Blog Elements by Jim Hart

As a writer, or author, you need to have a purpose for your blog. It can serve several purposes:

1) Connect you to potential readers who will buy your book(s)

2) Offer some sort of information that will be of value and benefit to the reader

3) Simply entertain the reader

Regardless of why you blog you want people to connect with you on more than a surface level. You want to encourage them to engage with you, and the community or tribe that you’ve formed.

But to do this, you need to offer content of interest to the people that you are already reaching. A consistently strong blog will lead to a stronger marketing section in your proposal. It’s writers’ conference season and soon there will be hundreds – nay, thousands - of new blogs from aspiring writers who have been told to “go forth and blog!”

Here are some things that you can interject and include in your blog to help your blog standout:

Quotes

Interesting quotes are often shared or re-tweeted! You can use:

• A quote from an author who writes in your genre
• A quote from your latest book (just a sentence, maybe two)
• A quote from another blogger
• A quote from a person who is somehow historically tied to the subject of your book
• A quote from the Bible
• A quote from a popular media figure that somehow ties into the subject of your book

Facts

A short memorable fact such as:

• A fact about the book you just read
• A fact about the book that you are writing
• A fact about what you’ve learned about publishing
• A fact or statistic that you uncovered while researching one of your books
• A fact about you that would be surprising to your readers
• A fact from the period in history that you write about

Tips

Everyone appreciates some good advice now and then. Share:

• A tip on how to write the perfect first line of a novel
• A tip on how to graciously accept a rejection of your proposal
• A tip on a cool life-hack that you’ve discovered
• A tip on how to work a writers conference
• A tip on how to write a great synopsis
• A tip from something related to your non-fiction book
• A tip on a tricky grammar rule

Links

Include a link in the body of your copy:

• A link to one of your older blog posts
• A link to a blog that you often read, or are quoting
• A link to where you just wrote a guest blog
• A link to support something that you wrote about
• A link to another site that would interest your readers

Pictures:

There’s a reason Pinterest is so popular. People might like to see:

• A picture of the space that you write in
• A picture from some cool place that you just visited
• A picture that makes the reader laugh
• A picture of you from 20 years ago
• A picture of a calm nature scene
• A picture of your cat
• A picture from you book signing

Questions

These are great for eliciting a response and a comment:

• Ask the reader if they agree or disagree with your current post
• Ask the reader to help you name the brother of your protagonist
• Ask the reader how many times they were rejected before being offered a publishing contract
• Ask the reader who they would cast in the movie of their life
• Ask the reader to subscribe to your blog

So…what’s your favorite blog element?

The interview by Terry Burns

It was a one on one meeting at a conference like the one shown here. But this time it was a young lady. She sat down and I waited for her to launch into her pitch.

That's not what happened.

Instead of talking about a project she began to tell me why she couldn't write. She was a working mother which took up her time. What time was left over her kids seemed to take up. There was time given at her church, family obligations, shopping, laundry . . . she went on and on with the reasons she had no time to write.

I knew by then that no pitch was coming but I didn't know why I was hearing all of this. Then she stopped, looked at me earnestly and said, "Do you think I should quit writing?"

I didn't bat an eye, "Yes."

She looked shocked. I think she was looking for some encouragement, maybe a little motivation. i didn't think that was what was needed at all.

"Most of the writers I know aren't doing it because they want to, they do it because they HAVE TO.  It is important to them, something they simply have to do. They can't give it up. But it's a hard business, full of rejection and disappointment. They have something to say and it is very important for them to say it. If you can walk away I encourage you to do it."

She walked away, stunned. It was not what she expected. But if she could give it up it would give her time for her kids and her family without the guilt of feeling the writing was being neglected.

She met me in the hall the next day and said she had thought on it and prayed about it and she knew she was one of those who could not give it up. "Then you have to find a way to carve out the time for it," I said. I told her writing time simply did not exist. That there would never be a time when it was just available for the using. Life doesn't allow that, life expands to fill unused time. The time has to be found, then jealously protected and on some degree of reasonable schedule.

When she sat down with me, neither of us knew what the appointment held in store for us. I think it was a wake up call. I hope it was.

Does Your Title Work? by Andy Scheer

Three words just grabbed me.

I was scanning an email from a local library about author appearances. I didn’t expect any interesting information, but I checked anyway. Maybe something would surprise me.

Kind of like my mindset when I scan the shelves at a bookstore. I need another book like a moose needs a hat rack, but maybe I’ll find something superb. Sometimes I do.

Like today. Those three words ambushed me. They told me the author dared to stand out from the crowd. And that he had the skill to assemble his words in a way to entertain and please.

Enticed by the title, I read the blurb. They confirmed my hunch that this is an author worth investigating:

An Evening with Bestselling Author Spencer Quinn

Celebrate the dog days of summer with Spencer Quinn, the author of seven bestselling Chet and Bernie mysteries. Chet, the dog, who narrates the novels, works with PI Bernie on tough cases.

Bullseye for me, the target reader. I’m a longtime fan of detective stories. Especially ones with a sense of humor. While I’ve read a few cat detective stories (The “Big Mike” series by Garrison Allen, from the mid-1990s in Kensington’s “Partners in Crime” line) I prefer dog stories. Even dog international thrillers (Kill Switch by James Rollins and Grant Blackwood).

Prompted by Spencer Quinn’s three most important words, I plan to look into his series. I’ll start with book one. I’ll check the first line, the first paragraph, the first page. If I like what I see, I’ll jump into the story.

I hope I like it. If I do, I’ll probably read all seven.

