Writers – Page 78 – Jean's Writing

Should you care about the bestseller list?

Published on February 4, 2016February 2, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

Well, duh, yeah. Every writer wants to see their name on that list.

But, it’s not as easy as writing your best story your family has ever read.

Each Sunday I enjoy reading the Arts Section of the newspaper. And the first page I turn to is the column where the New York Times Best Sellers are listed. I’m always looking to see who made the list. Is it one of my favorites? Is it a newcomer?

The same holds true for the Amazon.com Top 100 List. I love clicking through looking for a good read, when I have the time that is.

Have you given much thought to how a writer actually gets listed on the New York Times Best Seller List? Or The Wall Street Journal or makes the Amazon.com top 100?

Sell lots of books, make lots of $$$$ and voila! Right?

Well, that’s what I always thought. But, seems it’s not that simple after all.

My whole perspective changed after I read this article by Tim Grahl. Not my dreams of making one of these Best Seller Lists mind you, but now I’m not quite so naive. Achieving this goal is ever-changing and cloaked in secrets and mystery by the powers that be and full of intrigue almost as much as a political drama.

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The NYT closely guards their decision-making process. But apparently it is based on samples from various booksellers across the country.

The WSJ builds their best seller list based on the sales figures they get from Nielson’s BookScan. But, BookScan doesn’t track every purchase. It doesn’t track sales through big box stores like Walmart or online sales like Createspace. Bulk purchases don’t count. Even legitimate ones. Like for a book club or a classroom.

So what should you or I do?

Just keep writing and not worry about best seller lists? I think so. Because this is one of those things that is beyond our control. Kinda like the weather.

However, this is a fascinating read about how the industry works.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NEW YORK TIMES AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER LISTS by Tim Grahl

If you have any tips for achieving this monumental goal, please share!

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to with a click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Some rules are made to be broken

Published on February 3, 2016February 2, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell31 Comments

And, it seems I break most of them most of the time.

There are two that plagues me like little devils. They pop up in my writing like annoying toddlers and no matter how many times I rearrange them into the proper order, if I turn my back they’ll break out of line.

But, as my critique partner and anyone else who knows me will tell you, I write like I talk. And proper is not it. Oops, broke two in one tiny paragraph. I need to get the broom and sweep up a conjunction and stranded preposition.

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Conjunctions plague me as do prepositions.

Too bad I talk as I write. I think it’s more important to connect with the reader than to write every sentence grammatically correct. Now this is just my personal opinion. As I’ve mentioned many times, I’m no expert.

Reading something that sounds stilted and phony pulls me out of the story.

You wouldn’t ask your spouse, “Honey, what were you talking about on the phone?” No you’d be probably say something more along the lines of, “Honey, what was that about?” Nor would I.

If the word fits the scene then is it okay to break a grammar rule?

What do y’all think?

Do you think it’s okay to begin a sentence with a conjunction, or to end a sentence with a preposition?

As you can read in the following article written by Catherine Soanes. Many famous authors have stranded or dangled a preposition to no ill effect.

Click and read the entire article and see if there are times when it’s okay to break a few rules.

Can you end a sentence with a preposition?

I’m curious.

Is there a grammar rule that you stumble over?

Which one?

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to with a click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

How important are the first words of your story?

Published on February 2, 2016January 31, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell5 Comments

Very.

I agonize over the first paragraph more than any part of a story. Sometimes I rewrite it a dozen times and often making it worse before I make it better.

So how do you start that story?

By grabbing the reader.

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With a whisper and a promise. With fear or joy. You dangle temptation, and offer redemption. The trick is to not start out too big or too fast. It’s like catching a great white shark or blowing up the planet, too much momentum can leave the reader with nowhere to climb. Often a sense of let down or exhaustion hits midway through the book.

I once read that the writer needs to give the reader a reason to suspend their disbelief and they will gladly go along for the ride. No matter how far-fetched the story all they need is a reason and they will keep reading.

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That reason could be a killer opening line. A likeable character or character they love to hate.

Jacob M. Appel believes that the seeds of that triumph or defeat are sown by the end of the very first sentence. Read his post and see what he says about starting a story.

10 Ways to Start Your Story Better By: Jacob M. Appel

Darcy Pattison wrote a book START YOUR NOVEL in which she lists twelve ways to start novels and give examples of the top opening lines of all times. In the following post she looked at the Top selling books for the week ending August 9, 2013, opened their stories. One contemporary author opened her story with dialog. To read more click:

10 WINNING WAYS TO OPEN YOUR NOVEL By Darcy Pattison

Reading Challenge 18: A Book With a Blue Cover

Should you open with dialog or not, that is the question

Published on February 1, 2016January 31, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell5 Comments

If you must, keep it short and sweet.

Has it been done? Of course! Does that mean we should try it? That’s a loaded question.

The first line is how we, the writers, introduce our story to the reader. It’s how we shake hands, say hello, howdy, nice to meet you or whatever greeting we choose to grab the reader’s attention.

The first line can’t be wasted words.

When a story is opened with dialog, will the reader know who is speaking? If not, the author must backtrack, and pretty quick, to show who is talking and why. This can become confusing fast.

I’m not sure that I’m that talented of a writer.

If using dialog to open a story, it must reveal the character, and support, highlight or assist action. The dialog can be captivating, and attention grabbing, but it cannot be just for the sake of conversation. Just like any opening line, it must hook the reader and propel the story.

The reader is then thrown into a whirlwind of turbulence trying to figure out whose on first, doing what. You risk losing them before you can ground them in the story.

There are right and wrong ways to use dialogue to start your story. Merideth Storms give several tips on how to make sure the dialog serves to reveal the plot and move the story forward. Click and read her post:

Using Dialogue to Start a Short Story, a Creative Writing Technique by Merideth Storms

Everyone has heard not to start a story with a dream, staring into a mirror and yes opening with dialog. But now we know all “rules” are not steadfast when bent or broken by writers who know how to use them. There is another “no-no rule” I’d not heard about.

Too little dialog in the opening paragraphs. This can signal to an editor the story is might be boring, filled with more telling than action. Read more from Courtney Carpenter: