Books can be expensive. Some books are $10.00, but others are $30.00. I've often heard people complain about the prices of books, and wonder why they're so expensive. I've also gotten laughed at for spending an outrageous amount of money on paper and words. (But what book nerd can go to a book store and buy just ONE book?!) 

So why are they so expensive, and why don't I mind dolling out the cash? Keep readin'.

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An average hardcover book will cost you around $20. But what goes into what's between those covers? Here's a short list:

1.) The Author's Work

How long does it actually take to write a book? A long freaking time. The current novel I'm publishing took about two and a half years. That's including editing, which took the majority of the time. I wrote the first draft in about four months. The time between then and two years later was editing...a lot of it. Of course, I love every moment of it, but it is a lot of work, and it takes a lot of writers longer than it took me, because everyone writes at a different pace. To me, an author's work alone is worth whatever a book costs.

2.) The Publisher's Work...and Time...and Money...and Awesomeness

Think for a moment about what's in a book. It's not just words. It's formatting and design and everything in between (literally). There are editors, agents, artists, marketing experts, and many more people to pay. If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a town to raise a book. 

Although I could go on and on about why books are worth their price, just think about it this way: Imagine you had put years into a project, and then you only asked $20 for people to experience what you did while writing it, and the story you created--do you think it would be worth it?

​#PromoteWriters

Until next time, you lovely people! 

Connect with me!!

Instagram: @Elysia_Regina
Twitter:@Elysia_Regina
​Snapchat: @elysialou 
Website: elysiaregina.com

To some writers, the title is the first thing that they think about--before writing a word, they know what the name of their book is. The title of their novel is what sparks the beginning of their book. However for other writers, the title is the last thing they figure out. They write their novel, type those two beautiful words, The End, only to realize that they don't yet have a name for their masterpiece. This fact usually becomes most prevalent when the age-old question, "What's the name of your book?" is asked. Typically, if a title isn't yet chosen, that question is answered with something like: "I'm working on it. Deciding between a few right now," when in reality you're really thinking, I have no freaking idea. I wrote a book. That's good enough, right? 

I've been in both situations. I've written six novels, and am currently working on my seventh while in the final editing stages of my sixth. On my first novel, I knew the title before I wrote the first sentence. On my sixth novel, I had to force myself to come up with a title, because I was printing it, and needed to put something other than Novel 2013 on the front page. I kid you not. The document title on my book was Novel 2013 until the day I printed the first draft. That to say, I've been on both ends of the novel naming spectrum. I'll tell you that I'm no title master, nor do I poses a magic wand for naming your novel. I do, however, have some tips that may help you come to that aha! moment when you find the perfect title for your baby--I mean novel. Here are 3 tips for naming your novel. Stay until the end, because some great authors pitched in their two-cents on how they name their novels! 

Outlining & Brainstorming - Start with a Strong Foundation

The goal is for your title to be as true to your novel as possible. I believe that a big mistake some writers make is generalizing, or not writing a title to stand out. They write a mystery, so they title it something like Ashley's Clues. They write a horror novel, and name it Trail of Blood. What's wrong with these titles? There isn't anything inherently wrong with the, however I just typed the latter title into Amazon, and the search resulted in over 24,000 results in its Books section. What about Ashley's Clues? Again, there isn't anything exactly wrong with the title, however it's typical. It's moderately generic. It looks like a title that could fade into a bookshelf without being noticed. Though some good cover art can help with this, why not start with a strong foundation, like a standout title?

Outlining and Brainstorming can help with this. When deciding on a title, write down distinct, short points from your manuscript. Does your main character have an interesting name? Is there a key element that conveys the heart of your novel? Is there an object that is a main theme throughout the book? Play on that. Play on the uniqueness that makes your book your book. I would suggest getting a nice pen--because we all know that nice pens make writing SO much more fun--and some paper, and taking a whole page or two to write down key words that remind you of your manuscript. Write down things that make you smile about your book, and words or sentences that you use when someone asks you that question every writer is asked--what's your book about?

Also, a shout out to Matt Keenan, whose tweet led me to write this blog post!

Best of luck to all of you writers out there crafting your titles and your manuscripts, and remember that with hard work, patience, and the ambition to make it happen, your novel's name will one day be on store shelves.

Connect with the awesome writers who gave their advice:

Lindsay Cummings:
Instagram: @authorlindsaycummings
Twitter: @authorlindsayc
Facebook: Lindsay.Cummings 
Website: lindsaycummingsbooks.com

Jessie Mae Hodsdon: 
Facebook: Jessie Mae Hodsdon
Website: Jessiemaehodsdon.com 

Hope Johnson:
Blog: Missadventuresrussia.wordpress.com

Brian Rathbone:
Website: Brianrathbone.com 
Twitter: @BrianRathbone

Sorry it's been so long since the last post...life has been crazy since starting college. My professors are great, and I love my classes. I'm learning a lot and looking forward to what's to come. If some of you don't know, I decided to attend school in my home state (AKA, Maine), and I'm glad I made that decision. Besides the unfortunate cold weather, it's nice to be close to home.

As far as my novel goes, I've been editing since finishing the second draft. I finished my "by-line" edit at 1:30 in the morning. Basically what by-line means, is that I implemented all of the grammatical edits that my beta readers pointed out, and made a list of all the plot points and additions that I need to make. Four pages of plot additions/changes stand between me and a finished third draft. After that draft, I'll do another read through, implement any changes I see that need to be made, and give it to a few final beta readers. Then I'll implement those changes and do a final read through. After that? Submission to literary agents! This is my sixth novel and the first one that I'm publishing (fingers crossed). It's a long journey, but I know it'll be worth it. I look forward to what the future has to hold, and won't stop believing (don't stop...believin') in my writing. 

Until next time,

Elysia

Chat with me on Twitter.... @Elysia_Regina_

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To writers like myself, the idea that publishing is dying is terrifying. The fact that so called "experts" are saying that something I've been working my whole life at is becoming obsolete is painful. They say that Kindles, Amazon.com, and ebooks in general are destroying the paper library. When I get nervous about publishing dying, I have to remind myself that there are still people like myself--people that love the feel of a real book. There are still people that look forward to going to a bookstore and picking out a book in person. I disagree with the "experts". I think that these people think that books, like movie stores, are dying, because people love the internet too much. However, regarding the movie argument, movie stores started in the 1970s, whereas books have been around for thousands of years. So, "experts", I think that you should reconsider your thoughts of books dying. There are too many print lovers, and book nerds to let books disappear. Check out this chart that shows the finance end of publishing. 

If you can look at those margins, and then tell me that publishing houses will stop printing, I think that you may be crazy.

The photo above shows the revenues between the year 2000, and the year 2012. Book sales are growing. This is in large part from help of ebook sales, but not from printing dying. Ebooks are offering more revenue for publishing houses, who continue to print books. You may see less bookstores, or the uprise of Indie bookstores, but I don't believe that bookstores will ever become obsolete. We love books too much for that. 

This may seem like the incessant complaining of a writer who believes too much in her craft, which you can believe if you'd like to, but it's also the pointing out of big business from someone that appreciates business. Think what you want, but don't lose faith in the printed book. 

Thanks to HughHowey.com for the photos! 
http://www.hughhowey.com/two-important-publishing-facts-everyone-gets-wrong/