Category: Craft

Delivering on Back Cover Copy | #MsMatched with Silvana Reyes

Episode Description

We all know that readers buy books based on 3 things—recommendations, covers, and that all-important back cover copy. Join me and Silvana Reyes (@thebookvoyagers) as we talk about Q1 books we bought based on BCC and whether they lived up to their hype. And if not, what other books are giving the right vibes, and living up to that marketing promise? 

Show Notes / Episode Transcript

Kate Marope (00:00:00):

This is Kate Marope and you’re listening to the Path to Print Podcast.

This week we have our fifth guest episode on a segment called MsMatched. Often times we see books become widely successful, then read it and scratch our heads and say, “it was nice, but why was it such a big deal?” 

MsMatched episodes are all about showing love and appreciation to book influencers and really getting the reader perspective on how books are being received by readers after they’re published. 

Me and my guest will talk about books that didn’t live up to their promo, what new stories we’d like to see told, and what books have set the tone for what we’ve come to expect as readers in specific genres.

Today I am joined by someone who is one of the biggest book reviewers and influencers on Twitter. She is the book list queen.

She’s the owner of The Book Voyagers, where she blogs and reviews books, mainly focusing on recommending and reviewing diverse books written by marginalized authors. And you might also know her for doing book aesthetics on Instagram and just shouting in capital letters about new books releases on Twitter. 

Welcome to the podcast, Silvana Reyes!

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Voice & the Self-Editing Process | #LessonsLearned with RM Virtues

Episode Description

Join me and RM Virtues as we talk about the lessons he’s learned since he published his first book, Drag Me Up. We explore how important it is to understand your learning style, and to discover/create a self-editing process that empowers you. It’s all about finding your voice (on and off-page) and seeing your losses as opportunities for learning and growth. Plus sneak peeks at what releases he’s got in store for us this year!

Show Notes / Episode Transcript

Kate Marope (00:00:00):

This is Kate Marope and you’re listening to the Path to Print Podcast.

This week we have our fourth guest episode on a segment called Lessons Learned. As I always say, we’re all works in progress and whenever we sit at our desks to work on our new project, we’re bringing what we learned from the last book we worked on and a new improved version of ourselves to the work.

Lessons Learned episodes are all about normalizing the missteps you can make on your path to publishing, and showing how you can grow from those “missteps” and further develop your writing and revising process.

Me and my guest will talk about books in our backlist that we wish we had done differently, lessons we’ve learned as we’ve refined our writing and revising process, and reflect on the people and books that made us grow from our mistakes. And we’ll celebrate the successes that wouldn’t have been possible without that whole entire journey. 

Today I am joined by someone who always makes me laugh and whose books always take me on an emotional ride. His books are filled with all the steam and story, and his approach to revising and writing in general is very introspective and reflective.

He is a mythology junkie, lover of love, and creator of worlds. He writes fantasy and paranormal romance about underrepresented characters who get to live and love in a history unabridged. When he isn’t busy conjuring romances, he can be found watching horror movies, playing fantasy video games, or eating Korean BBQ. He currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his Funko Pop horror collection. ​

Welcome to the podcast, RM Virtues!

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Matching the Premise of Your Book to its Setup

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One of the most common pieces of advice I’ve given out in the last 6 months is some variation of “your setup and your other submissions materials are telling or selling two different stories.”

And it oftentimes comes down to the setup or opening chapters of the book not matching what was promised by the author’s premise (i.e. their Twitter or query pitch).

So in this week’s (very late) blog post, I want to go over what I mean by that, and why it’s so important to make sure that your setup and the premise of your book match each other.

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Using a Character Sketch to Identify Character Moments

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If you’ve ever worked with me, either freelance or at Carina, you know that I am all about character. Characters are the enactors of your plot, so I believe you need to make sure you spend a good chunk of time developing, nurturing, and understanding the people whose story you’re writing—because let’s be honest, it is very much their story.

Setups are the reader’s introduction to the character (or characters) who will be enacting the premise you’ve sold to them, and so, you need to make sure your setup starts with that quintessential character moment that shows who the characters are, what they want, and most importantly, what they need (the implicit internal goal).

But while it’s easy to brainstorm ways you can torture your character and mold them into their end form, it’s not always easy to identify the opening character moment (it’s kind of a chicken or egg problem). 

So I wanted to give you a process that will help you narrow down that opening moment by doing a little character work.

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Unapologetic & Rooted Characters | #LifeLike with Jadesola James

Episode Description

Nobody writes African characters like my friend, Jadesola James. In this episode, we dive into what experiences she brings to her characters, and redefine what HEAs look like when your characters are unapologetically them. It’s all about creating those experiences that call to a specific intended reader—if you know, you know.

