We Have a Contest!!!!!

Is this time really the last time?

Rogue's Angels decided to each reveal a secret to our fellow writers, bloggers, and viewers. At one time I thought I had no secrets, that I was basically an open book. So thinking of something to reveal was a daunting task for me. From November to February for the last fourteen years I have been busy, busy, busy with a local high school swim team. I swam year round from when I was six until I started high school. Finding myself a tad burned out and wanting to do something different with my time than swim from one end of the pool to the other, I quit the year round program. After that I participated in high school swimming for four years. Go Black Tornados. I won a 6th place medal at the state high school championship meet my Junior year. When my oldest daughter wanted to participate in swimming at the high school level, I became the coach. And have been ever since. My son swam for me as well as my other daughter. When my youngest graduated, I had always planned to quit. But along came another swimmer and wow what a swimmer she is. Four years later and several individual state championship wins by this very talented swimmer will also mark my 14th year as the coach of this team. Should I go for 15?

So the question of the day is… is this really my last year as coach? I will reveal the answer at the end of the season, February 20th. To my friends I have said, for several years, this is my last year. So of course they don't believe anything I say, at least not on this issue.

Rogue's Angels are looking forward to the release of their first anthology on February 14th. We have a contest! Each week, to those who leave a comment, we will have a drawing for a free ebook. (not available until February 14th). Every comment will be placed in a drawing for a basket of goodies and a free POD of our Valentine Anthology. Enter as often as you like. :)

WHAT MAKES A GOOD COVER?

POSTED BY: AMBER ANGEL

There are as many answers to what makes a good cover as there are answers to the question, "What makes a good book?" Every reader has a different idea about this. And, many times, authors have little or no say in the design of their covers. 

With that said, I'll offer my opinions of what makes a good cover.

As a graphic artist, I design and look for certain things in a cover:

--Can you tell by looking at the cover what the story is about?

--Are the title of the book and author's name clear and readable? 

--Does the cover look professionally done?

With the growth of electronic books and selling books on the Internet, covers also have to look good and be readable at a small size: about an inch wide and an inch and a half tall. Covers with a lot of detail that might look wonderful on a printed book that's five or six inches wide can look like a murky mush when reduced to an inch wide. Also, if there's not good contrast between the letters and the background, the title and author's name might be totally unreadable at those small sizes. Oh yeah, and don't forget your itty-bitty cover still has to show what the story is about. For me, simple is better when designing book covers to sell on the Internet.

As a reader, I have a different perspective when selecting books by their covers. Some covers may be beautiful or unusual and catch my eye. But when I read the back cover blurb, I realize the cover doesn't show the story at all. I'll paraphrase what a fellow reader and writer said: If your cover shows a bare chest or a seductively posed couple, readers expect a hot love story. If there's nary a kiss inside, they are going to remember this broken promise and perhaps be wary of buying any more of that author's books. (Again, please give that author some leeway as they might not have had much input on their cover design.)

As a reader, I also bring my own prejudices to buying books. I may not care for a certain type of book or not care for the writing style of a particular author. No matter how attractive and professionally done the cover is, I'm not going to buy that book. There are also certain styles of drawing that seem to be very popular, but register high on my "ick" meter. I'm probably not going to pick up that book. On the other hand, if I love an author's writing and they get a stinker cover, I'll buy the book anyway--and perhaps design them a different cover in my "spare" time. 

I've also been known to buy a book because of a mischievous look on a cover model's face--seemingly at odds with his muscular biceps. (The book carried through on the promise of the cover.) And any cover with cute animals will make me take a second look--those are my "sucker" covers.

Obviously, what makes a good cover is subjective. Do you have any types of covers that make you go "ick" or ones that will sucker you in every time? 

Judging a book by its cover

Hello all,

Sable Angel here. This week's column is about book covers -- what makes an eye-catching, got-to-have-it-in-my-collection cover. Hhmmm. That's a real thinker.

I'm of two minds on this... First, I want to be sure people are stopped in their tracks when they see my book covers. I want something about the cover to grab them and not let go. But what exactly is that ethereal quality? Is it a tan, taut, muscled set of abs? Or a black cover with bold red or white letters screaming the title of the book?

What stops readers, and hopefully buyers, in their tracks?

Second, I don't want to give away my story but tickle the reader's interest. Entice them to take the book off the shelf and read the back cover, maybe open the pages and peruse the first or last page. Whatever it takes to get the book in their hands.

I can only speak from my own experience as to what I prefer -- depends on the genre. When I'm looking at sci-fi and fantasy books, I love covers where I can get a glimpse of the world the writer has created.

I like my mystery book covers simple; a few clues arranged on the cover so I'm thinking about who the murderer is and how they accomplished their nefarious task.

When the Angels last met, we discussed this very topic and did agree on one point: if a writer puts a promise on the cover,e.g., a hunky man clutching a curvaceous female with that look in his eyes [does anyone remember Fabio?]; the writer better come through in spades with the promise of a hot, steamy read.

As writers for an epublisher, the Angels are fortunate to have control over what appears on our covers. We work with an artist and create the look to best convey the contents of our book.

In the large publishing houses, the book covers are decided by the art director who can't possibly read every book for which he/she designs the cover. Consequently, some covers create a promise the author can't fulfill and readers pay the price.

As is the case with writers, there are many different covers for many different tastes. Variety is the spice of life and book covers, too.

Don't forget to wear your mittens and keep your feathers dry.

