A Craft Tale

Once upon a time, back when there were numerous, in-person cons every year, there were panels on character arcs, story structure, and pacing. The information was bountiful and the speakers mostly accountable. But then, a dark cloud descended across the land and all of those cons were no longer at hand. 

What was a novice author to do, without all the fixes and tricks? No more handshakes and tips? 

Well, I really thought I was in trouble. It even felt like I was in a bubble. But then, what did I find on the shelf? There was an elf. 

No, not any normal elf, because it was the elf and everything else populating the shelf. Characters. They appeared on pages. On covers. On spines and maps. They showed up when unexpected, never again to be neglected. 

Books. There were towers of books from the well-written, to ones you’d overlook. And on top of it all, sat a notebook. So with paper and pen, I began again. And for help I never had to look farther, than to the pages resting over yonder. 

***

Our topic this week is what are we learning and from whom? And for me it’s true that I haven’t sought any writerly education for years, expect that I realized every time I pick up a book I’m learning. As you read you absorb story structure and pinch points. You experience character’s motives and pressures. So my arrow is going to point you right back to that stack of books on your nightstand or on your kindle or on your desk. Keep reading and it will improve your writing craft. 

VOTE and Ad Classes

Before I jump into the Topic of the Week, I'm getting out my soapbox for my annual plea to our US readers to GO VOTE. If you haven't cast your ballot early, please, please, please go to your assigned polling place and VOTE today. Even though it's not a year for a presidential election, so much still needs your say on the local level. Some of the nastiest legislation gets snuck through in off-presidential years because voter turnout is low and the citizens aren't paying attention. We cannot afford to "sit this one out." Whether it's your school board or gubernatorial race, approving liquor licenses or women's healthcare, issues on the ballot matter. 

 This Week's Topic: Class List: What are we learning and from whom?

I've been taking ad classes from the Zon and FB 'cause it's their platforms, so I consider them the experts. There are lots and lots of self-proclaimed advertising platform experts out there, yet a paltry few offer insight you can't get for free from the companies that own the platforms. Once in a while, the monstrosities run book-specific advertising classes and I hop on those toot-sweet. A lot is stuff I know, but as the companies release new features, I want to stay on top of those so I'm not wasting $$. 

I'm also subscribed to David Gaughran's free best-practices newsletter. He's been in the book biz for decades with a good reputation, and his advice--on the whole--is useful. YMMV. About one out of every ten newsletters has a gem that makes me jot down a note to "try this." What I like most about his newsletter is the inside scoop on when/how distributors are changing things on the tech or policy sides. Obviously, that's not in every newsletter, but when there is something coming, he's one of the first to know and to put it into "this is how it affects authors" terms. 

What Can I Teach You?

 

I have a bit of a jaundiced view of classes targeted at authors these days. There's such a proliferation of "pay me to make you successful" schemes out there targeted at writers, most of which are predatory. Maybe you'll learn something? Probably not. Also, unfortunately (to my mind), the ones that seem to be the most successful are those that make people feel good without giving them real, helpful advice or tools.

There are good teachers out there, and good advice-givers of other kinds, but the best way to get good at doing anything is to do a whole lot of it.  That's why, though I occasionally teach workshops - I really like teaching Master Classes! - I'm mostly mentoring, coaching, and advice-giving through my Patreon. (I know, I know - seems like everyone has a Patreon these days!) Mine is modest in size (and in advice-giving, really) and works mainly to give me a place to offer insights from my experience to people who care enough to invest in hearing from me. We have a terrific, supportive community and I'm really loving it!

Come and join for as little as $5/month!

Ridiculous Cute Crow

On my mind - ridiculous cute. To manage migraine, I do yoga nidra at noon each day. Most of the time, this is a solitary endeavor. Yesterday, it was not. I developed -- a growth.

Crow decided to climb into my tee shirt with me. My fluffy black 17lb marshmallow cat flopped over between my side and my arm. He pillowed his head on my shoulder and 'assisted' with my  nervous system reset.

Except.

When my session ended and I need to get up and go back to work, we came to disagreement. My furry son declined to rise. He also declined to relinquish my shirt.

Thus it is that rather than distress the sizeable feline, I risked an indecent exposure charge. Only briefly. I was outdoors, but  inside the lanai when I shimmied out of that tee shirt and grabbed a blanket from the porch swing and got it around me to get inside. Good thing it wasn't yard work day.

I found myself another tee shirt to wear for the rest of the day. 

My first one remained a place of feline refuge.

I suppose there's something to be said for being someone's sense of safety. 

One final photo of a happy, ridiculous Crow cat below.

Happy Halloween!

 This Week's Topic: On My Mind

What's on my mind today? Pfft. Sugar highs, candlelight, and spooky sights!

Buy My Books, They Last Long Than Candy!

Cover Tough Love

 Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is "Judging a book by its cover: cover trends and what you look for as an author or a reader."

There have been excellent posts this week exploring why we buy covers, what we look for and love in covers, even being misled by covers. What I'm going to talk about is what a cover ISN'T for an author. And yes, this is something that's hard to hear. Stop now if you're not ready for a little tough love.

What a cover isn't: It is not an expression of the author's creativity.

