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Saturday, January 31, 2015

Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 296, Reviewer's Quotes, Marketing Materials

31 January 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 296, Reviewer's Quotes, Marketing Materials

Announcement: My new novels should be available from any webseller or can be ordered from any brick and mortar bookstore.  Information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

All novels have five discrete parts:
1.  The initial scene (the beginning)
2.  The rising action
3.  The climax
4.  The falling action
5.  The dénouement

The theme statement of my 25th novel, working title, Escape, is this: a girl in a fascist island nation will do anything to escape--a young cargo ferry pilot not following the rules crashes on the island.

I'll make a slight digression because I'm developing advertising and publisher materials for my newest completed novel, Lilly.  Here is the cover proposal for Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer
Cover Propsal
Before you can market a novel to the public, you have to market it to publishers or potential publishes.  This means you need to develop materials to market your novel.  These marketing materials can be used when the book is published.  We've already looked at two main pieces used in marketing: the title and the book cover proposal.  These are necessary for a web design, and they are also necessary for a publisher.  You can live without a cover proposal for a while, but you need a title right away.

The next step is to build the marketing information you will use to present your novel to publishers and to the public. Here is an outline:

Title of Work:

Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer

Author(s) Name:

L. D. Alford

Type: Either Screenplay or Book

Book

Length: Either # of words for books, or # of pages for screenplays

105,300 words

Keywords and Market Focus:

Fiction, Washington State, Tacoma, Spanaway, Seattle, Computer, Pacific Lutheran University, Hacker, goddess, sushi, Redemption, kami, Japan, Shinto, torii, Shrine, engineering, math; will fascinate anyone interested in the spiritual, mystery, and suspense—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy historical mystery and suspense novels.

Genre:

Fiction Suspense
 
Author Bio: Approximately 120 words

Synopsis:  Approximately 500 Words
 
Concept of the Work:  Approximately 250 Words

Registration: WGA, ISBN, or Library of Congress, Write the number.

None

Other Information:  If you have more work, a website, anything interesting and professional, especially any awards or recognition.
  Reviewer’s quotes.

Lilly is a fun novel filled with mythical creatures and Japanese gods and goddesses—how Lilly handles becoming a goddess herself is delightful and suspense-filled. 

Dane Vale became the infatuation of a genius math girl, Lilly who unexpectedly became a Japanese goddess—Lilly’s problems go well beyond the normal or the spiritual.

Lilly Lin Grant became a kami, a Japanese goddess—her kannushi, priest, is her boyfriend—their adventures in saving a Shinto shrine involve every Japanese creature of myth, dragons, and Japanese gods and goddesses.

First, you need readers.  I don't care what kind of writer you are, if you don't have readers, reviewers, and editors, you ain't going anywhere.  People who say they write for themselves or who won't share their writing are fooling themselves.  The purpose and the only purpose for writing is communication of ideas.  If someone else doesn't read it--there is no communication of anything.

How do you get readers and what kind of readers do you want?  I want absolutely honest readers.  I want the truth about my writing.  Without the truth, you will never achieve success as a writer.  The old adage, "fight for feedback," is absolutely true.  The problem is that you may find all kinds of people who say your writing is great--unless you are published professionally, don't believe them.  Feedback is truth and not platitudes because you don't want to hurt someone's feelings.  When I do a review for a published author, I make a pretty review for the eyes of the public and a real review about what I liked or didn't like.  Most of the time it is about half and half.  I think it's funny that some authors are surprised by this--they obviously don't want to hear the truth about their writing--or at least one opinion other than their own. 

When you get a publisher, you'll get an editor, but first you start with readers.  Prepublication readers.

At this point everything I'm doing with and for this work is about marketing to a publisher and building a website.

