Inventing Reality Editing Service

How to promote multiple books on your website

Previous entries here were predicated on the idea that you are promoting a single, new volume, particularly one that has just been published. However, it’s possible that you already have published other books. If so, you’ll want to promote those books, too, on your website. After all, if a reader really likes your new book, they are highly motivated to purchase your older volumes.

Your website then could take a whole new direction: It could be more about you the author than about the new book. You would still use the same elements as if you were promoting a single book, but the text and pictures on those pages would be geared toward promoting you as an author who has written several books.

Or your website could remain focused on your new book. Still, the text on your varying pages should reflect the fact that you’ve got other books for sale. For example, the header on your home page might now say:
 
Read “Raze and Ruin” the latest stunning novel by award-winning author Rob Bignell!

In addition, you probably want to include on your site a page that lists the other books you’ve published. Such a page should have the following elements:
• Header – The title should indicate that these are “Other Books by (Author’s name)”. Then Include a couple of explanatory lines indicating that on this page are previously published books that you’ve authored.
• Photo of each book’s cover – This only needs to be a thumbnail and only of the front cover.
• Blurb for each book – This essentially is a synopsis of the book. List any awards the book has received and include quotations praising it, especially if from prominent individuals or reviewers.
• Link for purchasing each book – Send the site visitor straight to the page where they make a purchase, such as the Amazon.com page for your book.

To decide which direction to go, be honest with yourself: Are people likely to purchase your book because you wrote it or because the story would really interest them? If you have a highly recognizable name – such as Stephen King, Danielle Steel or Larry Niven – people will give the book a look merely because your name is established as an author who turns out great tomes. Such authors ought to have a website focusing on them as an author. If not a single person in a group of people you don’t know would recognize your name, then you’re going to sell books because the story is intriguing. In that case, have the website focus on pushing your new book with opportunities for your new, loyal fans to discover your other published works.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or a small town like Dry Prong, Louisiana, I can provide that second eye.

Enhance book with sidebars, breakout boxes

When penning a nonfiction book, you probably want to include sidebars or breakout boxes in the book’s main text. Such tools can help make the main text more readable by dividing it so one large block of words doesn’t appear page and after. These elements also can provide a way for you to present ideas and concepts related to the chapter but that don’t really fit well in the main text. Further, they offer a neat way to summarize key ideas presented in the main text.

A sidebar typically is a brief article that appears next to the main text. For example, if writing a book about the Beatles, we might include a sidebar about whatever happened to all of the lads who once were members of the band (and its predecessors the Quarrymen and the Silver Beatles). This sidebar might appear at the point where the lineup of the four Beatles as we know them today – John, Paul, George and Ringo – was solidified. Since readers probably will want to know what happened next to the Beatles, telling how Pete Best and Eric Griffiths fared in life probably wouldn’t fit in the main text, though knowing the answer is of high interest. A sidebar solves the problem.

Breakout boxes hold related text that isn’t long enough to form a whole article for a sidebar. It might be a list, a quotation, or a factoid that relates to the main text. For example, in the Beatles book mentioned above, at the point in the main text where Ringo joins that band, we might include a breakout box that says “Though Ringo was the last to join the Beatles, he is the oldest of the four band members!”

Sidebars and breakout boxes should appear in a different font and point size than the main text so that they stand apart by it. Even though a serif typeface is best for paper books, sans serif is a good idea for sidebars and breakout boxes. You may want to employ an illustrator or designer to come up with visual elements to further set apart these two elements. Page through books that make use of sidebars and breakout boxes to see what styles and approaches you like, and then emulate them in your title.

All sidebars and breakout boxes need a headline or header to indicate what they are about. Sometimes with breakout boxes, a line is necessary to further explain exactly what the list appearing below it is about.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Providence, Rhode Island, or a small town like Gay Head, Massachusetts, I can provide that second eye.

Flat line those errors on indices vs. indexes

If I had to chart the times writers have asked about the differences between these two words, it’d be, well, off the chart.

