The Book Cover: what your audience sees first

When buying a book, you may be influenced by its amazing reviews, its subject or what an A- list celebrity is tweeting about it. But if you ignore all the above, you will be influenced by its book cover.

Bookshelves often contain loads of new authors that you can choose from every week if not every day. Books do get judged by its cover and if you are a new, young author, your first book cover can make or break you.

This week, Kia and her publishing team went through the tedious, yet very worthwhile task of finalising book cover. Whilst there is a lot of free software that can create a book cover for you, it is always worth investing a little money in your book cover.

Kia’s book cover came about as a result of pre-arranged relationships with agents, publishers and illustrators. But even if you are a self- published author, don’t think that your story is going to sell purely because of its pages. Spend some money and time on your cover.

This is not only a representation of your book subject but is also a reflection of your imagination and creativity.

When looking back at the process, Kia says: “Apart from the editing of the book, this cover has occupied most of the team’s time for the last few months and I think it is right that it did.”

“At the end of this, what are you most proud of?” I ask.

“My one fear was giving too much away on the cover itself,” she says. “The final cover displays the most important theme of the book without giving too much about the characters and storylines.”

“Teenagers will still have to buy the book to get to know me and this story and I know that the book cover should encourage them to want to uncover more.”

A great book cover can induce curiosity in every reader and if it is an e-book, it can get more clicks and views which could lead to more purchases. The synopsis is important but many simply glance over it when buying books.

A title can grab me while a pretty or unique book cover can either make me want to buy the book or move on to the next interesting book cover on the shelf.

Amazingly, after all these years, any individual is very much influenced by appearances and pretty does sell. It is the same principle as dating really. When you first fancy a person, you love the way they look and then after you get to know them, you love them for their personality.

Many books are bought because of their cover and then after we read them, we recommend them to other because of their messages or storylines.

“One problem that we did face when creating the book cover was the amount of detail to put on the front,” Kia says.

“This does not have much to do with giving many storylines away as it have to do with my story itself. The world I have created is very detailed and it was important not to crowd the front of the book. Simplicity with a range of bright colours was key.”

Of course, Kia will be revealing her book cover in time. It’s still a few months to go and she’s very big on tantalizing her readers with little snippets of her success. Stay tune for this and more on Kia’s journey....

The evolution of the publishing team

The recent Avengers film does not only show that a great selection of Superheroes can pull audiences. It also highlights the importance of working in a team to achieve your goal, even if you are a superhero. When Kia Garriques first began her publishing journey, she was alone, working on her manuscript day and night. The minute she realised that she could do with a helping hand, her dreams started to materialise...

We all have great ambitions whether it is to achieve international success as a recording artist, find the first miracle cure for cancer or seeing the world in 80 days. But ambition can often be blind and it presumes that you can achieve your dream alone. Our dream is only important to us; we do not need anyone else to make it happen.

Kia loves reminiscing about back in the day:

“I never thought that anyone would be interested in helping me achieve success as an author. I just believed in the normal route of submitting proposals to editors that I respected. My story ideas have always been over the top – I suppose it comes with being young and wanted to see the world in a different light.”

But, of course, why would any editor just accept any proposal, no matter how good it is? If it was really as easy as that then the publishing industry would not be as competitive. Editors are very subjective creatures and their acceptance of a story idea can depend on their personality, their mood and whether they personally feel that you idea would sell.

It is easy for prospective authors to criticise editors for not accepting their proposals but have they ever tried building a personal relationship with the editor? Editors in publishing are similar to editors in the print industry. When you start freelancing for them, you do not expect them to accept your first idea and it is all about tailoring your idea to what they would like to see. Once they know you better, they are willing to take a chance on other ideas you might have.

So who did Kia start building her relationship with to get her ‘publishing team’ started? She began with getting an agent.

“I knew of his work previously and was impressed, “Kia says. “ He had great contacts with editors, journalists and PR people as he had also published books before. I thought he would be the perfect person to take me on. He did not make it easy though... he wanted me to work further on parts of my script before he felt it was really for editors”.

After much persuading and preparation, her agent found a new, yet upcoming publishing company to take her on.

She says, “They understand me as a young author really well. They learn things from me as I do from them.”

