Marketing Your Book: The Text

 

Your Text Appearance Matters 

   

  Sometimes we get so stuck on formatting the cover of our book, we forget that the internal layout of the book is also crucial. The fonts you use, design, and even artwork that goes into your book has to be carefully thought through.

 

    Generally, the font you use for the title of a chapter or subheading is tied to the font you used on the front cover - or at least, one of the fonts you used on your front cover design. With all the fonts out there, it's easy to get sidetracked and pick several pretty designs, but you need to be consistent and give yourself only a handful of fonts to work with. 

 

    The font you use for your text doesn't have to be the standard (Times New Roman), as a matter of fact, if you browse through the genres, you will find that different text fonts are used depending on the genre. The style of your text is one of the elements of your book that should immerse the reader into the world or story that you have created. For example, if you are writing a thriller novel, use body text that is unique, and maybe a little bold or chilling. This could create a sense of anticipation in your reader, which is required for a thrilling piece of literature. 

    It's totally safe to experiment with different fonts until you find one you like, and it's totally fine if you end up choosing a font in the final stages of your editing - it's one of the things that can wait till the end. Meanwhile, while you're writing, get a general feel for you novel, and that will give you ideas for the style you want your text to be in. 

    If you want to take it a step further, you might want to add some pieces of artwork or a standard design. Whether it be a pattern in the top left corner of your page or a little motif under the chapter header, you need to be careful with how you present your added elements. Don't add too many effects, or else the reader will become so sidetracked by the pretty filigree and swirls that they might find it hard to focus on the actual text of the book. 

 

    What you are essentially looking for when it comes to layout is something that reflects the book in a simple and enticing way for the reader. Limit yourself to a design or a few fonts that encourage the reader to continue reading your work and that allows them to enter into the world you have created. 

 

   ~Lydia R. Sherren 

Quote For The Week

                                                                                 

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

                                                                                              -  E. L. Doctorow

Book Marketing: The Cover

                                                                    

Your Book Cover Is Everything

     

    You have completed the inner layout of your book and now have to spend some serious time working on the book cover, but where do you start? The book cover is crucial to selling your manuscript. The design of your novel is going to be what makes someone want to pick up or pass it by. 

 

    For those who are new and learning about marketing and cover design, I have a few suggestions and tips. You can always hire a professional graphic designer for the job, but that costs big dollars, so if you can design the cover yourself, you should totally go for it. 

 

    Right out of the gate you should check out the competition. Do a wide search on your genre. What are the typical elements for the book covers in your genre? Do they use bright, solid colors? Is there a picture of the main character on the front? This also includes looking at best-selling books in the genre and seeing what kind of cover art they used. Of course, you cannot copy the cover, but it will give you an idea about what the readers of that genre are attracted to the most.  

 

    Also, keep in mind that you are not trying to explain the book through its cover. The cover does not necessarily have to be what the book is about, it has to be what is the most attention-grabbing. The reader will find out more when they read the excerpt on the back.

 

    Remember, you book's cover is going to determine if it will best-seller or a drop-out. When someone is scanning the shelf and happens to pick up your book amidst hundreds of others, the first thing they will glance at is the cover. The cover should capture their attention in a second, and will be what entices them to open your book. 

 

    Keep in mind that while you want your book to grab someone's attention, you don't want to strive for a "super awesome" out-of-this-world book cover either because it will give the reader very high expectations for the novel. If this is the case, when the person starts reading the book, they will probably be dissappointed because it doesn't meat the pre-conceived idea you gave them through the cover. 

    So, in summary: Know your genre. Make sure your book cover holds the appropriate elements for that genre. Do not go over-board but focus on something relatively simple and eye-catching. But most importantly, make sure that your book cover reflects who you are. 

 

 ~ Lydia R. Sherren 

Character Growth

                                                                                

Let The Changes Flow

 

       "Character growth" isn't a term used to refer to just the emotional and spiritual growth of your character, but also involves the outward appearance of your protagonist. The appearance of your character expresses a lot about who they are and even at times can expression their personality - or maybe, just the opposite. 

 

    What I want to address in regards to this, is don't be afraid when your character changes in their appearance. It is important to maintain a consistent character for your protagonist so that they will respond to situations or give advice in a manner that is prevalent to their overall attributes. Their general structure and persona should not face alteration, just growth. But one attribute that you can allow change to occur in, is the outward appearance. 

