writing killer cover copy and everything else you need to produce a professional product by elana...
TRANSCRIPT
WRITING KILLER COVER COPYAND EVERYTHING ELSE YOU NEED TO PRODUCE A
PROFESSIONAL PRODUCT
BY ELANA JOHNSON
WHAT YOU MUST KNOW FIRST….
What is the purpose of the cover copy?
Seriously. Take 60 seconds and write down your answer right now, get yours pens out… ready? Write down what you think the purpose of the cover copy is.
If you don’t know what the purpose is, how the heck can you write the darn thing???
Ready? 60 seconds….What’s the purpose of having great cover copy? GO!!
60 SECONDS LATER….
THE PURPOSE OF THE COVER COPY IS TO CONVINCE BUYERS TO BUY.
Repeat this with me. “The purpose of the cover copy is to convince buyers to buy.”
THE HOOK
1.SUM UP THE NOVEL IN ONE SENTENCE
2.PROPEL THE READER THROUGH THE REST OF THE COPY
•Answer this: What is your book about?
•Less than 40 words
•Mimic the tone of the novel
•Never use a question (Repeat it with me…)
•Grab, Entice, Get Out
THE HOOK
ELEVATED HOOKThe last person seventeen-year-old Eleanor Livingston wants to see on the elevator—let alone get stuck with—is her ex-boyfriend Travis, the guy she's been avoiding for five months.
Answer this: What is your book about?
Less than 40 words
Mimic the tone of the novel
Never use a question
Grab, Entice, Get Out
YOUR TURN!
Look at your hook. Is it enticing? Does it sum up your novel in one sentence?
TIP: Look at published books and study the cover copy. Identify what YOU, as a buyer, like about them. Pattern yours after the success you pinpoint.
THE SETUP
1. Provide a few details about your MC
2. World-building info, if pertinent
3. The catalyst that moves your MC into the conflict
THE SETUP
Stick to the MC – what do they want?
• Intro secondary characters as needed
• Get there quick (3 – 5 sentences, 75 – 100 words)
• Only include important details that build character or setting
DO’S AND DON’T’S – THE SETUP
DON’T
Bog us down in too many details
Name the whole cast of characters
Go on and on about your universe far, far away or try to impress with 65-word sentences
DO
Drive the reader toward the conflict
Think of the Setup as a bridge – just go over it
Give me the essentials I need to understand A) your character and B) your world
Plagued with the belief that when she speaks the truth, bad things happen, Elly hasn’t told Trav anything. (Character) Not why she broke up with him and cut off all contact. Not what happened the day her father returned from his deployment to Afghanistan. And certainly not that she misses him and still thinks about him everyday. (ALL character – this is a contemporary novel! Sci fi/fantasy would include world-building.)
• Stick to the MC
• Intro secondary characters as needed
• Get there quick (3 – 5 sentences, 75 – 100 words)
• Only include important details that build character or setting
ELEVATED SETUP
YOUR TURN!Look at your setup. Is it too long? Bogging the reader down? Giving the essentials or the kitchen sink?
TIP: Write your cover copy in the same style as your novel. Don’t write in third person, present tense? No problem! Write it in what you DO know and then just switch it back after it’s written.
THE CONFLICT
1. IDENTIFY WHAT THE MC WANTS
2. Expound on what’s keeping them from getting what they want = this is the CONFLICT
3. STICK TO THE MAIN CONFLICT
4. What your entire book is about
THE CONFLICT
• If you haven’t identified what the MC wants during the setup, do it now
• State what’s in their way
• Highlight the main conflict, discard secondary issues
• Remember, this is what readers want: the CONFLICT. So be sure to lay it out for us
• Propel the reader to the end of the copy
•Identify what the MC wants
•State what’s in their way
•Discard secondary issues
•Propel the reader to the end
ELEVATED CONFLICT
But with nowhere to hide and Travis so close it hurts, Elly’s worried she won’t be able to contain her secrets for long.
YOUR TURN!Look at your conflict. Can’t even find it? Um, Houston, you have a problem. Have you spelled out what the MC wants and what’s in his/her way?
TIP: Write your cover copy BEFORE you finish the novel. This will help you stick to the main conflict. Try writing it when you’re about 10-15K in to drafting.
THE CONSEQUENCE
1. What will happen if the MC doesn’t overcome the conflict?
2. MOST FREQUENTLY MISSING ELEMENT
3. Leave the ending a mystery4. CLIFFHANGER CLOSE
THE CONSEQUENCE
• I’m hooked. Set up. All conflicted. So now what will happen if I don’t solve my problems?
• In the cover copy, DON’T spill about the ending – this is how you get buyers to buy!
• Leave me on a cliffhanger
• Tie to the hook = come full-circle
• NO questions – strong statements instead
•What will happen if the conflict is not overcome?
•Don’t spill the ending
•Cliffhanger closing
•Come full-circle
ELEVATED CONSEQUENCE
She’s terrified of finally revealing the truth, because she can’t bear to watch a tragedy befall the boy she still loves.
YOUR TURN!Look at your consequence. Has it come full-circle? Have you laid out the consequence? Have you left the reader hanging, salivating to know more?
TIP: Match up your first sentence (hook) with your last sentence (consequence). It should encapsulate your book. Be succinct and specific.
HOOK + CONSEQUENCE = BOOK
The last person seventeen-year-old Eleanor Livingston wants to see on the elevator—let alone get stuck with—is her ex-boyfriend Travis, the guy she's been avoiding for five months. She’s terrified of finally revealing the truth, because she can’t bear to watch a tragedy befall the boy she still loves.
EVERYTHING ELSE
1. Copyright page2. Dedication3. Author Bio4. Table of Contents5. Other Works6. Invitation to Review
COPYRIGHT
• MY OPINION: put it at the end.
• Most retailers will allow buyers to read a certain percentage of your book as a preview. You don’t want those pages to be the copyright, about the author, etc. Start right into the book.
• Cover artist
• Fonts used
• Interior designer
• Other art used (PhotoShop brushes, maps, etc.)
• List your publisher
• You own the copyright on your work
DEDICATION
• MY OPINION: put it at the front.
• Something simple:
“Dedicated to:
my husband, Adam,
for believing when no one else did.”
• Dedication gets it’s own page in the formatting.
AUTHOR BIO
• Put immediately following the text of the book.
• Include a picture of yourself.
• Include all of your other books / series.
• Include social media links.
• Include an invitation to review the book. (Only include appropriate links. Can’t link to Amazon in a Nook edition, etc.)
TABLE OF CONTENTS• Use your formatting software to include the
TOC.
• Force the program to hide it, or put it at the end – remember you don’t want the preview matter to be the TOC.
PREFERRED LAYOUT• Cover
• Maps (if any)
• Dedication (if included)
• THE BOOK
• About the Author (includes invitation to review, social media, other works)
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
My blog: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ElanaJ
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorelanajohnson
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