Lulu Book Store

Writing is About Putting Yourself to Words

• Simon & Schuster Doomed to Failure in eBook Venture

  2009 Jun 17

  By Anthony S. Policastro
  
  Simon & Schuster will now sell its most popular titles as eBooks on Scribd.com. Great news! A major publishing house is going digital.
  
  But they are doomed to failure.
  
  They think readers will pay 20% off the list price of a book's most recent printed version, according to an article in The New York Times on June. 11.
  
  So a printed Simon & Schuster title that lists for $26 will sell for $20.80 as an eBook and a $15 paperback's eBook version will sell for $12.00. Lots of luck Simon & Schuster. You would have better luck selling ice cubes on the North Pole.
  
  Most people won't even pay $10 for an eBook. The reason is that they do not perceive the value the same as the printed version.
  
  With a hardcover or paperback, you can feel and smell the value in the design of the cover, the layout of the type, the feel of the paper, and its ubquitious portability. You don't have to worry about a battery going dead or the sun being too bright to read the book.
  
  An eBook has none of those characteristics and publishers will never convince the public, and they have tried, that eBooks cost as much to produce as their printed cousins.
  
  In my last post, I asked the question, Would you pay $26 for an eBook? about Google competing with Amazon in the eBook market.
  
  What stuck out in my mind was that publishers were embracing the move because they could charge what they wanted for eBooks on Google since they could not set prices on Amazon's Kindle. The article was updated a few days later with new information that Google will also set the price of eBooks similar to Amazon.
  
  So Simon & Schuster, if the two largest forces on the Internet know that eBooks have to be priced much lower than their printed versions, why do you think a 20% discount will work?
  
  Your new venture is doomed to fail unless you lower the price of your eBooks.
  
  Here's my suggestion:
  
  Price your major titles at $8.88 for the eBook version. The price is lower than Kindle's major titles and readers don't have to shell out $359 for the Kindle. In addition, three eights is traditionally lucky and fortunate and that luck and good fortune may come your way.
  
  As long a major best sellers are priced on the Kindle at $9.99 and free and lower-priced eBook sites are popping up like weeds, why would anyone pay $20 for an eBook?
  
  What do you think?
  
  
  

  Related articles by Zemanta

  • Google To Enter E-book Market (prathambooks.org)
  • Steal This Book (for $9.99) (nytimes.com)
  • Scribd Create Content Store (personanondata.blogspot.com)

  

  

  

  

• Are You FAKING IT?

  2009 Jun 10

  By Elisa Lorello

  
  

  Thanks so much, Anthony, for giving me the opportunity to post on your blog and for all your support. I’m so excited about this tour and about the journey FAKING IT has taken, from the very first “what-if” to now.

  FAKING IT is a romantic comedy set mostly in New York City (think When Harry Met Sally meets Sex and the City). Andi, a thirty-something writing professor, meets Devin, a handsome, charming escort (is there any other kind?), and proposes an unusual arrangement: lessons in writing in exchange for lessons on how to be a better lover. When Andi and Devin break the rules of their contract that forbids them from seeing each other socially and become friends, complications ensue. FAKING IT is witty and fun, yet also has some poignant moments.

  I’m often asked what advice I would give an aspiring writer. My response is to never limit yourself. If you believe you have limitations, then your biggest limitation is you.

  

  Let me give you an example. The idea for FAKING IT came to me ten years ago (I can’t believe it!) when I was watching this brand new show called Sex and the City. I was struck by its boldness, yet uncomfortable with its content—I was this Roman Catholic with five overprotective brothers and a mother who never let me watch soap operas when I was a kid, and they’re talking about WHAT??? Suddenly this “what-if” whispered in my ear: what if a woman is so inhibited that she needs someone to teach her to be more like those women on Sex and the City? And what if that person is a man, someone who is an expert on such things? What if he’s an escort? And what if they become friends? And so on.

  I put off writing that “what-if” for five years because of the limitation I had established: I am not a fiction writer.

