Amazon Rankings Explained
For many authors, checking their Amazon ranking is an addictive daily activity.
For others, it’s a confusing statistic they don’t understand (which is probably why they have time to do things like shower. When you understand it, it can become an obsessive hobby that causes you to forsake all other daily activities).
So here it is, the meaning of your Amazon rank, plain and simple:
Your rank is how many books on Amazon are selling more copies than yours.
Let’s break what this means down a bit.
Your book is ranked 14,000.
This means that there are 14,000 other titles on Amazon that have sold more copies than you.
But is that a good number?
Absolutely. There are a bajillion titles on Amazon and there are more and more listings added every day. If there are only 14,000 titles selling more copies than you, that’s a gold star for you!
How can other books have the same rank as my book?
Because there are ALSO 14,000 more titles selling more copies than it. It isn’t like class rank where there are 300 students and you are ranked 20th in your class because 19 other students have better grades than you. This is where many authors get confused. Amazon calling your position in the “how many titles are selling more than yours” platform a RANK is misleading a bit. I’m guessing they just couldn’t think of a better term (or Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, is just trying to confuse us all and make us write blogs about it).
Why does my rank fluctuate?
To drive you crazy of course! OK, not really. The rank is generated by a system that is constantly calculating it. However, your rank is reported to you by a system that is not constantly updating you with information that is usable. One minute your book rank is 1,000,000 the next 500,000. So it will change and it won’t make much sense.
How do I know what my rank is then?
Try not to be too fanatical about checking your rank. Think of it like you would a diet where you track weight loss: you want to take an average of a few days because the constant fluctuations can give you a misread of the reality.
If my rank jumps by 100,000, does this mean I’ve sold a bunch of books in a spurt?
No. Sorry. What it means is that you maybe sold 2 books and the 50,000 titles you were behind sold none. There are really a supermillion amount of titles on Amazon. Many of those titles don’t sell. Not a copy. So when you just get started, your one book sale can skyrocket your ranking far and away from those duds. Try not to get too excited about the rank. Focus on the amazingness that you sold a book despite all the competition on Amazon!
So, if I can’t really use rank as an indicator, how can I determine success?
Rank is a good thing to watch because it gives you something you can see to help you determine if your marketing efforts are working … over time. What should you really look at? Book sales. You should be selling more books this month than you did last month. And so on and so on so that you are always making progress … even if it just one book at a time!
What Is an Editorial Analysis and Why Do You Need One?
One of the first steps many of our author manuscripts go through is an Editorial Analysis (for those who want to geek out Wheatmark-style, we call it an EA around the office).
What is an Editorial Analysis and why do you need one?
An Editorial Analysis helps determine what the likely usability of an author’s book, in its current form, will be by identifying its strengths and weaknesses.
The EA is designed to determine if the book is written in a way that will speak to its intended readership, if the book is written with excellent English usage, proper grammar, punctuation, and if it is written in an organized manner. It also looks at how well the book follows Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) formatting. Successful, correctly done books are formatted to a particular style that dictates how parts of the book are formatted, including even how commas are used and where the preface goes.
By having an Editorial Analysis done on your manuscript, it is easy to determine how much more work should be done on the book before it goes to layout. The EA will tell the author what level of copyediting they should have: if they need a light copy edit or maybe a more intensive developmental edit. All which should be done before your book designer begins styling your pages for print.
The Reason You Need An EA and Why You Should Listen
Successful authors have several things going for them. The first step to being a successful author is having an excellent book. This is an area to not let hubris get in the way (and quite often it does). Here are the most frequent excuses we hear for not having a completed EA done and for not listening and acting on the results:
- I’ve already edited my book, it’s fine.
- I had my friend, who is an English teacher, proofread it already.
- No one cares if the commas are CMS formatted.
- Readers will know what I mean. They aren’t stupid.
- I don’t want to spend the money.
First of all, an EA comes with nearly every package that Wheatmark offers, and, if you have one done before committing to a package, that cost will be deducted from your final sign-up fee. The cost of copyediting is more, but the final product will be worth it. It would be a shame to spend money on publishing a book, only to have it not perform because of some elements that could easily have been fixed for a few dollars more.
Two, you and your friend the English teacher are not professional book editors. It isn’t a reflection on your skills, it’s a reflection on how well-trained professional book editors are. They read tons of pages a year and are trained to know what to look for, how to look for it, and how to expertly make the correction.
