https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog.atomHotGhostWriter - HotGhostWriter Blog2022-07-25T16:48:58ZHotGhostWriterhttps://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/announcing-our-new-scale-service2022-07-25T16:48:58Z2022-07-25T16:48:59ZAnnouncing Our New Scale ServiceMai Hamric
We are excited to announce the launch of our new Scale Service: Your ticket to begin scaling your romance publishing business today.
We've worked with thousands of romance publishers over the years, which has given us a front-row seat to the bottlenecks and challenges you face whenyou’re ready to scale. It’s also given us the opportunity to design solutions to those problems.
We are excited to announce the launch of our new Scale Service: Your ticket to begin scaling your romance publishing business today.
We've worked with thousands of romance publishers over the years, which has given us a front-row seat to the bottlenecks and challenges you face when you’re ready to scale. It’s also given us the opportunity to design solutions to those problems.
The fact is, managing a high volume of freelancers and projects consumes tons of time and is very complex. More content = more issues, which quickly overwhelms a publisher of any size.
We’ve applied our expertise to design a process that’s been tested through a number of trials, resulting in a program that is specifically designed to prevent and resolve the bottlenecks.
With our Scale Service, we’re able to build a team specifically for your brand and oversee every single book from start to finish in a completely hands-off process - freeing you up to focus on the other aspects of your business such as marketing and book launches.
Here’s what that looks like:
The Team: We become experts on your unique content needs, then develop stories based on your top demographic and best-selling market trends.
Content Creation: Our production process is completely hands-off for you, but with regular updates and an open review process.
Here’s how we’re training our teams to write books for the top-selling markets today
Monthly Deliveries: Content arrives ready to publish at the same time each month complete with custom formatting, cover design, and blurbs.
This exclusive service is not available for direct orders on our website, and it is only available to clients who meet our criteria. To find out if our Scale Service is a good solution for your publishing business, please contact our Director of Scale and B2B, Mai Hamric at mai@hotghostwriter.com
In your email, please include your answers to the following:
What monthly minimum of content are you in a position to commission at this stage in your business/platform?
What monthly minimum would you like to scale to in 3 months? 6 months? 12 months?
How predictable are your genre needs in the next 3 to 6 months?
We’ll get back to you with a link to schedule a call with us to determine if this service is a good fit for you, and to discuss your next steps to scale.
Publishing Non-Fiction?
At this time, our Scale Service is only available for publishers working in Romance Fiction, but please let us know if you’d like to be notified when we make this service available for non-fiction.
Start scaling your romance publishing business today.
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/romance-fiction-trends-watch-summer-20222022-07-22T17:59:27Z2022-07-22T17:59:28ZRomance Fiction Trends Watch: Summer 2022Mai Hamric
eaders want an easier read in terms of writing style, but that doesnotmean easy themes. They wantraw and emotional stories that keep them hooked. Writers shouldn't shy away from dark themes or characters that are both loveable and hateable.
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At HotGhostWriter - soon to be Inscrive Scale - market research is what fuels our creative staff training, content development, and the guidance we offer to clients. We stay ahead of the curb, tracking what readers want right now and anticipating what they’ll be craving next. Stay tuned to our blog for regular updates on the current Romance Fiction market trends.
Romance Fiction Trends - Summer 2022
Best-Selling Authors
It’s hard to talk about any facet of recent women’s fiction without mentioning Colleen Hoover and Taylor Jenkins Reid. Though not strictly romance authors, the force with which they have topped bestsellers charts is no doubt rippling into all areas of fiction.
Colleen Hoover is skilled with psychological thrillers but carries those dark, gripping themes across all of her works. The result is an addictive reading experience that has her dominating the charts.
Before Hoover’s books started spreading like wildfire, Taylor Jenkins Reid had readers captivated with books like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & the Six. The former was actually published five years ago, but its popularity spiked in more recent years through buzz on BookTok, Bookstagram, and Goodreads, and is still lingering at the top of the charts today.
Dark Themes
So what do Hoover and Reid’s books have in common and what do they mean for romance fiction publishers right now?
The popularity of these two authors has shown that readers want an easier read in terms of writing style, but that doesnotmean easy themes. Both writers deliverraw and emotional stories that keep readers hooked. They don’t shy away from dark themes or characters that are both loveable and hateable.
It’s hard to say if the recent spike in popularity of dark romance and mafia romance is because of that ripple effect, or if the two have happened independently. Regardless, it’s clear that dark themes are on the rise.
Complex Characters and Plots
Even in lighter contemporary romances - raw, believable, and complex characters are still in demand. They want leads that feel very real and human with both dark and light sides, likable and dislikeable qualities.
More than anything, they want characters they can see pieces of themselves in, and they want to feel as if those characters’ actions and emotions are things they can easily imagine themselves experiencing.
This goes in hand with the abandonment of a lot of outdated themes that have been casting a shadow over romance novels for a long time. People want more diversity in their entertainment, including their books, and this means the old strong man/weak woman dichotomy is finished. Do they still want strong alpha males? Definitely. But only with a strong alpha female in opposition.
Across all sub-genres, tropes, and themes, readers want to go on a wild ride with crazy experiences - but through the lens of deeply humanized characters. Anti-heroes are bigger than ever, as is the idea of ordinary, flawed people being yanked into extraordinary and unexpected experiences.
On the darker side, this means more relatable characters in paranormal and mafia romances - while the worlds around them remain larger than life. And in lighter romances, the circumstances for fake fiances, secret babies, and office romances have to be crazier than ever but orchestrated in the most believable ways.
Contemporary, Small Town, & Western Romances
In Contemporary romance, there is resistance to anything that feels too light or fluffy, or cheesy. After the pandemic, nobody has the patience for that anymore.
This might explain the boost in demand for Medical series - all the usual contemporary tropes we typically see with billionaire bosses, but now with doctors. The realistic drama and mortality of medical facilities might feel closer to home for many these days, even if it is with a dose and tried and true romance tropes.
On the flip side of all of that, there has been a big resurgence in westerns and small-town romances. Many of these are keeping up with competing genres in their themes of suspense and tension. While others just give readers something comforting, pure, and classic to escape into while there is so much going on in the world.
Writing Style
Immersive reading experiences reign with first-person, present tense being preferred for most genres, both serialized and standard. Today’s readers want straightforward, digestible writing with zero fluff. Believable dialogue and actions are a must.
Shorter, choppy rhythms are common in today’s top-performing content. Even if a book deviates from the short and choppy style, writing that’s high in action and constantly propelling forward is preferred over long inner dialogues.
Trend Forecasts for Fall/Winter of 2022
Fall and Halloween will likely bring an added boost to the already popular psychological thrillers and romantic suspense novels, putting them in a close tie with paranormal romances.
With so many dark romance series picking up steam at the moment, it’s doubtful the usual paranormal romance spike around Halloween will cast too big of a shadow over mafia or romantic suspense novels. Many will carry on strong through the fall.
After that - mafia and dark romance writers would be smart to play on the holiday season, using it as an opportunity to show a more human side to even their darkest of characters. Holiday themes are a fun contrast to the darkness of those worlds, and give ample opportunity for fresh scenarios during the holiday reprieve - perfect to prevent popular, ongoing series from going stale.
Recap
When planning your upcoming publications, here are the market trends to keep in mind:
an addictive reading experience
raw and emotional stories
dark themes
Raw, believable, and complex characters that are both loveable and hateable - deeply human leads
dark romance and mafia romance
diversity
Classic alpha males but only with strong alpha females in opposition.
Anti-heroes
Ordinary, flawed people being yanked into extraordinary and unexpected experiences
Typical contemporary romances have to be crazier than ever but orchestrated in the most believable ways
themes of suspense and tension
Immersive reading experiences
first-person, present tense
straightforward, digestible writing with zero fluff
Believable dialogue and actions
Shorter and choppy rhythms
Dark romances should take advantage of the holiday season and deliver the unexpected
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/top-5-bottlenecks-for-romance-publishers2022-07-19T18:19:02Z2022-07-19T20:21:11ZTop 4 Bottlenecks for Romance PublishersMai Hamric
Let’s say you’ve gained some traction and success with your romance publishing business or platform. You have an engaged audience ready and waiting for new releases, and you’ve built relationships with writers, editors, and managers to serve the need. What happens next?
Naturally, now you want to grow.
But most of us have learned the hard way - that is never as easy as it sounds.
We've worked with thousands of publishers over the years, which has given us a front-row seat to the bottlenecks and challenges they face when they’re ready to scale. It’s also given us the opportunity to design solutions to those problems.
Whether it's a small indie publisher or a large-scale, multi-million dollar publishing platform - these are the top 4 bottlenecks we see over and over again when businesses try to scale, along with just a few of our expert opinions on how to solve them.
Bottleneck #1: Not Enough Writers
Often times publishers will have a solid team of writers in place when they first embark on a goal to scale. It’s that foundation that indicates it’s a good time to scale in the first place.
But then you add an additional 5, 10, or 20 projects and issues start to arise. Maybe several of the new writers you’ve brought on turn out not to be a good fit, or suddenly writers from your original group have changes in availability or aren’t delivering their work on time.
Now you have even more projects to manage while also trying to recruit, screen, and train new writers to fill project vacancies. All while other project management tasks are piling up.
Our Tip:Have backups in place or work with an agency.
When hiring writers, aim for locking in two sets: Your lead actors, so to speak, and then your roster of understudies who can step in if anything should go wrong with your original team.
You can also partner with an agency like ours. They’ll handle creative staff management for you, including recruitment and reassignments.
Bottleneck #2: Quality Decreases with Scale
The more projects you have in progress, the thinner your time is stretched among them - putting you at risk of quality issues slipping through the cracks. But the even bigger challenge is ensuring your team understands what your definition of "quality" is in the first place, especially with something relatively subjective - like what makes a good story.
We often see clients struggling to define a clear baseline of quality standards that can apply across the board to maintain consistency with a large number of simultaneous projects. Articulating your vision for your overall brand and pen names can be hard, and it gets even harder when you have a lot of stories in development at once.
Our Tip:Don’t underestimate the value of example content!
The best way to establish a baseline quality standard is to make your top-performing content required reading for everyone on your team.
This is also an essential cornerstone for you as a publisher to refer back to so you don't lose sight of what kind of content you need. Listen to your audience. What are they responding to the most? That's the kind of content you need more of.
Bottleneck #3: A Struggle to Supply Enough Story Ideas
This is a huge bottleneck for publishers. Once they have a team in place, they will often face delays as they work to generate and develop new story ideas. And an all too common result is that by the time the plots are ready, the original team they had lined up is not. After all, this is how your writers and editors make a living. They have bills to pay, and they can’t wait around forever.
The number one thing you can do for retention of your creative staff is to ensure they aren’t sitting around for weeks at a time with no work to do, and this goes for delays while they wait on feedback too, which we'll revisit in a moment.
Our Tip:Don’t underestimate the value of writers and editors who are experts in their fields.
Don’t just strive to hire good writers. Hire writers who love the genre you hired them to write for, who know the popular trends and how to deliver story ideas for them.
Giving that team some creative freedom with the development of a story, in combination with their expertise in their genre, will result in a steady stream of story ideas and outlines that result in stories your readers will love.
Bottleneck #4: Delays from Reviews & Feedback
This is the #1 bottleneck we see with almost every single client who attempts to scale - be it with 5, 10, or 20 projects. You’ve got a roster of projects in progress, writers who are eager to move forward, but they’re all waiting on you to give the green light and you only have so many hours in the day to read through their progress.
Our Tip:Have other team members in place that you trust to assist in providing feedback.
It will be impossible for you to continue to scale if you’re expecting to be able to read every single book you’re publishing. Sooner or later, you will need editors or project managers in place to review the work.
We recommend establishing that support early on, so you have time to test out potential candidates on projects and establish a team you trust even before you start to scale.
Our #1 tip for scaling your publishing business? We’re a little biased, but Inscrive Scale is specifically designed to solve all of these bottlenecks and more.
What it all comes down to is that finding, hiring, and managing a team you trust takes time. And when scaling, it’s impossible to do it alone. That’s why our service does all of the work for you - enabling almost instant scale.
Reach out to us today to learn more about how our Scale Service can conquer the bottlenecks your publishing business is facing.
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/training-writers-to-write-anything-for-anyone2022-04-27T22:08:22Z2022-04-27T22:08:23ZTraining Writers to Write Anything for AnyoneMai Hamric
Our publishing partners come to us with a specific audience or demand they have identified, and it's our job to supply content that meets that demand. This calls for a highly skilled creative, recruitment, and management staff that is up to the task.
But with so many options for how content is being created, published, and consumed - in addition to the quickly changing trends of the market - how do we do this? How do we ensure that a team of over four hundred writers and editors, that’s growing every day, is trained as thoroughly as possible to run with anything a client might ask for?
For starters, having a prepared staff means we avoid waiting for a client to ask for something. We watch the market and industry trends to anticipate our clients' needs ahead of time, so our staff is ready before the requests come.
Here are just a few of the things we’re training our creative staff on to anticipate the needs of the market and our clients
Our publishing partners come to us with a specific audience or demand they have identified, and it's our job to supply content that meets that demand. This calls for a highly skilled creative, recruitment, and management staff that is up to the task.
But with so many options for how content is being created, published, and consumed - in addition to the quickly changing trends of the market - how do we do this? How do we ensure that a team of over four hundred writers and editors, that’s growing every day, is trained as thoroughly as possible to run with anything a client might ask for?
For starters, having a prepared staff means we avoid waiting for a client to ask for something. We watch the market and industry trends to anticipate our clients' needs ahead of time, so our staff is ready before the requests come.
Here are just a few of the things we’re training our creative staff on to anticipate the needs of the market and our clients:
Worldbuilding
Many publishers are no longer creating stories for a single, standalone book. Why create one story for your audience when you can build a whole world that has the potential for multiple series and spin-offs?
For this reason, we’re developing training programs to ensure our writers and editors are highly adept at building believable worlds that readers will love escaping to over and over again.
Beyond worldbuilding skills, this also means they must take the possibilities of story potential into account. They’re learning to create worlds that are big enough for multiple series to be created within, and all of the intricacies that entails - ensuring consistency between different volumes, while also allowing room for continued evolution and growth.
TV & Film Writing
The popularity of serialized fiction has created a demand for stories that mimic television series. Each chapter is an episode with its own story arcs that tie into the overall ongoing arcs and plot. The storytelling tactics of TV and Film as a whole are becoming increasingly popular in written form for novels - both standard and serialized.
By training our writers to understand how to write for film or television, they’re empowered to find new and fresh ways to adapt these techniques to the written word.
Code-switching
Our writers use this technique to help them collaborate with multiple writers - matching each other’s voices to create a congruent story that feels like it’s all in the same voice, from a single writer.
Code-switching abilities also allow for the creation of more believable characters and storytelling. The writers change their tone and style to match the character in first-person narratives - often alternating between multiple characters and points of view throughout a story.
We use code-switching skills when continuing series or creating adaptations so that the books fit seamlessly into the books that came before them. The aim is for the readers to have no idea that the series has been passed between multiple writers in its lifetime.
Another benefit of this skill is that our clients can bring us content that has performed well for them, and our team is able to mimic its voice and most popular elements - maintaining the style while creating a new and original story within it.
Collaborative Writing
Collaborative writing has a multitude of benefits that expands beyond the speed of completion. We find that our writers gain a lot from the collaborative writing process. Working with a partner or team provides an ongoing stream of new ideas and techniques, while also pushing the boundaries of what they can do creatively.
Having an entire team working on a single story means that if one person is sick or has an emergency, the whole story doesn’t come to a screeching halt. When working in a series, either starting a new one or picking up one already in progress, multiple eyes on the work lessens the risk of plot holes or inconsistencies.
In our company, we expect collaboration at every level - which means our project managers are also highly skilled in storytelling, writing, and developmental editing. With so much feedback and opportunity for collaboration, we ensure every story our team creates is the best it can be.
Immersive and Transmedia Storytelling
We recognize the demand for transmedia storytelling and immersive writing experiences and the growing variety of opportunities for how an audience might consume or interact with a single story or world.
This evolving world of storytelling allows for so much experimentation and creativity - using technology and interactive experiences to change how stories are told and enjoyed. We’re always eager to train our staff for any new experience our clients want to create for their readers.
We’re thrilled to be able to provide opportunities for our writers and editors that put them on the forefront of this developing industry, while helping our clients grow at the same time.
GreatStorytelling
We believe in the power of great storytelling, so in addition to training our creative staff for what will best serve our clients’ needs - we train our staff in anything that will grow their story crafting and writing skills. Wherever they devote those talents throughout their careers will result in amazing stories to be shared with the world, which is one of our core values at Hotghostwriter and our new Inscrive Scale department.
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/the-new-world-of-romance-fiction2022-04-15T16:29:47Z2022-04-15T16:31:11ZThe New World of Romance FictionMai Hamric
The way romance fiction is being written, published, and consumed is changing.
There have been dramatic changes in the world of romance fiction in recent years. The number of online romance fiction communities is rising, and there is an ever-growing list of new platforms for reading and publishing romance. The genre is shattering old stigmas and gaining more popularity than ever.
More people are reading and writing romance than ever before.
The way romance fiction is being written, published, and consumed is changing.
There have been dramatic changes in the world of romance fiction in recent years. The number of online romance fiction communities is rising, and there is an ever-growing list of new platforms for reading and publishing romance. The genre is shattering old stigmas and gaining more popularity than ever.
More people are reading and writing romance than ever before.
Covid created a need for stress-release and entertainment sources we could enjoy from the comfort of our own homes. This is likely why romance fiction book sales spiked 24% in 2021, making it the second most popular fiction genre on the market.
But the pandemic didn’t just have more people turning to books for comfort. It also resulted in a spike in online communities. BookTok and Bookstagram have sky-rocketed in popularity for both readers and writers of the genre. Facebook groups are being used to create smaller, more niche groups for authors to support each other, and for readers to find more book recs.
Connections aren’t just strengthening within writer and reader groups respectively. They’re formingbetweenthe two groups, resulting in more platforms authors can turn to for ARC reviews, growing their email marketing lists, and building their followings.
It’s a snowball effect that turns more readers into romance fiction fans, many citing the feeling of community in itself being a major benefit. And from that, more of those readers are dabbling in writing theirownromance fiction. As the number of readers turned writers grows, so does the number of them that are taking the leap into self-publishing their work.
Writers are turning their hobby into a career that pays the bills, and the demand is there for it.
The pandemic transformed work as we know it. People are demanding work they actually care about that they can do from home. This has opened aspiring writers' eyes to how achievable it is to turn their hobby into a career. As they take that leap, they’re finding that the demand is there.
It creates a perfect breeding ground for self-publishers to scale. There are more quality, talented writers within their reach, and many of them are seeking ‘work for hire’ and ghostwriting gigs that self-publishers provide.
Self-publishers can now achieve true scale in their businesses.
This means there are more quality writers available for work. And self-publishers who have gained some traction but are now looking to scale have real options for doing so.
There are still plenty of obstacles. Like how to keep their favorite writers once they find them. Or how to manage a high volume of ongoing book production. But publishers are rising to the challenges and forming partnerships to help them scale.
The way we engage with content has changed.
Businesses are now under pressure to become meaningful brands - to build communities of their own and provide experiences to their customers. It's not enough to put products and content out there anymore. Audiences want us to take it a step further.
There’s a lot of competition when it comes to getting and keeping someone’s attention now – no matter what the platform is. People want the unexpected. More than that, they want a conversation. They want to feel a personal connection, and they want an interactive experience that feels fun, easy, and genuine.
How can publishers create a conversation and experience for their audiences?
