What Makes Readers Buy Your Book?



Independent publishers are constantly looking for ways to sell more books. But in our never-ending quest to sell, we might be missing an important part of the equation; buyer behavior. Without a buyer, selling can't happen so if we don't sell in a way that fits the way buyers buy, we might be shooting in the dark.

Market Evolution
In the past, people roamed book stores or read bestseller lists to find books. The arbiters of taste were few and selection was based largely on the inventory of our local bookstore. Amazon, Nook and their contemporaries have changed the game. That means we need to change our methods.

A Case Study in Book Buying
I will readily admit that I don't have a qualitative flowchart model on the modern consumer book buying process. If I did have one, I'm probably not smart enough to understand it. I do know how I buy books. I'm going to bet that my process is similar enough to other regular readers. We all have the enviable problem of too many books to read, not enough time to read them and everyone clamoring for our limited attention. Based on that, I'm going to extrapolate my experience as typical enough for this exercise. Please let me know if I'm way off the mark.

Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that I'm not suggesting that my process is better than anyone else or should be the standard in the way books are selected. This is simply a description of my personal method. My prejudices and biases are cooked into this, so it may not match your preferences at all.

How I Choose a Book
Based on my own observation,  I currently have a four step process for buying a book. I'll refer to these steps as notice, choice, testing and purchase.

Notice
I don't buy books that I never see or hear about, so a book has to cross my radar and get noticed before I can consider it. As a reader and writer, there are several ways that I might notice a book. These are generally in order of influence:
  • Suggestions from Amazon based on my previous purchases
  • Titles on specific subjects that I search for on Amazon
  • Browsing physical bookstores
  • News articles about books that pop up in my research
  • Recommendations from my favorite authors that I'm friends with on FB
  • Suggestions from Good Reads
What doesn't work: There are many books that I notice and then reject because of the way I found out about them. I generally don't consider books:
  • on general bestseller lists, 
  • random social media messages that say "please check out my book",  
  • book review websites, 
  • book press releases 
  • social media comments that are simply thinly veiled attempts to add links for the author's book.
  • book ads in newspapers, trains or on websites
Choice
After a book gets my attention, there are several factors that will influence whether I will give it a try. Sometimes this choice is subconscious and amorphous, but the selection factors include:
  • Seeing the name of an author that I have read and enjoyed before
  • An interesting cover design
  • The book blurb
  • The format the book is available in (paperback, e-book, audio book)
  • The average rating for the book (if applicable)
Things that don't work: In general, there are several factors that I know are supposed to influence my choice but don't. These include:
  • Any reference to other books the author wrote
  • Any reference to the author being a "bestseller"
  • Other readers specific reviews online
  • Excerpts of critical reviews on the back cover
  • Generic elements of cover design (i.e. the ubiquitous male shadow running away from the White House or the Capitol Building for thrillers)
  • Cliche elements in the book blurb (I read a lot of spy fiction, but I instantly stop reading the blurb when I find out the protagonist is "a burned out cop on the edge", "a maverick FBI/ CIA agent" or "the special forces soldier who answers only to the president")
Testing
Once I weed out all the possible books I see, I get a sample of the book to see if the elements hinted in the blurb and the cover are actually in the book. Amazon's "try a sample" is a fantastic tool for this, but a couple times per year I'll grab a stack of books in B&N and peruse them for content. I read the first chapter and determine if the book needs to be acquired.

What doesn't work: Unless it's one of my favorite authors (See Bloody Inspiration 4: My Top Five Thriller Authors) with a strong blurb, I don't buy books without a sample. So when publishers don't make it available, I assume they don't want me to buy it.

Purchase
The decision to purchase is based on my level of excitement during the test. 
  • Low excitement after testing means the book gets dropped. 
  • A moderate level of interest means the book will get put on the Amazon/ Good Reads wish list where it might be read later or not at all. 
  • A high level of interest means an immediate or impeding purchase and insertion of the book into my audio, e-book or print book cue. 
At that point the author has succeeded in making money off me. Whether I read more of their work later is based on my reaction to this book and the next thing they decide to write about.

What doesn't work: When a book feels like it's priced too high for my level of excitement, I have aborted purchases. I can buy a book on a whim for $5.99 or less. A price point of $9.99 is about as high as I will go for an e-book. Anything beyond that kills my interest. Also, limiting the format is another reason I'll drop a book. I rarely buy physical books anymore. My first preference is audio, then e-book, then paper. If the publisher insists on limiting my choices, I'll probably choose not to buy.

What I Plan to Change
After taking a long look at my own buying preferences, there are several things I plan to change in my marketing of A Taste of Honey. I had a process that I used for Smooth Operator (See Marketing the Independent Novel) that I'll modify as follows:
  • Offer the book on multiple platforms to increase potential notice
  • Increased target ads to improve notice potential
  • Increased advanced book reviews to increase positive choosing
  • Offer the first quarter of my novel for free to encourage testing
  • Competitive pricing to increase potential purchase
  • Elimination of Twitter feed purchases on launch day
  • Elimination of book press releases on launch day
My hope is by focusing on how I actually buy books, I will increase my chances of selling books.

What Do You Think?
Am I missing something in my thought process?  Do you buy books in ways that I don't take into account? Do you sell books in a method that I don't mention? If you're willing to share your secret sauce, please leave a comment below.

Have fun.
Gamal

Hearts and Minds: How to Connect Your Readers to Your Story




One of my beta readers ended her analysis of my new novel with the following statement:

"I didn't really feel an emotional connection to the characters. I kept reading mostly because I really wanted to know what happened next."

While this isn't the most ideal situation, it does highlight something that writers should be aware of as they build their narrative. There are two ways for readers to connect with your story, one is intellectual the other is emotional.

Mental Connection and the Spoiler Alert

When you hook a reader's mind, they become invested in the outcome of your story. They want an answer to the universal question "How does this story end?" In the best case scenario, the events of your story are magnetic and hypnotic.  Readers keep turning the pages long past their bedtime because they want to know what happens next.

The best way to understand this is to look at the concept of spoilers. The popularity of many books, movies and TV shows hinge on the mystery of the outcome. Some people feel their story experience is ruined if they find out the ending of the story before they see it unfold. In 2013, this can lead to extreme behavior as people avoid their social media, entertainment news and their real world friends to preserve the unknown quality of the story.

Emotional Connection and the Titanic Effect

There are some stories that don't need a mysterious or shocking ending. They are popular in spite of, or perhaps because, we know how the story will end. Stories that transfer the pleasure or pain of the characters to the reader have emotional resonance rather than mystery.  A high level of both empathy (where the reader relates to who the character is and what they want) and sympathy (the reader wants the character to achieve their goals) creates that emotional bond that people return to over and over again.

Films often capture this idea best, and Titanic is the ultimate example. (Spoiler Alert!) Everyone who ever went to see that movie knows the boat sinks at the end. When the movie starts, you already know who lives and who dies. But people went to see the movie anyway. Hundreds of thousands of people saw it multiple times. It is one of the highest grossing films ever and it is based on an inherent spoiler. Holiday movies like a Christmas Story and classics like Casablanca tug on the emotions, but none of them have the effect of the sinking ship.