And thirdly, your readers do actually care about the commas. They may not be fully aware of it, but it will bother them as they scan lines if they have been done incorrectly. Book readers have been trained for decades to expect certain guidelines to be followed and when you ignore that expectation, you frustrate them. It slows them down. Which is also why, just because you think your readers will understand a muddled concept in your book, it will be a hindrance. It will slow your readers down. Slow them down too much and they’ll stop reading the book entirely.
You’ve taken the time and energy to write a book you would like to be a success. Don’t sell it short by not using the resources available to help it be the most excellent book possible!
Brick vs. Click
Brick-and-mortar bookstores are the obvious place to start selling your book, right? Wrong! On top of the problems that publishers bemoan, including heavy discounts, substantial returns, lack of pricing flexibility, and stiff on-shelf competition, brick-and-mortar bookstores are a shrinking sales channel. Brick-and-mortar bookstores now account for less than half of all books sold. And each year sees a further decline in their share of the total book market, a trend which is accelerating!
Luckily, there are plenty of opportunities in other, growing, sales channels. We at Wheatmark recommend that you, the independent author, focus all of your marketing efforts on these channels, particularly the online bookstore channel. Each year online bookstores grab a larger share of the total book market. And, online bookstores are perfect for the independently published book. They offer a level playing field—your book gets equal “shelf placement” with the titles from major publishers. Many publishing houses are slow to take advantage of the cornucopia of marketing opportunities available to target online bookstore shoppers. What an incredible opportunity for the independent author!
Please, take our hard-learned advice and develop a track record of sales elsewhere before trying to tackle the difficult brick-and-mortar bookstore market.
Endorsements: Pros and cons for the self-published book
Many self-published authors fret over not having endorsements for their book. Do you really need endorsements for your book to sell?
It depends.
An endorsement is only as good as the person who wrote it. If the endorsement is from your neighbor whose only claim to fame is the endorsement on your book, it won’t provide the goals of the endorsement.
The goals of endorsements are three-fold.
First off, they establish credibility to buyers saying, “Someone else has read this book.”
Secondly, they offer insight into the quality of the book. For example, one Wheatmark title, The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating has an endorsement by Donald Trump. Yes, that Donald Trump. If The Donald likes it and thinks the book is of value, there is a pretty safe bet that you will not be taking a gamble purchasing it.
Finally, an endorsement is great for comparing your taste to someone else’s. Wheatmark recently released The Big Girls Club where an endorser says that at “one minute I was laughing and the next I was crying,” which backs up the book’s claim to be Sex in the City meets Eckhart Tolle. If you think Sex in the City is a funny but emotional show about women, then you might enjoy the way The Big Girls Club is written.
If an endorsement isn’t by a respected leader of the industry you are trying to tap— a professor, journalist, fellow author, etc.—then the endorsement won’t have the professional weight to add the credibility you need.
Endorsements, when effective, can be a useful tool when selling your book. However, they are not the most important.
For self-published authors, getting quality endorsements can be difficult and expensive. Sending review copies to reviewers and authors who don’t end up endorsing your book can get expensive and emotionally difficult.
One of the best ways to get the good word out about your book if you don’t have strong endorsements is to ask everyone who has read and liked your book to review it on sites like Amazon.com.
Positive reviews can provide leaps and bounds better leverage for sales than a vague endorsement from your Aunt Ida.
Can Your Readers Find You? Provide Author Contact Info
When you publish your book you are entering a conversation with your readers. Because you are starting a conversation, your readers–your conversation partners–will want to get in touch with you and provide you with valuable feedback that will move this conversation along.
You should add your author contact info to your book so your readers could get in touch with you!
We as book publishers receive lots of requests from readers to pass messages on to our authors, which we do as a courtesy to you. This is proof that your readers need to be able to contact you, otherwise it’s just a one-way conversation.
What should you include as contact info?
The single most important contact information you should include in your book is the link to your website. For example, you could say, “To contact Jane Doe, visit her website at http://www.author-janedoe.info.” Naturally, the website would list either phone, email address (email forms are great!), or even a post office box, depending on what level of information you feel comfortable with. Unless you are selling something, email contact should be enough. If any of your contact information changes later, you won’t need to update your book, just update the info on your website.
