WHAT EVERY AUTHOR MUST KNOW ABOUT THEIR BOOK

In my new position, I now have writers calling me with questions. I even got an email from a writer in Thailand last week. And I love giving encouragement and advice, but that's kinda hard to do when the writer can't explain their manuscript to me. For example, if I ask, "What audience does your book appeal to?" I don't want to hear, "It's really a book for all ages. There's something for everybody in it." That tells me nothing, and it's comes off as a little arrogant. So...

Genre--What category of books would your book be shelved with at Barnes and Noble?

Word Count--Give at least an estimate if your not finished writing it yet. For a novel, aim between 75,000 and 100,000 words no matter how much you want to be like Stephanie Meyer.

Audience--What kind of person will you be marketing your book to? Ask yourself, "If I were going to put a commercial for my book on television, what time slots or T.V. shows would I want to run it during?" (Answering with "the Super Bowl" doesn't count.) Now, that's your audience.

Pitch Line--Describe your book in one sentence. Basically, what does your protagonist want more than anything in the world, what is keeping him/her from it, and what does he/she have to do to get it? Imagine you are on an elevator with me and you have to sell me your book before I get off. What is going to hook my interest and make me remember your idea in that short amount of time?

Comparable Titles--What other books are out there like yours? And don't tell me your idea has never been done before. It's all been done before, though hopefully you've given the subject a unique twist. Know your competition. Know what other books are going to appeal to the audience you are aiming for. These should be the books that appeal to you too.

Bio--Why are you the one who needs to write this book? What qualifies you or makes you passionate about the subject?

If you haven't analyzed these aspects of your writing before, it'll be a great exercise for you in narrowing your focus and really finding out more about yourself and your work. And when you get it all figured out, give me a call.