Writing an Opening

Ah… the dreaded opening. Feared, avoided and even loathed by many writers, the beginning of a novel or short story can be a real challenge. An opening sets the scene, introduces your principal characters and moulds your themes. It can also be the reason that potential readers choose to buy your book or not – no pressure! If you are publishing through Kindle, Amazon’s ‘Click to look inside’ feature alone should emphasise how important the opening of a book really is. People might be dazzled by your cover or wowed by your description, but it means little if they’re not enticed by the first few pages of your book.

The following are some useful tips for writing a gripping and appealing opening. The first thing, and perhaps the most important to remember, is…

… don’t panic about it!

This is vital. Many writers will tell you that the beginning or opening of their story is actually the last thing they write! If you find yourself incurably frustrated when crafting your opening, put it aside and come back to it. If you write it after you’ve scribbled your middle and end, you might even find that you come up with something stronger; after all, you will know the whole book inside out by then!

Don’t rush to tell your characters’ life stories all at once.

We all need help to get started

Here is an example of this: “I like cats,” said Bob, who had green eyes, came from Washington and whose mother was a chef. “Really? Eww!” replied Lucy, who spoke with a London accent and gave herself concussion by falling off a horse when she was three.

‘Sprinkle’ in details about your characters as you write the book. You don’t have to squash it all into the opening. Yes, giving your readers vital information about your principal characters is important, but, just as you get to know people in real life, allow your readers to get to know a little about your characters every time you meet them. This will not only avoid clogging up your opening with information that appears irrelevant or uninteresting, but also provide a more engaging experience for your reader.

Over-description can destroy an opening.

A slow book is not one that people are likely to keep reading. A beautifully written description of a certain place, no matter how stylish, poetic or innovative it is, is not going to charm your reader if it goes on for seven pages. Jump straight into the story; start with action, or carefully craft suspense. Opening your story with dialogue is fine, but don’t overdo it. Although dialogue can be great for furthering a plot and giving your reader details about your characters, it can also make an opening bland and thin if there is too much of it.

These are facts…

Make sure your story is starting with a story, and that you’re not just describing a sequence of events which took place prior to the beginning in order to set your scene. Like with the introduction of your characters, sprinkle this information throughout rather than hitting your reader with it all at once. Not only does it become too much information to retain, it makes for a tedious start and weakens any building of suspense. Trust your reader – don’t over-explain. Writing a solid opening is tough, and it isn’t always a pleasant experience for the author. Don’t force it; focus, and take your time. It might take up more energy and hours than any other part of your book or short story, but don’t worry. All the hard work and frustration will pay off in the end.

About the author

Are you an author looking for somewhere to start? If so, check out Any Subject Books, the family-run and friendly face of publishing and self-publishing. It's a company run by authors for authors and doesn't that say it all?

How to Boost Your Book Sales Part 2

Boosting books sales....there is lots to be said on the subject! I know many authors who are always looking for that magic pill that will automatically shoot their book to the top of every best seller list. Being a working writer is hard and we need all the support we can get when it comes to getting the word out about our books!

Last week, the incredibly talented Clive West, wrote a great piece about listing your book at an alternative selling location. I absolutely loved his approach and had to repost sections of it here because I believe it to be a solid idea that will help out writers. There is no cost and your royalties pay out exactly the same as they would when you list at Amazon. It reminds me a little bit of Smashwords except Clive's company is doing more of the file formatting for you!

The point is that it's free and another place for people to buy your book in different formats other than Kindle.

Click here for the full article: How to Boost Your Book Sales or read on to see some of the highlights!

From Clive:

I'm now going to propose something which I hope every author reading this will find relevant and of interest. It won't cost you a bean, there's nothing to buy (anyway) and there are no restrictions attached. In other words, I’m not about to launch into one of those awful, intellect-insulting exercises in thinly-garbed hard-sell.

Simply put, we're able to offer authors another way of selling their books and in 3 different formats; mobi (Kindle), ePub and PDF. We'll take your book and cover files, format them (to those 3 formats) and upload them securely in a way in which anyone buying them can't use to give others free downloads. The amount your book will be sold for will be identical to the price listed on Amazon.com and the amount we pay you per sale will be identical to what Amazon would pay you.

Thus, a book selling for $3.00 would accrue $2.10 in royalties from Amazon so we would pay you $2.10 for every book sold through us and a $1.50 book would accrue $0.525 per book in royalties - again exactly what we would pay you.

Using our service to sell your books means extra exposure, more customers (not everyone uses Kindle) and the ability to send customers straight to a sales link using 3 URL's we'd supply you with (one for each format).

Since you don't pay us for setting it up and you get paid exactly the same per sale (although we pay quicker than the big companies), there's absolutely zero to lose and everything to gain. There are no catches, no small print, no nasties. We do ask that you're with us for 6 months (to give us a fair crack at getting our setting up costs back) but that's about it.