I say this because I've heard more than one - usually a newer author - say that they want it to be. I recall one time that my aunt asked me to talk to a friend of hers who was a first-time author working with a small press to publish her memoir. She was super unhappy with the cover they developed and fighting with them about it. I think she fully expected me to give her ammunition in that fight. Instead, I gave her this tough love talk:

The cover of the book is not an expression of your creativity. The BOOK - what's inside the front and back cover - is the expression of your creativity. You got all those words and pages to convey the story you want to tell. The cover is not, and should not, be an extension of that story. 

Now, I'm not saying that the cover CAN'T reflect the story, but a book cover has two jobs:

1. Catch the reader's eye in a pleasing, enticing way.
2. Convey genre or some sense of what kind of story it will be.

That's it. Simple, but also very difficult. That's plenty of work for an image and a few words to do. Those jobs don't need to be further complicated by putting the author's story-vision into an image. In fact, when authors try to insert that vision, they can get in the way of the primary two functions of the cover.

So, I know it's hard. I have been there and I have had covers I hated, where the characters looked NOTHING like what I had in my head. I have had covers I loved that did nothing to sell the story inside. I've had horrible covers that I'm convinced tanked sales. I've had covers that readers rhapsodized over for no reason that made sense to me. When I work with my cover designer on the covers of my indie books, I really have to take off my author hat and put on the publisher one - and remind myself of the two rules. Tough love for myself, too!

What's in a Cover?

 

Reader Me:

I bought a Sherlock Holmes retelling at a used bookstore the other day. The cover looked spot-on: dark blue background and silvery fog, a hypodermic needle in the foreground, flowers along the border, and the cityscape in the background. All the spooky murderous emblems I needed to pick up the book.

But...

I didn't look closely enough at the names of the authors. 

When I got home, I realized that an NBA basketball star has co-written this book.

In fairness, I should have noticed. My bad. In fairness, this novel is part of a three-book series published by Penguin Random House and the series is a bestseller. Like Marcella Burnard describes in her post this week, I was lured by the pretty cover.

If I had noted the basketball star's name, I may not have given it a chance. So the book cover creators did their job properly. The name was prominent--for those who might think that is of interest, with the co-authored name also listed prominently so we readers might rest assured that someone with an MFA contributed to the book--and the other elements told me exactly what kind of book I was getting.

Have I started it yet?

No.

But I plan to. If only out of curiosity. And after looking it up, I'm actually intrigued to see how it turns out.

Author Me:

Book covers are easier when you have a traditional publisher, since they have people for that. I can weigh in with my preferences and comment on a draft design, but I don't need to come up with the entire concept, find appropriate images, and put them together to suit the book. This is a weight off my mind, since I'm a perfectionist and I second-guess myself a lot. 

Too many options! What if purple is better than red? What font should I use? What elements should stay consistent across the series and which ones can change? These decisions are best left to the professionals, imho. (And I am certainly not good enough to do this myself, although many of my indie peers are.)

There are also lots of freelance book cover artists that indie authors can use: many produce premades and will do custom mades. These can be expensive, although you can always find deals. And the quality will vary. There is more onus on you to determine the look and find what you need, but it can be worthwhile.

Some good advice I received (at a workshop run by 100 Covers) was to scroll through the Amazon bestseller lists on a desktop to see what the top 100 books in your category are using in their covers. A quick scan through the thumbnails can give you a good sense of the features that readers expect to see - for more on these features, see K.A. Krantz's post this week. Then, you work the same magic as you do when you write genre fiction: just as you use the tropes and conventions in an exciting way to attract and keep your reader's interest, so you incorporate the cover elements that readers expect but in a fun and exciting way.

BTW, I'm not an artist, so every book cover that's presented for my work seems like the best thing ever made. Like looking at your newborn's face for the first time. BUT a little objectivity can be a big help--ask your friends and fellow authors for advice to see what they think. 

And enjoy the process! It can seem fraught with pitfalls that can fill one with anxiety. Still, it's important to remember how exciting and wonderful it is to put your book baby out into the world. Revel in the wonder! 

Cover Contrarian

 Who among us has not been lured by a gorgeous cover only to find the contents between the covers lacking? Who among us has not had this happen multiple times? 

Is it just me? It might be me. 

Honestly, I admire covers for what they are. Covers. I do not at all judge my books by them. Not anymore. Maybe it's a function of my age, which we will not discuss, but the fact is I had to navigate a number of cover trends that left much to be desired. Covers were not how one picked a book. For several years, books sported single, solid color covers with contrasting title colors that would never pass a usability test today. Then someone got bold and started putting racing stripes on covers! In clashing colors that made your teeth vibrate just to look at them. (Look, y'all, it was the 70s and I was a kid, but I was THAT kid, reading stuff well above grade level and yikes those covers sucked.) 

Anyway. Long story slightly shorter: I have cover trauma resulting in serious trust issues. I am eternally grateful that recent cover trend history has tended toward artistic endeavors with an eye for conscious design. Covers are a thing to behold now. I love that. Still don't trust 'em. It's back cover copy for me. I expect back cover copy to convey genre and a hint about the story. If it hits my particular 'might be yum' buttons, I'll crack the cover and scan the first page. I'll know right away whether the story and the author are going to work for me. If the cover is pretty? Bonus. But yeah. 

You kids get off my lawn.