You don’t have a website or blog? You should have one, but for now include your email address in your book. If you don’t want to give out your personal AOL email that you use to keep in touch with your family and friends, create a special email address just for your readers. For example, your book would say, “To contact Jane Doe, email her at author_janedoe@hotmail.com” or another email address. (Then think about having your own blog or website.)
Where to include contact info?
The best place to include your website or email info is on the back cover. Everybody looks at the back cover when they read a book. Just in case, do include it on the copyright page as well.
Your readers want to get in touch with you, and it would be rude not to let them!
5 Tips for the Short Story Writer
- Know what constitutes a short story. A short story is about 10,000 words. Much longer and it becomes a different animal. You may be asking, “How many page is that?” The answer is, use your word count. When your story goes to layout, it could be just about any amount of page numbers depending on the interior layout style.
- Limit your scope of time or character. A short story is not a lazy novel. In fact, a short story is often harder to write because it is a small package that must remain within its own confines. You shouldn’t try to tell someone’s life story in a short story unless it is about a fruitfly.
- Try to keep your short story time frame as a snippet. Need some back story? Great! But make sure it doesn’t go on and on and on. Another way to limit your scope is through character selection. If you have too many characters actively involved in the story, you may want to reconsider whether you are writing a short story or a novel written in character sections that intertwine.
- Cut the fat. Again. A short story is not a lazy novel. It requires a deliberateness and sparity of language. Make sure you ruthlessly edit your sentences to distill them down to the most important of words that still grab the essence of the character. This doesn’t mean you need to write simplistic sentences fit for a young reader. It means you need to be selective. Ask yourself, “Does this sentence further the story or give some sense of character or plot?” Because if the answer is no, then cut it. If you find yourself explaining every gesture and action of your character, your writing needs tightening up. Recently I read a story that involved tons of dialogue. In each phrase the speaking character said the name of the character they were talking to. It read something like this (names have been changed):
“Jeffrey, will you take the garbage under the sink in the kitchen up to the Dumpster at the top of the hill?”
“Yes, Kathryn, I will take the garbage under the sink in the kitchen up to the Dumpster at the top of the hill?”
Snore! Not only does it take up a ton of space, it is really boring and makes your characters sound like they have been taken over by an alien robot race that has become self-aware.
- Point of view. Authors often try to switch voices within novels. It doesn’t work well there. It definitely won’t work in a short story. Keep your point of view (or POV for the cool kids) limited to one. Either a narrator or a character. It keeps the story clean, the reader focused, and the story easier to tell.
- Is it a short story? As you write, you may find out that your short story is kind of long. With potential to be even longer. Revisit points 1-4 and if you find that your writing is tight, your time frame is fair, and you’ve written excellent deliberate sentences then what you have on your hands is not a short story. It’s a novel. So you the writer needs to make a decision. Fish or cut bait. If you are committed to the short form, rework the story so that it is an excerpt that can stand alone as a short story. You can always expand on it later. Or, go for it. Write that blasted novel you’ve been thinking about!
How to Hire an Illustrator for Your Next Book
Guest article by Gayle Martin
Finding the right illustrator for your next book can be a daunting task. Here are some tips from a former graphic designer to make the process easier.
There are times when clip art just won’t do, and the illustration for your book’s front cover is one of those occasions. If you write children’s books or romance novels an artist’s illustration on the front cover is a must. Those of you who don’t write in those genres may also want to consider having an eye-catching illustration with your front cover. It would give your book unique look, and who wouldn’t want their book to stand out from all the others on bookstore shelves? But how and where do you find a good illustrator?
A good place to start would be with your publisher. When I published my first juvenile novel, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: Luke and Jenny Visit Tombstone, my original publisher hired the illustrator and oversaw the artwork. And while it was convenient having someone else do the legwork for me, I didn’t have the creative control I would have liked. I was able to offer feedback, but in the end the final design decisions were made by someone else.
By the time I finished the manuscript for the next installment in my series I learned the illustrator for my first novel had raised his rates and was no longer within my budget. I had also changed publishers, and my new publisher didn’t have an illustrator to refer me to. Luckily for me, I had been a graphic designer before I became an author, so I knew what to do. But for those of you who don’t have an art background the process of finding the right illustrator can be daunting. Here are some simple steps to help unlock the mystery of finding and working with visual artists.
Before You Begin Looking for an Illustrator
The process of working with an illustrator actually begins when you start writing your manuscript. Think about the visual images you are seeing in your mind as you write and make notes. You could write your thoughts down, or make stick-figure sketches, but get the ideas down while they are still fresh in your mind. Then imagine yourself holding your printed book in your hand.
