Jade Varden Official Blog

Which comes first: the cover or the final draft? When I write, sometimes I'll start thinking pretty far ahead -- not just about this story, but maybe even about the next story I'm going to write. I've learned that lots of other authors do the same thing. And like me, they have to stop it from happening. Getting ahead of yourself can be harmful to your writing.   Fast Track Don't get too far ahead of yourself when you're writing a book, because it gets overwhelming. If you start thinking about the cover and the marketing and the blurb while you're still writing the first draft, you're doing too much. Focus on the story itself, and get that perfected first. Take it one chapter, one page, one paragraph at a time -- don't start thinking about the cover and all of that until the first draft is finished. Because if you start getting too far ahead of yourself, you may start to feel pressured. You may start to rush the story, because you're alr...

If your book sales took a dive over the summer months, not to worry: this is often the case with indie authors. Now that the weather is edging ever-so-slowly toward fall, you should see a rise in your profits.  Summer Reading People read less in the summer, particularly children (this makes things difficult for YA and children's book authors). Everyone's getting outside and going on vacation, enjoying the interesting summer TV programming and working on their tan lines. It leaves little time for reading.  Books have natural peak times and slow times, and it's common for sales to become a little lethargic during the summer months . But the holiday season will soon be upon us, and that's the best time to sell books. So use this slow period to work on your marketing strategy, and make up for it.

We're entering the month of fear and fright, chills and thrills. What better way to celebrate it than with a scary book? But be careful if you choose to explore the world of Sphere -- the movie adaptation is scary in all the worst ways. The Book Michael Crichton published Sphere in 1987, but it's still terrifying today. The book begins with psychologist Norman Johnson, who is just beginning to get a little grumpy as he edges into the outskirts of old age. He's being flown to a classified location by the Navy, and so far they aren't telling him anything. When he reaches a full-scale military operation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and he's told they've discovered an alien spacecraft...well, Norman pretty much wishes they had decided not to tell him anything at all. The spacecraft has been there for a while. Judging by the coral, it's been in place for over 300 years. Norman is only one part of an elite task force that has been assembled t...

Nothing affects you quite like a truly great twist ending. Famous examples include Shutter Island , Fight Club and Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None . But nothing is quite as infuriating as a twist ending done badly. You're the author, so the ending isn't supposed to surprise you...so how do you know when your ending is a surprise to someone else?  Surprise! Twist endings, by definition, completely change the plot of the story. They come as a surprise. Something unexpected happens, and everything is different. This can be done for dramatic or comedic effect...and it can be done poorly either way, too.  Bad twist endings can appear pretty much anywhere, and you can blame all sorts of culprits. It's much easier to learn how to recognize the elements that make a twist ending good , because lots of stuff can make it bad.  Logic. Good twist endings don't ignore logic. If I read your book for 300 pages and I'm trying to figure out whethe...

In some cases, writing the title can be the hardest part of writing the whole book. I know this to be true, because I worked on a book for about 10 months before giving it any sort of title at all (and I later rejected it). This is why I wait to announce my titles. So what should you do if you find yourself in a similar place...and can't seem to get around to writing the title?  What's in a Name?  The importance of the book title cannot be overestimated. It's the first (and sometimes only) thing readers notice. The title has to grab them and interest them, or they won't take a look at the blurb. If they don't read the blurb, you don't make the sale...and that all starts with the title. It's okay to take a long time to figure out what the title of your book should be, though I've read some author tips where experts tell you to title your project right away. Don't do this unless you get struck by inspiration and you're certain this is...

If you wrote a book about wizards when Harry Potter came out, a vampire story when Twilight became a movie and a dystopian action drama most recently, you're not a slave to inspiration...you're being way too trendy. Authors are terminally uncool...so it's really just best not to try to keep up with the tide of public favor.  I'm a Barbie Girl Everyone loves a fad, and I'm no exception. I turn certain movies into full-blown events . I consider myself to be pretty fashionable and trendy...but I don't try to follow book trends. For one thing, they come and go too quickly. By the time I started considering writing a book about wizardry, Twilight was already the next big thing. And before I even had the chance to consider writing a vampire book, it was all about The Hunger Games .  But even that isn't a good enough reason not to follow trends . You only really need one: you should be writing what you want to write. If you've ever started a no...

When you write, you're doing it alone. It follows that if you can't embrace loneliness...you can't really be a writer. My World There are times when the world is only me and the screen right in front of me, a scrolling marquee of black text that just keeps getting longer and longer with each new thought that enters my head. Writing is a very self-involved experience. The real world goes away as you sink deeper and deeper into the one you're creating. And that gets lonely. As a writer, you can get lonely even if you're writing in a room surrounded by people. It's just you and the screen. Sometimes, that's great. You're in the zone and you're typing and it's all flowing well. Other times, it's terrifying. The white screen is staring at you, mocking you, taunting you. You are alone with the screen. You're on your own with the plot, the characters, every twist and turn. Perhaps you have someone to bounce your ideas off of, bu...

