One of the most interesting questions to answer as an author is “Where do you get your ideas?” This isn’t that difficult of a question, of course. It’s just more of a complex answer. (At least, for me. Maybe other authors feel differently.) I say complex because when I give the simple answer of “Everywhere”, it just brings on more questions. So, what do I mean by everywhere? Just that. I get ideas from reading other fiction, reading non-fiction, and from watching the news or Dateline. I get ideas from getting bored and letting my mind wander. I get ideas from all kinds of conversations with people. Sometimes my friends and I will have some random philosophical discussion, and I’ll think that I can make a story out of our topic. Someone can be very rude to me and I’ll think that the rude person could be a great character in one of my books. Sometimes, I’ll hear someone else’s conversation and will get an idea from them.

Ideas are everywhere. Sometimes I have thought of something that I think is a really great and original idea, then later discover that someone else has already thought of it. (I think a lot of authors have had that experience!) But that just goes to show how many people are paying attention to their imaginations. Really, ideas are the easy part.  The hard part is to have an incongruent idea and turn it into something substantial. Something that other people are going to love as much as you do. Sometimes things can fall together perfectly and the plot will be solid. Other times, you may have to think a bit harder to really make it work.

I think part of the idea process is to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. You know – “think outside the box” and all that jazz. I went to a class at a writer’s conference. It was a two hour workshop that was all about pushing your brain to think in ways you normally wouldn’t want to. (It was taught by Clint Johnson, and he was awesome, for those of you who might be interested.) It helped me to be able to put my characters through things that could possibly break them. The whole point was not to necessarily change your story into something strange and possibly very dark, but to just say to yourself “What if…” For instance, what if your character actually got raped instead of being saved in the nick of time? What would that do to her spirit? How would it change the dynamics of the romance in the story? Or, what if the child dies instead of miraculously being saved? Things like that. It doesn’t mean that you’ll change your story to that, it just helps you to try new things with your story and its characters so they’re not limited in your own head.

So, all of you authors out there, keep reading. Keep watching the news and be aware of what’s going on around you. Go to a public place and observe people and their interactions. It will definitely give you ideas. And keep your imagination going, too (of course!). You will get ideas. There is no doubt about that. And then keep asking yourself (or your fellow critiquers) “What if…?” You might enjoy the mental journey.

So lately I have just been dying for my publisher to contact me and let me know what they’re thinking for my cover art. I know they told me there would be one for the hardback cover and a different one for when the paperback comes out. There are so many different types of images they could use that would apply to my vampire novel. In my head, I am thinking of at least twenty different types of images they might use. I like the thought of having a woman’s face whited out a little with a bright red, bloody tear trailing down her cheek. I think that one is my favorite from what I’ve come up with on my own. Once I get to see what my publisher is thinking, then I’ll really start to get excited.

So where am I going with this little ramble, you might ask? Cover art is so very important to the sale of a book! The term “You can’t judge a book by its cover” may be true, but it’s not the way the world works. I personally have learned to try and not pick up a book solely based on its cover. At times I have picked up a book that looked so nifty from its cover, then read said book and felt like I had just wasted my valuable time on it. Also the reverse has happened where I have looked at a cover that I thought appeared lame, read it anyway and loved it. So that very popular saying is absolutely true. Judging a book by its cover is not going to guarantee that you will get what you’re expecting. However, if you want to market a book (which is of course, key to getting people to read your book!), then you need to be very involved in making its appearance so intriguing that people will stop whatever they are doing to look at it.

If an author doesn’t have an image for their book that has allure, then they are not going to be nearly as successful. One of my author friends has an amazing cover for her first book. She got bookmarks made from that image and gave them out everywhere she went. She gave about five hundred of them to her local library, then came in about a week later. All of them were gone and the librarians asked if they could have more to give out for the rest of the month, possibly longer. This one act generated quite a few sales for her. Once people read her book, they recommended it to others and so began her success as an author.

Of course, her book was well written and so people advised others to read it. If her book had been bad, it would have gotten those first few buyers, and that would have been the end of it. So while I’m trying to make a particular point tonight about images, I would also like to note that you need to have a fantastic product to be truly successful. So combing an amazing book cover with an incredible book with a compelling plot and complex characters, it will help set the bar for your book to make the rounds out there in the world. And that’s what all of us authors want, right?

