Writing a book description

One of the hardest things in writing is the book description. Well at least for me. It’s so hard to put into a short paragraph the book you’ve poured your heart into. How do you summarize thousands of words into a short space. Here are a couple of pointers that I go by:

1: Don’t over write the description. This means that you don’t need to overdo it. You don’t need to tell everything. If you go into too much detail you lose the reader before they even get started.

2: Use a lot of descriptive words. You need to make the reader want to read your book. By using descriptive words you can lure them in.

3: Don’t give away too much. I read a description one day that actually told the plot of the book. I realized I didn’t want to read it after reading the description because the writer told what happened to the characters. It’s like telling who did it before you even know the players.

4: Remember you’re trying to sell your book. Think about it as writing an ad for your book. You want to hint at the best aspects. Maybe write it from the main characters view.

5: Some of the best book descriptions are short and to the point. So just get to the point and leave it.

This is just a couple of ways I try to describe my books. Maybe it will help you when you get ready to write your description.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Writing Backwards

Have you ever started a book at the end of the story and worked your way forward? Sometimes when I sit down with an idea for a book I start at where I want it to go. As you know from previous posts I like to do an outline for the story line. That way I stay in line. But sometimes it’s the end result of the story that drives me on.

I have a book that I’m working on and I’ve worked mostly on the ending. You may be going are you crazy. Well, yes, but that’s beside the point. The ending seems to inspire the beginning. It’s not as hard as it seems. Try it sometimes. You might be amazed.

Be sure if you do this method of writing that you keep the first part in the same style as the ending. An outline helps to keep that part in check. It’s really fun. It’s like walking backwards and using a mirror. You can always see where you’ve been, but you also see where you’re going.

Let me know if you’ve done this before. Or tell me if you try it out and if it helps. Sometimes the best stories start at the end and work their way backwards.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

In Memory of my Dad

This is not my usual writing post. Today marks seven years since my wonderful daddy died. He was the kindest man you could meet. He never met a stranger and loved everyone. He could fix anything and everyone called on him to fix anything and everything.

I’ve more than once in the last seven years picked up the phone to call and ask him how to fix something, but then I’d realize that wasn’t possible.

He was taken away from us suddenly. He had a massive heart attack. The funny thing about heart attacks is they don’t discriminate or give warning. He was in great health and we all had joked he would out live us.

As for me I’m comfortable in the knowledge that I’ll see my daddy again one day. He was a man of faith and loved the Lord. I have no doubt where he is. I know he’s looking down from Heaven shaking his head at this post. But I felt I needed to honor him for a day, but in my heart I honor him everyday.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You… and if you still have your father, go hug him today or call him up and just say “I Love You”. That’s the last memory I have of daddy is leaving the night before and he gave me a big hug and said he loved me and I told him back.

Lists & Writing

As a writer I’ve had to get better organized. Not that Accounting didn’t already have me organizing, but in writing it’s different.

Someone asked the other day where I advertise and where I sell my books and where all I blog. Funny thing is sometimes I get so caught up in the whirlwind of it that I have to sit and think. That’s where the lists come in.

Here are the lists I have to keep in order to keep up:

1: Books (Funny enough after about book 4 I lost count and had a hard time remembering names)

2: ISBN numbers – very important to keep up with when entering other book sites.

3: Advertising Sites

4: Social Media Sites

5: Where your book is currently listed

6: Most importantly the user ID’s and Passwords to all the above sites. This can get tricky.

7: Characters for each book. Yep I forget sometimes who went with what book. Sign of my mind growing old 😦

8: Blog sites

9: Books in process (Very important so that if I mention them on a blog I can identify them later.)

10: A list to keep up with the lists. Yep, I have a 4″ notebook with all this organized in it. Thank goodness my editor and partner in crime keeps this book up to date. My way is sticky notes in a box.

As for you, this may not help. You may add more lists that you need, but this is just the ones I keep up with. May sound like a lot, but it keeps you from going crazy, well for me crazier.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

Where do I put my books?

As a writer I’ve learned a lot about marketing and where books sell and don’t. Before I published my first book I had never heard of many of these sites. As just a reader I was aware of Amazon and Barnes & Nobles and places like that. Now that I’ve done research it’s amazing how many are out there.