Amazon, B&N and lots of traditional booksellers have opened the door for indie authors to publish and market their work...but in these bookstores, indies have to compete with traditionally-published authors. Libiro, a new ebook store, will allow indies to enjoy more even odds. Knocking Down the Door Libiro was created by self-published author Ben Galley and Teague Fullick, a designer.  The website "devotes its shelf-space entirely to self-published and small press titles," Galley told Forbes . Galley wants to eliminate the stigma that surrounds self-published books "because it simply isn't true. Libiro, being a purely indie store, can showcase the indie market...We want to create our own bestsellers." And for authors who want to publish on the site, there's another perk: 80 percent royalty. Regardless of your book's length or price, this is the standard. The store is pretty new, and still rough around the edges. Users are...

Halloween is approaching, and to me that means one thing: time for scary movies. Some of the best scary movies were books before they were film. One of my favorites is Along Came a Spider , the novel that launched a 19-book (and counting) career for literary detective Alex Cross.  The Book James Patterson published Along Came a Spider in 1993, introducing the world to Alex Cross. Cross is a detective with the Washington, D.C. police force and a forensic psychologist. How good is the book that introduced him? Along , so far, has launched 18 sequels, a film adaptation and millions of fans. At the start of the story, Alex is investigating three horrific murders. The stakes are raised when two prominent students, Maggie Rose Dunne and Michael Goldberg, are kidnapped by math teacher Gary Soneji. Cross is ordered to investigated the high-profile kidnappings, which enrages him because the world seems more interested in the disappearance of two rich white children than ...

Every author knows that pacing is an important aspect of every book. When events occur very quickly, it creates a sense of action and excitement. ...Or, it makes the book feel rushed. So if you're writing with a fast pace, you have to ask yourself: is it action-packed, or is it rushed?  Double Time Timing and pacing will make or break a book. You can use your words to make time feel as though it's passing slowly, or very quickly, in your story. When scenes are thick and heavy and events are occurring very rarely, time will feel as though it's passing slowly. When events are happening much more frequently and sentences are short and to the point, everything feels fast. Many writers use this technique to create action scenes, and drive the pace forward quickly in order to excite readers. But when it's not done well, it just makes the book feel rushed. There's a very fine line between writing great action and dragging readers across the pages of your st...

I make to-do lists and write reminders for even the most mundane tasks. If I didn't, I wouldn't have electricity or any food to eat because I would forget to do it all. I have to put everything on my lists, and cross items off those lists, as each day progresses. I like to try and do things at the same time every day, so it's easier to maintain some sort of order. I've even caught myself putting "work on the book" on my list...and on those days, I get maybe one good paragraph written.  You can't make yourself be creative. Storytelling isn't something that you can command at will. And I would know...because I've tried. On My Watch When you're an indie author, you're also a lot of other things. If you're like me, you've got a ton of things to do in any given day: drink copious amounts of coffee, exercise, clean, work, write, blog...spend lots of time on Twitter. If you work down a list to check all those items off, event...

In my "day job," I used to write advice articles for freelance writers, and I constantly cautioned them against undervaluing themselves. As a freelance writer, you have to set a minimum price and refuse to waver (unless the economy crashes, but that's a whole different issue). As an indie author, freebies are your bread and butter. You can't possibly undervalue yourself or give enough books away for free. What I'm saying is this: never, ever shy away from giving out freebies. Free Milk Homespun wisdom dictates that you should never give anything away for free. Do so, and why would anyone end up buying it?  But that's just not how it works with books; it's never how it has worked with books. What's the most-read, most-sold, most-known book in the United States? The Bible. It's given away for free all the time, and you can find copies of it in every hotel and church pew in the nation. Yet it also sells more copies every single year. Cle...

You know how people always tell you "just be yourself" when it comes to any sticky situation? That doesn't apply to self-published authors. In fact, here's much better advice for the indie writer: don't be yourself. Don't be yourself at all.  What "Be Yourself" Really Means Everyone makes decisions and forms opinions every day. Some people use all sorts of different criteria when they're deciding what to read -- and the author's personal history and beliefs aren't at all off-limits. I stumbled across a Goodreads thread not too long ago where one reader stated they wouldn't purchase a certain author's books, because of something they'd done or said . Unless you specifically write politically- or religiously-toned books, readers don't need to know where you stand on the issues, how you vote or what you think happens to us when we die. Your personal opinions on the President, war and other matters a...