Reading apps are taking the cue and creating those engaging experiences through the design and capabilities of their platforms, along with how the content is presented to the reader. “Texting” experiences within the books and phone vibrations or sound effects are great examples of this.
Outside of the apps and the platforms we’re reading romance fiction on, there’s the digital world where we’re connecting to our favorite authors. Romance writers are getting creative with their fan bases, and social media is giving them tons of traction. The digital space has allowed for a whole new level of interacting with and staying connected to our favorite romance authors.
The new world of romance fiction has changed the way writers write.
The way we communicate, interact, and express ourselves online is changing. With that shift, the 'rhythm' of best-selling romance writing is changing too.
You can imagine the obvious differences between writing a standard fiction novel and writing content that can easily and seamlessly integrate into an app designed for interaction and other effects. But there have been other shifts.
Thanks to our phones and scrolling in combination with the volume of online content we’re used to consuming, our eyes are becoming trained to move quickly through a piece of text. Our fingers also have that habitual instinct to scroll. We read snippets and only stop to focus on what truly grips us.
This creates a very short window of time for romance content to grab onto readers. Attention spans are short, and readers are becoming more fickle. And why shouldn’t they be quick to ditch content that doesn’t hook them from the start? There’s plenty of it out there to choose from.
Authors are learning to combat this by formatting their writing to suit the urge to scroll: Short and choppy sentences and no long blocks of text. Lots of dialogue and action. Romance writing today should be in constant forward motion, just as we are in our daily lives. The writing is shifting to match the rhythm our brains are used to.
Characters move and speak quickly, if not outwardly, then inwardly. Seeing the inner world of characters is also trending in romance. As we touched on before, readers want a conversation. Writing that’s rounded out with lots of inner dialogue makes them feel like they’re having that conversation with the characters.
This brings us to…. Serialized Fiction.
Stylistic changes, restless behavior of readers, the longing for connection between readers and writers, and the continuous rise in popularity of self-publishing. All of these paths converge in serialized fiction. It hits all the good spots, and it’s why we’ve seen such a spike with it.
Serialized fiction releases bite-sized portions of novels, but delivers more in overall length. Readers get more of what they want but in shorter increments, which is perfect for that scrolling urge in our eyes, fingers, and brains. And with more content in total - novels often resulting in ongoing series with 100k to 200k words per installment - readers build a true connection and relationship with the characters and their worlds.
The biggest demand for freelance writers right now is versatility.
What we’re seeing now more than ever before is that what makes a great writer is no longer just about storytelling skills and craft. A high level of versatility is now needed.
In ghostwriting, while most clients used to review a batch of samples and select the writer they thought was the best fit for them, the expectation is now becoming that the client tells us what they want and the writer adapts to meet their needs. The ability for a writer to do this has always been the marker of a great ghostwriter, but as the competition in that market steepens – the most adaptable writers will continue standing out from the rest.
As we change, writing does too.
In order for romance fiction content to perform well, it will need to continue matching how we speak, interact, and consume. And on that ever-evolving course, romance writers and publishers will need to learn to adapt – not just once, but continuously.
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/kindle-publishing-success-story-how-tuan-went-from-0-to-11-000-a-month2021-07-20T13:55:29Z2021-07-20T13:55:29ZKindle Publishing Success Story: How Tuan went from $0 to $11,000 a monthDelfim Alvaro
Hey Authors and Publishers!
Today I want to bring some inspiration and motivation your way.
I recently interviewed my good friend and successful publisher, Tuan Luu. He discusses his upbringing, how he got into publishing and he also shares3 BIG TIPSon how you can also achieve similar results.
So watch this interview now and get inspired!
Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my channel if you haven’t already done so. I share some great content on business, publishing, and lifestyle so subscribe now!
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/from-wall-street-to-successful-kindle-publisher2021-07-20T13:55:04Z2021-07-20T13:55:04ZFrom Wall Street to Successful Kindle PublisherDelfim Alvaro
Nigel comes from a Finance background, having worked and dominated Wall Street for many years before deciding to quit the life of the Wolf to run his own online business and trading empire.
A successful trader and Kindle publisher, Nigel comes to share his story, his journey and success. In this interview, he also shares his top 3 tips for anyone wanting to scale or make their first $1,000 with Kindle.
I was personally blown away by the value he shared in this awesome interview and am super excited to see your reaction when you hear what Nigel has to share.
Nigel also brings us in on a rumor that he has a great program coming out soon. Something incredible is on the way!
Tune in to this raw, uncut and unedited interview now!
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/how-to-make-3-000-a-month-publishing-books-on-amazon-you-didn-t-write2021-07-20T13:54:38Z2021-07-20T13:54:38ZHow To Make $3,000 A Month Publishing Books on Amazon You Didn’t Write?Delfim Alvaro
Did you know that you can earn passive income publishing books on Amazon you didn’t write?
That’s right!
Amazon allows ordinary people like you and me to publish ebooks and paperbacks books on Amazon. Amazon is the largest online retailer with more than 300,000,000 million registered credit cards and billions in sales a year.
You can get a piece of the pie by publishing high-quality books and earning a sweet royalty per sale!
In this video, I give you a brief introduction to the process where you can learn how it all works. I also give you great resources where you will master the process and get started immediately.
I personally built a $3,000 a month income with just 13 books and no real experience in business or online marketing. By following what I teach you can easily do the same!
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/kindle-publishing-success-story-how-to-make-5-000-a-month-passive-income-with-john-robinson2021-07-20T13:54:19Z2021-07-20T13:54:19ZKindle Publishing Success Story: How To Make $5,000 a Month Passive Income With John RobinsonDelfim Alvaro
And another one!
Today I bring you yet another fire interview with my man John Robinson from Worldwidejohn.com!
He is a seasoned publisher and has a lot to share with you.
At its peak, John’s business was raking in $10,000 a month. It now brings him a steady $5,000 a month with no real additional work. How would an extra $5k a month help you? Then find out how to replicate John’s results with this awesome interview!
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/how-to-publish-an-ebook-on-amazon2021-07-20T13:45:25Z2021-09-29T15:21:35ZHow To Publish an eBook on AmazonDelfim Alvaro
In this video + blog post, I will be showing you how to publish your very first eBook on KDP!
Before we even get to that, you will need to have your KDP account setup, your tax information filled in and your payment info added.
I actually walk you through that process and the entire publishing business model in my Amazon best-seller book“Kindle Publishing: How To Build A Successful Self-Publishing Business With Amazon Kindle and Createspace. A Detailed, Step-By-Step Guide To The Entire Process”.You can purchase that directly from Amazon.
Now to the publishing!:
Login into your KDP account. You should be in the ‘Bookshelf’
UnderCreate a New Title, click on the ‘+ Kindle eBook’
Now we want to start adding the book’s details
In theLanguagesection, choose your book’s language (it is pre-set toEnglish)
In theBook Titlesection, add your ENTIRE book title including the subtitle. With our meditation book example it should look like so;
Next, we haveSeries. Here, you can decide to make your book as part of a series and add the series name and volume number. Some people use this section to add extra keywords that you will see in brackets on the Amazon book page. I used to do this, but don’t do it anymore as it doesn’t look very professional. I tend to just add my primary keyword like so:
I tend to leaveEdition Numberblank
Now, we add our author name or pen name in theAuthorsection. Add the author’s first name and surname using a capital letter for the first letter of each. You can also add more contributors in theContributorssection just below. I always leave that blank
Next, we add the HTML description in theDescriptionsection. Be sure to double check the HTML is correct by pasting it on the online html editorfirst. Be careful with the spacing as it will show up with the same spacing you use
Then if you own all the publishing rights of the book (as you should- and will if you work with Hotghostwriter), select the first option in thePublishing Rightssection
In the Categories section, choose 2 categories you want your book to be placed under. I recommend choosing 2 categories closest to your book topic.
MASSIVE TIP:I am going to give you a massive tip that I use that many don’t.
Ssshhh, don’t tell anyone lol.
When it comes to categories, what I do is add the 2 most relevant categories to my book here on KDP. Then I find a random category where the number #1 book has a BSR higher than mine and emailkdp-support@amazon.comand tell them that I want to add [category name] to my book [book title + ASIN number of my book] and they will add my book to that category within 24-48 hours!
For instance, if my books have a BSR of 100,000 and the no.1 book for the category in question is higher than that – 200,000 for instance- if I join that category I will go to the number #1 spot right away! Which will then add that beautiful ‘Best Seller’ badge to my book as such:
The best seller badge really makes your book stand-out and will certainly drive more clicks and sales to your book. That badge is some of the best social proof you can get! When you see books with bestseller badges, check their BSR and see if you can overtake them. I wouldn’t spend too much time on this, but keep an eye out!
I leaveAge and Grade Range blank
Finally, on the first page, we have thePre-ordersection. I always publish once the book is ready, so I choose ‘I am ready to release my book now’. Alternatively, you can make your eBook available for pre-order
Now click onSave and Continue
In the next page, we start off by selecting whether we want Digital Rights Management (DRM) or not. DRM basically “inhibits unauthorized distribution of the Kindle file of your book” – KDP. I recommend selecting yes.
Once we have clicked Yes, we can now click onUpload eBook manuscriptto upload our book file.
Next, we upload our book cover under the Kindle eBook Cover section by clicking on the second option ‘Upload a cover you already haveJPG/TIFF only’. Alternatively, you can create your own cover by clickingLaunch Cover Creator
Once your files are uploaded, you can launch the Online Previewer by clickingLaunch Previewer.Check your book looks good (perfect formatting will already be done for you if you are having your book written by us athotghostwriter.com)
You can skip theKindle eBook ISBNsection
Let’s move to the next page by clicking onSave and Continue
On the next page, we start by deciding whether to enroll in theKDP Select Programor not. The KDP select program is a program where you make your book exclusive to Amazon for a 90-day period and you can benefit from additional exposure to readers, you can set your book as free for a 5-day period or do a countdown deal where you can discount your book for a set period. You will be able to use these (free promo + discount promo) every 90-day period and it renews automatically if you don’t cancel it. I personally have always used the KDP select as the 5 free day promo is an essential part of my marketing strategy.
Next, you can select the countries where you want your book to be sold. I, for obvious reasons, always chooseAll Territories (Worldwide rights)as long as you hold worldwide rights (as you should)
Now we can set the price of our book! I always start at$0.99cat a 35% royalty when my book is first released. I go through my marketing strategy within Chapter 8 of my book.
In theMatchbooksection, you can choose whether to offer your eBook at a discount (or free) if a customer also buys your paperback version. I usually enroll my book in the Matchbook program
Next, we have the Book Lending section. Here you can decide whether to allow readers to lend your book to other people once for 14 days. I always allow lending, but you may choose to un-tick this
And finally, the Terms and Conditions. Once you are happy with everything and if you agree with Amazon’s T&Cs you can click on Publish Your Kindle eBook. It will then take up to 72hours (more like 24 hours) for Amazon to review and make your book available. You will then get an email confirmation that your book is live!!
And that’s it! Your first book is now on the market! The next thing is marketing and getting reviews. If you wish to learn more about the Kindle Publishing business model, download my new book “Kindle Publishing: How To Build A Successful Self-Publishing Business With Amazon Kindle and Createspace. A Detailed, Step-By-Step Guide To The Entire Process”.You can purchase that directly from Amazon.
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/kindle-publishing-series-how-to-find-a-profitable-niche2021-07-20T11:48:58Z2021-07-20T14:13:33ZKindle Publishing Series: How To Find a Profitable NicheDelfim Alvaro
In this post, I am going to show you how I find profitable niches to target. I am going to keep things simple and my goal with this post is to give you the steps you can also implement and begin finding profitable niches to create Kindle books for!
Niche research is a vital skill. Without it, you will not make money and the best way to get good at it is to practice and go through the process again, and again, and again.
The process is simple and with practice will become almost ‘second-nature’. We base all our research from the Kindle store as that’s where we will be selling our books.
One BIG mistake newbies tend to make, which I want to annihilate right away, iscreatingyour own niches. A lot of people think because they like or are interested in something, that other people are also interested in that. Others will think they have discovered a new market. They will think of something and then go to Amazon to see that no one else is selling a book on that topic and think that they found a ‘untapped-market’.BIG MISTAKE!
I understand why some might think that is genius, but the truth is, you want to find a niche that isalready profitableand that there is already ademandfor. Don’t create a book on a niche because it’s something YOU like or because it’s an idea YOU had. Look for what theMARKETlikes and wants. Find a niche that is ALREADY profitable. I can’t stress this enough.
Now that I got that out of the way, let’s move on to the practical research:
Being that we are ‘Kindle’ Publishers, I like to get the majority (if not all) of my ideas from Amazon directly. If you didn’t know Amazon has a best-seller section on their site where you can see the top-selling products for each category.
This is also true for Kindle books.
You can see which books and topics are doing well and by doing a bit more research can establish whether a niche worth pursuing and publishing in.
Amazon is basically telling you what is hot and what people are buying so for me that is all the information that I need!
So lets get to it…
1. First thing is to head over to theKindle Best Sellers List.
or if you want to learn to get there yourself, you simply choose ‘Kindle Store’ from the drop-down menu on the Amazon.com homepage (remember the main market is Amazon.com so we want to base our research on Amazon.com alone. Don’t bother with amazon.co.uk, Amazon.it etc for now. They make up a significantly smaller fraction of your royalties).
Select ‘Kindle Store’ from the drop-down menu:
Then click the search button:
From this page, click ‘Kindle eBooks’:
Then on your left, click on ‘Best Sellers & More’:
Finally, scroll down and click on ‘Kindle Best Sellers’:
2. Now, here is where you can find all the bestselling books!
If you look to the left side of the screen, you can see all the different categories on Amazon. What you need to do is go through various categories and subcategories (categories within categories, i.e. Mathematics > Algebra, etc.) as this will enable you to get more ideas and find specific topics and niches you can publish books on.
VERY IMPORTANT:Make sure you are looking through the ‘Top 100 Paid’, NOT ‘Top 100 Free’. You want to get ideas from books that people are paying money for. So, make sure you are in the right section by clicking on ‘Top 100 Paid’.
3. Now, what you are looking for here are keywords and niches that you can target. More specifically; keywords and terms that a book can be based on and that solves a particular problem for the reader.
Here is an example of some good keywords in the ‘Crafts & Hobbies’category:
From the above screenshot, you could write down;
‘Recipes in Jars’ (potentially, create jar cookbook for people looking for new recipes)
‘Soap making’ (potentially, create a book that teaches DIY soap making)
‘Woodworking Projects’ (Potentially create a book that provides DIY wood projects for people looking to build cool things out of wood)
4. You want to go through various lists and categories and note down any potential keywords that you see. You may also get ideas that pop into your head, write those down too, so we can check if they are profitable later.
I would recommend writing down at least15 potential keywords,to begin with, so that we can later assess each one.
You may be thinking:
What’s the difference between a keyword and the niche?
Good question. It can be easy for you to get confused between keywords and niches. I use the word ‘keywords’ to define keywords or terms that can be actual niches (markets) you can target. For instance, the word ‘Meditation’ is a keyword and a niche as well. When publishing your book, you would be publishing it in the meditation niche, you would target the meditation keyword and other additional related terms such as ‘Mindfulness’, ‘inner peace’, etc. In this section, we are looking for niches and markets to penetrate, not words alone.
5. Now, once you have gone through the best seller list and noted down 15 ideas for potential niches, we want toverify the profitabilityand the potential for you to also make money from these markets.
To do this, we are going to simply search each keyword on Amazon (under the Kindle Store menu) and go through some criteria that I am going to show you now.
This is the criteria I have developed, combining things I have learned and tested over the past 2 years. As a beginner, this is pretty much all you need to know and practice. You will build an ‘eye’ for profitable niches and will simply be able to tell if a niche is profitable just by accessing some basic factors.
The skill comes with practice and I recommend spending at least10 mins a-day on niche research. Vital, vital skill.
NICHE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Here are the criteria we follow when assessing a niche. We start by going to Amazon.com, selecting the Kindle Store from the drop-down menu on the search bar and then searching each keyword we have written to check it against the following criteria:
On the first page of the search results you should find 5-6 books that meet ALL the following criteria:
Those 5-6 books have a Best Seller Rank of 100,000 orLESS(Not higher than 10,000, smaller than 100,000)
Those 5-6 books are selling between $0.99 and $3.99
Those 5-6 books have been on the market for at least 2 months (there are expectations as I will describe shortly)
Those 5-6 books have 100 reviews or less each
Additional Criteria (Not as important)
On the first page, there are no more than 3 free books ($0.00)
The search results bring up 2,000 books or less
At least a couple of those 5-6 books show opportunity for having value added
HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN OF EACH CRITERION;
Top 5-6 books with a BSR of 100,000 or less
Amazon ranks each book on their site with something called a Best-Selling Rank (BSR for short).
To put it in perspective, let’s say there are 4 million books on Amazon. The number 1 bestselling book in the entire Amazon Kindle store will have a BSR of ‘1’, the 1000thbestselling book will have a rank of ‘1000’, the 1millionth book will have a rank of ‘1,000,000’ and so on. You can find the BSR in the ‘Product Details’part of the book page.
We are looking for niches where the top 5-6 books (selling at $0.99, $2.99 or $3.99 and on the market for 2+ months) are at 100,000 BSR or less (LOWER). What this rank tells us is that this eBook is earning roughly at least $50 to $100+ per month from Kindle royalties (excluding paperback sales).
If you are investing let’s say $300 on a book for instance, after the 3rdor 4thmonth (assuming you do everything properly, as taught in this book) you are likely to have made your investment back and perhaps earned some profit already (if we combine that with paperback sales). The more profitable the niche and the higher you can rank, the more money you make. My best book earns me $800 per month (including paperback sales). Not bad for a book my team produced for a few hundred dollars!
But assuming you have multiple books bringing in just $50-$100 every month, it is just a matter of scaling and getting multiple high-quality books out there. That is the power of Kindle Publishing and creating assets, which are your books!
Those 5-6 books must be selling between $0.99 and $3.99
The 2nd criterion is only analyzing books that sell between $0.99 and $3.99. The reason for this is that books between those prices are more likely to be your true competition. In contrary, the majority of the eBooks on sale for $6.99, $9.99 are books produced by ‘real’ authors or brands and not publishers like ourselves.
The main difference is that those authors and brands are likely to be driving external traffic to their book page. Which means they will have more sales than other books/publishers that are relying solely on organic traffic from Amazon searches. Our approach relies solely on Amazon traffic, so we want to ensure we only analyze books that use the same strategy. This will give us a more accurate assessment of the profitability of a market.
Those books have been available for sale for at least 2 months
The 3rdcriteria is only analyzing books that have been selling for at least 2 months. The reason why this is important is because when a book is new, Amazon gives its’ BSR a ‘boost’. So, new books may have BSR’s of 20,000, 30,000 when after a few weeks of being on the market (and not getting consistent sales) that may go up to 150,000 or 200,000+. So to avoid being fooled by deflated or faux BSR’s, it’s best to analyze books that have been on the market for more than 60 days and are no longer on Amazon steroids. Avoid getting inaccurate information. I have made that mistake in the past.
You can find the publication date in the book title, as well as the ‘Product Details‘:
However, it is good to mention that certain profitable niches will have books that are all really recent (a month or less). These niches are markets that are profitable but HEAVILY competitive, where new people are entering the market daily. I would put niches like that aside and gain some experience in less competitive markets first before going to war. Some examples in the past have been cookbooks. From Paleo Diet to the Instant Pot, I was seeing new books coming in daily and it was extremely hard to maintain rank and compete. Amazon can sometimes give a rank advantage to newer books. Keep that in mind.
