Stand Out

If the A to Z Challenge is going well for you lots of new people have visited your blog. What have you done to make sure your blog Stands Out?

People will come back again and again to your blog if you offer them quality content. Are your posts helpful in someway? Is your content entertaining? Do you write with a unique voice or is your content something different? What reason have you given visitors to return to your blog?

What are some other ways to Stand Out? Perhaps you provide lots of links to great sites. Perhaps you do a mix of announcements, reviews and other interesting tidbits. You might offer expert advice on promotion, finding reviews or the writing process.

What kind of things make a blog Stand Out to you? Have you found some outstanding blogs during the challenge you intend to visit again and again? How does your blog Stand Out?

Don't forget to visit the IWSG Facebook page and enjoy the links. You can find my blog at Susan Says where I'll be sharing world building tips.

Susan Gourley writes epic fantasy and also write romance as Susan Kelley.

Reviewers

If you’re with a traditional publisher, they usually send out the review copies to pre-publication reviewers such as Publisher’s Weekly, Foreword Magazine, Kirkus, Library Journal, New York Times, LA Times, ALA Booklist, Bookpage, Horn Books, etc. You can also coordinate with your publisher to find more review options.

Self-published authors often don’t have access to pre-pub reviewers, but there are many options out there:

Do a Google search for websites and book bloggers who review your genre.

Look for trade magazines and contact other authors in your genre.

Midwest Book Reviews is a major reviewer who accepts self-published books.

Sites that list reviewers -
EBook Crossroads - database of reviewers, includign those for audio books.
FSB Media - very large database of book bloggers, search by genre.
Book Blogger List - database of book bloggers, search by genre.
Book Review Blogs - database of book bloggers, search by genre.
Step by Step Self Publishing - list of reviewers for self-published books.
The Indie View - list of reviewers for self-published books.

Some tips when sending out review copies:

Send out books before the publication date if at all possible.

Include a review slip on the inside of the cover flap that lists title, author, ISBN, publisher information, genre, formats, page count, and distributors/wholesalers.

Query first before submitting an E-book as an attachment.

Budget! How many print review copies can you afford to send?

Set up a Google Alert for your name and book title to catch online reviews.

Avoid paying for a review.

Any questions?

Q is for Quarantine

Have you ever thought about putting your main characters under quarantine? Not because of illness, but simply to isolate him/her from other characters while learning about them.

It’s easier to unearth the emotional and motivational stuff that’s hidden deep inside our characters for the purpose of crafting a better story. Imagine you have your character in a private room, free of distraction and that he/she is relaxed and open to a frank discussion.

If, for example, your book has romantic overtones, there are some questions that would be important to ask. (For the sake of this exercise, the main character will be A and the secondary ones will be Character B, and so on.)

·         How does Character A feel about Character B?

·         Does A know why he feels this way about B?

·         What, if anything, would change A’s feelings about B?

·         Does B have any character traits that A can’t stand?

·         How does A feel about being in a long term relationship with B?

·         How would A feel if he never saw B again?

·         How does being with B affect A’s behaviour?

·         How does A’s relationship with B make him feel about himself?

·         Does A recognize how his attitude changes toward other characters as the story progresses?

·         Ask yourself whether the storyline improves/falters if you add/remove secondary characters.

Bear in mind that the answers to the questions above may surprise you and can send the story sailing into uncharted waters. However, I think it is important to explore in several directions as the answers you get may open up fascinating plot lines, or perhaps the information that’s revealed can be used in another novel.

What other questions can you think of to ask your character/s about their relationship with other people in your story?