  Yes, I actually believed that! I had always been more comfortable with the autobiographical essay, or memoir. But the idea wouldn’t go away, and I finally realized that I could use elements of what I knew (New York, teaching, writing and rhetoric, etc.), yet still tell Andi’s story. After all, it worked for Nora Ephron. Same with Woody Allen. Once I removed that limitation, the dam broke, and lo and behold, FAKING IT poured out of me. Moreover, I quickly discovered that this novel had a potential readership other than me, and that I was indeed a fiction writer.

  The other limitation I removed was this idea that there was only one way to publish, that if I didn’t have a literary agent or a traditional publishing deal, then no one was going to take me, or my novel, seriously. All I had heard was how hard it was to get published, how competitive the business was. But I decided not to believe them.

  I queried agents and got many rejections, but that didn’t stop me from believing in my work or in myself as a commercial author. Thus, I researched self-publishing and was lucky to ride the wave of social networking as a force in self-publishing and viral marketing. And I have no regrets.

  Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t write, can’t publish, can’t sell your book. The only limitation you can ever have is you. Sky’s the limit – get busy writing!

  FAKING IT is currently available at Lulu.com, Amazon.com, Quail Ridge Books and Music in Raleigh, NC, and Baker Books in North Dartmouth, MA. Also, be sure to join the group Faking It Fans on Facebook, and follow my blog, formerly known as Kairos Calling.

  

  

  

  

• Would You Pay $26 for an ebook?

  2009 Jun 02

  By Anthony S. Policastro
  
  The New York Times reported over the weekend that Google has announced that it will sell ebooks to consumers - competing directly with Amazon.
  

  
  

  The Times reported,

  "In discussions with publishers at the annual BookExpo convention in New
  York over the weekend, Google signaled its intent to introduce a program by that
  would enable publishers to sell digital versions of their newest books direct to
  consumers through Google. The move would pit Google against Amazon.com,
  which is seeking to control the e-book market with the versions it sells for its Kindle reading device."
  

  I applaud Google for taking on such a challenge because it is not healthy for anyone when one group or organization monopolizes a given market. And Amazon clearly wants to dominate the ebook market with its ebook reader, The Kindle, as it did with printed books.

  
  

  However, the Times also reported that publishers were happy about the announcement because publishers,
  

  "...have expressed concerns about Amazon’s aggressive pricing strategy for e-books. Amazon offers Kindle editions of most new best sellers for $9.99, far less than the typical $26 at which publishers sell new hardcovers. In early discussions, Google has said it will allow publishers to set consumer prices."

  It seems to me that publishers are happy because they will be able to charge $26 for an eBook through Google - the same price they command for a print version.

  
  

  Well, they will have another rude awakening because most people who buy ebooks don't believe they should be the near or the same price as a printed version. Just take a look at all the commercial ebook sites whose titles average $15 or more. Their ebooks are not selling.

  
  

  Part of the success of the Kindle is that the average best seller is priced at $9.99. People who have Kindles feel like a kid in a candy store whose dad just said, "Get anything you want."

  
  

  The $10 price is the sweet spot of pricing for ebooks. If prices increase significantly, then it is no longer a sweet deal.

  
  

  What do you think?

  

  

  

  

• Ten Things Every Writer Can Do to Ensure the Success of His/Her Book

  2009 May 20

  By Stacey Cochran
  
  

  Thanks so much, Anthony, for letting me guest blog at Writing is About... I am currently in the midst of a 45-Day Blog Tour to promote my new novel CLAWS, and I need all of y’all to head over to Amazon, buy a copy, and write a review. That, more than anything else, will support the success of this book.
  
  Which leads me to the topic of my guest blog here today:
  
  Ten Things Every Writer Can Do to Ensure the Success of His/Her Book
  
  1) Edit the Hell out of It. This should be the first step after completing your manuscript. My usual timeline is to spend about 3-6 months after the first draft is done, revising and tinkering to make sure I’ve got it as tight as can be. Then, I put it in front of my critique group.
  