“Indices” is the plural of index, which makes it a noun. For example: “The politician presented several economic indices to prove we’re still in a recession.”

“Indexes” is the present tense of the verb “index.” To wit, “Jane indexes her DVDs alphabetically.”

This all may be changing, though. The Wall Street Journal’s stylebook says using “indexes” as a plural of “index” is acceptable, and many spell checks will tell you that “indices” is wrong.

Over time, we’ll probably see usage of “indices” fall to an all-time low.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Norfolk, Virginia, or a small town like Crappo, Maryland, I can provide that second eye.

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Editor, novelist cousin speaking at Oxford library

My cousin, two-time novelist David Bignell, and I will be discuss our books, writing styles, trials and tribulations of the art, and how to get started yourself on Tuesday, Oct. 15 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Oxford Public Library in Oxford, Wis. David’s novels include “Demons of the Past” and the just released “Ryder.” My books include the novel Windmill, three writing guides, nine hiking/trail guides, and a collection of poetry. The library is located at 129 S. Franklin Ave.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Hampton Roads, Virginia, or a small town like Crappo, Maryland, I can provide that second eye.

Write a great narrative hook for your story

One sign of a good opener is that it makes the reader want to continue with the story. Using a fishing metaphor, a good opener “hooks” the reader.

Writers who catch the reader have employed a successful narrative hook. A narrative hook involves dangling elements of the story before the reader so he can’t help but bite. This is done by making the reader want to know more - the who, what, where, when, how and why of the story.

Consider this story opener:

Jord ducked around the corner, pressed himself hard against the damp wall, wishing he could fade into it. His eyes darted toward the wall’s edge, hoping to catch the shift of a shadow, a movement of brush, any sign at all that they were close.

Notice how it dangles elements of the story. The reader wants to know why Jord is running and who is chasing him. The reader wants to know if Jord will get caught.

Successful narrative hooks usually begin the story in the middle of the action. Conflict already is underway. Beginning a story this way immediately creates dramatic tension, which for most readers is the delight of the narrative.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Raleigh, North Carolina, or a small town like Strong, Maine, I can provide that second eye.

Outline your scene when stuck on what to write

When stuck writing your story, you may want to borrow a technique from screenwriting by making a scene outline. This is a blow-by-blow description of the story’s events.

An excerpt from a scene outline you might write for a story would be:

-Perdita, wearing separates and Mary Jane flats, approaches the elementary school diamond where children are playing kickball
-She stands at the diamond’s periphery, afraid the children won’t accept her
-Slowly the other children begin to point at her and whisper to one another to look at her
-The teacher, with a kind look on her face, waves Perdita over
-Perdita is hesitant
-Teacher waves again for her to come over, tells her it will be all right
-Perdita comes over, feels self-conscious as all of the children stare silently at her
-Perdita reaches the home plate area
-The teacher asks her if she’d like a turn at bat
-Perdita nods
-The teacher gestures for her to stand at home plate
-Perdita does, gazes out at the children in the green field
-The boy at the pitcher’s mound eyes her, swings back the arm holding the red rubber ball then brings it forward
-The ball rolls toward home plate
-Perdita eyes the ball, and when it comes within a couple of feet of home plate, she takes two dainty steps forward and kicks it
-Ball goes sailing past second base, children scramble for it
-Perdita jumps up with glee, when the children waiting at the dugout shout, “Run! Go! Run!”
-Perdita races to first base
-As she’s within three steps of first base, an outfielder throws the ball to the baseman
-Perdita slides into first base and is safe to the cheers of the children at the dugout
-Perdita smiles broadly

Typically the following elements go into a scene outline:
• Identifies point of view character – This establishes from whose perspective the scene will be told from. In the above example, the main character whose view we focus on is Perdita.
• Lists the story’s action – This is a beat-by-beat account of what occurs in the scene and probably will be the bulk of your outline. Three consecutive beats in the above example are: The teacher with a kind look on her face, waves Perdita over; Perdita is hesitant; Teacher waves her to come over again, tell her it will be all right. A full scene outline would show where chapters begin and end.
• Provides background information – This information may not be part of the narrative flow but is necessary to understanding the character or the setting; it’s like exposition. For example, this outline makes a point of showing that Perdita is wearing separates and Mary Jane flats and that she is at the elementary school diamond where children are playing kickball.
• Expresses story’s theme – In a screenplay, this gives the cast and film crew direction about how to approach the scene; in your case, it helps you as the writer know how to approach it. The phrase afraid the children won’t accept her shows that the scene is about an elderly woman gaining the respect of children.

