Don't Miss This!

Want to write a book? Learn the secrets to getting published? Refine your craft and respond to the call to write? Then you'll definitely want to attend

The 2011 Write to Inspire Conference in Elk Grove, California!

This is going to be a great time of fellowship and learning together. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, come join us as we explore:

• Editor, Friend or Foe?
• What's in an Agent?
• Refine Your Craft
• The Power of Storytelling
• Taming Your Writing Dragons
• Finding Your Voice
• Marketing?? Yikes!
• Write Your Passion

As an added bonus, the conference is running a contest where you can get the chance to pitch your project to me for possible representation! So take the time for you and your call. I'd love to see you there! Check out the details here.

Oh, and let me know you're coming so I can be sure to look for you.

Karen

Tips for Terrific Titles #3

Tip #4: Remember Your Audience! Novelists do a great job, on the whole, of keeping their audience firmly in mind as they write. But sometimes when trying to come up with a catchy title or cover image, they go a bit far afield of that audience. The result is that readers who would love the story won't even pick it up. And those who do pick it up may not find what they expected inside. So as you work on your title, remember who your reader is. For example:

• Age range. If your book would appeal mostly to Christian women in their 40s and up, then don't use a trendy title that will appeal to the twenty-somethings. And watch out for technology phrases. Unless your certain your core audience is familiar with both the meaning and use of something technologial, steer clear. For example, using RAM, bits, bytes, and bauds as words in your title may work for a younger audience, or one that's technologically savvy, but for older readers? Odds are good you'd lose 'em. (Or have them writing you letters scolding you for misspelling bites.)
  
• Region. If your book is set in a particular region, are there phrases or even familiar sayings you can adapt to a title? Or, as we discussed in the character tip, are there landmarks that will position your story in a readers' mind? In the Northwest, using words such as Cascade, Siskiyou, Sun Valley, and Snohomish create an immediate image in our minds.For example, the publishing house I work for, B&H Publishing Group, is based in Nashville. Can you guess the phrase that I hear ALL the time...and now say on a regular basis? Yup: Bless yer heart!
  
• Education levels. This has nothing to do with your readers' intelligence, but more with the fact that what appeals to those who've gone through advanced levels of education often is different than what appeals to those who finished their formal education in high school. And studies have shown that reading tastes of those with different educational backgrounds often differ as well.
• Married and family status. Are your readers married? Single? Do they have kids or not? Are you readers of an age where their children are toddlers, teens, college-bound, etc? All of these factors come into play with what appeals. For example, I've been married almost 30 years, but my hubby and I never had children. So while I'm drawn to titles focusing on love or relationships, I'm not inclined to pick up a book that, by its title, is aimed at either someone single or someone with children. Unless, of course, the children are in jeopardy! Then that moves it from relationship into suspense, and I love that!
  
• Gender. Yes, it does make a difference! Not that women aren't drawn to guy titles, or vice versa, but you do need to remember your core consumer and how the title will both sound and feel to them. For example, the title and cover below has its strongest appeal to men. Yes, we anticipate women will like it as well, but it was designed to appeal to men first.

Whereas I'd guarantee you this title/cover is geared to women. :)

• Tastes in music. Song titles can be great book titles, or great springboards to a title. And every generation has universally known titles. Think about it: Leader of the Pack, Close to You, Great Balls of Fire, Hotel California, Billion Dollar Babies, If God Was One of Us, and so on. Also, consider hymns. There's a wealth of beautiful imagery in hymn titles. (note: you can't copyright a title, so no worries about copyright infringement.)
  

Also, keep in mind what may be uppermost on your readers' minds. What are they feeling, struggling with, fearing, anticipating? For example:

• Economics (is your audience made up of those who are most likely hit by the current economic issues such as job and retirement loss?)
• Issues with children
• marital struggles
• struggles with organized church
• faith crises
• Emotions (for example, with all the job and retirement loss in the last year, fear is a huge factor for many people. Titles that offer hope and peace, or a respite from the struggles, would draw readers' attention)

Remember, good titles--combined with good cover art--create an image or mood and garner a visceral response from the reader. It's my hope these tools will provide you with some assistance in coming up with two or three good options to send to you publisher when the time comes to do so.

So have at it--and happy titling!

Peace.

Karen

Tips for Terrific Titles #2

Tip #3 for crafting strong titles? As USA puts it, Characters welcome! Ever and always, Keep Your Characters in Mind. Sometimes the best title for a book focuses on the character. But not just on the name, though that can work well. You can also base a title on your character's:

• Personality
  
• Personal struggle
• Conflict with other characters
• Lesson learned
• Nickname
• Nationality
• Flaw
• Physical characteristics
• Occupation or calling
  

...and so on. Look at all the facets of your character to see if there's something that would lend itself well to an eye- and imagination-grabbing title. Also, remember that these kinds of titles can often lead to wonderful designs.

Also, remember that your location can be considered a character as well. Certain regions, states, or countries tend to have personalities, so to speak. Build on that for a title that creates the image of your story before the reader has even hit page one.