This is a win-win situation and one which we hope you'll take full advantage of. For more information, please visit www.anysubject.com/sell

4 Tips for Writing Effective Dialogue

Effective dialogue should be realistic, character building, plot-related, and, above all, interesting. With the following tips, you can begin to improve the dialogue in your writing instantly.

1. Think about what your characters are saying. Is this what somebody would say realistically? Listen to conversations when you’re out and about, whether you’re on the bus or in line at the supermarket. Pay attention. This will help you start to think about how people generally communicate with one another.
   
   Listen to the tone of their voices and the kinds of words they use to establish their relationships. Is the average person likely to use a word like ‘tenacious’ in an everyday sentence when a more commonly used word would be ‘stubborn?’
   
   These are all things you need to be thinking about and asking yourself when writing dialogue. Say what you’ve written aloud to ensure it sounds realistic when spoken.


2. So, somebody might say it realistically… but should you really write it into your story? By the same token, going too far in the other direction should be avoided too! People frequently say things like ‘I’m going to the bathroom,’ but it doesn’t make for interesting reading.
   
   For example, if two of your characters are having a conversation, don’t have them interject with things like this. It’s dry and doesn’t help the reader.
Your characters should always be saying something. Long conversations about nothing in particular aren’t at all interesting. The following is an example:

Bob: I’m going to make some coffee.
Bobette: Can I have one too, please?
Bob: Sure. Where have you put the coffee this time?
Bobette: Top shelf. So, today I went to the shop…

And so on and on and on. Everyday conversations that are somewhat mandatory in real life, but dull as dishwater to read about, do not make for effective dialogue.

3. Think to yourself, ‘is this something my character would say?’ A middle aged character is not going to use the same dialogue as their fictional teenage son. Keep asking yourself questions as you write dialogue, and even more so during editing, such as: ‘does this sound like my character? Would my character say this?’ and so on. It might feel like hard work at first, but soon it will become second nature.
   
   
4. Are you furthering the plot? So, you’ve reached the climax of your story. There is chaos everywhere. And your characters start having a conversation about how many trees there are around them.

Okay, this is an unlikely example. But the point is, ensure that your characters are not having discussions that are irrelevant, or speaking for the sake of it. Yes, you need dialogue for the purpose of building your characters, but they must always be furthering the plot at the same time. For this purpose, dialogue is just as important as narrative.

Writing good dialogue takes practise and a great deal of thought. Keep all of the above in mind and you’ll find yourself writing effective dialogue in no time.

Stephanie-Louise Farrell is an up-and-coming authoress who has already published a popular selection of short stories called 'Haunted' and is now engaged on writing a full-length novel. She is represented by Any Subject Books.

Skeoch: Our new life on a Scottish hill farm by Jennie Phillips--a review

I'm not a world traveler. Mostly, this is due to lack of money and a fear of flying on planes. I love reading about other countries and Scotland is a place that always excites my imagination. When Any Subject Books, the publisher of Skeoch: Our new life on a Scottish hill farm, sent me a review copy of the book, I was excited to begin reading it. However, I knew it was a memoir, and in my experience, that can be a good thing or a bad thing.

In this case, it was a delightful thing!

Here is the blurb for the book:

"I have to state right now that we never had any intention of buying a farm. Least of all in South West Scotland. It wasn't one of those nice, rational decisions that we all think we will make, when the time comes. It was totally irrational and made absolutely no sense at all - but we made it just the same!”

 So begins a new life for Jennie and her actor husband Conrad, star of the long-running TV series, William Tell. This is the story of their titanic struggles against cold, wind, drought, disease, illness and ill luck of every kind in their establishing of a home and a viable farm against the backdrop of a mountain called Skeoch. We feel with the author the joy of bringing a newborn lamb back from the brink of death, and the anguish of losing a herd of dairy cattle to brucellosis. There is the day when the hay garnered at great pains blows away along with the barn in which it was stored, and times when financial ruin threatens. There are deprivations, born with fortitude and good humour, but also the delights of introducing two small daughters to life on the farm and the natural world around it. This is an inspirational book which envelops you in its world and has you feeling every disaster and every triumph as if you had lived it.

I could not even begin to imagine leaving a comfortable life  to begin farming in a remote area. I did grow up in a small farming town and glimpsed many of my classmates raising animals to show at the local livestock show, but that is nothing compared to what Ms. Phillips and her family did. They left all creature comforts behind and bought a farm in the middle of nowhere! And they loved it!

Reading her descriptions of the Skeoch, it's easy to see why. The author is one of those rare storytellers who knows how to make you feel as if you were actually in the place she is describing. It was easy to visualize the farm and the way it looked in all seasons. In fact, her descriptions made me so curious that I went to check out her website which has some lovely pictures of the house they lived in.

I found myself laughing at some of the situations and people that she and her husband encountered from the local village, too. Lots of fun characters who kept life interesting!

