reading

Live a Thousand Lives

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons.

I came across this quote, yesterday, and was so moved!

If you are an avid reader, I think you would agree. Each time you read a new book, you are thrust into a plot and setting with unique characters.

To me, that is the lure of reading.

I could have never traveled to so many countries, met so many people, or experienced so much—except for the power of the written word.

Now, with so much unrest in our world, I am even more grateful to authors for their stories. Places I have planned to travel may no longer be safe—or affordable. The ability to hear, see, and move about easily may cause some of us to rethink vacation plans.

However, a short trip to the library, a book store, or one’s computer should yield a plethora of reading material on almost any subject/genre. I am grateful for stories that teach and entertain; books that encourage and stretch my imagination.

Feel like taking a trip? There’s a whole world out there to explore—and it’s as close as your own bookshelf.

What Motivates You?

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

To piggy-back onto last week’s blog, let’s discuss our motivation for writing and how it affects our bank accounts.

Most writers will say that writing itself is intrinsically rewarding. They write what “speaks to them”… inspires them… It is those authors who write first for their own experience and enjoyment. They hope readers will like it, too, and become followers. While making money would be nice, it is not their main motivation.

But there are also those writers who pay attention to trends in reading. Their goal is to write what is popular and are motivated by the money they can make by doing so.

One reason for writing is not better or more “worthy” than another. Both have valid points. 

It is each author’s choice to write what they enjoy, what draws the reading audience, or whatever is lucrative.

And, readers, it is up to you to choose what you read. It is even okay to stop reading after a chapter or two, if the book is not what you envisioned it to be or if you feel it isn’t delivering a satisfying experience.

As in all of life’s decisions, the choice is yours.

Most Important: Authenticity

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I just finished reading a book of short stories—the first book by a new author. With no formal training in writing, this man broke most of the writing rules us more “seasoned” authors take so seriously.

It was almost 90% “telling”, which we all view as the biggest “no-no” on the planet. It contained “head hopping” (going back and forth from different points of view on the same scene), changes in tense, and so on.

The only rules he did not “break” were spelling, punctuation, and (mostly) grammar. No matter what the genre, breaking these make books intolerable to read. Readers deserve to read effortlessly without tripping over these blunders.

So, I asked myself, “why did I like this pleasant little book? I really don’t have an answer for you, except to say that this author wrote with “heart”, conviction, and confidence. He showed unique “voice.”

In my opinion, he has learned the most important “rule” of all—being authentic. Composing with a voice that is uniquely one’s own, growing organically from the writer’s sense of purpose and intellectual honesty.

Book Gifting for Christmas

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

My weekly post usually focuses on some aspect of writing. I share ideas, opinions, and information for authors.

However, readers are the reason we write, so this blog’s for you!

I just perused the books on The Kindle Book Review and on Book Bub. 

For the most part, the books I saw have Christmas and/or Holiday themes. Writers purposely focus on these, hoping to publish at least by October and thus, being ready to capture the “gifting” crowd.

While this may make sense to authors, is this really what readers want to read? Or would readers in colder regions of the country rather read stories with beach/tropical settings? 

Or, does it even matter? 

Perhaps you choose your books for gifting differently than those for reading. Maybe you select gifts based on ones you’ve read (and liked yourself) or ones that have been recommended to you by friends or those having lots of five-star reviews.

There are many reasons readers choose the books they do. If you are a reader (or a writer who is also a voracious reader), please write back and share your reasons for gifting books for Christmas.

Throw in a Little Swag

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

There were 690 words added to the dictionary in September! Why is this important for authors? 

If you are writing contemporary fiction, it is good to use contemporary words. And, if you’re not, then you should refrain from using them. This would be especially true if you write “historical.”

So, I have decided to read through the list of words (you can google them) and their definitions and select ten of them to use in my next book. I intend to use them in much the same way that writers use words in different languages and still get the meaning across to their readers.

A writer-friend read one of my critique group submissions. She suggested that instead of saying that my character received “freebies,” that I use the term “swag.”

Chances are my readers might not have heard that term. So, I will get the meaning across by using context clues. Here’s my example: When people pay two-hundred dollars for an hour long hot-air balloon ride, they expect to get a little swag thrown in. That little enamel pin and glass of champagne only costs us sixty cents, but goes a long way toward good PR.”

So, I have used the new slang word, “swag” in places of “freebies” and then continued the paragraph with another example so readers can deduce the meaning.

I hope you google this list of words because chances are you’ll choose to use some of them in your own reading and writing.

Discoverability

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

For the last few weeks, we have been talking about keywords and categories—and why you might want to change them.

I was contacted by someone this week who also republished his books with new covers and titles in order to garner more sales. He said it was well worth it.

However, if you want to save that time and expense, let’s review what you need to do in order to begin where you are and go forward.

Many readers want to “follow” an author. Others like to read “books in a series.” 

