Tag: genre

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Guest Posts

Picking the Best Book Cover for Your Next Hit

Guest posts

Most people judge a book by its cover. You put years of your work into a book. Therefore, it deserves a cover that does justice with the story you put into it. The cover of a book should be designed to pique the reader’s interest in an instant. The blurb on the back should draw the reader into opening the book and reading what’s inside.

This indicates the cover of your book has to be stunning. It should not only intrigue the readers but also complements the content. If you have finished your book, now is the time to choose the right cover for it. If you are worried that you might end up making the wrong decision, this article is for you.

Today we are going to share some tips with you that help you choose a winning cover for your book. So without further ado, let’s get to the details.

Tips for choosing the right cover for your book:

There are various ways to ensure that your book cover not only stands out but also does justice to the story. Some of them include:

1. Get inspired:

Get inspired with what sells. Go to your favorite bookstore and explore shelf after shelf. Take a pen and notebook with you. Flick through covers and note down what attracts you. More importantly, go through the cover of those books that your intended readers love. Choose those elements that make the covers of these books unique.

Look for the design elements that go with your story:

Go to the bookshelf you want your book to be displayed on and use your designer eye candy to look for the elements that make it stand out. Go through the latest releases to learn about the latest trends in designs and technologies. Design a book cover that goes with pop culture.

Bring innovation by comparing your genre with others:

Most of the books that belong to the same genre have similar book covers. Although main features depend upon the story but most of the time similar colors are used. It’s similar to how different brands use color schemes to craft their identity. However, there is no harm in bringing innovation to your book cover. To make that happen, you should compare your genre with others.

Explore other genres as well. For example, the covers of fantasy books are a mixture of photography and illustration. Crimes thriller covers are often only photographic. Moreover, titles of fantasy books are heavily stylized. On the contrary crime book, covers have crisp san serif fonts.

Explore sub-genres:

You can also explore sub-genres to get more creative ideas. Also, keep the latest design trends in mind. For example, the covers of modern, dark fantasy books are composed of highly realistic illustrations of photography, whereas the traditional ones mostly contain paintings. Some crime mystery novels have illustrated covers.

Keep your target readers in mind:

While choosing a cover for your book, you should also keep the age of the target audience in mind. If your target audience is young children painted cover with an illustrated character will do. One of the best examples is the different design covers of Harry Potter books for children and adults.

Don’t forget the competition winners:

The winners of recent cover design competitions also serve as a great source of inspiration for your book’s cover design. You can also look through the personal lists created by professionals or avid readers of your genre.

Keep the best-sellers within and outside your genre in mind:

Don’t forget the best sellers while adapting to the recent design trends. If you have written something similar to an old bestseller choose an older cover style to go with. To conclude, the cover design of your book should represent its heart and soul. It should suit your story and hook your intended segment of readers.

2. Discover the tone of your book:

Digging deep into the genre helps. However, you need to go a step further to create a cover design that conveys the emotion of your story. You need to identify the overarching feel of your story and the sentiment your story is written to put across.

It might be hard to find the tone of the story. However, once you figure it out, it gets easier to communicate what you want through the cover of your book. You can translate this tone into a visual form and design a stunning and meaningful cover for your book.

3. Look for the right designer to create a cover for your book:

Make a list of your favorite book covers. Choose the ones similar to what you want your book cover to look like. Look up the designers of the book covers you like. Find their website and have a look at their portfolio. Check out their previous work and understand how their design process goes. If you have a publishing house contract, it is part of the publisher’s job to find you a designer. However, to make it a success, you need to actively involve in the process.

4. Keep it simple:

Minimalism is all the rage when it comes to design trends. If you look at some of the best book cover designs, you will find them minimal. However, going for a minimal book design doesn’t mean you have to be boring.

You need to work towards achieving a simple design that is unique in every aspect and effectively conveys the emotion of the story.