Maybe I’ll even buy the newest and see about getting it signed on Saturday, July 25, at 6:30 p.m. at the Philip S. Miller memorial library in Castle Rock.

All because of the title’s three words: Scents and Sensibility.

Further Adventures of.... by Jim Hart

Last weekend one of our local libraries held their annual book sale. This is an event to raise money by selling donated books. Lots of donated books. Tables and piles of donated books.

The smallest sections were RELIGION and SCI-FI, which is where I headed first. The largest section, of course, was FICTION. The MYSTERY section was pretty full also, though.

It didn’t take me long to go through the Religion section and I quickly scored a copy of 90 Minutes in Heaven. The Sci-fi tables yielded Greg Bear’s Moving Mars. In the Fiction section I was pretty happy to find a book by Ted Dekker, and then one by Creston Mapes in the Mystery Section.

It’s interesting to note that I could have bought the complete set, in hardcover, of the Left Behind series. I also could have picked up the entire Twilight trilogy. But I left them for someone else.

I did notice that while poking through the selections I was mentally taking inventory of what titles were already in my private library. And specifically which ones were on a shelf, or in a pile, or in a box. “Do I have this book?” “Do I need another copy of that one?” Can you relate?

I was also wondering why there were fewer books to be found in the religion and sci-fi sections. I only came up with these reasons:

1) Those categories are not top selling, so naturally they are outnumbered by other genres.

2) Readers tend to hold on to, and treasure, their religious and sci-fi books.

3) All of the above

And of course it makes me ask “how hard is it for you to give away your books?”

It’s always exciting to encounter a good used book sale. But, especially for those active in the publishing industry, we still know how important (and thrilling) it is to buy a new book from the shelf of whatever local bookstore still remains in our community.

Write Like Yourself by Andy Scheer

I thought I’d done him a favor. But his email made me wonder.

I’d recently edited his manuscript. The book was powerful, especially for only his second novel. But he’d come to the task well prepared. And he was exploring themes that held his passion.

Now he was asking me about future novels. The next would be a sequel. But for the third, he was weighing a new direction. Rather than a novel set in familiar territory, he’d “like to move toward an international mystery/drama.”

After suggesting how he might take his main characters to an appropriate setting, I unintentionally planted seeds of doubt. I recommended he read a general market bestseller: The Columbus Affair by Steve Barry.

Since an international drama would be new to him, I thought he’d benefit from reading a stand-alone by a master of that genre. A co-founder of the thriller writers group, he sets the bar high for both story and craft.

That was the problem. “I’m about half way through it,” my friend said. “It’s a super fast paced read. It’s a great book.” Then he asked, “Do you think I have the ability to write something with that kind of pace and creativity?”

Time for some damage control. I suggested he view the Steve Berry novel as more than just a recent international thriller. It’s also Berry’s eleventh published book, created after he’d been writing fiction for twenty years. A well-practiced effort, it’s stronger and more complex his earlier novels.

My friend would be setting himself to fail if he tried to write like Steve Berry, James Rollins, Dan Brown, or anyone else. Yet if he wants to get published in that field, he’d be wise to consider what elements in their approaches might also make sense for him.

I suggested he learn what he can from masters of in the genre, especially where it stretches him. In his case, especially consider how these writers plan a complex plot, depending less on seat-of-the pants spontaneity.

But there’s a limit in reading top writers. Learn what you can from them. Incorporate what make sense. But don’t try to let another writer squeeze you into their mold.

If he learns from the best, rather than try to imitate them, the result will be a stronger story—that still sounds like him. And because it will spring from his deep faith, the story will resonates with themes often absent in international dramas.

Can you write like that? Don’t even try. Yet by learning from them—and incorporating your unique skills and perspectives—you may be able to write even better.

Chocolate, Heroin, and Print Books by Linda S. Glaz

Two things that cause addiction, and one that will hopefully steer a child in a good direction. What?

On the news recently, the hours that children and adults spend on electronic media really surprised me. Like chocolate and heroin, electronic media has become such a strong addiction that it often replaces meals and sleep. Children 8-10 are spending an average of 8 hours a day while teens and adults average 10 hours a day. I say this as I sit at my computer with most functions open and my tv blaring the background noise that I need in order to work. I know…weird, but I’ve always needed noise to be productive. Sigh.

So what happened to hours outside exploring caterpillars, spider webs covered in mist, and a pick up baseball game or two? Have they been replaced with the latest addiction? First tv took all the blame, and now it seems that social media in one form or another has replaced the boob tube.

Like any other addiction, in time, it can lead to more serious things. Is there a way for us to “model” behavior that will steer children (and adults) toward print books, games outside, and fun without a phone or tablet.

Kids’ programs and contests? The prize is often a tablet. How about books. Real…in your face books for a change.

Most of us laugh at the life the Cleavers and Andersons lived, but I have to be honest, I miss the dinners around the table with kids staring at the turkey, potatoes, and apple pie hoping they get their share. I suppose I am the last generation that actually understands that concept on a daily basis. I know when my kids were growing up, theatre, soccer, and various other school activities put a halt on every night dinners. But we still managed a few throughout the week.

As rehab centers for social media sprout up like weeds in the yard, I have to wonder where childhood has gone? The theatre rehearsals and soccer nights that I once bemoaned at least offered physical activity. What next? Are we so close to the sci-fi predictions of the fifties and sixties that soon we’ll simply sit the entire day and interact with our computers?

Chocolate…addictive. Oh yeah. Just ask any woman. Heroin? Okay, I don’t know anyone addicted to heroin, but I assume it’s pretty bad. A print book…if only.

Have we gone too far to ever return to caterpillars and spider webs?

And what does that mean for the future?