This week I was asked (as if my opinion mattered) to vote on a potential title for a new book. I didn’t like any of them and of course, I said so. I thought, I did it nicely, but then again- maybe not (that the author’s opinion) isn’t it. However, I was trying to be honest. I guess that’s one of the points I am trying to make. Whose opinion matters most when you title your book? What is your title supposed to do for your work? In my opinion the title should make the reader seek more information, or give an indication of what to expect when they flutter through the pages of your novel. And that’s why some authors have been known to be traumatized when it comes to choosing the ‟Perfect Title.” I have it on great authority of the gazillion books Amazon alone offered the world 145,324* are on hold waiting for the bestest title. My own experience with titles. I named the piece. I saw it in my head that way. The whole time I worked on it the title stuck. The story was wrapped and weaved around the title. Why, I even listed it that way in my word processor. So, that should tell you something. Right? However, when I began to share it and talk about it in the last stages I kept calling it something else. Now, my presumed title that I worked with for a year and a half was replaced. Here some Great title ideas.. see if you can tell what the story would be about. How to Murder a Pig. 1. How to butcher a hog. 2. Cookbook for pork. 3. How to kill off your slob of a spouse.(BBQ sauce recipe included.) The Coo-coo next Door. 1. Your neighbor the crazy guy. 2. The extinct bird farm across the street. 3. Why Mr. Rogers shot Grannie’s irritating clock.(not for children) Soda: the good and bad 1. Helpful hints on using soda for health. 2. How to remove paint. 3. Cheat your way to win the county belching contest and win first prize. (A Tape-deck player from 1970) *no real statistics were harmed and if they were so what. OH in case you're curious you can go here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A31PMO0 or here https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/303570 Then, you can tell me if I should have kept the title ..Ghostwoman. Lisa Day
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I can do it. I wanted to do it. It was fun to do it, so when did it become not fun.
What am I ranting about? Writing. I think this is why it’s no longer enjoyable. What do you think? Some where along the line this became work. No, not the writing. The marketing. Of course the people call it progression. Anybody can write a book. But, now the anybody has to promote the works. What’s so hard about telling, asking, and emailing everyone the message 'Buy My Book'. If you believe something bad enough you can easily lower yourself to beg. Hey, it’s a plan*. Then you discover there are rules. Social Sales Requests must be disguised when using Social Media as a corridor to get the word out. So you blog, you Twitter, you Facebook, and you list yourself. You put your book on every single list you stumble upon or you see some list a follow writer may be on. However, the experts tell me never ever directly say or ask- Buy My Book. By the time you finish being little miss sunshine everywhere the day is gone. Some days you don’t even get to open the word processor to look at what you wrote the last time you were able to write. When you no longer have the time to devote to the things that you enjoyed for hours at a time, after a while you stop. Today’s life is so full of distractions. Don’t believe it? Ask a Soccer Mom. How many activities did she belonged to as a child and how many activities does her children take part in today? And it makes me wonder if this is just one big distraction. It seems like every body wants a piece of you. The Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and such. The groups and the blogs go on forever. Some blogs have thousands of hits (visits) a week. People are yelling sell, sell this, sell that. Buy, buy, buy. Make money or just waste your time trying. Trying to get enough money to pay the rent. You did not buy into the money making $5000 in a week dream, but a few dollars would have been nice. And there you are, you just wanted to write a story. A story, maybe somebody would enjoy reading. But, you can’t say–Buy My Book. And you can not write another one, because you're too busy trying to figure out how not to say–buy my book. Oh, by the way.. Just In Case.. you can buy my books here: AMAZON http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Day/e/B005W6EXGY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1 SMASHWORDS https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/lisaday12 I do believe you were warned about my plan. * So, who reads footnotes any way. That's an idea for another day. Best wishes, Lisa |
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