5. Your book cover should be thumbnail friendly:

With the advent of technology, reading habits have changed. People interact with book covers differently than they used to. People read e-book more than hardcover. They also shop for books online. Therefore, it is important to create book covers that turn out to be good thumbnail images.

Creating a thumbnail cover requires a minimal design with contrasting colors and fairly large text. The image file should also be of the right size and resolution. It shouldn’t stretch and display correctly on the screen.

6. Go with a step by step approach:

Your story goes through multiple drafts before it takes its final form. The same goes for a book cover. Once you have figured out the basic features of your book cover design, you should consider various design options. Select the option that closely meets how you want your book cover to look and keep tweaking the design until you get what you need.

Emphasize important design elements. Experiment with abstract or realistic design options to make your book cover stand out.

7. It’s time to test your design:

Once you have the final cover design options ready, you need to share them with the world. Get opinions from everyone you know, specifically your intended segment of readers. Request them to choose their favorite out of the final design options. Also, take the design critique seriously. Keep track of the features they like and dislike about your cover design.

Wrapping up!

It takes years to write a book. You put your heart and soul into it and do your best to make sure it makes it to the list of best sellers. However, what most writers don’t realize is it takes much more than a compelling story to captivate your intended audience.

The cover of a book is the first thing that compels readers to pick up a book and start reading it. Therefore, it has to be a classic one. There are various things you can do that ensure that the cover of the book effectively conveys its emotions, personality, and tone. By following the above-mentioned tips you can ensure that your book stands out from the rest.

Elice Max is a A marketing professional with seven years in the industry. Mostly interested in personal branding and emerging trends. Mom to two humans and one Persian cat.

Categories
Fantasy-Sci-Fi

How Genre Impacts Your Character Development

Sometimes it’s easy to think character development looks similar across genres. And for the reader, it usually does. Even in the best-selling books, character development is often very relatable. As it should be. Readers need to relate to the characters, after all. But when we use genre as an outside force influencing our characters, we take character development to a whole new level.

Let’s take Harry Potter. Harry lived in the cupboard under the stairs until he went to Hogwarts and discovered who he really is. This is a typical young adult character arc. But if we look deeper and notice the influence of genre, we see Harry’s development from a whole new perspective.

What makes Harry such a standout character is his very normal personality thrust into extraordinary circumstances. The normalcy of Harry contrasted with the unexpected and surprising details of Hogwarts and its professors acts as a dichotomy, highlighting just how much Harry needs to overcome. Yes, Rowling could have put Harry into a normal school with no magic and fleshed out his character, but not as deeply.

As you create your world, take note of your protagonist’s weaknesses. Harry repeatedly says “I’m just Harry!” which goes to show 1) how little he knows about himself, 2) how he’s in way over his head, and 3) just how much he will grow.

What is your protagonist’s view of himself or ideology of the world? Create a villain who undermines that in every way. Harry doesn’t think he’s important. But the villain sees his seeming unimportance, his innocence, as something that destroyed his agenda.

How do the rules of your world push against your protagonist’s views of right and wrong? Harry wants to free Dobby the house elf, but the rules of the Harry Potter world are strict about how a house elf can be freed. Harry has to play by the rules to help Dobby.

How do the rules of your world’s culture impact your protagonist’s interpersonal relationships? Harry wants to be friends with Hermione, but Hermione is looked down on for not having a magical family. Harry wouldn’t have had this interpersonal struggle if his character hadn’t been created in a magical world. The genre Harry was thrust into massively impacted his character arc, even at the interpersonal level.

As you create characters and decide what type of world to plunge them into, ask yourself some of the above questions. Based on their personality, fears, dreams, views of right and wrong, etc., would science-fiction or fantasy best reveal their character arc?

Put Harry in a public school somewhere in England and he probably would’ve stayed relatively insignificant. But put him in a wizarding world and he grows so much he defeats the dark lord and becomes not “just Harry” but Harry Potter, the boy who lived. As the author, it’s your job to make your characters shine, and much of that comes down to choosing the stage to put them on.