The Best of Both Worlds

Of course, as writers we would love to capture the hearts and minds of our readers at the same time. We want to create the mental curiosity that makes them blast through the book in one night and the emotional link that drives them to tell their friends far and wide about your genius. (See On Champions, Tastemakers and True Fans). The problem is that I don't have some kind of formula for doing that. My best guess is that creating a relatable protagonist in search of universal goals is the best way to capture heats. Putting that character in a complex conflict that creates true dilemma is the path that can capture minds. The art lies in weaving both together seamlessly, without cliché or a heavy hand. I'm still working on that part. Sometimes I hit the head, sometimes I hit the heart. Hopefully at some point I’ll hit the bull’s eye.

So what do you think? Is there another way to maintain a reader's connection to your book? How do you keep the pages turning and readers rooting for your characters? Feel free to share your comments below.

Have fun
G

P.S. If you'd like to get updates on the business, craft and lifestyle of independent publishing, please sign up for the Independent Publisher newsletter here

One Novel, Four Books: The Case for Episodic Novels



Question: How does the independent publisher maximize their writing output and maintain fresh exposure in the market?

Answer: You have two choices. You can quit your day job and spend every minute writing or you can release episodic novels.

According to several independent publishers that I've listened to over the past few weeks, releasing a novel in parts might be the best option. While there is some logic to this method, there are some potential drawbacks too. I'd like to explore the idea here to give you something to think about for your own books. Hopefully writing this out will also help me wrap my head around the idea too.

What is an Episodic Novel?

Let's say you wrote an amazing novel of about 75,000 words. In a standard novel, you release the whole thing at once. The story succeeds or fails in the market and you move on to the next project. This method has worked for books since Gutenberg launched his printing press start up and is a completely viable method today.

But the same story could also be an episodic novel. You could take the 75,000 story and break it into several smaller segments. It could be three sequential 25,000 word novellas corresponding to the beginning, middle and end of the story (See Build a Better Novel: The Narrative Framework). In extreme cases, you could have one release for each chapter, breaking your 75,000 word book into 20 or more short story releases. The final configuration is up to you and the appetite of your readers.

While it might sound strange, episodic story telling is standard in certain types of media. Television and comics are just two media models based on a story that develops over several episodes and then sold as a collection when the story is done. Movies also had this format in the past, where a hero would jump from one ten minute cliffhanger to the next. Many independent publishers are also starting to embrace this method, creating different positive and negative results. 

The Benefits of the Episodic Novel
  • You increase the size of your catalog without having to write any faster.
  • You create multiple points of entry in the market for potential readers to find you.
  • You create anticipation among your established readers as they anticipate each new release.
  • You can generate several revenue streams for the same story.
  • You constantly have new product in the market which raises your chances for sales.
  • Each shorter story can be priced lower than a full novel

The Downside of Episodic Novels
  • The cost of producing each novel increases, since you need to pay for marketing (See Marketing the Independent Novel) and cover design (See Judging a Book by its Cover) for several releases instead of just one. 
  • Your potential audience may shrink with each subsequent release if the narrative doesn't maintain the momentum to keep people coming back. 
  • Your writing style might not be conducive to natural breaks needed in episodic writing
  • Your readers might balk at having to pay several times to get one story.

My Approach to Episodic Novels

My writing style lends itself to episodic writing. Working for companies like Marvel, and organizing my stories into a detailed plot structure (See Building a Better Novel: Plot Construction) works to my advantage here. I write so that each chapter and each act is a story in and of itself. It's connected to the larger narrative, but I try to make them able to stand on their own. 

Based on that, I've decided to try the episodic approach with my next novel, A Taste of Honey (See Taste of Honey Beta Request) with the following plan:

  • Have the novel edited as one unit to keep some of the costs fixed (See How Much Does It Cost to Publish a Book)
  • Separate the novel into three different books, making it clear in the subtitle that the books are related
  • Release the first book for free to attract new readers in February (See Selling Books like a Drug Dealer)
  • Release the next two books one month apart (in March and April), focusing my marketing budget on one book at a time
  • Release the entire story in print and e-book as a full novel, one month after the third book comes out. As an extra incentive, the full novel will be cheaper than buying all three books and will include an extra bonus short story.

Feedback
So what do you think as a writer? Does it make sense for you to release a standard novel or an episodic one?

What do you think as a reader? Do you want standard novels, or would you prefer smaller, cheaper releases over time?

Have fun. 
Gamal

P.S. If you'd like to get updates on the business, craft and lifestyle of independent publishing, please sign up for the Independent Publisher newsletter here!

Sign Up Now for the Independent Publisher Newsletter!




Response to the new Independent Publishing Page (See Welcome to the Independent Publishing Page) has inspired me to expand the concept. Starting next week, I'll be posting a companion newsletter called the Independent Publisher.


What You Can Expect: The Independent Publisher will cover the business, craft and lifestyle of modern writing. It will include my own perspectives on the industry and well as links to news, blogs and podcasts that I feel will help you with your own writing. There will also be announcements about books on sale from my company, but that won't be the bulk of the coverage.

What You Wont Get: I have no intention of using the Independent Publisher for third party ads, book promotion or spam. I want this to be a resource and a forum where independent writers and publishers can share ideas. It might not the the Algonquin Roundtable, but most of us can't meet to discuss writing over a three martini lunch. (Wouldn't that be great, though?)

I hope you sign up for the newsletter. If there are any topics you'd like us to tackle or resources you think we should use, please let me know.


Have fun.
Gamal

Bloody Inspiration Part 4: My Top Five Thriller Authors



News of Tom Clancy's death today got me thinking about the writers who have consciously affected my craft. I'm sure that my writing has been influenced by dozens of writers on a subconscious level, but I'm going to stick to the ones that I'm aware of, because I don't want to spend hours in psychoanalysis just to write a blog post.

Here they are in order of importance to me:

1) Barry Eisler
Signature book: Winner Take All (Rain Storm)
Signature character: John Rain
The stories set in the John Rain universe resonate with detailed tradecraft and sudden violence. Eisler conveys a sense of realism that is missing from many testosterone driven espionage thrillers. He also delivers a sense of characterization and true character (See Creating Complex Characters) that is unique in a genre of cookie cutter assassins, maverick FBI agents and special forces tropes. If there is anyone I want to compare my books to, it's Eisler's.

2) John Le Carre
Signature book: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Signature character: George Smiley
Where other authors treat spies as modern day daredevil adventurers, Le Carre offers a vision of agents and case officers that is much more human. Flawed personalities, personal distrust and institutional apathy hover over everything in his work. But there is also a charm and a wit that he will use to turn a phrase or describe a situation that is amazing to experience,  whether he is lifting you up or bringing you down. I hope one day to have both Le Carre's gift of language and his grounded characters.

3) Greg Rucka
Signature book: A Gentleman's Game (Queen and Country Book 1)
Signature character: Tara Chace
Rucka's Queen and Country story has found success both as a series of novels and comics. Rucka combines the bureaucratic infighting and troubled spies of Le Carre with the action and high body counts of James Bond. He also focuses on a female protagonist, something that is sadly rare in the espionage genre. Fortunately, I'm trying to change that with my novels.