* Are there any illustrations in the interior? Or is it just the cover?
* Are they color or black and white?
* If you are writing fiction, what do your characters look like?
Note: This is the perfect time to play casting director. As I write I think about the actors I would cast to play my characters. They can be today’s celebrities or movie stars from days gone by – it really doesn’t matter. The purpose is to create a visual reference of what my characters look like.
How to Find an Illustrator
Once you decide you are ready to find an illustrator there are many places where you can begin your search.
* Referrals. Ask other authors for the names of illustrators they have worked with. If you belong to an author or writer e-group post a message that you are looking for an illustrator. Chances are you’ll have many responses.
* Google. I found my illustrator by doing a Google search. I was referred to a web site called http://www.childrensbookillustrators.com There. I found dozens of experienced, professional illustrators listed with their portfolios posted.
* Friends. Just about everyone knows someone who’s ‘an artist,’ and ‘who would just love to illustrate your book.’ But a word of caution here. Before accepting their offer, find out if your friend’s friend is a professional artist, and then review his or her artwork carefully, especially if your book is going to be their first paying job. I know a few folks who are budding artists, and while they have a genuine talent they lack formal training. Their artwork shows potential but doesn’t have the finesse of a professional illustrator. If that’s the look you want then by all means go for it. If not, find a way to politely turn down their offer.
* Art schools. If you are on a tight budget you may want to consider contacting the art department of your local college or university. Better yet, if there is an art college in your community, contact them. Art students, particularly those who are getting ready to graduate, will jump at the chance to have a paid commission in their portfolio. Oftentimes their work is as good of quality as a professional but they mostly likely will not charge as high of a fee.
How to Hire an Illustrator
Now comes the fun part – reviewing their portfolios. I had a unique challenge because I’m writing a series of juvenile novels, and I want the covers of all my books to look consistent. With the illustrator of my first book no longer available to I had to find someone with a similar style. The Internet made the process much easier as many illustrators now have their portfolios on-line. After doing my Google search I spent several days going through portfolios until I found what I was looking for. You may find the following suggestions helpful in your search for an illustrator.
* Review the portfolios. This can be a time consuming process so plan accordingly. Your book cover is an investment of time and money that you could be living with for some time to come, so choose wisely. As you look at different portfolios make a list of those whose work comes the closest to what you had in mind. Once you have your list compete you may want to look over the portfolios again so you can begin narrowing down your search.
* Contact the prospective illustrator(s). This can be done either by phone or by e-mail. Politely introduce yourself and let them know what you are looking for. Also let them know what your budget is. In the world of professional illustrators, $1000 to $2000 for a color rendering for a book cover is a reasonable fee. Some artists may charge more; others may charge less. Some may want you pay a portion of the fee up front, while others may not bill you until the job is complete. No two people work the same, so be sure you have an agreement you are comfortable with before you go any further. If something doesn’t feel right move on. There is no shortage of talented people out there.
How to Work with an Illustrator
The thing I hated the most when I was a graphic designer was the prospective client who didn’t have a clue as to what he or she wanted, but told me once they saw it they would know it. As soon as they said that I knew I was in a no-win scenario because no matter what I did for them it would never be what they wanted. Please do not do this! Graphic designers and illustrators are not mind readers.
* Provide much information as you can. This will go a long way to make their job easier, as well as help create a better working experience both of you. Go back and review those notes or stick-figure sketches you made while you were working on your manuscript. By the time I hired my illustrator I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. My book was a juvenile novel about Billy the Kid, and I wanted my lead characters in the front of the picture looking at the viewer while an ambush took place in the background. This gave my illustrator an excellent starting point.
* Offer him or her the opportunity to read your manuscript. (But do not ask him or her to write a review – that is not their job.)
* Have a fair and reasonable deadline. Creating an illustration is a time consuming process. You will not get a good result if the job is rushed.
* Remember that no one can crawl into your head and see exactly what your mind’s eye sees. The artwork will be his or her interpretation of your idea.
* Rough layouts are just that. They are an indicator of the final artwork, but they are not the finished product. Don’t fret if they lack polish.
* Be clear and upfront about who owns the rights. As a general rule of thumb you will have the rights to use their artwork for your book cover and book promotional materials, such as postcards or bookmarks. But should you decide to use the art for something other than your book you may need to get the artist’s permission.