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com

Friday, January 30, 2015

Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 295, Other Information, Marketing Materials

30 January 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 295, Other Information, Marketing Materials

Announcement: My new novels should be available from any webseller or can be ordered from any brick and mortar bookstore.  Information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

All novels have five discrete parts:
1.  The initial scene (the beginning)
2.  The rising action
3.  The climax
4.  The falling action
5.  The dénouement

The theme statement of my 25th novel, working title, Escape, is this: a girl in a fascist island nation will do anything to escape--a young cargo ferry pilot not following the rules crashes on the island.

I'll make a slight digression because I'm developing advertising and publisher materials for my newest completed novel, Lilly.  Here is the cover proposal for Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer
Cover Propsal
Before you can market a novel to the public, you have to market it to publishers or potential publishes.  This means you need to develop materials to market your novel.  These marketing materials can be used when the book is published.  We've already looked at two main pieces used in marketing: the title and the book cover proposal.  These are necessary for a web design, and they are also necessary for a publisher.  You can live without a cover proposal for a while, but you need a title right away.

The next step is to build the marketing information you will use to present your novel to publishers and to the public. Here is an outline:

Title of Work:

Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer

Author(s) Name:

L. D. Alford

Type: Either Screenplay or Book

Book

Length: Either # of words for books, or # of pages for screenplays

105,300 words

Keywords and Market Focus:

Fiction, Washington State, Tacoma, Spanaway, Seattle, Computer, Pacific Lutheran University, Hacker, goddess, sushi, Redemption, kami, Japan, Shinto, torii, Shrine, engineering, math; will fascinate anyone interested in the spiritual, mystery, and suspense—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy historical mystery and suspense novels.

Genre:

Fiction Suspense
 
Author Bio: Approximately 120 words

Synopsis:  Approximately 500 Words
 
Concept of the Work:  Approximately 250 Words

Registration: WGA, ISBN, or Library of Congress, Write the number.

None

Other Information:  If you have more work, a website, anything interesting and professional, especially any awards or recognition.

Valeska: Enchantment and the Vampire www.GoddessofDarkness.com, a British agent accidentally becomes involved with a vampire.  

Khione: Enchantment and the Fox www.GoddessNovel.com, a graduate student discovers a demigoddess in modern Boston.

Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon www.AksinyaNovel.com, a Russian princess calls a demon to protect her family.

Dana-ana: Enchantment of the Maiden www.Dana-ana.com, the mystery of Dana-ana Goewyn.

Hestia: Enchantment of the Hearth www.EnchantmentoftheHearth.com, the misadventure of archeologists in modern Greece.

Antebellum www.AntebellumNovel.com the mystery of a house that has been missing since the American Civil War and the girl who is called to it.

The Second Mission www.TheSecondMission.com is a historical fiction novel about ancient Greece published in 2003 by Xulon.

Centurion www.CenturionNovel.com published January 2008 and Aegypt www.AegyptNovel.com also published in January 2008 are historical fiction novels from OakTara Fiction www.OakTara.com

The Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox is a science fiction series published by OakTara Fiction

            The End of Honor (published, July 2008) www.TheEndofHonor.com

            The Fox’s Honor (published Oct 2008) www.TheFoxsHonor.com

            A Season of Honor (published Nov 2008) www.ASeasonofHonor.com

Ancient Light is a suspense series published by Broadstreet, Eleutheria, September 2014 in a three-in-one www.AncientLight.com.

            Aegypt (second edition published by OakTara Fiction, 2014) www.Aegypt.com

            Sister of Light (published by OakTara Fiction, 2014) www.SisterofLight.com

            Sister of Darkness (published by OakTara Fiction, 2014) www.SisterofDarkness.com

More information is available at www.ldalford.com   
 
L.D. Alford has more than 40 technical papers published in international journals on flight test, military policy, flight safety, space, and cyberwar.  His military aviation writing is featured as Military Aviation Adventures on www.wingsoverkansas.com.  
Reviewer’s quotes.

Registration: WGA, ISBN, or Library of Congress, Write the number.

