Month: July 2019

July 18, 2019 Quote

HOW TO CREATE A GREAT TAGLINE

Someday the years of struggle
will strike you as the most beautiful
SIGMUND FREUD

Why use a Tagline for your latest Novel?  Because it gives your reader more information about you and about your book.  It is different from the short synopsis you place on the back cover. The tagline is a great way to hook the interest of readers who have little time, and the online surfers, who usually allow ten seconds to read it, become interested and buy it.  Authors use Taglines for their books—Advertisers use Taglines for marketing products, and Movies have had Taglines since the early 1900’s.

These marketing slogans have proven their worth by lasting years and years, without change. Here are a few advertising Taglines still in use:  “KFC’s “Finger Lickin’ Good”, Wheaties, “Breakfast of Champions, and the one for the Army: “Be all you can be”.

The first movie released with a tagline was a Poster designed by Jules Cheret, a Frenchman, promoting a short film in 1890.   In 1895, they depicted an actual Train Scene from the film “Arrival of a train”.  In 1910, the studios produced their own, with special border art, titles, Studio logos, and “slogans” or Taglines.  Did you know the Number One Tagline from all Movies is 1979’s “ALIEN”—“In space, no one can hear you scream.”   

    To continue,—you need a Tagline for your novel. Let us assume your novel is a love story. Here are a few thoughts that will make a tagline effective.

  What is the conflict or basis of the story (love or career)—what is the meaning of your story (can she do both?)—Emphasize an important quality of your character (Determined, stubborn)—Highlight something distinctive about the novel (does love win?)—Inspire the reader’s curiosity, by not telling all, but just enough to interest them—the genre of the novel? (Romance, Young Adult).

  Start each word with the same letter: Example, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.

Rhyming:  Love came to her in a dream…but was it all a scheme? The tagline tells you it is a love story, with a mysterious character, and it may not turn out well.

Try a short, dynamic tagline like: “Love hurts.”  Sometimes the shorter the tagline, the more interest in your book, and the urge to buy it.

If you quote something in the novel, maybe what your character says, use it as a Tagline. Your fans will recognize it and the result will be an increased enthusiasm for your book.           

Because of the importance of your Tagline, you may want to enlist the help of someone.

However, whatever you do, keep trying new combinations until the right one is found.

Here’s to a successful TAGLINE, Paula

July 13, 2019

TOO MUCH ADVICE?

                                                                        

                                               IS IT GOOD OR BAD ADVICE?

In the latest issue of “Writers Digest” is an article by Jeff Somers, I had to pass on to my readers. I can only cover some of his topics due to the length.

As writers, we carefully edit our manuscript, correcting any mistakes, and pay special attention to correct punctuation, wording, etc. before releasing it for publication.  Many of us, including myself, seek the opinions of friends, family, authors, and volunteers willing to read the novel, as the last check before submission.

In addition to the opinions of my family and friends, I read everything I found by those I considered authorities, but I was confused and conflicted about different interpretations of the same advice. In the back of my head was the same question until I read this wonderful Article.

QUESTION: When is it okay to NOT follow the advice given you by others, Read below what Jeff  Somers wrote about “THE RULES’.

  1. WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW:  Write what you know was not meant to reject your imagination.  You can write about stuff you know nothing about— just write a story you want to read.
  • SHOW DON’T TELL: When showing injects unnecessary verbosity, don’t.  That rule implies that “telling” is Lazy, while showing takes real talent. You need to balance the showing and the telling, 
  • WRITE EVERY DAY:  The discipline of working regularly is good and stops you from being one of those who talks about writing but never does. But, not all can write every day.  Think of it as a goal, not a requirement.
  • KILL YOUR DARLINGS:It is probably the most misunderstood and misapplied piece of writing advice in the history of writing. Don’t delete writing you like and never look back.
  • INVEST IN A THESAURUS: Having a large vocabulary as an author is great—but it’s only half the battle. You need to feel comfortable, and your word choices should fit your characters.
  • NEVER WRITE A PROLOGUE:The implication is that you are an amateur. In reality it is possible to pull off a prologue, but you need purpose.
  • AVOID THE PASSIVE VOICE: Yes, it is grammatically correct, and we are told it is lazy writing. However, there are forms of passive that are acceptable and necessary.

 I hope the above encourages you to subscribe to this wonderful magazine and read the entire article.

Happy writing, Paula