Take your time and do your research. Find the right illustrator and cultivate a solid, professional relationship with him or her. I found the right artist for my book cover and when the job was done I had a cover illustration that was far better than I expected. Your book’s cover far is too important for anything less.
About Gayle Martin
Gayle Martin is a speaker and author of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: Luke and Jenny Visit Tombstone, the first in a series of historical novels for young readers. She is a member of Toastmasters International, a Candidate member of the Arizona Chapter of the National Speakers Association, the Arizona Author’s Association and Arizona Small Business Association Authors and Speakers Roundtable. http://www.lukeandjennybooks.com
Glossary and Definitions of Publishing Terms
If you are not familiar with some of the common publishing terms, check out this glossary of publishing-related words and phrases.
Acid-free paper: Alkaline paper, free from chemicals that destroy paper. It lasts longer, but costs more and is generally used for library books.
Advance copies: First books sent to those who ordered, requested or were promised a book, generally before the book goes into distribution.
Alignment: The position of text lines on a page. Left alignment means that the left margin of each line down the page is even, and that the right margin is ragged or uneven; right alignment means that the right margin is even down the page, and the left margin is ragged or uneven. Alignment can also refer to margins being justified, which refers to both left and right margins being even down the page, causing extra spacing between words when necessary. Center alignment means that the lines of text are centered down the middle of the page.
Artwork or illustration: Visual material, such as drawings, pictures, and photographs, used to explain, clarify or decorate text
Back matter: Printed material found in the back of the book after the main section of the book. This includes the appendix, the bibliography, the index and other related matter.
Bar code: The bar code is the ISBN number transferred into a worldwide compatible optical character recognition (OCR) form, the scannable image that identifies the title, author and publisher of the book. See “EAN Bookland bar code”
Binding: The back and front covers and the spine that hold the pages of the book together.
Bluelines: The printer’s photocopy or blue print mock-up of the book’s pages. These are used to detect errors and make corrections.
Body copy: The main section of the book.
Body text: The typed portion of a page, excluding the headline.
Boldface: Words or phrases in heavier and darker print used for emphasis.
Book manufacturing: The complete production of assembling a book, printing, binding and packing.
Book signing: An event where the author reads, talks or discusses his/her book, providing an opportunity for potential buyers to meet the author and to have a copy of the book personally signed, usually held at bookstores or book fairs.
Bulk: Pages of the book per inch without the cover.
Camera-ready copy: The manuscript typeset and prepared for reproduction as is.
Cataloging in Publication data (CIP): Card catalog information printed on the copyright page; a service provided by the Library of Congress for books extensively used in libraries.
Clip art: Uncopyrighted drawings and pictures intended to be cut and pasted in printed material.
Coated paper: Chemically treated paper providing a glossy or matte finish used to enhance brightness.
Copyright: A legal notice that protects “original works of authorship” both published and unpublished, that are expressed in a tangible form, but not the ideas themselves.
Crop marks: Lines or markings on a camera-ready manuscript indicating where the pages will be trimmed after printing.
Direct mail: Form of advertising books by sending information (usually as a brochure or flyer) directly to possible buyers and clients.
Distributor: A company that, for a fee, represents publishers by handling the warehousing and shipping of books to bookstores and libraries. They sometimes request an exclusive relationship with publishers and serve as the source for wholesalers.
DRM: It stands for Digital Rights Management, which uses usually uses some form of encryption to protect intellectual property from copyright infringement.
EAN Bookland bar code: The electronic scanning lines printed on the back cover or book jacket encoded with the ISBN and retail price.
eBook: Sometimes presented as Ebook or EBook, the term refers to a book that is available in electronic format. Usually eBooks are available in Adobe PDF or eBook Reader format, or in Microsoft’s LIT format, but there are many other formats available. A good eBook uses the technology effectively, with tables of contents that link to the correct chapters and search capabilities. Links to Web sites and other files also can be included.
Font: A particular typeface in a specific point size.
Foreword: Introductory remarks to the book written by someone other than the author.
Front matter: Printed material found in the front of the book before the actual body copy starts. It includes title and copyright pages, dedication, foreword, preface, table of contents, etc.
Frontispiece: An illustration placed before the first pages of a book. Usually faces the title page.
Fulfillment house: A company that handles the entire ordering process for books, such as storing, packing, mailing, maintaining records, and other business related operations for the author or publisher.