None

The publisher wants this information (if it exists) so they can look up the novel (book) and see it's copyright history.  This isn't necessary for your novel, but if you have it, the publisher wants it.  Enough of that.

Other information is a very important part of the marketing material.  Your author information told the publisher a little about you--what the publisher wants to know is your writing and publishing history.  If you have none, don't be afraid to say so.  If you have written other works and novels, here is the place to tell a publisher.  If you write a blog, that is great information for a publisher.  I didn't include my blogging information--I thought there was enough.  I wanted to excite a potential publisher with the breadth and scope of my writing.  I wanted them to have a taste of my experience.  Other information potentially gives a publisher other places to look at your writing and your experience with writing.  This is why this is the place for all things web related.  Note that every entry has a website attached to it.  A potential publisher can go out on the web to see my other writing.  If they don't see something that interested them in the "other" list, they might see something on the web that excites them.

You should also note that my "other information" includes multiple websites.  If you don't have a website,  you need to get at least one.  You can get a free website from many places.  You can get your own dot com site from Go Daddy or other web hosting companies.  If you don't have a website now, get one right away.  Put your ideas, writing, and information out there.  See my websites for ideas and information.

At this point everything I'm doing with and for this work is about marketing to a publisher and building a website.

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 294, Concept of the Work, Marketing Materials

29 January 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 294, Concept of the Work, Marketing Materials

Announcement: My new novels should be available from any webseller or can be ordered from any brick and mortar bookstore.  Information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

All novels have five discrete parts:
1.  The initial scene (the beginning)
2.  The rising action
3.  The climax
4.  The falling action
5.  The dénouement

The theme statement of my 25th novel, working title, Escape, is this: a girl in a fascist island nation will do anything to escape--a young cargo ferry pilot not following the rules crashes on the island.

I'll make a slight digression because I'm developing advertising and publisher materials for my newest completed novel, Lilly.  Here is the cover proposal for Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer
Cover Propsal
Before you can market a novel to the public, you have to market it to publishers or potential publishes.  This means you need to develop materials to market your novel.  These marketing materials can be used when the book is published.  We've already looked at two main pieces used in marketing: the title and the book cover proposal.  These are necessary for a web design, and they are also necessary for a publisher.  You can live without a cover proposal for a while, but you need a title right away.

The next step is to build the marketing information you will use to present your novel to publishers and to the public. Here is an outline:

Title of Work:

Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer

Author(s) Name:

L. D. Alford

Type: Either Screenplay or Book

Book

Length: Either # of words for books, or # of pages for screenplays

105,300 words

Keywords and Market Focus:

Fiction, Washington State, Tacoma, Spanaway, Seattle, Computer, Pacific Lutheran University, Hacker, goddess, sushi, Redemption, kami, Japan, Shinto, torii, Shrine, engineering, math; will fascinate anyone interested in the spiritual, mystery, and suspense—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy historical mystery and suspense novels.

Genre:

Fiction Suspense
 
Author Bio: Approximately 120 words

Synopsis:  Approximately 500 Words
 
Concept of the Work:  Approximately 250 Words

The concept behind Lilly is to present an intercultural message about spiritual ideas especially forgiveness.  Lilly and Dane are both Christians.  Lilly is stronger than Dane.  They encounter a miraculous situation where a Japanese kami, god, endues Lilly with his power.  The kami knows and worships God (Kami-sama in Japanese terms).  The concept of the world is that the gods of the past still exist and they have either chosen to accept God and His Son or reject God and His Son.

The primary theme is that God uses a culture’s own ideas about the spiritual to enact his power and will—thus a church in Japan and a church in Britain use different symbols and cultural concepts to worship the same God.  This is extrapolated through Shintoism.  The novel also depicts Japanese cultural concepts.

A secondary theme is forgiveness.  Lilly has an abusive mother and no father.  One of the primary ideas is reconciliation concerning a person who is not repentant.  Lilly broke laws and stole to survive—she finds ways to repent and reconcile.  Lilly and Dane are physically attacked—Lilly insists the attackers repent and reconcile before they are forgiven.

