Judging a book by its cover

There was a discussion on one of my writing lists a few weeks back about book covers and whether or not, as independent authors, we should spend any money on them.  I've heard of authors who've said they won't spend any money on a cover because their books are going to retail for under $1, and of authors who spend considerable time, effort, and money to get just the right cover for their book.

Personally, considering that I've even been known to pick wine by its label (take a look at Blasted Church, which does an excellent job of creating unique and eye-catching labels), I think that cover design is integral to actually selling your book.

A quick Google search for the phrase "why spend money on a book cover" turns up 35 700 000 hits because covers do matter.  They're the first thing that I look at when I am looking for a book, whether print or digital, and a poor cover means that I may well not even pick the book up to read the back cover or the first page.  After all, I read a lot of books, but I'm busy, and I'm not going to bother picking up a book with a poorly designed cover because, at least in my experience, that also means that there are going to be problems with the book's text, as well.

Anyway, don't just take my word for it.  Do some research on book covers.  Whether you read Joel Friedlander's Why You Should Judge a Book By Its Cover, or an article from Psychology Today on why the visual cortex matters so much for marketing decisions, do some reading--please!  And save up for that cover art/design.

Please, please, please won't you edit?

I've been reading a fair number of independent and self-published novels of late, primarily as research to see the type of market into which several of my clients are venturing.  What strikes me again and again is the lack of editing, even standard copy-editing (which most people refer to by the misnomer of 'proofreading').  It's really, really hard to take a work seriously when you're looking at substantial errors, errors that could so easily have been fixed.

So I'm extolling the virtues of my own profession, to an extent, when I plead with authors seeking to self-publish, please, please have someone edit your work.  There's nothing worse, in my eyes, than picking up a promising book and getting no further than the first page before you see a typo or a simple grammatical mistake.  So please, please, please ... get your book edited before you send it off into the world.  Trade favours with another writer, if you can't afford an editor, but please have someone (and not just your mother's sister's boyfriend's best friend who reads a lot) edit your book.  (I'll climb off my soapbox now, lol).

More client news: The art of the poet

There's a nice profile and discussion of my client, Raymond Chong, in this month's issue of Sushi and Sake.

This is further publicity for his recent book, Orchid Flower Love Poetry:  Amorous Moods of Sensuous Passion, and gives a bit more background on both Raymond and his recent project.

Busy-ness!

It's been a rather busy week around here as I plan for another year of writing and editing.  With a bit more time this year, I'm doing a bit more, which brings with it having to plan and schedule my writing and editing a bit more than I had been.

I'm working with several new editing clients this year, as I shift my focus away from tutoring and toward editing fiction and poetry.  This brings new challenges, and new scheduling difficulties, but also a more constant workload (and source of income).  I'm looking forward to what the new year brings, and am working toward publishing more, myself, this year ... which means dealing with the pile of unfinished manuscripts languishing on my computer. 

This morning, between the usual weekend chores and the boys' Skylander-ing, I managed to polish and submit one piece.  I have a revised draft of another to sit on overnight, then edit again.  I've been selecting potential markets with deadlines to force myself to actually submit.  So far it seems to be working, so wish me luck!

A literary journey through poetry

One of my editing clients, Raymond Chong, has an article in today's Star Phoenix in which he discusses his writing of his latest book of poems, Orchid Flower Love Poetry:  Amorous Moods of Sensuous Passion.

The article, A literary journey through poetry, is available here, and reveals some of the thought process behind Chong's unique perspective on love.

Book Review: Eddystone Light

Amelia Smith
Eddystone Light
Smashwords, 2012
24 975 words. $2.99
9781301748426

Amelia Smith's novella, Eddystone Light, begins with a conversation in which Jack's father implores him to “marry a land girl. A nice land-girl.” And thus the reader gains insight into Jack's life, his connections to the sea, and his desire for “respectability” above all else. But respectability doesn't come easily to Jack. Not quite part his Aunt Ermintrude's respectable land-society, Jack isn't entirely comfortable at the lighthouse with his father, either. Caught between two worlds, Jack must ultimately decide which one he wants to be part of, a decision that doesn't come lightly.

As the novel begins, Jack promises, if only to appease his father, to marry a “nice land-girl.”  But he also discovers more about his mother, about whom he knows very little. From there, the reader follows Jack through a series of adventures (or perhaps misadventures) as he learns more about his mother and her people. Along the way, Jack begins to realize the true depth of his relationship with the sea.

Smith's novella provides an interesting perspective on and expansion of an early 20th century folk song. It is an enjoyable afternoon's read, complete with several interesting and somewhat quirky characters.  

Eddystone Light is available at:

• Smashwords 
• Amazon

2013 photography challenges

I always seem to be taking photos, especially of the kids, but never seem to *quite* get them to turn out the way I want.  Thus, more practice is required ... especially because I have a tendency to take photos in fits and spurts.  So this year, I'm doing a few things to improve my photography skills.

First off, I'm going to start taking one of my cameras everywhere, rather than letting them languish on my desk.  That means making sure I've got batteries charged for both, and I can see a trip to Costco for a supply of AAs (which is what my elderly Minolta uses).

Secondly, I'm participating in two separate photo challenges.  The first is Picaboo's The Places We'll Go:  A 52 week Project.  This promises to be an interesting project, and I'm hoping to learn a lot more about photography along the way.  I always find Picaboo's tutorials valuable, especially for this distracted photographer.

The second photo challenge is from Capture your 365.  Monthly challenges are listed, which include a list of prompts, and you can even receive daily inspiration via email.  I'm looking forward to this one a lot.  I use a similar process for writing, and have discovered a lot about myself in the process.  Who knows what photos this year will bring!

This year promises to be full of photos (and writing, of course!), and it'll certainly be nice to have a series of photos to add to my journal.  I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to do this yet, but I'll figure it out as I go along.