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Guest Posts

How Do Writers Create Book Launch Content?

Congratulations on having a book to launch! Now to accept the challenge of creating content in today’s world of social media. So what’s next? Need a little help figuring out how to work smart—effectively and efficiently?

If so, the tips below are also exercises for the writer to consider before deciding topics and where to post information, blog or guest blog.

Not every writer creates the same content for social media.

Readers of various fiction genres and types of nonfiction have particular topics of interest and needs that a writer can fill. We writers have unique talents and expertise. Savvy writers discover their audience’s sweet spot.

Jot down the answers to the following:

1. What is my genre?

  • Describe your genre as though it were a character.

2.  What is my brand?

  • How is it different from any other writer brand?
  • How is my brand the same?
  • What social media platforms suit my brand the best?

3.  Who are my readers or target audience?

  •  Be specific
  • Develop a few paragraphs that characterize the reader.

4.  Where do my readers/followers/target audience hang out?

  • Join in the platform conversations and be a part of the group.
  • Make notes of the areas of interest.
  • List how I can address reader needs that apply to my brand?

We are making progress. By understanding who we are, we are better equipped to offer valuable content according to our skills, knowledge, and brand.

Let’s continue listing ways to enhance a book launch through social media.

5. What is the perfect way for others to find out about my book?

  •  We’ve all heard word of mouth is the best technique to learn and hear about a product. How can I make this work for me?
  • Research blog sites that meet the criteria established above. Request to guest blog. Incorporate a book giveaway. Use your social media platforms to drive traffic to the content and giveaway.
  • Provide valuable information for all blogs that meets reader needs.
  • Create social media posts and link all to the book’s website. 

6.  What is something my readers don’t know about my brand, book, or me?

  • Be real and humorous. Make it fun.
  • Did I learn something in the research process?
  • What did I learn about myself in writing the book?

7. What are the topics about my book that I could feature on social media?

  • List more than will ever be needed
  •   Acquire social media skills and learn how to master them.

8.  Develop social media content for my various platforms

  • List social media content for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest
  • Use only royalty-free images such as pixabay.com
  •  Consider scheduling tool such as buffer.com or hootsuite.com
  •  Customize memes according to social media platform specifications – adobe spark    

Are you ready to create dynamic content to launch your book in the wonderful world of social media?

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She weaves memorable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. DiAnn believes every breath of life is someone’s story, so why not capture those moments and create a thrilling adventure?

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She is the director of the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, Mountainside Marketing Retreat, and the Mountainside Novelist Retreat with social media specialist Edie Melson where she continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.

DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on: Facebook, Twitter, or any of the social media platforms listed at diannmills.com

Categories
Devotional/Christian Living

What’s the Difference between Devotional and Christian Living Book Genres?

In the quiet of the morning, I open up my Bible. I clip my booklight onto the front cover so I can see the pages in the darkness. After a short prayer, my mind is ready to read God’s Word. Some days I simply read, preparing my heart for the day ahead. But other days I read something I never noticed before. My eyes wide open, I grab my notebook, jot down my observation, and jump up from my bed with the burning desire to write about what I’ve discovered. What is the best way to share my new-found treasure?

I could blog about my observations or create an article or a standalone devotional to submit, but sometimes my ideas and observations snowball into a book idea.

I have several big ideas from Scripture that I want to write in book form. For each of these ideas, I need to decide what genre the book will be: devotional or Christian living.

What are the major differences between the devotional and Christian Living book genre?

Length.

Chapters in a devotional book are much shorter than the chapters of a Christian Living book. In fact, in a devotional book, each section or entry is not often called a chapter. Each portion of the book usually corresponds to the day, so the devotional is divided up into days rather than chapters. Victoria Duerstock, author of the devotional Heart & Home: Design Basics for Your Soul and Living Space, says the word count in her devotional book is no more than 300 words per day. That word count includes the Bible verse, the story/application, the prayer, and the design tip. Since this is a 90 day devotional, Victoria’s total word count for her devotional book was about 27,000.

