Everyone knows the cliche saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover". I think a lot of us try to follow this saying, but most times that doesn't happen. We as readers do judge a book by it's cover. That's why it baffles me when authors put such hard work into their story but do very minimal for their covers.
Readers DO judge a book by its cover. If you're cover looks rushed or looks like very little thought or effort was put into it, readers will feel that way about your writing before they even read it. Think of your cover as a job interview. When you go for a job interview you want to dress the part because first impressions stick. (There's another cliche that reigns true). If you wear sweatpants your interviewer will feel that you're lazy or not really care about the job. You may actually care about the job and be hard-working but your interviewer already made up their mind about you. The cover of your story is the first thing that readers look at. It has to catch their eye before they consider looking at the blurb. By having an interesting cover readers think "Hey what's that?" Your cover needs to be aesthetically pleasing and show elements of your story in the art work. Another part of the cover that is important is the title. You title needs to be intriguing and say something about the story. Readers are drawn in by the title then the cover. How do you make sure that you have a good cover for your book? Most publishing companies design your cover for you but if you are self-published you have to go through a graphic designer to get a cover. Many self-published authors I know use Createspace. A good idea is to get two covers made then poll your followers on social media on what cover they find more attractive. (Don't do this if it is too costly of course). Don't use pre-made covers. Most of the time pre-made covers are put onto other books. It is not good to have the same cover as another book since people identify books with their covers. In addition, make sure that in your publishing contract you have the rights to your cover art. With your cover art you can make t-shirts, bags, posters and etc. You do not want your publishing company to steal the money because they own the cover art. Make sure that all works of your book belong to you, the author. To get an idea of what your cover should look like look at books in your genre. If your book is a fantasy book, many of them have dragons or fairies on them, elements of the genre. Pull elements from your genre and in the story. Make sure that your cover does not copy another author's artwork. By having an attractive cover you will attract more readers' attentions. Remember readers do judge a book by it's cover.
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Undertow by K.R. Conway
Genre: Dark Fantasy Self-published: Wicked Whale Publishing Copyright @ 2013 Review: 4 and 1/2 stars Blurb: Eila [Eye-la] Walker's new home has defied the brutal Atlantic for over 100 years. Abandoned since her 4th great grandmother, Elizabeth, vanished, the town legend declares that she drowned...or was struck by lightning. Unbeknownst to the town and Eila however, is that someone does know what really happened to Elizabeth, and he has returned, determined to protect the last surviving Walker from a history of violence. A soulless killer himself, Raef will attempt to keep Eila safe from his own kind who murdered her grandmother so long ago. But what starts out as a quest for redemption evolves into something more, and soon Raef is forced to reveal the truth to Eila. As hidden secrets about their warring families come to light, Eila begins to realize she may be their best shot at survival...even if it means following in her grandmother's fearless footsteps to save her killer bodyguard. Eila is a Kansas girl who ends up moving to Cape Cod. She discovers culture shock from the way us Massachusetts people speak to our seafood. (The fact that she dislikes seafood offends me but I let it go). There she lives with Mae, who was a friend of her mother but is now her guardian. The first Cape native Eila meets is MJ. MJ is the quirky and goofy comic relief and probably my favorite character out of the bunch. If you're looking for cheesy jokes MJ has them. Ana is MJ's friend who is a little bit of a hard ass (well in Eila's mind at least), likes to fix cars, and can read people's thoughts. Raef is the mysterious sexy boy who is new to town and watches Eila outside her window. Creepy, but there is a reason for that. He's also 160 years old but looks 18 and Eila has the hots for him. Kian is the cocky 'brother' of Raef who is close to his age (the 160 years old part). They also live together on a yatcht. Besides the characters being an interesting like-able cast. It's setting is local (well for me). Some of the places discovered in this book are the Cape, Newport and Boston. We also end up at the Vanderbilt's mansion. For some reason- that you have to find out by reading the book. When you think you have everything figured out you don't. I thought the book was going to go one way but it took an original direction. Conway has characters that are thoroughly developed. Though the circumstances they go through may not be a normal teenage problems they keep their teenage personalities such as having fun when they can, acting on their crushes, and going to normal teenage events. So what is this thing with Elizabeth? Well all I can say for now is that Eila is more like her 4th great grandmother than she realizes. The Cape is also not as safe as she thought. There are soul stealing monsters lurking in the waters. Murder is high during tourist season. Conway, a Cape resident, said she felt inspired for that part of the story because she hates tourist season. Conway is a journalist of fifteen years and a member of the SCBWI (a critiquing group for authors). She teaches Fiction Craft classes for teens and adults including at the Cape Cod Writer's Conference. She also drives a 16-ton school bus during the year. Conway said that during driving she develops many of her book ideas. In addition, Conway has a BA in Forensic Psych, torments the tourists about Jaws, and occasionally jumps from Eila's bridge with the local teens. She currently lives on the Cape. If you would like to know more about Conway, talk to the author, and know more about Undertow you can find her at the following: Twitter: @SharkProse Instagram: k_r_conway Facebook: K.R. Conway Undertow is part of a trilogy and is available at Barnes and Noble and on Amazon. Make sure to add it to you Goodreads 'Want to Read' list. To be a pantser or a plotter that is the question. A plotter is a writer who plans out their novel before they write it. A pantser, on the other hand, "flies by the seat of their pants"; they take the rollercoaster for a ride without [or with very little] planning.
