Write Now Editing

First Impressions: Book Covers by Lora Doncea

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First impressions are powerful! With a single glance at someone, we take a snapshot of their entire appearance, analyze their body language, and instantly form opinions about them. Making snap judgments based on first impressions is an ingrained part of human nature, and we will fiercely cling to our conclusions. Writers need to utilize this power! People are avalanched with hundreds of books. How can you get potential readers to buy your book?

If you’ve snagged a potential reader by a riveting cover, they will read the description of the story next. It’s critical to hook readers by this summary. Their first impression of the book content will either grab them solidly, or they’ll just move on. Use an excellent editor to help you write this description succinctly and powerfully.

Example: Which book would you want to read?

1) A man who is a cop and a woman who is an artist are thrown together by unforeseen and terrible circumstances. There is danger that threatens them and everyone around the world like tsunamis ready to drown them. Will they survive? Will they save the world? Will they fall in love after all they’ve been through together?

-Or-

2) One horror-filled incident eclipses all the success that FBI Special Agent Jim Granite has amassed in his career. No one knows that the confident, steely man who has made a national name for himself is driven by sweat-soaked nights and secret torment he can never escape. One miscalculation permanently wrecked his life. But it will never happen again. Never. And no one will ever find out about it.

Tarina Vee savors her lavish life after a decade of agonizing work and extreme sacrifices to reach the pinnacle of success. She is sought after by high-paying clients to create elaborate and mysterious sculptures. She is regularly featured in magazines and on reality TV shows, flying all over the world in posh celebrity style. Talkative and animated, Tarina loves to speak about her work with passion, but she never reveals the meaning behind her enthralling pieces. That secret goes with her to the grave.

Boarding her private plane for a luxury flight to meet with a billionaire investor in New York, Tarina is tackled by a hijacker. He’s already killed her private pilot and flight attendant, but he says he’ll spare her for ransom money. Bound and drugged, she overhears him speaking cryptically to someone about pulling the trigger to demolish several key cities around the world. Something major is going down, but there is nothing she can do.

When a private plane ignores all warnings and crash lands in the middle of JFK airport, law enforcement swarms the area. A fully-shrouded man exits using famed artist Tarina Vee as a human shield and shouts preposterous demands to them. Before the NYPD Crisis Negotiations Team arrives, he shoots Tarina in one hand and threatens to shoot every joint and limb until his demands are met. Agent Granite gets permission to stop the madman, just as reports flood in of atrocities exploding across the globe. This is much more than a kidnapping for high ransom money. He’s got to neutralize this man immediately, save Tarina, and stop the destruction. Or get as far as he can before being killed.

You get the idea. In your book description, create vivid characters and scenes and plant intriguing problems and questions in the reader’s mind. Pull them in to experience it like a gripping movie preview that ends in a teaser so they have to read the book. Never write “Will he succeed in saving the girl and stopping the crime to save countless lives?” (yes, of course) or other silly, obvious questions. End with uncertainty to force readers to buy your book to find out what happens and how it happens. Don’t allow them to figure out the plot by your description—make them buy the book!

There is too much competition today with thousands of books for readers to choose from, so yours needs to stand out. By creating a compelling first impression, you have a good chance of making a sale—and with an excellent story and powerful writing, it can lead to raving reviews, personal recommendations, and increased sales. Success!

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Lora thoroughly enjoys editing fiction and nonfiction books for Christian authors. She views editing as a ministry first, partnering with authors to make their writing polished and successful. She also writes a blog of “Savvy Writer Tips” to help writers spot and fix common problems. Read them on her website: EditsbyLora.com or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SavvyWriterTips. Lora enjoys reading, editing, being outdoors, spending time with family and friends, music, art, quality chocolate, and soft kitties.

Meet Book Publishing Professionals in 2019

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Are you looking for an editor for your Bible study? I can help. Would you like an opinion on an early draft of your story? I can help. Is your manuscript ready for publication but you haven’t found a publisher yet? I can help!

Last year, I started several new gigs that have put me in a position to help others navigate the publishing world. In case you missed it, here are the biggest changes:

  1. Christian Editor Connection Coordinator: Whether you write novels or nonfiction, whether you need a developmental edit or proofread, the Christian Editor Connection is a free service that matches you with editors who provide the specific services you need. As Coordinator, I process the requests and test applying editors to make sure all of our editors provide the best level of service.
  2. Write Now Editing—Turning Good Manuscripts Into Great Books: My dream has always been to work in fiction, whether I’m writing or editing it. Last year, I took a step in that direction by cutting “and Copyediting Services” from my business name to focus solely on fiction. My expertise? Substantive edits and critiques.
  3. Guiding Light Women’s Fiction: Venturing onto a path I’d never considered, I started working as Managing Editor for Guiding Light Women’s Fiction, meaning I acquire books for the imprint, then work with the authors through the publication process. It’s a weighty responsibility, but one I’m happy to accept. (For regular updates on the imprint, join our Facebook group!)

