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Five Reasons to Enter a Writing Contest

Five Reasons to Enter a Writing Contest (and Five Contests to Enter)

Why should you enter a writing contest?

I can think of several good reasons:

Honest Feedback

Writing contests are a great way to get honest feedback on your writing, and we all need honest feedback. Feedback is a gift which can show us what we’re doing well, and where we need to improve on.

Feedback from Writers

But it’s important to get feedback from the right people. We can ask family and friends for feedback. While they might give encouraging feedback (You’ve done a great job! Keep it up!), it might not be accurate. Family and friends will be proud of you for having written a book, and may be able to tell you what they enjoyed and why, but they probably can’t tell you what needs to be improved (unless they happen to be successful writers who know your genre).

In contrast, contest judges are fellow writers, usually people who write in the same genre. Some will be fellow unpublished authors, some will be published authors, some will have won awards. All are willing to give up their time to help other writers improve their craft.

Targeted Feedback

Because they are writers (or editors, or agents), they know what good writing looks like, and they will judge accordingly. Most contests use a score sheet which looks at different aspects of the writing, such as the opening, the characters, the plot, and use of point of view or showing vs telling. Entering a writing contest will show you if you have issues in some of these areas.

Finding out you’re not using point of view well may be painful, but it’s better to find out from an anonymous contest judge early in your writing career than to polish the manuscript for months (or years), submit to a publisher and be rejected because of your point of view. (And point of view isn’t your opinion on a subject. If you’re a fiction writer and don’t understand what I mean by point of view, you need to learn).

Anonymous Feedback

Judging in unpublished contests is blind, which means the judges don’t know whose entry they are reading and judging. Most contests for unpublished writing ask writers to say who has read the entry so the contest organiser can avoid assigning the entry to a judge who may be biased. In addition, judges are encouraged to notify the organiser if they have seen any entries before so they can be reassigned.

Blind judging means judges can give feedback without worrying about that feedback potentially affecting a relationship (as can happen if you ask family or friends to critique your writing).

Bragging Rights

Finalling in or winning a contest gives you bragging rights aka a line in your query or proposal to an agent or editor. Many well-known Christian writers credit contests with helping them land an agent and/or publishing deal.

Five Contests to Enter

There are several contests currently open for entries, or opening soon. These contests are all for fiction writers only. Some are for Christian writers, some are for romance writers, and some are for both. If you write Christian romance, I recommend you enter at least one to get unbiased feedback on your work.

Note that most contests are for unpublished fiction authors, but some do permit authors who haven’t been published in fiction in the recent past (e.g. three years or five years), and some are open to any author, published or unpublished, as long as they enter an unpublished manuscript.

2022 Touched By Love Award

The Touched By Love Award is managed by Faith, Hope & Love Christian Writers, formerly the FHL chapter of Romance Writers of America. Writers do not need to be a member of FHLCW to enter.

This is a contest for unpublished authors, so entrants must not have been published a novel or novella in any form in the last three years, either traditionally published or self-published. Entries may not be contracted or published while they are still under consideration.

The contest has three categories:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Historical romance
  • Sweet romance (i.e. not specifically Christian)

Authors enter their first 20 pages plus an unjudged synopsis of up to 2 pages (all double spaced).

Entries opened on 1 June, and close on 1 August 2022, and the entry fee is USD 20 for FHLCW members, and USD 25 for nonmembers, payable via PayPal.

Click here to find out more and enter.

The Crown Award

The Crown Award is run by the Virginia chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers, and is for Christian fiction.

The award has six categories:

  • Contemporary
  • Contemporary Romance
  • Historical/Historical Romance
  • Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Romantic Suspense
  • Speculative
  • Young Adult/Middle Grade

ACFW Virginia have not yet released the names of the final-round judges, but the 2021 judges included a range of bestselling authors, agents, editors, and bookish influencers.

Authors enter a one-page synopsis and the first five pages of their manuscript.

Entries opened on 5 July, and close on 5 August.

Entry fees are USD 20 for members of the ACFW Virginia chapter, and USD 25 for non-members, payable via PayPal.

Click her to find out more and enter.

The Big Apple Contest

The Big Apple Contest is run by the New York City chapter of Romance Writers of America.

The award has eight categories:

  • Category Romance
  • Contemporary Single Title
  • Historical Romance
  • Romantic Suspense
  • Paranormal Romance
  • Erotic Romance
  • Young Adult/New Adult Romance
  • Inspirational Romance

The advantages of this general-market contest are that it has a specific Inspirational Romance category,and all entrants are guaranteed two one-page written critiques as well as the score sheet.

The contest is open to published and unpublished authors, and judges the book’s first chapter (up to 25 pages).

Entries opened on 1 July, and close on 31 August 2022. Entry fees are USD 20 for RWA/NYC members, USD 25 for RWA members, and USD 30 for non-members.

Click here to find out more and enter.

The Emily Award

The Emily Award is run by the League of Romance Writers, and is a contest for unpublished general market writers.

Authors enter the first 5,600 words of a completed or almost-completed manuscript. No synopsis is needed, although the organisers recommend entrants write a synopsis in case it is requested by a final-round judge (which are all agents or editors).

The award has six categories:

  • Short Contemporary Romance (under 70,000 words)
  • Long Contemporary Romance
  • Historical Romance
  • Romantic Suspense Romance
  • Paranormal Romance
  • Young Adult Romance

Entries open on 1 September and close on 2 October 2022. The entry fee is USD 30 for members of the League of Romance Writers, and USD 40 for non-members, payable via PayPal.

Click here to find out more and enter.