Another secondary theme is marriage and sex before marriage.  Lilly’s change to the mind of a kami comes with ancient baggage.  She desires Dane.  The novel shows the man acting in a responsible way to seductive enticements.  
 
     The novel also shows a functional family with slightly dysfunctional parents, and contrasts Lilly’s abusive upbringing with Dane’s more normal upbringing.

Registration: WGA, ISBN, or Library of Congress, Write the number.

Other Information:  If you have more work, a website, anything interesting and professional, especially any awards or recognition.
 
Reviewer’s quotes.

I have never written a "concept of the work" section for a novel before.  I don't think I would share this with a publisher--I do put this kind of information on my "secrets" pages for a novel.  Why share it here?  I thought you might be interested.  This is really an expanded theme statement that says what the author really wanted to convey in the novel.  I thought that this (when the marketing materials were written) would be a good time to put the concept of the work on paper.

This really is secret information.  There is no reason for the reader or the publisher to know it.  In the novel, the ideas of contrasting the Christian concept of God and the Japanese concept of Kami and Kami-sama are at the forefront.  They are treated in a direct but subtle way.  Why wouldn't two Catholics wonder about the concepts of the Kami when one of them becomes a kami and the other a kannushi (Shinto priest).  About 80% of USA Americans and a higher percentage of other Americans are Christian or believe in God.  Most of those are Christians.  The fact that most authors ignore religions and especially Christianity is silly to me.  How can you ignore something that is important to 80% of your audience?  Spiritual concepts and ideas are important to people--just look at how they flocked to Harry Potter or to the numerous shiny Vampire novels.  These are fundamentally about the spiritual and intentionally exclude religion.  Kinda strange, isn't it?   

I decided I would write about the concept of the work while it was fresh in my mind.  This isn't necessary and it isn't needed--except for your secret pages or your readers information-- not in the novel.  I just thought you might like to see it.  I used in in putting together my webpages.

At this point everything I'm doing with and for this work is about marketing to a publisher and building a website.

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 293, Closing Synopsis, Marketing Materials

28 January 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 293, Closing Synopsis, Marketing Materials

Announcement: My new novels should be available from any webseller or can be ordered from any brick and mortar bookstore.  Information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

All novels have five discrete parts:
1.  The initial scene (the beginning)
2.  The rising action
3.  The climax
4.  The falling action
5.  The dénouement

The theme statement of my 25th novel, working title, Escape, is this: a girl in a fascist island nation will do anything to escape--a young cargo ferry pilot not following the rules crashes on the island.

I'll make a slight digression because I'm developing advertising and publisher materials for my newest completed novel, Lilly.  Here is the cover proposal for Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer
Cover Propsal
Before you can market a novel to the public, you have to market it to publishers or potential publishes.  This means you need to develop materials to market your novel.  These marketing materials can be used when the book is published.  We've already looked at two main pieces used in marketing: the title and the book cover proposal.  These are necessary for a web design, and they are also necessary for a publisher.  You can live without a cover proposal for a while, but you need a title right away.

The next step is to build the marketing information you will use to present your novel to publishers and to the public. Here is an outline:

Title of Work:

Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer

Author(s) Name:

L. D. Alford

Type: Either Screenplay or Book

Book

Length: Either # of words for books, or # of pages for screenplays

105,300 words

Keywords and Market Focus:

Fiction, Washington State, Tacoma, Spanaway, Seattle, Computer, Pacific Lutheran University, Hacker, goddess, sushi, Redemption, kami, Japan, Shinto, torii, Shrine, engineering, math; will fascinate anyone interested in the spiritual, mystery, and suspense—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy historical mystery and suspense novels.

