking. It’s your job, as the dream follower, to face them head on, to not back down, to keep moving forward in the direction of your vision no matter what gets thrown at you. I’ve been rejected more than 100 times. Is it worth it? Do you believe persistence matters? The following two tabs change content below. Need Permission To Follow Your Dream? | SHELLI JOHNSON. You wanna fly? “You wanna fly, you got to give up the sh*t that weighs you down.” ~ Toni Morrison I kept getting told as a kid that when I grew up, I needed a good paying job with great medical benefits.
That, my father said, is something to strive for. He meant well, I’m sure, but what it taught me was: don’t risk. Fiction writing, of course, doesn’t have the reputation of being either good paying or offering medical benefits. Because of my parents’ voices banging around in my head, I didn’t follow my heart. Then, one day, I met this great woman, a total stranger, whose name I don’t even remember now. Out of the blue, I said, “A reporter. And she cocked her head a notch then said, “It’s your life. I didn’t have an answer for that. A few minutes later she got what she came for & I never saw her again. Don’t spend anymore of your life waiting around & hoping that someone will give their blessing to your goals.
The following two tabs change content below. Some Writing Advice | SHELLI JOHNSON. Some writing advice A question I used to get asked a lot when I did readings: What books do you recommend to help writers write better? Let me start by saying that I think you’re better served to spend more time writing than you do reading books about writing. It’s been my experience that while a book can, maybe, point you in the right direction, the only thing that’s actually going to help you find your own voice is the physical act of writing. (okay, off my soapbox now) That being said, here are three books that helped me: 1. BIRD BY BIRD by ANNE LAMOTT This one has great advice not only about writing but also about life, too. 2. This one is filled with advice on learning to trust the story and finding your own voice. 3. This one tells you about living the life of a writer: difficulties you may encounter, how you need to remain open-minded and teachable, the utter importance of imagination.
The following two tabs change content below. What Every Writer Should Know about Copyright. As a freelancer, you make a living from your words. That’s why I’m always so surprised at how few writers actually understand what copyright is--and how to protect it. No, copyright isn't sexy. But if you take a few moments to read this post, you'll come away with a working knowledge of what it means for writers. Ready? Let's do it! Here’s the least you must know about copyright: 1. 2. That’s it! So as the copyright owner, you (and only you) can do whatever you want with the work you’ve created—until and unless you sell, transfer, or assign those rights to someone else, like a publisher. New writers often think they have to register their work with the Library of Congress to create copyright. The Work-for-hire Exception Of course there is an exception to every rule. Making Sense of Copyright Notice Simple enough. Copyright notice simply lets everyday people (i.e. those who know nothing about publishing law) that this work is someone’s property.
For More Effective Protection... Do You Suffer From One of These Writing Maladies? Twitter by the Numbers. There’s been a lot of talk about “followers” and “friends” and “likes” in social media. I agree that the size of one’s audience matters, but there are other numbers that are arguably better measures of impact and overall strength of one’s Twitter feed. I took over the account @HarperCollins about six months ago out of curiosity—I was skeptical about the use of Twitter and its potential to have an impact on book sales. Is it all just more noise or can it actually move the needle when it comes to revenue? With some meticulous tracking, I’ve seen interesting results. A few essentials: Number of clicks on your links When someone clicks on your link, that’s evidence of interest in your content.
Number of retweets When someone shares your content—even in the context of an opposing opinion—that’s more measurable engagement, as your “handle” and your words go beyond your own subscribers. Number of messages, mentions, and replies Size of your engaged audience Time Follow Friday and Worth Watching. 7 Secrets for Amazing Author Websites | Author Tech Tips. Most author websites fail to sell enough books to reimburse the author for the cost of building the website. The reason is because most authors don’t know the following seven secrets. Secret #1: People Don’t Care About You. This is a painful truth. People care about themselves. They care about you to the degree that you can make their lives more enjoyable. This is the hardest secret for many authors to grasp. The result? Each author’s website looks pretty much the same. The secret? Your website has to help the visitor in some way.