A scene outline can help kick start your creativity because it forces you to imagine the story and gives you focus as doing so. You’re not worried about writing complete sentences that are grammatically correct and lush with description and imagery. Once you have an outline, then you can string your points together into complete sentences and concentrate on syntax.

A final note: Screenwriters typically write their scene outline in present tense, but as a short story writer or novelist, you certainly can modify it to be in past tense since that’s probably how you’ll write the piece, and switching verb tenses would just be messy.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Indianapolis, Indiana, or a small town like Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky, I can provide that second eye.

Basic steps to follow in mainstream publishing

If going the mainstream publishing route, there are some very general steps that most writers traditionally follow.

First, make sure your novel is in manuscript form. Each place you submit your novel has slightly different rules, so you’ll want to become familiar with the general guidelines and then learn specific expectations that various editors/lit agents/publishers have. As a side note, make sure your manuscript is as clean of spelling, punctuation, capitalization and grammar errors as possible, meaning you’ll need to have some people read it over.

Next, you’ll need to write a query letter and a synopsis of the first novel. These items introduce you and your work to the person you’re submitting materials to. Again, there are some basic industry guidelines for how these should be written, and each needs to be tailored to who you’re sending the letter and synopsis to.

From there, you’ll want to move on to finding a literary agent. There are several reputable guidebooks for sale at bookstores or available free online that list literary agents, whether or not they’re accepting submissions, the type of writing they handle, their unique submission requirements, and contact information. You’ll need to spend some time perusing the guidebook to create your own list of the literary agents that would be most interested in your work. Make sure the guides you use are no more than a year old.

With novels, don’t limit yourself to literary agents, however. Also submit your work to publishing houses. A few accept unsolicited submissions. Lists of those companies also appear online and in published guides (located on the same library or bookstore shelves where you’ll find the literary agents guides). Should a publishing house show interest in your work, immediately reach out to a literary agent to represent you; you’ll find that at least a couple will be interested.

None of this is inexpensive, by the way. While many literary agents and publishers accept email submissions, many still want to see your query letter, synopsis and manuscript on paper. So you’ve got the expense of paper, envelopes, printer cartridges and stamps. Given the low rate of mainstream publisher’s acceptance of new authors, this makes self-publishing a very viable option. You literally can self-publish your book for free, and all of the skills you need to know to accomplish this are easily mastered if you’re willing to put in the time.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Columbus, Ohio, or a small town like Ricketts, Iowa, I can provide that second eye.

Sell products related to your book

If you have a popular book or have developed a series of books, you may want to expand your revenue opportunities by offering merchandise centered on it. There’s really no limit to what you can merchandise, though coffee mugs, bookmarks, and tote bags probably will prove to be the most popular sale items.

You can build such a page using your website host’s template – it’s as simple as posting thumbnails and product descriptions with prices. But this then requires you to go out and order all of these book-related items, to warehouse them, and then to set up some pay system. And you didn’t become a writer to become a retailer.

A much easier route is to create an online store at a provider like CafePress or Zazzle. They’ll provide products that you simply slap your book logo onto, offer a website page for you to display these items in catalog form, give customers a way to pay with their credit cards, and they’ll handle all of the orders. These online store providers then send you a cut or royalty for sales made.

Setting up such a storefront will take some time. I probably spent an entire afternoon and the better part of an evening creating the online store for my “Hikes with Tykes” series. If you’ve got a teenager or college-aged kids, you may want to talk them into building the storefront for you. It’s actually lots of fun to do – but it’s also a distraction from your writing.