4) Brian Azzarello
Signature book: 100 Bullets
Signature character: Agent Graves
Unlike everyone else on this list, Azzarello makes comics, not novels. But that doesn't diminish his craft in any way. 100 Bullets weaves crime, conspiracy, politics, sex, violence and social commentary seamlessly in a story that stretches from the discovery of America to the present. The visual nature of the story enhances the raw beauty of it in a way that prose can't accomplish on its own, no matter how much I try.

5) Tom Clancy
Signature book: A Clear and Present Danger
Signature character: Jack Ryan
Clancy's books don't really have a strong influence on my writing. I consciously avoid the type of highly technical descriptions that often left me confused and pulled out of the story when I read his work years ago. I also try to avoid the super patriotic undertones of good vs. evil that he fostered and the impossibly high, end of the world stakes that were common place in his books.

I do draw a lot of inspiration from the universe he created. It was through books like Patriot Games and The Sum of All Fears that I learned to appreciate the complex relationship between the US military and its intelligence services. His books taught me the importance of set ups and payoffs in a narrative that are pure art when done his way. Most of all, I constantly look to the work derived from the Ryan series and expressed in games like Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell. Clancy may not have invented Sam Fisher, but he is the godfather of the techno thriller and characters like Fisher couldn't exist without him.

So who are your favorite thriller authors? Who influences what you write and read today? I'm always looking for new authors, so please provide a book title if you can.


Have fun.
Gamal

See Also
Bloody Inspiration Part 1: Twenty one films that have influenced my writing
Bloody Inspiration Part 2: Ten inspirational comics
Bloody Inspiration Part 3: Top Books for 2012

The Taste of Honey Beta Reader Request



I'm currently looking for beta readers for my second novel, A Taste of Honey.

If you're not familiar with the beta reading process, don't worry. Beta readers act as a focus group for books. They help the publisher predict audience reaction to a story by getting feedback from a small segment of the market (See On Using and Being a Beta Reader)

If you enjoy crime thrillers or spy stories, consider this premise:

A Taste of Honey
Nikki Siriene is a spy who uses seduction as her main tool of deceit. Her latest target is a shipping magnate suspected of running a huge weapons smuggling operation in Argentina.

Tempting a man is easy for Nikki. Dealing with his paranoid business partner and mysterious wife will make her assignment harder. Sabotage within her own team makes the mission dangerous. But it’s her divided loyalties and emotional vulnerability that could kill her.

If you're interested in being a beta reader for A Taste of Honey, please send an e-mail to gamalhennessy@gmail.com and I'll give you all the dirty details.

Thanks for playing.

Have fun.
G

Dreams, Blood, Sweat and Tears: The Four Stages of Novel Development




Since this is my 100th post on this blog, I think it makes sense for me to take a step back from the minutiae of independent publishing and look at my overall process from beginning to end. Hopefully, you'll find something here to steal for your own work, or at least look at your creative process a different way.

Like everything else I've done, this process isn't original. I've borrowed some elements from my days working at a Japanese animation studio and some ideas came from watching the creative process unfold when I worked at Marvel Comics. The workflow I use could be valid for creating all types of commercial entertainment, but I don't have enough experience to confirm that.

The Four Stages

Novel development at Nightlife Publishing has four phases: pre-production, production, post-production and launch. I'll try to describe each one in order and link to other relevant articles that I have posted.

Stage 1: Pre-Production (The Dreaming Stage)

This is where we think up stories. We gather ideas, follow inspiration and collect research for our half dreamed masterpiece. For those of us who plot, this is where the building blocks of the story are laid out. For those of us who don't plot, the writing might begin at the first spark of an idea. All of us see a work of art taking shape in the fog of our imagination.

Related articles:
Building a Better Novel Part 3: Plot Construction
Building a Better Novel Part 2: The Narrative Framework
Building a Better Novel Part 1: The Foundation
How Much Inspiration Do You Need to Write?
Plotter vs. Pantser: Which Road Did You Choose?


Stage 2: Production (The Sweat Stage)

This is where the fantasy of ideas meets the reality of writing. Here, we wrestle with setting, characters, pace, plot, conflict, dialogue, language and the gap between expectations and results. Some of us produce a steady word count every day in a dedicated writing space. Others squeeze chapters out on our smartphones during our morning commute. This is the first major obstacle for a novel. Anyone can get an idea for a story. Fewer people have the stamina and willpower to forge an idea into a manuscript.

Related articles:
Creating Complex Characters
The Secret Struggle for the Magic It
Managing Emotional Points of View

Stage 3: Post-Production (The Blood Stage)

The rough shaped gem we've mined from the depths of our subconscious needs to be honed before it will be a jewel that sits alongside other best-sellers. Self-editing, beta testing, professional editing, formatting and other quality control measures give our books a professional polish.

This can be a painful stage for two reasons. First, many of our cherished dialogue, characters and concepts might not survive this stage. Second, this is where the book transforms from a low cost creative expression to a project that costs money.

(Ouch. That's why I refer to it as the blood phase.)

Related articles:
Using and Being a Beta Reader
Judging a Book by Its Cover
How Much Does it Cost to Publish a Novel Anyway?
How to Find an Editor Without Going Insane

Stage 4: Launch (The Tears Stage)

At a certain point, our creation needs to leave the protective nest of our computer and rise or fall as a published work. We can help it along with marketing, advertising and social media, but at some point your readers will be alone with your work to measure it on its own merits.

This stage can produce two types of tears. You might experience tears of joy when you get good reviews, positive feedback, sales, fame, fortune and immortality. You might simply cry tears of pain because people reject your book, regardless of how much work you put into it. In my experience, both types of tears come with every book.

Related articles:
Marketing the Independent Novel
The Modern Marketing Audience
Selling Books Like a Drug Dealer
Learning to Love the Bad Review
The Benefits of Rejection, Indifference, Ridicule, Hate, Envy, Exploitation and Insecurity for Writers

Manipulating the Process

The main reason I created a process for publishing my work is to improve efficiency. Each stage of the process requires a different level of time, energy and money. By spreading my work out across each stage, I can increase my library of titles without using up any one resource.

For instance, I currently have one novel that was recently released (launch stage), one novel that is going out to beta readers this week (post production), one that I'm 20% done with the first manuscript (production) and three books that are in various stage of development (pre-production). When time and circumstances permit, I flow back and forth from one project to another. Everything works out, as long as I'm always doing something but not trying to do everything at once.

Stealing a Good Idea

This process won't work for everyone. Some people won't have the time. Others might feel it is too industrial and counter to the way their creativity works. There's no problem with that. I put together something that works for me. If you'd like to steal it, be my guest. If not, I still make the same amount of money from posting this (i.e. nothing).

If you'd like to share your own publishing process, I'd like to hear it. I'm not above stealing a good idea.


Have fun.
G

Improving on Perfection: Self Editing the Independent Novel




Writing a novel is often a transcendent experience. Words flow from the writer onto the screen of their own free will. The author becomes possessed by their muse. The process itself might be a blur when you reach the last page, because your characters took you someplace that you never intended to go.

