Many of you came to my launch party at the Barnes&Noble in Orem, UT. It was a great turn out! Over one hundred people came and I was signing books for two hours straight! Well, I did take a small break so we could film the Harlem Shake, but besides that, I was signing books the whole time. So I suppose that should count as my first ever book signing, but I don’t feel like it was a true book signing experience.

However, the other day, I was at the Barnes&Noble in Layton, UT, and that felt like my real first book signing. You might be confused about why I feel this way. The explanation is simple: At the launch party, most of the people who came were people that I knew who were excited to buy my novel and celebrate with me. (Something I’m definitely not complaining about here!) At the book signing in Layton, I knew two people who came to support me. The rest of the time, I got to use my friendly smile and try to engage people in conversation. That was quite different from the launch party.

It was a great experience. I actually love getting to know people from all different walks of life, and now it’s part of my job to harass people who enter the store while I’ve got a signing scheduled. 🙂 I only lured maybe twenty people over to my table to talk to them. The rest had various reactions to my friendliness. Some would not look at me when I gave them salutation, but would nod their head to acknowledge me. Others ignored me completely, and some were very courteous and asked how I was doing. Maybe it’s the writer in me, but I was fascinated by the different responses people gave when I said hi and asked how they were doing. It was like being front and center to a people watching experiment. And (in true writer fashion) I started making up stories for those people depending on how they reacted to me. (I know- kind of nerdy, but totally entertaining!)

From this experience, I just wanted to relay a simple message to all readers out there: We authors are not trying to make you feel awkward. Nor are we trying to put pressure on you to buy our books. If you see us sitting at a table at Costco, Barnes&Noble, or any other bookstore, feel free to come and talk to us.

One person approached me and asked questions about my book. She was very friendly and we had a great chat about her work and family. When she saw my book was about vampires, she simply wasn’t interested. I was totally fine with that. No hard feelings – vampires aren’t for everyone. I’m still glad that she came over and we got to have a little chit chat.

I’m looking forward to my next book signing and getting to know more people It’s such a fun opportunity and I’m glad it’s a part of my job description now.

Happy reading!

Competition is huge for almost any business and industry out there. Whatever line of work you are in, it’s always better to sell more than your competitor, right?

That’s true enough for the big publishing houses in the writing industry, as well as book stores. However, for authors themselves, it’s a very different atmosphere.

This thought came to me at the latest writers conference I attended this year. I realized that a lot of authors who came, bought each others books. Any time I told another author that my debut novel came out just that week, they would get excited for me and ask about the book so they could get online and order it. What other industry does that?

If you were to attend a medical conference, a marketing conference, or a sales conference, everyone would be nice and cordial to each other. After all, those conferences are there so you can socialize, network, and seek out new opportunities. However, they wouldn’t necessarily be jumping at the chance to buy your latest product. Chances are, they’d be trying to figure out a way to create a similar product and sell it for a cheaper price. That’s just the way business works in most cases.

But as an author, I want my fellow authors to succeed. I am thrilled for those who have been a sensation, mourn for those who’s book sales haven’t done well, and encourage those who are involved in trying to get published. But why are we authors so different from other people in different businesses?

I think the biggest thing is that most authors are also readers. One of the most elemental tips to give a writer is to read, read, read. The more you read, the better you understand simple things like plot points, characterization, and dialogue. As you read, you figure out what style fits you best as a writer and what type of genre you want to break out into. And really, if you want to be a writer, that passion usually stems from a love of books in the first place. (If it doesn’t, you may want to rethink your career path. Being a writer is like being a teacher; you aren’t in it for the money.)

Another point is that there’s always room for more books! If you’re trying to sell something like a dishwasher, one household will only need to buy one of those. So it’s no wonder that you would be competing to present your dishwasher before the other dishwasher sales people. (I hope you guys are laughing at my comparison here! Dishwasher sales people…) But one household can buy an indefinite number of books and will continue to buy more in the future. It’s a never ending sales process.

