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…

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…

New work, covers, and Names…

As I’ve said before, I’m working on several manuscripts. Sometimes I do a little on each every day and other days I working primarily on just one.

My newest work steps a little away from my normal writing. I’m really excited about it. It deals with two different time periods and a type of time travel, but don’t worry, it’s still a romance, just different.

I’ve been working on something special that will come out tomorrow, but nope, can’t tell you until tomorrow. Also I’m working on a new edition on “Tender Flames which was the second book I published. It’s had great reviews and I’ve listened to my readers, so I’m making a couple of changes. When I’m done, it’s going to come out as a revised edition and also will be coupled with the 2nd book in that series, “Rekindled Flame”. I’m really excited about this one.

The fun thing, or maybe not so fun at times is figuring out the cover of your new work and the name. I usually have an idea in my head how I want it to come out, but finding the right picture and one I can legally use is not easy. Then you have the font for the words on the cover and wow there are so many to choose from. Oh, then you have to name it. Sometimes the name sells the book, so no pressure, it just has to be perfect, that’s all.

So good luck with your writing and make sure you make it count because that’s where you make the difference.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Does your writing affect you?

It’s a real question. Does your writing affect you? What I mean is does your writing give you food for thought? Saturday was a very rainy day in Georgia, so I spent a good bit of time working on one of my latest books in progress. As I was writing I realized that I actually had tears streaming down my face.

It was then that I realized that my writing affects me. I have to admit it was a very emotional part of the manuscript. Some people would say, ‘why do you get affected so by your work?’ Well, as you know if you’ve followed my blog, I’m an emotional person. I have a soft heart and when I work on a sad part I cry, a happy part I smile and a infuriating part I scowl.

My son sits and watches me sometimes. He always laughs when he sees the tears. It’s a constant addition to his daily entertainment for him to see his mama get emotional over a book or movie or song for that matter. He always says, ‘Mama, you’re not really crying over that are you?’

Oh, well. I feel like if it affects me so much, maybe it will affect the reader as well. In some of the reviews of my books, fans have said as much. They’ve even talked about getting a box of tissues ready. I guess being an emotional person brings about a lot of emotional parts to my books.

One more thought on this is that romance brings about emotion in a lot of people. Maybe it’s bringing up a memory that’s been hidden in your heart, or maybe it’s just touching. Whatever the reason, just let the tears flow. Bring out the heart of the work you do. That’s what makes it your own.

God made us all different and some of us were made with a soft heart. If we cry as we work, then we’re giving it all we have.

As always good writing, and may God Bless You…

Promoting your work and News…

Good Friday morning 🙂 It’s been a crazy week for me. I’m still playing catch up from three months of long hours and bad tax programs. My son was on Spring Break this week so I’ve tried to get in some Mama/Son time in.

The one thing I had to get done this week was promoting my books. I’ve been kind of slack on that lately. Well for obvious reasons. But I had a really good prompt this week to get back into the grind. A couple of months ago I sent a promotional letter to several local book stores and a Barnes & Noble store sent me an interesting response. They said that I needed to send a printed copy of each of my books to the New York main office for submission to their brick & mortar stores. They are interested in my books which totally excites me. I’m already on their online store, but they are interested in them for stores.

Well, if any of you have gone through their process then you know it’s a time consuming deal. I got it all ready and boxed up yesterday. I’ve set up a mail pick up this morning. I can’t tell you how excited I am. It’s been such a crazy road since last May when I published my first book. Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a year. Time flies when you’re having fun…

I’ve been on a wild ride of Tweets, Blogs, Press Releases and making wonderful new friends from all over this wonderful place we call Earth. Well, I have a bit of news. A month or so ago I hinted at some news that a big change was coming for me. Well after much prayer and some real big talks with the hubby I’ve finally almost made a decision. Some of you have been asking what that decision was, well here goes. I’ve been contemplating expanding my Accounting business and backing off the tax preparation side of it. For me that’s a huge step and I’m not sure how it’s going to go but it’s a real possibility. I was shooting for this being my last official tax season, but a couple of factors that are still in the works have to come to life before I can make that official decision. I need a lot of prayers for this to be a done deal.

