Book Cover Coaching: Writing Books With Blogs

Google News Alert for:
Book Titles and Subtitles

By Susan Kendrick

Google News Alerts are a regular feature on this blog. Subscribe now (see form on left) to get these News Alerts and the commentary you will find only at "Book Cover Coaching."

PR.com -- Seattle, WA, October 21, 2007
Tom Masters, Orion Wellspring, Inc.

“Blooks” Are in Bloom: Author Helps Writers Go from Blog to Book
"Authors are discovering that blogging offers them a new way to create their work, build a readership, and land a book deal."

What this Google News Alert means for you
The reason that this PR.com article came up as a Google News Alert under "Book Titles and Subtitles," is because of this quote in the article:

" . . . blogs share many structural similarities with books: title, subtitle, table of contents (categories) and topic-focused content (posts)."

The article shows that a blog is a "parallel universe" for your book--a place to write, expand, research, try out ideas, and create a valuable body of work. And, with a blog you are doing all that for actual readers, people who read your blog. Writing to your target audience becomes a real thing, not just an exercise in visualization. Also, in line with our advice here at "Book Cover Coaching," the article shows that working out your title and subtitle is as much a part of the development process for your book as creating the content itself. And, of course, to that we would add that developing your back cover sales copy is also part of that process.

Which came first, the cover or the book?
The answer should be "Both." Your title, subtitle, and back cover sales copy are all things you can be working on before you write your book and certainly at the same time you are developing your book content. This does two things:

(1.) The outside influences the inside, and vice versa. Your book cover is a great place to focus your goals for your book, what it will offer your readers, and how it will stand out in its market. For example, if you envision telling your readers on the cover of your book that you have 9 ways to help them solve a problem or achieve something really amazing in their lives, you can structure the book into those nine chapters, or make that a central chapter in the book. The same goes for including helpful checklists, website addresses, exercises, interviews with other experts on your topic, etc. How you want to position the book informs how you write the book, and how you write the book determines what you can say about it on the cover to get people to buy it.

(2.) Developing your cover as your write your book enables you to have your front cover and your back cover sales copy ready to go before your book is released. And, this lets you promote and sell your book before it's released! Why wait to start getting paid for your expertise as an author? To see examples of authors who are doing this--on their websites and on Amazon--go to: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=664602.

How to start a blog
If you haven't already, I hope you will start a blog to make writing your book (and developing your book cover title, subtitle, and back cover sales copy) easier and more rewarding right from the start. Here are three good blogging options to consider:

http://www.blogger.com/

http://www.typepad.com/

http://www.wordpress.com/

See this Google News Alert on Book Titles and Subtitles in its entirety at:
http://www.pr.com/press-release/57032

Questions? Please give us a at 715-634-4120 or email info@WriteToYourMarket.com

© Copyright 2007, Susan Kendrick, Write to Your Market, Inc.
http://www.writetoyourmarket.com
715-634-4120