Genres for books have grown insurmountably over the years. Only a few centuries ago, there were very limited genres. Since then, it has grown into nonfiction subcategories, like memoirs, biographies, or travel guide. The fiction subcategories are even more vast, ranging from historical romance, to comedy, to fantasy. There are even subcategories with subcategories now. Take fantasy, for instance. There is now, saga fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction, to name a few.

So why are there so many more categories now? There have always been stories brought forth from the imagination, especially romance, comedy and tragedy. So have we all suddenly become so much more detail oriented and have started organizing everything into their own label? Perhaps.

Or perhaps with growing opportunities and growing technology, our brains haves started to expand more, giving more room for intriguing stories. I think for the nonfiction area, it is pretty self explanatory. After all, people are doing more traveling and it is much more convenient to do that with a travel guide, right?

As for fiction, our minds have been opened up the more possibilities over the years. It used to be that the setting to place on a ship bound for the Indies, or America. Nowadays, the setting could take place in an underground city, or on a spaceship on its way to the newest discovered galaxy. We have moved beyond the old saying, “The sky’s the limit” to “there is no limit”.

With all these interesting things to ponder, one might wonder how the future generations can be affected. With so many movies out that have hover crafts, are our kids going to grow up thinking that it is a real possibility and they just have to figure out the logistics to get them created? Will some child get sick of going to school and invent a way to plug knowledge directly into the brain so school can become superfluous? You never know. I grew up with the idea of cloning being a very real possibility, but my grandparents read about it and thought it complete fiction.

This leads into my next thought of, “Which came first?” Is it possible that the creative part of the brain was able to help science along in the first place, or was the academic part of the brain able to learn first what was and then lead into what could be. My personal opinion is that you simply cannot have one without the other. It is this author’s opinion that Albert Einstein had to be in touch with his creative side in order to elevate himself to his genius status.

So keep on dreaming everyone. Authors, keep using your imagination to publish new and interesting concepts for the world to absorb. Maybe in the future someone will find some way to create that magical pill that will stop aging as well as cure any and all diseases. (I have noticed that to be a popular one in many fictional novels.) But the point is, keep imagining, keep studying, and you might be surprised at the discoveries you’ll make.

Collections of old books, newspapers, and artwork are cool to have and look at. However, keeping them in good condition isn’t always the easiest thing on the planet. It’s also easy to go about it the wrong way. Below are some tips and tricks to keep your precious materials safe.

Things Not To Do

Don’t oil the covers of leather bound books. Oil darkens the leather, creates blotches where not applied properly, and gets onto the pages. Even after the books are shelved, oil bleeds through the spine and onto the pages.

Both books and print media do not do well in temperature extremes. High temperatures, high humidity, and highly concentrated pollutants in the air will damage them. Stay away from storage in attics and basements.

Direct sunlight has permanent damaging effects on any kind of print media. Sunlight fades inks, yellows pages, and dries out leather. Keep print media and books out of the sun.

Proper Shelving

Keep books in glass-front cabinets of glass or baked enamel away from sunlight. This will help keep away the dust. If they have to be kept in open or wood shelving, dust them regularly and make sure the wood is sealed properly.

Do not overcrowd books on shelves. Good air flow is essential. Keep like-sized books together. This will prevent warping of taller books. Use bookends to keep books upright. Any book over 18 inches tall should be laid flat instead of stored upright.

When removing from shelves, nudge books to either side and grasp the chosen volume in the middle of the spine. Tipping the books out of the shelf by the top of the spine causes damage.

Boxes, Covers, and Folders

Archival boxes are a good option for keeping frailer books and print media safe. They protect against normal wear and tear and dust. The boxes cost under $10 each. They should be made of either 100% cotton rag or chemically purified wood pulp.

Mylar or polyester book covers are acid-free and provide stability as well as protection.

For print media, acid-free folders, alkaline mats, or polyester film folders are good options for protection. All folders should be larger than the piece inside.

Storage

Ultimately, because it is important to keep the temperature between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 and 21.2 degrees Celsius) and humidity between 44 and 55%, storing in-home is not always the best option. The best place to store these is a climate controlled self-storage unit. The temperature and humidity can be kept relatively constant easily.

As you can see, keeping older books and print media in good condition isn’t always easy. However, your efforts can easily pay off. Some of what you keep could be worth a lot of money someday.

Image by Randy Son of Robert and licensed through Creative Commons.

Paul Benjamin is a District Manager at EZ Storage, a storage rental company that offers temporary and long term storage units near Ross Township, PA.