Sable Angel

THREE HANDED BOOK COVER

What is in a book cover? Everything! For those of you who have been readers/writers for a long time you will probably remember the three handed book cover. I doubt if this faux pas hurt sales. Yet the quality of lack of quality will. The cover of my first book, which was set in the late 1800's, the heroine wore a pink calico dress with a pink nylon zipper. Hmmm…..
When I researched the zipper, I discovered the zipper had just been invented. I seriously doubt this hurt sales at all. Very few people noticed the zipper and in any event it was a nice cover.
I put my book covers, the ones I design as well as my own covers on http://www.ratemybookcover.com/ and have found the ratings here by other people interesting. I have always thought the cover should represent the book as well as the genre and if it did this well the cover served its purpose and should be a great cover. One of my best covers, in my opinion, is rated very low at this site. But then it's a scary or should I say gruesome cover. I believe this cover would draw the crowd that loves to read scary vampire stories. So why is it rated so low? I don’t know. (If anyone has a thought on this, please share.)
Does anyone remember who the author of the three handed book cover was and the title of the book?
I encourage everyone to log on to the site above and take a stab at rating book covers. Please share what you think makes a great cover.

Allana Angel

WHY WRITE A STORY FOR AN ANTHOLOGY?

--Posted by Amber Angel

When Christine Young asked me if I wanted to contribute a novella as part of a Valentine's Day anthology, I was flattered and delighted. Then thought, What am I going to write? 

I poked my writer's muse to see if any ideas surfaced. The muse was silent. Waiting, I think, for me to draw the obvious conclusion: I had drafted a romantic comedy some years earlier but tucked it away when it started to turn into the serious, more dramatic and longer stories I usually write. 

But what if this story was shorter? Could I sustain the comedy for 30,000 or 35,000 words? I liked the story enough to give it a try.

My first challenge was trimming the length from nearly 60,000 words down to about 30,000 words. Ever tried to lose weight? What if you had to lose half your weight? Well, at least I had a generous deadline to do this.

I waded into the story with an eye to cutting big chunks of text. Any subplots that weren't necessary to the central story got deleted. If I found a scene that didn't move the story forward, out it went. Two sections that said basically the same thing were combined into one scene.

I was pleased--until I realized I still needed to cut about 15,000 words. 

I polished up my delete key and dove into the story once again. In doing so, I discovered how much I had learned about the craft of writing in a few short years. Bouncing points of view, weak motivation, and excessive dialog tags (how many ways can you write "he said"?) became obvious. Cleaning up these writing faux pas brought the word count almost down to my goal. 

Another pass through to tighten the dialogue, eliminate excessive phrases, and make sure each word was necessary left the story at a streamlined 34,000 words that sustained the comedy from beginning to The End. 

Writing a story as part of an anthology might not have started out as a way to sharpen my writing skills, but that was one bonus. Another bonus was finding an outlet for the romantic comedy side of my writing muse. 

Other reasons I like writing for an anthology have to do with Christine Young and C.L. Kraemer (aka Allana Angel and Sable Angel). I love working with two writers I respect and admire. In addition, promotion with other writers is a lot of fun and we can combine resources to reach more readers. For example, our Valentine's Anthology will include "write-in" parts, similar to cameo appearances in movies and TV shows, that were auctioned off as a benefit for the Willamette Humane Society, and our launch party for the anthology will be hosted by WHS. 

I have many reasons for participating in an anthology, but what speaks most eloquently is the answer to the question, "Would you do it again?" For me, the answer is a resounding, "Yes!" 

As you read this, Rogue's Angels are already planning another anthology for 2011 with more fantasy, more romance, and more fun! 

What's the value of writing for an anthology?

Fair question, don't you think? We writers get so tunnel-visioned about getting our books published, we often forget to write for the sheer joy of putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard truth-be-told, and letting a story unfold.

Not all stories require 50,000 to 70,000 words to have impact. Some of America's most memorable authors have penned short stories to highlight a point they wanted to make. In days past, short stories were grouped together in a book and titled "Short stories by [insert famous author name here]". The reading public was so hungry for entertainment [this was pre-television] they would snap up new work by favorite authors. Somewhere along the line the concept of writing short stories got some pretty bad press and many writers stopped practicing this art.

My very first publication of work was a 750-word piece which won a finalist place in a contest Diet Coke was sponsoring. Twenty-three of us won a webpage on the Diet Coke site for three months which featured our bios, pictures and our story. The thought people from around the world could read my work was quite heady.

Enter the Anthology. My next foray into the world of publishing was a story that has become the basis for my dragon series. I sent it to a fantasy writers group. The moderator and final judge for the anthology had co-written several books with Piers Anthony. Fantasy readers should recognize the name. He is a brilliant, multipublished fantasy writer highly respected in the fantasy community. My story Cyre Drake was about 6,000 words and sat nestled in the company of some fantastic writers. I was paid $10.00 and one book for my efforts. I was, at last, a professional writer.

Do you see a pattern here? Sometimes formats such as anthologies serve to help writers hone their craft. Back when I wrote Cyre Drake if someone would have inferred the next thing I put my talents to would have to be 50,000 words or more, I might have stopped. With each story, my confidence grew to the point I was able to write a complete book and not panic.

I have five books, two stories, a written, performed and published comedy short on DVD and several "posts" on websites where I've been asked to contribute. In February, I'll have two more stories in anthologies and, with luck, in March the first book in a dragon series will be released. I've found my groove.

Anthologies can provide a format for writers to tell a story in the most succinct fashion. As is the case with writers who've published more than one book, brevity has become illusive for me. My writing style is such that I try to convey to my readers every sense I can without boring them; sight, sound, smell, touch and even taste.

Most anthologies have a word limitation, so writing in the style I like becomes a challenge to tell the story in the best fashion with the least amount of words. Can I use one word to get the idea across instead of a sentence? Have I developed characters the reader will identify with in such a confined writing space? Did I tell my story?

You will find Allana and Amber Angels to be superb storytellers. The characters in their tales will make you laugh, make you think and keep you asking for more.

Until next time, keep your feathers dry.

Sable Angel