Good day, friends! I have been super busy this week. I am editing the third book in the trilogy, and I have been using some techniques taught by Liz Pelletier, at Entangled Press. She is an editor that I really admire and she teaches the standard three-pass edit system. If you are interested, I found a place where you can take the course for yourself. You won’t regret it! https://savvyauthors.com/community/index.php?classes/edit-a-bestseller-like-a-pro-with-liz-pelletier.286/extra I was privileged enough to hear her give the webinar herself at an RWA Writer’s Conference. It’s worth the price, I can tell you.

I also spent a little money on a great deal from Derek Murphy, at Creative Indie. His classes focus on writing books that sell, finding out what readers are searching for, and writing what they want. He talks about writing sales copy that sells, too. Which is very valuable advice.

I have learned recently that a great percentage of writers are left to do our own sales copy for the book’s back cover, or Amazon description, and we fail. That’s pretty harsh, but true. We don’t “hook” the reader. They don’t want to know everything that happens in your plot, they want to know why they should read your book over the other one with the pretty cover.

Derek says when making your blurb, after you put your premise and conflict, with good stakes, you should add two more things. One, use your comps. If your book is 27 Dresses meets Hunger Games (One of the comments on my first book), then put it in a sentence. Two, tell us who the book is for. i.e. “Lovers of historical fantasy will want to pick this up for the beach.*” (*Or any upcoming holiday or seasonal event.) Or even, “Lovers of 27 Dresses and the Hunger Games will find this book exciting.” Let me know if you’d like me to do a post specifically on writing good sales copy. It’s something I’ve been experimenting with lately.

Go to https://www.creativindie.com/ and look on the “Courses” tab. The class I purchased was Bestseller Blueprint. It is currently on sale from $197 to $17. I suggest you purchase it. There are videos and handouts that are so full of information, you’ll fill a notebook.

What I want to tell you this week is all covered in those two courses, but I don’t want to share info that’s not mine and cheat them out of the payment when you order. So please, check out how to write a book that sells, and then how to edit it like a pro. I never said I would write this bestseller without help. In fact, I think it’s stupid and vain to think you can make a masterpiece without help from those who are experts in the scene already.

I have been taking my third book to my writers club and getting some feedback. Next weekend, I will send it to my betas, as well as my editor. So the ball is rolling. At that point, I will jump back into the WIP, and with the information I am learning, I think I am going to restructure it to fit some proven-to-work parameters.

What kind of parameters? I hear you asking. Well there are many that are used and widely accepted. Such as:

*All diagrams found on Google images.

So, which one is the “right” one? The one that works for your story. I think the one Derek has is the one I’m going to follow on the WIP because I want to try the whole thing together. The best writing, the best editing, the best story. That should make it, right? We’ll see. Won’t we?

I encourage you though, to make sure your story follows some kind of structure. You may wince against the idea of a format, especially if you are a true “indie” writer, or a “Pantser” (someone who writes by the seat of their pants). Yes, you can write anything. You can write your magnum opus in a completely unique style and use words and structure no one’s ever seen before. You may write for yourself, but the ultimate goal in writing a book is to have someone read it, right? It doesn’t do you any good to write a great book that NO ONE will read.

I don’t care who you are, if you take the time to write, edit, and publish a book, then put it out to the world and market it, it’s going to hurt your feelings when not a soul will buy it. We are creative artists. We’re moody, and picky about our coffee, and like rainy days with fluffy socks and a good book. Maybe a cup of hot tea and rose candle next to your laptop? No one blames you for wanting to write for your audience. Which means writing the kinds of books that they already LOVE to read.

Do yourself a favor and listen to the people who say they’ve learned what to do. Just because I was only an agent for a few years doesn’t mean I don’t understand the process or know what agents want in a submission. If you happen to know someone in the publishing field personally, pick their brain. Ask them what advice they can give you. There are a lot of people in the publishing field who are knowledgeable about specific areas and some are experts. Find those who are doing really well and see what they have to say.

With so many things on my plate right now, I need to get back to work. Of course, if you are journeying with me, you’ll probably end up learning what I’ve learned so far, in my own experience as I go. But don’t leave it to chance, they might have just the thing you need to succeed. Have a great week everyone!

Keep Writing!

~jenn