Formatting by Margot Justes

Welcome to Book Beat Babes.

 

I’d like to introduce Donnie Light-formatter extraordinaire-who has the patience of a saint. I can personally vouch for that. Donnie has formatted all my books since I went indie. He is indeed a pleasure to work with, and makes my writing life much easier.

 

Cheers,

Margot  Justes

A Hotel in Paris

A Hotel in Bath

Blood Art

Hot Crimes Cool Chicks

Hearts & Daggers

www.mjustes.com

 

 

 

How many ways can you say The End ?

By Donnie Light, Author and eBook Designer

 

Writers know the importance of creating a strong opening paragraph for their book. It’s a chance to hook the reader right away and then keep them engaged in your story until they get to…

The End.

That’s where the story stops, right? It’s the end of the line. You have hopefully taken your reader on a journey and have now delivered them a satisfying ending.

 

As a book and eBook designer, I see many manuscripts each day from a very diverse group of writers. One trend that I’ve noticed recently is the lack of using the words The End to close the story. Using those time-tested words The End no longer seems necessary to many. The story simply ends... without saying so.

 

Imaging watching a movie and sensing you are near the end, when the scene abruptly ends and the screen goes dark. You may wonder if the film broke... You may wonder if that was really the end, or if there is more coming. You didn’t see The End flash on the screen, and you haven’t see any credits roll by… so you  are left to wonder.

The same holds true with a book. You need to signal to the reader that the story is over, and assure them that they are not missing pages or that their eBook reader has not malfunctioned and cut the eBook short.

There is more than one way to end a book or eBook. While The End still works for me, in today’s publishing market it pays to explore options that may entice a reader to connect with the author. Here are some of the ways you can signal the end of your book or eBook:

 

●       An Author Bio - in today’s social media driven marketplace, allow your readers to get to know a bit more about you.

●       Links to your website or blog - invite the reader to visit your website or blog.

●       Links to Social Media - let readers know where to find you on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads and other social media sites.

●       List of other titles - list the titles of your books and perhaps a very brief description. Perhaps provide a link to a website that has all of your titles listed with descriptions and links to purchase.

●       A Sample Chapter - consider publishing a sample chapter from your next book and allow the reader the chance to explore it while you have their attention.

●       Author Notes - tell the reader a little about how the book came to be, or interesting facts that you researched for the book. Perhaps an interesting fact related to a site in the book, or facts regarding a historical person who appears in the book.

 

These are the most common things I see added to the end of a book. However, I have also seen thank-you and acknowledgements, and even a list of songs that the author listened to while writing.

The main point is to end your book and acknowledge that the story is over, while perhaps inviting the reader to explore other books you have written and the chance to connect with the author. In today’s publishing marketplace, making that connection with the reader is a critical aspect of marketing your book.

So properly say goodbye and thank you to your reader for spending so much time with you and your story, then invite them back for more.

 

Donnie Light is an author as well as an eBook, Print Book and Cover designer. His business website is eBook76.com, and his writing website is www.DonnieLight.com. He’s always willing to answer publishing-related questions to help authors on their own publishing journey. Contact him through his website.