Majority of the books have 100 reviews or less
You also want most of your competitors’ books to have 100 reviews or less. This is so you are still competitive even if you have less reviews than them (20-30 reviews for example). On the other hand, if all the books have 200-300 reviews, then it makes it more challenging for you to compete if you don’t have a similar number of reviews. So, try to go for niches where at least 3 of the top 6 ranking books have 100 reviews or less (assuming they are selling well too). Of course, this is a rule-of-thumb.
You may come across very profitable markets where books may have more than 100 reviews. The objective in those niches is to outrank as many of those books and get to the top 3 places in the search results. (which is our objective regardless)
Then we have the Additional Criteria, which is not as crucial to your decision making. Just something to keep in the back of your mind. The criteria above are the most important.
Not too many free books on page 1
I do, however, strongly recommend not going for markets where there are multiple free books. Especially in the 5-6 top positions on page 1. If there are more than 2 free books, most of the traffic is going to go to those free books. And if those books are good and have many reviews, the chance of someone paying for your $2.99 book instead of downloading the free one, well it’s a much slimmer chance. However, keep an eye on that market as it may be that the books are running the free promo and not permanently free. (I will discuss the free promo later).
2,000 or fewer results for Kindle Store
This criterion is merely a rule of thumb. You should target markets with more than 2k results if the other criteria are met. It’s more of a ‘rule of thumb’, as niches with too many results may be a sign that you are going too broad or that this is a saturated market. On the other hand, I personally don’t like to target keywords with less than 300 results as this can be a sign of you going for a topic that is not in such high demand. Again, these are just rules of thumb and there arealwaysexceptions. Look at those BSR’s and the other criteria we discussed prior and you should know if your topic is worth it or not.
Can I add value to this market?
This is an important one but it’s something you benefit from more in the long-term. The objective is to see whether there is any value you can bring to readers, to set yourself apart. Now, with very popular niches you will make sales regardless if your book is different or not. There are a high number of customers and as long as you can position yourself well in the ranks you will sell. With less crazy niches you must focus more on setting yourself apart, the quality of the content, the cover, how persuasive is the description, etc. Anything that can give you an edge, not only in the ability to convert a sale but to also bring more value than your competition. That’s what we aim to do for your books at HotGhostWriter.com.
Now, these are the simple, basic criteria to find profitable niches. I know it may seem too simple, but shortly I will give you a link to a video I recorded of the process and you will see that it actually works. It takes patience and practice.
However, we are not fully done! I also use other sources within Amazon to find profitable niches. There are other places you can spot good keywords and potential niches.
Other sources for potential niche ideas to shortlist:
Look at the titles:
Amazon Search Bar
Check the Amazon search bar: (predictive results that come up, that is an indication that they are commonly searched)
TIP: Use the incognito tab on your browser so that Amazon doesn’t adjust your predictive results
Look in the ‘Customers Who Bought This Also Bought’ section:
You will be surprised at the numerous ideas you can get from those 3 areas. Also, remember to check different keywords as keywords can be for the same niche and somewhat similar, but changing words around or adding/removing certain words can be the difference between getting traffic and sales and not getting traffic and sales.
For example, ‘meditation for beginners’ may not be profitable, but ‘meditation for weight loss’ may be profitable (that’s just an example by the way). Keep that in mind!
What Next?
Once you have 2 niches you want to publish books in, place your book orders with us and use the coupon ‘HOT10’ to get10% off your first order.
Hotghostwriter.com is a book ghostwriting service aimed exclusively at serving the Kindle Publishing community.
Our 2 primary goals are to 1. Produce thehighest-quality books that will allow you to skyrocket your royalty earningsand enable you to earn passive income from your published books long-term. 2. Provide the most effortless and enjoyable experience so that you canfocus on scaling and growing your profitable Kindle Publishing business, whilst we handle book creation.
We house some of the most talented and skilled writers in both non-fiction and fiction topics and we aim to write books that will blow your readers away and hopefully get you to that best-seller status.
Your books will be written by aNative English writer, befree from plagiarismand fullyedited and proofreadby our in-house editing team before being delivered. Your books will also be fully formatted for Kindle (and other digital publishing platforms) andready-to-publishso that you can get your books on the market quickly and not have to worry about formatting. On that note, we can also take care of paperback formatting when youupgrade to one of our packages.
There is no other service or freelancer that is as committed to Kindle Publishers like Hotghostwriter.com.Our entire focus is to ensure that you put out great books and scale your income and library effortlessly.
Now, here is a video of me putting the process into action;
Happy Publishing! – Delfim Alvaro
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/how-to-make-your-first-1-000-by-self-publishing-fiction2021-07-20T11:20:23Z2021-09-29T14:51:48ZHow to Make Money by Self-Publishing Fiction in 2021Hot Ghostwriter
The publishing world has seen a huge amount of change in the last 5 years. Digital giants like Amazon, Google, and Apple have made access to books easier than ever.
Self-publishers everywhere are breaking away from the old traditional publishing attitudes by creating viable, lucrative and sustainable businesses selling books to readers.
With all the ways to make money online, self publishing is definitely one of the top choices. Now more than ever, people are looking for ways to earn money from home. With the spread of COVID-19 we have seen a lot of changes in employment, the digital world, and our social world as well. Many people are using this time to build something valuable and financially secure.
Self publishing is a way to ensure your income is never interrupted by world pandemics and government shutdowns because at the end of the day, everyone still wants to read.
In fact the American Book Association saw a 250% spike in sales on its online bookselling site. And of course, Amazon still leads the pack in online book sales during the pandemic.
You have to ask yourself, where do you want to be on the other side of this “new normal” we are building?
Self-publishing is a way for writers and non-writers to take their future and their income into their own hands and build a business that makes a steady income. Yet, stepping into this world is overwhelming and confusing. Putting a book up on Amazon does not guarantee you success and trying to figure out the right kind of formula to gain success is a complex, albeit interesting, journey.
Listed below you will find proven, actionable steps that will start you on your path to success and help you make your first $1,000 in no time at all.
STEP 1: Mindset - How to Prevent Setbacks before You Begin
The secret to being successful in self-publishing is to invest in your business. This doesn’t always mean shelling out thousands of dollars. Investing your time and passion is just as important as the money you put into your business.
Running a lucrative self-publishing business is exactly that - a business. It is a common misconception that self-publishing books is more of a hobby than a career, and it is imperative that you do not fall into that mindset trap.
As a business venture, it is important to remember that self-publishing is just like any other business;, you will have to invest in yourself and your products. But we can guarantee that the risk is well worth it.
STEP 2: Pick a Genre You Can Sell
There are hundreds of genres to choose from out there, and each genre has readers with different wants and needs.
The following are three examples of some bestselling fiction genres and what readers expect in each genre:
Romance- the highest selling genre for self-publishers. Romance readers expect a happily ever after ending with two lovers who overcome adversity to be together.
Science Fiction- it’s commonly referred to as the “genre of ideas” and is complex and detailed.
Fantasy/Paranormal- One of the most important parts of writing fantasy is the world-building and establishing rules of that world from the beginning.
Look at and study reviews from your genre to see what readers want and like
Make sure you have an interest in the genre you choose. You will be reading lots of that genre in the steps to come, so you need to like it. Once you have your genre picked out, you are ready to move on to the next step.
STEP 3: Pick a Ghostwriter
If you have the confidence and experience to write your own book, we say go for it! If you are unable to write your own book, that’s totally fine. We at HotGhostWriter are here to help.
It is important to note that many successful self-publishers have made 6 figures without ever writing a single book. How do they achieve this miracle? They outsource their writing to ghostwriters. Ghostwriting is where a ghostwriter writes your fiction manuscript for you, either by creating the outline themselves based on your premise and ideas or by using an outline you have already created. When they are done writing, they hand over the manuscript to you for a flat fee, signing away all future rights to the book.
More time for you to promote and take care of the backend of your business
Writers are vetted and interviewed for you, so you know you have the highest quality
It’s a one-stop shop where you can get all your editing, formatting, designing and narration needs
Ghostwriters have been used for decades to help publishers write books quickly, so they can scale their business and get more sales. They also help you keep your readers happy and coming back for more. With years of experience in ghostwriting, HotGhostWriter can help you create a high-quality book that will have your readers running back for more.
STEP 4: Edit and Format Your Book
You need to give your readers a product that is high quality and deliverable in multiple formats. Many readers will stop buying books from a publisher if there are spelling or grammar mistakes because it looks unprofessional and messy.
Editing
No matter how many times you read your book, there will always be mistakes you and your ghostwriter might overlook. Getting a fresh pair of eyes on your manuscript will make sure everything is polished and ready for your readers. You can hire a professional editing service like HGW and/or utilize beta readers and editors you trust to look over your manuscript.
Things An Editor Looks For:
Grammatical errors
Syntax errors
Inconsistencies in plot
Pacing
Character development
Sensory description
Use of dialogue
Language
Tone
Sensitive issues in a manuscript, such as how to handle race, gender, trigger scenes, or sexual orientation in a way that does not offend your readers.
It is of the utmost importance that you have a professional and perfect finished product if you want to achieve consistent high sales.
Formatting
Format your book for .epub and print formats to create the most reader-friendly experience you can. Don’t forget vellum formatting, either. Those small details can make the difference between a sale and a pass.
You don’t want to get to the day of the launch and realize the formatting is completely off.
An expert formatter can adjust and tweak those small details for you, ensuring a final product that is both polished and professional.
STEP 5: Design a Cover
The cover of your book is the first impression your readers get about your book. Taking the time and spending the money to make a captivating and professional-looking cover will increase your sales exponentially. It will also be the image on a lot of your digital and print promotional items so you really want to create the best cover possible. Hiring a professional designer is an investment that you shouldn’t skimp on. At HotGhostWriter, we employ expert designers who use industry techniques to not only capture your potential reader’s attention but set the tone for your book and your brand.
The 5 Don’ts of Cover Design
Don’t use free fonts that look cheap and common
Don’t overcrowd the cover by trying to fit in too much
Don’t use fancy fonts that are hard to read, especially for the author’s name
Don’t use too many different fonts - stick to one or two
Don’t forget to use colors and image that elicit an emotional response in your reader
Remember to research the covers in your genre. You want your cover to stand out from the rest, but you also want to make sure it sets the right tone for your book. Your reader should know what emotions your book will give them with just a single glance at the cover.
STEP 6: Create a Book Description or “Blurb”
Book descriptions are more than just summaries of your book. They are one of your biggest selling features.
Where Do You Find a Book Description?
Back of the book
Front inside flap
Selling description on digital selling platforms
Digital and print promotional materials
The vast majority of readers use the book description in their final decision on whether to read the book or not. Make sure you have a book description that will not only engage and hook your potential readers, but also keep you at the top of your readers’ search results.
STEP 7: Record an Audiobook
Audiobook narration is a great way to expand your target market. There is a large number of book lovers who are audiobook listeners.
Who Uses Audiobooks?
Commuters driving to work or school
Blind readers who have a limited number of books in Braille
Dyslexic readers or others who struggle with the written word
Families on long road trips
Parents looking to entertain small children without using screens
Teachers as a learning tool
Adults use audiobooks in place of music while they do chores, run errands, and complete tasks in their day to day lives
Creating an audiobook is not as hard as it sounds and many self-publishers are offering them to their reader base.HotGhostWriter has made it easy for self-publishers to step into audiobook narrating industry by offering top-notch narrators with the same level of skill and professionalism that our writers are famous for.
STEP 8: Promote
Grabbing readers and getting them pumped to read your book before you publish it is a sure-fire way to make sales right out of the gate. You will want to utilize social media and start collecting emails from potential readers so you can send them updates in a newsletter.
Email Promotion
Create a freebie like a prequel in exchange for email addresses of interested readers
Send out a newsletter with information on your book, your genre, and other authors in your genre
Be consistent with your newsletters and don’t spam your reader’s inboxes.
Post regularly to increase engagement on your pages
Run contests or games for your readers
Include pictures of your cover with excerpts or create a trailer for your book
Join groups and network with readers and authors in your genre
Networking
Join cross-promotional groups on Facebook or sites like StoryOrigin
Promote other authors in your newsletter in exchange for promotion in theirs
Find readers that will accept a free copy of your book for an honest review. These are sometimes called advanced reader copies or ARCs.
Paid Promotion
Buy ad space on Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon
Sign up to promote your book on discounted book sites to increase visibility on your brand
There are a lot more ways to promote your book, but these are the easiest steps to get you started and grow your market quickly. Remember, your readers will not come to you, you have to go to them.
STEP 9: Launch Your Book
It’s time to publish your book. Having a solid launching plan will help keep you focused and optimize your sales.
Amazon Tips
When you publish your book on Amazon you have two options:
Kindle Direct Publishing - you can offer your book as an ebook, paperback and/or hardback and you can set your own price
Kindle Select Publishing - your book is offered for free to Kindle Unlimited users and you can only sell your book on Amazon for 90 days. You have the option to renew the contract for another 90 days exclusive with Amazon, but you don’t have to. During this time, Amazon will feature your book and offer other incentives for you to stay with them.
When you upload your book to Amazon, you have to assign keywords and categories to your book. It is very important that you get these right so your book is being put in front of the right readers. It will also help you come up on searches, helping you with organic traffic to your book
Pricing
Free is not always best - offering your book for $.99 during your first few days instead of for free will help you keep your rankings when you increase the price at a later date.
Set realistic goals - create a plan by calculating how much you want to make monthly, quarterly and yearly, then figure out how many sales you need to make to reach that goal. Setting income goals will help keep you focused.
Launching your book is a chance for you to really connect to your readers. Take this opportunity to find out what your readers like and what they would like to see in the future. Remember to also have fun with it! You have worked hard to get to this step and deserve to enjoy this accomplishment.
STEP 10: Scale Your Business
Self-Publishing is all about quality as well as quantity. The more high-quality books you have for sale, the faster you are going to hit your target sales each month.
It’s All About The Math
5 books X $6.99 each X 41 copies of each book - .3% royalties = $1,003.06
10 books X $6.99 each X 21 copies of each book - .3% royalties = $1,027.53
20 books X $6.99 each X 11 copies of each book- .3% royalties = $1,076.46
It’s Time to Make Your First $1,000
Self-publishing is a business you can start from the comfort of your own home. With virtually no overhead costs, you have more money to invest in the products you sell.
Being able to outsource your writing and still create high quality books for your readers is how you can create a lucrative and successful business.
It takes time. It takes work. And it takes investment. But the payoff is more than you can ever imagine. Take the next step and contact HotGhostWriter for all your book needs. Let’s begin a partnership that will take your publishing business to the next level.
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/how-to-build-your-author-website2021-07-09T00:19:27Z2021-09-29T14:52:51ZHow To Build Your Author WebsiteKerilee NicklesBuilding an author website is a vital part of marketing not only your books, but your brand as an author. Check out our how-to guide for building your author site to present your writing to the public and keep you relevant.
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Building an author website is a vital part of marketing not only your books, but your brand as an author. Check out our how-to guide for building yours.
An essential component to marketing your book is a well-built author website. After all, selling your product can often depend no how you sell your brand. You want your readers (or, “consumers”) to have a place to go where they can get all the information they need. 10-15 years ago, the thought of creating your own website without help would have sounded ludicrous. Now, it’s necessary to building a business. Entrepreneurship, especially in the writing world, is more popular than ever. A good place to get started is with your author website.
But if you’re new to the scene, or you don’t feel all that comfortable with technology, building a whole website can be rather overwhelming. Have no fear; HotGhostWriter is here! In this post, we’ll walk you through the most important steps in creating your author website. Throughout, we’ll cover:
Tools to create a website.
What makes a good author website.
Tips for using your website effectively.
Where to go for help.
Creating Your Website
Creating a website on your own is now easier than ever, especially if you’ve got the right tools. In a previous post, we talked about a few website building options out there, but let’s expound upon these for a moment. Of the varying platforms for building and hosting your website, some of the most user-friendly for builders of all skill levels include:.
Squarespace: Super easy to navigate with a beautiful, clean interface. Highly recommended.
WordPress: Offers a choice between the regular website the self-hosted site. Check out the difference here. For beginners, WordPress is a bit easier to navigate.
Pub Site: A great option for an author website and is even used by many famous authors!
Weebly and Wix: Useful for beginners and for good practice, but not as clean and professional-looking as the others.
How Do You Build It?
With any of these website building tools, there will be some sort of ‘Get Started’ button that will prompt you to clear, concise instructions on how to proceed. These will help you get on your way to creating your site!
For all of these sites, you’ll need to create an account. Some are free but some do cost somewhere between $10-20 per month. For the expensive uses, it might be a good idea to try a free trial to see how you like it before you buy!
All of these sites are relatively easy to navigate on your own. As you begin, there are often instruction guides, tutorials, and FAQ sections to help you as you click through and move elements around. You can also watch instructional videos, which I prefer, to give you a better understanding of how the site works.
At some point, you’ll be prompted to register your domain. Your domain is your URL, or link featuring your website’s name. These tools help you register your domain through their site. Since you’re creating your author website, you’ll want to use your first and last name as the domain if it’s available. If it’s not, try abbreviating your first or last name. (Example: New York Times bestselling authors Sarah Mlynowski and John Grisham abbreviate their names as www.sarahm.com and www.jgrisham.com). Adding the word ‘books’ or something relevant to your career and brand can also be effective. (Example: bestseller Lauren Oliver’s website touts the URL www.laurenoliverbooks.com).
What Makes an Author Website Great?
Now you have your platform, and you’re ready to get started, but you’re actually not even sure where to begin. Ask yourself a few questions:
What do I like about other author websites?
What do I want readers to know?
How can my website help your writing business?
This is another great time to put yourself in the reader’s shoes and take a look at your favorite authors and their sites. What are they doing? What information are you receiving? Do you like the layout? Can you find what you’re looking for?
Components of a Good Author Website
In order to create an above-average author website, you need to know what the best are made of. Everyone’s different, and so authors put these items in various orders on their own pages, but this is a skeleton of a good author website:
About page: You need a bio! It can be as long as you want it to be, especially because you have more room on your site rather than your book jacket. Give your readers a little taste of who you are! Show off that resume!
Reviews page: Also sometimes called the ‘press’ page. Here you can show off your stuff with reviews you’ve already gotten for previous books. If you go with the ‘press’ approach, you can also add videos of interviews you’ve given, or link to other relevant multimedia coverage of you and your writing.
Books page: Most authors have their latest book on display on the front of their site, such as Elizabeth Gilbert, author of “Eat, Pray, Love.” Dedicate a page to just your books, either where visitors can buy them directly from you, or where links will take them to the appropriate marketplace.
Blog: A blog is the easiest way to stay relevant between publications. You can keep your voice and presence alive with a blog about pretty much anything!
Contact page: Provide a place for readers to get in touch, whether it’s through your or your agent. You can also plug your social media handles here, or insert a contact form that will send a direct email to you from your readers.
Use Your Website Effectively
Your author website is a marketing tool, so you should utilize it as well and often as possible in order to get what you want and need out of it. Here are some pointers to mindful of:
Watch your traffic: These platforms have tools to help you see how many visitors you’re getting to your site and information about how long they stay on the page, etc. It’s a great tool to help you make improvements.
Follow the trends: Keep up-to-date with how other authors are innovating their sites. You want to stay fresh and relevant and keep people coming back to your site over time.
Keep info updated: :An easy way to lose readers is to display out-of-date information on your site. Do not slack on your site; it’s just as important as any of your other marketing tools.
Respond to readers: When you get contacted, respond! Just like any business, consumers want to hear back in order to have confidence in the product they’re buying and the business they’re buying it from.