Here are some of the places I’ve found and how I’ve done with these.

E-book Sites:

1: Amazon: This was the first place I put my books. The first two I actually put in under KDP Select which for me was a mistake. For some KDP Select works, but it just didn’t work for me. It limits where you can put your work. As for Amazon it’s gone pretty well. They make it so easy to put your books on their site and it’s highly recognized.

2: Smashwords.com: This site was not known to me until an author friend suggested it. Now I’ve seen a lot of information on it. It’s been one of my best selling sites. Through their program my books are put on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel, Sony, Apple, Baker & Taylor and Library Direct. It’s a easy site to put your book on. You get an author page and they make it easy to advertise.

3: Google Play: This site to me wasn’t easy to use. I have several of my books on this site, but they really don’t sale good. It’s really difficult to put your books on it. Others might find this site helpful, but it wasn’t for me.

4: Allromancebooks.com: This site is really cool. It’s as the name says for romance books. It’s an easy site to work with. My sales have been fairly decent on this site. But of course they haven’t been on there but a couple of months.

5: Lightning Source: This is a great site with a lot of professional opportunities. It’s fairly easy to put your books on and a lot of more professional sites look at these books more.

Printed Books

1: CreateSpace: This is a print on demand site. I have all my books on this site for print and the sales go through Amazon. The site is easy to use and if you pay for the Expanded Distribution then it goes to several wholesalers all over the world.

2: Lightning Source: I’ve just signed a contract with them. This is the first professional printer that I’ve signed with. I’m really excited about using them and Barnes & Noble highly recommended this site to me. This is the site most of the big publishing houses pull from.

As I say, this is just a couple of the sites where my books are at and the experiences I’ve had. But of course everyone has different experiences and this is only my opinion.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

Like ivy running up a tree…

As a writer our mind usually wonders around, looking for an inspiration or story. I was sitting on my porch this morning looking out at my ivy bed as I call it. When we moved into our home 19 years ago I planted this ivy and over the years it’s taken over three trees and countless attempts at growing purple thrift around the border. The only way to keep it in control is to use the weedeater around the edges and every year or so I burn it out to clear out the limbs and leaves and as my son says the snakes.

My writers mind works like that ivy. Sometimes it runs up this tree then stops and runs up another tree clean to the top. Usually it branches out and goes in several different directions. Sometimes it drives me insane 🙂 But others it’s a good thing because it helps to finish manuscripts.

Does your writers mind work like that? Tell me about how your mind wraps around a story. With mine, it’s like the ivy. Some stories take hold and I have to just work to the finish. Other times my mind goes all willy nilly and I have to pull it back and take back control.

Hope everyone is having a productive Saturday… Tell me how yours is going.

As always, Good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday! Waiting on Weekend of writing…

If you haven’t glanced at your calendar, yep it’s Friday. The last day of the work week for most of us. Of course if you’re a writer, it never ends. Which is good because if it’s your passion, then you look forward to the stolen moments when you sit down with your laptop or pen and paper and you just spill your heart out.

As I’m working on the finishing touches of one of my manuscripts I do hope to have the time tomorrow to get it ready for my editor. Of course that means a couple of hours of constant attention paid to it. As the weather is supposed to be pleasant I might just grab a lawn chair and sit under a tree and let the birds inspire me 🙂

I’ve come to the conclusion that you have to schedule your time or it won’t work. When you have a busy life already and you try to fit in writing time, it has to be planned. Of course you know as well as I do, sometimes the inspiration to write over loads your brain and you have to rearrange that schedule. Yep, like in the middle of the night when you have it in your schedule to sleep. That character just keeps nudging you in the shoulder shouting “GET UP!”.

Hoping all have a great weekend and good luck with your writing time. Don’t forget to make time for your family and Church on Sunday. Inspirational time is very important…

As always, good writing and My God Bless You…

Romance and the writer…

Ok, so you know I’m a romance writer. I love romance. It’s a very important part of m life. I strive to bring as much romance as I can to the reader in every word I write. But sometimes writing romance and living romance are two different things.

When you live romance it’s ingrained in you and everything you look at you see a romantic element. Of course some people laugh at me when I say things like that. It’s important to bring romance about in everything. In today’s world of terrorism, crazy weather events, and financial woes romance is not easy to bring about.

