Our Indie Scriptorium Team has been busy this week preparing for a fantastic local author event, Wordfest. If you happen to be in Adelaide, come to Woodcroft Library, 3 to 7pm this Tuesday September 10.
Indie Scriptorium Self-Publishing Collective Anthology 2024 will be available in print from this date.
As well as the anthology, we will be selling our print copies of our books which include:
A synopsis is like describing a photo and including every detail that the eye beholds in a couple of paragraphs. It has to be succinct, engaging and include the style and themes of the novel. A pitch is a very short synopsis. An elevator pitch even shorter.
A synopsis is mostly used to sell your novel to an agent or a publisher. It is also useful to summarise your novel for presentations and marketing. However, don’t use a synopsis with potential readers or you will be giving away too much information.
My critique group has recently tackled the difficult issue of writing a synopsis and it spurred me on to revisit this topic. A 300–800-word synopsis is a document that sells your work, hooks the agent/publisher and gets your manuscript out of the slush pile.
So, where do you begin? Start by defining what is happening (the status quo). Bring in the inciting incident, the developments leading to the crisis and finish with the resolution of the crisis.
When writing a synopsis, it is important to include:
A clear outline of your plot including the hook at the beginning, big moments in the narrative, plot twists and the ending. You are giving the publisher/agent a full account of your novel so don’t hide anything as they want to know everything and especially that you have a satisfying ending.
You should give a description of your main protagonists and reveal how they change and grow throughout the book. Character names can be underlined or made bold, so their importance is shown.
Start your synopsis with a strong hook.
Showcase how your novel is different with strong themes and unique ideas.
Write the synopsis in the 3rd person, present tense and use clear, easily read sentences with immaculate grammar and spelling.
Make sure the synopsis document contains your name, the title and synopsis so it is easily found by the agent/publisher.
Also include the genre, word count and who you think will be your readers.
Of course you cannot possibly publish the synopsis for your own novels. So, I decided to do a synopsis of a book that most people have read or know the ending through multiple movies and television shows. With abject apologies to Jane Austen, I will attempt a synopsis of Pride and Prejudice.
Pride and Prejudice – Long Synopsis (462 words)
A historical romantic novel of 122,189 words. Suitable for readers of refined literature.
Elizabeth Bennett (Lizzy) is the second eldest of five unmarried sisters whose financial circumstances leaves them all in the unenviable position of needing to marry into money. Lizzy is bold, intelligent, reads extensively and declares she will not marry unless in love.
Mr Darcy an extremely rich, handsome, gentleman accompanies his friend Mr Bingley to Netherfield. The arrival of two eligible men rouses excitement in the Bennett household. While Bingley forms an attachment to older sister Jane, Lizzy quickly concludes that Darcy is cold and proud, and she spurns him despite his large fortune.
Jane and Bingley fall in love and a proposal is expected, then Bingley mysteriously leaves for London. Jane is heartbroken and Lizzy incensed by her sister’s rejection. Her anger intensifies when she is expected to marry her cousin, the incorrigible Mr Collins. She refuses and Mr Collins finds solace with Lizzy’s best friend.
The arrival of the militia to the district brightens the lives of the Bennett sisters. Lizzy meets Wickham an exceedingly handsome but poor Lieutenant and the son of Darcy’s late steward. Wickham accuses Darcy of cheating him out of a legacy. This firms Lizzy’s prejudice against Darcy.
While visiting Mr and Mrs Collins, Lizzy again encounters Darcy who is visiting his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bough. Lizzy is discombobulated to receive an ill-considered marriage proposal from Darcy. She angrily rejects him because he admits that he stopped Bingley marrying her sister.
Darcy realises too late that he has fallen in love with Lizzy. He makes such a hash of his proposal that he fears he has lost any chance of overcoming her prejudice. He does warn her about the sleezy Wickham who’d tried to elope with his younger sister.
An unexpected holiday in Derbyshire with her uncle and aunt allows Lizzy to visit Pemberton, Darcy’s stately home. She is mortified when Darcy arrives and finds her there. This second chance allows Darcy to reveal his love and admiration for Lizzy and her preconceptions mellow. During this renewed courtship Lizzy learns her youngest sister Lydia has absconded with Wickham and her family face ruin. Darcy forsakes Lizzy and their romance seems doomed.
But Darcy searches for, and makes Wickham marry Lydia. He apologises to Bingley for interfering in his courtship and encourages him propose to Jane. Bingley proposes and Jane accepts. Darcy’s actions prove to Lizzy that he loves her.
