Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Closing Hooks that Urge the Reader On
Authors, what are some of your favorite lines at the end of a chapter that you hope will keep the reader wanting to turn the page? Readers, have you been ready to put a book down only to have the last sentence of the scene, cause you to read on?
Christina Dodd, in her novel, Lost in Her Arms, ends chapter 4 with this line: "Then he opened his eyes and said, "All right, you can take me there. But first, tell me--who are you?"
Stuart Woods in Orchid Beach, ends Chapter 16, "Daisy made a low noise in her throat. Holly drew her gun."
An ending chapter line in my novel Regal Reward reads, "There was something else her mother wanted to tell her. Something more. But what?"
In my present manuscript, the final line of the preface reads, "Her eyes sprang opened just before a large hand covered her mouth and blocked out her scream."
It’s my hope that my readers will want to begin the next chapter to find out what happens next, rather than setting the book aside. Opening hooks are so important to engage the reader, but those closing lines can keep them hooked. I’d love to hear some of those final lines that authors have created to keep the attention of their readers. Please comment and pass them on. I’d love to hear from you!
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Let’s talk about
Readers and Writers.
Famous and the
less famous
As
a published author, I’m intrigued at what draws a reader to buy a book and what
authors do to promote their books. Certainly when a book gets in the news,
sales rise. A famous person, an actor, a
TV personality writes a book and even if he or she uses a ghost writer and many
do, they make big bucks. Tremendous
credit goes to those wonderful authors who are on the best seller lists over
and over again. Talented small press or
self published authors, however, often remain undiscovered, except in their
small circle of admirers. Wouldn’t we
all love to write the next great American novel or be picked up by a major New
York publishing house? We can’t stop trying!
Fame and quality
does not always go together.
Just recently, I purchased a book
because the author received instant fame and wrote a number of books in a short
amount of time. I was drawn in to buying
it, but I really couldn’t get into it. The book presented a great deal of
character emotion; in fact, the ongoing pain presented over and over again was
a bit over the top. I wanted more action
and less moaning. I lost count of the number of sex scenes. I like a good story,
captivating characters, and an intriguing plot. Throw in some sex, that’s fine,
but when half or more of the book takes place in bed, I’m turned off.
I
love when I find a book that I don’t want to put down and when I have to, I
can’t wait to get back to it. I put the
book mentioned above down many times and only finished it because I thought I
must be missing something. After all, the author is in the news and making all
these guest appearances. I was sorely
disappointed. In my opinion, books like
these written quickly with repetitive sex scenes are not examples of quality
writing. They’re written for other reasons that can be satisfied by renting one
of those bad porno flicks. Sorry, I may have just offended a few authors or
readers. Who am I to judge? Everyone has
different tastes and if it works for you….
The truth is, “Sex Sells.”
I remember enjoying one popular author’s books
until I realized that all her female characters are rich, beautiful, have green
eyes, and wear espadrilles. They shop in the same upscale stores, fall in love
with father figures and have overbearing mothers. After awhile, it became
boring, but I’d love to have her bank account. Romance, especially historicals, are still my
favorite genre but I enjoy many genres now, thanks to so many wonderful
authors.
What are your
reading habits?
What
turns you on to an author or genre? What turns you off? Do you stick with one
genre and a few favorite authors? Why do you choose to buy one book over
another? Do you read reviews, the first few pages, or the back blurb? Do you pay attention to the promotions online
by authors on Twitter and Facebook? I’d
love to hear your comments.
And what about
authors?
How
do you publicize your books? Have you found the magic pill that authors can
take and get an instant smile on their faces when book sales go up? Do you find
that Facebook or Twitter or other sites help in sales? Do you wonder if you
might be wasting your time with online promotion? I have many friends on Facebook and I
appreciate that they friended me, but my bet is that only a few have taken the
time to read about my books or purchased them. Unfortunately, I can prove that.
Have I friended another author in the
hopes they’ll buy my book without reading at least a blurb about what they
write? I’m guilty. Not because I don’t care, but time is always the issue. Authors need time to write!
Do
you buy the books of author friends who are close group members? We all want to support our friends and thank
God for those who support us. Even with loyal friends, our success is up to us.
How much time are we spending promoting rather than writing? Has you publisher helped or do you feel alone
in a small boat in a big ocean? If
you’ve found success, why do you think that is?
Do you have thoughts that you might be a better writer or a better
promoter than an undiscovered author? Hard question.
Is self doubt you worst enemy to success?
Author
Dreams
I realize that I write in the distant
shadow of great writers. I wish that I could be more prolific, more creative,
have more of a gift of putting words and phrases together that cause a reader to
be awed. I’m happy to say my novels have
received excellent reviews (4-5 stars) from readers –not just my loyal friends
and that my first novel, Regal Reward,
finaled in the NJRW’s contest. Warmth to my soul!
Reviewers say that my books are
engaging and capture them enough to want to keep reading, but I don’t kid
myself, not everyone likes Regency romance. My books include sensuality without
blatant sex scenes. I like to leaves
what’s not written, to the imagination of the reader. Regal
Reward, A Convenient Pretense, and
my upcoming release, A Kiss of Promise all have wicked villains as passionate in
their evil deeds as my heroes and heroines are passionate in their desire for
love. I like to say that I write historical romance with an edge and that a man
might enjoy reading my books as much as my female readers.
