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DO YOU KNOW HOW TO TITLE YOUR STORY?

By Arthur Zulu

If you saw a beautifully painted house with a well kept garden of bright and sweet smelling flowers, would you not like to turn back to get a second look? Of course you would. And this outside impression would give you a favorable image of inside of house. But if house were otherwise, it would probably not attract your attention.

So it is with books. But here, I am not talking about a beautiful book cover (which though is important). I am talking about first thing to have in mind when writing your best-seller. And what is it?

The Title of Your Book How you title your book is most important. Because it is gateway to your book. Because it is your best chance to invite a reader to take a second look. And because there are many titles out there, begging for attention. How do you though get a title for your book?

You should know that your title must reflect topic of your book. You are, therefore, to guard against writing a misleading title.

To choose a title is very easy. After you have gotten your subject area, narrow it to a topic suitable for your writing.

Let’s take Cloning for example. That’s a wide subject. Now, break it down into topics, and you have a list that reads like this: Origin, types, advantages, disadvantages, and so on. You could still pick any of these topics and narrow it still further. But advice is; do not write on a wide subject area because you will end up with an unwieldy book, and do not narrow your topic so much that you do not have something to write about.

Now, how do you title your book? First, your title should be short. You may use a word, (CORIOLANUS) by William Shakespeare, a phrase (A TALE OF TWO CITIES) by Charles Dickens or a sentence (THE BEAUTIFUL ONES ARE NOT YET BORN) by Ayei Kwey Armah (I am not sure if I got spelling of Ghanaian name right).

Publishing Guidelines: Permission is granted to publish this article electronically or in print as long as bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

HOW CAN I PROMOTE MY BOOK?

By Arthur Zulu

Why, you may ask, must I promote my book? I will tell you reason with a pitiful picture I saw in an aquarium exhibit. An imprisoned young rainbow trout was looking out embarrassingly through open mouth of an Alaskan northern pike! Pity small fish in belly of big fish!

And that is situation in life. The human tritons are swallowing up human minnows!

It is no wonder then that any where you look, 20% of people are getting 80% of best things in life. Or put another way, 80% of all good things belong to 20% of people. Or, one person succeeds out of five! So, 80% of all best – sellers today are written by 20% of writers. And, out of about five writers, only one have written a best – seller. Where are other four?

William Blake said: “Better strangle an infant in its cradle than act unacted desires” Out of five writers that thought of writing, only one wrote. Out of five people that wrote, only one got published. And out of five that got published, only one became a best – seller. That is principle of life: Only those who back their desire with action, succeed. For nobody has “ power to curse darkness” someone says, “unless he has courage to light a candle”,

So, if you have written a best – seller, and you fail to promote your book, it will die. You will become a minnow in belly of triton. We shall now discuss ways to promote and market your book for best results.

1.Keep Writing Yes, because that was what gave you fame and fortune in first place. This will help you keep in touch with your readers.

You have to write and publish articles, reply critics and answer your readers’ mails. It is not easy. But now you are a man (or woman) of world. And you have to maintain your status symbol.

What about writing a new book? Of course, your tight schedule does not prevent you from writing another book –- another best-seller. You see, that’s problem with best-selling authors.

If you have written a best – seller, your readers will be eagerly waiting for another, perhaps a sequel to first. And it must not be any less interesting than first. So, you have to beat your own record! No mean task. But not to worry. If you did one, you will do another.