A visit from the formidable Lady Catherine de Bough, warns Lizzy that Darcy is contemplating marrying her against his family’s wishes. Lady Catherine claims Darcy is engaged to her daughter and demands Lizzy reject her nephew. Lizzy refuses and realises she has fallen in love with Darcy. When he proposes she gladly accepts.
Short Synopsis – 256 words
Historical romantic novel. 122,189 words.
When Mr Bingley brings his friend Mr Darcy to his new country house, Mrs Bennett expects one of them will marry one of her five unmarried daughters. Jane and Mr Bingley are attracted but Lizzy finds Darcy’s proud contempt insufferable.
Jane is jilted by Bingley leaving Lizzy incensed. Her mood intensifies when she is expected to marry her odious cousin, Mr Collins. Despite Mrs Bennett’s pressure, Lizzy resists, Mr Collins and he marries her best friend instead.
The arrival of the militia to the district brightens the lives of the Bennett sisters. Lizzy is attracted to Lieutenant Wickham, the poor son of Darcy’s steward. Learning that Darcy withheld an inheritance from Wickham firms Lizzy’s prejudice.
A visit to Mr and Mrs Collins forces Lizzy to again spend time with Darcy. He’s fallen in love and proposes but his admission that he stopped Bingley marrying Jane ruins his chances. He warns Lizzy Mr Wickham has a penchant for very young girls.
While holidaying in Derbyshire with her aunt and uncle, Lizzy visits the Darcy stately home. Darcy arrives unexpectedly and Lizzy is mortified but this second chance allows Darcy to court Lizzy. Her preconceptions mellow. Just as the romance blossoms Lizzy learns that Wickham has run off with her youngest sister. This means ruination for her family and Darcy abandons Lizzy.
But Darcy searches for Wickham and makes him marry Lizzy’s sister. He encourages Bingley to propose to Jane. His actions prove his love for Lizzy. When he proposes she gladly accepts.
Elevator Pitch – 19 words
A regency romance revealing that first impressions can be misleading and true love can overcome both pride and prejudice.
Shorter Elevator pitch – 3 words.
Love overcomes prejudice.
Jericho Writers has an excellent web site: How to Write a Novel Synopsis. It includes step by step instructions and clear guidelines.
As a member of Indie Scriptorium one of our duties is to write and publish blogs on aspects of writing, editing, publishing or marketing every three weeks. Two years later we are doing a review of our blogs with the idea of putting them into an anthology.
As we currently only have three members the task of blogging has proved to be onerous. We would love to have some new members but …. Coming up with a topic, doing the research, writing 500-1000 words that make sense can be challenging. Making sure the blog is professionally written, properly edited and provides valuable information can be time consuming.
Indie Scriptorium has posted over a hundred blogs in two years. We have a following of 70 people and occasionally get positive feedback with likes from Facebook. Friends from my writing groups have also said they read the blogs and find them helpful. Yay.
But is the time and effort worthwhile for a busy writer who would rather be working on their next novel or short story?
I was recently asked where I find the time to blog? I responded without thinking. Oh, it’s a pain but I actually get a lot out of blogging. And on reflection that is true.
Doing a regular blog means that I am constantly researching writing skills, how to edit, what steps do you need to do to publish a book do a cover and burb, write a synopsis and market a book. (I need to do more research on this topic) In addition I have learnt about the legal, moral and technical issues to do with writing.
Looking back, I’ve realised that blogging has improved my writing style, made me a better editor and critique partner, has got me two books published and will in the future get my books marketed. The blogs have been like a course in creative writing, done with good friends and we have people who find our efforts helpful. We also will have a book of blogs later in the year for people to buy in the near future. That’s enough good reasons to keep me going.
[After another debacle involving technology last Friday which sent the world into a tailspin, I have brought Elsie King’s “rant”, I mean, reflections on her tussle with technology, forward one week. It was my turn, but after my own wrangling with Windows 11 in the midst of the aforementioned debacle, while producing my art group’s newsletter, I had had enough for one week…so here’s Elsie’s take on technology. ~ Lee-Anne Marie Kling ]
Technology Roadblocks
I came to computing later in life. When I went to university, we didn’t have computers and had to do all our research in libraries from books or journals. I wrote my first novel on an electric typewriter. I probably bought my first computer when I was in my forties.
I started using computers at work, then got a home computer and I slowly got more confident at using one. Then came the smart phones, social media, Google, on-line banking and passwords, passwords, passwords.
