‘DO YOU JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER?’

If I had a pound for every time someone's asked that question on social media over the last couple of years, I'd be living in a four storey Georgian townhouse in Knightsbridge, and drawing up the guest list for my next dinner party on my super yacht (moored somewhere hot in the Mediterranean, of course). To say it's a perennial old chestnut would be understating it.

While ‘never judge a book by its cover’ might be good advice when applied to people, when applied to books it’s nonsense. Because that’s precisely what a book cover does. It invites potential readers to judge whether or not they might be interested in what’s inside. And whether or not they’d be willing to part with their hard-earned cash to read it.

But a good book cover is not necessarily an easy thing to find. There’s so much it has to convey, all in just one glance at the book shelf or thumbnail online. Tone, genre, setting. Who will this book appeal to? 

I’m a hybrid author - meaning that as well as being traditionally published by a big publishing house who take care of everything including the cover, I’ve also got a couple of self published books out there (which is probably the subject of another post!). As a self published writer, I have total control over my cover design, even more so in my case as I design them myself. In a previous life I was a video and photo editor, which has left me (in the words of Liam Neeson) with a very particular set of skills, including an eye for composition and some mad Photoshop skills.

But it’s not an easy thing to do, as evidenced by some of the myriad self published, self-designed books on Amazon. I LOVE that Amazon has given everyone the opportunity to publish their work - the DIY/garage band ethos appeals to the old punk rocker in me - but seriously people, look at your covers next to others in your genre (trad and self published), and judge honestly whether or not they stack up against them. Because if they don’t, you are really limiting your audience. The story inside could be incredible, but a poor cover will make potential readers think the inside will be just as low in quality. If you can’t do it yourself, there are plenty of cover designers out there who can help you (myself included), and they shouldn’t charge you a fortune. 

I recently relaunched my debut novel, Dead in Venice, with a new cover. The story is a mash up of murder mystery and romance, so that’s what I was aiming for with the cover design. The setting, Venice, is the perfect romantic backdrop, but by playing with the colours I was able to give it a slightly more sinister feel. I think it echoes the tone and genre of the story inside. Will it entice new readers? I hope so. It’s certainly eye-catching and an attractive picture in its own right. Time will tell!

One thing that does seem to attract and annoy readers in equal measure is the rise of what I call the ‘woman-in-a-red-coat’ type of cover. Ever noticed that there are a LOT of books out there with very similar covers? There are an inordinate amount of WWII novels featuring the back view of a woman, very often wearing a red coat to stand out from the background. Or travel romcoms, with the back view (again) of another woman in a sun dress, usually clasping a hat to the back of her head as she gazes out at the vista in front of her - usually a beautiful Greek island, an Italian coastal village, or maybe the Eiffel Tower. This happens when a really successful novel hits the shelves, and publishers attempt to ride on its coat tails. You can’t blame them; if books are in the same genre, and are aiming for the same market, why not try the same strategy the bestseller used? This might sound cynical - and it is a bit - but at the same time it’s telling readers, ‘if you liked THAT, you’ll like THIS’. And if that’s true, that’s a win for the reader; it makes picking your next read so much easier. At the same time, there needs to be something different, a little extra, that distinguishes one book from another; I’ve seen a few where the covers are so similar that without looking closely at them you’d think they were the same book.

So the next time someone asks you if you ever judge a book by its cover, tell them YES! We all do. Whether we’re judging them fairly or not is impossible to tell - unless you actually read it…

Multi-tasking

 

This month I find myself in the unusual situation of working on two novels at once. I often overlap writing them – typically having one novel that’s with an editor while I start on a new one, and then when the editor responds I’ll break off from writing the new one to work on the edits.

But now I am in the first draft stage for two novels. One is more or less there – I have reached the end but there are some gaps and I need to add several scenes before I can say the first draft is complete. The other is about one third done.

The deadline for the first is not until October so I should be able to complete it easily enough. The second is not a contracted novel – it is something a little different that I just fancied writing.

Many authors only ever work on one book at a time, and only start researching and thinking about a new novel when the previous one has been sent to the proof-reader. I’m contracted to write two a year and so this isn’t possible for me – I have to make use of the time while waiting for feedback or for the copy editor to complete their work otherwise I’d never get them done. Elapsed time for each novel, from beginning the research through to completing the copy-edits, is at least 9 months, up to a year.

‘But how do you keep two stories in your mind at once?’ I’m sometimes asked. Well I have to do that anyway, as my novels are in the dual timeline genre – a historical mystery is uncovered and resolved in the present day – so there are two stories in each book in any case.

Also, like most people I will always have a novel that I’m reading on the go, and probably two or three TV drama series that we’re watching in the evenings. So typically I might have half a dozen unfinished story lines in my head at any one time – what’s another one or two?!

I think humans have a huge capacity for story. We can and do carry many stories around with us; some where we know the ending and others that are still being played out, whether in real life, on TV or between the covers of a book. Stories we’re writing are just the same as stories we’re consuming (apart from the fact we need to remember more detail about them, of course!)

Anyway, I have decided to give myself a few weeks on the non-contracted novel before I go back to finish the other one, in good time before it’s due to be sent to my editor. It all helps keep writing alive and fun for me. After a period at the beginning of this year when I felt like giving it all up, I’ve worked hard to rediscover the joy of writing. Part of that is allowing myself the freedom to work on what I most want to work on.

What about you? Do you ever work on more than one novel at a time or not?

In which we discuss books and podcasts...

Hey, fellow writers.

I don’t have anything exciting to share this time around, as I’m taking a step away from writing and just enjoying life. To that end, I’ll dedicate this blog post to the books and podcasts that have been taking up my time now that I’m not writing.