So, in addition to her agent, Kia now worked with an editor to get her perfect her novel, a marketing and publicity team to sculpt her image and to start profiling her work to the public and a design team to create her new websites, blogs and products.

Over the new few weeks, you will be provided updates on how Kia is working within her teams as she gets closer to her book launch in October. Although writing comes easy to her, it helps to have people around you who are also focused on taking your dream and making it their own.  

The Evolution of Kia Garriques: small beginnings

In the previous blog posts, I wrote about how you can achieve publishing success. But, it is now when things get more exciting as Kia gets closer to D – day and her first published novel. So how has she evolved and got to this point, you may ask?

Creating your alter ego is a great way to reinvent your image. It allows a writer to show a different side of their personality or developing their second self. In a way, the writer performs their latest character so that their audience can gain an ever better perspective into their newest publishing venture.

Kia Storm was born out of a need to showcase a new breed of fantasy fiction writer. Although she was new and yet to make any noise in the fantasy fiction arena, Kia knew that writing a great novel or story does not always come from your previous experience of being published.

It comes from a passion, a yearning to inform readers of worlds beyond their imagination, especially in the case of fantasy fiction.

She understood how hard it was to get published when you are a novice and wanted to change this by transforming into her alter ego who could create magical storylines, all with the touch of her imagination.

Kia says:

“It wasn’t hard to think of an alter ego. Not at all. When at school, I always sought solace in the fact that I could escape to magnificent worlds where I could meet beautiful characters. I felt that I could relate to them as like me, they always dreamed bigger and better.”

She wanted to be a star through tantalizing others with material. But who was going to take her seriously, especially when they knew she was a young writer? The only way to publish her fantasy fiction stories was to become a character that, some would say, emerged from the stories themselves. And so Kia Storm was born.

But Kia Storm was not always going to be a transcendent character. Remember when I talked about taking small steps to achieve your publishing dream? Storm formed the building blocks of an author who had bigger aspirations.

When making waves in short story writing, Kia noticed that the publishing world and the writers in it had become boring. Writers were famous for writing great books but when it came to socialising and thinking of new ideas for the new generation; they were all the same.

They were nothing more than brainiacs who were not interested in reinvention or shaking things up.  Their audience could expect them to write the same genre of material with no controversy.

Kia felt that this media generation in this new technology age needed someone to shake up the current literary world and show people that writing is an art and can be exciting. That someone would be her confident but still young self.

She had written her novel and was now on her way to publishing it with the backing of professionals behind her. So she had now evolved into Kia Garriques, who not only wanted to write but to inspire others through the written word.

She says:

“Writing is also a healthy way of expressing yourself especially in diaries which are not redundant after your childhood. We need to be inspired and encouraged to get excited literature again. Video games kill a healthy imagination. The imagination is something that I am passionate about instilling in the younger generation again when I write my novels.”   

So keep following her and get the latest know – how on how exactly this young author did it. It wasn’t easy but she will help by starting you off with the basics.

Till next week.... 

The Author 'career' ladder - part 2

Ready to discover the key to Kia’s writing success?

Kia is very much a fan of teaching yourself and so started reading more about marketing herself as a young author and about marketing in general. She backed this reading up with a few stints of marketing work experience and picked up a lot of new tips along the way.

After a year, she found herself as a young marketing manager of a leadership company for black and Asian minority managers and senior leaders.

Over the last year alone, she has been to London Fashion Week, the Top Model of Colour Awards and has become creative director of a fashion show to name but a few.

But, she did not forget her publishing dream. While she did this work during the day, she truly came alive at night with her new gradual plan for getting published: writing short stories.

“I remember thinking that I could never be taken seriously as an author let alone get anything published. Writing has always been a part of me. I always used it to help me through tough times but I never wanted it really before this.

I wanted to be an entrepreneur, to be a boss to be creating something larger than myself. I saw writing as too passive. I remember going through the worst period of my life and the only thing that helped me was to write away the pain, “she explains.

She continues: “I kept writing short stories and I remember my friends encouraging me to send them off but I used to shake my head and say, ‘Who me? A writer?’

I remember sending off my first story, just to put a stop to my friends’ mantras but I was shocked when it was accepted. Then I sent another and another and it just spiralled from there. In fact, I loved writing so much I did it anywhere and everywhere.

It’s my passion, my heart, my soul and I know most writers, true writers would know exactly what I am talking about. It’s a part of you that must be expressed whether you are published or not.”