  2) Join or Create a Critique Group. I organize the 1000+ member group Raleigh Write to Publish, which hosts dozens of events for local writers every month. In addition to this large group, I also belong to a small “workshop” group that meets every couple of months to knock around one another’s latest works in progress. Not every writer works well in a group like this, but I’ve found the feedback (and accountability) of having a steadily meeting group for the past two years invaluable to improving my work and keeping me on track as a writer.
  
  3) Create or Hire a Designer to Do Your Book Cover. With CLAWS, I worked with a graphic designer friend whom I’ve worked with on two previous book covers. I went to her with the initial concept, the mountain lion eyes embedded in black, and she came up with the font and design. A book cover should explain to a reader in a split second what the book is about; aim for iconic imagery and plan to use your cover in other forms of promotion like press releases and book trailers.
  
  
  
  4) Create a book trailer. I designed a book trailer for CLAWS that has received over 100,000 views on YouTube.
  
  
  
  
  
  While this alone won’t sell a single copy, the name of the game is exposure and if tens of thousands of people are watching you, buddy, that’s exactly what you want to promote your book. The keys to YouTube trailer success is: a) keep it short (mine’s under twenty-five seconds), b) make it shocking and entertaining, c) avoid slickness and pretension. One of the most successful YouTube marketing campaigns in the past two years involved a blender company that did short “Will It Blend?” videos where they tossed cell phones, chunks of wood, children’s toys, etc., into their blender to see what would get destroyed.
  
  5) Blog Tour. Every writer working today can do a blog tour. It costs nothing, yet it gets your book seen by hundreds of people. All you have to do is ask people, agree to help them in some way, and stay organized. I think 30 or more days is essential to have meaningful exposure, but maybe two weeks is all you’ll need. Find your comfort zone and stick to it.
  
  6) Cover blurbs. No matter where you’re at on the publishing totem pole, I guarantee you can find a handful of writers who are better known than you who will endorse your book. Sure, you’ll get the occasional person who claims for “moral reasons” they can’t blurb your book, but it only takes 2-3 good blurbs to convince readers that your book is worth checking out. For every ten rejections, you’re likely to get at least one positive response. So plan accordingly and don’t be shy about sending folks a copy of your book in the mail. It costs a little money to make a little money.
  
  7) Design a website or blog and make it meaningful. I have two websites: staceycochran.com and howtopublishabook.org - the StaceyCochran.com site is where folks can find out info about me and my personal life. You can also see what book I’m currently promoting. The howtopublishabook.org site is where I give back to the community. This site has been visited by people from more than 120 countries around the world, regularly draws a couple thousand so-called “unique visitors” per month, and it’s the place where I post interviews I’ve done with publishing professionals (agents, editors, authors, publicists, etc.). I designed the site around the phrase “How to Publish a Book” and it currently sits atop the Google page rankings for this phrase. A lot of people search this phrase every day on the Internet.
  
  8) Give back and help others. I have built my career on the notion that what others have to say is more important than what I have to say. Through my TV show and through the more than 200 author events I’ve done the past three years, I have tried to give other people the spotlight. Part of this is by necessity but another part of it is that I truly believe that we are all better off by sharing the floor and giving others a chance to succeed. Many writers think that helping others somehow compromises their own chances at success. By and large, these writers never succeed. The more willing you are to help out folks, the more folks will want to help you out.
  
  9) Start a TV Show. In this day and age, anyone can set up a camera in their house, record themselves, and put it on YouTube. If you’ve got a strong Public Access TV station in your town, you may even have access to multi-million dollar equipment. The first year of my TV show I interviewed mostly local self-published authors, but something happened in year two. Word got out to publishers. Since then I’ve interviewed seven #1 New York Times bestselling authors, and it’s gotten my name circulated around every major publishing house in New York. Without a doubt, starting my own TV show (which began with a point-and-click 100-dollar digital camera) has given me the greatest boost of any one single thing I’ve done in my career.
  