Stuck? Here’s Where to Go
If you don’t feel you’re up to the task of making an author website, believe me, there are plenty of places you can go to find the right person who can do the job for you and do it well. Take a look at:
Your author site is probably the most fun of your many marketing tools because it’s where you get to show everything and be 100% you! You share about yourself, have links to your work, and offer people ways to get in touch. It’s a little like a portfolio but with more pizazz. Build a website that stands out with HGW’s tips!
If you need help with your manuscripts or have any other questions about what you’re working on, get in touch with HotGhostWriter, and we’ll be happy to assist you!
Kerilee Nickles
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/how-to-write-conflict-in-ya-fiction2021-07-07T23:17:31Z2021-07-07T23:17:31ZHow To Write Conflict in YA FictionAmanda KruseMore]]>
Writing young adult (YA) fiction can be a challenge, especially when it comes to creating a realistic, relatable conflict for your central character. Here we discuss how to write conflict in YA that resonates with an audience and drives your story home.
Every good story contains conflict. Whether internal or external, conflict is what drives the plot forward and challenges characters to grow and change. This is never more true than in young adult (YA) literature. Because development is an inherent part of growing up and because the adolescent experience is constantly shifting, conflict plays a large part in their experiences. Whether it’s contention between two nemeses or the inner struggle of finding one’s identity, both internal and external conflict make stories more engaging and relatable. For more details on internal and external conflict and how to utilize them in your narrative, check out this blog on Examples of Internal and External Conflict. But how do you write effective conflict and implement it in YA?
In this article, you’ll find how to write good conflict by:
Considering common themes
Focusing on character identity
Utilizing decision-making
Maintaining logic
Understanding relationships
Establishing turning points
Making conflict essential to plot and character growth
Consider Common Themes
Young adult conflict often focuses on a specific theme, such as oppression, rebellion, or being misunderstood, all of which are common adolescent struggles. These are relevant challenges for teens and can be quite impactful as sources of conflict. While considering these YA themes, it’s essential to look at the situation through a young person’s eyes, accounting for their age and experience, or lack thereof. Sometimes a lack of scope might skew the narrative; but other times, a young, unjaded point of view can make these themes more impactful.
Focus on Character Identity
Forming an identity is a major part of growing up, and with that comes challenges and conflicts. Teens question who they are, what kind of person they want to be, what they want to do with their lives, what they believe in, and what is important. Growing up means finding the answers to these questions, and they’re not always straightforward and easy to find. Knowing what morals drive a person may mean questioning their principles. Discovering what your character wants to do in life could take learning a lesson the hard way. Understanding what’s important may mean losing the thing they care about most. Writing hard situations in which the character must face tough questions will escalate the conflict and leave the opportunity for growth—or failure, depending on how you want the character to develop. For a hero, that might mean conquering fears or reaching self-actualization. For an antagonist, it could be the starting point of their spiral into evil. To get a broader picture of how to develop your antagonist, check out this article on Writing Antagonist Characters.
Establish Turning Points
Conflict is an important part of development, both within the character and as a way of reaching the turning points in the story’s plot. Without presenting a struggle that the character must then overcome, there is no growth. For young adult stories, this might be the moment where a hero has to face their fears and confront a bully or find the courage to venture out beyond their parents’ protection to learn about the world. As they reach these moments of struggle and growth, their lives change and move the plot in different directions.
Make Conflict Essential to Plot and Character Growth
Recognizing the turning point and incorporating the conflict into a character arc and a plot are two separate things. Conflict should be intentional with a goal to drive the character closer to the end goal of the story. Consider how it will change them. Is it for the better or worse? Will that lead to the ultimate climax and resolution? Or is it a tangential conflict that doesn’t adhere to the plot or teach the character what they need to know in order to find the resolution? When writing conflict, be sure it furthers the story and character arc in a meaningful way.
Utilize Decision-Making
Establishing a character’s identity and developing a young adult into a mature being happens when the character faces circumstances in which a choice must be made. This is true for both internal and external conflict. Be it the decision to save a loved one over a group of strangers or asking a girl out on a date, these moments shape the character while also driving the plot forward. Both are necessary when writing good conflicts. These choices come with repercussions that, for better or worse, the hero must face.
Conflict establishes a moral compass, either by showcasing the young adult’s beliefs or, more often, by challenging them to find what those beliefs are. As young adult literature commonly contains the theme of growth and development, so too should their understanding of right and wrong grow and shift. But sometimes, it can be more engaging to offer no good answer when the hero has to decide. This leads to internal turmoil and opens up further questions about what the hero is made of, how they will choose, and what consequences will come from their decision.
Maintain Logic
While it may seem straightforward to pose challenging questions for your character to answer, it’s key to consider the logic behind their decision. Conflict and how the hero handles it demonstrate what their priorities and desires are and shapes where their life is headed. And while the decisions teens make can be more emotionally driven, they still have reasons for having made those choices. It could be their desire to fit in, the hope to impress someone, or an anger that comes from a perceived injustice. Consider the teen perspective and understand what motivates their choices before they confront the conflict.
Understand the Impact of Relationships
All different types of relationships can present opportunities for conflict: parents, friends, love interests, rivals. And with each relationship there can be both internal and external conflict. The internal conflict of finding self-worth after a parent abandons the character could manifest in an external conflict when that parent turns back up in the character’s life. Or the loss of a friend could challenge the character to face fears about death. These relationships are strong foundations to building conflict that will develop your character.
Writing young adult conflict can be a daunting task, but it’s also an opportunity to grow right along with your heroes. By focusing on their identity, challenging them with hard decisions, staying true to their logic, and utilizing that struggle to further the plot, you can write riveting conflict that will blow your readers away.
Need help writing conflict into your young adult novel? HotGhostWriter can help. Our staff of seasoned ghostwriters can create an engaging, conflict-filled book. So check us out at HotGhostWriter.com, and get started today!
Amanda Kruse
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/marketing-your-book-selling-your-book-by-selling-yourself2021-06-26T14:02:53Z2021-09-29T14:31:03ZMarketing Your Book: Selling Your Book By Selling YourselfKerilee Nickles
Writers know how to turn a phrase, but we are often sorely lacking in the knowledge of how to market ourselves and our product. We love the process of writing, but for many of us, we may struggle with actually getting the news out there. If you are writing to make money, then you need to be a good marketer. HotGhostWriter is here to help! We know the drill. We know how this works, and we’re used to helping authors become a success! Let us help you with a few tips on how to market your book.
This post will begin a new series that covers:
Self-promotion on social media Using ads to promote your book
Creating your author website
Crafting your elevator pitch
ARC readers and reviews
Self-Promotion & Social Media
Now, if you’re anything like me, social media feels like a strange jungle where if you enter, you may never come out. But in reality, it’s an amazing tool for getting authors the publicity they want and need with the simple click of a button. Marketing is all about getting the information about your book out there, and social media can be an incredible way to connect with your readers and build a network that can help spread word of your book exponentially!
For social media, we’re talking Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Since it’s what a huge percentage of people are looking at a huge percent of the time, this is where you’re going to get the most word out and fast.
Facebook:
One of the ways to promote yourself is having a Facebook business page. Despite my social media fears, I have one as well! I collect followers, send out posts about my latest work as well as links to what I’ve been up to. Facebook also has great ways to promote your work such as ads that can help bring an even greater amount of view to your site.
Instagram:
Create an author Instagram page and send out picture updates of what you’re working on as well as you working on your book!
Twitter:
Just like the Facebook page, you can send out updates on what you’ve been working on, give teasers for the book, and provide links to your pages.
Personal blog:
This is another great way to get info out about your book, especially if you either have a lot of followers or you have linked this page to your other social media pages. Here you can describe your writing process, give information about the book, and provide your readers with all they want to know before you publish.
Using ads
Ads Use advertisements to get word out about your book. We’ll delve into this further in later articles. Create Facebook ads! With their ad creator, it’s as easy as pie! Create your own ads and put them on social media and author website Hire out a graphic designer on sites such as Fiverr and Upwork to help you create ads that will lure your readers in.
The Importance of an Author Website
Your readers want to know who you are. Once I get into an author I love, I want to know everything about them in connection with their writing. I want to know their rituals, their lives, and just who they are as a person and writer! It helps me connect with them as well as get updates and info on when their latest book comes out. As an author looking to market their products and sell them, you need an author website. It’s essential. However, it can be a little tricky, so keep these tips in mind as you go along.
If you’re not computer savvy, you may want to hire out this task to someone else on a site like Fiverr. However, there are site creation tools that are pretty easy to use. Think SquareSpace or Weebly. Take a look at their site tools, and see if you can’t create a site on your own. Add all the essentials to create a good author website. Check out the author sites of authors you love just to get an idea.
Important things to include are your bio, links to your current books, as well as information about your upcoming books, links to your social media pages, and blogs, reviews from your previous books, and a way to get in touch, like an email - newsletter! Keep things simple. Get the information across that your readers want to know.
Using Goodreads and Amazon pages to promote yourself.
A lot of famous authors have these pages where you can find links to all their books, teasers for their next books, as well as posts about their work. You can even leave comments for authors, and they can get back to you through these sites!
Crafting Your Elevator Pitch
You need to create a one or two-sentence summary of your book that you can tell someone to give them a general overall idea. Having a pitch in your pocket is perfect for social media or even sending in pitches to traditional publishing companies. It’s also a great tool to have on your author website to get people interested in your new book! Your pitch is a way to hook your readers that gets the main ideas across and makes your readers go, “Hey, I want to read that book.”
For example, a pitch for the Harry Potter books would go something like, “Orphan boy thought he was ordinary until he was told he was a wizard”, or even better: “Ordinary orphan boy turns into a powerful wizard, fighting evil.” Have a pitch ready. You never know when you’re going to need it. You can use your elevator pitch to create your book blurb.
Your blurb is what goes on the book jacket or on the back of the book. It gives your readers a little taste of what they’re going to get into if they purchase your book, but it doesn’t give away too much. It’s about a paragraph, and it teases and entices. It does the same job as the elevator pitch but is a little more fleshed out.
Getting Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) Reviews
Another way to bump up your visibility on a platform like Amazon is to have good reviews already there! A lot of readers, even those in your genre, want to see reviews to make sure they’re making a good purchase. Get some of your reviews ahead of time (such as ARC reviews) How to get ARC reviews and why? Link up to readers who can read the book for you (for free) and give you reviews! Having reviews on your site can make you look so much more professional and credible as an author, and you get feedback!
Beta reader reviews:
You can also use beta readers while your book is still in the publication and editing process and save these reviews for when you do actually publish your book!
Contact top reviewers:
Some authors like to find out Amazon’s top reviewers, for example, and contact them to see if they can get a review. It’s a great way to boost your audience, get people to trust you as a real author, and instill trust in your readers that what they’re about to purchase is worth it!
Use Goodreads giveaways:
Do a free giveaway on your Goodreads site but ask for reviews in return! It’s another easy way to get reviews on all your sites.
Conclusion
You are your own impetus to success. Use the marketing tools at your disposal and get word out there about your book. Keep up to date with your social media, your online pages, and your author website to keep info on your book visible and accessible, and to answer interested readers’ questions!
If you don’t want to do it alone, and you need some advice, contact us at HGW with any questions! All you need to do is click the messenger icon at the bottom of the page, and we’ll be ready to answer you!
Kerilee Nickles
HotGhostWriter.com
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/how-to-use-facebook-to-market-your-book2021-06-26T14:00:36Z2021-07-07T13:42:25ZHow To Use Facebook To Market Your BookKerilee NicklesWe know social media doesn’t come easy to some people. It can seem like a very daunting thing, so that's why we’ll start with the simple stuff. Facebook has been around the longest, so it’s probably the most familiar as well as the most diverse for what you as an author can do to market yourself.
Facebook is just one of the many ways you can market your book, and it’s simple to use! You can create pages, ads, and send out updates to market your book to a very wide audience. In this post we’ll cover:
What Facebook has to offer
Tips for using Facebook wisely
And so much more!
Facebook Overview
Before we get into the meat of it all, let’s take a look at what Facebook has to offer an author seeking to market their self-published books! Here’s what you can do through Facebook to find yourself the audience you want!
Ads: purchase ads to display on your author page and other social media sites. We’ll have a future blog more about social media ads to give you even more details.
Business pages: you can create business pages to connect to your readers. These help you post what you want, provide updates, as well as receive messages from your audience.
Videos: A lot of authors use facebook to post videos of what they’re currently working on! It’s a really fun way to market yourself and your books.
Live chats: This is getting really popular. Many authors (and famous people) like to do live chats where they answer questions that people send in through their social media. Especially during COVID, it’s been a great way for fans to get to know authors and get a feel for who they are.
Countdowns: This is an amazing way to tease your readers and keep them strung along as they wait for your next great book!
Links to other pages: Definitely use Facebook to connect to your other sites, whether social media, or your blog and author website
Facebook Notes: Tease your readers and market your book by providing excerpts! Since Facebook posts have a word limit, this is an add-on in which you can put longer posts such as excerpts to give your readers a taste of what’s coming!
Start your own community: On Facebook, you can create groups and communities that can be centered around your books and whatever else you offer. It’s an amazing way to boost your online presence and bring on more readers.
Facebook Tips for Promoting your Book
Facebook is such an amazing marketing tool for authors, and if this is your first book, or if you’re a seasoned author but are only now getting started on your online presence, then take a look at a few suggestions to use Facebook for marketing effectively.
However, let’s start here. A lot of people wonder when to start marketing for your book. Start now. Start before your book is ready for publication or even finished! It’s a good rule of thumb to start about a year before all will be said and done and the book available for purchase for your readers. Like a salesperson, you are teasing, building anticipation, and preparing your future readers for your book!
It helps to actually put yourself in a reader’s shoes for a moment. For example, I absolutely adore J.K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike series. I am always waiting desperately for the next one to come out, and when I see she’s posted about her next one, I am on it, counting down the days. Imagine my disappointment if she only told her readers about her book a few weeks before it was about to come out? Normally it’s about a year or two between her books, so her readers would be hungry for news and not getting it. Do the same! Tease and excite your readers well before your book is ready to come out.
Here are some tips for Facebook users to help create a good marketing strategy and presence:
Post often: maintain interest! Just like I mentioned above, you want to give your readers little bits at a time or they’ll get frustrated and lose interest. Market something about your book, something related to your book, or to your writing in general
Be kind: This is important. Maintain a good online reputation by being respectful and kind in your posts. If people write to you and ask questions or make comments, be kind and respectful back. You are marketing yourself, so you need to make sure that you are representing yourself as you want to be seen.
Be responsive to your audience: Don’t forget to write back! If you give your readers a way to contact you, get back to them! You’re building connections and relationships, a whole network of readers that you don’t want to lose.
Keep things up to date: Keep going back to your site to make changes, provide updates, or even remove old, outdated things. That way, you look professional, your readers can get the latest info, and you look like you actually care about your product!
Conclusion
Facebook is one of the many ways you can market your book. It’s pretty easy, and most everyone has Facebook, so you can really hit a large audience and spread word about your book like wildfire. Use our tips to help you use Facebook to its greatest advantage! But in future posts, we’ll get more into other social media and how they can be used to market your book as well.
For any more information, check out these extra resources:
If you don’t want to do it alone, and you need some advice, contact us at HGW with any questions! All you need to do is click the messenger icon at the bottom of the page, and we’ll be ready to answer you!
Kerilee Nickles
HotGhostWriter.com ]]>
https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/how-to-write-a-ya-novel-what-goes-into-it2021-06-26T13:56:24Z2021-09-28T14:15:33Z10 Tips on How To Write YA FictionAmanda KruseYoung adult (YA) fiction is a unique, modern form of narration that appeals to readers of all ages. Let’s discuss 10 tips to help you write a great young adult novel and how to write an authentic YA perspective, even if you’re well past the age of 18.
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10 tips for writing young adult (YA) fiction that's true to the adolescent experience
Young adult (YA) fiction is a unique, modern form of narration that appeals to readers of all ages. Since its establishment, YA narrative has grown in popularity to become a commonly read and appreciated category of novel. But what exactly is young adult? And how do you write a YA perspective in an authentic, marketable way?
YA stories are told by or about protagonists between the ages of 12 and 18 in a way that would be appropriate for readers of the same age group. The genre is unique in its accessibility to a wide audience because, while the content often interests adults, the language and perspective are written for adolescents. But with finesse and a good understanding of what is appropriate for young audiences, the subject matter can take on any topic.
Let’s discuss 10 tips to help you write a great young adult novel and how to write an authentic YA perspective, even if you’re well past the age of 18.
1. Age
Young adult novels require a protagonist between the ages of 12 and 18, but it’s not enough to make their age match. To write an authentic YA perspective, the conflict has to be relevant to adolescent struggles. Whether your hero is traversing the continent to save the world or working through the everyday adversities of what it takes to be in high school, universal challenges teens all face include death, growing up, first love, and establishing a moral compass. These are important to reflect within the YA narrative no matter how extraordinary the circumstances of the adventure. For example, even while Harry Potter faces an imminent confrontation with Lord Voldemort, he lives with abuse from his aunt and uncle and must cope with the inexplicable loss of his parents.
2. Point of View
When writing young adult, choose your point of view carefully. First-person present tense is the most common POV because it allows a more immediate, limited point of view that excludes the adult perspective. This allows for a subjective viewpoint that young adults have due to their lack of life experience. Close third person perspective is also a common point of view in YA because it serves a similar purpose while offering a bit of distance between the reader and narrator to allow for a broader perspective. Suzanne Collins utilizes the first-person present-tense narration beautifully to demonstrate Katniss’s immediacy of thought and action with less reflection over the course of events.
3. Timing
As you set the pace, consider your timing. Time feels different for younger people. One year can seem like a long time when that makes up a twelfth of your life. As such, the timeline of your story should match the age group. If your characters get into an argument, they might not talk to one another for weeks. But very few teenagers would maintain a cold shoulder for years. Same goes for attraction. A relationship that lasts more than a month in high school could be considered long term. In “To Kill a Mockingbird,”by Harper Lee, Scout remarks that a day is 24 hours but feels much longer.
4. Language
Consider your use of language, both in formality and propriety. Teens are less concerned with proper grammar, so employing a casual tone will make your narration more authentic. But also consider your vocabulary. Young adults are less likely to use graphic and explicit language because they are still being taught to avoid curse words and speak politely. That being said, curse words can become more potent within the YA narrative, demonstrating an extreme emotion or the character’s rebellion to societal expectation. In “The Outsiders,” S. E. Hinton exemplifies both the casual language of a teenager as well as the type of inappropriate language they might use or refuse to use depending on their personality.
5. Complexity
Make your characters complex. Just because they’re young doesn’t mean your protagonist should have any less depth. In truth, adolescent narrators can be less consistent in their desires or logic because of their growth and adaptability. Developing complex characters with convoluted or fluctuating needs and responses will make them more true to life. Think of Holden Caulfield in “Catcher in the Rye.” While he’s cynical and jaded, he’s also sensitive and can be quite kind. Character Growth
Personal growth of young adult characters is key to the concept of the YA category. “Coming of age” is a consistent theme in these books, and with that comes growth and development. No teenager is the same person at 18 as they were at age 12, and as such, part of what makes the YA perspective so interesting is how much the characters can grow. The eponymous Artemis Fowl, for example, in Eoin Colfer’s books, is a brilliant young criminal who finds his moral compass while uncovering the reason behind his father’s disappearance.
6. Past Experience
Stay relevant to your characters’ experiences. These dictate their perspective and worldview, which can be skewed because of a teenager’s lack of experience. Nonetheless, their reality is what matters, so keep in mind what your character might know or not know when they confront situations. Stanley Yelnats from “Holes” is a wonderful example of a character whose perception shifts as his experiences alter his life’s course.