First Impressions Contest

The First Impressions Contest is run by American Christian Fiction Writers, and judges the first five pages plus a back cover description of up to 200 words. Entries “must be consistent with a traditional interpretation of Scripture“, where “one or more characters’ Christian beliefs are blended with and form a part of the story.”

The award has the following categories:

  • Contemporary
  • Historical
  • Historical Romance
  • Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
  • Novella
  • Romance
  • Romantic Suspense
  • Short Novel
  • Speculative
  • Young Adult

Entries open on 2 September and close on 15 October 2022. The entry fee is USD 15 for ACFW members and USD 25 for non-members.

Click here to find out more.

Which contests will you enter this year?

Do I Hire an Editor before Submitting to an Agent or Publisher?

Do I Hire an Editor before Submitting to an Agent or Publisher?

This is a common question from unpublished writers seeking a traditional publishing contract.

It’s not a question I’ve ever seen a traditionally published author ask. Published authors know their process and know what they need to do to submit a manuscript their publisher will accept.

Published authors usually have established critique partners who read and comment on their manuscript. Some use a professional editor to ensure the manuscript they submit is as clean as possible. Most have agents, and many agents will edit before submitting the manuscript to publishers.

But agents don’t get paid for editing. They only get paid when they sell a manuscript to a publisher. So agents are unlikely to take on new whose manuscripts that need a lot of work.

So why hire an editor?

1. You don’t know what you don’t know

I’ve come across hundreds of unpublished or self-published authors who are convinced their novel is brilliant, because their mother/sister/BFF loved it. Without fail, their books are not up to the standard I see in fiction from the major traditional publishers.

Why?

Their mothers and sisters and BFFs are proud of them for finishing a novel. They love the writer and want to encourage them to pursue their passion. It follows that they love their novel, no matter how good or bad it is. To add to the problem, they might not know what a “good” book looks like e.g. if they haven’t read a book since high school or mostly read nonfiction.

They don’t know enough to give good advice.

The common issues are:

  • The manuscript has no opening hook.
  • The manuscript doesn’t fit a clear genre.
  • The manuscript tells where it should be showing.
  • The manuscript uses omniscient or distant third person point of view
  • Writing errors show the author has not researched current writing trends or styles.

Any of these problems would be enough for a reputable agent or publisher to pass on the manuscript. And …

2. You only get one chance to make a first impression

It’s a cliché, but clichés become clichés because they are true.

Agents are busy people, and most won’t accept submissions from an author they have previously rejected. Don’t waste your one opportunity to pitch an agent with a manuscript that isn’t the best it can be.

3. A good editor will teach writing craft

A good editor will do more than point out issues and correct mistakes. A good editor will explain why something is an issue and teach the author how to correct it, so the author doesn’t make the same mistake again.

This will improve the author’s writing, increase their chance of being accepted by a publisher, and reduce the cost of future edits.

What are the Disadvantages of Hiring an Editor?

1. Editing can be Expensive

Most editors charge by the hour, so the more issues there are with a manuscript, the longer the initial edit will take, the more expensive it will be.

A full developmental edit (which is the level of editing most first-time authors need) can run into the thousands. And this is only the first round of editing: the manuscript will then need line editing, copyediting, and proofreading.

Click here to find out more about the cost of editing.

A Manuscript Assessment or critique is a less expensive first step. This will provide feedback in the form of an editorial letter rather than on the manuscript. As such, it should cost hundreds rather than thousands of dollars.

2. Authors need to select the right level of editing

New authors may not know what level of editing they require, so may be tempted to go for the least expensive—proofreading or a light copyedit. While no one wants to submit a manuscript with basic spelling or punctuation editors to an agent or publisher, a copyedit or proofread is unlikely to identify fundamental fiction writing issues, such as telling.

3. Agents and publishers edit anyway

This is the most common reason I see quoted as to why authors don’t need to get their manuscript edited before submission. Why bother paying for an edit when the agent or publisher will edit anyway?

There is some validity to this argument, but it assumes the manuscript is good enough that the agency’s first reader will see sufficient promise to forward the manuscript to the agent, and that the agent or publisher will accept it, mistakes and all. They might—but only if there is a strong hook, a solid synopsis, and the sample chapters show great writing.

Otherwise, they will reject the submission … and you may have lost your one chance with that agent or publisher.

Note that reputable agents and publishers will not charge you for editing. Some literary agents do offer freelance editing services, but these are separate from their work as an agent.

4. Some agents want to see the “raw” manuscript

Some agents specifically say they don’t want to see manuscripts that have edited by a professional editor. They want to see the author’s own work. My guess is these agents want to see the unedited manuscript so they can best gauge the writer’s skill and the amount of work they, the agent, will have to do to get that manuscript and future manuscripts to saleable condition.

5. Professional editing doesn’t guarantee publication

You might go through several rounds of paid editing and still not find an agent or publisher for that manuscript. This could be because your writing doesn’t meet the standard they expect. But it could also be because the agent/publisher doesn’t represent/publish your genre, or because your manuscript is too similar something they are already planning to publish.

Conclusion

Overall, I absolutely recommend getting competent external feedback before submitting a manuscript to an agent or publisher. This might mean hiring an editor. I think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

If paid editing isn’t an option, then I would like to suggest three alternatives:

Tips for Writing Younger Characters

Writing Tips | Tips for Writing Younger Characters

Years ago, I read a contemporary Christian novel that was the final in a long-running series that had covered the history of a single fictional family for almost 400 years. The Epilogue was about how their family story was about to be made into a movie. The hero was a young man … who would be played by Robert Redford. In 1996.

Yes, the handsome young hero was about to be played by a sixty-year-old man.