  10) Wash, rinse, repeat. If your current book tanks and you only sell a few dozen copies, don’t worry. Go back to the drawing board, write a new book, and try to repeat all of the things you did well, while improving on the things you didn’t do so well. No single attribute will serve you better as a writer than inner drive and persistence. Personally, I think if you’re doing what you do for a purpose larger than yourself this will help to sustain you through the lean years.
  
  Thanks so much, Anthony, for the opportunity to guest blog here today at The Writers Edge. And thanks so much for all that you do for writers in our community.

  

  

  

  

• Truth is Stanger than Fiction, but now Fiction is Turning into Truth

  2009 May 13

  UPDATE: Stephen Wolfram launched the Wolfram/Alpha this past Saturday, May 16, 2009. Be sure to visit his site and try it.
  
  
  When I finished my thriller, DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM (DEOS), two years ago I never imagined that some of it would come true!
  
  With the reported release of the Wolfram/Alpha search engine this month (May 2009) by its creator Stephen Wolfram, a significant plot element of DEOS will come true.
  
  Like the chip that I imagined in my novel, the Wolfram/Alpha program “draws on the knowledge on the internet, as well as private databases,” according to a May 3 report in London’s The Independent online edition.
  
  
  
  “Instead of searching the web for info, Alpha is built around a vast repository of curated data from public and licensed sources. Alpha then organizes and computes this knowledge with the help of sophisticated Natural Language Processing algorithms. Users can ask Alpha any kind of question, which can be constructed just like a Google search (think: ‘hurricane bob’ or ‘carbon steel strength’),” explained a post on April 25 from the blog ReadWriteWeb.
  

  
  The imaginary chip/program in my novel runs spiders all over the Internet recording and logging the location of specific information. When you ask the chip a question it locates the relevant information and uses algorithms to produce the most correct answer. Only this imaginary chip becomes sentient as it gains more knowledge and within two weeks of its launch has the IQ of a teenager in the novel.
  
  Much of the technology I mention in my novel is based on existing or developing technology that I stretch a bit with literary license to create a dramatic plot and rich characters. Some of the plot elements are based on actual events and plausible scenarios that I uncovered in my research into the hacker culture and its players.
  
  I wrote the book hoping to raise awareness of the real and looming threats in cyberspace. And now, some of those threats are coming to fruition.
  
  One such event was the Conficker Worm attack in April which is also similar to a plot element in DEOS. (See my press release on the Conficker Worm.) The DEOS plot is about an Internet worm that takes over the US power grid and cell phone network, and it cannot be stopped. Does that sound like the Conficker Worm?
  
  I just hope the rest of DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM never comes true.
  
  
  (Get a FREE signed printed version of DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM! Download a free ebook version from Smashwords.com and let me know if you will review the novel. Post your review and I'll send you a signed printed version.)
  

  
  
  

  Related articles by Zemanta

  • Wolfram Alpha Launch Starts Tonight at 5pm Pacific: Here is What You Need to Know (readwriteweb.com)
  • A new way to search the Web? (businessmedia.co.uk)
  • Wolfram Alpha: helpful or hyped? (sitepoint.com)
  • Can Wolfram Alpha take on Google? (telegraph.co.uk)
  • Does Wolfram work? (bbc.co.uk)

  

  

  

  

• Will eBooks Fail?

  2009 Apr 25

  By Anthony S. Policastro
  
  I was intrigued by Evan Schnittman's new blog Black Plastic Glasses and his post "Why ebooks must fail" because it contradicts what is happening all over the Internet - ebook sites are popping up like weeds.The miracle grow for ebooks is the launch of the second generation Kindle, the Stanza book reading application for the iPhone and ebooks being the preferred reading format of the younger generations who grew up on computers.
  
  As print book sales have tanked in the past few years partly because young people don't read books anymore because they are on their cell phones, video games, and computers, the ebook has gained in popularity because it can be read on these devices. So what I see happening is an increase in ebook sales as print book sales dwindle.
  