7. Emotion
Delve into emotional truth. The world of a teenager is largely driven by emotion and emotional responses. Young emotion can seem far more potent before you experience something multiple times and know what to expect. That’s true for a lot of different experiences, and developing the emotional response your young adult characters have is important to understanding the YA point of view. Think of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky, where each character experiences the pain and joy of young love and growing up.
8. Ending
Every YA book should have an optimistic, hopeful ending. Of course, not all turn out happy, but the resilient perspective of the young mind lends itself to hope for a better future. This means finding the good in things even when taking on challenging content, like Louise Gornall does in “Under Rose-Tainted Skies.”
9. Length
When writing YA, use words economically. Descriptions are often less verbose and the story more plot-driven because the intent is to be succinct and engaging. With younger readers especially, attention spans can vary, so part of appealing to a wider audience entails telling the story in a more fast-paced, thrilling way. Young adult novels tend to range from 50,000 to 80,000 words while adult novels average around 70,000 to 120,000 words.
10. Content
It might be tempting to keep the subject matter lighter and less potent for a young adult audience, but it’s okay to take on the heavy stuff. YA literature has taken on topics ranging from the Holocaust to cancer, child abuse to suicide. No topic is too dark, so long as it is handled in an appropriate way. It’s about interpreting the event through young eyes. Markus Zusak does a wonderful job of this in “The Book Thief.”
In young adult literature, it’s important to see the world from an adolescent perspective. Think about their interpretation of the world and how that might differ from an adult’s. YA is good for challenging expectations as well as provoking readers’ thoughts because you can address poignant issues through the eyes of more innocent and emotional characters. Consider these 10 tips when developing your young adult perspective. And don’t hesitate to find your inner-teen. Think back on your experiences and draw from those.
Struggling to write from a young adult perspective? HotGhostWriter can help! Our staff of skilled ghostwriters can guide you through the process of developing complex, engaging young adult characters for a book your readers will love. Check us out at HotGhostWriter.com, and get started today.
Amanda Kruse
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/popular-ya-tropes-for-your-novel-and-how-to-write-them2021-06-26T13:52:55Z2021-09-28T14:17:07ZPopular YA Tropes for your Novel and How To Write ThemAmanda KruseTropes, common themes found throughout literature, are a useful literary device that convey larger ideas within fewer words because of how well readers know and understand the motifs. These themes are particularly useful in young adult literature and work well with the category because of the economic language YA requires. As young adult literature tells narratives in a more concentrated fashion, tropes can be used as a shorthand approach to conveying larger concepts. When you utilize them appropriately, tropes can enhance your book’s style and marketability. But what are some of the popular YA tropes, and how do you write them well?
What you’ll find in this article:
Popular YA tropes
Who does them well
The difference between popular and overdone
How to keep them fresh
Popular Young Adult Tropes
Novels thrive with the use of tropes, and YA books are filled with themes and motifs that everyone can recognize, even if they don’t know what a trope is. But some tropes have proven extremely popular in YA literature:
Good vs. Evil
The concept of good and evil is woven throughout young adult literature. Knowing what is right and wrong and choosing which path to take sets the stage for growth and betterment. So producing the dichotomy of characters who are inherently good facing characters who are evil allows the protagonist to challenge their ideals and prove their worth as a hero.
The Chosen One
The chosen one theme is both popular and timeless because it gives the protagonist a kind of purpose that not only sets them apart from society and their peers, it challenges them to grow to be worthy of the title. When the fate of the world rests on their shoulders, the characters must set aside their childish ways to become heros. This theme pairs well with the YA concept of coming of age and growing up.
The Outsider
The outsider motif constitutes a protagonist who struggles to conform to the norm and relate to their peers. This is often because they recognize the social injustices within the world and their surroundings and have a need to fight against those behaviors that create injustice. The outsider trope helps identify the protagonist as unique and somewhat of a rebel, which aids in character development. It also heightens conflict, as the protagonist must stand up for what they believe in even against people they wish to be accepted by.
First Love
First love is a common trope in young adult because adolescence involves self-discovery including sexuality and attraction as hormones shift and people enter middle and high school. The motif of first love is relatable for readers and facilitates both character growth and conflict—internally and sometimes externally.
Adults as Adversaries
Making adults adversaries in young adult fiction can often be used as a crutch rather than an effective trope, but when done well, this theme creates a powerful contrast between the adolescent and adult point of view. To utilize the adult adversary trope to its fullest requires developing your protagonist so they grow to understand the adult perspective—even if they still don’t agree with it afterward. This allows a very concrete demonstration of the protagonist growing up because, as they grow, they become more similar to the adult they consider an adversary and often end up respecting that adult’s perspective once they fully understand it.
Dystopian Societies
Dystopian societies have become a wildly popular theme over the last two decades, and in part, that’s because of how impactful it is as a trope. By placing the protagonist into a broken society, it allows a safe examination of the weaknesses within society and humanity in a more exaggerated setting while increasing the drama and the stakes. Dystopian societies set challenges for the protagonist that young adults would not typically face, and can better enhance the tension and stakes, leading to a more fast-paced narrative with a climactic ending.
Love Triangles
The love triangle trope demonstrates several popular young adult concepts in one: young love, knowing who you are, and finding your place in the world. When done well, love triangles can generate a source of conflict, but they also highlight characteristics of the protagonist. One suitor can highlight certain qualities within the protagonist while the other suitor brings out different parts of their personality. This aids in developing a more complex protagonist while at the same time accentuating what makes the hero likeable. The key is knowing which suitor the protagonist should choose—if any—that will complete their character arc.
Reluctant Royalty
Like the chosen one motif, the hero’s reluctance to take up their responsibilities as royalty immediately sets the hero apart. But unlike the chosen one, this mantel the protagonist is expected to take up, often unexpectedly, can generate internal conflict about what a good ruler entails as well as whether the system of authority and law is both good and right. So while the protagonist is required to mature and grow to become what is expected of them, they must also consider the potential weaknesses within their society and have the courage to change the world for the better.
Who Does Tropes Well
Each of these tropes are popular because they’re relatable and relevant, but doing them well enhances the story and can be an art. Think of J. K. Rowling’s use of good versus evil in her contrast between Harry Potter, who is a kind protagonist, and Lord Voldemort, who is devoid of empathy. She also uses the chosen one trope when Harry has to rise up to his fate to defeat Lord Voldemort before he takes over the world. Rowling also utilizes the adult adversary theme in Harry’s constant confrontations with Professor Snape.
Suzanne Collins’s use of the dystopian trope in The Hunger Games trilogy drives the plot in a fast-paced, thrilling way. But her inclusion of the love triangle motif also allows her to challenge Katniss emotionally and highlights the strength and compassion in her, which Peeta and Gale find so appealing.
In the Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer employs the reluctant royalty trope when Princess Winter must step up to overthrow her evil stepmother, Queen Levana, and protect her people from subjugation at the hands of a horrible ruler. The series also includes engaging first love motifs for each of the protagonists as they find love in the midst of overthrowing an empire.
And S. E. Hinton wrote the iconic outsider motif in The Outsider, as Ponyboy struggles to fit in because he’s part of the greaser population and an outcast in the eyes of the popular athletes and richer students.
Popular vs. Overdone
The risk of using tropes is they can become overused and too predictable. It is important to utilize the trope for a distinct purpose rather than using it as a crutch. Tropes are useful for quick communication by conveying ideas readers will be familiar with, and with that it’s important to make your tropes unique to your story. These classic storylines catch readers’ interest, but you need to sustain that by incorporating something new. Avoid letting your tropes carry the story: good versus evil doesn’t mean the villain can be a flat character; first love doesn’t mean the love interest can be boring; reluctant royalty can’t be the only trait that makes the hero unique. It’s important to implement your own twists to keep your tropes engaging.
How to Keep Your Trope Fresh
There are several ways to put your own spin on popular, commonly used tropes. But before you can make a motif your own, you must first understand the pattern behind it. This comes from reading and identifying the similar themes authors use. Then you can:
Flip it on its head: have the love triangle end with no one together. Take what the readers expect and reverse it.
You can deconstruct tropes, identifying what stereotypes or negative aspects might come with that trope and highlight why it doesn’t work: analyze why the idea of an outsider is harmful to the concept of being an individual, which should be a good thing.
Or combine unexpected tropes to form a more complex concept or character: that could be the chosen one finding themselves as an outsider.
Tropes are useful literary devices when done well. Young adult readers enjoy identifying the patterns and learn from them. Still, it’s good to make tropes your own. Put a fresh spin on classic concepts, and you’ll broaden your audience and keep your readers pleasantly surprised.
Still struggling with how to make YA tropes unique? HotGhostWriter can help. Our staff of skilled ghostwriters can implement engaging tropes and write a story your readers won’t want to set down. Check us out at HotGhostWriter.com, and get started today!
Amanda Kruse
HotGhostWriter.com
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/writing-steam-into-your-novel-the-elements-of-a-great-steamy-scene2021-06-20T13:03:33Z2021-07-07T13:17:29ZWriting Steam into Your Novel: The elements of a great steamy sceneAmanda KruseSteamy scenes, the intimate moments between characters that physically demonstrate their attraction, can be incredibly impactful when used appropriately. But how do you know if you should include sex in your story? And what components make up a great steamy scene? There’s a difference between using romantic scenes to further the story and including it as filler. But if it will enhance your story, there are several elements of steam that will bring your scene sizzling to life.
In this article:
Knowing when to include steam in your book
Elements of a steamy scene
Tips for writing steam
When to Include Steam
When you’re deciding whether or not to include a steamy scene in your book, ask yourself these three questions:
Does it impact the plot and/or characters?
If not, then leave it out. Sex is like an action scene. It should be used to propel the story forward or change your characters in some way. If it doesn’t do that, then the sex is pointless and will fall flat for readers. When writing steamy scenes, know what’s at stake and where things will go from there.
Will it enhance the story?
Again, if not, then don’t include a sex scene. Steamy moments represent smaller climaxes in the major plot. They’re turning points that generate tension and give readers insight into characters' personalities in ways that other scenes cannot. But without these key purposes, sex can come across as gaudy or macabre.
Does it fit with what you’re writing?
Consider your audience, subject matter, and intent when asking this question. The level of steam should be appropriate for the readers you want to engage—if it's a young adult, perhaps more G-rated steam would fit, whereas you have more flexibility with adult readers. The steamy scene should also match the content of your book if you choose to include it. If you’re writing about school bullies, sex may not be appropriate, but if it includes first love, then it would be. It depends on what you intend to write into your story.
Elements of a Steamy Scene
When writing steam, there are several elements that enhance the quality of the scene. They fit into three categories: physical, emotional, and structural. If you implement each of these elements into your scene, the romantic moment will be much more potent.
Physical:
Mood
Set the mood by choosing the location. The details in the setting can reveal a lot about the romance, or lack thereof. Candles or no candles? In the car? In the alley behind the club? Each of these details develop the tone of the steamy moment.
Senses
Use all five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. Each plays a part in bringing the scene to life because, in a steamy moment, these senses are heightened. By drawing attention to what your character experiences through their senses, the scene is more visual and engaging.
Details
We’ve all heard the phrase “show, don’t tell.” This is never more true than in a sex scene. Rather than giving simple statements of “it felt good” or “she wanted to entice him,” think about what details might evoke those statements: “His finger grazed her neck, sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine” or “She slowly raised her shirt over her head to reveal the flimsy lace she’d donned just for him.” Conveying emotional content through details helps the readers visualize the moment.
Emotional:
Tension
Increase the tension in the scene. Consider what’s at stake and include conflict. This means building up the sexual tension beforehand, developing the desire between the characters, before finally bringing their attraction to fruition. Then consider how the steamy moment is going to change things for them. Will it hurt or help their relationship? What about the people around them?
Consistency
Stay true to your characters. Let them experience the scene as they are. If your protagonist is a virgin, that might involve nerves since they’ve never done it before or fumbling around from inexperience.
Pacing
Just as it takes time to build tension between the characters, once the steamy scene arrives, take your time. Build to the climax so the moment feels significant. This could be for anything from a passionate kiss to the first time they have sex. And find the appropriate timing to place the scene in your book. It should represent an important moment and set the pace for how erotic you plan on making your story.
Structural:
Conversation
Utilize dialogue and implement deep thoughts. People don’t stop thoughts and communication in moments of intimacy, so reflect that in the scene. Your characters could confess their feelings or say something sexy to their partner. And internally, characters can experience a whole gamut of emotions when sharing an intimate moment. Are they nervous or self-conscious? Unprepared? Express these thoughts throughout the scene.
Arc
Give it a beginning, middle, and end. Sex scenes require a build-up to a climax and a resolution just like any other scene. It is important to set the stage for the romance and develop the steam before the big moment. And afterward, it is good to have the characters react to the results of the scene.
How to Prepare Yourself for a steam scene
Writing a sex scene can feel awkward or daunting. But you can take steps to set yourself up for success:
Read more sex scenes. Educating yourself on how good authors write sex scenes will help you emulate the styles you respect and enjoy.
Visualize your characters. By closing your eyes and imagining the scene as it unfolds, you’ll find that your imagination can add detail where your analytical mind might struggle to develop a complete picture.
Lower your inhibitions. Let go of the discomfort or concerns you might have with what others think. Focus on being creative. You’ll have plenty of time to feel self-conscious or worry about other people’s opinions later. But when you’re writing, be in the moment with your characters, and let go of your apprehension.
Have fun with it. Don’t worry about getting the scene right the first time. Play with your ideas, and broaden your creative side. You can go back and edit later. It is more important to free up your imagination so you can better bring the scene to life.
Use language you’re comfortable with. If you stumble on more explicit language, stick with more euphemistic words. And if you just can’t think of an eloquent way to identify anatomy, write the term you know. The more authentic your language is, the more naturally the scene will flow.
Good Steamy scenes can be impactful and fun to read as well as write. When done well, sexy, sensual moments enhance books and draw readers in. So take the time to consider whether a steamy scene will help your book, utilize the physical, emotional, and structural elements of great steam, and write!
Need help writing your steamy romance scene? HotGhostWriter can help! Our staff of skilled ghostwriters can assist in creating scintillating scenes your readers will love. Check us out at HotGhostWriter.com, and get started today.
Amanda Kruse
Hotghostwriter.com
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/romance-subgenres-and-how-to-choose-one2021-06-20T12:58:30Z2021-09-29T15:28:34ZRomance Subgenres and How to Choose OneAmanda KruseAs a genre, romance encompasses a broad range of topics and subgenres. In the most basic sense, romance books contain a central love theme and a happy resolution. This leaves room for an infinite number of variations that constitute romance. However, the common themes of romance novels fall into several identifiable categories and subgenres. As an author, it can be tricky to know which of those subgenres you want to write. But with a good understanding of what those subgenres are and how they might suit you as an author, the decision can become easier.
In this article, you’ll find:
Categories of romance
The main subgenres
Subcategories within the subgenres
How to pick the right subgenre for you
Romance Categories
Romance novels can be either standalone books or series, and they fall into three different age categories: young adult, new adult, or adult. To choose which of these literary categories is right for you, consider how complex you want your storyline to be, how old you would like your main character to be, who you want your story to appeal to, and how explicit you want your romance to be.
Young Adult
Young adult romance features a protagonist in their teens or early twenties and focuses on their transition into adulthood. These romances tend to address coming-of-age stories and often entail first love, though these themes are not required. The category of young adult uses age-appropriate language for children but can tackle challenging topics. For a better understanding of young adult romance and what goes into it, check out this article on How to Write Successful YA Romance Novels.
New Adult
New adult romance protagonists can be anywhere between the ages of eighteen and thirty. These narratives allow more flexibility concerning language and can be more explicit. They also offer a broader range of sexual experience, as older characters often have a romantic past and are coming into their own as individuals within the relationship.
Adult
Adult romances have the most freedom when it comes to age and sexuality. In adult romance, any level of steam and explicit language is considered acceptable. This category is where erotic romance fits best, as the characters are of adult age and capable of making informed decisions.
Series or Standalone
Choosing whether your romance fits as a series, or “category” romance, or a standalone novel is another consideration. Category romance often contains shorter romantic plots that tie together from book to book, while standalone romance does not need to take other storylines into consideration. E. L. James’s Fifty shades of Grey books and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series are great examples of category romance, whereas John Green and Nicholas Sparks write standalones. Both are viable options depending on where you wish your storyline to go.
Subgenres of Romance
Romance can be broken down into subgenres based on the themes within the book. As long as love occupies the central storyline and the book ends with a happy ending, the book could contain vampires, a murderer on the loose, or a magical object that transports people back in time. However, to better understand the main subgenres of romance, these are the definitions of each:
Historical
Historical romance is set in the distant past (generally during World War II or earlier). While they can take place in any location or historical time, the setting usually stays true to life and should reflect the culture and characteristics of that time. This may require research if you are not familiar with the time period you choose, but the historical backdrop can add rich detail to the story and encourages societal commentary. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series is a wonderful example of historical romance, and Jane Austen is famous for her Regency romance, a subset of historical romance set in the time of the British Regency.
Contemporary
Contemporary romances take place any time after World War II and contain modern issues. This subgenre focuses on conflict that readers have more readily experienced. It is most commonly written in first person narrative and often has a less formal tone than that of historical romance. Jojo Moyes writes wonderful contemporary romances, such as the Me Before You series.
Erotic
Erotic romance has less stipulation on where or when it takes place, though the culture within the novel should fit with the more explicit nature of the text. After all, a devout Catholic wouldn't work as an erotic character—unless the story is about them breaking away from their beliefs to explore their sexuality. This subgenre focuses on sex at a more explicit level and includes heroes and heroines who regularly practice intimacy. Erotic romance contains steamy scenes throughout the book and can use more provocative language. E. L. James’s Fifty Shades of Grey is a perfect example of this subgenre.
Paranormal/Fantasy/Sci-fi
One subgenre that has grown in popularity in recent years is paranormal romance. This subgenre also includes fantasy and sci-fi and focuses on more magical or futuristic themes. Paranormal romance includes real-world human encounters with supernatural creatures, while romantic fantasy is set in a fantastical land, and sci-fi romance takes place in a futuristic world. Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series is a paranormal romance.
Suspense
Romantic suspense contains a more fast-paced storyline with romance at its center. This could mean a variety of high-stakes situations that put the protagonist’s happily ever after at risk. But a happy ending is still key. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks is a perfect example of romantic suspense, as the heroine of the story is on the run from her abusive husband, and when she falls in love with a stranger she meets in a small town, it puts both her and this new love interest in danger.
Religious/Spiritual
Religious romance pertains to characters who overcome obstacles, either in their faith or through their faith, to find happiness with the one they love. This subgenre can range from strong religious themes to more spiritual undertones that hint at faith-based morals. It often contains more G-rated or sweet romantic scenes that reflect the beliefs of the religion it adheres to. Francine Rivers writes moving examples of the religious subgenre.
Breaking It Down and Mixing It Up
Of course, these main subgenres can be broken down into more specific categories with themes such as western romance, secret billionaires, unplanned pregnancies, or romantic comedy. And each subgenre can overlap or blend well with other subgenres. For instance, Francine Rivers’s Mark of the Lion series is both religious and historical romance, as the story is about Christian persecution during the Roman Empire. It’s perfectly acceptable to combine subgenres, so long as they make sense together.
How to Know What Subgenre Is Right for You
Choosing which subgenre you want to write can feel like a daunting task. But before deciding, consider these important factors.