It struck me as stupid even then, and I mentally rewrote the ending. In my version, the movie starred Brad Pitt (who was still a baby-faced thirty-three). I never thought of why the author made such a silly mistake (or why their publisher didn’t swap Redford for someone more age-appropriate). But I’ve suspected the reason for a while, and a recent conversation on Twitter confirmed it.

Many authors use their own cultural touchstones instead of those which fit the character.

This mostly comes up when authors are writing about characters younger than themselves, resulting in characters who are in their twenties or early thirties (or, worse, in their teens), but sound like they’re in their fifties. I’ll share some examples from my own reading, editing, and from the Twitter discussion:

Actors

If you’re using actors (or movies or TV shows) as a cultural reference, make sure they are the actors the character would use. In the 2020s, the hot actors are Bradley Cooper and Henry Cavill and Benedict Cumberbatch, not Robert Redford, Brad Pitt or even Leonardo di Caprio. The power couple is Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, not Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Movies and TV Shows

Equally, your contemporary YA or romance heroines watched Star Wars: The Phantom Menace before Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. To them, Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica and Higgins from Magnum, PI are both female. And, as shocking as it might seem, Mr Darcy is not played by Colin Firth.

Musicians

Work out what musicians your character would be listening to (probably musicians their own age or up to ten years older). If they are listening to older music, make sure there is a reason. If they’re a musical theatre fan, it’s likely they’ll know and love all the musicals. If they play the violin in an orchestra, it’s likely they’ll listen to classical composers as well as contemporary hits.

Books and Magazines

I remember spending hours of my teenage years pouring over magazines telling me what makeup to buy and how to apply it. Modern teens get this information from Instagram and YouTube.

Adults buy magazines on a range of topics: home decor, fashion, motherhood. The younger generation watches shows YouTube. So don’t write that a room looks like a shoot in a design magazine. Say it looks like the “after” shot in a home renovation show.

Technology

Technology is another area where writers can get it wrong. Now that almost everyone has a mobile (or cell) phone, many people no longer have a home telephone line (if they do have a landline, it could be because it’s free with their internet connection).

Equally, conversations aren’t necessarily the one-on-one dialogue from our past. We might put the call on speaker so several people can contribute to the conversation. And calls don’t just have to be sound: internet video calls are common, whether they use old-school Skype, or something more modern like Facebook, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. And we’re just as likely to make those calls on a table or desktop computer as on a landline (previously known as a telephone).

Text messages are another potential issue.

Back when mobile phones only had number keys, people would use txtspk and abbreviations to get their message across in as few keystrokes as possible. Now, all phones have full keyboards along with predictive text and dictation functions. Teens text in full words and often even in grammatically complete sentences (and often dictate longer text messages).

They don’t write c u l8r.

They also don’t go to the video store to hire a movie on videotape (or even on DVD or Blu-ray). They have a Netflix subscription (and possibly Apple, Amazon Prime, and their favourite anime channel as well).

Fashion

We even have to check our fashion accessories. While I’ve been wearing scrunchies in my hair for twenty-odd years, they’ve been seriously out of fashion for at least ten of those years, so aren’t something a younger, hipper woman would wear. Pinterest is a great place to research what people are wearing.

Vocabulary

Finally, make sure your vocabulary is consistent with your character’s age and education. Avoid works like dear, folk, and slacks—they’re words my grandmother used (for reference, Grandma was born in 1921). My mother doesn’t use words like that, and I certainly don’t.

Using such vocabulary may give the wrong impression. You might think “dear” implies affection, but the reader might see it as something quite different:

It was strange that this man who was likely only a decade older than her thought to call her “dear.” It was a sweet term of endearment, but it reminded Emma that she wasn’t presenting herself as a competent adult.

Google Ngrams is a handy tool for figuring out what words were common and when, although it can’t tell you what the term meant (and meanings do change: much of Urban Dictionary is NSFW,  but it’s an excellent tool for discovering the current meaning of a word or phrase.)

The basic principle is that a reader shouldn’t be able to tell how old the author is by their vocabulary or the cultural references they use.

Remember, you’re writing your character’s story, not yours.

Consider your character’s age, culture, educational background, and make the effort to find and use the appropriate cultural references.

The bonus? This will make it easier for you to write original characters, because each character has a unique upbringings and cultural experience. Reflect that (not yours), and you’ll go a long way towards creating unique characters your readers can care about.

Introduction to Intellectual Property for Writers

Introduction to Intellectual Property for Writers

As content creators, we need to understand the basics of intellectual property law, particularly copyright. This post covers the basics of copyright for authors, and links to my more in-depth posts on the topic.

Please note that I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. There is a lot of great information about copyright on the internet, but none of it is legal advice. To get legal advice, you pay a lawyer licensed to practice in your state or country.

Intellectual property (IP) is that branch of property law that covers creations of the mind, including books, articles, blog posts and other written works. These are forms of property just like a house or a car, and intellectual property law seeks to protect the rights of IP creators.

Property can be a physical asset (like a house or a car or a computer), or intellectual. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (part of the United Nations) divides intellectual property into five categories:

  • Copyright (e.g. ownership of a book, a photograph, a song, or a blog post).
  • Trademark (e.g. a logo or brand that is associated with a product e.g. an Apple computer or a McDonalds burger).
  • Patents (e.g. pharmaceutical products are usually protected by patent).
  • Industrial designs.
  • Geographic indicators.
Copyright and trademarks are the two which are relevant to authors.

All writers need to understand the basics of intellectual property law for two reasons:

  • So they know their rights in regard to the work they write and publish
  • So they do not infringe the rights of others

Click here for more information on what copyright covers and who owns copyright.

Why do we have Intellectual Property rights?