Some examples of character-based titles:

Name
Magdalene (interesting that they chose Magdalene rather than Mary Magdalene. Used the far more negative/emotional portion of the name for the title)
Rachel's Secret
Here Lies Arthur
Ruby's Slippers (outstanding cover art enhances the name and tongue-in-cheek connection to Wizard of Oz. See below!)

Physical Characteristic
The Eye of Jade (cover design played off this title beautifully. See below.)
The Face
The Bluest Eye

Character's struggle or "state"
A Bride in the Bargain
Daughter of Liberty
Deceived
Snow Angel

Personality
The Duchess & the Dragon (gives you a strong sense of the heroine and hero, right up front)
Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes (this title uses location as well)
That Certain Spark (the cover art is what makes this title so effective! See cover below.)

Location as a character
The Shack
What the Bayou Saw
Savannah from Savannah (wonderful mix of name and location)
Texas Angel

Occupation/Calling
Guardian of the Flame
The Alchemist
The Night Watchman



Any others you can think of to illustrate this tip?

Karen

Tips for Terrific Titles #1

As promised last week, here are the first two Tips. (If you haven't read the discussion on titles, check out the blog entry on 5/4/09.)

1. Tone. Be sure your title reflects the tone of your story accurately. A whimsical title on a book that is dark and tense will leave the reader feeling suckered or betrayed. Avoid disconnects, so that when the reader is drawn by the title, what they find on the back cover and in the content will only make that draw even stronger. Be sure the title creates a sense of whimsy, tension, danger, romance, mystery, fantasy, the future...whatever best reflects the tone of your story.

Okay, so ready for a challenge? Based on the titles below...

Name That Tone!
The Boneman's Daughters
Redeeming Love
The Shunning
The Riddlemaster of Hed
A Vase of Mistaken Identity
Without a Trace
Three Weddings & a Giggle


2. Genre. This goes hand in hand with tone. While it's important to reflect the tone of your book, you also need to be sure the title fits the genre you're writing. For example, many contemporary novels have a strong thread of romance in them, but you don't want to put a title that focuses too much on the romance element. Those who read romances have specific expectations, some of which won't be met by a contemporary novel. The beauty of genre, though, is that we often mix genres. Cozy mysteries, for example, mix mystery with a bit of a whimsical tone. Romantic adventure--self-evident. So you can use that interplay in titles. One caveat: you can offset the genre focus with the cover art. For example, a title like The Longing Heart could be romance, could be contemporary. How the designer treats the cover will clarify genres for the reader.

Name that Genre!
Kidnapped
Sister Chicks Down Under
Wormwood
Nothing But Trouble

Part two coming soon!

Karen

Tips for Terrific Titles

One of the questions asked in the comments on my 5/4 blog was: What tips do you have for creating a good title for a novel? Based on the discussion and on my experience in publishing, I've come up with 4 top tips to titling. And I'll jump right into them...after Mother's Day. So stay tuned!

Until then, here's an exercise for you. Come up with titles for the following novels:

Romantic Suspense--woman discovers wolves on her Wyoming ranch, and fights to keep them hidden from ranchers. Wildlife biologist is sent in, under the guise of taking a job on her ranch, to determine if reports of wolf sightings are true. Behind the scenes, someone is out to kill the wolves--no matter who gets in the way. Elements of story: suspense, danger, wildlife, romance, time running out.

Thriller--woman computer whiz discovers a hidden website--one belonging to a vicious serial killer. She goes to the FBI, but they don't think it's real. The killer, however, knows he's been hacked, and backtracks to find the culprit. When the woman's friends start disappearing, then turning up dead--killed in horrific ways--she takes control and emails the killer through his website, telling him she's going to find him and kill him. He tells her there's no way she can do that. She grits her teeth and sends her response: "Just watch me." And proceeds to do exactly what she said.

Contemporary--Older woman with macular degeneration starts having hallucinations. She knows that a symptom of her disease, but this hallucination is different from the others she's had. It's Huck Finn. And it does more than just show up. He starts talking to her. Through struggles to repair broken family relationships and personal epiphanies, she and Huck discuss life, family, and faith--and she discovers that God's truth sometimes comes in very surprising packages.

All three are actual books. So share your titles, and then I'll tell you the real titles.

Have fun!

Karen

Are You Twittering Yet?

Have you discovered Twitter yet? I just got my iPhone 3G (which is another story...had it less than 24 hours and my dear, darling 10-month-old Siberian husky customized it for me. CHOMP! Worked for about a week and a half, then boom. Dead. As a doornail. Had to order a new one, because, of COURSE, they don't cover for physical damage. AARRGGHH!) ANYhoo, my iPhone got me all interested in twittering. So I'm following and being followed...and it's fun. Not only that, it's helping me be concise! My editors always call me "O Verbose One." This is good training for tightening my writing. I confess I don't do it nearly as often as some (where DO they get the time??). I even go days without a single tweet. Twit. Twitter. TWATever!

