Wednesday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

HOW TO GET READERS TO LUST AFTER YOUR BOOK

By: James Scott Bell

The word lust in our language is usually limited to the sexual arena. But it was not always so. The Greek philosophers used the term epithumia to indicate an intense desire which can be directed toward good or ill. Whatever the end, the desire is more than intellectual curiosity. It’s a feeling of I really must have this!

Which is precisely the feeling you want to induce in browsers who come across your book. It’s not enough to make the novel look “interesting.” You’ve got to raise epithumia so the blood starts pumping a “buy” message to the head.

In addition to a quality, eye-pleasing cover, there are at least three essential factors for raising desire levels in potential customers. They are excitement, killer copy, and grabber sample.

1. Excitement

If you are not jazzed about your own book as you write it, it’s going to be that much more difficult to excite a reader. The first order of business, then, is to make sure you are pumped about your own project.

Because writing a book is like a marriage. Your first idea, getting charged up about it, is like falling in love. Once you commit to the writing of a book, you’ve married it, and we all know marriage has its ups and downs. You’re not always going to be starry-eyed and ready to sing “In Your Eyes” at the drop of the hat.

(By the way, we need to bring back the daily wearing of hats.)

So you work things out, recapture that magic feeling, because you’re dedicated to the marriage.

Editing, of course, is marriage counseling.

Try not to write any scene until something about it excites you. I brainstorm for the unexpected––in action, dialogue, setting, or new characters. One of those will set off a spark in me, and I know I’m ready to write. I want to sustain that feeling throughout the book. There’s an alchemy there connects reader an author.

2. Killer Copy

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Read the full article HERE! 

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. How to Repurpose Your Book or Blog Content for Profit and Promotion | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/NLkst
2. 10 Steps to Editing with Focus | Silas Payton http://ow.ly/NLkBs
3. Alexandra Sokoloff: Story Elements checklist http://ow.ly/NLl0C
4. Writing and Marketing: Email Marketing and Call-to-Actions (CTAs) http://ow.ly/NLnpy
5. Critique Partners vs Beta Readers and Where To Find Them | Darla G. Denton http://ow.ly/NLrpV
6. 11 Things You Don't Know About Bargain Ebook Buyers http://ow.ly/NLyUp
7. How to Get Readers to Lust After Your Book | http://ow.ly/NLE6g
8. Fiction University: Developing POV to Develop Voice http://ow.ly/NLEVQ
9. Author, Jody Hedlund: Are You Willing to Pay as Much for a Book as You Are For a Burger? http://ow.ly/NLF2L
10. 6 Ways to Use Google+ to Increase Your Visibility Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/NLFaO
11. Formatting: From Manuscript to a Print Book with MS Word | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/NLFhS
12. 5 Lessons Learned Between Books 5 & 6 | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/NLIbR
13. 6 Ways to Get More Readers to Review Your Book http://ow.ly/NLINT
14. Book Expo notes: Who is your customer? –BookBaby http://ow.ly/NLNfd

Happy writing and running, Kathy