Like physical property, intellectual property is something you can own. If you build a table, you own the right to do what you want with that table. Intellectual property rights give you the same rights over your creative works, such as books or blog posts.

Intellectual property rights recognise that individuals and organisations put time and effort into developing their intellectual property. As such, they have a right to benefit from their investment—to have the exclusive right to sell what they’ve made.

Just as we have laws that prohibit people from stealing your table (and ensuring the face consequences if they do), copyright laws help ensure no one steals and sells your work.

As a general rule, you own the copyright on what you write from the moment you write it. You can gain additional protection by registering a published book with the US Copyright Office, even if you’re not from the USA. It costs USD 35, and takes about fifteen minutes.

Note that posting something to yourself (sometimes referred to as “poor man’s copyright’) doesn’t strengthen your claim to the work. You own the copyright from the moment of creation. (Besides, printing and posting a 300-page manuscript to yourself isn’t cheap and could end up costing more than officially registering the copyright. It’s not exactly the “poor man’s” option).

Exception: Work for Hire

If you work for an organisation that employs you to make tables, you don’t own the tables you make. Any table you make at work is the property of your employer, because you are working for hire.

The same holds true for intellectual property. If you’re asked to write a book or write content for a website as part of your job, your employer owns the words you write. If you’re employed to undertake research, your employer owns the results of that research and may choose to protect that by trademark, patent, or another form of intellectual property protection.

What Copyright Doesn’t Protect

Copyright doesn’t protect all creative endeavours. For example, ideas aren’t protected by copyright:

Copyright protects the author’s expression, but not the underlying facts, ideas, or theories, no matter now novel those may be … what counts is not quality or novelty but only that the work be original. (Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, 4.5)

Click here to find seven works creators can’t copyright.

Copyright also doesn’t protect patents and trademarks. They are protected by patent and trademark law. Click here to read more about trademarks.

Other Copyright Tips

Copyright is relevant to us in more ways than as writers. For example, images are also subject to copyright. This means we need to be aware of who owns the images we see online, and how we use images in our own work e.g. in blog posts, or cover designs. Click here to read how to use images in blog posts.

There are times when authors and bloggers can use material created by others:

You can’t copy a book review on your book without permission, because the reviewer owns the copyright on that review. Click here to read more about book reviews.

You should be careful about “borrowing” a character from another author’s book to include in your own. Click here to read more about borrowing fictional characters.

Even if you don’t need permission (e.g. because the work is public domain), quoting another writer without acknowledging the source is plagiarism, which is a form of fraud.

International intellectual property law gives authors and other creatives the right to benefit from their work. As creatives (and especially as Christian creatives), we need to honour the copyright of others.
Can I Edit my Novel with Grammarly?

Dear Editor | Can I Edit my Novel with Grammarly?

I usually answer these kinds of questions with an it-depends kind of answer. Sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes it is no, depending on a variety of factors.

This is no one of those times. My answer is clear.

No.

You can’t edit your novel with Grammarly. (And I’m not just saying that because I’m an editor.)

Well, you can. But it won’t be correct.

This topic has come up in several editing groups I’m a member of. Yes, editors may well have a vested interest in saying they can do the job better than a piece of software. After all, that’s how editors earn money.

The general consensus among editors is that Grammarly is correct around half the time.

The challenge for authors who need help with spelling and grammar is working out which half.

I also have a real-life example to prove my point: a novel the author claims was edited in Grammarly. We’re both members of a Facebook group for writers, and the author shared that in a post. That’s all I’m going to tell you about the book. The point here isn’t to embarrass a new writer.

The point is to show that while Grammarly can identify more errors than spellcheck, that’s not going to give an error-free novel. Far from it.

Let’s go through the first few paragraphs in the Kindle sample:

“Sonny Quick, under the table.”

This sentence is grammatically correct if we assume the unnamed speaker is telling a character named Sonny Quick to get under the table. Unfortunately, that is not the case: the next line makes clear the unnamed speaker is telling a young boy called Johnny to get under the table.

To make this clear, the sentence should read:

“Sonny, quick, get under the table.”

This shows “quick” is an instruction, not the character’s surname.

Better still, revise the sentence to give the character’s name (Johnny), and avoid the awkward double commas:

“Johnny. Get under the table. Quick.”

Let’s move on.

Lieutenant Smith stomped in, slamming the door open.

Again, this sentence is grammatically correct: the words are spelled correctly, capitalised appropriately, and the punctuation is in the right place.

But it describes a practical impossibility. The lieutenant must open the door before he stomps in. Not after. As such, the sentence should read:

The door slammed open, and Lieutenant Smith stomped in.

So we have had two sentences that Grammarly has punctuated in a way that is technically correct, but which is incorrect based on the actual content.

This next sentence is missing two commas and a period. It also says “horseshoes” even though a blacksmith can only beat one horseshoe at a time. The sentence should read:

Mr Thomas said to Lieutenant Smith, “Johnny hasn’t turned up to work this morning, so I don’t know where he is. I’m busy.” He kept beating the horseshoe he was making.

That’s how a competent proofreader (or grammar checker) would edit the sentence. A line editor or copyeditor would revise the paragraph to start with dialogue and move the action beat to the middle:

“Johnny hasn’t turned up to work this morning.” Mr Thomas beat the horseshoe he was working on. “I don’t know where he is. I’m busy.”

Why? Because we don’t need to know who Mr Thomas is talking to. It’s obvious.

Lieutenant Smith grew red! His anger was visible.

The sentence doesn’t need the exclamation mark! It’s not a Hardy Boys novel! Too many exclamation marks are annoying! (They can also be a sign of poor writing …)

On the plus side, first the sentence is showing. Unfortunately, the next sentence tells the emotion, which isn’t necessary.