  I think Evan is right that ebook sales cannot sustain the publishing industry as a stand alone only book version and that will never happen because people - the market - will always want a printed book no matter what their age.But, I don't believe ebooks will fail - they will replace print book sales with real sales, not the virtual sales that publishers have used for the past 100 years. And I say virtual because the bookstores really hadn't purchased the book shipment until they write the check after their 90-day waiting to sell period is over. So the publisher really doesn't know the true sales number until the 90 days are up and as we know it's usually 50% of the original shipment.
  
  So what I see is a paradigm market shift in the format of the content. The older, traditional book market prefers the printed page, while the younger book market prefers the digital version. If anything, the ebook will get the younger generations reading books again - something they do not do because the Internet, video games, and cell phones are more intriguing than the printed word.
  
  I find myself on the computer more than I'm reading a printed book and usually have to remind myself to pick up that novel. I enjoy both digital and printed books.
  
  The challenge facing the publishing industry is to create a business model that will help sustain them in the eBook market. One way could be a combination of print and ebook offerings to capture each market segment. And the eBook segment may just work because its volumes and subsequently its profits will be higher than the print version market.
  
  What do you think?

  

  

  

  

• Dark End of the Spectrum predicted Conficker Worm

  2009 Apr 16

  When I finished my novel, DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM, I had created a plot involving an Internet worm using botnets that takes over the US power grid and cell phone network. And the worm is unstoppable.
  
  In addition to providing entertainment, I hoped it would raise awareness to the possible threats that confronted the Internet and US infrastructure such as utilities, communications, and transportation. I still hope the book will do that.
  
  My idea for the plot was spawned after Hurricane Fran hit Wilmington, NC in 1996 and left us without power for three days. Then I realized how much we depend on electricity and take it for granted. Think about it - every appliance in your home is useless without electricity. Most people have experienced a blackout for only a few hours, but when it turns into days, it really hits home how critical electricity is in our everyday lives.
  
  I then imagined that if hackers could control the power grid and where electricity is sent it could be a disaster and this is what helped me create Dark End of the Spectrum.
  
  And now in the past few weeks, the Conficker Worm is The Dark End of the Spectrum coming true. The worm is unstoppable. It uses an army of botnets to infect computers and complete its mission(s) and it's purpose is to steal credit card numbers.
  
  What if its creators programmed it to take over the power grid or cell phone network? Would the government and all the computer security organizations be able to stop it?
  
  I predict that the Conficker Worm is just the tip of the iceberg and I see more harmful and more disastrous events happening with the Conficker Worm and its predescessors unless the government, organizations, and corporations heed the warnings of the security professionals and beef up their online security.
  
  Want to know more. Take a look at my press release for more on my statement at PRLOG or download a copy of DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM.
  
  
  
  
  
  Press Release
  Raleigh Novelist and Hacker Researcher says worse to come by Conficker Worm and Other Cyber Threats
  
  HTML Version
  PDF Version
  
  Sources for the press release:
  
  CNN - http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/01/tech.viruses/index.html
  The New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/04/01/technology/tech-us-security-virus.html?_r=1&hpw
  The Wall Street Journal - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123914805204099085.html#articleTabs%3Darticlarticle/SB123914805204099085.html#articleTabs%3Darticl
  

  
  Additional resources:
  
  ZDNet - http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=3110&tag=nl.e550
  ZDNet on the power grid infiltration - http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=16001&tag=nl.e539
  Scientific American - http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=spies-hack-us-electricity-grid-2009-04-09
  
  Hurricane Fran photo courtesy of Wikipedia

  Related articles by Zemanta

  • Conficker Now Instructed To Steal (cbsnews.com)

  

  

  

  

• "Write a Page a Day or You're Not Serious"

  2009 Mar 24

  
  My wife and I attended the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville this past weekend, and one of the highlights was hearing native son, John Grisham participate in a panel discussion with Stephen L. Carter.
  
  Both are prolific writers, John Grisham with twenty two novels published and Stephen L. Carter, a William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale Law School with nine novels and six books on policy.
  
