Cover, Title & Synopsis for New Writers
This is a hot topic in the Webnovel server and a lot of e-fiction platforms that you join. Most of these can actually be found under writer resources but in case you could not find them, here is a summarised version for you.
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The video below is recorded by me with the permission of Webnovel's previous Content Editors. Feel free to view it but not pass it around. It's made unlisted for a reason. Also, some of the points might have been covered before scattered all over my blog. If you want a summary of the points in this video, click here.
#1: Cover
But Aitsuji-senpai! I'm not an artist, I don't even know what a potato looks like! How do I get a good cover without spending money on Fiverr? What about copyrights?
Relax, I know your concerns. I've been there once upon a time and it's actually really simple. Before Canva appeared, we really struggled. I remember using PowerPoint to design my 600x800px cover with awful stolen google images and shitty fonts. However, now you don't have to do that!
Canva has everything that you could potentially want and need in a cover maker for your book if you're not writing on webnovel. However, if you are writing on webnovel, the job is even simpler. They have a cover maker for you that you can simply customise with options. It's really that simple. You can upgrade that cover anytime.
Just make sure that the cover has a readable font and something that easily gets a reader's attention from the sea of other mini icons on the phone app during features.
#2: Title
This part doesn't have to be too unique. If anything, the top sellers don't often have the most unique titles. If making money is your aim, use something that sells in the keywords. If you don't give two shits about making money then just go for what you fancy. I'm obviously the kind of writer who liked fun things judging from my titling sense.
There will be differences between ML and FL genres that you can see in the document created by the ex-content editors for WN if you want more references. However, what I do suggest is to keep your title easy to remember. Also, you might want to check your publishing platform for title duplicates. Being shadowed isn't really a good thing even though it is a very good title.
#3: Synopsis
For people who read my previous blog, you might already know the magic synopsis template for ML stories.
This is given to us by an ex-content editor with Webnovel. Things haven't really changed in the scene so you're free to continue using this template. However, things are a little different on the FL side. I'm not the expert with FL because I don't exactly like writing romance but from the many review swaps that I do with FL writers for their books, I can pick out a few things in common.
The first 3 lines or first 20 words is where you should add all your spices to grab readers. If you fail, you're simply wasting precious book feature slots allocated to you. Among the thousands of books, you need to sell your book in 2 seconds to a new passing reader and this is what you should be writing in your synopsis.
Skip the boring world introduction and character ages! Nobody gives a fuck! What readers want to know is what your book is going to be about. If it is about serial murders from a deranged gamer, say it! If it is about a pregnant teenage mother giving birth to ninja turtles, write it there in the first 20 words!
You can write everything else the reader might want to know after the first 20 words. You can even put mini excerpts of your book in the synopsis for a preview if you want. But only after the first precious 20 words.
Conclusion...
Now that you know the basics, it might be time for you to check out the rest of my free e-course to help you get started with your very first book.
Also, if you would like me to write you a synopsis I do charge a small fee on Patreon for it. If you subscribed one time to my second tier, I will do one for you. Just drop me a message there :)