This comic was inspired by a post by the anonymous Intern years ago, before she came out as her true self: Hilary T. Smith, author of WILD AWAKE (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins). See my interview with Hilary. Thanks to Hilary for permission to re-post the comic.
I've been sharing a few of Baby Bookworm's milestones on her pathway to literacy here on my blog. Last night she picked up a new picture book that I hadn't even read yet, and ran her fingers over the title. She said: "A ... H ... H ... A .... I. Ah Ha." And sure enough, with the exception of the fact that she thought that the exclamation point was an i, she was reading the title of Jeff Mack's upcoming picture book from Chronicle: Ah Ha!.
Now, I'm pretty sure her babysitter had read her the book earlier, so it's not like she was actually sounding out the words from scratch. She was remembering them. But still. She read the letters, and knew that they made up the words of the title, and read it aloud to me. I was pleased. And, of course, we promptly sat down to read the book.
Has your family experienced any milestones on the path to literacy lately?
© 2013 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. This site is an Amazon affiliate.
Fred, the moniker I've given my subconscious/muse, was stumped with my "not exactly a haunted house" book. I gave him the day off last week and wrote a little on a science fiction/future noir story I've been kicking around.
And then Fred came back from vacation, sipping a piña colada and wearing a vintage "I Survived the Orient Express"* t-shirt. His little imaginary head was filled to the brim with ideas for the house story (heretofore only known as "the house book").
He suggested several titles, too, some with "smoke" in them, others with "fog". The house, it seems, plays with those inside, toying with their memories.
Especially memories which elicit fear, sadness, or outright paranoia.
So... The House of Smoke and Fog?
Maybe.
It sounds a bit too much like The House of Sand and Fog, a much different story altogether.
Suggestions?
*The Orient Express was the bad-ass roller coaster at Worlds of Fun, a Kansas City amusement park, when I was a boy. It's gone now, but the memory remains.
As an author, most of us are aware that writing books may not be a lucrative endeavor. In fact, it most likely won’t be. But, there are other avenues you can take to earn an income or at least supplement your income.
Each of you have knowledge and skills that others would like to learn.
Maybe you’re a great cook and have mouthwatering recipes you can share. Maybe you are a wiz at creating crafts. Or, maybe you are an expert in marketing, or finance. Whatever your area of expertise, there is an audience just waiting to learn from you.
You may be wondering how you can reach that audience.
The answer: e-books.E-books are a simple product to create and with services such as Lulu.com, Smashwords.com, and Amazon’s Kindle, you can have a ready-made worldwide market. And, statistics show that the e-book market is steadily growing and e-readers are becoming must-have household items. You should want to be a part of that growth.
Special Features to Help You Target Your MarketYour eBook TitleTo
market your e-book effectively, your keyword should be incorporated in your title, and it should be a title that will grab a reader. Look at the two titles below; which one will grab a reader and quickly let him know that his money problems can be solved by selling e-books?
Make Money Selling eBooks
You Can Earn an Income by Selling eBooksNote: Be sure your title is reflective of the e-book content. If you’re writing about apples, don’t title it, All About Oranges.
Your Book CoverAs with your title, you want the cover to grab a reader. There are number of image services where you can get free images, just be sure you can use the image on products for sale and without attribution.
The cover should also be reflective of the book content.
Book Category and KeywordsTaking advantage of free e-book publishing services allows you to target specific markets through their category and keyword functions. But, before you choose a category or
keywords, do your homework. Look over the available choices and pick a category that best fits your product. In regard to keywords, research those that will be effective – look for long-tail keywords, they have less competition.
Take your time with this step, it can mean the difference between no sales, some sales, and huge sales.
Book DescriptionAnother important feature these services provide is an ample book description area. Again, take your time and create a ‘hook’ description. If you belong to a critique group, ask them to go over your content before uploading it. For those who don’t belong to a critique group (if you’re an author, you should belong to one) try asking in one of your writing groups, or ask a writing friend for some input.
I’ve published e-books on Lulu and recently published with Kindle. And, if I can do it, anyone can. I won’t sugar coat it though, it does take some effort and time, but the results are worth it. You can have a ready-to-go product for sale within a day. If you get proficient at publishing on these sites, you can complete a project in a couple of hours.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you haven’
By: Debbie Ridpath Ohi,
on 8/20/2014
By: Jen Robinson,
on 6/21/2013
.jpeg?picon=3626)
By: Aaron Polson,
on 8/22/2011
By: Karen Cioffi,
on 2/7/2011
How about "The House"?
Simple, but, with the right cover art, very effective.
Maybe add a catchy byline...
"check your sanity at the door"
or something like that.
That's all I've got for today. Have a good one:)
Yeah, definitely too much like *The House of Sand and Fog.* It was the first thing I thought of.
You should hire Cate to come up with a title for you. She rocks the titles! :-D
Titles can so often be the hardest thing about a new project. I'm thinking of something with Halls or Rooms in the title. "The Halls of Smoke" or "Halls of Fog, Rooms of Smoke" but not as awkward.
Meh.
Christine - I've been playing with cover images already. Good point about the right cover art. Taglines are good, too...
Anthony - It's out, then. Thanks. Cate is the title diva.
Barry - I'm going to keep playing with halls and rooms, smoke and fog, and see what I can come up with. It will come.
For a moment I thought Fred went on the actual Orient Express and worried my muse would complain I never send him anywhere nice. Phew!
It may not be 'exactly' a haunted house book but I bet you could write the best haunted house book anyone (okay, Mr King might tie) has ever written.
I like the idea of halls or rooms in there too. I love that your muse has a name. Mine just gets sworn at a lot...I must be nicer to her.
Cate - high praise. I'll do my best to earn it.
Danielle - I'm not even sure if Fred is male or female...
Maybe "Worlds of Fun" or something equally sinister-sounding for a house that enjoys toying with its victims?