So, make sure there is a similarity in your book titles. I wrote a series a few years ago in which I used all titles of children’s games: Simon Says, Truth or Dare, Tug of War, and Cat’s Cradle. Sadly, these titles may not have been related enough. 

If I were creating titles, now, I would make sure that one or two of the words are the same in each title. For instance,  Playing Cards; Playing Sports; Playing Instruments. These aren’t intriguing. That’s not my point here. I am simply showing that just by using one or two identical words, the titles show readers these books are in a series.

Covers are much more obvious because we have all seen many examples of these. Even if you are not writing a series, your covers will help your discoverability if they are of a similar color and font. Or, you might have a similar landscape, romantic hero, or murder weapon on the cover. It will be easy to tell they’ve all been written by the same author.

Finally, let’s talk about branding. It you want to sell more books, it will help if you find one genre you like to write and stick to it. For example, A. Author, Writer of Extreme Gore. Though each book has a different story, as long as they contain “extreme gore,” your readers will be able to “find” you. 

Are Re-covering, Re-branding, and Re-titling good options for boosting book sales? I believe they can be. But if you’re not looking to do all that work and spend all that money, simply starting fresh where you are right now, may prove to be the perfect answer for you.

Try These!

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

Each day I receive a listing of new books free or for purchase. I enjoy looking at their covers, reading their summaries and titles.

This week, I saw a couple of really quirky titles that made me think of a website I saw last year which has a random generator of title ideas that are what I’d call “Far Out.” Most of them make no sense and I was certain that no one would really use one of them—until I saw a two titles this week that actually sounded like they must have come from there.

If you want to spend an hour or two (I say this because you’ll get hooked on reading them and won’t be able to stop laughing) I have given you links to some of these below.

Whether you actually want to use one, or will be reading for the entertainment value alone, they are well worth checking out!

www.semrush.com/goodcontent/title-generator

ahrefs.com/writing-tools/seo-title-generator

www.wix.com/tools/title-generator

www.title-generator.com

www.developmenttools.com/title-generator

tweakyourbiz.com/title-generator

 Are You Afraid of Getting Bad Reviews?

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

My dad always said, “Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.” Nothing could be more true than in the case of book reviews.

Authors  know we need them, but we’re also fearful of occasionally getting less than the coveted 5 STARS.

What can we do about it? Or, better to ask, can we do anything about it?

First of all, we can write a book with a compelling story and make sure that it is free of punctuation and formatting errors. It probably goes without saying that the cover should be appealing and professional. Finally, the title should be attention-getting.

But, you ask, how should we respond to negative reviews if we get them?

First, don’t let negative criticism get to you. Read them with an open mind and see if there is something useful you can learn from them. BUT, don’t respond to them. It will only get you into an arguing match and the person and give others reading your comments online a bad perception of you.

Remind yourself that a negative review is just one person’s opinion and that not everyone enjoys the same thing.

Focus on the positive reviews—what readers enjoyed … what they say you did well.

And, by all means, don’t let it stop you from writing!

The Magic Month

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

Students, teachers, and parents know what the month of August means.

Back to School dominates television ads because in most states school begins in August.

So, what about authors? Should the month of August be on our radar, too?

The more times that I’ve heard it over the years, the more I am convinced that from mid-August to mid-December is a golden time of year for those who write and publish books.

A large percentage of people begin their Christmas lists in August. Many actually begin their online shopping.

So, I’m putting the advice I’ve received to the test. 

On August 15th, I published my latest book, Justice for Jessie, and advertised it at a reduced price on Amazon for the first week. (Both e-book and paperback editions).

I will follow its sales through the end of the year and compare those sales with those of my other books which I published in the spring. And, while I am waiting on those statistics, I will be writing for another release in August of 2024.

(By the way, a few blog posts ago, I mentioned I’d soon be publishing, Blinded. However, I discovered that there were already A LOT of books by that title. I renamed my book right before publishing to Justice for Jessie, which I actually like better!) 

There Are Words, And There Are Keywords

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I admit that I am only beginning to learn why keywords are so important in selling our books.

Keywords are aptly named. They are the words a person types into the search bar when looking for a book to read. 

So write the blurb to be placed beside your book cover on Amazon using the words you think readers will type in their search bars. 

So many of us, including myself, wrote our blurbs to be interesting and clever in order to garner sales. However, the readers have to get to that page first. 

And the way they do that is by using the search bar.

If they are interested in fiction, they will probably type the word fiction in. However they will type additional words in order to refine their search.

For example: Fiction>Westerns>Native Americans>New Mexico and so on until they pinpoint exactly what they want.

So if you are writing about Native Americans in New Mexico, and you want readers to find your book, you must work those words in your blurb. (Challenging, to say the least).

Previously, I put my allotted keywords on the page where I uploaded my manuscripts onto Amazon. But I failed to write these words into the book description (blurb), failing to take advantage of that marketing tool.

I just finished writing my blurb for my new book, Justice for Jessie, using my keywords. And, as time permits, I will be rewriting book descriptions for my previous books.

It is never to late to learn something—and put it into practice.