What would’ve helped you?

When you’re thinking about a self-help audience, you’re directing your book toward someone who is in need of something. Whether that be the strength to overcome a traumatic experience or simply to achieve a higher level of spiritual happiness, your reader is coming to this book with a specific goal in mind. If you’re a self-help writer, you’ve chosen a topic in which you have some expertise. Whether you studied it in school or you experienced it personally, you have something to offer your readers. The best way to approach it is to think of how you felt when you experienced what your reader is going through. What do you wish people would’ve said to you? What do you wish you would’ve done for yourself? Be that person for your reader, admit what you did wrong and help your reader learn from your mistakes- much like they’re a younger sibling.

Make it personal

If you’re not at least somewhat uncomfortable writing a self-help book, you’re doing it wrong. Readers don’t want to read a book from the perspective of someone who comes across as so much wiser and better than they are–that just makes you appear stuck-up. Instead, they want to get advice from someone who they feel truly understands them in ways that no one else does. You can’t be afraid to admit uncomfortable truths or details about what you went through. Be open to the idea of discussing things that you may be afraid won’t cast you in a good light or experiences that are so vulnerable and raw that you wouldn’t want others seeing you like that. Your instinct will be to steer away from these experiences, but these are the moments that will end up helping your readers the most. They let your readers know that they’re not alone in what they’re going through and that if you can get through the experience or achieve the goal, so can they.

Make the reader your friend

Because the material and what is being accomplished through a self-help journey is so impactful and personal, you can’t write your book from a distant third-person perspective. Not only do you need to be very present in the book, but you need to have a level of love and affection for your reader as well. As writers, thinking about readers can be a scary thing. We love our books and the idea of these nameless, shapeless identities picking it up and having a reaction that’s totally out of our control scares us to death. But as a self-help writer, you don’t have the luxury of solely focusing on the material and worrying about the reader later. What makes a self-help book effective is that personal one-on-one relationship a reader can develop with the author. When you’re thinking about your voice for your book, picture the reader as one of your closest friends and imagine you’re writing it to them.

Facts/Stats

Even if your story is a personal one, your readers will still want to see you’ve done at least some level of research on the subject you’re working with. And it doesn’t always have to be that you’re finding facts or figures to back up what you’re saying- it could be the opposite, too. If the book is about your journey and what worked for you personally, then you can talk about what experts have recommended and why those things didn’t work for you. If your book is more about your personal experience and not as backed up by research, make sure you let your readers know that up front. Everyone’s experience is different, what worked for you might not work for someone else (and that’s OK). It doesn’t make your book any less credible because when you were going through your experience you likely received a lot of advice that may or may not have worked for you, too. Your readers will respect you being upfront and just reading about someone who shares an experience or struggle or feeling with them will be a comfort in and of itself.

The post Writing For Your Audience: Self-Help appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Dorrance Publishing (DP): Describe your book in 10 words or less.

Caldony (C): Compelling curiosity to self-discovery.

DP: What made you want to write your book?

C: I was inspired to write my book, The Soul of A Woman. The Insanity of Men., because of the challenges in my marriage that taught me to love myself by doing the one thing I never wanted to do, fall in love.

DP: How long did it take you to write your book?

C: It took me seven years to write my book.

DP: How do you choose the names of your characters?

C: My character names were chosen by life experience.

DP: What do you do when you have writer’s block?

C: I don’t have writer’s block. I have writers flow and content.

DP: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

C: My favorite part of my book is about Kelvin because he’s the only guy I’ve ever loved.

DP: If you were stuck on an island and had to have one person from each category with you, who would they be and why:

a. One character from your book:

C: The main character from my book I would like to be stuck on a deserted island with is Kelvin because he is an excellent problem solver and a fun person.

b. One fictional character:

C: Fictional Character would be Jeanie from I Dream of Jeanie because she would be able to grant my every wish.

c. One famous person (living or dead):

C: Famous person would be Cicely Tyson because she has great integrity and wisdom. She is a living library. I love wisdom, knowledge, learning!

DP: Besides writing, what are your other interests?