Once the dust settles and you regain your sanity, you need to go back and find out if your muse made any damn sense when it was in control. Very few books can go out into the world after the first draft (See Is the Self-Published Book Always Inferior?). I'm working on a self-editing process that will hopefully improve the quality of my work without collapsing into a cycle of endless rewriting. I have four levels of self-editing, each with its’ own form and function.

Step 1: Take a Step Back

The first thing I do after a novel is done is to leave it alone. This idea has been echoed by publishing icons like Stephen King and writing manuals of all types. We wait to give our brains a chance to distance themselves from the text. As soon as the book is done, you know what you wanted to say. If you try to edit too soon, you won't read what is on the page. You will read what you meant to write. This leads to missing all sorts of structural and narrative mistakes.

Other authors recommend rest times of anywhere from a couple days to a couple months. I wait four to six weeks, because that gives me time to put some projects in pre-production (See Building a Better Novel) and other novels in post-production (See Marketing the Independent Novel). By the time I go back to the manuscript, I'm anxious to rediscover the work, like an old friend I haven’t seen in a while.
                                                                                                          
Step 2: Plugging Holes

When the words are flowing well in the first draft, I hate to interrupt myself to look up a bit of trivia. I also get ideas for events in later chapters that require setups earlier in the narrative. Whenever I reach one of those moments (and it happens quite a bit), I make a parenthetical note and keep going.

The first thing I do when I start to edit is deal with all these notes. I simply do a word search for every "(" and take the time to flesh it out. Sometimes it's something simple like looking up what kind car a character should be driving or what wine she should be drinking. Other times I have to find the proper place to insert a setup that will feel natural when the payoff comes later. When this step is done, the manuscript should have consistent details that help paint the picture in the readers mind.

Step 3: The Audio Review

The third and most important step for me is to read the story from start to finish out loud. I don’t mean silently to myself or mumbling under my breath. I read it out as if I were reading it to a crowd. Unless you are into improvisational theater, you might want to do this step in private.

Reading the story out loud helps in several ways:
  • It reveals what is actually on the page, not what you think you wrote.
  • It helps you see where you are telling instead of showing.
  • It helps you focus on which character perspective you're working with at any given time to ensure you’re not inadvertently mixing them up
  • It helps you hear when sentences are too long, too convoluted or unclear.
  • It helps you identify cases where you use the same word too often or if a particular word breaks the flow of the sentence.
  • It helps you alter dialogue that doesn't sound natural or isn't the right voice for a particular character.
  • It will show you if the story makes sense.

Out of all these steps, I've found this one to be the most helpful. It also takes the most time, so you need to be comfortable with the sound of your own voice. I love to hear myself talk, so this isn't a problem for me.

Step 4: Spell Check

The last major editing stage is a grammar check. At this point, you’ve probably dealt with most of the grammar and spelling issues in the previous stages, but it doesn't hurt to take one more pass. Spell check doesn't catch everything, but again, it doesn't hurt.

No Rewrites

The one editing step that I don't do is a rewrite the story. In my writing method (See Articles on the Craft of Writing) I plot out every beat in every scene before I sit down to write the manuscript. If a story fails (and many of them do) it fails in the pre-production phase, not after I spent months writing. After that, I trust the inspiration of the muse to see where the story goes. I have at least four novels scheduled for release in my publishing plan between 2012 and 2015. I don't have the time or the patience to rewrite an entire novel. The book might get crushed during the beta test (See On Beta Readers), but as a rule I don't second or third guess myself when it comes to the story.

Time Frames

The self-editing method I use takes about twelve weeks assuming a 50,000-75,000 word manuscript:
  • Rest period: 6 weeks
  • Notes: 1 week
  • Audio check: 4-5 weeks (assuming 20-40 pages per writing session)
  • Grammar: <1 week

You might have more steps or different steps, but three months seems to be a reasonable period in an independent publishing program to polish a story before it goes deeper into post production.

Next Steps

Post Production in my company involves several steps after the self-editing:

Each step polishes your novel until it is a work that you are proud to put your name on and release into the world. Self-editing isn’t the only quality check that you do, but it might be the most important because it allows you to solidify your vision before other eyeballs read your work. Only you can fully be sure of what your muse was trying to tell you during your creative trip. Self-editing can ensure you got the message.

So what editing techniques do you use? Comment below and let me know.


Have fun.
Gamal

Some Thoughts on the Life of the Independent Publisher



This is my last installment of the new independent publishing page (See: Welcome to the Independent Publishing Page). It collects the articles I've written about the mental, emotional and psychological aspects of going into independent publishing. This isn't always a fun or easy road, but for those who have the passion to write, nothing else will do.

Independent Publishing Life Articles
So You Wrote a Novel, Now What?
Do You Need to Quit Your Day Job?
Why Your Writing Routine is Like Your Exercise Routine.
How Do You Define a Successful Writer?
Learning to Love the Bad Review
The Other Benefits of Independent Publishing
The Artist's Struggle with Normal
Great Expectations
The Benefits of Rejection, Indifference, Ridicule, Hate, Envy, Exploitation and Insecurity for Writers

Next week I'll try to go back to original articles and offer something useful for you. Until then


Have fun.
Gamal

A Collection of Articles on the Craft of Writing

Welcome to the Independent Publishing Page




In the spirit of full disclosure, this isn't a new website. 

I've just decided to focus this blog on the topics that have interested people most over the past year. We're going to talk about independent publishing from the perspectives of the business, the craft and the overall life that we as writers have to navigate. I'll try to share what happens to me as I build my publishing empire and I hope that some of it can be helpful and interesting to you.

As an introduction to the reimagined site, I've put together a list of past articles broken down by subject. Today's list includes the business articles. I'll try and post the craft and life articles later this week.

Keep in mind, I don't claim to be an expert in this industry. I'm just a guy going through the process, creating and learning as I go and sharing what I experience. If anyone has a different idea or opinion about the subjects I cover, please let me know. I'm willing to steal a good idea from anybody.

I've listed the most recent articles first and taken out all my shameless promotions. If there is a topic I've missed or that you'd like to see, please post a comment.

Independent Publishing Business Articles
Overnight Success in Ten Novels or Less
Marketing the Independent Novel
Judging a Book by Its Cover
How Much Does it Cost to Publish a Novel Anyway?
How to Find an Editor Without Going Insane
The Future of Independent Publishing
The Modern Marketing Audience
Should E-Books Have Ads?
Selling Books Like a Drug Dealer
Is the Self Published Book Inherently Inferior to Traditionally Published Books?
Life, Death and Sock Puppets

Thanks for reading...and writing.

 Have fun.
Gamal

Overnight Success in Ten Novels or Less




"Life's not a track meet. It's a marathon." Ice Cube

Recently I wrote a piece about marketing my first novel (See Marketing the Independent Novel). Many of the comments on that article fell into three camps; some thanked me for sharing my experience, others pointed out the vague and confusing path to marketing success and many encouraged me to just keep writing. I appreciated all the feedback, but it's the last concept that was the most important to me, because it reinforces a basic concept in independent publishing; success often comes from building your bibliography and your craft, rather than from a single bestseller

The Road to Mastery

Supporters of independent publishing stress the benefits of releasing several titles over time:
  • Barry Eisler and J.A. Kornath talk about the cumulative effect of a growing library in their self-publishing discussion Be the Monkey
  • Hugh Howey highlights the impact of treating publishing as a long term business and not a one of shot in the dark in his Salon article
  • Stephen King refers to paying your dues through both publishing and being rejected in his book On Writing

These specific ideas about long-term, constant improvement go beyond publishing to almost every human occupation or skills set.
  • Malcolm Gladwell said in his book Outliers that it takes about 10,000 hours to perfect a skill.
  • Robert Greene echoes this time frame in his book Mastery, claiming that competence takes about seven to ten years of diligent practice to achieve.