Mr Thomas’s shoe tapped Johnny on the knee, just motioning that he would keep him safe.

Again, this sentence is grammatically correct. But it doesn’t make sense. Try to visualise the scene: Mr Thomas is making horseshoes, an activity normally conducted on an anvil in a forge. I’m no blacksmith, but the pictures and demonstrations I’ve seen have the blacksmith facing an anvil (which he beats the horseshoe on). The anvil is positioned beside the forge, so the blacksmith can easily heat the metal. There will also be a bucket of water next to the anvil, so the blacksmith can quickly cool the metal.

At least, that’s how I picture a blacksmith’s forge. But that doesn’t match the description we’re given.

  • If Mr Thomas is facing the anvil, how can he tap Johnny on the knee with his foot?
  • Where is the workbench? It can’t be in front of Mr Thomas, as then the lieutenant would be able to see Johnny. It can’t be behind Mr Thomas, as that would mean making an awkward movement that would be sure to attract the lieutenant’s attention.

I don’t know. Again, an editor would have asked these questions so the author could either revise or delete the sentence.

That’s a lot of errors for four sentences on the first page of a novel. My conclusion: if you’re writing a novel, Grammarly is no substitute for a competent human editor.

If you don’t know show from tell, find someone who does.

If you don’t know first person from third person point of view, find someone who does.

If you don’t know right from wrong (or write from right from Wright), find someone who does.

Because you can’t rely on even the best online grammar checker.

How to Write a Book Description

How to Write a Book Description

It is a truth universally acknowledged that writing a 90,000-word novel is easier than writing 150 words for the back cover. So here are my tips for writing a good book description.

First, let’s clear up some terminology. Authors use several different terms to refer to the back cover copy, and some of these are not technically correct:

Book Blurb

Some authors use “book blurb” to refer to the back cover copy. But publishers often use this term to refer to endorsements: “Will you blurb my book?” So if an author asks you to write them a blurb, make sure you understand which blurb they are looking for.

Synopsis

A synopsis is a summary of the whole book, including the ending. The synopsis is usually one to four pages (so up to 1,000 words), although that will depend on who is asking for it and why (e.g. a contest or a publisher or an agent).

Some people write a one-paragraph version of the synopsis, which is short enough to go on the back of the book (and this may be where the confusion comes from). But a one-paragraph synopsis is still a synopsis in that it summarises the whole story. As such, it’s different from the book description.

Book Description

This is the back cover copy. It’s a sales pitch, second in importance only to the cover.

The potential buyer/reader sees your book on the shelf and is attracted by something about the cover – the title, the cover image or design, or by the author’s name. What do they do next? They usually flip the book and read the back cover. If they’re online, that back cover copy is right next to the cover image.

The purpose of the book description is to hook the reader so they’re interested enough to open the book and check out the writing. If they’re browsing online, they will see the first page (which is why a great opening is so important). If they’re browsing in a physical bookstore, they might check out the opening, but they might also open the book to a random page (which is why the writing needs to be consistently good, with tension on every page).

So the purpose of the back cover copy is to help sell the book. No pressure … which is probably why it’s so hard to write.

How much of the plot should the book description cover?

Ideally, the book description shouldn’t give away too much of the plot. It needs to give away enough to intrigue the target reader, but not so much that the reader is halfway through the book before anything new happens. If the book description references a specific event that kick-starts the action (e.g. a death, a wedding, a new person in town), then those events should occur in the first couple of chapters. Otherwise, readers  are likely to skim until they get to the key event which caught their attention.

Writing Your Book Description

Start with Your Logline

A logline is a single sentence that sums up the essences of your plot:

  • Introduces the main character and the antagonist.
  • Introduces the setting (either specifically e.g. New York, or generally e.g. small-town Ohio).
  • Introduces the main character’s story goal.
  • Introduces the central conflict.
  • May introduce the stakes.

A good logline is 20-30 words (aim for 25).

Yes, writing a logline is hard. But once you’ve got all that information in one sentence, it’s not so hard to expand it to 150 words for your book description.

Let’s try:

  1. Write one sentence that introduces the main character and their problem or goal, and why they want that (i.e. their motivation).
  2. If the novel is a romance, write one sentence that introduces the love interest and their problem or goal and their motivation.
  3. Write one sentence that introduces the antagonist and their goal (and it should be immediately obvious how this is going to cause conflict for the main character and/or the love interest). you may not need this sentence if your novel is purely romance, as the love interest may also be the antagonist.
  4. Write one sentence about the world this story is set in, and how the setting (in time or place) impacts on the goal or the conflict.
  5. Write one sentence showing what’s at stake if the main character doesn’t achieve their goal.

You might be able to finish your book description there, or you might need one final sentence to bring the plot together and finish on a bang that convinces the reader to buy.

Just don’t reveal the ending.

Now, edit. Edit, edit, edit. Your book description needs to show your writing to the best possible advantage, so get feedback from author and reader friends.

Here ‘s a checklist for  good book description:

  • Have you introduced the main character/s?
  • Is the genre clear?
  • Is the book description written in the same style or voice as the novel? (Although a novel written in first person may use third person for the book description.)
  • Does the book description hook the reader (e.g. setting or stakes)?
  • Does the book description give away the whole plot? If so, rewrite so it doesn’t.
  • Will your target reader want to read the book based on this description?

Finally, proofread and get someone else (or several someones) to check it for you.

You don’t want readers not buying your book because there’s a typo in the book description.

 

Can I Use Fictional Characters in my Novel?

Dear Editor | Can I Use Fictional Characters in my Novel?

