book, writing

A Little Fish in a BIG Pond

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

The global book publishing industry releases over 4 million titles each year. China leads the pack with over 444,000 titles annually. Second is the US, followed by The United Kingdom with about 186,000 new titles each year.

So, what does that mean for readers?  Lots of choices.

And for authors, it means there is an immense amount of competition out there.

What to do about it? Authors need to do their best to submit quality work at a competitive price.

But, that’s not all.

We must market our books in order to get noticed—and advertising is expensive. In fact, it can cost authors more than $100 just to offer their books on free promotions. That’s right. You pay a marketing website a hefty fee for your right to give your books away!!!

Many of these opportunities are with companies that do a great job of promoting new titles. That’s why they are used so often.

I have received literally hundreds of emails from advertisers/ marketers over the past ten years. I have used very few. I was pleased with some. Not so happy with others.

My best advice is to spend a few hours on the internet looking at various websites and get the opinions of your peers before you plunk down the cash.

Whether you self-publish or publish “traditionally,” you are responsible for most of your advertising. So, don’t miss this crucial step in the writing process. 

Without it, your book will only be one out of 4 million this year.

Mending Fences

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

My novella, Mending Fences, is now on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback formats. 

 I previously published this novella in a collection alongside three other authors. It is now available as a stand alone novella with special pricing.

After the death of his beloved grandfather, Mason finds himself torn between the needs of Rose, the aging grandmother who raised him, and the demands of Lee Ann, the mother who abandoned him as a baby.

Mason’s relationship with Lee Ann is turbulent and complicated. After marrying the wealthy Rex LeMasters, Lee Ann charged back into Mason’s life, reclaiming him and his older sister, Glory, and moving them from the family ranch in Boise, Idaho to Green River, Washington when Mason was fifteen. His mother has not spoken to Mason’s grandparents since that time.

 When Gram takes a fall, Lee Ann at last returns to see her mother—a visit which dredges up memories of a secret buried since Lee Ann’s childhood. 

Will learning the truth about what caused the rift between them so many years ago help them move forward toward reconciliation? Will Lee Ann’s new perspective on the past serve as a catalyst to restore her relationship with her own children?

This novella will inspire you to face your own difficult circumstances, let go of bitterness resulting from past hurts and disappointments and offer forgiveness to the significant people in your life. 

Attributions

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

You’ve used them many times, but perhaps you didn’t know it had a name—or names. Whether you call them attributions, dialogue tags, or speech tags, you need to know how and when to use them. 

Dialogue attribution means writing “XXX said” after the dialogue, at the end of dialogue, or in-between dialogue by the same speaker. They clarify who is speaking, thus guarding against the reader’s confusion. If a conversation goes on too long without a tag, the reader will lose track of who is saying what.

But what if we don’t want to use the monotonous “said” tag over and over again?

We can use “beats” (short descriptions of thought or action) OR structure our dialogue so the reader gets a clue as to is speaking from the text or from the order of speech.

Use tags only when they are needed to clarify who is talking, or as a clever way to add action, facial expression, or reveal something new about your character. They are good ways to break up long sections of dialogue, but using them too often can be distracting for readers. 

A writer can put tags at the beginning, middle, or end of dialogue. My best advice is to use a varied approach.

Using tags such as “Mary said,” or “Mary remarked,” at the beginning of dialogue often takes the reader’s attention away from the dialogue. For variety, use it at the beginning if it is descriptive: Mary looked upward, shielding her eyes from the sun. “It’s only seven o’clock in the morning and I’m already sweating.”

Putting a tag at the end, puts the reader’s focus on the dialogue itself: “It’s only seven o’clock in the morning and I’m already sweating,” Mary said, looking upward and shielding her eyes from the sun.

Finally, using tags in the middle of a character’s dialogue is a good way to break up long lines of dialogue or introduce a natural pause in speech: “It’s only seven o’clock in the morning,” said Mary, shielding her eyes from the sun. “I’m already sweating.”

This last method of tagging is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, but let’s not forget another easily used method of having the “other” person in the conversation using the other’s name: “Mary, you look lovely.” Or, descriptively, you could write: He touched Mary’s arm. “You look lovely.” In both cases speaker one has tagged Mary as the other person in the conversation.

Finally, be sure to put your dialogue inside quotation marks. I recently read a story which failed to use both quotation marks and attributions. As you might expect, I had to put the book down after reading only a couple of pages. The experience left me questioning why we are allowing self-publishing carte blanche…

But that’s another subject for another time…

Read and Write Outside the Box

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I am sooooo tired of stories about people who have had a relative pass away and being left to renovate a bed and breakfast on a remote island.

Coming up with more original themes for books shouldn’t be that difficult. Let’s start with looking at our own experiences.

A couple of my friends write blogs about the “good old days” and they always get accolades from readers.

Why?

Because these are shared experiences with readers who grew up in the 60’s, like we did. When we talk about lava lamps and hula hoops, they smile and recall what it was like for them.

Readers are drawn to authors who mention events, games, music, food—things they recognize from their own lives.

My grandson’s favorite cake is topped with coconut icing. Watching him eat it reminded me that it was my father’s favorite, too, and that gave me a great idea for a future short story.