The other downside to these storefronts is that getting them to look like your website is nearly impossible. That’s probably not such a big deal, though, so long as you give your storefront the same name as your website and use a similar color scheme.

A link to your online store should appear on your website. It can simply be called “Online store” or “(book series name) Merchandise.”

To set up a storefront, first decide who will be your online store host. Reviews of CafePress, Zazzle, and other providers appear online and are well worth reading before jumping in.

Once you decide who will host your online store, you’ll have to create an account with that company, provide information about where your royalty can be deposited, and set up the storefront template. All of this can be done online.

The last general step is to decide what merchandise you’ll sell. Among the items you might consider are: aprons, bed sheets, clothing (especially T-shirts and hats), coffee mugs, iPod cases, journals, Kindle sleeves, laptop covers, license plate covers, mouse pads, pajamas, photo cards, postcards, posters, puzzles, steins, shot glasses, stationery, stickers, teddy bears, tote bags ... well, you get the idea.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Las Vegas, Nevada, or a small town like Accident, Maryland, I can provide that second eye.

How to construct an index for a nonfiction book

Sometimes after finishing a nonfiction book, readers want to review a specific concept or idea that appears on only a few pages of the volume. The table of contents probably is too general to give them the exact page numbers that they want to read. Instead, they turn to the index.

Indexes offer alphabetized listings of key concepts discussed in the book, telling what pages they appear on. The index typically comes at the end of the book following the appendices.

What should be indexed? As proofreading your book, look for key words in the text, particularly those that paragraphs are about. Begin writing those words on a separate word processing file, including the page numbers that they appear on.

In addition, you’ll want to keep track of related concepts. For example, in my book “Hikes with Tykes: A Practical Guide to Day Hiking with Kids,” one of the key concepts discussed is “Crossing terrain,” so that word receives an entry. Since there are different types of terrain one could cross, related concepts that appear under “Crossing terrain” include “rock hopping,” “scree,” “slopes” and “waterways.” These related concepts typically are indented to show that they fall under the main concept’s heading.

Further, sometimes there are synonyms for keywords. Rather than list the pages twice under two different words meaning the same thing, you might send a reader to the other concept. For example, my hiking book refers to “cougars” as “mountain lions,” so the index entry for “cougars” says “see mountain lions.”

Page numbers often are shortened to help keep the index from looking too cluttered. If text about “rock hopping” appears on both page 122 and 123, the page numbers in the index may simply be abbreviated to 122-3.

A set of index entries following the above rules would look like this:

Cougars, see mountain lions
Crossing terrain, 121-3
Rock hopping, 121
Scree, 121-2
Slopes, 122
Waterways, 122-3

When formatting the index, have it take up two columns per page in books that aren’t any wider or taller than an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. Most authors also opt to have the index printed in a smaller point size than the main body of text to ensure that more keywords can get on the page and to distinguish it from the rest of the text.

Given that you need to include page numbers, compilation of the index needs to occur near the end of the writing process. Don’t place any page numbers in the index until you’re down to your last proofreading, in which the only changes you’ll make is correcting a rare typo, or you’ll soon find your page numbers are wrong.

The challenge then is to set aside just the right amount of space for the index. In a self-published 220-page book, four pages probably are enough.

Finally, the index takes page numbers, continuing with the Arabic numerals that began back with the index.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Kansas City, Missouri, or a small town like Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, I can provide that second eye.

Breaking the barrier: Hurdle vs. hurtle

Hurdle vs. hurtle are two similar sounding words that often get confused.

“Hurdle” can have a couple of meanings. As a verb, it means to “leap” or “overcome.” So, “Liam hurdled over the mud puddle as he ran down the road.” As a noun, it means an “obstacle” or “barrier.” To wit, “Liam found the mud puddles were no great hurdles to his getaway.”

“Hurtle” means to “throw with great force” or “move with great speed.” For example, “Emily hurtled a rock at the approaching bear” and “Emily hurtled through the woods as the bear chased her.”

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Cleveland, Ohio, or a small town like Roachtown, Illinois, I can provide that second eye.