In this episode, Jeff and Laura come together for a Q&A. Questions from the Dialoggers included:
- How do you keep track of everything for long, complex stories with elaborate world building?
- How do you make a novel’s opening scene engaging while also needing to establish ‘the new world’?
- Considering how expensive audio books are to produce, at what point should an indie author jump on it?
- What are some good tactics on how to improve your prose and more clearly find your voice?
- How do you make necessary transition scenes interesting without changing the plot?
- I want to take part in promotions/giveaways that help build my email list and give me reviews, but I have my books in KDP select which means I’m not supposed to give away free books. Do I take my books out of KU? Thoughts on which one would be more beneficial? Is it just unheard of that new authors don’t have their books in KDP select?
- How is a book description different from a blurb? I’m struggling with this because I feel like I just nailed the blurb, but now I need book descriptions for when I have my book in a promotion. I looked up the difference so I’m familiar with the definition of a book description, but are there tips for writing one to make it different from the blurb? —Can you offer titles similar to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and TV shows similar to Nobody Wants This? The more, the merrier. I haven’t laughed this much in years! Love it!
- Any tips on summarizing the passage of time in between conversations. I generally handle the passage of time by changing scenes, but in certain examples I would end up with rather small scenes. Situations I have run into in the past follow the pattern: start with a conversation, summarize a non-trivial activity that would take too long to relay in real time, then end with another conversation.
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A huge thank you to the dialoggers who offered questions! They were great. I learned so much from Laura and Jeff because of them.
It was the first time I heard, succinctly, the definition of a blurb and a description at the front and back of the book. It made sense that plot beats and tropes should be included in the descriptions.
That the world of the story develops from character interactions and their relationships. Discussing this was a welcomed reminder of the importance of our characters!
The points made about how to handle time shifts were very helpful. I’ve recently read books where I want to ask the author: “What year, decade, or century are we in?”
What to consider when wanting to put out an audio book was insightful! If I ever get to the point where a book or a compilation of short stories is ready for audio, the information you’ve given us on this topic will help me decide how to offer this to readers.
I’m finding that I’m definitely a binder kind of organizer rather than using Excel sheets. The way you broke down the percentages of the three categories of information we write in any type of story—and I propose, in any format (novel, short story, blog)—was very helpful to me. I want to keep in mind that the critical pieces of information the reader needs in order to understand the story are tiny or small at best compared to the other two you mentioned. I want to think post-it note or 3×5 card worth of information.
I’m glad Author Voice was discussed because, as a novice writer, I’ve heard the message that Author Voice needs to be developed, and I’ve never been able to figure out how one does that. It was refreshing to hear that we can’t. That it happens naturally as we write. I like this—authenticity!
How to improve prose. The information you shared with us was ‘gold.’ It took me back to practicing swimming—not just the rigors associated with training every day for hours and hours, but how differently one learns while taking oneself out of the thick of things—the game—in order to hone skills. Although, I must say that it also depends on the coaching one receives. The coach, in my opinion, makes all the difference in whether or not taking oneself out of the game in order to perfect the intricacies (mechanics) of learning the skill (sport) pays off for the trainee.
As always, Laura and Jeff—what’s the word that is used in Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory? “Everlasting Gobstopper”—that most sought-after, stupendous candy. That’s what I think of—what I receive from your teachings!
Thank you, Laura and Jeff, for your tireless energy, wisdom, and knowledge you share with us.