So, in short, us authors don’t need to compete with each other. I love sitting down with my associates to see how they’re doing. I love that we all are so open to dish out advice to each other and really want each other to do well in the writing industry. It’s so great that when I attend a writers conference, it’s like sitting in a huge support group for a few days!

So, best of luck to all of you writers out there. And readers, happy reading!

When you are a bookaholic, getting your hands on the latest book news around the world is imperative. There is much more to being a bookaholic than just reading the actual books. There is a whole other process of looking for the ideal book and finding out what everyone has to say about it. This is why any self-respecting book fanatic will need to get a website that provides them with all this and more.

What to Expect

So, what should you expect from a really good book site? To begin with, you will want to get a site that is up to date on your favorite books. Certain book websites dedicate themselves to specific genres of writing although there are a few sites that are all encompassing. Depending on what kind of books you like, you will be able to narrow down your search for the perfect site to satisfy your bookaholic tendencies. You might find yourself having to check out a couple of different sites before you settle on just one.

Bookaholic Fan Interaction

The second thing you will be looking for in your book website of choice is interaction with like-minded fans. Apart from just reading a book, you want to share your thoughts and pick the brains of other people who have read the book too. That is why you will be looking for a site that lets fellow bookaholics write reviews, blurbs and chat on the books they are currently reading. This is a great way of finding out other books you might be interested in and new releases that you might have been ignorant about.

Author News

Author news is also another important feature in your search for the perfect bookaholismsite. As a fan of a specific author, you are naturally curious to find out what drives them and about the books they might be planning to release in your future. Instead of having to independently look for such information, a great book website should be in a position to provide you with that. That way, you will be instantly aware of new books, author tours and soon by just visiting your favorite site.

Getting Some Freebies

Another great reason to affiliate you with a high quality book website would be the freebies that come with that affiliation. You are informed of when your favorite books are on sale or about any fun competitions that might get you signed copies of books and other fun gifts from your favorite authors. Blog hops are another fun way of getting to find more books and gifts and if you have a bookaholic website to keep you informed, you should have many exciting activities to indulge in.

As a dedicated bookaholic, you want to be in a position where you can find all the information you need under one site. That way you can dedicate the rest if your time to doing what you love; devouring books. Therefore, investing your time in the search of the perfect fit of a website for you would be a truly worthy cause.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source

William Yatscoff is the editor and marketing manager for Bookkaholic Magazine; a place where all the bookaholics can get together to read, talk, and learn more about the books they read everyday. The magazine features the columns: Help me, Bookaholic; What We Are Reading; Book Trailers; Book Blurbs; Book Quotes; Fresh Ink; Book Giveaways and Book Reviews.

They say a picture paints a thousand words, and that is definitely true when it comes to the cover of a book. The design of your cover has the ability to make or break your book. You want your cover to be able to reflect the main themes of your book, and attract new readers to take a look at what’s inside. If you are hiring a designer to create your cover then you can come up with some of your own ideas on what it should look like, so that the designer has a clearer picture of what you are looking for. This article provides some simple steps that will help you to create your perfect book cover in no time at all.

Begin by Brainstorming

So you have finished your book, and now you are ready to start working on your cover. Your book will contain all of the clues that you need to create the perfect book cover. To begin the design process, you can start by brainstorming some ideas. Take a large piece of paper, and in the centre of the paper write the title of your book. Now start writing down any words that describe the major themes in your book. If you could sum up your book in several sentences what would they be? If any images or symbols come into your mind then you can also sketch them onto the paper. Continue to work on this process until you have a full sheet of words, phrases and even sketches.

Your Book’s Image

Once you have finished brainstorming you can start to think about what type of image you want for your book. You can refer to your brainstorming sheet for ideas. Another good place to look for inspiration is on photo sites, such as Shutterstock. You can type in keywords and browse through some of the images available. Think about the colours, the mood of the image, and what it represents to people. Obviously you don’t have to choose the exact image you want, as a designer or illustrator will either be able to create a new illustration for you, or help you in selecting an image, but it is helpful to give them an idea of what you have in mind.

