she’s a hit! with shewrites.com

There’s something taking the Internet by storm. It’s women. More specifically, it’s women writers.

If you haven’t yet discovered She Writes now’s the time to join one of the most resourceful, encouraging groups I have seen in some time. The first 24 hours brought in 277 members. Now, shewrites.com is just one week old and already more than 1,000 women writers have flocked to unite and share publishing tips, book recommendations, and stories from their own writer’s desk.

The organizers Kamy, Nancy, and Deborah wanted to offer women writers – of fiction, journalism, memoir and more – an opportunity to connect through a social networking site that offers relative information, real opportunities to learn from one another, and provides a resource like no other.

Last Friday, I chatted with Deborah Siegel, one of the fabulous women behind shewrites.com, who was blown away by the success of the site:

"It's been 6 days and 1,000 members have already joined. Clearly, there is a need for women writers to connect in this way!"

Of course, the membership continues to increase at astounding rates. At the time of writing this post, there were more than 33 blogs, 40 discussion groups, and dozens of videos to view. Women range in age from 17 to 80, but it’s up to you to disclose your stats. What matters most is that women writers are able to post information about their works-in-progress, links to their sites, and join in on conversations about writing, life, and connecting with like-minded women.

Personally, I feel lucky to have stumbled upon shewrites.com right after its debut. So far I have connected with fiction writers, journalists, bloggers, publicists, and poets and my list of ‘friends’ is growing. But don’t assume this is just like some of those other sites where a person accumulates friends by the number but has barely any real contact with one another. This site is different. The writers joining shewrites.com really, truly want to connect with other writers. They want to learn from one another. They want to hear what the successful authors are doing and offer tips to those just starting out.

Members are able to start or participate in existing discussions, post information about themselves in their personal writing profile, submit article ideas and offer workshops for others. The profiles are particularly useful as a writer is able to share her writing history, publications, career direction, web links and more. It’s an easy way to learn more about other members and connect as real people within the discussions.

Until shewrites.com came along, I didn’t know I was looking for a group like this. I have been an active member for the last week and I am pleased with the useful tips, personal connections and writing resources the site has to offer.

If you are a writer, whether well established or just starting out, consider signing on as a member to take advantage of all this wonderful site has to offer. You’ll instantly make connections, get a sense of the friendly community vibe, and be glad to be amongst some truly talented women.

For more information visit shewrites.com.

under cover: content matters

Earlier this week, Carolyn Kellogg of the LATimes commented on Seth Godin’s recent blog about how cover art relates to book sales. Kellogg agreed with Godin’s analysis of why the cover has a limited job. That is, the job of the cover design is to encourage the reader to pick the book up, but it’s what’s inside that counts. In the end, as Godin argues, if the written content of the book does not hold up to the reader’s expectations the attractive cover fails the reader, and consequently fails the author.

I admit that I judge books by their cover. Of course I shouldn’t. I should know better than this. Why? Because most authors have very little – if any – say about what a cover looks like. We dream about The Big Day when our first book adorns the shelf of our favorite bookshop, imagining every last detail of what it will look like. How it will smell. How the embossed font will feel under our fingers. Reality is, most times our dreams are just dreams.

Once the book is in the hands of the art department we may have a courtesy chat about preconceived notions. In the end, however, it’s the pros that have all the say. Which, quite frankly, I am not protesting. After all, publishing pros are pros for a reason. They generally have a good feel for what works and what doesn’t. They know readers, how to target them, how to speak to them.

However, I am also sure there’s not one of us who hasn’t picked up a book based on its cover only to either a) read the back copy and realize it’s not what we thought, or b) read the book and realized it was far from what we imagined. I know I’ve had this experience. It can be frustrating, feeling like we’ve been promised one thing and given another. But do I blame the author?

Actually, I try not to blame anyone. It’s hard to put a book in a reader’s shopping cart. This much I understand. I also recognize it’s not always easy to visually label a story in a concise, marketable manner. Sometimes it’s up to me, as the reader, to either trust what’s being marketed to me, or to read up on reviews to see if my instincts are right in choosing a title.

Godin makes all the right points in how a book cover can successfully target an audience. It’s about reaching the right audience, too. As authors, we want to expand our readership, but we always want to make sure to appeal to our current readers. So we hope for the best and trust the pros and do our job at talking up the books any chance we get. But a lot of that talk comes back to you, reader; you have the power. Regardless of the cover, when you mention how thrilled you are about a great new book, people listen. Your friends trust you; your co-workers nod their heads. Word of mouth, as Godin mentions, is the ideal buzz as in the end that’s what sells a book: Happy readers.

What are some of your favorite book covers? What cover made you pick up a book by an author you hadn’t read before? Were you pleased or disappointed with how the cover related to the story?

Authors hope for eye-catching covers. We want to get your attention. More so, however, we want to get your attention by winning you over with our words. Our stories are what we want you to remember, not just our cover art. Sure, we may have beautiful artwork adorning our pages; or maybe we’re less than ecstatic of the art department’s interpretation of our tale. In the end, what we really care about is if the work we create and share with our readers is making you come back for more. That’s the ultimate goal. To reach our readers and move them not just to buy more books, but to move them with how we connect over words.