Write What You Know
Think about what subgenre of romance you are familiar with. What do you read? Often, we are drawn to specific storylines and themes, and the more you know about the subgenre, the more interesting the story you will be able to write. It helps to know how your romantic subgenre is done well so you can better emulate it.
Think About POV
Consider what point of view you wish to write from. Not only is the age of your characters—and audience—an important consideration. So is how closely you wish to dive into your hero’s perspective. Contemporary romance tends to get up close and personal, as can paranormal romance and erotic or religious romance. Historical romance and romantic suspense, on the other hand, tend to be written in the third person to create a more formal tone or add to the tension.
Find What Appeals to You
The more interested you are in the subgenre you choose, the easier it will be to write. Knowing what you’re passionate about within romantic subgenres will transfer through your writing, so it is important to consider which subgenres appeal to you. Those will be the books you read and the movies you watch, so you will also be more familiar with the nuances of your specific subgenre.
Consider Your Purpose
Each subgenre of romance has a purpose. Historical romance aims to reflect upon the culture and society of past civilizations, whereas contemporary romance delves into the more modern struggles we face with love. Erotic romance explores sexuality, while paranormal romance explores the imagination. Religious romance and romantic suspense address more philosophical and psychological questions. So which concept would you most readily want to examine in your theme?
Each romantic subgenre can be massively entertaining to read and write, so picking the one you want to write should be a fun adventure rather than a daunting task. Still not sure which subgenre is right for you? HotGhostWriter can help! Our team of skilled writers and editors can help you make your romance book a stunning success.
Amanda Kruse
Hotghostwriter.com
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/novel-length-how-long-is-long-enough2021-06-19T13:45:55Z2021-09-29T15:26:14ZNovel Length: How Long is Long Enough?Kerilee NicklesThis is a complex question. Let’s say you’re anxious to start off writing, and you’ve got your writing plan almost ready, but you’re not exactly sure about the word count. How many words or pages should your book be? What’s a normal length for books? How long is long enough and how short is too short?
All these questions and more are totally normal when it comes to deciding how long your novel should be. Here at HotGhostWriter, we’re here to help. In this post, we’ll cover:
The definitions of story lengths
How to find out what’s a normal length by genre
How to determine your own book’s word count
Story Lengths
The length of a story depends on what you’re writing. This list can help give you a general idea of various lengths to help you work out what could work for your story. (These numbers are pretty general)
Flash Fiction: 500 words or less
Short story: 1000-8000 words
Novella: 10,000-40,000 words
Novel: 40,000+ words
On a normal book page, about 250-300 words fit on a page. This, of course, depends on the font, but that’s the standard. So a 40,000 word novel would be about 130 pages in a standard book. In the past, authors didn’t care so much about these general rules, so it’s best not to use older classic stories as your model for book lengths.
These days, most novels are even more than that 40,000 word minimum. It’s pretty unusual to read a 130-page book and call it a novel. In fact, most novels reside in the 60-110,000-word range. When I ghostwrite novels for various companies, they usually request the length to be 60-80,000 words.
Once books begin to get over the 110,000-word mark, then they’re probably edging into “too long.” It might be a good idea to break it up into a series, but some books, especially historical fiction/fantasy books like the Game of Thrones series, go over this word count, no problem. This leads us into our next point: finding out word length by genre.
What’s Normal for Your Genre?
You want to fit the trends for your genre because it shows you’re a professional who’s trying to play by the rules. Besides, the readers in your genre are used to reading certain lengths, and you want to keep those readers around.
But word count varies by genre. Here are some general guidelines on word length for various genres:
Adult Fiction: (general fiction): 80-100k
Romance: (varies by time period): Historical: 50-80k, Contemporary: this tends to lean towards the shorter side
Sci-Fi and Fantasy: 90-110k or more!: Sci-Fi and Fantasy readers are usually in it for the long haul, and they are very happy with longer “epics”
Historical Fiction: This could also be in the 90-100k mark because your readers are also very into world-building and enjoy the long word count.
YA Fiction: 50-80k
Crime/Thrillers/Mysteries/Horror: 70-90k
Non-Fiction: This is incredibly varied because there are innumerable non-fiction topics. My advice would be to look at nonfiction books with your topic and see generally what word count or page amount they’re going for.
Determine Your Book’s Word Count
Now, where do you go from here? It’s time to sort out your own book’s word count and what would be best for your readers! Check out our tips at HotGhostWriter to help get you started:
Follow the genre suggestions. That’s just the way to go in so many areas of fiction writing. Follow the trends to make sure you’re fitting in and that your book will get noticed.
Look at 3-Act story structure in percentages. First Act-25%, Second Act- 50%, Third Act- 75%. Can you fit everything in within that time?
What do you really want in terms of book length? How long do you want your book to be? Even though there are standards, you can create your word count partially based on what you want.
Calculate and estimate lengths of specific scenes. For example, if you’re a romance writer, you want to think about how many love scenes you have in your story and how many pages you want them to be. These can be helpful in determining word length as well.
Know who you are as a writer: do you generally under or overwrite? I go back and forth, but I tend to underwrite if I don’t have a proper plan. It’s very helpful for me to have a set word count so I know exactly where I’m headed. If you’re an underwriter, give yourself at least a minimum word count to begin with, and then you have the freedom to write more! For general fiction, there is a lot of wiggle room!
Resources
The length of your novel is a very important consideration as you’re planning out your story and creating a plan to get your book finished efficiently and on time! Find out what’s normal for the kind of book you’re trying to write and determine your book’s word count based on that.
If you need help determining your word length and would either like a detailed outline or for someone to take care of all the writing process for you, contact HotGhostWriter! We know the market; we know what sells, and we will provide you a high-quality book at just the right word count!
Kerilee Nickles
Hotghostwriter.com ]]>
https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/creating-a-writing-plan-how-to-keep-up-the-progress-and-motivation-to-write2021-06-19T13:40:39Z2021-07-20T09:32:12ZCreating a Writing Plan: How to Keep Up the Progress and Motivation to WriteKerilee NicklesSo you’re ready to begin your story. You’ve found your genre; you know what’s selling; you have fleshed out your novel idea, and you’re ready to write your great and successful book! But it’s not yet time to start writing. The next step is creating a writing plan.
A writing plan is a way to keep you going when the going gets tough. It’s a way to keep you on the “straight and narrow” as you start off on your writing adventure. It is all too easy to let your daily word count slip when you hit a roadblock or when life just gets too busy. There are innumerable temptations and distractions that will try to keep you from writing. However, giving in to these temptations is a mistake because as it’s always the way in life—once you give in an inch, you give a mile.
We at HotGhostWriter are here to help! This article will guide you in sorting out your writing plan and help you:
Create a daily routine
Determine your word count and other goals
Set deadlines that get your book done
Create a Daily Routine
It sounds dreamy and nice to sit with a pen in your hand and stare out the window and wait for the beautiful first words to hit you. But that’s not the way good authors and successful authors do it. They just simply write, and they do it every day. Writing a book—especially writing as your main revenue stream—is not for the faint of heart.
Plan a time to write each day
Not everyone is a morning person. Pick a time that works for you, whether it’s getting up at 5 a.m. to start writing before you have to deal with your family or head to another job, or creating an afternoon or evening time to work. The key is to set aside your time and then stick to it. You won’t get anywhere if you keep compromising on your writing time. Even a little writing per day is better than nothing. Treat it as you going to work like anyone else. It’s your time.
Find a good place to write
Writing is very fun, but it can also take a lot out of you, because it’s tough work. Find a place to write that calms you, helps you to focus, or maybe even inspires you. As for me, I often work from home because I find it a quiet, safe space, but I do like to mix it up by heading out to a restaurant or a cafe. I find the busyness of the surroundings helpful for focus. Not only that, but it gives me a chance to see real life in action! Find what works for you. You are more likely to want to sit down to write if you have a nice space in which to do it.
Discover a routine that helps you work smoothly
It took me a lot of time to find a working routine that helped me to be most effective, but now I’ve almost got it down pat. Try a few things out, but get into a routine you know you’ll stick to. Maybe you get up, have a little reading time, then exercise, and then get into your writing. Or perhaps, you wait until everyone heads to bed, then pour yourself a glass of wine, and get to work. Whatever it is, find something that works for you. It seems obvious, but that’s the only way you’re going to achieve the kind of progress you want.
Everyone’s different, so you’re not tied to anyone else’s routines, but it can be very helpful to see what benefits or has benefitted very successful authors! Some write every day; some keep the exact same routine. Some wrote out a list of commandments to live and work by as a writer, but my favorite was this quote from the very famous author Khaled Hosseini: “You have to write whether you like it or not.” That’s right. So find a routine that gets you to write even when you don’t really feel like (which may be a lot!).
Make Daily Word Count and Other Goals
Let’s say you plan to write a full-length novel around 80,000 words. Seeing that word count as a whole can be daunting, so it’s easier to break it down into bite size chunks. Not only do you get a sense of accomplishment each day as you make your goals, but you will progress slowly and surely, and you have bite-size pieces to edit as you start new the next day.
I love focusing on word count as opposed to the length of time that I’m writing. For example, let’s say that I know I need to get through 5,000 words that day. I have a very clear goal that I can measure. Once the count is down, I cross it off my list, and then I leave the editing for the next day. It really helps me to progress quicker than if I had no word count plan at all.
At HotGhostWriter, we operate using milestones that break the book down into chunks. That way, writers can complete daily word count goals in order to achieve the milestone when it’s due!
However if you’re working on your own, not everyone is the same. Think about other writing goals that you have. Make them clear and specific. Perhaps you want to get through a particular scene that day or deal with a certain character’s description. Or perhaps you have a certain amount of chapters you want to finish up in a day. These types of goals may be easier for you to focus on rather than word count; however, word count can really anchor you to your overall goal: finishing the book!
How to Remove Distractions When Writing
Many people say they can’t be authors because they don’t have the discipline to set their own deadlines and fulfill them. But you do. You are an author, and you can use self-discipline to guide your writing and keep away from those pesky distractions that keep you from your progress! Of course, finding a good place to write and work is one way to keep those distractions at bay.
A good way to remove distractions is to let the people in your household know that it’s your work time. Some of you may be using your writing as a side business, and to be honest, even if it’s your full business, often people don’t think that it’s work, especially if you work from home. They may come into your study at all hours, distracting you from your progress. Find a time and a space that people know is sacred. It’s your time to get your work done, and you won’t get it done if people are adding to your stress and distractions.
Try turning off your cell phone or laying it across the room. A lot of the reason people become distracted during their writing time is because when their ideas stall, they reach for their phone. And don't open any browsers on your computer with social media! You'll get sucked into an endless cycle of scrolling!
Another way to stay motivated and on the straight and narrow is to keep yourself accountable: announce your goals to others! That way, you can’t “get away with” not doing the work you need to do. It helps to have someone know what you’re trying to do! You can even ask a friend or a loved one to check in with you on your progress.
Resources
Having a plan about your writing process is essential to getting your book done and sent out. So many people let it linger in the background because there are no goals, no deadlines, and they haven’t found a routine. Create a writing plan to give you the motivation you need and help you achieve the progress you deserve!
If you are interested in letting someone else handle the work for you of writing your book, send your ideas, your plans, etc. to HotGhostWriter! One of our talented ghostwriters will worry about deadlines and daily writing for you, and you’ll end up with a beautiful, polished manuscript!|
Kerilee Nickles
Hotghostwriter.com ]]>
https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/writing-ya-romance-what-makes-a-good-ya-romance2021-06-12T20:34:50Z2021-07-20T10:27:12ZWriting YA Romance: What makes a good YA romanceAmanda KruseRomance is a widely popular genre around the world. It has been a marketable adult genre for a long time now, but young adult romance has proven incredibly successful and is becoming a common trend as the young adult category grows ever more popular. So, what does romance look like in young adult novels, and how does it differ from new adult and adult novels? It often addresses themes of early or first love and explores a wide range of questions about sexuality. Where new adult and adult novels tend to focus on more mature topics, young adult novels are unique in their focus on young characters and developmental experiences. Young adult stories focus on the transition between childhood and becoming an adult, and romance can be a big part of that development. When written well, young adult romance can be incredibly appealing to readers of all ages.
In this article, you’ll find:
Who does YA romance right
What goes into YA romance
Why write YA romance
Who Does YA Romance Right
Writing young adult romance in a believable, relatable way is an art. It takes understanding a young person’s perspective and recognizing what love means to people that age. John Green is famous for writing stories about young love. The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns are just a few examples of how he captures the teenage perspective and develops narratives about first love and the struggles that come with young relationships. Becky Albertalli sets another example of a strong young adult romance in her novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which addresses sexuality as a teen and how that can conflict with the desire to be seen as “normal.” And The Perks of Being a Wallflower,by Stephen Chbosky, tells a very raw and real story about teens learning to be comfortable with themselves and their sexuality. Writing young adult romance takes finesse, but when done well, these stories can impact a broad audience.
What Goes into YA Romance
So, how do you write impactful young adult romance? Writing for a young audience requires several considerations. It means looking at the world through young eyes. What might the world look like? How might you perceive love or attraction? Growing up entails a lot of inexperience and uncertainty, and exploring love is no different.
Perspective
Start by considering the perspective. Teens often feel awkward and self-conscious when experiencing something they’ve never done. That’s true for anyone, but growing up requires having a lot of firsts, and with those firsts comes uncertainty. For example your character could be struggling with their self image or unable to form their words correctly in front of the person they like because they’ve never felt that way before or perhaps never told anyone about their feelings until that moment.
Changing Emotion
How many of us found the love of our life the first time we set eyes on them in middle school, and that was that? Happily ever after, the end. The odds are astronomical. More often young adults feel attraction toward many people. Their emotions change and shift, allowing for many potential relationships, and that should be true in young adult stories too. Don’t fall back on love at first sight and head straight into a happily ever after. Make your protagonist like multiple characters. Let them learn to love someone they hadn’t realized they would like. These complex emotions and challenging situations are relatable.
Questions
Coming of age means asking lots of questions, about sexuality, attraction, how the body works. These moments of growth and learning are important when forming authentic young adult characters. People don’t know exactly how to kiss or have sex well before they’ve done it, and neither should your characters.
Peers
A major part of growing up involves relationships with people who are the same age. This is a useful thing to consider when writing a realistic young adult story. Address your character’s peers. What are their relationships, and how do those relationships impact them? Do their friends support their romantic relationships? What romantic relationships are their friends in? Developing the characters around your protagonist will give them depth and add dimension to your story.
Flaws
Everyone has flaws: physical, emotional, moral. No one is perfect, and your characters shouldn’t be either. They don’t have to have perfect bodies. They can struggle with what it means to fall in love. They could even cheat on their significant other and learn how that choice impacts them. Coming of age stories are about learning and growing, not immediate perfection. And the more your characters learn and grow, the better your readers will relate to them.
Age
Remember to take age into consideration. When writing young adult romance, age differences become more significant. After all, three years doesn’t seem important when one person is thirty-one and the other is thirty-four. But if one person is fifteen, and the other is eighteen, that crosses the line into inappropriate. It is also important to consider the level of physical intimacy that would be right for your character’s age. Think about what kind of affection a thirteen-year-old might attempt. That will be different from someone who’s seventeen.
Attraction
The attraction has to be believable. Why would your character like the person they do? Are they kind? Funny? Engaging? It’s often a combination of several different attributes that draws one person to another. Avoid physical attraction as the main driving force. The crutch of a hunky guy or a beautiful girl with no other appealing traits is overdone, and the story can fall flat when readers find no depth to the attraction. It’s one thing to fall in love with a pretty face and something else entirely to fall in love with someone who can make you laugh or hold a deep conversation.
Development
It takes time to develop attraction naturally. Realistic relationships require connection, conversation, and the transition into recognizing one’s feelings. Telling someone you like them doesn’t typically happen spontaneously. It takes time and thought and courage. This is true for storybook love as well.
Emotion
Emotional content is a major part of young adult love. Young love entails a lot of anxiety, yearning, and uncertainty. When writing emotional content, think about how it feels to move past doubt. What would it be like to take that first romantic step? First love is exhilarating and requires daring and confidence. These emotions make the romance multifaceted and realistic.
Connection
Make the romance relatable. Vulnerabilities, struggles, and overcoming challenges develop engaging characters. In young adult romance, you want to strive for growth rather than idolization. It’s important to help your characters learn and change as they discover love because that is a major part of what makes a story young adult.
Why Write YA Romance
Young adult books can appeal to a broad audience, ranging from young readers to mature adults, and well-written young adult romance sells. This entails well-rounded scenes, complex characters, and deep emotions. First romances are incredibly relatable and appeal to a wide readership. That is why young adult romance is so popular.
Need help building the romance in your young adult novel? HGW can help! Our staff of skilled ghostwriters can assist in creating a YA romance that your readers will love. Check us out at HotGhostWriter.com, and get started today.
Amanda Kruse
Hotghostwriter.com
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/self-editing-your-novel-a-step-by-step-guide-to-self-editing2021-06-12T20:23:29Z2021-09-29T14:33:26ZSelf-editing your Novel: A Step-by-Step guide to self-editingAmanda KruseFinishing your well written book is a major accomplishment. But what comes next? It is time to edit. This can mean one of two things. Sending your book off to a professional, who can organize, tighten, and clean up your story until it shines, or you can self-edit. That means taking it upon yourself to objectively read your work and find ways to improve it. That could be anything from fixing plot holes and inconsistencies to incorrect homophones or missing commas. It may seem like a daunting task, perhaps as big as writing your book in the first place. But if you follow my steps and use these tricks to self-editing, you’ll find the process a lot more manageable.
In this article:
What self-editing entails
To self-edit or not to self-edit
Steps to successful self-editing
Tips and tricks
What Self-Editing Entails
Self-editing requires reading your story from beginning to end several times. It starts with improving the big picture then narrows in focus for each subsequent read-through. Editing the big picture requires looking at the plot as a whole, the characters and their arcs, the setting, the pace, and the tone. Big-picture edits will ensure your story is both engaging and cohesive. Next comes the scene-by-scene edit. This requires similar questions to your big-picture edit but on a smaller scale. That means looking at each chapter to ensure each scene has purpose and the narration and dialogue flow. Scene-by-scene edits ensure each moment will both interest the reader and impact your plot. The third stage of self-editing is reading sentence by sentence, searching for grammatical errors, misspelled words, and typos. Recognizing flaws in your writing can be a tricky endeavour, but it is key to self-editing and, when done correctly, can greatly improve your work.
To Self-Edit or Not to Self-Edit
Keeping an objective perspective about your story can be challenging. So, why would you self-edit? Every book needs editing. Even famous, bestselling authors go back and read their work. Self-editing helps improve your writing. Only when you know where your writing is weak can you improve upon it. Self-editing can also save authors from embarrassment over silly mistakes made during the creative process, when our minds are less focused on getting everything factually or grammatically correct. Taking the time to look back on your work will both improve that story and help you with future projects.
Of course, self-editing is not without downsides. When you edit your own work, you’re more prone to miss mistakes because your mind inherently knows what you meant to say and can therefore skip over an error more easily. It can also be challenging to know when you’re done editing. Writers seek perfection in their writing and want others to enjoy their stories to the utmost. That’s why over-editing can occur. It can help to get an outside perspective, even if you choose to self-edit.
Other ways of obtaining an objective perspective are beta readers and professional editors. And if you choose to self-edit your book, I recommend hiring a proofreader, so at least one other set of eyes has combed your final product for remaining errors and typos. And if you’re in need of a proofreader, our skilled proofreaders at HotGhostWriter are ready to help! Check out our proofreading services at HotGhostWriter.com.