Please note that I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. There is a lot of great information about copyright on the internet, but none of it is legal advice. To get legal advice, you pay a lawyer licensed to practice in your state or country.

Can you reference another author’s characters in your novel?

As with so many questions in publishing, it depends.

If this is something you’re considering, here are some questions to ask.

Is the novel out of copyright?

If the novel is out of copyright, then it’s likely you can use the characters. That’s how we have so many versions of Jane Austen novels (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, anyone?). But keep reading, because it might not be.

Are you planning to sell the book?

If you’re writing purely for enjoyment and not making your work available for sale, then it may be classified as fan fiction. Many authors are perfectly happy for their characters to be used in fan fiction … but some are not, such as Anne Rice. JK Rowling doesn’t mind as long as there is no sex.

Do you have the author’s permission?

If the novel is still under copyright and you want to include the character (or the character’s name), then my advice would be to ask permission from the author or rights holder. The author may take it as a compliment and happily give permission, or they may decline your request.

Is there a valid trademark on the character name?

Some characters are so unique that their names are protected by trademark to ensure that no other author writes and sells novels using that character. If the character is trademarked, you can’t use that character without permission.

This particularly applies to characters where the book has been adapted into a film. In such cases, the name may well have been trademarked by the production company, if not by the author.

Is the character covered by copyright?

If the character is distinctive enough that they are subject to copyright in their own right (e.g. Jack Ryan or James Bond), then you can’t use that character without permission. If the character has appeared in a movie or TV series, you almost certainly can’t use that character without the permission of both the author and the production company.

So when can you use another author’s character?

When you have written permission from the copyright holder.

If the author has given you written permission for using their character, then you are fine.

Otherwise, don’t.

What if I accidentally use the same character name?

That’s going to depend on how common the character’s name is, and whether your character is clearly a different character. The legal issue here is “passing off”. Could an average reader mistakenly think they’ve bought an all-new James Bond novel featuring the famous 007 agent? If so, you’ve got a problem.

(An ornithologist named James Bond in your novel set in the Caribbean in the 1950s is unlikely to cause problems. A spy named James Bond will.)

Perhaps Google your main character’s name while you’re still in draft stage. Then you’ve got time to change your character’s name if you’ve unconsciously chosen one that is too close to a previous (and more famous) character … or real-life person.

But Why?

My question as a reader is why would you use another author’s character? I have occasionally read novels where a character from another writer in the genre is mentioned. I find it a little odd, especially if it’s not made clear the character has been “borrowed” e.g. by thanking the other author in the author’s notes at the end.

Using an existing name implies a connection between the two books and authors, and that breaks the suspension of disbelief necessary for great fiction.

So if you do borrow a character, make sure you have permission and make clear it is the same character. Don’t leave the reader wondering.

The Enneagram for Beginners

Book Review | The Enneagram for Beginners by Kim Eddy

Over the last few years, I have seen more and more questions referring to the Enneagram. It’s yet another in a long line of personality assessment tools designed to help people understand themselves and others better. The author points out that what differs differentiates the Enneagram from other personality assessments is the focus on motivation.

The Enneagram for Beginners has a lot of applications for Christian fiction writers, regardless of what you think about the tool itself.

It gives all of us a window into other’s hearts, helping us to see the person, not just their actions.

That statement caught my attention, because I could see how it applies to writers. Many writers have trouble articulating a goal and motivation for their characters, which is an issue:

  • Without a goal, there is nothing for the character to come into conflict with.
  • Without conflict, there is no plot.
  • Without motivation there is no reason for the goal, no conflict, and no story.

The other difference between the Enneagram and other personality assessments is that most assessments categorise people into a box that is supposed to describe them. For example, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator categorises people with four letters representing four alternatives:

  • Introversion (I) or Extroversion (E)
  • Sensing (S) or Intuitive (N)
  • Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
  • Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)

Thus, your Myers-Briggs Type might be an ISTJ or ENFP or any other combination of those four letters.

Once you have that those four letters, the tool shows how you are similar to or different from others, and points out certain personality characteristics you might have in common. The underlying principle is that our “type” doesn’t change, but we can learn how to maximise our own strengths and learn to work with those with different personalities.

In contrast, the Enneagram shows users a way to develop and change.

Sometimes this development and change can be positive, and sometimes this is negative. The author says:

One of the purposes of learning about our Enneagram type is to be able to grow beyond it.

As writers, we call this growth the character arc.

The Enneagram gives each of the nine Enneagram types a desire, a fear, a struggle, and a lie that Type believes.

As we authors know, the lie the character believes (aka the emotional wound) is one of the essentials of good characterisation.

For example, Type 3s prioritise being successful and achieving their goals. Why? Because Type 3s live with the lie that they will only be loved and respected if they live up to the expectations of others.

It’s easy to see how this lie can influence a fictional character.

The character wants to be admired and respected, so works hard and always presents a perfect persona to the outside world. I would guess that The Duchess of Cambridge (aka Catherine Middleton) is a Type 3.

But this belief is a lie, and a lie which tells us the lesson the character needs to learn as the novel progresses. A Type 3 character needs to learn they are more than the image they create, and that being perceived as a failure will not be the end of their lives. Instead, they need to learn that they have worth regardless of how others perceive them.

Each Enneagram type also has a growth type and a stress type.

For example, a Type 3 will grow to show some of the positive characteristics of a Type 6. They may become more cooperative loyal, and more of a team player as they put aside the emphasis on personal achievement and focus on others.

Infographic showing the Enneagram

But a Type 3 character operating under stress could move towards the unhealthy characteristics of a Type 9. They might become more stubborn, more withdrawn, and more prone to becoming a workaholic in order to impress others.

