In this very interesting blog post by Alan Rinzler in The Book Deal, four top literary agents share their thoughts on the future of publishing and the role of literary agents in a fast-changing environment. The four, all veterans and eminently successful literary agents themselves are: Candice Fuhrman, Andrea Brown, Andrea Hurst and Bonnie Solow. Continue reading “On Literary Agents”
Author: Prem Rao
Author, Blogger, Book Reviewer, Coach, and Podcaster
How important is your book title? Shouldn’t it grab the attention of your potential buyer? Does a one-word title work better than longer options, especially in the genre of mysteries and thrillers? Last but not the least, how should your back cover copy or synopsis seize the interest of your reader?
My debut novel “It Can’t Be You” started with “The man was dead.” I then went on to develop the opening scene where a body is found. At that stage those who find the body do not know whether the man was killed or killed himself. Many who read the book have commented that it set the tone for what became an absorbing psychological thriller. Continue reading “About Great Starts and Editors”
Ever since my debut novel, “It Can’t Be You” was published in November 2010, I have been closely following how it has fared on Flipkart, a very popular online book chain in India. Titles are listed under different categories and ICBY finds itself listed under “Suspense & Thrillers.” Continue reading “I am thrilled!”
I remember the time I was editing my second thriller ” Lucky For Some, Thirteen” before it was sent off to the publishers. Each time I went through the manuscript, I would find either an error or a clear opportunity to make the sentence “sound” better. That’s when I decided to “proof speak” rather than proof read.
This blog post in Ballpoint.com tells you why it’s a smart thing to proof speak your work. I found it very useful. The biggest gain is a better understanding of how it would sound to the reader.
Most description should come through dialogue but there are times when you need to find the right words to express the feelings of your characters as seen by others. I came across this list from author Kimberly T. Matthews. Your choice of the right word makes a big difference in your description. Kimberly’ s list should prompt you, as it did me, to add-on to our vocabularies. If we don’t, we could end up using the same old words all the time, novel after novel.
The best way to improve your writing is to actively seek ways of improving it and put them into practice. I believe proof speaking and using the right word to depict expressions are useful tips to any writer.
“It Can’t Be You” the Kindle version is now available to you @ $3.99, after a discount of 20% on Amazon.com.
“Only Men Please” is an anthology of 35 short stories written by 35 writers, and they are all men. The anthology is edited by Meenakshi Varma and published by Unisun Publications. In her introduction, Meenakshi writes, ” The stories are extremely vivid and varied, perhaps because of the fact that the writers themselves come from varied backgrounds.with regard to occupation and nationality. I don’t know if it is a co-incidence, but in all the stories the protagonist is a male.” Continue reading ““Only Men Please””
Flipkart lists all the titles it stocks under various categories. In the “Suspense and Thrillers” category, currently as many as 44,978 titles are listed. I am happy to say that “It Can’t Be You” my debut novel (Cedar, November 2010) ranks 354.
“Lucky For Some, Thirteen” is the title of my to be published thriller. It came out of my participating successfully in NaNoWriMo 2010. This will be the second thriller that I have written, the first being my debut novel, “It Can’t Be You.”
I wrote recently about back cover copy. I would like to share the back cover copy that I wrote for “Lucky For Some, Thirteen.”
“Is the only good terrorist a dead one? When she captures two fanatic fidayeen after their sensational terror strike in Goa in January 2010, little does Major Mohini Nair, of India’s elite counter terrorism force, the National Security Guard, realize that they will come back to haunt her and the nation later that year.
In September 2010, in another audacious, chilling attack, some of Bangalore’s rich and famous are taken hostage in “Opulence” that last word in luxurious living, in a place and at a time they least expect. Clearly, the best of technology has crashed before base human emotions of greed and fanaticism. Ransom money is not what the mysterious terrorists want. They want the release of their two comrades and safe passage in exchange for the hostages. The blood-curling brutality of the perpetrators, who include the beautiful Alice Hatchman, petrifies the hostages driving the story to a fever pitch.
Relishing the gruesome to show her power is easy for Alice as she loves no one. Rescuing the hostages is made more difficult for Mohini, as amongst them is the man she loves. Can the 13th floor penthouse of “Opulence” prove to be lucky for some?”
I would welcome your comments. This book is likely to be published around May 2012. To follow its progress, do see its Facebook Page.
Today, I thought I would share my views on that important part of the book, which some authors ignore at their own peril. I, of course, speak of the back cover. Many authors, particularly first-timers, feel their job is done once they have written the book and handed it over to the publisher. I submit that you the author have a huge role to play in making the best use of the back cover. Continue reading “Ignore The Back Cover At Your Peril”