Personally I'm a pantser. I've always hated outlines ever since my primary school teacher introduced me to them. They feel too forced and strategic. Writing is supposed to be a journey. On a journey one may have the destination planned and maybe a few pit stops in between but everything else should be in the moment. That's an important thing that I have learned about writing: if you do not feel surprised then your audience will not be surprised. That's why I don't use outlines because it feels more authentic. Another thing about outlines is that if you decide to steer off course you may have to change your destination and everything in between. Trust me, to redo an entire outline is a pain. Unlike a pantser, a plotter has an organized direction. For a plotter the dreaded monster named "Writer's Block" is usually out of sight. It is not hard to get passed a roadblock when you know where you're supposed to go next. When writing, I get stuck often and have to dig myself out of a hole. Sometimes I get stuck for days or weeks making me abandon one project for another. I have several unfinished novels at roughly the same amount of words. I've tried making outlines, but it doesn't work out. I can't plan that far ahead. It just feels rushed. What do you consider yourself: a pantser or a plotter? What are the advantages or disadvantages of your plotting techniques? Leave a comment... Those are the days, staring at the white blank screen of your laptop trying not to pull the hair out of your head. Why is it that you've had five cups of coffee, but still cannot form a concrete thought? Well it's simple really, you have started your next novel with the problem being: the first sentence. This should be the most important sentence of your story. In one sentence your reader can decide whether your work is worth their time. What the first sentence of your story should do is question the reader. That is how you are going to grab their interest. For example in my book, The Demonic Eyes, the first sentence reads: "Blood was the first thing I saw when I regained self-control." This sentence makes the reader think: What is happening? Who is hurt? Did he [the main character] harm someone? When the reader has these questions they need to find the answers to feel closure. Aside from having the reader develop a curiosity, it should give them an idea what the story is about. Note that though it should provide the reader with information it should not reveal the whole truth. For example, going back to our example sentence, the reader knows (though not for certain) that the story could be a mystery, horror, dark fantasy, or the like. They know most likely that it is not a romance, or realistic fiction and that it definitely is not a comedy. The reader also receives the tone or theme of the story. From the example the reader sees that the story is of dark content and that it could involve serious topics. Another great way to show the tone of the story is by having your sentence as the thought of your main character. This introduces your reader to the person they will be reading about for the rest of the book. Here's an example from J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." Though this sentence isn't concise it does the trick. It shows the reader the main character's personality and his thought process; he thinks a lot. It also shows a mutual disinterest for what many people like to avoid: introductions. It is more beneficial to try this method if your character is relatable or is against mainstream society. Finally the first sentence should evoke emotion in the reader. In the sentence: "Blood was the first thing I saw when I regained self-control", the reader immediately feels fear. Since emotions are relatable to every human experience if your sentence lacks it, the reader can find it disinteresting. One of my favorite first sentences is from Gillian Flynn's, Gone Girl. "When I think of my wife, I think of her head." This sentence makes me puzzled and curious because it is such an odd sentence to begin a story. Curiosity: that is the key emotion. As I have said previously, you must make your reader curious to entice them. Advertising does this all the time. Think of your first sentence like an advertisement. Draw them in before giving more information (aka the rest of the story). Though it sounds simplistic it might not always be. As the expression goes: "First impressions always stick" this is your first impression to the reader of your book. My suggestion would be that your first sentence does not need to be perfect at first. Write your story then come back to it during the editing process. By then you will know your characters perfectly and you will know everything scandalous in their life. Scandal attracts people. Write a sentence that is bold and that stands out from the rest. Look at the books that are popular and books in your genre. How do they approach the first sentence? How does it make you feel? Do you feel like continuing the story? Ultimately what you need to remember is to draw the readers curiosity, make them question what is happening, let them get a taste of what the story is about, and evoke their emotion. Make sure to look at other examples and remember it is okay to write a bogus sentence now then fix it later. |
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