I am no expert on the Enneagram and certainly have no desire to start putting real-life people in an Enneagram box.

But I think the concept has great applications for Christian writers, especially fiction writers. As such, I can see the book providing some great ideas and opportunities for character development e.g. if you want to understand your character’s underlying motivation, the lie they believe, and the kind of event that will produce a believeable and meaningful black moment or dark night of the soul.

The Enneagram for Beginners by Kim Eddy is a Christian guide to the Enneagram ... and is also a great resource for Christian fiction writers. #BookReview Click To Tweet

I especially like the way the book showed the blindspots each character type is likely to have the growth opportunities for the individual, for the individual with their families, and for the individual in the wider community or work setting. It went on to show the growth opportunities for each Enneagram Type, and how to become more like Jesus.

That, to me, was the real strength of the book. It said it was Christian, and it was Christian.

Everything in the book was bringing the concept of the Enneagram back to our relationship with Jesus and how Jesus is the answer to our problems (you know, like the Bible says).

The book didn’t quote other Enneagram experts (although it’s obvious the author has done her research and read widely are on the subject), but focused on practical steps about how to move from unhealthy or average to healthy for our Enneagram type (or our character’s type).

While The Enneagram for Beginners isn’t intended as a writing manual for Christian fiction writers, I do think it’s worth checking out if you’re looking for another approach to characterisation, or want to consider how motivation and lies can play a part in Christian fiction.

Do you know your Enneagram Type?

Have you used the Enneagram as a tool for characterisation?

About Kim Eddy

Kim Eddy
Kim Eddy is a Christian Enneagram Coach, speaker and author. Her passion is helping people of faith use the Enneagram to understand themselves and others better so they can grow in their life, relationships and wellbeing. Kim is the daughter of a pastor and a nurse, and is one of 9 children. She lives in sunny Arizona with her two world-changers-in-training little girls.

Find Kim online at:

Website | Podcast | Instagram

About The Enneagram for Beginners

Recognized as a valuable tool for identifying recurring patterns of unhealthy behavior and the ways we try to earn God’s favor, the Enneagram is used by churches, ministries, and families to grow more like Jesus and be closer to one another. While its wisdom is highly sought after, the Enneagram system can be complicated to navigate for first-time users. In this highly accessible spiritual guide, Certified Enneagram Coach Kim Eddy breaks down the essentials to help beginners discover their type and break free from fear and shame by knowing and experiencing the unconditional love, forgiveness and freedom in Christ.

The Enneagram for Beginners features:

  • Enneagram 101: that includes everything you need to know about the Enneagram, such as the triads, subtypes, wings, levels of health, ongoing struggles, and more
  • Easy and supportive steps to find your true type
  • Deep explorations into each of the nine personality types to understand the ways in which you experience the world and how you can find Jesus everyday
  • Type-focused scripture that reveals what God says about you
  • A special prayer for each type

This book is an essential tool for beginners who want to learn their type and find their own transformative path, all while keeping their faith and relationship with Jesus at the center.

Find The Enneagram for Beginners online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads

Can my Characters Swear?

WriteTip | Can My Characters Swear?

This is a common question from new fiction writers. As with so many writing questions, the answer will depend. In this case, the answer depends on the genre you’re writing and the market you’re writing for.

Market

There are two major markets in the USA and other English-speaking countries: the Christian market (historically represented by the USA by the CBA, or Christian Booksellers Association, and now represented by the CRA, or Christian Retail Association) and the general market (represented by the ABA, or American Booksellers Association).

Major Christian fiction publishers such as Harper Collins Christian Publishing (which includes imprints such as Love Inspired, Thomas Nelson, and Zondervan) and Baker House Books (which includes Bethany House) sell through the CBA/CRA to Christian booksellers. These booksellers have historically been very conservative in terms of the content they would stock, so major traditional publishers are unlikely to publish books (fiction or nonfiction) with swearing or other offensive content that they know won’t be accepted by their major customers, the Christian booksellers.

As such, authors aiming on working with a traditional Christian publishing house would be advised to avoid any questionable language in their manuscripts.

In many years of reading Christian fiction, the strongest language I’ve seen was “crap” in a novel from Bethany House.

Self-published authors have more leeway, in that there isn’t a single gatekeeper like the CBA/CRA deciding whether their books are “good enough” or not. Instead, they have to work with thousands of gatekeepers aka readers. While there is nothing stopping a self-published author including questionable language in their manuscripts (in the same way as there is nothing stopping them including explicit sexual content in their manuscripts), the average reader of Christian fiction does not expect to find questionable language or content.

Your characters can swear, but it’s better to keep their outbursts implied rather than detailed.

Christian fiction readers can have strict standards on what constitutes bad language in a novel. I once saw a reviewer roast an author for taking the Lord’s name in vain in her novel. I’d read the novel, and what that review saw as taking the Lord’s name in vain, I saw as arrow prayers from a desperate character.

Common examples include:

  • He swore.
  • He let out a vile curse.
  • He let out a stream off words he hadn’t learned in Sunday School.
  • If his mother had heard him, he’d be eating soap for a week.

Genre

But what if you’re writing for the general market?

If you’re writing for the general market (whether as a Christian or non-Christian) then the question of to swear or not to swear comes down to genre. And genre reflects reader expectations.

For example:

  • Readers of sweet romance (e.g. Harlequin Heartwarming) expect the same standards of questionable language and explicit content as Christian fiction readers i.e. none.
  • Paranormal romance readers expect a lot of sex, and won’t be offended if that’s accompanies by a lot of graphic violence and a lot of bad language.
  • Hard-boiled thriller readers expect the characters to swear, saying the novel wouldn’t be true to life otherwise.

