Category: Marketing

Books, Marketing, young adult

What makes a good book cover?

Raidah Shah Idil

 

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What makes a good YA book cover? That’s as subjective as asking anyone what their favourite book is. Still, there are some trends across the board, and I’ve listed a few great websites about YA book covers:

Trends in Young Adult Book Covers: A funny and succinct snapshot of trends in YA book covers, with lots of pretty pictures. Lots.

Goodreads Best YA Book Covers: The best YA book covers, voted by Goodreaders.

How To Judge A YA Book By Its Cover: Here’s a clever and oh-so-snarky analysis of what to do (and what not to do) when deciding on a YA cover.

Uncovering YA Covers: 2011: My favourite YA book cover analysis. Fascinating! And alarming. There aren’t enough protagonists of colour, and there seems to be an awful lot of emphasis on dead girls -__-

If you ask me, a good YA book cover leaves room for the imagination, has great typography, atypical main characters, and stands out from the rest.

 

 

Interview, Marketing, Reading, Writing

Book interview

Raidah Shah Idil

Hello world!

Sorry about my hiatus. I got married in January, and that tends to throw a spanner in the works 🙂 Irfan is my personal non-pharmaceutical kind of joy, but now that I’m out of the newlywed cave, I’m back on the marketing bandwagon! Check out my book interview with Mehal Krayem.

I feel like one of the best ways I can promote my book is by writing another one! More info on that, later…

As I write this, I’m listening to some ambient nature sounds in the background. How do you write best? Do you need silence, the sound of nature, or anything goes?

On another note, I’ve just finished reading the three Dragonships books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Brilliant work, as always. I adored the Weis and Hickman Death Gate Cycle series (from ye olde highschool days), but their Dragonships series is an entirely different ballgame. It’s inspired by Norse mythology, with its own twists on magic and mayhem. If you love fantasy and dragons, you won’t be disappointed!

History, Marketing

Muslim Spain!

Raidah Shah Idil

One of the best ways I procrastinate is by delving into my deep love of history. Yes, sadly, I haven’t been writing! Inconceivable! Ah, time organisation is critical when one has a job, studies, family, friends, pets…time to slowly brush the dust off my writing and get back to a daily routine.

I’m currently watching The Rise and Fall of Muslim Spain with the avidness that only a fangirl can muster. Fascinating, absolutely fascinating. The story of Muslim Spain is exhilarating and of course, heart-breaking, because the inevitable fall of Muslim Spain is a sad story 😦 To think that once, Muslims, Jews and Christians thrived under Muslim rule. With the backdrop of the 21st century, that notion can be inconceivable.

Only a writerly note, I’ve gotten my professional author photo shots done! Now I need to decide which one to pick for my Amazon author page. lol. Decisions, decisions!

 

Marketing

Egads!

Raidah Shah Idil

So last night, I attended a very awesome Kindle publishing workshop with Stephen Lewis. His parting advice was very sage: do not, under any circumstance, start a flame war with a reviewer who doesn’t like your book. Eeek. On that note, for those of you who’ve read my book, please leave a review!

Finding Jamilah is up, and now I need to market it. It won’t sell itself, as much as I’d like to think! Stephen made a good point. If I don’t talk about my book, who will?

And now, my dilemma. My Author Central photo! Le sigh.

I’ve been doing some research, and it looks like most of the male authors have very serious photographs. I suppose it fits into the genre they write in (crime, thrillers etc). Look at John Grisham, for example. Grim! But very fitting. Compare his photograph to Nicholas Sparks. Do you prefer head-shots, or upper body ones? Aha, I like Robert Jordan’s photograph. That photo has character!

Female author photographs are very different! I’ve scanned through a few, and most of them are smiling. Some of them are leaning against trees or have some kind of greenery in the background. I like the ones with bookshelves in the backdrop. Hmm…

In my case, after I find a nice bookshelf to stand/sit/pirouette in front of, it all boils down to:

1) Which hijab do I wear?

2) Do I strike a pose?

3) Which cat do I pose with?

Decisions, decisions…