Text and Style

What text do you want to be displayed on the cover of the book? In most cases this is just the title of the book and the author name, but you can also include additional information such as tagline or part of a great review. The text font should complement the book cover image.

The Perfect Designer

Now you are ready to find a great book cover designer who will be able to bring together all of your ideas to create a perfect cover. Always ask to look at a designer’s portfolio of work, to see that their work is in keeping with the style that you would like. Also make sure that they will be in contact with you throughout the design process, so that the cover is made to your requirements.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source

Nouvelle Hollande is a voracious reader and has a whole host of classic English literature books in his library. He proclaims that this habbit of reading was cultivated in him by his father at a very young age. The result of that is that today he has his own website by the name of Meanjin. An avid art follower he still remembers his early days of creating a book cover for himself  and has shared his opinions on the topic through this post.

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  When the stationery cursor blinks indefinitely in the menacing glare of the blank page, deadlines loom more frightening to the writer than dawn to the insomniac. To those whom have suffered from it, writer’s block can be as debilitating as any physical condition that inhibits activity and productivity. It is, however, not only wordsmiths and storytellers who are struck by the condition.Musicians, sportsmen and other professionals suffer tooWhen Fernando Torres transferred from Liverpool FC to Chelsea FC for a staggering £50 million, he became the sixth most expensive footballer in history and the most expensive in British football history. Unfortunately, the once world-class striker played 903 minutes of football for Chelsea before scoring a single goal. His goal drought was discussed in minute detail by the world’s press, which significantly increased the pressure on him to justify his expensive transfer fee.

  Similarly, the intense pressure that Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff felt after the negative response his First Symphony received left the composer deeply depressed and unable to compose any music. The block lasted for three years until the composer finally sought medical help in 1900. He spent three months in psychotherapy, after which he produced what is arguably his most popular work of all: the Second Piano Concerto in C Minor.

  Causes

  The causes of writer’s block are commonly associated with any form of severe stress that the writer experiences. This can stem from external sources such as death in the family, financial or marital issues. Sometimes the source of stress can be internal, where the writer puts pressure on him/herself to surpass previous successes or avoid previous failures.

  According to Wikipedia, when the kind of pressure that induces writer’s block is present, the brain’s functioning shifts from the cerebral cortex to the more primitive limbic system. The limbic system is associated with the more basic processes, such as fight or flight, which primitive man needed to survive in the wild. The fear induced by the stress causes the brain the bypass the creative thinking part of the brain, which explains the writer’s sensation of feeling stuck.

  What can be done to help?

  There are literally thousands of publications that are aimed at repairing or building self esteem. One book that has done particularly well is Timothy Gallwey’s The Inner Game of Tennis. In it he describes the mental strategies that tennis players use to overcome their sense of fear and self-doubt in order to perform under enormous pressure. His ideas became so popular that professionals in other disciplines have adopted them and prompted a series of books including, The Inner Game of Music (for performing musicians who suffer from debilitating performance anxiety) and The Inner Game of Work.

  Another popular book that can be extremely helpful in unlocking creative potential is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. The book sets tasks and goals over a 12-week period which aims to build self-confidence and promote creative activity.

  For those who are constantly on the go, there is an app called Quiller (developed by Amy Randolph),which helps stimulate journal writing. The app comes with five writing categories and 200 prompts that aim to help the user access difficult emotions and express them through writing.

  A helpful tip from one of the best

  In an article translated for the New York Times, Gabriel Garcia Marquez quotes one of his favourite pieces of advice from Ernst Hemingway: “Each day’s work should only be interrupted when one knows where to begin again the next day.”  Marquez goes on to say that it is the best way to avoid what he calls the most terrible spectre of writers: the morning agony of facing the blank page.

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  •  License: Creative Commons image source

  Louisa Theart writes for House of Publishers, a new and comprehensive resource for writers who need to find publishing houses and literary agents to help them on their way.