In comparison, the word count of Christian Living books is similar to other Christian non-fiction trade books with a total word count of 45,000-55,000 or more. Michelle Lazurek, author of An Invitation to the Table: Embracing the Gift of Hospitality and Righteous and Lost: Finding Hope for the Pharisee Within shoots for 3,500-4,000 words per chapter in her Christian Living books.

For all of you who are now saying, it’s easier to write a devotional because it is shorter, not so fast! Shorter is not always easier. Devotional writing is tight. It takes a long time to choose the perfect words since there isn’t wiggle room for further explanation.

But the longer word count doesn’t make Christian Living easy either. Readers expect an in-depth exploration of the topic you cover in your book meaning you will be spending time researching and studying. You will use quotes from experts on your topic in order to connect your book with the existing conversation. It takes time and thought to select the quotes and use them naturally in your writing.

Depth of focus.

Even if the devotional book as a whole is focused on a particular topic, each devotional entry in the book centers on a Bible passage, usually just one or two Bible verses. Each devotional is narrowly focused on the Bible truth of that particular verse. In contrast, the chapters of a Christian Living book may start with a verse or Bible passage, or more often, a Bible topic, but the Bible portion is a springboard for exploration.

It’s like going off the diving board into the deep end. One person dives in with a small splash and beelines for the stairs to exit the pool and go on to next thing, refreshed from the dip in the water. Another person cannonballs in, treads around, and floats from one side of the pool to the next before slowly returning to the ladder.

A devotional zeros in. Christian Living broadens and explores.

Do you have experience writing either devotionals or Christian Living books? What else have you noticed as the difference between the two genres? Comment below!

Rachel Schmoyer is a pastor’s wife who is loving her church life. She writes about the hard parts of Scripture at readthehardparts.com. She has had devotionals published in the past, but now she is looking forward to getting her first Christian Living book published. You can connect with Rachel on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.

Categories
Book Proposals

Book Proposals for Different Genres

“What’s the difference between a fiction book proposal and non-fiction?”

“Do I need the illustrations when I submit my children’s book proposal?”

Join Cherrilynn Bisbano and Caleb Walton for an informative chat. As they answer these and other proposal questions.

 

Cherrilynn Bisbano is an award-winning writer.  She founded The Write Proposal after reading hundreds of book proposals with avoidable errors. These errors cost the author a contract or representation. As a submission reader and junior literary agent, Cherrilynn wants you to succeed.  Her desire is to help you present a professional and memorable proposal.  She has written proposals for Paws for Effect, a Hollywood movie company, and helped edit many proposals.  As the managing editor of Almost an Author, she helped the website earn the #6 spot on the Top 100 best writing websites for 2018 by The Write Life and Top 101 Websites for writers with Writers Digest.

Cherrilynn hosts Genre Chat where she’s privileged to interview expert writers like Jerry B. Jenkins, Cecil Murphy, Michelle Adams and Steven James.

She earned her associate’s degree in communications and continues to study business management.

She is a two-time winner of Flash Fiction Weekly. She’s published in many online magazines and blogs. Cherrilynn contributed to Chicken Soup for the Soul- Miracles, Breaking the Chains, and Heart Reno books.

Cherrilynn proudly served in the military for twenty years, earning the John Levitow Military leadership award.

HOLLAND WEBB

Holland Webb is a full-time freelance copywriter and digital marketing strategist living near Greenville, SC.

His clients are leaders in the online retail, higher education, and faith-based sectors. Holland has written for brands such as U.S. News & World Report, iLendX, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, MediaFusion, Modkat, Great Bay Home, IMPACT Water, and BioNetwork.

He is a featured writer on Compose.ly, and his copywriting column appears on Almost An Author.

You can reach him at www.hollandwebb.com

CRISTEL PHELPS

Cristel is “Saving the world from bad writing, one project at a time, all while drinking copious amounts of coffee.”