Sometimes it feels you only have to blink and something new appears. We now have AI and everything is linked and we can talk to technology and get our heater turned on when we are on the bus home. It seems to me that younger people who grew up with technology fare better with these rapid changes, better than people who didn’t.
Technology makes so many things easier for an author. Research is amazingly fast, getting a book self-published to Amazon, a website on WIX or having an author page is complex but doable. However, technology can also cause so many problems for the unwary.
I have recently self-published my second novelA Suitable Bride. It should have been a joyous occasion but problems with the technology wasted my time and caused distress. My first problem occurred when I decided to get an author page on Meta (I still call it Facebook). I set up one, was happy with the result but then tried to publish my blog from my website on the new author page. Didn’t work.
I’ve never had problems before with uploading a blog to Facebook and I needed to blog to market my new novel. I tried to sort it out with Meta but had no idea what the first step was. I found out the new Facebook business page is set up for marketing and once they have you hooked, they won’t easily let you go. I googled, explored my Facebook account and got into a chat line but couldn’t find the delete button. After hours of wasted time, a friend suggested I try unsubscribing. Finally, back to my old classic Facebook page.
Tried again to get my WIX website blog onto Facebook. No luck. After many wasted hours I found a phone number. Yay a lifeline for the technologically challenged. WIX represented by Jerry in America proved to be magnificent. I’m on an Apple she was on a PC which brought in another level of complication but after an hour we got it sorted. However, a week later and another blog and couldn’t post it again. Back to WIX helpline when I have the time.
My third technology glitch occurred when I uploaded my novel to Amazon. I have previously published with Kindle Direct Publishing, and I have sold a few copies of my novel on-line. I have a wonderful ASIN link for my first novel A Suitable Heirhttps://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CB52VT16
It works. Try it, just press the link and like magic you get to the Amazon page, and you can purchase my novel. Yay.
I was provided with another link for my second novel A Suitable Bride
And guess what? It doesn’t work.
I have no idea why? I have no idea how to fix it and finding help that doesn’t go round and round in a useless chat appears to be beyond Amazon.
IF ANYONE WHO READS THIS CAN HELP, PLEASE MAKE A COMMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG.
Not being able to get usable links for my book means readers who want an e-book from Amazon can’t be linked from my website. I have been invited to release my book on various platforms but as I don’t have a usable link, I’ve put on-line marketing on hold and I’m concentrating physical book sales of author copies for family and friends.
You can get a print copy and an e-book through Draft2Digital whose links work worldwide. So, if you wish to order A Suitable Bride, please use the D2d link.
Thanks, Draft2digital because your link is working just fine.
Modern technology is brilliant and awful. When it works well it is time saving, easy and helps authors get their stories and ideas into print. When something goes wrong it is a time- wasting nightmare and definitely acts as a roadblock when trying to market your book. The services for getting help are difficult to negotiate and much of the language and instructions used expects a much higher level of computer competence than is available to this little black duck. I will keep on trying to sort this out, but it has been a series of roadblocks that is making my journey much more difficult than expected.
[Our Indie Scriptorium team have been putting together an anthology of some of our posts over the last two years. As I hunted around my messy computer filing-system for a number of these cheeky posts that went hiding, I came across this gem that somehow got buried in the vast layers of time. Amazing what one finds when searching for something else. So, with a few changes, here it is…Enjoy and be encouraged.]
BURIED GOLD
People spend their lives building their own kingdoms. As creators, we often measure success by how far our name-brand spreads over the “Empire” of the internet, world, community, and how much “gold” (money) we’ve amassed through the sale of our product.
When I first started exhibiting my paintings, friends, family, and fellow artists asked, ‘Have you sold?’ and ‘How many paintings have you sold?’
The fact that I had sold made me an authentic artist.
Same can be true as an author of two self-published works of fiction. Again, like a broken record, those interested asked, ‘How many books have you sold?’
Answer, ‘Er, um…not that many.’
Then the implication I should have gone through the traditional route of getting a publisher.
Yup, maybe, probably…still deciding if I’ll do that with future books, especially the travel ones that have colour photos on glossy pages—the coffee-table variety. Not sure how I’d go…I mean, I’m not an unpublished “virgin” since I’ve gone ahead and self-published on Amazon. I got impatient, afraid I’d remain invisible with a pile of rejection letters, and my novel manuscripts languishing as a PDF-file on my computer hard-drive (the hard copies stored in a box in my closet).