How Will I Know?

How can you tell what’s appropriate for your genre?

Research.

The only way to understand the language norms for your genre is to read a lot of books in your genre. (Tragic, I know.)

What if you don’t know what genre you’re writing?

Research.

You need to read a range of books and find three to five comparable titles i.e. books which are similar to yours.

Click here to read an introduction to genre and why it’s important.

Click here to read a post on comparable titles and why they are important.

Understanding reader expectations is vital if you want to engage readers and turn them into fans. This means writing in a clear genre, using familiar genre tropes but twisting them to create a unique story.

Click here to read about popular genre tropes in romance.

Click here to read more popular romance tropes.

If you’ve decided you are going to include swearing in your novel, then how much swearing is okay?

Again, this is going to come back to genre and reader expectations. The character’s situation may also play into the language. For example, The Martian by Andy Weir includes swearing in the first line. but the character has just realised he’s alone on the planet Mars, with no way to escape. If people swear when they are stressed or in an impossible situation, Mark Watney is that person.

But don’t overdo the bad language. Like any writing technique, like, bad language, like, can turn into a, like, tic if used too often, like.

Alic F, posting on The Story Doctor blog, suggests replacing swear words with “green” to see if they add to the plot or characterisation, or are merely repetitive.

(His vote is that the swearing is likely to be repetitive and cliché rather than fresh and original writing).

In general, I agree. But I can accept there are some occasions when swearing in general market fiction might be both appropriate and true to the character. I use the Mark Watney test: if your character is trapped alone on a planet with no hope of escape, they can swear. Otherwise, find a more creative and original way of making the point.

But if you’re writing for the Christian market, my advice would be to avoid any questionable language.

What Are Comparable Titles and How do I Find Them?

What Are Comparable Titles and How do I Find Them?

If you are considering submitting a proposal to a publisher or a literary agent, you will find they don’t only want a sample of your writing to help them decide whether they are interested in you and your manuscript. Usually, they also want you to suggest between three and five comparable titles.

What Are Comparable Titles?

Comparable titles are books that are similar to yours. They may be in the same genre, have similar plots, use similar tropes, be written in a similar style, and/or have a common thread such as the setting.

Comparable titles should be new books, released in the last five years and ideally in the last two years. (No, you can’t use Jane Austen and Charles Dickens as comparable authors).  They should be books which have seen success in their niche (you don’t want to compare your manuscript to the publishing equivalent of a movie that scores 9% on Rotten Tomatoes).

Avoid books that have topped bestseller lists and/or been made into movies. These books have typically seen success outside their core genre, so aren’t truly comparable.

Choosing megahits could also be interpreted as suggesting you haven’t done your homework (to find more suitable comparable titles), or that you have delusions of grandeur (“you have to publish this book because my mum said it would make a great movie” is not going to win you a publishing contract.)

Most agents and publishers want you to name between three and five comparable titles, each from a different author.

Top tip: Once you have identified possible comparable titles, note the authors. Read their new releases and add them to your comparable book list to keep it current.

That’s all well and good if you plan to seek a literary agent and pursue a traditional publishing contract.

But what if you plan to self-publish?

I would still advise making a list of comparable titles and authors. It will help you with a range of writing and marketing decisions. Knowing your comparable titles and authors will:

  • Inform your genre and the tropes you use.
  • Provide a guide to writing style and point of view (if all your comparison titles are written in first person and present tense, then you might need to reconsider your use of past tense omniscient point of view).
  • Enable you to find book reviewers who review in your genre.
  • Give examples of cover design trends in your genre, which can inform your cover design.
  • Help you find joint promotional activities to help expose your book to new readers and build your email list.

Finding comparable titles and authors will also help you identify your target reader, because readers who enjoy books by your comparable authors should also enjoy your book.

So How do you Find Comparable Authors?

Bestseller Lists

Start by checking the Amazon top 100 list for books in your genre.

I suggest starting with the Amazon lists because everyone has access to them, and because they are purely based on sales i.e. what buyers are buying. Lists in major publications have several limitations:

  • Lists don’t count Amazon sales (because they get their sales figures from BookScan, and  Amazon don’t release their sales figures).
  • Lists may exclude self-published books.
  • Lists may be curated (i.e. whoever compiles the list chooses which books to include and exclude).

New Release lists from Relevant Writing Organisations

American Christian Fiction Writers publishes a monthly post compiling the new releases from ACFW members. It’s not all the new releases in Christian fiction, because not every Christian fiction writer is a member of ACFW, but it’s a start.

Upcoming Releases Posts on Book Blogs

Publishers typically work twelve months in advance, so they already know what books they’re planning to release in the first quarter of 2022. They have typically produced the cover and book description several months in advance. The books are then made available to industry professionals (including book bloggers) via services such as NetGalley.

Many book bloggers will post about they books on their to-review pile. Some (e.g. Rel at Relz Reviews) work with publishers to reveal the covers for their upcoming season.

Book Blogs

Many book bloggers review books in advance of publication. Others feature lists of books they’re looking forward to (often books they’ve already downloaded from NetGalley).

Following blogs in your genre can give you insight into what books publishers are publishing, so you can track new releases in your genre and find books to add to your list of comparable titles. You can also track debut authors, and add them if appropriate.

But how do you know which titles are most like yours?

Simple. Read.

Read new releases from comparable authors, and read new releases from debut authors in your genre. You don’t have to read every book – it may be enough to read the Kindle sample to determine whether the book is a comparable title or not.

I know. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

Reading in your genre and interacting with readers and bloggers will help keep you up-to-date on writing and publishing trends …

And your comparable titles.