Cristel is part of the Serious Writer team, lending her editing expertise to writers at conferences and online. Mentoring and coaching authors through the editing and proposal process is what makes her shine. She is also a member of The Christian Pen and owner of The Editing House, where she edits manuscripts and other projects for the Christian industry.

Managing editor for Decapolis Publishing in Lansing, Michigan for 7 years.

Editing reviewer for CBA for 5 years.

Editing for Elk Lake Publishing for 4 years.

Deep POV edit is her specialty.

 

 

Categories
Child's Craft

Is the Story Middle Grade or YA?

A Quick Look at the Two

Middle Grade:

Age of readers: 8 to 12 or 13

Length of books: 30,000 to 50,000 words

Content restrictions: No profanity, graphic violence or sex

Age of the Main Character: usually 12 or 13

Focus of the Main Character: friends, family, school, the immediate world and relationships.

Voice: usually third person

Young Adult:

Age of readers: usually 14 to 18

Length of books: 50,000 to 75,000 words

Content restrictions: Profanity, graphic violence, romance and sexuality are allowed if pertinent to the story.

Age of the Main Character: usually 14 or 15 for younger YA books, 17 or 18 (but still in High School) for older YA books.

Focus of the themes: YA MCs discover how they fit into the big world outside their family, friends and school.

Voice: usually first person

Ask Yourself The following Questions:

(Do this BEFORE you get into writing the manuscript.)

How old is the Main Character of the story?

9 to 12 years old means the story is for Middle Grade students. 14 to 18 means the story is for a YA audience. Avoid a 13 year-old Main Character.

What kind of strong language does the book contain?

Middle Grade books stay away from cursing. Some publishers allow peripheral characters like parents or coaches to do mild cursing a little. Words like “darn” are permitted.

If the Main Character and or their friends use profanity or sexually explicit words the book is for Young Adults. But publishers insist that the profanity serves a purpose, that it is critical to the character or to the voice. They don’t want profanity just for the sake of making a book edgy.

How graphic and how frequent is violence in the  book?

Often General Market publishers follow the same guidelines for violence as the ratings for movies and TV programming. Some Christian Market publishers allow more violence than others.

CHECK AND FOLLOW THE PUBLISHER’S GUIDELINES EXACTLY.

If you choose to add profanity or violence to the story remember that much less is allowed in Middle Grade books than in Young Adult books. That means much less violent, much less gory, much less frequently. Often the violence is reserved for the end, the last battle or the darkest moment in a Middle Grade book.

How much, and what kind of romance is in the story?

A crush, some hand-holding, a lot of blushing and embarrassment and maybe a peck on the cheek means the book is for Middle Grade.

If the Main Character (and others) are “in love,” have sexual contact or talk about sex, experience making out, real kissing or more, the book is for Young Adults. Even if these topics are not committed but are strongly hinted at, discussed or imagined, the book is for Young Adults.

How does the main character experience and interpret life and the world?

If the story centers around home, family, school, friends the Main Character probably experiences the story and their personal changes internally. That is typical of a Middle Grade book. The characters change but stay within the confines of their smaller world. They are just beginning a journey into seeing life a different way. They experience the events of the story, but aren’t especially aware of what they are feeling and why. They are not really analyzing life.

If the Main Character’s world expands during the story so that they start questioning and thinking about their place in the bigger world beyond home, family, school and friends the story is for Young Adults. The Main Character is experiencing the world externally and beginning a journey to find their place in the bigger world and see life differently. They tend to be introspective and analytical about their experience and how it affects their life.

Jean Hall lives in Louisville, Kentucky. She is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary. Her premier picture book series Four Seasons was recently signed by Little Lamb Books. Jean is a member of the SCBWI, Word Weavers International, and the Kentucky Christian Writers. Visit Jean at www.jeanmatthewhall.com, on Facebook at Jean Matthew Hall, and on Twitter as @Jean_Hall.