Show Notes / Episode Transcript

Kate Marope (00:00:00):

This is Kate Marope, and you’re listening to the Path to Print podcast. 

This week, we have our second guest episode on a segment I knew I would have to have on the podcast and call life like. Life like episodes are all about looking at writing representation that actually matters. We’ll look at how our cultures define and influence us as creatives, but also show that culture or ethnicity and race is not a monolith. And that everybody has a different way of connecting to it and expressing it.

Me and my guest will talk about our core traditions, customs, and beliefs, as well as point to moments of being, and feeling seen in media and celebrating the things we love most about who we are.

Today, I’m joined by an amazing author and a friend, someone whose romances has given me all the old school woo and charm I’ve been yearning for. Someone who’s not afraid to quietly challenge the status quo on not really having already rooted African or African American characters in romance novels. She loves summer thunderstorms, Barbara Cartland novels, long train rides, hot buttered toast, and copious amounts of cake and tea. She writes glamorous escapist tales designed to sweep you away.

When she isn’t writing, she’s a reference librarian and a scholar of American romance publishing. Her hobbies include collecting vintage romance paperbacks, and fantasy shopping online for summer cottages in the north of England.

Welcome to the podcast, Jadesola James.

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Ways to Identify If & Why Your Setup Doesn’t Hook

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Nobody goes into writing a book and thinks “I’m going to write a story that doesn’t hook.” But everybody worries about writing a story that doesn’t hook. 

And most importantly, you don’t always know you’ve written bad setup. Not only because you’ve been living with the story for a while (whether you’ve been writing it or seriously contemplating the events before you even sit down to write it). But also, there’s very much the possibility that you think you’ve communicated your setup to the reader in a way that makes sense, and the reader won’t perceive it that way.

Either way, it’s always a good idea to temperature check your setup and make sure that it’s doing what it’s supposed to be doing. 

Don’t know what setup is? Check out my video on defining setup!

The safest option for authors who might not know if setup is their strong suit, or writers who just want to incorporate checking the effectiveness of their setup as part of their writing or revising process, is to run a series of diagnostics.

Diagnostics are super helpful in just double-checking whether or not you’re including the right information in your setup, and if your setup is creating the right expectations for the story you intend to tell or have already told.

Whether you run these diagnostics before your book gets edited, during revisions, or use them to inform writing your next book, diagnostics are really there to help you identify your setup strengths and weaknesses.

So, let’s explore some ways you can identify if and why your setup doesn’t hook a reader.

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The Opening Character Moment | #ConvosOnCraft with Mary Calmes

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Episode Description

It was super hard not to fangirl over THE Mary Calmes y’all! But we definitely went deep into her backlist, talking about nailing those opening character moments and the things you have to keep in mind when you’re writing and revising them.

Watch this Episode

Show Notes / Episode Transcript

Kate Marope (00:00:00):

This is Kate Marope, and you’re listening to Path to Print.

This week, we have our first guest episode on a segment that I like to fondly call Convos on Craft. Convos on Craft episodes are all about peeling back the curtain and getting into the nitty-gritty of how you put together your story from the developmental side of things. Me and my guests will talk about process, book stats, resources, and advice to help you grow into the amazing author I know you already are.

Today, I’m joined by an amazing author. Someone who is an auto-buy and comfort read author for me. Seriously, as soon as I knew this quarter’s topic would be about setups she was the first person I thought of asking to talk about opening your book with iconic character moments.

She believes in romance, happily ever afters, and the faith it takes for her characters to get there. She bleeds coffee, thinks chocolate should be its own food group, and currently lives in Kentucky with a five pound furry ninja that protects her from baby birds, spiders and neighbors’ dogs.

Welcome to the podcast, Mary Calmes.

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Why You Should Write Character-Centric Humor

Picture this.

Alexa is a woman who values honesty, fidelity, and a good nature. She’s good people, always there with a kind word and a helping hand. But don’t get her angry; she’s a firecracker.

She goes for a business lunch, and as she comes back from the bathroom, who does she see, but her boyfriend, Todd, eating with her best friend, Cindy. That would be okay, if she hadn’t left him at their apartment that morning, plied with Hay fever medication to combat the treacherous pollen that decided to wreak havoc on his delicate system. It was so bad, Todd called in sick.

When Todd and Cindy lean in for a kiss, Alexa interjects, “What the hell is going on here?” 

And for a second, Todd and Cindy look very guilty. But slowly, Todd cracks a smile. The smile sets off Cindy’s giggles.

Surprise! It’s a cheating prank.

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Alexa is hella pissed at the Todd (after finding out it’s a prank). She resents him for thinking infidelity is a laughing matter, and punches him in the face.

The look on Todd’s face? Priceless.

At least she hadn’t grabbed his steak knife.

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