Ideas are all around us, if we are willing to think—and write—outside the box.

A Common Theme Can Ruin Your Dream

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I love to watch the television show, “America’s Got Talent.” Not only do I get to see many talented people perform, the show features interesting background pieces on each contestant. 

A common theme running through at least half of them is that the desire to perform was thwarted by friends, parents or other family members. They became discouraged and gave up their dream when they were told they just didn’t have “what it takes.”

That leads me to the subject of writing.

Perhaps you’ve been given some negative feedback about a story you’ve written, leaving you discouraged to think you may never realize your dream of becoming an author.

Just as in the case of developing any talent, authors perfect their craft through practice, by listening to honest feedback, and following suggestions from those more experienced in the field.

Many performers on “America’s Got Talent” have received standing ovations or the coveted “Golden Buzzer.” They  have gone on to realize their dreams.

If you have a talent for writing, share your stories with others and improve by listening to their critiques.

Keep writing. Keep your eye on the prize. Don’t limit yourself. Realize your dream!

The Case for Punctuation

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I read a book last week which was devoid of punctuation. It was a funny and fascinating read. However, without punctuation, I found myself rereading sections, changing the emphasis of words and phrases as I guessed at the author’s intended meaning.

Whoever “invented” punctuation made a valuable contribution to the meaning and enjoyment of the written word. Something as simple as the placement of a comma can make a huge difference.

In my critique group, we spend time each week discussing the rules of punctuation. If you think that the creativity of writing can be separated from the mechanics of writing, do this simple exercise:

Write a paragraph with no punctuation and give it to a fellow author to read. I promise they will be frustrated  and probably misunderstand your intended meaning.

Punctuation has always been a stickler. But without it, where would we be??? 

Chapters: How Long? How Many?

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

How many pages should comprise a chapter? How does an author know when to finish one chapter and begin another?

Good new: There is no hard and fast rule. Some books don’t even have chapters at all!

I like writing chapters, myself, because they are good break points in the story. Some readers even gauge their reading by chapters. They may always read  a certain number of chapters at a time—more or less depending on how ‘engaged’ they become.

Some authors write a specific numbers of pages in a chapter. I seem to write at a certain rhythm and 10-12 pages is the average length of my chapters.

If chapters are too long, interest may wain and if too short, they may not contain enough “depth.” 

Varying chapter lengths throughout the book will give the book more interest and variety.

Ideally, longer chapters more often are transitional, and shorter chapters are used for fast-paced excitement.

Books written for a younger audience, YA for instance, should have shorter chapters than books gauged for adults.

One thing is essential, however, each chapter should end with a cliffhanger—or at least something that makes the reader want to continue reading. 

Make your readers CRAVE the next chapter. End where the action is the most dramatic.

So how many chapters should a book have?

Different genres lend themselves to certain numbers of chapters. Fast-paced thrillers tend to have shorter chapters.

The more characters and the more intricate the plot, the longer the chapters and the more total chapters in the book.

Complex, non-fiction books should be shorter, unless textbooks or those written for more academic “types”.

More questions or anything to share?

An “Untested” Idea

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

A couple of years ago, I joined a small group of author-friends to publish a collection of novellas.

I approached them this week with the idea of keeping the collection, BUT ALSO BREAKING THEM APART, so we each could publish ours separately.

It would mean a little bit of work and the cost of a new cover for each of us, but the novellas might sell well in a different format.

In a few weeks, I will report on whether this idea worked out well for us or explain the obstacles we encountered.

If you have information about doing something like this—especially if you have done it yourself—would you please share what you’ve learned?

Share Your Favorites

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I found myself at Target last week, like many of you, reading the beautifully-worded Mother’s Day cards. During the week I saw flower arrangements that could be ordered online. Television ads abounded for jewelry and beautiful sweaters. There were coupons for terrific buys on small appliances at many department stores.

In years past, I would have been making my purchases and anxiously awaiting my mother’s reaction when she opened my gifts.

But, like last year and the year before it, I had no purchases to make. No Mother’s Day meal to cook for my mother who has already passed from this life into the next.

A sweet gift from my daughter came in yesterday’s mail. I will spend part of the day today reminiscing. I will spend the evening with my son and his family, opening my cards with pleasure and thanksgiving for traditions like Mother’s Day that make mothers everywhere feel special.

Some things are different. Some stay the same. Names and faces may change but the spirit of love is still shown across the globe.

I hope you make the grandmothers, mothers, and soon-to-be mothers in your life feel cherished. May you enjoy the opportunity to experience the love of family both today—and always.

By the way, two of my favorite “Mother” books are Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown and Are You My Mother? By P.D. Eastman. What about you? Care to share your favorites?

Share Your Ideas

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I left my home office after writing all afternoon about a victim of child abuse. My family felt the brunt of my frustration at dinner that evening.

Does the subject of your writing affect your mood? Is it hard on family relationships?

As I begin my writing again (after 5 weeks off for a long home renovation project) I am determined to leave my emotions behind when I join my family at the kitchen table.

Just how do you “unwind”? Do you take a walk? Enjoy a few minutes gardening or reading?

Writing is satisfying and we authors love it. But it often affects how we interact with those we love. I’d enjoy hearing from you with ideas to combat this problem in my own life!