  During the discussion, moderated by Dahlia Lithwick, there was some valuable advice I garnered from both writers about writing and about being an author.
  
  John Grisham said he never planned to be a writer - his dream was to become a great trial lawyer. He said he started "playing around" with writing fiction later when he was around 35 or so and found it was "fun" and "really gratifying."
  
  His first book, A Time to Kill, had a print run of 5,000 copies of which, "I bought a thousand."
  He wrote a second book and that would be the acid test - if it sold well he would continue as a writer; if not, he would continue as a lawyer. "Besides, I was not happy being a small town lawyer and starving." The second book, The Firm, sold well and later became a blockbuster movie.
  
  When he had reached best seller status with the book, his friend, horror writer Stephen King, called him and said, "'Welcome to the big leagues.' That was nice I thought. And then he said if you want to stay on top you have to do a novel a year so that's what I have done."
  
  Stephen L. Carter is so well known in law circles that he has a Wikipedia entry. He said when he started his career there were maybe two college professors who wrote fiction. Now, he said he is seeing a lot more writing fiction as well as professional journals and books.
  
  He said "writing fiction fills a need in my soul and it is fun to do. If you want to be a writer, it has to be a job. You have to make yourself do it."
  
  John Grisham agrees. "Write a page a day or you're not serious."
  
  Click here to hear the entire one hour panel discussion at the VA Festival of the Book site.
  

  

  

  

  

• What’s a Hook? The Art of the Pitch

  2009 Mar 20

  New York Times Bestselling mystery/thriller author Joe Finder was gracious enough to let us reprint his blog post here on the art of the pitch.
  
  By Joseph Finder
  
  This is the text of my March Writing Tips newsletter, which just went out. If you'd like to subscribe, you can do so here.
  
  My Hollywood agent brought me out to L.A. not long ago to pitch a couple of Big Shot TV producers on an idea for a show they wanted me to create. I figured, why not? I flew out there and got into the meeting with Big Shot Producer #1, wearing my expensive jeans, and started telling him about my idea, the same way I’d tell my editor or my agent.
  
  About five minutes into my spiel he cut me off and said, “Excuse me. No offense, but you’ve never pitched before, have you?”
  
  I confessed I hadn’t, as if I had to say anything. I don’t pitch. I write.
  
  He said, “I can tell. That’s not how you do it. Why don’t you come back in after you meet with the other producers and pitch it again?”
  
  You might think that I’d be embarrassed or annoyed, but the truth is, I appreciated his honesty and respected the guy all the more for it.
  
  Pitching is a specialized skill that has very little to do with whether you can write. But in Hollywood, the pitch is the currency. If you can’t pitch your idea, no one’s buying.
  
  Why should novelists care about the art of the pitch in Hollywood? Because being able to pitch a movie, or a TV show, is the same skill as being able to come up with the “hook,” the “what-if,” the premise of that novel you’re writing. Or that script.
  
  Put it another way: you’re in an elevator with one of the most powerful book agents in New York (or wherever), and you have ten seconds to pitch your novel to her so that she’ll actually want to read it. Can you do it?
  
  Bet you can’t.
  
  Maybe you’re thinking, “Who cares? I’m not going to ever get into an elevator with a powerful agent, and if I did, I’d probably freeze up anyway.” Maybe. But odds are, at some point you will have to e-mail or snail-mail a pitch in the form of a letter or a note.
  
  “So what’s it about?” a friend asks you. You say, um, er, well . . .
  
  Summarizing your story in a sentence or two is one of the hardest things to do, whether you’ve published ten books or none. Don’t forget, we established writers have to pitch our books too, when we’re interviewed on TV or radio. It’s not easy. But it’s essential, and not just to sell a book. I’m convinced that if you can’t “pitch” it in a sentence, you don’t have the story figured out yet. Simple as that.
  
  Years ago, when I was struggling through the first draft of The Moscow Club, I had lunch with an editor. “What’s your ‘What If?’” he asked.
  