Galley proof: The typeset composition of uncorrected pages before formatted into a book, allowing the reader to detect errors. A galley copy can be inexpensively bound and sent to reviewers before publication.
Gutter: The white space formed by the inner margins of two facing pages.
Header: A caption or headline used to introduce chapters, sections or a new topic, usually in larger and bolder typeface than the body text.
Independent publisher: Someone who establishes a small press publishing house with the intention of self-publishing his/her own works; also can accept other authors’ manuscripts for publication.
ISBN: Literally, it stands for “International Standard Book Number.” A worldwide identification system that is a required element in the book distribution industry.
Justify: Positioned lines of text so that the left and right margins are evenly set down the side of a page.
Layout: The overall design or mock-up of a page, including typeface, headlines, page number, and visuals showing how the page will look when printed; a guide for the printer.
LCCN: Established in 1901, a numbering system that lists forthcoming publications; this collection of selected titles is used by most public and private libraries, researchers and bibliographers. It stands for Library of Congress Control Number.
Manuscript: An author’s written material prepared for publication.
Marketing: The business of advertising, promoting and selling books to the public and to distributors.
Media kit: Well-planned promotional materials, such as press releases, flyers, letters, and reviews used for announcing and circulating information about a forthcoming book.
Niche market: Tailoring subject material to a specific area of demand or particular interest, such as topical and regional books.
Offset: The light image of transferred ink or an imprint that comes from an adjoining text page or illustration, or an inserted paper.
Overrun: To print a larger quantity of books than ordered. Printers estimate a 10 percent spoilage. If this does not occur, the additional books are charged to the customer but only up to 10 percent.
Perfect bound: A binding method that uses plastic glue to bind the loose leaves to book cover.
Prepress: The book designer’s or printer’s preparation of the manuscript for production.
Press release: An announcement issued to the news media and other targeted publications.
Printer’s errors: Mistakes made during the printing process, such as ink blots or smudges on pages. Also corrections or changes made because of some error on the part of the printer. The publisher should be compensated for printer’s errors.
Print on demand: The technical capability to print and bind books in small quantities—even one at a time—as markets demand.
Publicist: Someone who customizes promotional materials for a given book; may also assist in arranging public appearances and interviews.
Remainder: Books that are discounted from the publisher because of overprinting, sluggish sales, or outdated material.
Retail: The sale of books at full price directly to the public.
Sans serif: Typeface that is straight with no serifs or small extensions on letters, generally used for headers.
Self-publish: One’s written works made public by oneself.
Serif: The fine line that extends from the top and bottom of letters making them easier to read, used for the body text of a book.
Signature: Large sheets of paper printed in multiples of four that when folded and trimmed become the pages in the book.
SAN: It stands for “Standard Account Number.” A number assigned to libraries, schools and organizations that buy, sell or lend books.
Stripping: Positioning all the pieces of the layout on large sheets of paper to construct the templates.
Target audience: An identified group of readers who would most likely be interested in a book’s particular subject matter.
Title page: Odd-numbered page at the beginning of the book that gives the title, subtitle, author’s name, publisher and place of publication.
Typeface: The style of typed letters used for the body text.
Underrun: To receive fewer books than ordered. This may occur because of spoilage during printing or printer’s error.
Wholesaler: A company that handles the resale of books in large quantities and serves booksellers (distributors work on behalf of publishers).
Much of the content of this glossary was adapted from Go Ahead Self-Publish!, compiled and edited by Eileen Birin.
Dialogue Dilemma
As a Wheatmark book editor, I’ve noticed that one of the most common hindrances to good writing happens in dialogue. In many cases, dialogue comes across sounding unnatural, stilted, and sometimes even downright corny (jeepers, Mr. Wilson). The dialogue dilemma seems to challenge even the best writers I come into contact with. So I thought I’d add my two cents worth into the pot on how to improve dialogue.
As a former reporter, I used to rely on dialogue (or quotes, as we newspaper people like to call it) to help break up a story and bring more personality into the news. I usually tried to put a good, catchy quote right after the lead paragraph as a “hook after the hook.” If the quote was good enough, I sometimes even led with it. Of course, there’s a huge difference between newspapers and books, but some of the same principles still apply. Dialogue is a great way to add more life to your book. It also helps the reader get know your characters and their personalities by showing the reader their personalities instead of just telling about them.
When done incorrectly, however, dialogue can become your book’s worst enemy. Here are a few tips that may help you create better dialogue.