Hope you, your family, friends, and love ones are keeping well.

Terry

Beneath the Skin by Caroline England.

My first Caroline England book and it definitely won’t be my last. A tangled web of a haunting story, tightly plotted with a well-developed cast of characters, and a surprising reveal at the end. This writer knows her stuff.

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

A poignant escape read, with all the good feels. Tells the story of a grandmother and granddaughter who swap houses (and as such lives) for a few months. The hijinks ensue, as each character struggles to adapt to the other’s social structure and drama, all the while delicately dealing with the loss of a beloved family member. Highly recommend.

The First Wife –Podcast with the first wife of Dirty John

If you are one of many millions of podcast listeners or movie watchers who followed the story of John Meehan, the podcast told from the perspective of his first wife, Tonia Bales, is a must listen! And for all you crime writers out there, be sure and check out the bonus episodes featuring behavioral analyst Dr. Laura Richards, who takes a deep dive into the many facets of John Meehan’s psyche.

Nemesis – Agatha Christie audio book narrated beautifully by Emilia Fox.

Many of you know Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors, and Nemesis features Jane Marple at her subtle yet keen finest. In Nemesis, Miss Marple honors the dying request of Jason Rafiel (first seen in The Caribbean Mystery) and sets out to solve an old murder that implicated his wayward son, Michael. The narration of this audio book is what makes it so wonderful. It’s a comfort listen for me, a definite “re-listenable.”

Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman is reigning queen of lyrical writing, and this book of short stories doesn’t disappoint. Check out these opening sentences:

“It was said that boys should go on their first sea voyage at the age of ten, but surely this notion was never put forth by anyone’s mother.” The Edge of the World

“Witches take their names from places, for places are what give them their strength.” The Witch of Truro

“On the farthest edges of the cape, it was widely believed that cranberries first came to earth in the beak of a dove. If that was indeed true, then heaven was red, and the memory of paradise could be plucked from the low-growing shrubs that grew in the dampest, muddiest bogs – a far cry from heaven it would seem, at least to some. “Insulting the Angels.”

That’s it for me. What have you been listening to or reading? Do share!

Happy writing,

Terry 

You can pick your Friends, but you are stuck with your Family! (but then again...)

 

I’ve just been updating and polishing my Family History files. This is very much a work-in-progress and isn’t likely to be finished any time soon! I have been doing this for over 50 years, too, so there are a LOT of people “in the database”.

Turning your family history into a story is not a job for the faint hearted, and, truth be told, isn’t necessarily of any interest to anyone outside your immediate family. (Or even to them!)

BUT

Your family history can be a great source of “plot”. It will show you the size of families and the names in use, and, in many cases the occupation of your family members, and their locations.

Everyone in the UK has access to the General Record Office of Births, Marriages and Deaths.  They have a useful web page at https://www.gov.uk/research-family-history and you can look online and order certificates of your “person of interest”

I also recommend https://www.freebmd.org.uk/ This site is useful for looking up records and getting the date (by quarter) and place of their birth, marriage or death. This will take your research back as far as 1837, when they started keeping BMD records.

I’m sure lots of us have got a battered photo-album, or an old biscuit tin, handed down to them and FULL of very old family photos. I urge all of you to check, and if at all possible, sit down with Gran, Mum or Great-Aunt Lilly, and try to identify them.  You are not going to write their stories, (generally) but they CAN inform your choice of characters in your next book. They also show you what people were wearing at that time. Don’t leave it until it’s too late!

They really did good beard back in Victorian times! Prototype Hipsters. I would really love to know their names.

Another great source of names can be the old baptism records. These have generally been collected by a local Family History society and can really be useful.

This is a screenshot of a random, simple, Google query on Births in Helston. Lots of genuine names and occupations here, and plenty of fuel for any age you would want.

My own family tree – and all these details are available through the General Record Office. The “gap” in the right -hand column is because the Greys were out in India. They were jute merchants in Calcutta.

In that column, my great-great-grandparents, there is an army officer, a vicar, a Quaker mill owner, some “box-wallahs”, a Purser of the Botallack Mine, a railway contractor (he had several thousand fellow-Irishmen working for him, on the railway to Holyhead) a peer’s son and another peer’s daughter!

Most of us had relatives who served in the Great War. The Imperial War Museum is the best place to start. Its also FREE!

https://www.iwm.org.uk/research/tracing-your-family-history/tracing-your-army-history

Another really great resource is the National Archives at Kew. They have details on almost everyone and everything. I’ve spent many happy hours going through “stuff” there!

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

John King was my Gt Gt Gt Grandmother’s 2^nd husband. This was the official notice condemning him to Debtor’s Prison in 1800. (not for long!)

Ditto the London Gazette. Historical Novelists and readers will surely have heard or read of “The Gazette” or engagements being announced in the Gazette, or someone being Gazetted. This still goes on for EVERY official government announcement. And, again, it’s FREE!

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/

And lastly,

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/

Just packed with info on almost everyone and everything.

So, some rules.

• Any event dated before 1066 is likely mostly guesswork.
• Any history before the Victorian era will have been written by a man.
• All history is written by the victors (who pay for it).
• And finally – do remember – we are STORYTELLERS first and foremost.

Now happy hunting, and don’t over-research! (you will, anyway!)

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And finally – some news about the hedgehogs!

We are getting regular calls from about 3 or 4 of them. Actually, IDing individuals is very very hard. I keep putting up pics from our cameras and share them to our local Facebook Groups. Quite a few people are feeding them now in the village. This is a GOOD Thing!

Remember, now matter what you feed them, this only represents about 20% of their diet. The other 80% is made up of invertebrates, insects, beetles, slugs and other tasty items the find while rootling round your garden.