Genre:

Fiction Suspense
 
Author Bio: Approximately 120 words

Synopsis:  Approximately 500 Words

     Dane Vale saw the girl come into FastMart about once a week.  She was filthy and always looked hungry.  She bought food, not with dollars, but with FastMart bucks you earned from purchases at the convenience store.  She always used a different account and phone number, but because her password was correct, he didn’t think much of it.  That changed when she used the phone number and password of another customer in line.  Dane had to rescue her.  That was Dane’s introduction to Lilly Lin Grant.

Lilly Lin was a genius.  She was only sixteen, but had a full ride scholarship to his University.  It oddly didn’t include room and board.  For some reason, she suddenly was signed up for every advanced level class Dane was in.  For some reason, she followed him everywhere he went on campus.  Dane’s sister, Phelia, said Lilly was infatuated with Dane.  He didn’t know much about women at all—he couldn’t understand why the genius, Lilly Lin wanted to hang around with him.

      There was much more to Lilly Lin than met the eye.  She could hack as easily as a person could type.  She wrote software at the assembly code level.  She made her own operating system and tricked out her junk laptop.  Dane traded Lilly three squares for her operating system, computer enhancements, and her class notes.  She shared her Spartan meals with an old homeless Japanese man.  Since Dane helped Lilly get a job at the FastMart and fed her, he was suddenly part of Lilly’s gift of offerings.  The old man appeared in the evening near a Shinto torii that Dane could never find without Lilly or during the day.  Dane wasn’t certain if the man or the torii really existed.
      The old man invited Lilly and Dane through the torii—they entered a Shinto shrine that could not be part of the world in Seattle.  The old man claimed to be a Japanese kami, the Japanese god of metal.  He was tired of existence and confused by the modern world.  He had brought his shrine to Seattle because he hoped to find purpose in a new place, but there he only found unbelief and a young woman who would bring him offerings.  He wanted Lilly to assume his duties as kami and Dane to become the kannushi, the priest of the shrine.
       Dane and Lilly found themselves in possession of a Shinto shrine.  Lilly discovered she had powers over metal.  Dane was responsible for the shrine itself.         The old kami was gone, but Lilly and Dane now face the pantheon of Japanese gods and goddesses who are skeptical of a human made a goddess with her inexperienced kannushi.  They must use their new-found powers to keep the shrine successful and purposeful in spite of its place.  Dane must also contend with Lilly who is infatuated with him and now endued with memories and ideas from a different culture.  He was struggling with her attention before—now she demands much more from him.
Concept of the Work:  Approximately 250 Words

Registration: WGA, ISBN, or Library of Congress, Write the number.

Other Information:  If you have more work, a website, anything interesting and professional, especially any awards or recognition.
 
Reviewer’s quotes.

With a synopsis, your first job is to impress the publisher.  The second step is to impress the potential reader.  The publisher is harder than the average reader.  Because it is so important, we'll get a little more in depth about writing a synopsis.

Introduce the characters and the plot, give the reader (publisher) something to get them excited, then close the deal with a promise of more to come.  The closure doesn't need to give away the climax--it doesn't need to complete the plot--it needs to promise the reader that if they continue to read the novel, they won't be disappointed.  You want a publisher to be interested enough to read the novel.  Once the novel is published, you want a potential reader to pick up the novel and give it a test drive.  The closure isn't the most important part of the synopsis, but it is your last chance to sell your novel.

Building a good closure is like crafting a good end to a novel--complete the plot, but promise more.  Finish the synopsis but promise more.  The promise more is very important.  As I mentioned, the synopsis should excite, the closing should entice.  Look at the last paragraph of my synopsis for Lilly:

The old kami was gone, but Lilly and Dane now face the pantheon of Japanese gods and goddesses who are skeptical of a human made a goddess with her inexperienced kannushi.  They must use their new-found powers to keep the shrine successful and purposeful in spite of its place.  Dane must also contend with Lilly who is infatuated with him and now endued with memories and ideas from a different culture.  He was struggling with her attention before—now she demands much more from him.