  I had no idea. My “What If”? I’d never thought in those terms. But he was right; every book starts with a question that, in the end, it answers. Call it a Hook, call it a donnée, call it a premise. It’s the thing that sucks the reader in and makes him or her want to know what happens next.
  
  Now, a confession: I’ve been writing thrillers for over 20 years, and I still get confused about the difference between a “hook” and a premise. Is a hook the thing that starts the book and grabs you by the lapel and makes you want keep reading? Or is it the concept of the entire book — a definition that veers dangerously into the Hollywood notion of “high concept”?
  
  I’ve done some thinking, and here’s my answer. “High concept” is an unjustly maligned term meaning a story idea that can be easily grasped both by studio execs and by audiences. But a warning: just because you can pitch it in a sentence doesn’t make it High Concept. No — it has to be extremely appealing and commercial, not just succinct. It’s got to have wide, instant commercial appeal.
  
  Yet if a story is all high concept with no follow-through, it’s little more than a gimmick. Take “Snakes On a Plane” — you get what it’s about instantly. You may even want to watch it. But it’s not a good movie. It’s all wind-up, little delivery.
  
  Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing wrong with a “high concept” thriller. In fact, if you have a high concept, that makes it even easier to sell. Take The Bourne Identity, for example. What if a man with amnesia has forgotten he’s the world’s most dangerous assassin? That concept boosted Bob Ludlum’s already large readership hugely, based on the premise alone. And it’s a great one. A couple more great high-concept thrillers: Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park: “What if scientists could clone dinosaurs from prehistoric mosquito blood trapped in amber?” Or John Grisham’s The Firm: “What if a high-end law firm turned out to be a Mafia front?
  
  High concept isn’t necessarily cheesy at all — Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, anyone? It’s all about how well it’s executed. Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent (prosecutor is accused of the murder of his lover, and he’s the first-person narrator) is high-concept to be sure, but beautifully written and brilliantly plotted.
  
  A hook, on the other hand, is the opening gambit that reels you in -- like a fish-hook. Harlan Coben is a master of the hook. (Dan Brown says so.) Tell No One, for instance — a guy gets an e-mail message from his dead girlfriend, who may or may not be dead. I’m there. The book spirals on from there, but that’s the set-up, the premise that grabs you at the outset.
  
  A fishing hook needs bait and a fisherman, though, and a writing hook needs a story. An unusual situation, however intriguing, is not a story. “A family digs a swimming pool in the backyard, and finds a buried time capsule” is a great premise for a novel – but what happens next? “A family’s discovery of a time capsule buried in their backyard makes them the targets of government agents from every country in the world” — that’s a story hook, because now we know that the time capsule sets a chain of events in motion. (Hey, I just made that up, but I like it!)
  
  So, the moral of the story: if you have a high concept for a novel, great. But you don’t need one. At the very least you want a great “what if,” a hook that grabs the reader in the beginning and makes him or her want to keep reading.
  
  In any case, you do want your story to have a simple, easily expressible premise, and until you know how to articulate it, the odds are you haven’t figured it out yourself.
  

  

  

  

  

• The Dog is Chasing Ghosts

  2009 Mar 15

  I started a new blog about what every author should know about online marketing and then some called THE DOG IS CHASING GHOSTS. Take a look. I think you will find it entertaining and useful.
  

  Every so often, our labradoodle, Nickie, will confidently stare into a corner of a room with no windows and bark repeately for several minutes."What is the dog barking at?" my wife would ask.

  "Ghosts. I think the dog is chasing ghosts." I say.

  She raises her eyebrows and her face says, "maybe," and the dog stops barking and we go about doing whatever it was we were doing.

  Whether my dog is barking at ghosts or not, something is there, something triggered the keen senses of the my pet whether it was a sound, a smell or a noise.

  The Internet is similar in that of all the millions of users out there, you can't see them or touch them, but you know they are there.

  Anthony S. Policastro, The Dog is Chasing Ghosts, Mar 2009