 

     Don't freak out when your blonde becomes a brunette, or your character goes from short and stalk-like, to tall and slender. Outward appearance is one of those things that you can let the tides of change flow freely over with no restrictions or rules. Eventually, you are going to come across the perfect outer appearance for your character, but until that time comes, don't try to stop the tide.

 

    A base for your character's attributes, once made, should generally stay the same. But outward appearance is one of those things that will change as you grow to learn more about your character and the situations that surround them.

 

    Growth in character appearance is one of those things you shouldn't try to stop.

 

~Lydia R. Sherren

 

 

    

 

 

Quote for the Week

                                                                          

 

 "The world does not need more Christian literature. What it needs is more Christians writing good literature." 

                                                                                                - C.S. Lewis 

The Power of Words

                                                                              

When Not To Do Your Best

         

    I know, strange heading - right? Essentially every writer wants to write to their full potential. But words are powerful, and sometimes writing to the best of your ability can be very dangerous. This is a topic I have spent much time dwelling on and have even learned more about from personal experience. 

 

    To put it simply, words are very powerful. But let me elaborate. There are renowned authors today who are very talented at what they do. But I also believe that few of them have taken the time to honestly evaluate just how good they really are. You see, if words are arranged in the proper order and the proper time, they can conjure up emotions, ideas, and pictures stronger than reality.

 

    The point that I am trying to get across is best summed up in a short experience that I had not very long ago. I had purchased a book online, I didn't know the author's work but the book was on clearance and I viewed it as an opportunity to familiarize myself with another author and, if I didn't like the book, I wouldn't have wasted a lot of money on it. As I began to read this book, emotions were stirred within me that I had never felt before in my life. I felt the pain of the character like I had never experienced. I felt like I was dying inside, I was in mental, emotional, and even physical agony because of how connected the writer was making me feel with the character. 

 

    It is important that you can relate and gravitate to a character in a novel, but with this situation, the writer had gone too far. After much serious contemplation I would come to realize that the book was the writer to her full potential. And to her full potential meant writing a book that would plague me with feelings that I hadn't felt since the death of someone very close to me. Some might argue that this was merely a really good writer and the book was too deep for me to read, but that wasn't it. 

 

    As writers, we are sometimes so eager to soar to our full potential that we forget to take a step back, put on an objective point of view, and really examine our work. Words our powerful, like sticks of dynamite...they were not meant to be carelessly toyed with. Sometimes our full potential can be toxic to others. When we are at our best as writers, we could be constructing a manuscript that is far too heady to do anyone any good. 

 

    That is why we need to know when we can write at our best and we have to set the bar lower than we know we are capable of. If you think this is showing weakness, it isn't. It is showing that you care about who reads your book. We are given talents, but that does not always mean that we can let them run free, because even good talents, if not held back, can unleash something very savage.

 

    Sometimes our full potential can be dangerous, and that is when you need to know when not to do your best. 

 

~Lydia R. Sherren 

 

Promote Yourself

                                                                              

No More Hiding

 

    I find that as young writers, we often don't share our passion or aspirations with those around us. Why is this the case? Truthfully, I still have yet to fully understand that. But I do know this: as young/teen writers we fear criticism from the outside world and from our peers. We are afraid that people will not take our hopes and dreams seriously because we are young or will face mockery for our big dreams. 

 

    As an introvert, I have personally struggled with getting over the hurdle of promoting myself and my dreams as an aspiring author. At first, I never wanted to tell people about my writing. It felt like whenever I did, I was always torn down and stripped of my joy. It seemed that whenever I wanted to share my dreams of becoming an author someone would always begin to say the same condescending words,  "Well, Lydia, if you want to be an author, you have to be prepared for..." The phrases after the dots ranged everywhere from lawsuits to copyright to not being able to compete with other writers. 

 

    It took me a long time before I learned a valuable truth. I can't hide forever. One day, I will be asked to share my writing, and when that time comes I want to be ready. So, I am no longer hiding. Now, whether it be at social events, at family visits, or some other platform, I always look for the opportunity to blurt out the phrase "I'm a writer" or "I'm an aspiring author". 

 

    I encourage you to come out of hiding and announce your goals and ambitions whenever you can. It won't always be easy, and it can feel very uncomfortable, but it is vital that you share your story. If you are criticized for your dreams, get rid of the negative and move on. As a writer you will face a lot of setbacks, but you will have to push through them and continue on. But who knows? By sharing your dreams, you might be a persona who feels the same way as you do and will support you.

    

    So share who you are. And no more hiding. 

 

 

~Lydia R. Sherren