Book Cover Month at The Writer's Chatroom Sunday Reminder

Published: Sat, 07/16/22

Writers (Online) Chat Room

July is Book Cover Month

Email me copies of your Book Covers and I will display them on the Chatroom Page

[email protected] or [email protected]

Self-Published or Traditional, Your Book cover is Important

There are a lot of things to consider when choosing cover art.

You can do it yourself, hire a cover artist of be thankful your publisher is going to take care of it.

But, in any case, you are going to need to share what is in your mind's eye.

A cover artist will likewise want you to see through her eyes.

People do choose a book by its cover.

Chat with us about what works for a book cover and what makes a potential reader pass on by.

What Time is It?

Time Zone Converter – Time Difference Calculator

Chat Room Hours

Sunday 7PM - 8:30PM ET

Wednesday 8PM - 9PM ET

Did Your Family Read to You?

I remember my dad reading to me at least once from a book of bedtime stories.

Mom? I knew she could read, but she didn't share. We had Little Golden Books and we made up the words to match the pictures.

I think the absence of being read to gave me a mission. If I wanted the words I was going to have to learn to read at school.

I loved reading. I am proof that a child not read to is missing something she may never overcome.

Just in case I was an exception, I read to my kids day and night long after they had outgrown bedtime stories and could easily read for themselves.

Let's chat about how being read to, or not, influenced your life. Did childhood experience lead you onto the path of becoming a writer?

Chat, Sunday at 7PM EST at the Writer’s Chatroom

BYOT a relaxed topic Sunday

Bring your own topic month at the Writer’s Chatroom

February is traditionally Romance Month but this year we are going to fling our doors open, turn up the music and mingle at the snack table at the back of the room.

Bring any topic or writing related question about anything from formatting to marketing, to neighborhood muse searches and we will try to address it. We don’t know everything and we aren’t afraid to say so. Maybe together, we can find an answer to your topic or writerly issue.

This Little Piggy Went to Market

This is the last Sunday Chat of Marketing Month.

It was only recently that I learned this little piggy was going to "MARKET." It changed a whole layer of my childhood and parenthood as well. The Piggy rhyme was visited on me and later I passed it to my children and their children. Not having a clue about the tragic event about to unfold when this little piggy arrived at his destination.

I am amusing myself by imagining you Submission Packet being sent to market. Will it meet the same fate? Will it be rejected and sent back to live another day? Will it be accepted? Either way, thank goodness I will see my manuscript again.

Come on in at 8PM ET to celebrate the end of marketing month at The Writer's Chatroom.

It's About Time

Full Definition of time

(Entry 1 of 3) 1a : the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues : duration. b : a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events which succeed one another from past through present to future. c : leisure time for reading.

Mirriam-Webster

Time is a word or concept with very broad aspects. We could get lost in the various ways to explore time and what we think of as time. But, I think I am on the first few days of a Covid bug and leading a discussion on full fledged time is just too much.

The aspect of Time I want to explore is an author’s handling of time.

For example, in chapter one, scene two, the lion has broken free from the zoo. At the same time in scene four, Mandy’s house is on fire. In scene six, Thomas is looking around the empty lion enclosure and making a cellphone call to Animal Control.

Although these events are happening at the same time, they cannot be presented in writing or even by spoken word simultaneously. An author or story teller has to decide which of the three scenes to present first.

I’d like to discuss how we work with various elements of time. How do we decide the Zoo Escape should be given before Mandy runs out of her flaming abode?

Drop by the Writer’s Chatroom on Sunday, 23 January at 7PM ET and I will continue my plan to be socially distant.

The Art of Assembling the Parts of a Book

Craft & Marketing - Parts of a Book

If you are self-published or traditionally published, you should know the Parts of a Book.

My Orange Bible, CMoS, Chicago Manual of Style, has the best definition of the parts of a book, fiction or non-fiction. Because the book is HUGE and a bit expensive I found 2 websites.

If you are a DIY Author, the contents of these parts of a book are pretty much on you to write and format. If you have a traditional publisher, you are still going to be responsible for supplying this content.

Site One

Basic Parts of a Book to Know Before Publishing

Front Matter

1. Title page

2. Copyright page

3. Dedication

4. Table of contents

5. Foreword

6. Acknowledgments

7. Preface or Introduction

8. Prologue

Body Matter

Back Matter

1. Afterword or Epilogue

2. Appendix or Addendum

3. Glossary

4. Bibliography or Endnotes

5. Index

6. Author biography

The second link explains the parts given above and is equally well done.