So, I published The Hitch-hiker (a novella) and Mission of the Unwilling(novel), on Amazon. Check them out. You can download them for the cost of a cup of coffee and find out what mischief Boris gets up to.
[Photo 1: The Hitch-Hiker (c) L.M. Kling 2015]
After publishing, having a little launch in our South Aussie pre-Christmas summer sweltering in 40 degrees Celsius, then a DIY advertising with bookmarks, flyers and emails, I decided to do research on how other Indi-authors built up their e-book kingdoms. There must be a secret method for digging up the buried gold of success in sales.
[Photo 2: Mission of the Unwilling (c) L.M. Kling 2015]
I discovered a mine of information lighting up my computer screen. I also discovered a precious nugget in an old Australian Artist Magazine—stand-out quality. In today’s language, I assume that means “brand”.
So, when at our SALA exhibition launch, a friend told me they knew which paintings were mine, that I had a unique style, I thanked them. I was on the right track with my “brand”.
But my books? Well, there’s Boris…albeit swamped by millions of other characters on Amazon.
Then, I discovered a gem—blogging. Not in the way I anticipated, though. I was optimistic. With my blogging presence, out there, I expected sales to rise and hundreds of instant visitors to my blogsite. My works were brilliant, right?
My posts drowned under the deluge of millions of other posts, tweets, Facebook pages, and other more successful blogs. For weeks, I remained South Australia’s best kept secret. Even my mum couldn’t find me—not even with my help on her computer.
Fellow writers at my writers’ group suggested I needed to post articles more frequently, get those WWW- “neural”-pathways (Algorithms) working by increasing traffic. Still, the site remained as lively as a cemetery.
Over time, I gathered a band of followers: friends, family, colleagues from church, writers’ and art group. Interest ensued—all Australian—no likes.
Undeterred, I wrote and published posts once or twice a week. Writing, my therapy. The articles available for free, my gift to the world. I prayed that there’d be others out there who’d find my words, and consider them useful, inspirational, amusing.
Week by week, comments and likes (mostly from mum) trickled in. Then, a comment from someone I didn’t know…and a visitor from the United States. Oh, what joy!
A friend encouraged me. I’d improved since they first started reading my blogs. Yes, writing is a craft; the discipline and practice refined my skill to communicate.
I read posts from other bloggers. I liked the posts that resonated with me. I knew I must start commenting. Friends who had websites and blogs said that’s how you make your presence known in the blogging community. I usually read WordPress articles late at night and was concerned my comments would come across as sleep garbled. Eventually, I plucked up the courage to comment. My first comment was about cats.
Each month, slow and steady, the number of followers, likes and visitors grew. My site on WordPress, the first place I visit each day when I open my computer. What countries have visited today? Check the emails. Who has liked me? Who’s following? I visit their sites and see what gems of writing, stories, photos, or paintings they have.
My world has opened; I read stories from every continent…and my stories shared around the globe.
Photo 3: Screenshot, My Stats for the Year (c) L.M. Kling 2024
The treasure I found by entering the world of bloggers, is not the gold I collect in my bank account for my own kingdom from my own works, but the cities of gold we share collectively as writers and artists. We put our stories out there and celebrate each other’s works.
So, a heart-felt thank you for all you who have followed, liked and visited my humble site—and thank you all for your stories, insights, artwork and photography.
Photo 4: Screenshot, visitors from all over the world (c) L.M. Kling 2024
So, if you’ve started up a blog/website and are waiting for it to be noticed, don’t give up. Keep writing, reading, commenting, liking and following and watch your readership grow.
It’s my opinion a good opening line isn’t essential for your story or novel, but it won’t do it any harm.
My critique group decided to revisit the essentials of writing as a way of everyone learning from the same page and improving our collective efforts at finding the right words for our various projects.
First topic – opening lines.
I realised that when I read a novel I don’t get put off by the opening line hence my opinion that a good opening line is not essential is from my personal experience. However, I love books written in third person in past tense so if the first line has an omniscient POV and is written in the present tense I tend to put it back on the library shelf.
So, what makes a good opening line?
I googled the above question and found some great information.
The Literary Hub presented an article by Allegra Hyde.
A good opening line “should capture your characters voice, it should carry your style, and it should be relevant and meaningful enough to engage your readers and entice them to read onto the next line.” An, “elegantly balanced dose of clarity and curiosity.”
However, it should not be “so heavy that it weighs on you or so literary that it chases away or confuses the reader.”
