Dear Aspiring Author and Friend,
~John Rakestraw
I’m totally taken aback by how many authors don’t use their Amazon Author Page, don’t have a blog or website for their readers to find and engage with them. Writers… we can’t just throw our books up on the web and then give no thought to our readers. We need to be FOUND, we need to have a place for the readers out there to know us. Give yourself a platform, be the celebrity that you are and live the part of an author! Hiding under a rock helps no one…
We tend to sit back and hope that someone will notice us. We don’t want to seem pushy and in your face. We don’t want to shake the trees to much, we shouldn’t talk about ourselves… we have so many don’ts in our way to getting noticed that it’s a wonder that anyone tries?
I’m starting to understand the Kardashian sisters way to getting notices… I don’t know if a have the stomach for their type of marketing, but I see that it works.
We need to be more out there… but, care about how we are being looked at. It is hard as hell to do!
Read my book please… doesn’t work!
On your Amazon Author Page:
Do you link to your author page? do you use the Customer Discussions forum that is there? Do you have your RSS feed from your blog setup for, Most Recent Blog Posts?
To get people to our book(s), maybe we need to engage them where the book is at.
I have only had my book up on Amazon for a week so far… I haven’t link to my author page, but maybe once at all.
I’m just shooting into the dark here and hoping to grab some readers. If we are more active at the site that has our books, maybe that can make a difference?
Metaphors & Similes
by Toni Rakestraw
http://rakestrawbookdesign.com
Admit it. We’ve all written them. Those elaborate metaphors and similes just seem to flow onto the page, don’t they? Sometimes, we get so enamored of them that they are very hard to let go. But do they really help?
Take a quick read of a few of your very favorite novels. Are they full of elaborate similes? How many poetic metaphors are there? Probably not very many. Why? Because they don’t usually further the story. Instead, these elaborate phrases tend to bog the reader down.
They also tend to remove the character from their immediate situation. If you are tempted to use one, take an objective look at the scene. What is happening? If your character is taking a moment to compare the huge battle he is facing with something totally unrelated, is that realistic? If you were using all of your energy fighting, would you be able to construct something like this in your mind and still be an effective fighter? Probably not. The only thing going through your mind would probably be how to block their next hit or where you could strike them most effectively.
And for love scenes… has your significant other ever spent time elaborating on how your eyes are limpid pools (or have you done this for your partner)? Probably not. Is it poetic? Maybe. Is it right for the scene? Maybe. It depends on your style, your characters and what is happening in the scene.
Before you go overboard, take an objective view of the scene that contains the phrase. Does it further the story? Does it provide insight into the character that we must have? Does it fit in the ongoing action? If you can’t answer yes to these questions, you probably don’t need it.
Have a beautiful day until we meet again,
John & Toni Rakestraw