I am currently in touch with various designers on the site www.freelancer.com to come up with a catchy cover for ‘An Open Shift. As you see many catchy designs are dropping in.
A cover of a book is an important selection criteria for anyone starting to read a book.
Next week I will post here my favorite 5 covers and will ask you to vote for your favourite one! Many thanks in advance for your help.
Here some questions answered what I get. on a reqular basis.
How is the book writing going?
I recently heard someone say that you are not really a writer but more a kind of re-writer. I now find out that I indeed spend most of my time rewriting the things I wrote sofar. Either because the flow is not right, I do not like the story line, the Point Of Vieew is not right or simply because I find spelling mistakes. With every re-read you find new things to rewrite.
What is it like to write a book?
It is a fascinating process. You have to worry about things you sofar never worried about. How to write proper dialogs, with proper usage of quotes. How to ensure thee reader can follow who is talking with out having to add that to every time one of the characters talks. To decide in what Point Of View you write the chapter. In what tense. Do you fully write numbers of not? So many things you would normally never think about. All good stuff.
How auto biographic is the book?
The best advice I read is that with your first books you should try to stay as close as possible to what you know. Writing what you know is research you already did. That said, there are various topics I need to spend more time to do research in order to make the story credible.
What type of book is it?
I’m still struggling to decide what to call it. When I say it is a romantic comedy it quickly gets cornered as being a book writtern for women, but that is not the case. In the book I will touch many business conversations – that is what I know – and technologies like Block Chain. Not typical female story lines, That said there is a main romantic story line with lots of confusion. Just hope it appeals to everyone.
For the moment I would call it a BizRomCom! Let’s see if I can make that a new genre!
What is the target audience?
I see it as a book for everyone but I guess it would be most appreciated by male and female readers who have a business mindset. If you are looking for a sweet rmontic story you probably will be disapponted.
In my upcoming novel ‘An Open Shift’, the main character Rick Casper works in a Playing Cards factory. You will read how he gets involved in the business of Cardistry.
For those of you not aware of Cardistry here a short video with some of the cardistry moves. It is a fascinating art what is the result of 1000s of hours of practice !
Well my ”writing career’ is still very fresh. I always had a desire to write, and have been thinking about various stories for many years. I realized that writing a book is a major commitment if you want to do this right. Here in Oviedo in Spain I have the time and peace to finally make it happen. I hope that after my first novel some more will follow and I can develop my own style.
Oviedo a great city to write and get inspiration!
What is your style?
We will have to see. I like to bring things with a light humorous touch and I hope I can get across to my readers. I will have to explore the various genres and see what fits me best. My first book will be a romantic comedy but I must say I also would also be very keen to explore the crime genre. A writer like Harlen Coben has a style I admire, but I see it very much as as a basis for me to develop my own style. Unlimited possibilities and I would be a major step to attract with my writing style a fixed reader base what can inspire me to continue.
Tell us about that first novel.
So far I have given this the working title ‘An Open Shift’. It refers to the two story lines in the book. I will not reveal this here. In the first book I will be able to get a lot of inspiration from my own life so you will find a solid mix of characters and stories I have witness so far in my life. In fact the initial idea of the book came after I heard one of my friends tell me a story I added to some of my experiences what suddenly made it a very funny event. I always like stories where normal people end up in odd situations. Think about like movies as ‘Something Gotta Give’ or ‘It’s complicated’. They are a huge inspiration.
How is the writing process going sofar for you?
The biggest step is to decide to start and even officially accept that you are a writer. Once you made that first mental step the rest happens by itself. I had the outline already very much in my head when I started to put it on paper. At this stage I have pretty much written a first verion of that storyline. Now I am actively studying the writing techniques and applying them to the story. Bringing the main characters alive and adding emotion to it is now the main task. At the same time I need to upskill on basics like proper punctuation and dialog. Lots to learn but all very exciting!
How are you planning to release the book?
Writing a book is one thing, but the business side of getting the book out to as many readers as possible is also interesting. I will most probably self-publish this first book. It is a great opportunity to experience all facets of the writing business. It will be available in both paper as well as ebook format. The great thing about releasing your book in electronic format is that you have lots of instant data on how your book is picked up. How many pages are read? What is of interest etc. It gives you an opportunity to create an instant relationship with your readers. I cannot wait to see how this all goes!
I learned a novel should have around 60.000 words. I finished my first draft version of the book a few days ago and had about 36,000 words. I am now doing my revisions and edits. Today a small party. I passed 40.000 words!
I finally decided to start my writers journey. After having talked about writing abook for years it is finally going to happen. My own book!
I just moved to Oviedo in Asturias in Spain and it is the perfect place.
Every day I will write for 2 hours. The process of writing is all new but very exciting! Lots to learn.
What to expect? My first book will be a romantic comedy. It has its roots in a true event in my life that was too funny to not be used. At the moment the plan is to have the book ready on 9th May 2021.