The closure tells the reader that Lilly and Dane must contend with the Japanese pantheon.  It tells the reader that they must make their shrine successful.  Finally, it leaves a tantalizing glimpse of the problems Lilly is causing Dane.  There is much more to the plot and the novel than the synopsis covers.  This will build mystery and interest in the reader.  Perhaps the publisher will be intrigued enough to read the novel--a potential reader might pick it up and read the first page.  That's the best you can hope for.

At this point everything I'm doing with and for this work is about marketing to a publisher and building a website.

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 292, Plot Synopsis, Marketing Materials

27 January 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 292, Plot Synopsis, Marketing Materials

Announcement: My new novels should be available from any webseller or can be ordered from any brick and mortar bookstore.  Information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

All novels have five discrete parts:
1.  The initial scene (the beginning)
2.  The rising action
3.  The climax
4.  The falling action
5.  The dénouement

The theme statement of my 25th novel, working title, Escape, is this: a girl in a fascist island nation will do anything to escape--a young cargo ferry pilot not following the rules crashes on the island.

I'll make a slight digression because I'm developing advertising and publisher materials for my newest completed novel, Lilly.  Here is the cover proposal for Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer
Cover Propsal
Before you can market a novel to the public, you have to market it to publishers or potential publishes.  This means you need to develop materials to market your novel.  These marketing materials can be used when the book is published.  We've already looked at two main pieces used in marketing: the title and the book cover proposal.  These are necessary for a web design, and they are also necessary for a publisher.  You can live without a cover proposal for a while, but you need a title right away.

The next step is to build the marketing information you will use to present your novel to publishers and to the public. Here is an outline:

Title of Work:

Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer

Author(s) Name:

L. D. Alford

Type: Either Screenplay or Book

Book

Length: Either # of words for books, or # of pages for screenplays

105,300 words

Keywords and Market Focus:

Fiction, Washington State, Tacoma, Spanaway, Seattle, Computer, Pacific Lutheran University, Hacker, goddess, sushi, Redemption, kami, Japan, Shinto, torii, Shrine, engineering, math; will fascinate anyone interested in the spiritual, mystery, and suspense—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy historical mystery and suspense novels.

Genre:

Fiction Suspense
 
Author Bio: Approximately 120 words

Synopsis:  Approximately 500 Words

     Dane Vale saw the girl come into FastMart about once a week.  She was filthy and always looked hungry.  She bought food, not with dollars, but with FastMart bucks you earned from purchases at the convenience store.  She always used a different account and phone number, but because her password was correct, he didn’t think much of it.  That changed when she used the phone number and password of another customer in line.  Dane had to rescue her.  That was Dane’s introduction to Lilly Lin Grant.

Lilly Lin was a genius.  She was only sixteen, but had a full ride scholarship to his University.  It oddly didn’t include room and board.  For some reason, she suddenly was signed up for every advanced level class Dane was in.  For some reason, she followed him everywhere he went on campus.  Dane’s sister, Phelia, said Lilly was infatuated with Dane.  He didn’t know much about women at all—he couldn’t understand why the genius, Lilly Lin wanted to hang around with him.

      There was much more to Lilly Lin than met the eye.  She could hack as easily as a person could type.  She wrote software at the assembly code level.  She made her own operating system and tricked out her junk laptop.  Dane traded Lilly three squares for her operating system, computer enhancements, and her class notes.  She shared her Spartan meals with an old homeless Japanese man.  Since Dane helped Lilly get a job at the FastMart and fed her, he was suddenly part of Lilly’s gift of offerings.  The old man appeared in the evening near a Shinto torii that Dane could never find without Lilly or during the day.  Dane wasn’t certain if the man or the torii really existed.


The old man invited Lilly and Dane through the torii—they entered a Shinto shrine that could not be part of the world in Seattle.  The old man claimed to be a Japanese kami, the Japanese god of metal.  He was tired of existence and confused by the modern world.  He had brought his shrine to Seattle because he hoped to find purpose in a new place, but there he only found unbelief and a young woman who would bring him offerings.  He wanted Lilly to assume his duties as kami and Dane to become the kannushi, the priest of the shrine.