Another thing is I’m starting a monthly writers newsletter. If any of you would be interested in being interviewed or add a note or two please contact me. I’m really excited about this as I hope you will be too. I hope to get a big response from this and for it to help other writers showcase their work and ideas.

Hope everyone has a blessed Friday and remember that God is with you in everything you do so make sure you do it the best way possible 🙂

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Decisions…Decisions?

We have decisions to make as writers. What’s funny is if you’re a writer then you made a big decision, you decided to be a writer. You may say, ‘I haven’t published anything’, but if you write down what’s in your mind, then you’re a writer.

Here are a couple of decisions to make as a writer:

1: Most importantly – Decide to actually begin writing. Whether it be an unpublished journal or a novel that could be the next big one. If you enjoy it, then go for it.

2: You have to decide if you’re going to make your writing public or just keep it in a drawer for your enjoyment only. I’m really glad I decided to get mine out of a drawer and blow off the dust.

3: After you’ve written your masterpiece (well that’s how we all feel after we’ve finished a manuscript. It may be only us that labels it this, but oh well.) do you try to submit to a traditional publisher and wait and wait and wait and wait some more or do you tackle self publishing it and taking a chance on your own.

4: If you decide on traditional publishing, who do you go with. Well, decide what genre your manuscript best fits, then check into publishers that specialize in your genre. Traditional publishers come in all sizes and needs. I’ve been approached by a couple and I was surprised at the diversity of each one. One guy was so funny that I laughed actually at him, he said ‘we want your book on our team’ then he proceeded to tell me how much money he wanted for the honor of them wanting my book, which was a couple of thousand and that included putting it on the same social media sites I already have them on. NOT! Then you have the publishers that only take a portion of your royalties. Here’s where it gets tricky, do you want to give up 50% or more of your royalties?

5: Do you want to self publish? This is easier than you might think. The self publishing sites available is phenomenal and a statement of how popular this type of publishing is. With this type of publishing you have to be careful when reading the disclaimers, but most of the popular sites are just general and do not your first born up front 🙂

6: Marketing, Marketing, Marketing… As a self publisher you have to do this if you want to be seen. This is where you meet so many wonderful people from all over the world. I’ve enjoyed this part of the whole process so much.

7: Finally, don’t forget the decisions about the book itself. You have the cover, the description, the trailer video pictures, the music for the trailer, etc. It goes on and on and on.

As I always say, this is just the wandering musings of a writer, but hopefully it gives you some food for thought. Each decision you make needs to be met with lots of prayer and contemplation.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

How’s your writing attitude?

In life we show a lot of different attitudes. Bad or good is up to you. As a writer I’ve noticed a lot about my writing that goes along with my attitude. Here are a couple of things I’ve noticed.

When I’m in a really good mood and my attitude is peppy and upbeat I do a lot of writing. It seems to pump me up and get me going with ideas. When my mood is not so good I notice that I’m not as into my writing as I need to be. When I’m in a thoughtful mood I can really put words on screen. It’s amazing how our attitude or mood can affect the writing we do.

I had a bad attitude not long ago, which is not usual for me. I usually have a good attitude, but that day I was just not a happy camper. I sat down with my laptop and re wrote the same line three times. Nothing sounded good and I almost gave in to the bad attitude. Then I noticed the list of my works in progress and one of the titles caught my eye. I opened the file and read the couple of paragraphs that had been hastily written a couple of months ago. Something in my attitude slipped. My mind suddenly went to a new plateau.