Steps to Successful Self-Editing
1. Do a big-picture pass
Consider character development, plot arc, pacing, perspective, and accuracy. This is when you want to make sure the story works as a whole.
Ask yourself:
Have I successfully tied up any loose ends?
Are my characters complex, engaging, and relatable?
Do they grow throughout the story?
Did I include enough sensory elements that readers will know my world?
Does the narrative flow?
Do any points seem slow or irrelevant?
What about any that were glossed over too quickly?
During your second pass, edit scene by scene, removing unnecessary dialogue, making sure each scene has purpose, and identifying each chapter arc. Ask yourself:
Does the scene have a beginning, middle, and end?
Did it move the story forward in some way?
Is there any unnecessary dialogue?
Did I tell the reader what I want them to know or demonstrate it through actions, emotions, and context?
3. Go line by line
In your third pass, check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. This includes changing passive voice to active, varying sentence structure, and identifying crutch words, words you use often without intending to. The sentence-by-sentence edit is where you look for:
Repetitive language
Misplaced modifiers
Dangling participles
Incorrect homophones
Awkward phrasing
Crutch words
Passive voice
Incorrect punctuation
These three phases of self-editing will make your book more professional in the reader’s eye, and taking the time to refine your story and fix errors will give your readers a more enjoyable experience.
Tips and Tricks
These tips will help your self-edit be as effective as possible:
Learn the conventions of Chicago Manual of Style, the commonly used publishing guide for fiction, or whatever style guide you prefer.
Take a break after writing. It may be tempting to edit your story right after completion. You have the momentum and the enthusiasm. But if you put some time between when you write and when you edit, you’re more likely to catch errors you might have overlooked.
Read your story aloud. This will force you to slow down and consider each word, which often accentuates missing or unintended words.
Listen to your story. Have your computer or another person read the story back to you. Sometimes our ears will catch errors our eyes cannot.
Print it out. While scrolling on a computer and making adjustments to the document is tempting, finding corrections on paper can actually be a more effective way of finding mistakes.
Search for trouble words. Use the find and replace tool to search for easily misused homophones (like there, their, and they’re) or words that could be mistyped (such as titled and tilted). Our eyes often skip over these errors, but by using the search capability, you can easily catch those mistakes you might have overlooked otherwise.
Recognize your commonly used words and replace them with synonyms or remove them when they’re unnecessary.
Avoid cliches. Replace common phrases that lack impact (such as “she melted into him” or “she took his breath away”) with new, fresh language.
Cut repetition. It’s easy to forget which words you just used when writing, and there are only so many synonyms for words like “table,” but where possible, try to vary your vocabulary and avoid saying the same thing twice.
Search for extra spaces and trouble punctuation. Use search and replace to find double spaces if you’re in the habit of adding two spaces after a period. Maybe you forget that a comma goes between dialogue and the dialogue tag. Try searching for a period, quotation mark, then “said” and replace the period with a comma. When you know your common errors in spacing and punctuation, search them universally and deal with them all at once so you don’t have to keep it on your mind as you read line by line.
Use spell check. This can’t replace the editing process and should only be used as a last step, but it never hurts to use spell check to find any typos you might have missed. That being said, it is wise to check each suggestion and make sure you agree with spell check’s assessment. You don’t want your character named Chuny to suddenly become Chewy because spell check suggested it.
The Value of Self-Editing
Self-editing is necessary for improving your art, and it presents your work in the best light. Of course, it’s never wrong to seek professional help (even if just for a proofread). Self-editing makes your story more appealing, but it can also be a rewarding experience and an opportunity for growth.
Struggling to spot where your book could use some help? Need a final pair of eyes before you send your story off into the world? HGW can help! With our staff of experienced ghostwriters and editors, we can meet any of your publishing needs while preparing your book for success. Visit us at HotGhostWriter.com.
Amanda Kruse
Hotghostwriter.com ]]>
https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/designing-a-cover-for-your-romance-novel-what-does-a-good-book-cover-need2021-06-12T20:15:05Z2021-09-29T14:32:21ZDesigning a Cover for your Romance Novel: What Does a Good Book Cover NeedKerilee NicklesWhile writing is considered an art, not all of us writers are artistically minded in terms of design. The artistic aspect is where things can get a little hairy as you prepare your book package for selling on the market. What draws the eye and makes people want to pull down the book from the shelf or click on the book to see more about it? The cover. Now we know the old adage goes that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but too bad—it happens. Before you take the plunge to self-publish your novel, you need to put a face on that manuscript!
A cover design isn’t everything because there are certainly badly written books luring people in with their beautiful covers, but a great cover design does “get you in the door,” as it were. Yours is no exception. You want to entice your readers and bring them in, get them to give your book a second look. But how?
In this post, we’ll focus on:
Why cover design is important
Tips for choosing the correct cover for your book
How to get your cover designed: the tools and resources to do it right
Why is Cover Design Important?
As was mentioned in previous posts, as a self-publisher, you are your own marketer. So you’re in charge of putting your “best foot forward” in displaying your book to customers. Therefore it makes sense that your cover design is hugely important!
Your cover is basically the first thing that people see when they’re perusing either in a bookshop or online. In a matter of seconds it has to pull people in and give them the information they need about your book to make them explore further.
Your cover gives you the sales you deserve, captures your usual readers, and maybe even interests readers you didn’t expect! After you snare readers you might not usually get, you want them to want to take a second look.
A cover shows your professionalism and seriousness about being an author. Just like dressing nicely for an interview, a cover showcases your ability to function effectively in the professional world of publishing.
A cover makes your readers trust that your book is worth reading. It’s attractive, interesting, shares the appropriate info, and looks professional. That in and of itself will get readers to give your book a chance, at least take a peek inside.
Tips for Choosing the Correct Cover Design
While having a cover design that draws people in is very important, and attractiveness is an essential quality, your cover design needs to do a few things all at once in order to function as the correct cover for your book.
Show your genre
It needs to show your genre and fit your genre/tone. You have seconds to get that information across through the title, the images, the font, and the colors. For example, if your book is a lighthearted romance, an ineffective cover would not be a fully black one with a skull and crossbones. Conversely, if you’ve written a wild, dangerous adventure story, your cover would most likely not be covered in flowers using pastel colors. The cover has to be connected to what kind of book you’ve written and what kind of genre it fits in.
Follow trends
Your cover should fit in in the right way, and it should follow trends yet can have its own unique style. A book is a work of creativity, and you might feel like you also want that creative freedom when designing your cover. While that’s completely acceptable and normal, you don’t want to go too far away from what’s trending. You want to showcase your own style while also fitting into the kinds of cover designs that are selling in your genre. Take a look at the Kindle bestseller list in order to get an idea what kinds of covers are doing well.
Be simple but comprehensive
Don’t put too much on it. This is a basic design principle. You don’t want to cram too many images or too many words into your cover to make it so busy that it doesn’t attract the eye, nor does it give the necessary information your reader wants to know. Clear title and subtitle. This is what your reader wants to see. You’ve snagged them with your design, now give them the info about your book. What’s the title, and what’s the subtitle, which can give them even more details?
Be eye catching
Think about images, colors, and fonts. This is where a professional can be incredibly useful in this regard! Consider someone like HotGhostWriter to help you prepare a beautiful cover design with just the right images, colors, and fonts that will fit your genre and draw the eye.
Really sell the focal point
Find the focus, zero in on the selling points of your book. Whether it’s the title, subtitle, author name, or image, emphasize in your design what you want your readers to focus on?
Surprise them a little
Add a teaser. This could be a good idea for romance to “tease” your readers into buying the book by putting a short quote on the cover or a little line about what they might get out of the book.
The back cover content is important too
Add a quick synopsis, book reviews, and author bio on the back. These are all great things to add to your cover to give your readers all the info they need before they make a decision to buy your book. Praise for other books you’ve written can really help give your book a fighting chance to get read.
Don’t forget the spine!
In a bookshop, that’s often the only part of the book your readers will see as they look through the shelves! The beauty of online shops is that your readers get to see the full book cover. However, do not neglect the spine for print books! Make it attractive with a clear title to get that first reader to pull your book down from the shelf.
How to Get Your Cover Designed and Designed Well
If you’re not an artist or graphic designer, it’s best to let the professionals handle the cover design, especially since it’s so important for your sales! You have enough to focus on with the content, the research, the front and back matter, and more.
Where to go?
If you’re determined to do it yourself, Canva is a designing program that is quick and relatively simple to use. However, there are some costs to get better designs and tools.
For some professional options, you can hire a cover designer on websites like Fiverr or Upwork or Damonza
If you’re creating a Kindle book, you can use Amazon’s Cover Creator, but that does require you to upload your chosen images, and so that could still cause some stress if you’re not sure what exactly you want to put on the cover.
Lastly, you can use HotGhostWriter’s a la carte services. What’s great about HGW is that we are a ghostwriting company that offers writing, editing, designing, and formatting services, so we know it all. We understand the world of publishing, and we can help make you the correct cover for your book to get you the most sales!
Extra Resources
Cover design is essential to marketing your book effectively to the right readers. It gets you in the door. If you do it right, you might even get new readers you never expected! You want it to fit your tone, your genre, attract the eye, and look professional all at once.
Check out these extra resources to get you some great background info on cover design, its importance and how to do it right:
Some self-publishers work on their cover design themselves, but it’s much easier and you’ll end up with a better product, if you hire out the work to a professional. If that sounds like you, then check out HGW and click on the facebook messenger icon at the bottom of the screen to ask your questions and get started!
Kerilee Nickles
Hotghostwriter.com
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/pov-and-tense-in-a-romance-novel-how-to-choose-what-pov-and-tense-to-use2021-06-12T20:14:47Z2021-09-29T15:17:41ZPOV and Tense in a Romance Novel: How to choose what POV and tense to useKerilee NicklesOnce you’re all jazzed up about an idea or a story, you’re thinking about getting your idea on paper. You’re focused on plot, theme, characters, and setting. For romance, it can be exciting to think only about the pitfalls your characters will go through before they get their happy ending! You envision everything in your head, and then suddenly as you begin to put pen to paper, you might pause. You haven’t even thought about point of view or tense!
For some of us, we automatically lock into one POV and tense style because it’s what we know. It’s what we’ve grown up learning and reading. However, you’re not locked into choosing a certain tense or point of view. Especially now, things are changing and evolving in these areas, and if you’re writing romance, you really have a lot of freedom. But it does help to have some direction.
This article will specifically focus on romance and:
POV and tense choices
Why POV and tense are important to the story
How to pick your POV
How to pick your tense
POV and tense mistakes to avoid
POV Choices
Before you even begin, it’s helpful to know what choices you even have for point of view!
First person:
This is when you use “I” and “me”. The perspective is the main character’s perspective or the narrator’s voice. Many subgenres of romance employ first person as it really gives the reader’s a chance to see things from the protagonist(s)’ eyes, but it can be limited by what the character can see.
Second person:
This is when you use “you”, and you’re addressing the reader directly. It’s not a super popular choice, but it’s been growing in popularity with the “choose your adventure” kind of books.
Third person limited:
This point of view is when you use “he/him” or “she/her.” It is the retelling of events with a sort of neutral air. “He strode down the street wearing a green coat.” It’s limited to one character, and you only know about their thoughts and feelings, not the entire cast as you would in omniscient. It’s the most popular choice of point of view and has been for many years.
Third person omniscient:
This gives you as the reader a sort of bird’s eye view of the characters in the book. You can see everything and know what everyone thinks and feels, and the narrator interprets what the character’s think and feel, and so it’s objective. “She watched him leave, and in her heart, they both knew she had made a mistake.”
Third person subjective:
In this point of view, you can really get into the thoughts of the characters and their perspectives. It goes beyond narrating the character’s thoughts by telling the reader “she thought” or “he wondered.” And let’s you really in their head the way first person POV does.
Multiple POVs:
Many authors choose to use multiple POVs so that the reader can see the same story from various angles. This is especially used in romance, because readers enjoy seeing how the two lovers feel about each other as well as their feelings and insecurities. Most multiple POVs stories focus only on two characters, swapping each chapter back and forth from character to character, but some stories employ even more POVs.
Tense Choices
Past tense:
This is the most popular and has been for many years. It tells the story like it has happened in the past. “They ate together, and then they went home.” Historical fiction romance more often uses past tense.
Present tense:
This can really engage people in the story and make them feel like they’re there in the moment. Contemporary romance and young adult romance more often uses present tense.
POV and Tense are Essential to a Good Story
Even if it might not be the first thing that you think of when you get ready to write, POV and tense choice are essential to a good story. Your POV is the perspective of your character and it shows who your character is. When it is done right, your reader can really get attached to your characters and what happens to them. Your POV affects the tone of the story and provides extra details or hides details.
With romance, you want to be able to show how the lovers in the story are feeling while also keeping some feelings from each other. Find the POV that suits your style and genre. With first person your reader can really relate to the characters because they are in a sense submerged in the story. With third person, the text is narrated to the readers as if they are watching a movie, not being a part of the action.
In the same way, tense affects the tone and mood of the story. Some stories are better served using past and some with present. If you want your reader to feel completely submerged in the action, present tense drives it home.
Wrapping up...
Romance has a lot of freedom. There are so many different styles and subgenres in romance that it can depend on your subgenre which POV and tense to choose. But you do have some wiggle room to make your story the best that it can be.
Before you start writing,
Learn about POV and tense. What are your options? What does writing in a certain POV or tense mean? What are the pros and cons of all the options? What fits best with your romance?
Do a little “romance research”. Your writing is your business so start checking out some popular romance books from your genre to see what the POV and tense are that you see most often. The POV and tense do differ depending on the subgenre. Take a look at the Kindle bestseller list for romance to get started!
Ask yourself questions. What do you like about it? What kinds of details and perspectives are you getting that really add to the story? What tense feels right? Can you fit this POV style in your story?
Do a little POV and tense practice with your characters and see what works
Figure out what you want and what feels best as a writer while also considering what suits your reader and the trends.
At HGW we always follow the desires of our client, but we believe first person present tense is the best way to write your romance novel. And if you can alternate between the two love interests every other chapter, even better! This style gives your reader the most bang for their buck!
Extra Resources
The POV and tense are essential to a good story, so don’t just choose willy-nilly and hope for the best. Take a look at bestsellers in your genre, see what’s selling and what’s popular, and see if you can fit the trends into your own story. But this is where good proofreading is essential! Your POV needs to be consistent and so does your tense in order to give your work just the style and the voice you want!
Check out these other resources for choosing your POV and tense:
Figuring out the right POV and tense for your romance story can be a big hassle, especially if you’re just starting out. Why not have someone else take your idea and write it for you? That way, you can leave the work to the professionals and end up with a great romance manuscript ready for publication! Check out HotGhostWriter and click on the messenger icon to get started!
Kerilee Nickles
Hotghostwriter.com
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/building-your-novel-idea-how-to-make-a-plan-for-writing-your-novel2021-06-05T23:07:37Z2021-09-28T14:16:19ZBuilding Your Novel Idea: How to make a plan for writing your novelKerilee NicklesIf you want to write a great book, then you need to brainstorm and plan a good story. Good stories sell as well as good writing. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, proper planning is a must and only helps make your writing better. Behind every great story is a great outline.
This post is linking back to How to Write a Book’s steps three, four, and five: Build Your Idea, Create a Plan, and Know the Elements of a Story. We’ll cover:
How to build your idea
Plotting styles and which is the best
Creating an outline that works
The importance of planning and plotting
Build Your Novel Idea
Once you’ve got the germ of an idea, it’s time to reflect on it and ask yourself a few questions.
Can this make a full-length book?
Do I have enough of a story or enough information or a big enough point to make?
Who are my characters and what do I want to happen to them?
What do I want to achieve by the end of my book?
Is there even an audience for my book?
Reflect, take notes, and spend time fleshing out your idea before you even begin planning and plotting. You need to know if your idea has a good enough base to build from. If you’re not sure at this stage, your plotting stage will definitely make it clear whether your idea is a good one or not.
Plotting: Plotting, Plantsing, or Pantsing, Which One Are You?
I love the feeling of getting caught up in the exciting feeling of having a new idea. I can’t wait to start writing because the energy and motivation are there. I have the idea in my mind, and it’s so ready to come out. I sometimes start without planning anything, and then soon enough, as it always does, my writing falls flat.
Here’s why: You need a plan. Writing without one is like building a house with no foundation. One strong rainstorm and that house is outta there. There are different styles of plotting, and most writers fall under one of these categories:
Plotting:
Plotting is creating a set and detailed outline. You’ve covered everything from the story to the characters to the chapters. You know your story inside and out. You’ve also done any research you need before the book has begun and placed it in the appropriate starts. It’s like a detailed roadmap that you prepare before you go on a long trip. This provides clear direction for you, but it can be a lot of work up front.
Pantsing:
Pantsing is the plotting style I mentioned earlier. It’s when you just run into writing with only a general idea of where you’re going because you think you’ll figure it all out along the way. It can be really exciting because there is a lot of freedom, but oftentimes you run into deadends or plot holes.
Plantsing:
Plantsing is what people often fall into because it’s the middle ground. They make their preparations and create a general outline, but they also have a little of the pantsing, so not everything is planned. There’s still wiggle room for sudden changes.
At HGW, we love a good outline and plotting is the way to go for us. It gives us the map we need to build not just an okay story, but a great one. One that has a solid foundation, so if ever there is confusion or a change, we can always return to that clear road map. The more details we have up front, the better direction we have for our book.
Plotting makes the most sense when making a definite plan for your novel. Taking your time to plan the characters, plot, subplots, and settings ensures you know your story inside and out. It not only guides you through the writing process, but strengthens your voice as the author within the manuscript. Here's how you get started...
Creating an outline
You might be quite eager to start plotting, but you’re not sure exactly how to get started. Let’s begin with the elements of a great outline.
A great outline has the elements of the story:
Point of View
Setting
Characters
Plot description
Write a paragraph or a few sentences for each of the elements so it’s clear exactly what you’re going for in your book. Give yourself a clear description of the settings and characters, and be sure to write your plot points in order from beginning to end—much the same way a GPS gives you directions!
A good outline also contains the three-act story arc and a description of each:
Act One (Opening Image/ Hook, Inciting Incident, End of the Beginning)
Act Two (Midpoint, Crisis)
Act Three (Climax, Final Image/Resolution)
Remember to describe emotions and events.
This is an excellent way to see if your story actually works. As you describe the path of your story, you can spot any awkward sections, plot holes, or things that just plain don’t work. Be thorough in your descriptions. Spend time thinking about your story so when you go to write, you have everything you need to get started.
Things like links to research can really strengthen your outline. In a writing software like Scrivener, there is actually a research section where you can hide your links or other pertinent information to your book. You can quickly access it whenever you need it, and it will be easy to create a reference list at the end of your book.
How we do it
Here at HotGhostWriter, we have our own style of outlining. We build our outlines with the end of the story in mind. We can create a polished outline by including all of these elements along with a detailed chapter-by-chapter layout.
Our writers know exactly where they’re going when they get started. Once the hard work of outlining is finished, all the writer needs to do is the fun part of the writing process!
The Benefits of Outlining
We’ve seen the benefits of outlining first hand because we’ve produced story after successful story with a thorough outline in our toolbox. But besides giving you a clear direction, what else does a good outline give you?
Good pacing: You’ve already figured out where everything goes. You know approximately when the inciting incident occurs. You know what draws your protagonist into the story. You know when to introduce your villain, to show the turning point in the character’s mind or feelings. You know when the climax comes to have the greatest effect. If you just start writing without any idea of pacing, you might include exciting elements, but they won’t be in the right place to make the story the best it could be.