One of the key elements is to be open to it. If you close your mind to it then that’s that. Whether you’re married or not romance can come along and surprise you. Maybe it’s as simple as a smile across the dinner table or a look in the car. But give it a little try. I know I’ve blogged several times about romance, but it’s an important element of our lives. Well, that’s my opinion.

As for romance in writing, people pick up a romance novel for several reasons. Sometimes it’s for the sexy cowboy on the cover and dreams it brings on, but a lot of times it’s to get a feel for romance. Romance can bring on a happy feeling, if just for the moment you’re reading it. So when I’m writing I try to bring a little romance into even the simplest chore. My characters have to have a romantic flare.

Maybe the reader has no romance in their lives and they need this to get through the day. You may be saying why. If you have a marriage with no romance, the spark’s gone, maybe for just a moment you can have hope. Maybe the story can inspire you to create a better environment for romance.

So, go home tonight and cook a romantic dinner or bring home take out and light a candle. Maybe after the kid’s go to bed. But bring about some romance and see where it leads. It could lead to some secret smiles over the breakfast table 😉

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Having the courage to jump!

I’ve read so much lately in blogs from want to be authors that are afraid to take the first step. I can tell you from experience it’s a huge step to take. I’ve enjoyed every step since then. It’s a lot to take in at first, but then you kind of get into the swing of things and it just happens.

I knew it had happened the first time I got a fan email. I giggled like a teenage girl. The thoughts running through my head were ‘do they know I’m just a normal person’ and ‘this is so cool.’ That fan has turned into a friend as have so many of my blog friends. It would never have happened without having the courage to jump…

Here are the steps I took to establishing myself as a writer and self publishing:

1: First and foremost you’ve got to finish your manuscript. Pray…

2: Make sure that you’ve read and reread it several times. Edit as much as possible.

3: Decide what genre your writing is. That means is it romance, sci-fi, horror, nonfiction, or one of the many genres available.

4: Design your cover. This is sometimes tricky, but exciting when it’s complete.

5. Write a short and long description of your work. This is for the book sales. Don’t get too wordy with this. The best way is to use descriptive words to describe the feeling of the book. By all means don’t give away the plot. Prayed a lot through this process…

6. Now where do you want to put your book. Amazon, Smashwords, B & N or the many other places. This is the fun part because each one wants something different. So read everything before hitting send.

7: Once you’ve set up your books on different sites, it’s time to market. I started with my blog and Twitter. Then I started finding other marketing places. I will do a blog this week on marketing.

8: Sit back and pat yourself on the shoulder. You’re an author! Just watch and see what happens. If it doesn’t do much for a while, don’t worry. It took a couple of months for my books to catch on. Pray again and give thanks 🙂

Of course everyone has a different approach, but this was mine. I’m available to any author that needs help. I design covers and help format/edit. If you need help with these, just send me a message and let’s talk. Authors have to stick together. It’s a crazy world out there and team work makes the dream work.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

Writing for fun or money…

How do you see your writing? Is it a hobby or career? I’ve talked to several writer’s lately that say they write for fun, but they do enjoy the royalty payments. Most writers work a full time job and fit their writing in where ever they can.

I love my writing. It’s so soothing and spirit lifting. I do work a full time job. Actually I own a Accounting business so I stay pretty busy, along with being a Children’s Minister and parent. My writing carries me to another world. It’s in my writing that I can get lost and leave the worries and stress behind.

I have to admit that it’s fun when the sales reports update on the various sites where my books are. And I would be crazy if I didn’t say I’d love to get a huge publishing contract. But I’d be happy to see some nice sales reports. I’ve been really happy so far with my sales. My writing takes the forefront in this scheme of things. It’s the passion that spurs me on.

As we discuss sales, I’ve been telling you about the audio books. It’s been so fun going through the auditions. If any of you do voice overs for audio books, send me an audition. I’m trying to get those published this week if possible. I’ve got to make a decision. It’s funny how you know what you want it to sound like.

Don’t let slow sales or the need for more to conquer your passion for writing. Keep putting pen to paper or fingers to keys. If you let your dreams die, it will affect you in a bad way.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…