How you can provide value depends on your book. For fiction books, podcasts can often work well. Secret #2: Be Remarkable. Seth Godin has an interesting definition of “remarkable.” There are many ways to be remarkable and one good way to be unremarkable. To be remarkable, you need to be different, edgy, or unique. At Author Tech Tips, our goal is to be remarkably helpful. Secret #3: Have an Audience for Your Website. Who is your website for? What do you think? 5 Things Visitors Don’t Want From Your Author Blog | Author Tech Tips. Don’t waste your time doing things on your author blog that turn your readers away. This post gives you five things your readers don’t want from your author blog. 1 – Posts Over 1000 Words People have no patience for long posts. Even 500 words is pushing it. If you have 1000 words to say and can’t cut anymore break your post into several shorter posts. For some comparison this post is less than 300 words. 2 – Long Paragraphs People have no patience for long paragraphs either. 3 – Boring Titles The temptation when writing a blog post title is to describe your post. 4 – Generic Posts About Being a Better Christian If you have a Christian audience the thinking is to write a post on some generic subject like grace or love.
You must be very specific if you want people to read your work. 5 – Unedited Short Stories As much as your readers would love to read your short stories and guides they don’t want to read typo ridden overspeak. About Thomas Umstattd. The Top 5 Author Website Mistakes | Author Tech Tips. Here are five things not to do with your author website. This is a must read if you don’t yet have a website because these tips will save you a lot of heartache in the future. If you already have a website read with caution. Website Mistake #1 – Focusing on Design Over Content If you want someone to visit your website, it must be the most interesting thing on the Internet – for that person at that time. Your website design is like the frame around a picture. Many authors spend more time on the wrapping paper than they do on the present. The design makes little difference regarding how successful your site is.
Website Mistake #2 – Focusing on the Author over the Reader Yes, yes, you’re a big famous author. If you focus on your readers they will love you. If the goal of your website is to stroke your own ego, then it will never succeed. Website Mistake #3 – Hiring Your Brother-in-Law Many authors get a friend or relative to build their website. Website Mistake #4 – Building it Yourself. 6 Things Readers Want from Your Author Website | Author Tech Tips. If you build it they won’t come. The only way to get people to visit your author website is to give them something they are looking for. But what is that? This article summarizes research done by the Codex Group about what readers want from author websites. 1. Exclusive Content 43% of respondents to the Codex Group Survey want exclusive online content. This is an untapped goldmine. Seth Godin gives more stuff away for free on his blog than most other authors. 2. 36% want speaking schedules, book signings, and appearances.
This is really true, particularly for guys. 3. 36% want to see recommended books; “explainers,” or inside information about the book. This is also a great way to make a little extra money on the side since amazon will give you a commission on any book sales you refer using their affiliate program. Tweetables: 4. 33% of respondents said they want weekly e-mail news bulletins with updates on tours, reviews, and books in progress. Here are some email tips: 5. 5. 6. Why Book Covers? - Dean Harkness. My talk to the NYC chapter of Sisters in Crime. I crowdsourced the good parts of this talk this morning on Twitter. I had my basic points in mind, but I tweeted "I'm giving a talk to SinC on things writers should be doing. Any suggestions? " There were a lot of good suggestions, but I had a limited amount of time (sadly!) Here are the ten points of my talk: 1. Added note: the anthology you gave me tonight does NOT have all the website addresses for contributors (tsk!
B. sample of your writing c. D. 3. 4. 5. 7. 9. 10. If you take away just one thing tonight I hope it will be this, from Bill Cameron: Don't be afraid. I came away very impressed with the enthusiasm and professionalism of the NYC chapter of Sisters in Crime. Inkpunks » We who sling ink. The Creative Penn. Pub Rants. Warehouse Blog: Kathy Boyer's Delectible Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Rachelle Gardner | Literary Agent. 10 Tidbits About Author Platform. Master the Craft of Writing. Nathan Bransford, Author. The Intern. Marie Lu. Mree on deviantART. Legend by Marie Lu. Indie Author. Editorial Ass.