Dane and Lilly found themselves in possession of a Shinto shrine.  Lilly discovered she had powers over metal.  Dane was responsible for the shrine itself. 
The old kami was gone, but Lilly and Dane now face the pantheon of Japanese gods and goddesses who are skeptical of a human made a goddess with her inexperienced kannushi.  They must use their new-found powers to keep the shrine successful and purposeful in spite of its place.  Dane must also contend with Lilly who is infatuated with him and now endued with memories and ideas from a different culture.  He was struggling with her attention before—now she demands much more from him.

Concept of the Work:  Approximately 250 Words

Registration: WGA, ISBN, or Library of Congress, Write the number.

Other Information:  If you have more work, a website, anything interesting and professional, especially any awards or recognition.
 
Reviewer’s quotes.

With a synopsis, your first job is to impress the publisher.  The second step is to impress the potential reader.  The publisher is harder than the average reader.  Because it is so important, we'll get a little more in depth about writing a synopsis.

Once you introduce the characters and the setting, you need to hit the high points of the plot.  The trick is to give your characters and plot an introduction in the first paragraph and touch on the main points of the plot in the rest of the synopsis.  Don't digress.  Don't attempt to tell everything in your novel.  You are telling, but you want to do a little showing. 

Do you remember the rule: show and don't tell?  A synopsis is all about telling.  This is the way you do it.  You can't make a synopsis without telling.  Now you can use your storytelling skills.  A novelist and a story teller are too different creatures.  A novelist shows just like a playwright shows--a storyteller, tells.  A good storyteller may not be a good novelist.  In fact, writing a novel is not telling a story at all--writing  synopsis is telling a story. 

In a novel, I reveal characters through narration and conversation--in telling a story, I reveal a plot by telling the events.  These are completely different ways of conveying a plot and a theme.  You write a synopsis by telling the events of the main part of the plot.  Closing the plot is also a critical part of crafting a synopsis.

At this point everything I'm doing with and for this work is about marketing to a publisher and building a website.

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com

Monday, January 26, 2015

Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 291, more Synopsis, Marketing Materials

26 January 2015, Writing Ideas - New Novel, part 291, more Synopsis, Marketing Materials

Announcement: My new novels should be available from any webseller or can be ordered from any brick and mortar bookstore.  Information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

All novels have five discrete parts:
1.  The initial scene (the beginning)
2.  The rising action
3.  The climax
4.  The falling action
5.  The dénouement

The theme statement of my 25th novel, working title, Escape, is this: a girl in a fascist island nation will do anything to escape--a young cargo ferry pilot not following the rules crashes on the island.

I'll make a slight digression because I'm developing advertising and publisher materials for my newest completed novel, Lilly.  Here is the cover proposal for Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer
Cover Propsal
Before you can market a novel to the public, you have to market it to publishers or potential publishes.  This means you need to develop materials to market your novel.  These marketing materials can be used when the book is published.  We've already looked at two main pieces used in marketing: the title and the book cover proposal.  These are necessary for a web design, and they are also necessary for a publisher.  You can live without a cover proposal for a while, but you need a title right away.

The next step is to build the marketing information you will use to present your novel to publishers and to the public. Here is an outline:

Title of Work:

Lilly: Enchantment and the Computer

Author(s) Name:

L. D. Alford

Type: Either Screenplay or Book

Book

Length: Either # of words for books, or # of pages for screenplays

105,300 words

Keywords and Market Focus:

Fiction, Washington State, Tacoma, Spanaway, Seattle, Computer, Pacific Lutheran University, Hacker, goddess, sushi, Redemption, kami, Japan, Shinto, torii, Shrine, engineering, math; will fascinate anyone interested in the spiritual, mystery, and suspense—will appeal particularly to those who enjoy historical mystery and suspense novels.

