WHERE’S THE MONEY IN YOUR BOOK?

The first steps to finding where the big money is hidden in your book is having a well written, intriguing, touching book with lots of benefits.  No one is going to pay you much for something that doesn’t have those four qualities. Think of it like this: if you’re going to find big money in your book, you’ve got to dig for it. If you didn’t have to search and find out, everyone would be book millionaires, but most authors are barely surviving.  And the Big Boys make you think that’s literary, cute, sacrificial.  It’s not.  Now back to the four qualities.

1)      Well written: whether fiction or nonfiction, you can’t just string a lot of words on a page and hope someone will pay for it because you wrote it. You need to dig deep and figure out how to get the reader’s heart to pumping, and his brain to jumping. You need seductive details based on knowledge or research, or in my case, both. In the case of my novel, “The Mayor’s Wife Wore Sapphires,” I wanted to say and prove that Black people are too divided for real progress.  Stop it and shine. When you decide that, you can write a book in 60 days. At only five pages a day, you’ll have 300 pages. Edit it in 30 days and finish the book in 90 days. Great isn’t it, especially since it took me ten years to write my book. Because I know better now, you don’t have to go through that kind of torture. And you won’t have a thrown-together, shallow book either.

2)      Intriguing—intrigue comes from structure and characters.  You can lay down “Just the facts, mam,” and almost no one will pay attention.  But you can lay down words in such a way that almost everyone will be hooked in. Look at an example of just the facts way--The sapphire was dark blue and beautiful.  She clipped it around her neck.  Now check out the seductive way—the sea-blue gem winked at her, offering the comfort of almost nothing else. It had been mined in Africa and brought to the U.S. by courier last night. The description sheet read—second hardest gem in the world to the diamond. Its multi-pronged faucets glistened through a rich blue gaze.  The deep-hued sparkle of glory was more than a gem to Indigo. I was she. Where could she hide it? The banging on the door grew louder.

3)      Touching:  As he lay on the gurney, sucking deep for breath, he whispered. “Indi, see it through.”  That is a visceral moment that can be recalled long after the cover is closed. A dying man’s wish being transferred to the trust of another.

4)      Benefits: how-to Christian salvation, city history, thrills, suspense, romance, strength, restoration, triumph, unity, growth, forgiveness, mystery solved.

Now you have a good book, the first step.  What’s next?

Don’t forget we’ll discuss where–literally where the money is hidden in your books on November 27, 2007.  6 p.m.  Pacific, 9 p.m., 8 Central.

218 862- 1118

Code: 28033#           

 Marti

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