J.B. Sommerset

I have always said that a talent that is never used, never released to the world, and never seen is a wasted talent. It's a truth that we all need to make a living, at least for most of us, and as much as we would like to sit around in coffee shops writing and drawing, there are still bills to be paid. In other words, we simply cannot take the time off to write the next great novel.  We all hope, we wish, and we dream, that we will write a book or screenplay that the world will recognize, and then proceed to throw some money at us. At the very least, enough to get us out of the 9-5 lifestyle.  The hard part is making sure the right people see it and then proceed to buy it. For most of us, that is the dream- to work at what we love and not have to stress about bills in the meantime.  A friend of mine emailed me a video, he always thinks that I need to better market my work and always has good advice. This little gem is from " Gary Goldstein ", and it has some good advice a...

A couple of posts ago I talked about the seven basic plots . In that post, I mentioned Christopher Booker's , The Rule of three . I mentioned that I would delve into this later, well, today is that day. Roll up them' sleaves and read along for the ride. The rule of three should be important to any writer and here's why: readers like clarity, simplicity, and digestibility- the rule of three helps writers keep the story clear, concise, and easy to read. It prevents the story from becoming convoluted and/or overwhelming, or too simplistic and boring.  The rule of three is how a good writer maps the conflict and how it is resolved. In its simplest form, that is in children's books, the rule of three preps the reader for the action, conflict, or resolution. Take Goldilocks and the three bears,  for instance, Goldilocks tried all three chairs, dinners, and beds before she finds the one that is "just right".  The rule of three balances the suspense for the reader.  ...

Back on the subject of marketing your work… I have never been good at writing short descriptions for my books. It's something I need to work towards, but I acknowledge it's all-important to the marketing process. One of the problems I have is turning the content of my book (all 300 plus pages) into a 250-300 word summary that reads good and catches the eye. The dreaded "dust jacket", it can make or break even the best books.  I compensate for it by having unique covers, which I design myself (humble brag!). I love the covers I come up with, but the thing that's always missing from them is a really killer description. Some of my books don't have a description on them, which isn't always a good thing to omit. But , and to be frank, writing a short description of my work scares me. I can write all day and make a story come to life, but ask me to create a short, simple, and catchy dust jacket or Amazon.com description, and I am struck with crumbling dread. Sw...