Genre:

Fiction Suspense
 
Author Bio: Approximately 120 words

Synopsis:  Approximately 500 Words

     Dane Vale saw the girl come into FastMart about once a week.  She was filthy and always looked hungry.  She bought food, not with dollars, but with FastMart bucks you earned from purchases at the convenience store.  She always used a different account and phone number, but because her password was correct, he didn’t think much of it.  That changed when she used the phone number and password of another customer in line.  Dane had to rescue her.  That was Dane’s introduction to Lilly Lin Grant.
Lilly Lin was a genius.  She was only sixteen, but had a full ride scholarship to his University.  It oddly didn’t include room and board.  For some reason, she suddenly was signed up for every advanced level class Dane was in.  For some reason, she followed him everywhere he went on campus.  Dane’s sister, Phelia, said Lilly was infatuated with Dane.  He didn’t know much about women at all—he couldn’t understand why the genius, Lilly Lin wanted to hang around with him.



There was much more to Lilly Lin than met the eye.  She could hack as easily as a person could type.  She wrote software at the assembly code level.  She made her own operating system and tricked out her junk laptop.  Dane traded Lilly three squares for her operating system, computer enhancements, and her class notes.  She shared her Spartan meals with an old homeless Japanese man.  Since Dane helped Lilly get a job at the FastMart and fed her, he was suddenly part of Lilly’s gift of offerings.  The old man appeared in the evening near a Shinto torii that Dane could never find without Lilly or during the day.  Dane wasn’t certain if the man or the torii really existed.


The old man invited Lilly and Dane through the torii—they entered a Shinto shrine that could not be part of the world in Seattle.  The old man claimed to be a Japanese kami, the Japanese god of metal.  He was tired of existence and confused by the modern world.  He had brought his shrine to Seattle because he hoped to find purpose in a new place, but there he only found unbelief and a young woman who would bring him offerings.  He wanted Lilly to assume his duties as kami and Dane to become the kannushi, the priest of the shrine.


Dane and Lilly found themselves in possession of a Shinto shrine.  Lilly discovered she had powers over metal.  Dane was responsible for the shrine itself. 
The old kami was gone, but Lilly and Dane now face the pantheon of Japanese gods and goddesses who are skeptical of a human made a goddess with her inexperienced kannushi.  They must use their new-found powers to keep the shrine successful and purposeful in spite of its place.  Dane must also contend with Lilly who is infatuated with him and now endued with memories and ideas from a different culture.  He was struggling with her attention before—now she demands much more from him.

Concept of the Work:  Approximately 250 Words

Registration: WGA, ISBN, or Library of Congress, Write the number.

Other Information:  If you have more work, a website, anything interesting and professional, especially any awards or recognition.
 
Reviewer’s quotes.

With a synopsis, your first job is to impress the publisher.  The second step is to impress the potential reader.  The publisher is harder than the average reader.  Because it is so important, we'll get a little more in depth about writing a synopsis.

The trick of writing a synopsis is to focus on the most important points about the characters, the plot, and the theme of your novel--then you weld them into a short, pithy, and creative piece of writing.  Once you have a 500 word synopsis, you can write a 250 word synopsis and a 100 word synopsis, etc.  The point is that this is a necessary part of novel writing and of writing your marketing materials.  Even if you intend to self-publish, you need a synopsis for your back cover, your website, and your press release.  Whatever you do, don't neglect the synopsis.

 Start your writing of the synopsis with the characters.  The most important and hopefully the most exciting scene in your novel is the first scene.  That first scene should be the meeting or first interaction of the protagonist, antagonist, or protagonist's helper.  The first scene can be the initial focus of your synopsis.  In the example above, I started with that scene and that introduction of the protagonist and the protagonist's helper.  Next is the plot.

At this point everything I'm doing with and for this work is about marketing to a publisher and building a website.

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com