Measuring the Process

One of the problems with the multiple book/ mastery concept is measurement. Just how many books does one need to write? How do you count 10,000 hours of "publishing practice"? The answer is subjective, but I try to look at it by dividing the hours into books.

The basic question is 'How many hours does it take to imagine, plot, write, edit, format, market and release a novel including the website and social media content'? I haven't timed it, but 1,000 hours is about 42 full days. I wouldn't be surprised if publishing a book from first inspiration to marketing online took at least 2,000 hours. At that rate, you could reach 10,000 hours in five or six books. Because my calculations are broad generalizations and because I normally take twice as long to get anything done, I'm thinking that after my tenth book my writing and my publishing skills will be strong enough for me to be an overnight success.

The point is, whether you look at the phenomenon from the number of books or the time it takes to become a great publisher (and not just a great writer) there is very little support for the idea that you can release one book and achieve all of your creative and financial goals.

The Hidden Struggle

One difference between independent publishing and the traditional route is the public nature of your growth. If you spend years submitting work to agents and then more time struggling to secure a publisher, improving your craft all the while in relative obscurity, when you succeed it might appear as if you burst on the scene and took the world by storm. That might have even been the story that is used to market the book. But that's not how it happens for most people. Writers like Stephen King, J.K. Rowling and Anne Rice could have easily spent their 10,000 hours under the radar, but their success involved just as much work as it will take for you and me. We just didn't get to see it.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that everyone who releases ten books and spends 10,000 hours becoming an independent publisher will have success. There are a lot of writers with more skill than me who have put in their time and not seen the results they wanted. All I'm suggesting is that success after several releases is more viable and realistic than striking gold with your first book. It is also more fun and less stressful. Why fret over the sale of one book when you can take the long view of your publishing empire?


Have fun.
Gamal

So You Wrote a Novel...Now What?




“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”
Andy Warhol

Writers enjoy analogies and different ones have been used to describe the feeling that we get after our novel has gone out into the world. Depending on who you ask, it's like giving birth, running a marathon or climbing a mountain. However you describe it, there is a sense of accomplishment that is gratifying and frustrating at the same time. Once the book is out the door and your bank account is (hopefully) being flooded with royalties, what should you do next? I have a few ideas on both what to do and what not to do in the afterglow of your literary orgasm. These ideas are not in any order of importance. They’re just something to consider when taking your next step.

Things to Do After Your Novel is Released
  • Keep supporting the book with post launch marketing (See Marketing the Independent Novel)
  • Get yourself a vacation, a drink, a massage or some other indulgence to celebrate your achievement. Despite what self-publishing pessimists say, not everyone can write a book.
  • Thank the people who helped you. Despite the name, self-publishing isn't something that most people can do alone.
  • Reconnect with your friends, lovers and anyone else you might have neglected while you were working on your novel
  • If you're the type who neglects or abuses themselves during the creative process, this is a good time to see a doctor, therapist, personal trainer or nutritionist
  • Find out what happened in the world while you were away, as long as it has nothing to do with Miley Cyrus' dancing
  • Go read some books that you didn't write instead of proofreading your work over and over. It doesn't matter if you stick to your genre or not. Reading is different after your book comes out.
  • If it’s feasible, look for other avenues to exploit your intellectual property. It doesn't matter what medium and it doesn't matter how many sales you have. Not every book that crosses over has to be a best seller.
  • Get inspiration for your next book (See How Much Inspiration Do You Need?)
  • Look back at the process of releasing your last book. Figure out what went well and what could have been done better. Absorb what is useful, discard the rest as Bruce Lee used to say.
  • Write another book. If you did it once, you can do it again. There is no point in being a one hit wonder from a business or creative perspective.

Things Not to Do After Your Book Comes Out
  • Go on social media and ask people to buy your book every day
  • Agonize over the sales reports every hour
  • Compare yourself to other writer's sales numbers
  • Resent your friends for not supporting you enough
  • Beat yourself up because you don't have a bestseller
  • Ignore what you've learned from writing your book
  • Reject the entire industry out of frustration
  • Give up on your craft

The process of writing is cyclical. The triumph of releasing each book comes with the insecurity of a new blank page (See The Writer's Road). But the important thing for me is too keep writing. That's the only way I'll get better and the only way I'll increase my chances of success (See Defining the Successful Writer). The last novel is part of your past. To be a writer in the present and in the future, you need to keep writing. So go for it, right after that celebratory drink.

Have fun.
Gamal


Delta of Venus: A Book Review



Anais Nin brought an artistic elegance to her erotica. Delta of Venus is a fantastic example of her craft. Written in the 1940's for an anonymous collector, the short stories explore various aspects of sexual expression with a delicate sensibility that does not shy away from darker impulses.

The characters in Delta exist in a hedonistic fantasy. Nin's Paris is full of writers, artists, models and whores. They have enough money to spend on drinks, drugs, parties, hotels, prostitutes and cafes, but none of them seems to have jobs that interfere with their passions. Monogamy isn't an expectation in marriage and a single glance across a bar is enough to spark an anonymous liaison in a closet. Everyone seems both comfortable with their own bodies and willing to explore someone else's. In the hands of a lesser writer, these stories might come out no better than the artificial letters in Penthouse Forum. In Delta of Venus, Nin creates a vision of Paris that is decadent, sensual and stylish.

If you're not a fan of stream of consciousness writing, this book might be hard to follow. Characters in stories will often tell stories of their own that can become confusing, especially if you're listening to the audio book. Nin also has a tendency to float away on tangents about Parisian women or German occupation before WW II that accentuate the setting but diffuse the erotic tension. None of this takes away from the quality of the writing, but it does take some getting used to.

Anais Nin is one of my favorite writers and Delta of Venus is one of her best books. If I could create an intimacy in my writing that comes anywhere close to this, my journey as a writer will be completely. Maybe I just need to move to Paris...


Have fun.
Gamal

Marketing the Independent Novel: Lighting a Spark or Spitting in the Wind?



Marketing is one of the necessary evils of independent publishing. As a writer, I'd prefer to simply spend my days reading, writing, drinking, loving and sleeping. But if I don't tell people about my book, how can I get them to read it, even if it's free? At the same time, if I just run around begging people to buy my book, the only thing I'll accomplish is pissing people off.
I don't have a marketing background, but I am willing to share the marketing I did for Smooth Operator and what I've learned in the process. Hopefully this information will help you reach Fifty Shades sales numbers, even though I'm really far from that right now.