Blatant Promotion
Perhaps someone
who is reading this blog and enjoys historical romance will take the time to review
my website, read the blurbs of my books and read the reviews. If they like what
they read, I hope they’ll click on a Buy
Now button. I will be forever grateful, dance a happy dance, and pray for
you, just send me your name.
Helping others
It
is so important to all authors to pass on their names and their books to others
if their books have moved you. That’s
the way authors, like me, paddling about in our little kayaks in a big ocean,
will make a difference and that’s what we really want, to know our endless
hours of writing may have touched hearts and given readers a few hours of
pleasure.
.Along
with my website, www.elaineviolette.com , I hope you’ll
also visit me on Facebook. www.facebook.com/elaineviolette.author
I look forward to your comments and questions!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Free ebooks, are they harming the industry and devaluing authors?
I have been amazed at how many books I can get for free. Consider a reader who says, "I only have so much time to read and why pay for a book when I can find free ones offered daily?" This new marketing tool bothers me as an author.
I understand that some authors believe offering free books will grow their audience. After all, if customers read and enjoy their free books, they'll purchase other books from them and eventually the authors will profit. Other authors feel that when free ebooks are downloaded, it lifts their numbers and popularity, again with the hopes of greater success and profit. .
I have a hard time with this thinking. In the beginning, it seemed like an interesting idea, but with so many authors doing it now, the market has become glutted with free ebooks. I believe it cheapens the art and hurts authors who believe their skill has monetary value and, perhaps, even a livelihood.
No doubt our first responsibility to ourselves and our readers is to study our crafting and write the best book we can. Authors spend hours and hours writing, editing, proofreading, and struggling toward publication. Why devalue all that effort? Do artists give away their original paintings and prints in order to build their audience? Do songwriters give away their songs?
Perhaps, for some authors, writing is simply a much loved hobby and they want others to enjoy their creations. They have no desire make a profit on their work. Most published authors want to sell books. That's our business. Why devalue the process of writing, regardless of the reason? Do you know of any other career field that would do this?
I'd like to hear your views and if you have found that giving away free books has been a rewarding experience, please share. Perhaps you can change my opinion.
I have been amazed at how many books I can get for free. Consider a reader who says, "I only have so much time to read and why pay for a book when I can find free ones offered daily?" This new marketing tool bothers me as an author.
I understand that some authors believe offering free books will grow their audience. After all, if customers read and enjoy their free books, they'll purchase other books from them and eventually the authors will profit. Other authors feel that when free ebooks are downloaded, it lifts their numbers and popularity, again with the hopes of greater success and profit. .
I have a hard time with this thinking. In the beginning, it seemed like an interesting idea, but with so many authors doing it now, the market has become glutted with free ebooks. I believe it cheapens the art and hurts authors who believe their skill has monetary value and, perhaps, even a livelihood.
No doubt our first responsibility to ourselves and our readers is to study our crafting and write the best book we can. Authors spend hours and hours writing, editing, proofreading, and struggling toward publication. Why devalue all that effort? Do artists give away their original paintings and prints in order to build their audience? Do songwriters give away their songs?
Perhaps, for some authors, writing is simply a much loved hobby and they want others to enjoy their creations. They have no desire make a profit on their work. Most published authors want to sell books. That's our business. Why devalue the process of writing, regardless of the reason? Do you know of any other career field that would do this?
I'd like to hear your views and if you have found that giving away free books has been a rewarding experience, please share. Perhaps you can change my opinion.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Do we want to write as a hobby or to make money?
This question is so important. I believe if you want to write simply for the pleasure of writing, you are freer to express yourself in any way you please. If you desire to make it a career, then more pressure is placed upon you. You need to follow the market, see what is selling, market your stories, Tweet, Facebook, PinIt, or use what ever social networking tool you can come up with. The problem is, I just like to write, then I think of people who work in the industry as comedy writers or sitcom writers and I think, I want to make money at what I'm doing. After all, I'm spending hours every day creating or marketing yet I work mostly on my own dime. Others who work for companies to promote their product whether it's insurance, commodities, or medical supplies, someone is making money. Why can't writers be monetarily successful? Is it because we don't believe in ourselves or do we believe the market is glutted. or are there too many writers? Why does nonfiction seem to do better than fiction? What do you think? Let's throw out some ideas on making money or not making money as a writer.
This question is so important. I believe if you want to write simply for the pleasure of writing, you are freer to express yourself in any way you please. If you desire to make it a career, then more pressure is placed upon you. You need to follow the market, see what is selling, market your stories, Tweet, Facebook, PinIt, or use what ever social networking tool you can come up with. The problem is, I just like to write, then I think of people who work in the industry as comedy writers or sitcom writers and I think, I want to make money at what I'm doing. After all, I'm spending hours every day creating or marketing yet I work mostly on my own dime. Others who work for companies to promote their product whether it's insurance, commodities, or medical supplies, someone is making money. Why can't writers be monetarily successful? Is it because we don't believe in ourselves or do we believe the market is glutted. or are there too many writers? Why does nonfiction seem to do better than fiction? What do you think? Let's throw out some ideas on making money or not making money as a writer.
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