In case you missed the spam email that flooded many Smashwords author inboxes, you need to know the latest indie news: series have come to the site. Smashwords has unveiled a new function on the site that allows series books to be grouped together, and it's pretty easy to implement.  To unite your series books as a unit, log into your Smashwords account. A link to the Series Manager tool should appear right on the homepage. Click it and begin following the steps to create a new series. You'll be guided through the process, and taken to a page where you'll find a list of all your books. Click the relevant titles and keep following the steps until you get to the end (it shouldn't take more than a few minutes).  Once you're done managing your series books, a new link will appear under those titles. This will take you straight to the series page for that book series. Smashwords plans to use the tool to make book-buying easier for customers and selling easi...

James M. Cain published The Postman Always Rings Twice in 1934, and gained notoriety at once. The book is quick, thrilling and (in its day) quite controversial. The novel was banned in Boston for its sexy scenes and themes of violence. But it didn't really get sexy until the 1940s, when Lana Turner helped turn it into a movie. The Book The story begins with Frank Chambers, a roustabout who travels from place to place. Right now he's in California and he has wandered into a diner that just so happens to need a helping hand. Frank's always looking for work to make quick money...and there's another incentive. The diner is owned by Nick Papadakis, an older man with a very young, beautiful wife. Frank is interested at once, and not much troubled by morals. The two begin an affair quickly, because Cora is only too willing. From the very start, there's a level of violence to their relationship. Cora plainly doesn't love Nick, and she...

When you list your self-published books on Amazon, B&N or pretty much any other store, you're going to have the option of adding tags. You should always do this, because tagging matters.  Words, Words, Words Seems like there's always one more thing to do, right? It's not enough to write a book. You have to edit it and format it. Don't forget the cover! Now you need a blurb. Have you published it yet? What's the price? Check the layout! Oh, and now add a bunch of words. Tagging can feel like a stumbling block on the road to making your work publicly available. It's one of the very last things you have to do in a process that can take many years to complete, and it's easy to rush through. You can simply ignore it. You can plug in a handful of words without half thinking about it. And you can move on.  But if you do it this way, you're automatically decreasing your chances of selling that book. Tagging matters. Why else would all th...

Many readers like to read more than one book at a time. So is it okay for writers to work on more than one book at a time? Should you be juggling multiple projects, instead of focusing on just one book?  Balls in the Air I had to face this question myself, recently. As my Facebook followers know, I've been stuck on the last three chapters of my current project for quite some time now. I started re-reading the manuscript in an attempt to get the creative energies flowing again...and somehow found myself looking over all the research I pulled together for a different book project that I started and stopped (in favor of my current work, ironically).  As I looked over the materials, I got all excited about the project all over again. I started thinking about the ending, a sure sign that I'm looking forward to working on a project, and had to keep reminding myself that I already have a book to work on.  Which is exactly why I say no to juggling multiple b...

I've been thinking a lot, lately, about success. As a writer, it's my job to define words and think about what they mean. Sometimes, I'll agonize over a single word in a sentence for so long it's the only one I get to write that day. As a person, it's easy to get overwhelmed by bills and living expenses and big emergencies and all the rest. And as an author, I've realized that I have no idea what success actually is.  Are You a Success?  Are you a success? Before you ask yourself the question, figure out what the heck that word means to you. Because every writer knows that words contain shades of meaning within different shades of meaning. The word opulent may have personally negative associations for me, while to you it just means extra lavish .  So you get to find your own definition of success (and maybe you'll share yours with me).  Does it mean that you're financially comfortable? That you have no worries? That you don't panic ...

Are ebooks better than paper books, or just more convenient to store? As an indie author, it's important for you to understand your medium...all the mediums you use. So it's time to really get an answer to that eternal question: paper or plastic?  Reading on Screens It's a lot easier to carry a cell phone, a tablet or an ereader than to haul 20 books with you everywhere you go. But when you read on a screen instead of on the page, you may be missing out on some of the story.  By what gauge does one judge the relative merits of reading on a screen versus reading a paper book? As an author, my biggest concern is reading comprehension.  I'm not the only one who cares about it. The Nielsen Norman Group conducted several studies regarding reading speed and comprehension. According to their findings, it takes readers longer to finish a page of text on the screen. Specially, reading from a computer screen is 25 percent slower than reading a printed page. Read...

Adding an s to a word may be enough to completely change that word. With other words, however, the change is not so big. When it comes to regard and regards , does that little s make a difference? To S or Not to S I'm writing to you in regard to a book review .  Regard is sort of an old-fashioned way to say about or concerning . Or is it regards ? Use it in the sentence, and it still makes a lot of sense. I'm writing to you in regards to a book review.   In the example, the correct usage of the word is regard . You're talking about a book review, a singular object. This means that any modifier of that noun should also be singular -- so leave off the s . But in the plural, you want to add the s to regards . Let's look at an example. With regards to the book review requests I've been sending... Now you're talking about more than one object -- requests . That means now you add the s to make your sentence technically correct. ...