1. Make your dialogue sound natural. People talk in contractions and slang. So make sure the dialogue in your book uses these. It may help to read your dialogue out loud to see if it sounds natural to you and your friends. And don’t forget about the idiosyncrasies of human interactions when your characters speak. For example, people don’t always pay strict attention to every word that’s coming out of your mouth when you’re talking to them. Often, they cling to one aspect of what you’re trying to say and then take that portion of dialogue and start a new train of thought. Sometimes they change the subject altogether. And sometimes they’re not even listening. Incorporating these idiosyncrasies of normal human behavior into your book’s dialogue will help your make-believe world become real in your reader’s mind.
2. Make sure your dialogue matches the personality of your character. If you’re a 70-plus-year-old who is writing for young adults, you should probably spend some serious time around young adults before writing your book. They don’t talk like you used to talk when you were their age. The slang has changed, along with the meanings of certain words. Their issues have changed, too. If you don’t have any young adults that will let you “hang” with them, it may help to watch some teen oriented movies and read other popular books for young adults. The same thing goes for your elderly characters—they shouldn’t sound like teenagers. And make sure that your characters carry the same personality in their dialogue throughout the entire length of the book. A college professor shouldn’t start to sound like a Midwestern farmer halfway through the book. Consistency is very important for the reader to get to know your characters and begin to identify with them.
3. Don’t use dialogue to provide information that wouldn’t be natural in a normal conversation. For example, dialogue is not the best venue to provide your readers with background information for the story. Except in limited circumstances, dialogue is also not the place to tell your reader who is talking. I cringe every time I read something like this:
“Well, Steve, I was thinking the same thing, but…”
Do people really say each other’s names in dialogue? Pay attention the next time you’re in a conversation. They hardly ever do, unless they want to get your attention or emphasize the name for a specific reason.
4. Don’t be afraid of the word “said.” Said is a word like and, is, to, and a. It’s hard to overuse. In fact, it actually helps the reader focus on the dialogue, and not on the mechanics around the dialogue, if you do use it. If you try to avoid overusing said by replacing it with words like exclaims, mused, and protested, you may distract the reader away from the dialogue. This doesn’t mean you should never use these fancier words. It only means that they should be used sparingly when there is darn good reason to use them. And that “darn good reason” is not to avoid using the word said. The dialogue itself should tell the reader that the character is “musing” or “exclaiming.” If it doesn’t, then you probably have a problem with your dialogue.
5. Keep your dialogue short. People don’t often launch into long, uninterrupted quotes unless they’re telling a story. Long-winded dialogue also defeats one of the main purposes of having dialogue included in your book: to break up the rhythm of the writing so that it is more enjoyable and interesting to read.
6. Punctuate it right. Novice authors often get confused about how to punctuate dialogue. Periods and commas always go inside quotes. This even applies when only the last portion of the sentence is dialogue. For example:
Pete shifted his weight and squawked in a hoarse whisper, “You don’t understand.”
Different speakers should also be in separate paragraphs—even when they are talking about the same subject. This helps the reader identify that a different person is talking.
That’s all the dialogue issues I can come up with for today. If you think of any others—or have any questions—please post your comments and questions. I’d love to hear from you.
—Lori Leavitt
Wheatmark book editor and designer
Nonexclusive Publishing Contract: What It Means to You
Wheatmark’s publishing agreement is nonexclusive. What does it mean to you, the author?
In short it means you are not locked into an exclusive contract; you are free to cancel or publish elsewhere at the same time.
Let’s say you have been publishing your book with Wheatmark for a while, and you have an opportunity to get thousands of copies of your book printed cheaply by a different printer, say, a printer in Hong Kong or even one in the United States. You still want to keep selling your book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble using Wheatmark’s book distribution system, but you just don’t want to pass up the opportunity to get thousands of copies for a better price. The good news is that you can do both: publish your book with Wheatmark and have extra copies printed by different printers. Because our publishing contract is nonexclusive, you have the freedom to do so.
Now, what happens if, some time after you publish your book with Wheatmark, a New York publishing house calls you and they want to publish your book?
Most likely they will want you to sell your book to them in return for exclusive rights. They would want to make sure that no other publisher or printer would be able to sell or print your book. This, too, is possible when you are publishing your book with us: you can cancel the publishing agreement with us at any time.
When you hear nonexclusive, think freedom!