Please note that these tactics came from three books on the subject of independent marketing as well as my own meandering experience in my previous jobs; (Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, Crush It With Kindle and Secret Amazon Hacks)

The Five Principles of Independent Book Marketing
Based on what I've read, people buy books based on five factors. In general:
  1. They buy from authors they know and like
  2. They buy books they've heard about (often several times)
  3. They buy books that offer to do something for them
  4. They buy books that other people buy
  5. They buy books that are easy to buy

I tried to use these concepts to shape my marketing efforts. I broke the process down into five phases to maintain my sanity; social, preparation, announcement, pre-launch, launch and post launch.

Social is where I interact with the potential audience without talking about my book. The goal here is to establish yourself create rapport. I post essays about the business and craft of writing (like this one), book reviews and news articles about subjects related to my books. Hopefully this makes more people familiar with my name without a constant hard sell. At the same time, I've tried to create and increase friend’s lists on various sites and a mailing list that can be used to both keep in touch and spread the word about the book when the time comes. I did this stage for about nine months before the book launch.

In the Preparation phase, I try to set up the framework for the book marketing just prior to release. I found and sent ARC copies, determined the book's Amazon categories, and wrote the cover copy. I did all this about a month before the book launch.

The Announcement phase is two weeks before launch. This is when the cover image (See Judging a Book by its Cover) and promotion copy is posted (See the Smooth Operator Promo Post), the press release is written and mercenary mailing lists are recruited. The goal here is to let people know about the book, without pushing them to buy it. I imagine it works the same way as a movie trailer or a commercial for a new show.

In the Pre-Launch phase, I offer readers something in addition to the new book. I try to add incentives to the process, in the same way other companies offer extra features or gifts for people who buy first or take some other action. Since I didn't have money for an elaborate gift, I offered a prequel story called A Special Request to Smooth Operator to anyone willing to write a review.

When I was ready for the Launch phase, I created launch post on my blog (, sent out a blast on my email list and a social media blast to about 300,000 people (I didn't take bots, duplicates or dead profiles because I have no way to weed that out) during the five day promotional period that comes with Amazon's KDP program. My goal was to get as many downloads as possible in an attempt to raise my ranking on Amazon's sales list.

In the Post Launch phase, I try and let people know how other readers reacted to the book. Reviews from critics, sales figures and list announcements are all used to show that the book has merit in the marketplace. I also purchased three days of ad time on Facebook ads to target about 2.8 million readers in the US, UK, Canada and Mexico. I wanted to try this to see if FB advertising was more effective than a social media blast so I can compare the two methods for my next book.

The Results
Here is what all this marketing did for Smooth Operator during the first two weeks of release:

The Good News
  • There were 900 downloads in the US and more than 300 internationally. And 200 actual sales
  • Smooth Operator was reached #1 on the espionage new release list and #5 on the crime anthology list
  • The book got seven independent reviews with an average rating of 4.6 stars (See What the Critics are Saying about Smooth Operator)
  • Amazon used Smooth Operator as its featured new espionage release email early last week


The Bad News
  • The sales of Smooth Operator dropped 95% after the promotional period was over
  • Smooth Operator dropped off the espionage chart after the promo period and slipped down to #55 in the crime anthology list
  • The overall response rate from all marketing efforts came in at about .003%, or three downloads for every 1,000 people targeted.

Lessons Learned
The obvious takeaway from this exercise is that I am not a marketing genius. There are probably several steps I could have taken to improve my sales. I’m just not sure what those steps are at this point. Maybe I needed to reach three million people instead of three hundred thousand. Maybe I needed a Champion to lead people to Smooth Operator (See Champions, Tastemakers and True Fans). Maybe I shouldn't have squandered the Launch by offering the book for free. Maybe the long tail hasn't kicked in yet and I need to give it more time. I have seven novels planned after Smooth Operator. When it's time to market the new novel in January, I'll try to learn from this experience and create a better result.

What marketing tactics did you use? Were your results better, worse or the same? Leave a comment and let me know.


Have fun.
Gamal

What the Critics Are Saying About Smooth Operator




I am pleased to report that the critical and public response to my first novel has been very positive so far.
  • Smooth Operator reached #1 on the Hot New Releases for Espionage (if only for a day) and remains in the top five at the time of this post.
  • The average rating for the book is 4.5 out of five stars (although I get the feeling that two of the reviewers never actually read the book- See Life, Death and Sock Puppets).
  • The reviews themselves are insightful and comprehensive (and I’m not just saying that because they are good reviews).
  • Several months ago I offered my perspective on dealing with a bad review. This time I’d just like to post the good review that I received from E.P. Scott and let that speak for itself.

-----------------------------------------

This was an ARC given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Smooth Operator is a treasury of seven artfully written short stories, masterfully connected by a common thread: Warren Baker. The result is a thrilling, exotic novel packed with intrigue, action, deceit, sensuality and, in the words of the enigmatic Warren Baker - "relationships based on mutual exploitation."

Smooth Operator's first story (Of Mice and Men) is an interview, an introduction of sorts. The narrator in this first segment, a writer, is hoping to produce the next bestseller, and Warren Baker is his target for information, his muse of a fashion. As the conversation continues, Warren Baker begins the game, as he describes his methodology for acquiring his assets and operatives. Money, Ideology, Coercion, and Excitement (MICE)...Warren Baker's rules of engagement, so to speak. Find their motivator; dangle it in their face and the rest takes care of itself.

The next story (Asset Management), took me into the corporate offices of RSVP, a private intelligence firm. As Warren Baker takes his new boss, Rose Mendoza, who is just itching to fire him, along for the interviews that might result in the successful acquisition of a much sought after operative, I was plunged into the story of Ria Marlen; tormented, angry and ready to inflict her own variety of punishment on sexual predators. This dark, twisted story is exciting, quick, engaging and had a climactic ending that left me with a smile on my face and an `I sure didn't see that coming' as I closed out this second installment.

The third story (Family Affair) begins with a gang initiation that goes all wrong and ends with Harrison Trent, a freelance consultant with a unique skill set, ripping up New York's Lower East Side. A Family Affair is about manipulation, seduction, and exploitation, but it was also painfully gut wrenching, as I was swept along with Trent as he deals with his personal demons. The subject matter deals with gangs, misguided loyalty, what it means to be a family (blood or not) and the pain family can inflict (intentionally or not). The plot is fast but smooth; the characters are realistic, tough, resilient, and heartbreakingly lonely. The action is fantastic and the sex, highly erotic! And, for the second time, the ending is a head-shaking revelation that made me chuckle at the same time as I once again muttered to myself, "didn't see that coming...totally didn't see that coming". The writer effortlessly moves from one scene to the next, connecting the dots along the way, helping us learn as Trent and Baker learn. The planning of the insertion, execution and extraction were so believable, so captivating, I wouldn't be surprised if the author had personal experiences to draw from or, perhaps, has a military background. Harrison Trent is by far my favorite and Family Affair is my choice for best in show.

The fourth installment (Broken Glass) has a few interesting elements and plot twists: a corporate executive is passed over for a job, the slimy new boss is looking for his next piece of tail, a drunk woman is headed for serious trouble, and a man, driven by hatred and desire gets swept into the fallout by making the mistake of thinking that the events and people were mutually exclusive. At the end, just when you think it's the end, along comes another twist that was very well written. The underlying theme; it doesn't matter who gets screwed over, just as long as you get what you want.