All of these changes came with new responsibilities, but they also provide new opportunities. For example, this year I am already scheduled to be on faculty at four writers’ conferences across the country. Now you have the chance to ask me in person for advice on writing, editing, or publishing (and here’s a tip for free—if you want to get your novel published, you need to start attending some conferences). Here’s where you can find me this year and who I’ll be representing:

There’s the potential for at least two more conferences in late-Summer/fall, but this should keep be busy!

If you’re ready to take that next step in your writing journey, consider attending one of these conferences (at the very least, attend any conference near you). Invest in yourself and give yourself an opportunity to meet like-minded people who will support and encourage you along the way (like me!).

What do you like the most about conferences? If you’ve never been to one, what’s holding you back?

My debut novel—Summer Plans and Other Disasters—is now available on Amazon! Sign up for my monthly newsletter and you’ll receive the unpublished prologue: find out what inspired Calista Stephens to make those summer plans. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for writing tips, updates on Guiding Light, and more!

Using Past Goals to Set New Goals

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What are your New Year’s resolutions? Have you set your goals? What’s your “theme” for 2019?

How many times have you heard these questions (or something similar)? It’s pretty common to look ahead when you reach the end of the year, but what if you’re not a planner? Not everyone knows how to set goals (did you even know that there are good and bad ways to set goals?). Instead of setting goals today, let’s take a look at how you can set better goals for yourself this year.

Review your past goals. Before you set new goals, look back to see what goals you’ve set for yourself in the past. As you review them, ask yourself these questions?
a. What goals did you meet?
b. Which goals went unmet?
c. Did you reach all of your goals?
d. How many goals did you fail to achieve?

Use past goals to set new goals. After you’ve reviewed past goals, it’s time to start asking another question – why.
a. Why did you achieve certain goals?
b. Why did you fail to meet other goals?
c. Why were you able to meet all of your goals?
d. Why were you unable to meet all of your goals?

Once you’ve started asking why, it’s time to start applying that knowledge. Here’s what I mean. Suppose you set these goals last year:

  • Finish a first draft.
  • Edit first draft by October 1.
  • Launch a website.
  • Start blogging by July.

You finished your first draft in and got your website up, but you never quite finished editing your draft and you never started blogging. Maybe you don’t do well with hard deadlines. If that’s the case, give yourself more flexibility next year and avoid those specific deadlines. Maybe you reached all of your goals because you underestimated yourself (or you didn’t reach them because you used someone else’s goals without considering what you could actually accomplish).

By now, it doesn’t really matter that you failed or succeeded. The important thing is taking the time to figure out why you succeeded and failed. Once you know that, you can set better goals for yourself.

What other goal-setting tips do you use?

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My debut novel—Summer Plans and Other Disasters—is now available on Amazon! Sign up for my monthly newsletter and you’ll receive the unpublished prologue: find out what inspired Calista Stephens to make those summer plans. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for writing tips, updates on Guiding Light, and more!

Book Review: Writing Deep Viewpoint by Kathy Tyers

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“There is no single component of the writing craft as vital to good fiction, and to developing an artistic voice, as point of view.  The term covers a great deal of ground, but basically boils down to sharing the world of your characters, starting from within.  Writing Deep Viewpoint helps establish a foundation from which a novelist can spread artistic wings and fly.  Highly recommended.” Davis Bunn, NYT bestselling author.

The Key to Great Fiction:

Why is deep viewpoint vital for hooking and holding your readers?
Who is narrating each scene of your story?
What are readers really looking for when they pick up a novel?
Where does the real action of a written story take place?
What are the two most important rules of storytelling?
When should viewpoint be established?

Deep viewpoint can convince your readers that they have become your characters. This powerful writing-craft skill set includes showing instead of telling, maintaining story flow, attributing dialogue effectively, and showing characters interact with convincing antagonists and believable settings.

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It’s as if Kathy Tyers climbed into my computer and grabbed the notes from my clients’ manuscripts, then put them into a book. I couldn’t believe how many times I said, “I tell writers that all the time!” while I read this book.

Tyers is spot-on with her observations about fiction writing today, as well as the issues that pop up most frequently in novels (even the edited ones). It’s not just that she can identify the issues, though; she’s able to explain why they don’t work, then she gives examples of how to make the writing better.

To clarify: many of the “bad” examples that she uses aren’t necessarily bad (and you’ll even see them in published books). It’s that the examples can be strengthened. As I tell my editing clients, these are the writing tips that will turn your good manuscript into a great novel that people can’t wait to pass on and read again.

I absolutely recommend this book. These are the types of practical tips that will help your writing grab the readers’ attention and pull them into the story.

ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

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