Consistent character voice: If you’ve already sat and outlined your characters and who they are, then you know how you want to portray them on the page. Without a plan, you might find that a few of your characters have the same voice, the same mannerisms, which shows poor understanding of characterization, lazy writing, and boring, flat characters. With a plan, your characters are interesting, complex, and they each have their own unique personalities that play out in the story.
Prevents plot holes and bad ideas: If you already have everything planned out, and you know where your story is going to go, then you can prevent a majority of bad things from happening in your writing. Before you even start writing, you can work out plot holes and difficult scenarios. You don’t need to be halfway through your book before you realize something just isn’t working, and then you have to do a major rewrite. You can even test out a few ideas in the planning process to see which can be fleshed out and which should be scrapped.
Extra Resources
While pantsing can be exhilarating, it’s really not the way to go for a professional writer who’s creating a business. You want to consistently create good, solid books that sell, and outlining is the way to do that. It smooths the way for your story, cleans up any awkwardness, removes bad ideas, builds complex characters, and provides consistency.
For other tips on plotting, planning, and outlining, check out these resources:
Outlining and plotting effectively is a big undertaking. Don’t want to do it on your own? Hire HotGhostWriter to handle your outline for you! You’ll end up with a lovely, polished, detailed outline, and that part of the work is already done and you can focus on writing!
Kerilee Nickles
Hotghostwriter.com]]>
https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/front-and-back-matter-what-to-add-to-the-front-and-back-of-your-novel-to-make-it-stand-out2021-06-05T23:00:07Z2021-09-29T14:54:32ZFront and Back Matter: What to add to the front and back of your novel to make it stand outKerilee NicklesAs a self-publisher, you’re in charge of making the book look as good as possible for your readers. You are the author, the designer, and the marketer! You need to handle all your book preparations yourself. That can be a downside, but with the right resources, you can design everything you need with ease.
While the content or body of your book is important, so is the package it’s put into. We’re talking about the front and back matter of your book. This material is everything that comes after the cover and before and after the body of the book. You may think it’s not that important, but it’s essential to making your book a success. In this article we’ll be covering the front and back matter of your book and:
its importance for your writing business
its content: what goes into front and back matter?
instructions on how to insert it into your book: on your own and with help
The Importance of Front and Back Matter
As a self-publisher, your writing is your business, and so you essentially are your own marketer. You’ve got to take the reins on this to help make your book a success. Good front and back matter is an excellent way to do this. But why?
They create an attractive book package to bring people in: When you pick up a book in a bookstore, you start flipping through the first few pages and the last few. You look at the title page, the table of contents, the dedication. Online, you can get a sample of the book before you buy to “virtually” do the same thing. You notice whether the book looks professional or not. You notice the style they use in the design. You learn a little bit about the book as you peruse chapter titles, and you learn about the author as you check out the back of the book.
They build a professional image: It shows that you’ve prepared your book in a style on the same level as other professionals. You have the title page, the copyright, the dedication, etc. You have a section about you as the author and maybe even your mailing list or titles of other books you’ve written. Front and back matter will look just the same as a traditionally published book, which is great for you, especially if you’re a new author!
They inform the reader: They also tell the reader what kind of book it is as well as what kind of author you are. They can tell from the chapter titles, the font, the “about the author” section. The front and back matter are the next level after the cover to try to hook your reader in.
They connect your reader with you: Front and back matter keep your sales going! They learn about your other books (if you have them), and they know how to find your upcoming titles. They even learn a little background about you!
What Goes Into My Front and Back Matter?
There is no set-in-stone style, but there is a basic general outline of what usually goes in each of the sections. The front matter is what comes straight after the cover.
Front matter generally has:
Praise for (your other books): This is the praise that you’ve received for your previously published titles. You might also see an advance review from an Advance Reader Copy here. If you have either of these, definitely put them in your front matter!
Title page
Dedication
Copyright page: this definitely shows off your professionalism. It has the year of publication, claims your ownership, and provides your ISBN.
Disclaimer: This also shows your professionalism because you are doing the same as other authors/publishers, showing that any similarity to other books is unintentional, etc. You’ve covered yourself legally, proving that you want to conduct yourself as a professional.
Table of contents: This is great for ebooks because with a linked TOC, your readers can jump between chapters easily. If you have chapter titles, your reader can also peruse to see if the book catches their interest.
Back matter generally has:
Acknowledgements: It’s great to see authors thanking those who help them. It’s fun as readers to see what all goes into the making of a book, and again, it shows that you are a professional. You’ve done hard work to get your book to where it is. Don’t be shy about showing the effort and the gratitude!
About the author: This is your chance to connect your readers with you. Use details that match the brand you’re going for. If you’re a divorcee and you’re writing a self-help book about divorce, add your personal experience (briefly) in the bio. If you’re a romance writer, plug in just how much you ingested romance novels as a kid or are waiting for Mr. Darcy to come along. For great tips, take a look at Publish Drive’s How to Write the Perfect Author Bio.
Titles or links to previous books: This is great for print books where you can include a QR code for your readers to find previous books, but for ebooks, you can actually provide links that will take your readers to your other titles. So if they loved you, they can instantly jump to the online store to purchase another one of your titles. This is marketing with ease.
Titles or samples for your upcoming books: If I love a book, and I’m so ready to read the next one in the series, a sample of the first chapter of the sequel is a great way to whet my appetite. You can do the same. Give your readers a taste of what the next book will be about, so that they can make a fully-informed decision about their next purchase. (It shows you trust the reader and care about them!)
Book discussion questions: This is really fun for those who want to include your book in a book group!
Call to action/connect: Provide opportunities for your readers to continue reading as well as get connected with you! You can show a signup for your mailing list or newsletter as well as links to your author page and social media. In print books, you can put a QR code which will link to your social pages too!
How Do I Include Things In My Front and Back Matter?
Now you know how important front and back matter is as well as what goes into it, but the other big question is how to put it in your book? Self-publishing does provide a lot of ease, but if you’re not exactly tech-savvy, the idea of creating your own front and back matter can be a little daunting.
If it is easy for you, you can format yourself in Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Kindle Direct Publishing has tips for formatting your book through Word, and you can follow their steps for formatting your front and back matter. It’s as simple as organizing your headings, section breaks, building a table of contents with instructions, and copy/pasting your copyright page using Kindle’s template.
But just to make your life easier as a busy author, check out Kindle Create. It really makes life a lot easier because once you’ve uploaded your file, you can instantly create your front and back matter with a few clicks of the mouse.
Search for your computer file and upload it to the app by clicking upload
It will automatically organize your chapters (if you’ve formatted correctly, but you can also format in Kindle Create). Now look at the front of the book and back of the book to find front and back matter.
Click the (+) symbol next to front matter to choose what you want to include: dedication, title page, copyright, etc. You can fill in the template that pops up and hit create page.
Same goes for the back matter.
You don’t have to include everything, but Kindle Create makes it easy to include just the right kind of front and back matter you need to make the book looking clean and professional.
Tip: Also download Kindle Previewer so you can view your front and back matter the way it will look on the Kindle screen!
Extra Resources:
Creating front and back matter is one of the ways to market yourself as a professional and successful author. It will help bring you even more readers after your first one selects your book. With the right tools, it can be super easy to create, and even though people may think it doesn’t matter, it’s totally worth your time. Take a look at these extra resources to help you on your formatting journey:
Don’t want to do the front and back matter creation yourself? Then let HotGhostWriter handle everything! We’ve got a whole host of excellent editors who can format everything until you’ve got polished, professional-looking front and back matter that’ll give off just the vibe you’re looking for to your readers. Click on the messenger icon at the bottom of the page to get started!
Kerilee Nickles
Hotghostwriter.com ]]>
https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/the-elements-of-a-great-romance-scene2021-06-05T22:33:23Z2021-09-28T14:46:26ZThe Elements of a Great Romance SceneAmanda KruseRomance is one of the top-selling book genres across the world. That’s because people like to read about love. It brings hope and creates warm, happy feelings that everyone enjoys. And in this popular genre, romantic scenes can make or break books. A well-written romantic scene can enhance your book. It demonstrates the connection between characters and works as both a plot point and a moment of growth. It can escalate a point of conflict and create a story arc within the main plot. But how do you write a good romantic scene?
Read to discover:
Who does romantic scenes well
How to do romance right
Why it works
Who does romantic scenes well?
Nicholas Sparks is one of the romance greats. His books are wildly successful for countless reasons, but one of his strengths is his romantic scenes. In The Notebook, he develops two intimate scenes between Allie and Noah, first as young love then again when they are reunited. In both scenes, he demonstrates the passion between the characters while, at the same time, marking major turning points in the plot.
Tamora Pierce utilizes romantic scenes to demonstrate character growth. In her Daughter of the Lioness series, she writes a coming-of-age moment as her heroine, Alianne, experiences womanhood, sharing a deeper connection with Nawat, the man she loves. This moment is both romantic and emotional but also incredibly relatable, as it addresses young love and sexual exploration.
And Diana Gabaldon’s romantic scenes in the Outlander series mark turning points in Claire’s life, establishing the depth of connection between her and Jamie and revealing character traits as they grow together. These scenes develop emotional conflict—like the first time Claire has sex with someone other than her first husband, Frank—or even physical conflict as adversaries insert themselves into the love affair.
How to do romance right
There are several key elements to consider when making a great romantic scene. These considerations will help build impactful moments that both draw the reader to the characters as well as allow the scenes to flow with the rest of the book.
Build the tension
Start by building up to the moment. A romantic scene doesn’t start when the characters’ lips first touch. It’s built throughout the story, increasing tension as the story progresses. Start with attraction and consider each step of intimacy. Start with eye contact and verbal interactions, holding hands, putting an arm around a shoulder, placing a hand on someone’s hip, then move on to kissing, hands exploring each other’s bodies, and finally reaching the body to body experience. Your characters should meet each level of intimacy in order to ensure their progression is both natural and suspenseful. Each of these steps is crucial to setting the pace and making the romantic connection feel right.
Set the scene
When writing romantic scenes, also consider the setting. Where the romance takes place can reveal a lot about the emotions involved. Do they make it romantic with candles and mood-setting music? Is it an impromptu tryst in an awkward location? Do they have to keep it secret and drive somewhere secluded? The setting says a lot about the couple’s relationship, so set the tone through their choice in location.
Stay consistent
Keep your perspective and tone in mind. Has this been a G-rated romance until now, sweet, steamy? Write within your chosen steam level. If your readers expect chaste first kisses, it will jar them from the moment if suddenly your characters are moving on to an explicit threesome. Consider what kind of romantic scene fits with the story you want to tell and what level of steam you’ve been using, then write within those boundaries. For more information on steam levels and picking the right one for your book, check out this blog.
Include thoughts and words
Romance thrives with both the verbal interaction between characters as well as the intimate perspective of what the protagonist is thinking during the moment. Find a balance between internal monologue and external dialogue. Consider whether the characters’ words match their thoughts. Do they want to play it cool, but in their mind, they’re crazy about this person? Is it their first sexual encounter and they have insecurities they don’t want to reveal? Or are they so in love with the person that their spoken words can’t do their thoughts justice? Characters’ words can enhance or contrast their thoughts in countless ways, which will add depth to the romantic scene and the lovers’ personalities.
Fill the scene with emotion
While romantic scenes are physical expressions of a couple’s love, emotion plays a large part in bringing the romance scene to life. Consider your characters’ emotions leading up to the scene as well as during it. How does their partner make them feel? Are they ready for what’s happening? Anticipating it? Yearning for more? Emotion is what brings the characters to that romantic moment, so it’s important to maintain it during the scene and develop it throughout the action.
Account for all the senses
Love manifests in many ways, through all five of our senses. People experience heightened awareness when in a passionate state, so take each into consideration when writing your romantic scene. What do your characters see? How do they perceive the setting, the appearance of their lover? What do they hear? Music, nature, a noisy neighbor? Think about the smells: Are the candles lavender-scented? Does the protagonist like their lover’s choice of cologne? Then think about taste. It could be the minty flavor of toothpaste on their lover’s tongue or the salty sweat on their skin. Now consider their sense of touch: the soft silk sheets against their back, the coarse stubble scratching their chin. Each sense adds dimension to the scene, breathing life into it.
Consider what’s at stake
Before writing your romantic scene, ask yourself how it will change things. Will it escalate a problem, develop a conflict, alter your character’s perspective? Sex shouldn’t be part of a book simply for the explicit content. Romance is a useful tool in developing the storyline, furthering the conflict, and generating change. So placing your steamy scene where it is most effective can make all the difference in how it impacts the reader.
Keep it simple
When in doubt, start simple. Romance doesn’t have to be verbose or entail a play-by-play. It can be as simple as a sentence or two and contain straightforward language. It is easier to go back and add content if you decide more is necessary than to force yourself through a painful description that sounds inauthentic. Sometimes less is more, even when it comes to sex.
Edit for mechanics
Getting the emotional content down is more important than focusing on whose hand went where. When picturing two bodies intertwined, it’s easy to lose track of a limb here or there, possibly even an entire shift in position. But the emotion of the scene is what empowers the content, so focus first on getting that down first. Then go back and edit to ensure your characters’ bodies are adhering to their physical abilities.
Why it works
Great romantic scenes are key to romance novels and effective in all genres when used properly. They build tension, develop characters, and move the plot forward. Writing a good romantic scene means building suspense, considering the character’s perspective—emotional, physical, and vocal—and giving the scene purpose, utilizing it to further the story. If you take these components into consideration when writing your romantic scenes, you’ll have a ticket to success.
Finding it hard to write a meaningful romantic scene. Struggling with the emotional content that romance entails? HotGhostWriter can help! Our team of seasoned ghostwriters are at your disposal to make your next book a great success. Visit us at HotGhostWriter.com.
Amanda Kruse
Hotghostwriter.com
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https://hotghostwriter.com/blogs/blog/steam-levels-and-how-to-pick-one-for-your-books-genre2021-06-05T22:27:38Z2021-09-29T15:27:08ZSteam Levels and How to Pick One for Your Book's GenreAmanda KruseOne of the subtle arts to writing is choosing the steam level that best suits your story. Steam levels vary based on how explicit the romantic content is, starting with the G-rated, emotional moment of a first kiss to the erotic scene of two people making love. Knowing the right level to use can take your book from good to exceptional, and all steam levels sell because steam serves many necessary purposes. Love is something everyone yearns for. It’s relatable and, therefore, hooks readers from the get-go. But it also develops character depth and generates feel-good moments.
In this blog, I will address:
Where steam works in literature
What the different steam levels are
How to pick the right steam level for your book
Where steam works in literature
Of course, steam is essential in romance novels. From first-love stories like Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon to Nicholas Sparks’s timeless romance, The Notebook, and certainly E. L. James’s racey Fifty Shades of Grey, these steamy moments are essential to the characters and the plot. But these authors use different levels of steam that fit well with their stories. In Everything, Everything, Yoon depicts the intense moment of a first kiss that is both simple and thrilling in its emotion. The Notebook utilizes a steamier level of description, though it delays the intimate moment, building tension until the couple is reunited later in the book. E. L. James, on the other hand, takes Fifty Shades of Grey to an erotic level, incorporating deeply sexual language and including several explicit scenes as the main character explores her sexuality and falls in love.
But steam of varying degrees can be highly effective in other genres as well. Veronica Roth’s Divergent, a dystopian story about a teen finding her way in a society where she doesn’t fit in, also contains first love and a sweet level of steam that addresses romance and even sex. Tamora Pierce is known for her fantasy adventures like her Song of the Lioness series, where her main character, Alanna, explores sex as a part of becoming a woman. And in Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a suspenseful mystery, sex is extremely explicit and used to depict both abuse as well as what a healthy connection would look like.
What are the different levels of steam to choose from?
At HotGhostWriter, we break steam into four categories: G-rated, sweet, sensual/steamy, and erotic.
G-rated
G-rated entails brief moments of physical contact, a chaste kiss. It is mainly about the emotional connection and yearning for the love interest, like in Everything, Everything. A G-rated level of steam would be good when writing the first-love trope, young adult novels, religious stories, and generally works for all genres.
Sweet
The sweet steam level is more flirtatious with a physical connection and possible makeout sessions. It can contain hints of further intimacy behind closed doors but doesn’t include explicit scenes directly. This level would apply to the Divergent series or Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness books. Sweet steam is useful for tropes like second-chance love, more faith-based readers, teen or new adult books, and serves well as part of a subplot.
Sensual/steamy
Sensual/steamy romance exhibits physical touch, but these books contain no more than two sex scenes, and those scenes should be largely emotion-based. The intimate scenes can be descriptive but tend to use more euphemistic language, nothing incredibly crude or crass. The Notebook is a perfect example of a sensual steam level. Sensual steam is common in all romance tropes, can act as a moment of relief in suspense, thrillers, action, or horror, and can appeal to a broader mature audience.
Erotic
Erotic books are explicit but still tasteful. It includes emotional aspects while also being physically descriptive. But erotic does not mean incorporating sex for the sake of a sex scene. This level should tie in well with character growth and connection. Fifty Shades of Grey and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo both use an erotic steam level effectively. This level of steam is useful in plots (or subplots) that largely focus on sexuality and romance and works well for a more adult audience.
When picking which level is right for your book, consider your target audience. Are you targeting young adults? New adults? A mature audience? Think about whether you aim to appeal to a religious audience, who might prefer a more sweet, G-rated read, or avid romance readers, who could appreciate steamier levels. What will your targeted readers expect to find? Understanding your audience’s expectations will largely guide you in your choice of steam level.
Think character arc
Next, focus on your character arcs. How will your characters grow from each romantic moment? What kind of romance will challenge them to grow? Remember, steamy scenes aren’t meant to be just that. Romance is as much a plot device as a cliffhanger or a flashback. It should provide insight for your readers and develop your characters.
Tie it to the plot
Along those same lines, ask yourself what turning point your steamy scene will address in the book. How will romance change the trajectory of your plot? Only include steamy scenes that move the story forward. The detective and his partner should only strike up a romantic affair if it’s going to somehow play into the book: perhaps the detective winds up making a reckless mistake in order to protect his partner, or the partner could prove to be a traitor, creating an even deeper betrayal because the detective thought they were in love. Romance should enhance the plot.
Identify the context
Context is another important consideration when deciding what steam level to use. What level works with the plot? You don’t want the romance to come out of the blue, so you have to address how it’s going to play a factor in your story and fit well in the context. If your heroine is a young high school student just learning about love for the first time, erotic sex scenes won’t fit the bill. Knowing the context of the story and matching it with the appropriate level of steam is crucial.
What is common in the genre?
Take into consideration how romance is commonly addressed in your genre. You’ll often find that certain genres use the same level of steam. It’s not wrong to break outside the norm, and try something new, but it is good to be aware of how others are using steam levels and whether their use is successful or not.
Keep it consistent
And finally, be sure to maintain a consistent tone. If you want to start with G-rated, don’t jump to sensual/steamy. Likewise, once you’ve established an erotic level, you can’t backtrack to sweet romance. It’s important to set a consistent level of steam and adhere to it throughout the book. This both develops a trust and understanding between you and your readers as well as defines what type of story you plan to tell.
Recognizing the different steam levels and when they’re appropriate can largely impact how successful your book will be. It’s key to identify which level will suit your story best. This can be done through considering your audience, how steam can facilitate your plot and character growth, and why it makes sense contextually. Then choose a level of steam you can maintain. When you apply these strategies to finding the right steam level for your novel, you’ll put your book on the track to success.
Struggling with knowing how steamy your book should be? Lost on how to incorporate intimacy into your story? HotGhostWriter can help! We have a full staff of trained ghost writers ready to assist you in all your book needs. Check out our extensive services at HotGhostWriter.com.