So, two years later, the young Kia Storm had published over a dozen short stories and armed with this experience was ready to take on the book publishers again.

After carefully crafting her new book proposal, she finally found an agent, a stylist, a book editor as well as a publishing company together with a PR manager who are now working hard to promote her after realising her writing potential.

So, her small steps to become a young author, in the form of short story writing paid off!

Even Charles Dickens started his fiction writing career in 1833 by writing short stories and essays. His first short story ‘A Dinner at Poplar Walk’ was published in Monthly Magazine in December 1833.

After this, he went on to publish some of the greatest classics ever written such as Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.

Similarly, Steve Barnes co-author of the Tennyson Hardwick mystery series has said:

 “Work on shorter projects. Short stories or articles. Do not write books until you have published (and been paid for) shorter work. This is like running a marathon when you’ve never run around the block!”

Have you ever experienced success by starting small? We always want to know what our readers get up to.  

The Author 'career' ladder - part 1

In a recent 2012 book titled The Power of Small by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, it mentioned that individuals should start small so as to change their lives and power through uncertain times.

Being an author is not a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. Many authors have to wait years before they are published let alone before they start getting recognised and can then call themselves a success.

Kia Garriques a.k.a Kia Storm was no different.

“Even though I was very young when I thought of my first book idea, I knew exactly how I wanted to see it in print. I was not put off by my lack of experience and  I carried on doing what I thought best; pitching my book proposal to prospective book publishers and agents and believe me, it’s not an easy thing to do.” 

Whatever the case, Kia knew that she would have to try a different strategy. 

However, time after time, publishers failed to see the potential in her idea. Her book proposal did not fit in with the publishing company’s criteria or it did not fit in with the editor’s mindset.

“The rejection slips kept pouring in one after the other and I remember feeling worthless. I was ready to give up. I mean it was easy for me when I was sending off my work to short story magazine editors because they loved it.

Although I had got many rejections from editors, I was sending other editors so many proposals that I found that when one editor rejected a story idea, another editor would accept that same story. Before long all of my stories were published,” she says.  

“However, my book was a different matter. The rejections really knocked my confidence and honestly if it wasn’t for my mother taking action into her own hands and physically seeking out my agent, I probably would have stop sending them out for a while. My mother found my current agent and begged him to have a look at my work. Thankfully he did and here I am today getting ready for the launch of my debut novel in October.”

“I am an extremist and I am always thinking of how I can get better. I wasn’t content with writing a book; I wanted to write the next big thing. I also wanted it to be seen and heard and so I knew that I had to get involved in every single process. This included the branding, packaging and marketing of not only my book but also myself as an artist.

I don’t think many authors view themselves as an artist. Too often they separate their book from themselves but I strongly believe that I must become my product and that’s what I set out to do.”

So how did Kia make the jump from young writer to marketing professional/ published author? 

New year, new directions

Well, hello readers and hope you are enjoying your New Year so far. So far, we have a lot of interesting new developments in store that will be revealed soon. That’s what has kept us busy for the first few weeks of this New Year but we are back with a mission to engage and entertain.

Last year, we talked about how important it is to make a plan for the New Year and then stick to it. Now Kia would like to share her experience of how she got her publishing dream on track in just one short year. So here are the secrets to her success:

-          Always know that there is no limit to bettering yourself

From the start, Kia knew that bettering her young life experiences could help her on her journey.

So she decided to become a young marketing expert and got her first managerial role in a leadership company after learning and practicing several marketing techniques herself. Her skills were furthered as she landed new opportunities in education and fashion.

Always be realistic and believe in the importance of transferable skills. She is now a force to be reckoned with and is much more than a traditional young author!

-          Know your market and take your craft seriously

Kia has always loved writing and has sold several short stories to publishers before landing her dream opportunity to publish her book. In addition, she does various marketing jobs during the day to earn money so that she can sustain her publishing dream during the evenings and weekends.

-          Have a Plan

A plan helps you to stay on track with your goals that enables you to set milestones in order to track your success and failures so that you can become better at what you do.

-          Look in various areas for inspiration

Kia goes to a lot of events and meets a lot of interesting people through her day job meaning that she does not lead a traditional author life. The benefit is that she can then advertise herself in new, unseen arenas and can source new opportunities to work with people that she would normally not come into contact with in the publishing industry. As I have said before, creativity really does pay off and will help you get noticed.