As the rollercoaster comes out of the fourth loop-de-loop (Dead on Arrival) introduces us to Hamilton Chu; a resourceful, capable operative. Motivator: money. Unique Skill: "Executes" his missions with exact precision. A quick grab and deliver, that was all it was supposed to be and Chu would have some nice pocket change to spend on his boyfriend. He retrieves his target, delivers him, but in a twist of circumstances, the delivery isn't what anyone expected, especially Chu. He finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong. To delve further into this shorter of the group of stories would ruin it, but trust me when I say that Chu will impress you. The fight scenes were skillfully written and Warren Baker comes to his rescue, performs his magic and keeps his operative safe.

As a sidebar, at this point in the novel, I have to admit that I'm somewhat confused by my feelings towards the character of Warren Baker, as he tells his stories. I find my attraction for him reaching a level of tension that is pulling me in all directions. If he were real, he would be the type of man that an intelligent woman knows to stay away from and yet is unquestionably drawn to.

So, with that being said and my head spinning with all the intrigue and mystery I tried to catch my breath and slow my heartbeats to dull roar before plunging headlong into Ria Marlen's twisted world (Date with a Devil) only this time Warren Baker is meeting her face to face. This story was tense, contained close quarter's combat (of a fashion), a cat and mouse kind of introduction for the characters and a sensuality that had my heart thumping in my chest, again, and my imagination working overtime. Warren Baker is definitely a man that an intelligent woman should keep her distance from...*sigh*....anyhoo.

The seventh story (A Taste of Honey) is about Chris and Nikki. He's an operator and she's an asset. Theirs is a quirky relationship to say the least and Nikki's emotions may be blocking her common sense. Will she allow him to continue to exploit her, then make love to her and exploit her some more? This story and the novel, ends with one hell of a cliff-hanger that left me blinking at the screen wanting more.

In closing, Smooth Operator is an exploration of the lives of the operatives; present, future and questionable, of RSVP through the eyes of Warren Baker. The writing is superb, the plots and characters credible, the action and thrill intense and the sex and sensuality highly erotic without being pornographic. As I wrote my review, checked the stories to make sure my facts were straight, I found that each one sucked me back in for a pleasurable, second read. If a book is written in such a fashion that the stories become that engaging; to make me want to read it again, it automatically gets 5-stars. And truth be told? I'll probably read this novel a few more times.

Thank you, to the author, for giving me a glimpse into the intriguing lives of these wonderful characters.
-----------------------------------
Smooth Operator isn't a bestseller by any stretch of the imagination (See Great Expectations) but it is off to a good start. I only hope other readers feel as good about the book as Ms. Scott.

Have fun.
Gamal

Smooth Operator Is Now Available for Free on Amazon.com!




August 7, 2013,
New York

Nightlife Publishing has released a new anthology called Smooth Operator: The Life and Crimes of Warren Baker (ISBN-0615853579). It is a criminal espionage novel that explores human motivations and how those motivations shape our identity.

The stories in this collection follow a professional spy named Warren Baker as he attempts to manipulate the parade of criminals that cross his path in New York, Miami and Argentina. Playing on the anger, envy, greed and lust of his targets, Baker strives to fight against an army of criminal cartels invading America. If he succeeds, he'll be in a perfect position to stop them. If he fails, he'll wind up dead in the trunk of an abandoned car. Advanced reviews have described Smooth Operator as "a thrilling, exotic novel packed with intrigue, action, deceit and sensuality."

Gamal Hennessy, the president of Nightlife Publishing and author of Smooth Operator, sees the book as a blend of both the crime thriller and the spy novel. "I tried to create a style of story inspired by the best of both genres. Combining the cool professionalism of the spy mixed with the primal motivations of the criminal appeals to readers who are looking for a different type of spy story."

Smooth Operator will be part of the Kindle Direct Press program. The e-book will be free from Wednesday August 7th to Sunday, August 11. The retail price of the e-book will be $2.99. The paperback version has a retail price of $9.99.

As a bonus, Nightlife Publishing will offer a free prequel short story called A Special Request, to anyone who posts a review for Smooth Operator on Amazon. The retail price of the prequel is $.99 and will be provided regardless of the contents of the review.

For more information, please visit http://gamalhennessy.com

About Gamal Hennessy
Gamal Hennessy is an author, entertainment attorney and nightlife advocate in New York City. He is the author of fiction including Afraid of the Dark and Smooth Operator, the non-fiction title Seize the Night and he is also the President of Nightlife Publishing.

SOURCE Nightlife Publishing

Have fun.
Gamal Hennessy

Of Mice and Men: A Free Preview of Smooth Operator





An Interview with Warren Baker
I met him at Norwood on a Tuesday night. I normally can’t get into a place like that on any night. It’s one of the few private clubs left in the city, and I’m not a member. I don’t have five thousand dollars to spend on a club membership, and even if I did, I don’t have the personal references to open up doors like that. Baker clearly had both of those resources. My name was on the list as his guest, so I went to the elevator quickly, before the frosty but polite hostess changed her mind about me and told the gigantic doorman to kick me out.
Norwood isn’t really the type of place you think of when someone says “club.” There is no disco ball or smoke machine. There is no massive sound system that will make your ears bleed if you stand too close. Norwood feels much more like the British clubs that the characters in an Oscar Wilde story were always flitting in and out of. When I got out of the elevator, I had to move around small clusters of European artists flirting with each other over wine. I roamed over ornate carpets that swallowed the conversations around me and passed under low chandeliers that cast more shadows than light, before I found him sitting alone.
He was nestled in a high-backed leather chair, cradling a neat glass of what looked like whiskey. He had both legs stuck out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. His dark wood cane rested at his elbow. He glanced out the window at the passing buses on Fourteenth Street as I approached. That’s when I knew he saw me come into the club. He probably saw me in the reflection of the glass as I entered the room. Warren Baker may have been relaxed, but he was still very much aware.
“You’re late,” he observed as I sat down in a chair opposite his.
“No, I’m not. You said meet you here at ten. Its nine fifty-five now. I’m early.”
“Early for the masses, late for a professional” Baker looked at me with a mischievous grin as he went for a sip of his drink. “You got here just in time to meet me, but you don’t know anything about this place or the surrounding area. You have no idea where the viable exits are, and if something goes sideways tonight, you will be very properly fucked.”
I shrugged. “True, but I’m not a professional spy. I’m a writer. All that tradecraft shit is your job, not mine.” A bright, cheery waitress with a practiced smile came to take my order, ignoring the empty chair opposite me.
Baker admired the girl’s shape as she sauntered away. “They say writers should write about what they know. How are you going to write about people like me if you don’t know anything about the way we think or how we live?”
“That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? You give me some insight into the shadows, and I’ll pay for the drinks. It seems like a pretty fair trade to me.”
Baker snorted as he knocked back the last of the whiskey. “I’m glad you think so. This stuff is seventy-five dollars a glass, and I’m going to need a few of them to tell a proper story.”
I felt my eyes roll in my head. “Then we better get started.” The waitress returned for a moment and then left me alone with my drink.
“Fine,” he said, sitting back in the leather chair as if he planned to be there for a while. “What do you want to know?”

