Lesson 47

 
Lesson 47
Words
 
Another week has come and gone, and another class given. Words are how we want to make a living, and it is up to us to do our very best. It has been almost a full year, and I hope you have learned at least something from my posts, or at the least, had a good laugh.
As an author, I have noticed more and more that people are not so interested in how it is written, but how it is said. Let me explain. On my way to work the other day, I saw a license plate frame that said, (Don’t worry, God’s got it covered.) Now it’s a very nice gesture, and I

believe it to be true, but analyzing the phrase made me think, is it correct? “God has got it covered.” First off, I detest the word got, and I try to avoid it as much as possible. Even the Word program underlined it with blue. So would it not be better to just say God has it covered. Either way my point is that hundreds if not thousands of these license plate frames have been manufactured and sold throughout the marketplace, and a profit has been made.
We writers want the best for our readers, and work on each sentence to create great structure and content. We read, and re-read our work over and over again until we feel it to be right. We want to make sure that one sentence not only flows from the tongue, but flows along with the next sentence, so our readers don’t get lost or confused. I have seen billboard ads, and TV commercials with typos, or like the license plate frame, just funky. And forget closed caption. They are always whacked.
My old English teacher passed a funny post where he saw a tag on the side of the building that read, (Your gonna go to hell.) He added an apostrophe, and an E with white paint, making it you’re gonna go to hell. He posted the caption, “I did my duty for the day.”
Humorously I posted back, “What, you didn’t correct gonna, making it going to?” (According to my word program, it is underlined in red, and not a word.)
It seemed like he became bent out of shape, and immediately posted back, “Gonna is a word! Look it up in the dictionary.”
To which I replied, “Sorry, I didn’t know you were such a Wisconsin hillbilly.” Is that bullying? Either way, he hasn’t talked to me on Facebook, since.
I overheard a conversation that went like this. “Is Joel working today?” “He went to the D gates. He must wasn’t feeling good.” That’s what she said, I swear. I was walking right next to her.
I have always had trouble reading, but when they post those challenges, (Can you read this?) Where the first letter and the last letter are correct, but the letters in between are all messed up. I can still read and comprehend what was written. They say if you can, you are a genius. I’m just saying.
It is like I have said before. People who read my stories become so intrigued with what I have done that they flow right over the mistakes. I have done it five – ten times myself. That’s why we need to go over it time and time again. We must receive and take criticism from a beta reader, and then from an editor. After that we need to read through it one more time, if not more, to make it sounds better, flows better, and find a few more mistakes that the editor and you have missed. Do your due diligence to help advance your book. Even though you have dauntlessly checked, and had five other people or more, looking for mistakes, some may still be found in the final print.
My wife reads a lot, and finds mistakes all the time. She read a book written by Johnny Depp’s brother. She just had to buy it, because it was Johnny Depp’s, brother. It was written and ran through a publishing house, a very well-known publishing house. I would think after he wrote it, he had people read it, and an editor; made the corrections, and submitted it to the publishing house, where they had their editor read through it before they would have published. My wife was so appalled by how many mistakes were made, and not corrected. She could hardly read it without spotting a mistake in every other sentence. But then again, it wasn’t about the book at all. It was about the sales, and using Johnny Depp’s name for those sales. Barack Obama was paid like 64 million dollars for his story, and 50 million for his second book, which he didn’t even write. They used a ghost writer. Michele’s book was the same way, and hit the market straight to books stores just because of the name.  
We are not that well connected, or I know that I am not. But at least I can say with my books; myself reading through countless times, my wife, a beta reader, a paid editor, and a paid, professional, vanity publisher editor all seemed to read into the story, being drawn in by the content that they missed some small mistakes. C’est la vie. I must be doing something right.
We are all writers from around the world, and have our own language, our own words. But in a book you must appease the readers, and make it as easy for them as possible. Make your story count by catching all the mistakes. You don’t want them to think that you are a hillbilly, and they stop reading because they see mistakes. Do your very best, and until next week, happy writing.
 
Bye from rickkurtisbooks.com
 
PS: I found this on the internet paging through a friend’s book info, so I thought I would pass it long. He used a vanity pub. He is Sheldon Saurs, [Once upon a Treatise].
Many tips can be found for free if you just keep looking.
General Marketing Tips from iuniverse.com
While marketing your book can become complex (after all, many high-profile authors hire a team of publicists and marketing professionals to handle their PR), you can do some of it on your own (with a little help, of course). Here are some of the basics of book marketing:
Identify Your Target Audience-While it’s easy to think “my book is for everyone,” the reality is a certain demographic likely to buy it. You need to define whether your book appeals more to men or women, and what ages they are. Would you market a children’s book to single 25-year-old men, for instance? Of course not. So while you’re writing and when you’re marketing, aim your book at a certain audience, specifically the ones who will put money on the counter for it.  
Create a Marketing Playbook-You’re not going to get very far by winging it. Develop a strong plan, including your overall goal, what actions you are going to take, and how you’re going to achieve your publishing goals, including publicity, social media strategy, establishing which outlets will sell your book, what to do with unsold copies, whether you’re going to hold book signings or other publicity events, and how to build a fan base.  
Make a Sell Sheet-A sell sheet is essentially a flier or brochure that lays out the basics of your book—a synopsis, price, category, where you can get it, and things of that nature. A professionally created sell sheet is a strong tool for you to present to buyers and booksellers alike and can be included in media kits.  
Hit the Internet. Hard.-If you aren’t marketing your book online, you aren’t trying hard, and you probably aren’t going to sell many books. While you are writing your book you should be already in marketing mode: you can blog, maintain a social media presence, establish and maintain an author website, and do plenty of other things to generate attention to and interest in your book. This establishes fans of your work, and gets people interested in your book.  
Set up marketing events-Attend trade shows and conferences, hold book readings and signings, and similar events to increase awareness of your book, sell copies, and establish yourself as an author. By meeting the public—the people who are buying your book—you make yourself more accessible, and make readers more likely to remember who you are and what you do.  
If this sounds overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be. iUniverse has a team of marketing pros to help guide you through the process, showing you the steps to take, the strategies to employ, and the moves that doesn’t just make your book available to people, it makes them go seek it out. Whether you need help developing a social media strategy, setting up a webpage, or booking a book show, we can help equip you with the tools you need to help you maximize your sales potential.
I do not endorse vanity pub, but use free information. Enjoy your week.