The point I’m trying to get at is this. In my little world, sometimes my writing can bring me out of the bad attitude or help to conquer a low attitude. It’s like therapy in a laptop or story. Usually it takes a new manuscript. Especially if I’ve been at a loss on another manuscript that I’ve been steadily working on. Just going into something new and fresh helps. So next time you are stuck in a bad or low attitude try opening a newer manuscript and refreshing your mind. It could help out and you may even finish the new one.

So as always good writing and May God Bless You…

Good Memory and Writing…

Do you have a good memory? Me, not hardly 🙂 Sometimes I really think I’m losing my memory skills. Our memory is an integral part of writing. Why? Well here are my top 5 reasons memory is important to writers:

1: You have to remember the main characters biography. If you have a woman with blonde hair for the main character and all of a sudden in the middle of the book you write they have dark hair, well you’ve just lost the character all together. I’ve actually read a book before that the main character changed all together. It’s a story breaker!

2: Book Setting – This is important to the story. If you’re story is based in the snowy mountains, then midway through the book it becomes the desert, then you’ve lost the objective completely.

3: Character backgrounds – When you start a book always keep a notebook beside you as you write. As you develop a character write down their characteristics. Keep up with amount of siblings, hometown, etc.

4: Love background – You may have to ask yourself what I mean. Well it’s quite simply this, if your main couple has a history, then keep it straight. Make sure that if they’ve been in a relationship before the book starts, then don’t make it sound like first love. Let the past lead you to the present.

5: Don’t forget the main objective of your book. Don’t let it stray far off the mark without a good reason or sub plot.

This is just my opinion and the way I write. It may not work for you, but it helps me to keep things straight.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Formal writing, What’s your style?

I’ve been told that some of my books are written a little too formally. I usually laugh because I’m a very southern speaking girl. For those that are not familiar with the Southern speech, usually I have clients that are not from here that call just to hear me speak. I laugh and tell them to get a life. So when someone says I write formally I have to laugh.

As for my writing, I don’t feel like it’s that formal. Sometimes I use ‘I could not’ instead of ‘I couldn’t’ but when I look back at it, that’s the only way it sounds right. I hear a lot of writers that send their work to editors and when it comes back certain parts no longer sound right. Well not right in the sense of the feel it originally had. You have certain ways you speak that gets points across and the wording is crucial. When you change even one word whether formal or not it changes the feel.

In my first couple of books I was so careful to use good English, but as I published more books I leaned more toward the down to earth style. When I relaxed a little, the reviews went from ‘written a tad formal’ to actually talking about the book.

So what’s your style? Do you watch your couldn’t and shouldn’t or do you just write from the seat of your pants and throw the English book out the door? I think that’s when you get through to the reader. You can even throw in some ‘yeah’s’ and ‘ain’t’. I know ain’t is not a word, but in the south it’s part of our vocabulary 🙂

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Does your cover reveal too much?

As with any writer I always struggle with my cover design. Sometimes I’ve got a picture in my mind of how I want the cover to look. During the writing of my books I’m constantly thinking of the cover. Some parts of the book inspire the cover.

It’s so discouraging to pick up a book and look at the cover expecting one thing and reading the book to find something totally different. I’ve done this several times as I know you have too. For example, the book has a vampire on the cover and the only thing about vampires in the book is a short part from a nightmare with a character. So why put a vampire on the cover when the book is not about vampires at all but about something totally different.

Then you get into the aspect of revealing too much with the cover. Let’s say that in the book there is a secret that will not be revealed until the middle or end of the book. You don’t want to put something about that on the cover if it will tell the reader what the secret is. This just spoils the whole suspense plot.

So in my opinion the cover has to be thought over quite a bit. The cover can reveal a lot about the book. When my assistant and I designed the first couple of covers it was so wrong. We quickly revised it until we were happy. I was careful not to reveal too much about the plot but I also made sure the cover was relevant.

Hope this helps if you’re working on your cover. It’s often one of the hardest things to me as a writer other than the dreaded description, but that’s a whole new blog post 🙂

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…