So if you'd like, check it out at www.twitter.com. You can see my most recent twitty twitters from this very blog. Just look at the column on the left. Or go to http://www.twitter.com/KBall4Him. You can even see the background I made of a picture I took from the window of a plane.

Ain't it a world of wonders.

Karen

Tips for Your Writing

In my browsing time on the internet (more about that in a second) I came across the following site: Daily Writing Tips.

Looks like some helpful and interesting tips here, so thought I'd share it with you all.

Now, back to browsing the internet. Since deciding to alternate the focus on my blog (see the blog entry for May 8), I've been taking more time to browse the internet looking for material or news on my 5 areas of focus. In the process, I've discovered some fascinating things. Okay, some disturbing or idiotic things, too, but the majority have been fascinating. Which led me to my iGoogle page, where I set it up to receive certain news, blogs, and other tidbits daily. Why do this? And more to the point, why should you care?

Because, as writers, we need to stay in touch with what's going on. In the world, in our country, in our communities, and with our own personal world of influence. And the internet is a great way to accomplish most of that. Are you writing historicals? If you use Google, set up Google Alerts to let you know when any articles, blogs, or news items about your time period show up. I have my alerts set to a number of topics, including Christian fiction. And you'd be amazed at the attitudes and thoughts people post every day on Christian fiction. Some are encouraging; some...not so much. But it helps me stay in touch with what readers and writers are thinking and saying.

To help you get started, if you're so inclined, here are some sites to check out:

Online Research Guidance
The Best Online Research Apps You've Never Heard Of
Research and Reference Tools
Zotero

So take a little time to find out what tools are available to you in your work as a writer.

Peace, friends!

Karen

Learnin' to Pitch!

Well, it's been a long time since I've tried to pitch a product to anyone. In fact, I don't think I've actually ever done so! Not even with my first book project. Lisa Bergren, then editor at Multnomah, called and asked me to consider writing for their Palisades romance line, and that was the beginning of my writing career. So when it came time this morning to practice our pitches to the producers, I realized I was on new ground.

I mean, COMPLETELY new ground.

You know something? It was a blast. It helps that I'm here with authors who are good friends: Gayle Roper, Terri Blackstock, DiAnn Mills, Sharon Ewell Foster, Yvonne Lehman and others. So that gives each of us a built-in cheering squad. And the gal who taught us how to pitch--Kathy Mackal--was wonderful. She had such a gift for honing in on the perfect hook for our projects.

I'd been planning to start my pitch with the first book in my suspense series, Shattered Justice, but when I told her about my novel The Breaking Point, which is about a couple on the brink of divorce whose truck goes over the edge of an Oregon mountain in a blizzard, her eyes lit up and she insisted I start with that one.

Turns out she was right on the money. Don't you love it when God gives you good counselors?

First, let me describe what we found when we walked into the room where we were to pitch. We'd been warned it was going to be a bit like speed dating. We'd get roughly 3 minutes with each producer. Three minutes TOTAL. Good thing I can talk fast. If they wanted to know more, they'd ask for materials (plus we were all eating dinner together after the pitch session, which was nice). So in we troop to find table after table set upl, the producers sitting and waiting--15 in all--with little numbered cones on the corner of each table. The plan was to have everyone choose one producer, sit down, do the pitch, then move on to the "next number up." So I sat down at table number 5, which meant I'd move on to #6, and so on until we all made it through all the tables.

Well! Someone should have told our poor organizers that getting novelists to follow directions was like herding cats. I want you all to know I was obedient. I went from my table to the next, and the next, and so on. But I kept running into people who were doing more of a pinball pattern. And then there were those who started out right, but went to the next number down. It got to be pretty funny after awhile. Fortunately, everyone was laid back and relaxed, so we ended up just having fun.

I was especially pleased to get to talk with Ken Wales, the producer for Amazing Grace, the wonderful movie about William Wilberforce and the originator of the TV show Christy. Ken was gracious and kind. He liked the sound of two of my books, Reunion and The Breaking Point, and asked me to send him copies of both. As nice as that was, just being able to sit and talk with him was even nicer. I told him as soon as I sat down that one of my good friends absolutely loved Amazing Grace (Lori Benton, to be exact). So much so that she'd seen it multiple times. He was delighted and said to tell her thanks. (So hey, Lori...Thanks!) He's showing Amazing Grace tomorrow night (we have movie premieres and showings every night), after he gives a brief talk about it, then sticking around for questions. I'm looking forward to it.

A number of producers were interested enough to ask me to send them books. And Ted Baehr, of MovieGuide.com fame, gave me an A+ on my pitch for The Breaking Point. Too fun!

So here I sit in my room, all the images and conversations from today floating through my mind, reminded yet again that God is in control. Don't know if any of this will go anywhere, but even if it doesn't, it's been a wonderful education. And such fun to get to thank folks who are making things happen in the world of film and TV.

I'm here for two more days, and will check in as I can. Hope you're all doing well!

Karen