Choosing A Title For Your Book - It Is Not As Easy As It Sounds

I just finished co-writing a book with a friend of mine. I was very relieved when they came up with the title because that is one area of writing that is a bit difficult for me. Then there is the little after-thought of Googling said title to see if anyone else has used it - or something a bit too close to it for comfort! The thing that appeals to me as a self-published author is that the title will be what I want it to be - there is no publisher there changing it (whether I want it changed or not!).

What are some things that we can do to come up with the best possible title?

• Google any titles under consideration to see if they are already in use.
• Make sure that your title is representative of your book.
• Make sure that your title is clear.
• Make sure that your title is aimed at your prospective audience. Hardcore adventure people really do not read cozy mysteries! 
• Take a look at the titles of books that you have really enjoyed, and see how and why they work for that book.
• Do the simple things - match your title to your genre.
• Sneak a "hook" of some kind into your title that will draw prospective readers attention.
• Ask for feedback! List possible titles on your social media accounts, and ask for opinions. Believe me - everyone has an opinion!
• Be sure that your title is short, catchy, and easy to remember.

Happy writing!

(c) February 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Small Actions Have Great Meaning

No, this is not my home office. Close, but not. The point here is that the desk is clear and ready to be worked at. I have been working a lot lately - too much, but the rent and the bills need to be paid. I have it down now so I can take one whole day a week off - and that I spend cleaning house. I can do errands, grocery shopping etc. on any day, and still put in a full day at work. 

How can I do this? I work from an office in my home. Working all but one day of the week, I tend to leave out on my desk my phone (a land line that is only used for my phone readings), a deck of Tarot cards (the Morgan-Greer is my reading deck), and a stack of templates to write basic caller information on. And more than occasionally my sixteen pound Orange Tabby, Pumpkin. (No, I did not name him, my mother did!)

I do the usual Internet work - checking e-mails, and my social media sites, writing this blog, and a flash fiction blog. My co-author and I are in the editing stages of a book on spirituality, and I have my own mystery book in process. What I finally recognized is that I needed a clear desk when not doing phone line work. So now I clear my desk each night so that I can do other work in peace. 

A small action, with great meaning!

(c) February 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission.

   

Too Many Storylines - Too Little Time

Writer's are surrounded by stories - everyone, everything has a story to tell. The first thing that we need to do is jot down ideas as they come. Ideas are very flighty, you know - they come and leave of their own accord. If I am home, I jot these flighty little ideas down in an e-file. If I am out and about, I create a memo on my cell phone. The really cool thing about cell phones is that I can take a picture to go with it. Not that I will use the picture to do more than jog my memory - the rights of the person/people being photographed and all that.

What do we do with ideas that don't ever develop into anything? I hold on to them - they may at some point in time find their story! The ideas that are willing to be developed - some may go into short stories, some may go into books, some may develop into a series. 

Everywhere we go there are stories. People dancing down the aisles in a grocery store (I did see this happen, and it was store employees doing the dancing!),  the individual ahead of us waiting to mail a package, the exotic looking lady getting her nails done ... they all have their stories. And guess what - sometimes their stories will merge!

We are gifted with ideas for stories every day - we simply need to decide which ones we are going to run with, and which ones we will sit on for a while. Nothing is at it seems - you and I can see the same thing, and write two very different stories. This is the magic of life!

Happy writing!

(c) February 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written approval from the author. 

Is There A Formula For Writing Cozy Mysteries?

Is there a formula for writing cozy mysteries? Many of you are out there going "Are you joking! We are pantsers!" Okay, calm down. I am a pantser too - meaning that my material writes itself and that the storyline develops as it is written. I have a rough outline, a rough idea of where I want things to go as the author,  but my characters have this weird tendency to want to define their own lives and write their own stories.

So what is this formula stuff? We can define this as a story having a beginning, a middle, and an end. In the end, especially in a cozy mystery, good prevails over evil. As writers, we to tie our stories up nicely, and not leave any loose ends. 

With mysteries, we are also looking at there being a crime, someone who commits the crime, and someone who solves the crime. With cozy mysteries, the crime is solved without blood, gore, and curse words. It often involves friends and/or family, and the setting is often within a community. 

A good cozy mystery has a hook of some kind, something that draws the reader in. It could be a profession, a craft, food (I love mysteries that include recipes, and anything involving chocolate or coffee), or a locale (I stories that take place in both large cities and small towns).

The protagonist needs to be developed in a manner that allows them to have certain skills, or to have access to people that do. (Having said that, I am sick to death of female protagonists who husband/boyfriend/significant other is somehow involved in law enforcement.) 

The murder/crime needs to be both interesting and plausible. And there need to be a few red herrings along the way.

What it comes down to is that the formula for writing a cozy mystery is to write a tight story that is interesting, involves a few brain cells, and leaves its readers with a feeling of time well spent.

(c) February 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.