C: My interests are abstract, physical, mental science; foodie; fetishes: perfume, body care.

DP: Do you keep a journal?

C: I have many journals, proses.

DP: How did you celebrate the publishing of your book?

C: I celebrated the publishing of my book by taking pictures, journaling.

DP: If your book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?

C: The main characters in my book are Caldony & Kelvin. Kat Graham would play Caldony. Matthew McConaughey would play Kelvin.

DP: What did you enjoy most about working with Dorrance Publishing?

C: I’ve enjoyed working with Dorrance Publishing Co. because they had an uncanny way of bringing my gift to fruition!

DP: Five favorite books of all time?

C: Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, M.D., F.I.C.S.; You Are A Bada** by Jen Sincero; All Things Are Working for Your Good by Joel Osteen; Life Code by Dr. Phil McGraw; Faith by Phil Pringle.

DP: One sentence of advice for other writers:

Every writer has his/her own genius!

Are you ready to publish your book? Contact us today!

The post Author Spotlight: Caldony appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Be expected, but not boring

When writing a back cover blurb, you want it to set you apart from other books in your genre. To set yourself apart is good, to be too different from the rest is not. For example, if you’ve written a non-fiction self-help book and the back blurb reads more like a thriller novel, that’s going to leave readers more confused than engaged. Be engaging, but if your prose is leading you too far out of the ordinary…slam on the breaks.

It’s a blurb, not a summary

Remember, there’s a big difference between a book summary and a book blurb. The summary goes over all the plot points and the main character arc–that’s not what you want for the back of your book. Your back blurb should merely tease the readers on the plot points or knowledge they’ll find within. The back blurb should promise to entertain or help the reader without giving away anything major.

Choose your opener tactic

Now, your tactic will largely depend on your genre. Some tactics work for different genres, but others may only work for one. Regardless of your genre, the first few opening lines of your blurb are crucial. If readers aren’t grabbed right away, they may just move on to the next without much consideration. Here are a few different tactics to try:

a) Start with a quote

If you’ve written a fiction book (fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary, etc.), we highly recommend using this tactic. It shows off a bit of your writing style, which will keep the readers intrigued enough to read the rest of your blurb. Find a line or section that you’re particularly proud of, italicize it, and plug it into the beginning of your blurb. Ideally, this line should be something to do with the main action of the story, but not something with spoilers. Regardless of how you feel about the novel Twilight, the blurb is a great example of an engaging blurb quote:

“About three things I was absolutely positive.
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him – and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be – that thirsted for my blood.
Third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”

b) Ask a Question:

Example: “Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?” (Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.)

c) Set a scene:

Example: “At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet, a curmudgeon with staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People think him bitter, and he thinks himself surrounded by idiots.” (Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove.)

d) Make a promise:

“Fitness, money and wisdom – here are the tools.” (Tim Ferriss, Tools of Titans.)

Genre Breakdown

The formula for writing out your back ad is different between fiction and nonfiction genres. Once you have your opening line(s) down, consult this breakdown to help you with the rest.

1) Fiction:

If you’re writing a Fiction back cover blurb, Beth Bacon (award-winning author and marketer) suggests this formula:

a) Situation: Briefly describe the circumstances of the story
b) Problem: Next, write about the situation or conflict that makes change inevitable.
c) Hopeful Possibility: Provide the hope of overcoming this crisis. This would be either an interesting character or long-shot possibility that gives hope that this difficult problem may be overcome.
d) Mood: Describe the emotional state the readers will have while reading your story. A few example phrases are: “dark, dystopian tragedy” or “romantic and humorous chick lit”.

2) Nonfiction:

Nonfiction Author Kelly Exeter suggests this simple formula for nonfiction back blurbs:

a) Introduce the problem
b) Outline how you propose to solve it (ideally using bullet points)
c) Tell the reader how their lives will be better after reading your book

Ultimately, your blurb is your pitch to the readers.  Potential readers take a few moments to make the decision between spending hours reading your work and putting it down to find something else. We can’t stress enough how important it is to take your time really perfecting your blurb. If done properly, after reading your back cover, there will be no going back (or putting back on the shelf, for that matter).

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