Allegra also suggests that the opening lines clarity should provide a sense of time, place, character and plot. The curiosity can involve the element of tragedy, conflict, mystery that fuels your story.
Suggest a short clear sentence that grabs the readers attention.
Use verbs correctly and adjectives sparingly.
Use words that add weight.
It doesn’t have to be loud; subtlety can be effective.
After doing this research I decided that for me a good opening line:
Is a short sentence where every word has weight and substance.
Intrigues the reader
Clarifies if the novel is written in first person, third person or omniscient.
Provides the tone of the book
Pulls the reader into the situation
Infuses them with curiosity about what comes next.
I then found some examples of opening lines I loved:(you can’t beat the classics)
Albert Camus – “Mother died today.”
Jane Austen – “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” (apparently the most famous opening line ever)
Charles Dickens – “Marley was dead: to begin with.” (love this one)
So, putting the new knowledge into our own writing I have selected to test out some ideas for my new romantic short story Honeygate.
He stood at the back of the hall his face shrouded by a deep hoodie. (Does capture the tone of the story but too descriptive with no hook)
Magical, menacing mesmerising. (Fuels the curiosity but doesn’t provide any clarity about who’s talking or the situation)
I couldn’t see his face but his gaze stole my well-rehearsed words and left me floundering. (clearly defines the characters point of view, raises curiosity, puts it into a context and suggests the potential conflict between the protagonists)
Just doing this exercise has raised my awareness of the importance of an opening line and given me some directions so I can play around with various types of lines and find the best one.
What I found particularly helpful is that using a first-person POV would work well for this story. My heroine has felt the impact of the hero’s gaze and is discombobulated enough to forget her speech she can have the stage from here on and tell us her story from her perspective.
Modern marketing is an amazing process. As more people use the internet to find out information about all sorts of things it’s not surprising that buying books is now subject to the same internet marketing strategies of so many other products.
I’ll give you an example from real life. My oven was in desperate need of a clean and especially the glass door. Before the internet I would have phoned my mum or a friend and asked, “How do you clean your glass oven door?” These days I google “How do I clean my glass oven door?” and I get lots of useful and useless answers and many adverts telling me that this particular oven cleaner is perfect for the job.
My original search did not get the product I needed. So, I refine my search and add “How to clean a glass oven door when it’s encrusted with fat?” And then I get more specific products and information. I may also add another keyword “How do I clean my encrusted oven door with an environmentally friendly product?”
The keywords in my search are: clean, glass oven door, encrusted fat, environmentally friendly.
Keywords are what people type into the Google, or alternative search engines. As I explained in my previous blog for marketing it helps to understand how search engines work. Key words are essential.
But, you ask, how does this effect authors?
There are millions of books online in so many genres. And within each genre there are sub categories of genre so key words become important words and/or phrases for readers to find the right book for them on Amazon and other platforms.
Try googling Romance books. You will get a list of different types of romance books. I selected Dark Romance books and got another list of keywords, hottest, extremely dark, possessive dark, dark kidnapping. Select one of these and you will finally get a selection of books in just the right genre sub-category you crave. So, before they get to your cover, blurb and reviews readers will find your book from the millions of other using key words.
Try a few different categories just for practice. I tried Fantasy novels and chose with dragons. I then selected romantic fantasy novels with dragons and finally you get to a list of books that fit close to what I was seeking. That list of books is where you want your novel to appear so it can compete with the others. After coming up on the list your cover and blurb will then win the sale.
Authors can select their keywords when they upload their book on Amazon and other platforms. It is part of the process for getting your book available as an e-book or print version. Before you start it is wise to research what keywords will get your book noticed.
Google keyword selection and you will find a number of websites that provide authors with the best key words for your novel. There are forums (Kindle forum, Reddit) lists of genres (Marie Cole) and my favourite from Draft2digital Specific Genres Literature and Fiction.
But can you change your keywords after you have published your book? The answer is Yes.
Keywords are classed as metadata so can be changed for free. (Unlike actual changes to your book cover or inner material which might incur a fee for changes) Just go to your publishing site and edit the novel metadata and review your keywords. Both Kindle Direct and Draft2digital allow changes to metadata but do check the term and conditions carefully yourself.
I’ve found this foray into keywords enlightening indeed (as one of my Regency romance protagonists would proclaim). I will be doing further research and perhaps update the keywords I so blindly selected when loading my books. Modern marketing is complex. I hope that this blog helps you navigate some of its complexities and increase your chances of your novel being found on-line.
Indie Scriptorium -- Self Publishing Collective 