“Why don’t we start with you explaining what the fuck you’re up to?”
Read the full preview here
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The full version of Smooth Operator goes on sale August 7th in Kindle and paperback versions.

Amazon Prime members are eligible to download the book for free from August 7th to August 11th.

Until then,

Have fun.
Gamal Hennessy

Judging a Book by Its Cover: The Mystery of Cover Design



I was very ambivalent about getting a cover for my new book. I know the cover has nothing to do with the quality of the writing, but I also know that a bad cover is a one way ticket to a very bad first impression. I wanted a cover that I would be proud of when I saw it on my shelf, but I couldn't afford to pay a small fortune for professional graphic design (See How Much Does It Cost to Publish a Book Anyway?). In the end, I tried two methods of creating a cover, but only one of them created the look I wanted at a price I could handle.

The Basics
The popular wisdom floating around about e-book cover design involve three concepts:
  • The cover, especially the title and the author's name, should be clearly understandable as a thumbnail, so potential buyers can see it in a list of books on Amazon, Smashwords or GoodReads.
  • The cover should catch the eye of the potential reader.
  • The cover should give the reader some clue as to the subject matter and tone of the book.
I thought. 'OK, what's so hard about that?' Then I dove in head first.
 

Worth a Thousand Words
Smooth Operator is a novel of crime and espionage that includes a lot of drinking, violence and sexual themes. I wanted the cover image to suggest all those qualities as well as project an overall sense of cool. Based on these ideas, I set out to look for an image for my cover. 

istockphoto.com is my site of choice for pictures. It has a lot of amazing royalty-free images on its site for $20 or less, and you don't have to pay anything extra to use the image until you sell 499,999 copies. (That's not a problem, because if I ever sell that many copies, I will be happy to pay for an exclusive license, right after I buy my new condo.) It took a few hours and a couple cocktails worth of searching, but in the end I came up with this image.


The gun hints at the violence. The martini covers the alcohol consumption. The suit and the passport represent cool. There isn't an overly sexual about the image and it's not as dark as I would like, but until a publisher can pay for his own photo shoot, they have to go with the next best option. Armed with the image in medium sized resolution, I poured another drink and tried to make my cover.




Leave It to the Professionals
My best attempt to make a cover turned out like this:


Can it be seen as a thumbnail? Sure. Does it convey the right tone? I think so. The image handles most of that. Does it catch the eye of the potential reader? Probably not. If anything it might scream self-published novel, which is a death blow for some buyers (See Are Self-Published Books Inherently Inferior?). I wasn't completely happy with it, and other authors I respect stressed the need for a professional looking cover (special thanks to Lance Charnes for finally pushing me over the edge) so I set out in search of an affordable alternative.  



That's when I stumbled onto fiverr.com. It appears that the world of graphic design is going through economic competition that is just as bad, if not worse than independent publishing. That is a win for independent publishers because artists that once might have charged hundreds of dollars to design a cover are now doing gigs for $5 per cover. It's a little more for a paperback cover or quick delivery, but no cover is more than $30-$40.

I chose Angie, one of the top rated designers, submitted my payment (you have to pay first, but it's only $5) and my request along with the mock up I did. The cover at the top of this essay is what I got back:

Is this better?  That is a subjective question based on your aesthetics. Does it scream self-published? I don't think so. Considering what I paid for it, I think it is money well spent. Of course, I can't exactly articulate why the second cover is better, but then I'm not a graphic designer. I can say that I plan to use this artist for A Taste of Honey and the three other novels I have planned between now and 2016. At this point, I feel the cover design is the second most successful marketing project I've done so far.

So what process do you use to design your covers? Do you think this process makes sense for what you're trying to do? Let me know in the comments and as always. ..


Have fun.
Gamal

A Matter of Perspective: Managing Emotional Points of View




My recent essays about my writing method* have looked at the process from 30,000 feet, and dealt with broad construction of the narrative. I'd like to switch gears for a moment and talk about going waist deep into the writing of each beat in a chapter from the perspective of the characters in the story.

Sources of Technique
As always, my method is not original, but it is adapted to my temperament. The ideas I present here have mostly been molded from Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View, The Emotional Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, and of course, Story

In the Driver's Seat
I try to write in a manner that places the reader in the position of a character. Instead of acting as an omniscient narrator, I try to cut out the middleman to create a more visceral response.  The best way I've found so far to do this is to follow six steps while developing each chapter:
  1. Decide at the beginning of the chapter whose perspective currently drives the story. Normally it’s the protagonist, but an antagonist or supporting character can drive a chapter if it is part of a subplot.
  2. Determine their emotional state, based on their circumstances. Then decide what they are feeling inside, what they are projecting into the world, what they attempt to hide and what they attempt to project. 
  3. Determine the outside actions or situations that influence the protagonist and what reactions they get when they interact with the world.
  4. Determine what the protagonist can perceive from others (and from themselves) and how they interpret those perceptions, including their biases, mistakes and things they can’t know.
  5. Find out what the protagonist does based on this situation.
  6. Repeat steps 2-5 until the chapter is resolved


Example
I’m currently working on A Taste of Honey, which will be my second novel. In one of the early chapters, the protagonist, Nikki, sits in a cafe waiting for her lover Manuel. She is grappling with several problems at once. First, this isn't a random affair. She wants to seduce Manuel in order to spy on his business. Second, he was impotent the night before when they first made love. Third, Manuel’s wife saw their infidelity. Finally, the wife didn't lash out at them. In fact, she didn't try to stop the sexual liaison at all. She simply watched. Based on this turn of events, Nikki juggles confusion, embarrassment, sexual frustration, lust, doubt and anxiety all at the same time.

The impact of all those emotions come into play when the wife, and not Manuel, sits down at the table for lunch. How is Nikki’s shock affected by her current state of mind? What does she feel? What shows on her face or in her body language? Can she control herself in that moment? What signals does she get from the woman across the table and how is her perception tainted by her own emotional state? How will all of this impact her reaction? Most importantly, what happens next?

The Balancing Act
The art of writing involves creating a narrative that a reader can follow intellectually and connect with emotionally. There are dozens of physical responses to each emotion.  There are infinite ways for a person to interpret or misinterpret what other people say or do. The trick is to discard everything that doesn't help tell a good story and keep everything that will let the reader feel themselves in your character’s lives. Put in too much and you get a hot mess. Include too little and you get a wooden cliché. Art sits on the razor's edge.

When Characters Write Story
As I write each chapter, Nikki dictates more and more of what happens. What she sees and what she believes impacts what she does, which in turn creates a reaction in the world that she has to deal with. And it's not only what's going on outside. In her own head and heart there is a natural struggle between what she thinks and what she feels, between what she tries to do and what she does. Writing through the filter of her emotional point of view not only puts the readers in her shoes, it gives me the ability to see the world through her eyes too. I find that this kind of writing is much more honest and natural than trying to write from the outside looking in.

What do you think? Does any of this make sense? Let me know your perspective.

Have fun.
Gamal


* See The Building a Better Novel series
Part 1: The Foundation
Part 2: The Framework
Part 3: Plot Construction