As I was drawn more and more into the tale, I found myself feeling all kinds of emotions for this brave family. The attachment the author felt for one of her sweet cows, the frustration of spending all that time in the fields making hay--only to have it all blown away in a fierce windstorm, the hardship of having no water due to a drought--it really made me admire the courage it takes for anyone who is a farmer or rancher. Mother Nature is not always the kindest of beings!

I also found it fascinating that her husband was able to balance being a working actor and a farmer. It didn't sound like an easy feat, but somehow they managed to make it all work.

This is a book I would definitely recommend for those looking for a lively tale about life on a Scottish farm or who enjoy a well written story sure to keep you turning the pages. Thank you, Any Subject Books, for sharing this one with me!

Here is the Amazon Link:

AMAZON LINK FOR SKEOCH

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jennie Phillips lived her early life in London before moving to Skeoch and then emigrated from there to Northern France where she and her actor husband, Conrad, set about restoring a dilapidated farmhouse. This was all despite neither of them speaking French. After 20 years spent in France, she now lives in Wiltshire where, apart from writing, she also sells paintings (mostly landscapes), plays music, knits (including copious numbers of sweaters for her grandchildren) and cooks. Among Jennie’s favourite authors are Maureen Lipman, Derek Tangey and Ken Follett and she particularly likes reading about the emotional lives of people and poetry. Her particular and heartfelt thanks go out to her family and her husband, Conrad. for all their support and encouragement towards writing Skeoch. Follow Jennie on her blog: http://jenniephillipsblog.wordpress.com

Getting the author bio right by Clive West

For many authors, getting fame is as least as important as getting fortune. A vitally important step on the way to achieving that goal is the feature blogspot. You know, the one where you get to 'virtually' stand in front of a 'virtual' camera while holding your 'virtual' book. You’re quietly content because the book’s your pride and joy and you're rightfully proud of it.

Unlike with a newspaper, TV or radio interview, when you do a blogspot review you're usually left very much to your own devices over how you describe your book and the person who wrote it - you. The book part is probably the easiest - you explain the plot, the principal characters, the location, how realistic it is - that sort of thing. However, the bio part is far harder because it’s not straightforward like the book which is self-contained because it tells a story beginning and ending within the book's covers.

Your story is much more complicated and a heck of a lot longer. I'm not suggesting you do it, but I’m sure you could easily produce a substantial autobiography that would fill at least one blockbuster-sized publication and here you are having to summarize your life in one or two paragraphs.

Not only is it difficult to précis your existence so drastically, these few paragraphs can easily make all the difference between selling and not selling, good reviews, no reviews and bad reviews, getting return free publicity and being dropped like a hot coal.

If you analyze the idea of a bio, what are you being asked for? What's the principal reason for sticking a mugshot and 50 to 100 words of seemingly irrelevant text in a novel or at the end of an interview?

The answer is that it’s to personalize the book. We may be on the internet interacting with people we're never likely to meet but we still like to think we're dealing with the friendly old shopkeeper on the corner. We need to feel that the book is 'for us', that there's a connection between us and the author and that we're both on the same wavelength.

That's basic human psychology.

The bio needs to be split into two halves: firstly saying who you are in such a way as to appeal to readers and secondly tying yourself to the book.

The part about yourself needs to be easy to read and interesting. Think of something idiosyncratic about yourself. How many times have you read something as dreary as '... worked in a variety of jobs before taking up writing'? It's dull as dishwater. If you really can't include something more exciting, use some inspirational verbs such as 'was so captivated by, was driven by,' etc. Something which says you've a little fire in your belly and that simply compelled you to put your fingers to the keyboard.

Obviously what exactly you should or shouldn't write is going to depend upon your particular background but it's important that you keep the general idea of what I'm saying in mind.

As to the second part, that needs to justify why you've written this novel. Is it a crime novel which draws on your experience in the police or forensics? Is it a romance in a setting which you grew up in? Is it a war story based on your period of active service? I know it's obvious but the reader wants to feel that they're in good hands and, by showing them your ‘qualifications’, you're doing just that.

After all, books aren't cheap and we don't like the feeling of foolishness which occurs when we've chosen badly. Use the bio to (gently) sell yourself to the reader. If they've got that far, they’re hooked on the book; now reel them in - slowly.

Bio of the blog’s author

Clive West first started in publishing at the age of 16 when, as a result of lack of parental support, he was compelled to leave school early. He joined a large local printing company but put himself through night school in order to later qualify as a civil engineer. Despite working in construction, he has always been involved in the marketing side of the businesses he worked for – everything from producing brochures and writing sales literature to drawing up contracts and constructing a wide variety of legal documents.

On becoming disabled, it was a natural step for him to move into commercial writing but his true desire was to be a successful fiction writer. Approaching conventional publishers, both Clive and his fellow author wife, Damaris, were shocked at the seemingly non-commercial and off-hand responses they received. As a result they set up their own Indie Publishing company called Any Subject Books Ltd. As far as they are concerned, talented new writers are always welcome.