-          Take Risks

Do not be afraid to take risks. Like the saying goes, feel the fear and do it anyway!

-          Be Patient

Success and achievement always takes time to materialise therefore it’s important to understand that patience and resilience is the key to getting from the bottom to the top.

-          Raise your Standards

Always aim to be the best you can be and keep striving for excellence.

-          Last of all, never give up hope!

I know that from shadowing Kia that she has been rejected by editors and publishing companies on more than one occasion telling her that her idea will never work. However, she has continued to believe in herself and her writing dream is now a reality.

She continues to ensure that her writing will be known by everyone and soon enough she will be recognised for her initiative to help the world fall in love with literature again!

So don’t any of you ever give up on your dream.... As the saying goes, try and try until you succeed. 

Staying on top with a strong personal brand!

Hi guys! Today I want to take the time to touch on a topic that is personal to me and I think it is important to a lot of young artists whether they know it or not. So let me start with a question: What do the Twilight series and the Amazon Kindle have in common?

Both of them have achieved success as they have provided for their certain niche of customers. Twilight appealed to those teenage girls who dreamed that their first love would be as gorgeous, exciting and dangerous as Edward Cullen.

The Amazon Kindle appealing to all readers who wanted a lighter, easier way to read. There were many readers before this from companies like Sony, but no e- reader was celebrated like this before.

So what made these two inventions more appealing to customers?  They both had very strong Brand appeal! Twilight enticed with teenage girls and boys with it Cinderella/Romeo and Juliet storyline and with vampires and werewolves who had now become, sexier, cooler, looked younger and loved rather than hated humans. 

The Kindle, heavy influenced with all it super cool reading techniques and technology made reading cool again even in this age of video games and play stations.  

Branding is very important if you are trying to sell your writing and want to reach a mass audience because readers need to buy into you as well as your book. Readers will not purchase your story if they cannot connect with any aspect of your product and this product needs to have a strong brand.

Some would say that anyone can write a book but let me tell you this- not many can create a story that people would want to buy. This is where your author related branding strategy comes in.

“Although a PR firm normally takes care of branding your book, there is nothing more personal than an author reaching out to her readers,” says Kia. “Readers like to know that you care about them and their opinions. That you are passionate about the world you are creating both for yourself and your readers and that most importantly, they can relate to you because you get them. They like to know that they can interact with the author.”

Your brand can take a variety of forms. It can portray your product as the one that can differentiate itself from the competition whether through quality, use or design. 

Some products can also be priced lower than others while others target an area of the market where not many or no competitors exist. Thus its brand is defined by the fact that it can offer something new and exclusive to its competitors.

Authors can appeal to their niche of customers through injecting their personality into the brand. Never aim for an audience that it is too wide. Your readers should be able to invest emotionally in your book so that they will want to see your finished product.

One easy and definite way to build your brand is through your personal website. Here your unique characteristics can shine. You can also post interesting and exclusive details about the upcoming projects. Make your website something that stands out using a variety of multimedia and design features.

If you want to interact even more with your customers, make your email address easy to find in case they want to comment on your book. If you respond to your readers in good time, you can be sure that they will recommend your work to others.

Write articles for newspapers and magazines that pay you and allow the possibility of a byline as well as a promotion for your upcoming book.   Mix around as much as possible and do book signings, lectures and appearances to talk about your book or a related topic of writing. Travel locally at first and then extend this to the national or international arena. 

Get on local radio and TV at first to increase your coverage. Also target student radio/ TV and print as it is now a very important part of the mainstream media industry. Don’t aim for the BBC in the first instance. They get thousands of requests like this per day and unless yours would be a new angle, you are likely to get nowhere.     

And of course, it goes without saying that you must engage in social networking. Tweet and post regularly but make your posts unique and meaningful. Ask readers questions, highlight useful links and in other words, encourage them to comment.

Social networking can be made easier if you have a personal blog that you use regularly. So as well as short statements, you are providing your reader with a unique insight into your world. As well as blogging yourself, follow and comment on other blogs who might, one day, then be encouraged to highlight your blog to their followers.

And this is all for now, folks! We hope you enjoyed your Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year.