Basic Parts of a Book: Learn the Names and Meanings

This article adds to the list of book parts.

Front Cover of a Book

Back Cover of a Book

Join us in the chatroom. We will be talking about Craft (Book Parts) and Marketing throughout the month of January.

Welcome to Chatroom 2022

During the month we will talk about the Craft of Writing and How to Go about Marketing your Manuscript.

Even if you plan on publishing your own work, you will still need to know the basics of Marketing in order to find your readers.

If you plan to submit your work to publishers, they all pay closer attention to an author with a Marketing Plan.

Drop by the Chatroom at 8PM ET on Wednesday and let's talk.

Resolutions

I consulted the Cambridge Dictionary and this is what I found.

a promise to yourself to do or to not do something:

[ + to infinitive ] I made a resolution to give up chocolate.

I am pretty sure I read the following statement in one of the 33 books I read after 10PM in 2021.

"A Promise is a Prison you Build for Yourself."

From a Google Dictionary, well...

plural noun: resolutions

a firm decision to do or not to do something.

"she kept her resolution not to see Anne any more"

For the past few decades I have honed my resolution and distilled it simply; to meet people where they are, on their path without complaint or expecting accommodation.

You are welcome to adopt this if you wish.

This will be our last Sunday Topic Chat until after the New Year. Drop by and tell us about some of your resolutions for writing or life in general. There will be a Dessert Potluck at the table in the back of the Chatroom. You probably want to bring your own drinks.

7PM EST 19 December 2021

Goal Planning and Holiday Break

Notice

My December Goal is to spend a few days away from the Chatroom. We will be Closed to Moderation from December 23rd to January 4th.

Closed to Moderation means I won't there to watch out for creepy people trying to catfish you with offers for Editing or Publication. I will not be there to stop anyone from going totally off bubble and being jerks.

But I am at the end of my email and can pop in and check previous chat activity 24/7

Sally Christie Head Moderator Web Mistress

Planning vs Procrastination

Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal.

says Wikipedia on Planning

Procrastination is the action of unnecessarily and voluntarily delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there will be negative consequences for doing so.

says Wikipedia on Procrastination

When I am seriously thinking about putting my fingers to the keyboard...

Am I going to be here a long time? Maybe, I need to collect a snack. I guess I should have something to drink with that snack. Oh, I guess I should go pee before I settle in. (Yes, your Chatroom Moderator goes pee.) Okay, where did I save the file I was going to use. Wow, there sure are a lot of usb sticks, maybe I should see what is on each of them. Why do I have so many of them? You know, now that I am thinking about it, didn't I put my project notes in one of my College Ruled Notebooks. Four of them, why do I need four. Well at least the covers are different colors. You know, I should keep out the red one and title it Writing Hot. Good Idea, let me write that down. Is that a deer outside my window? I definitely need to capture an image and put it up on Facebook. Facebook, hmmm, I should check the Writer's Chatroom Group to see if there are any new messages there. Kim Richards posted recently and Mel posts like clockwork on Tuesdays. I image both of them could spot the difference between planning and procrastination in a heartbeat. I hope they make it to chat, tomorrow, they can help me through the topic. What was I doing? Oh, right. Writing. Writing something serious, like my most recent contact with a dead person and why it took me fourteen months to make the connection. Sigh. You know, I should really be working on the Chatroom Newsletter and a blogpost.

Sally Switches to the Aweber App and writes this article.

Chat begins, Sunday at 7PM ET

Setting Goals, Setting Writerly Goals, Planning a Road Trip

What is the first thing you think of when setting a goal?

Do you open a word app and start making a list?

Do you consider what has to happen in the Universe to see this Goal through?

Steps, even baby steps will take you closer to the final goal. Sketch out these little steps on the same page as your list. Observe and Celebrate even the smallest step because it is moving you forward.

These some decent tips but if you have set the Big Goal out of reach, you are not going to get there. It just won't happen and like me, you will hesitate the next time an urge to organize strikes you.

Very few writers had a Best Seller right out of the gate. They needed to learn the Art and Craft. They needed to get some small stuff published and build up that beloved wall of rejection. This Wall is the Physical Manifestation of a Great Writer about to be born.

Join us for a Sunday Topic Chat at 7PM ET at the Writer's Chatroom.

Congratulations to those who Completed the NaNoWriMo Challenge

We are coming up on the Writer's Chatroom Traditional Month of Planning.

This Sunday, we will have a relaxed topic chat.

Maybe, we can chat about how we feel when we are writing hot, in the zone, the magical lake of words.