Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more or sign up.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Any amount I make goes towards my dream to host a book fair in Hampton Roads, VA. Please see my About page for more details. Thank you for your support.
Optional Monthly Question: What’s harder to do, coming up with your book title or writing the blurb?
I think it’s equally hard to come up with a title and a blurb, but in very different ways.
When I start on a new project, I often have a working title in mind. Still, there’s always the chance that one of the four or five other possible titles I’ve come up with might be the final title to get published. I tried getting feedback on titles and have even posted a few polls. For me, it often comes down to the final moment of “I’m done with this project and it’s time to put it out there” that I settle on a title. I say settle because I always feel that whatever title I’ve chosen, another one would be better after the fact.
I know many people do this, and that’s fine for others, but for me, an excerpt from the book is a lazy blurb. When I find a book online and the blurb is just a passage from the book, part of me thinks, why bother? They didn’t. I’m not saying that I haven’t read some of these books, but honestly, if my TBR is stacked pretty high, books with excerpts in place of blurbs get bumped down.
When it comes to writing that blurb, it’s a balancing act. I want to pull readers in, but I don’t want to mislead them. I want them to know what to expect, but I don’t want to give too much of the plot away. I don’t want to be an excerpt blurb writer just in case there are other readers out there like me. Right now, I’m still writing out about three to four blurbs and testing them out on friends and family. I just wish I had more friends, outside of this lovely community, who were actually readers.
****
IWSG Newsletter Member Spolight
So glad to see the member spotlight back. It was fun getting to know a little more about Natalie Aguirre. Be sure to check her out at the following:
Literary Rambles: http://literaryrambles.com
Twitter: @NatalieIAguirre
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natalie.aguirre.56
IWSG BOOK CLUB ON GOODREADS
Member Spotlights
#iwsgbookclub
The books we’ve chosen to spotlight in the month of November are Lyon’s Legacy: Catalyst Chronicles, Book One by Sandra Ulbrich Almazan and Broken Angel by Sylvia Ney. Please check these out and consider giving one or both of these a read this month. If you’re not up for reading them, no worries, you can still help spread some love for these publications and or participate in the book club activities.
My co-mods and I have done a lot of research into the books written by IWSG members to help facilitate the current direction the book club is taking. In the process, I’ve learned about how readers find and don’t find books by our members. So, I’ve put together some, hopefully, helpful tips I like to call…
Ways to Make Your Book(s) “Findable”
…and increase their chances to be featured and discovered.
3) Post a clear and easy way to find links or buttons to learn more about your books on your blog and or website. If your website and blog are separate, make sure you can easily access one from the other without having to search for it, which includes links or buttons to info about your books. I did a lot of searching trying to find IWSG member books, more searching than I fear the average reader will do. *Make sure all the links on your blog or website actually work and are directed to where you want them to go.
P.S. I’m excited to announce that the co-mods and I have come up with a plan to better serve all the members of the IWSG community. We acknowledge that there are no perfect ways to please everyone, but with our goal to spotlight and promote the talented people of this community, we had to at least try.
Our original spotlight schedule was derived from IWSG member participation in the blogging community. It quickly came to the attention of co-mod Juneta Key that we had neglected to give our Facebook friends as much attention. So now, we are altering our schedule and setting up a registry. If you are part of the IWSG monthly blog hop, you do not need to sign up for the registry. Moving forward our spotlight schedule will follow this pattern:
IWSG blog list 1-50 = Feb, Jun, Oct.
IWSG blog list 51-100 = Mar, Jul, Nov.
IWSG blog list 101+ = Jan, May, Sep (Anthologies)
IWSG Registry Apr, Aug, Dec.
Please click the hyperlink to fill out the form to be added to the IWSG Book Club Spotlight Registry, and please help us spread the word.
Now, on to the personal updates.
I’ve been writing a little, not a lot, but any time I write, I appreciate it. My Patreon community has really helped me to create on a regular basis. I’m so grateful for my patrons.
I usually try to post a monthly update on what I read along with book reviews; however, taking on the role of IWSG Book Club Admin has been more time-consuming than I’d expected. Still, I’m having lots of fun doing it so there aren’t any complaints here. I simply have to rethink how I’m going to post my reviews moving forward. I’ll also need to address my Newsletter readers, whom I’ve terribly neglected.
Here’s the video of what I read in August and Sept. I’ve already completed my October reviews but will share those with my IWSG Book Club Poll post next week. My full review video is featured below.
****
So, what’s harder for you, titles or blurbs?
Read, or written, any good books lately?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will eventually stop by your blog. My response time has gotten slower but I’m still making my rounds.
****
After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Kim Lajevardi,
Victoria Marie Lees,
Joylene Nowell Butler,
Erika Beebe, and
Lee Lowery!
****
Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #33).
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter