CREATING QUOTES

Being quoted and being quotable opens many doors for an author. I mentioned in a prior blog that finding just the right quote to start a book or chapter lends credibility, authority and a certain literary element to a book. If you find the perfect quote, it often gives the reader a glimpse into your mindset and into what they can expect to receive by reading further. In addition, whomever you are quoting benefits from additional exposure for lending you their name.

But, at some point in time, after you write your book, you will be seeking some publicity and the media wants to quote YOU, not a 200 year old author. An interviewer in today's media is looking for sound bites and if you are the person being interviewed, it would be best if they were yours. Each of us has the ability to create quotes, if we put our mind to it. They do not need to be accidents of creativity but can be planned and organized around the topic you are writing about. One little tip is to keep your eyes open to other quotes, neat phrases from your book, marketing slogans that make it into popular culture, taglines that become popular and then write a version of it that applies to your own book.

This can be done in a focused and conscious manner - here's how I do it. I take a 3 X 5 recipe card, actually a pack of them, and sit down in a coffee shop and think about 2 or 3 main topics that I need quotes for. For the sake of argument, let's assume that we are looking to create quotes on the the subject of "love." It is Valentine's Day as I write this. Allow your mind to wander a bit as you concentrate on the word "love " and see what comes up. It may be lines from songs. At this moment the Beatles song that includes the line "love is all there is" is running through my mind. I might take that line, a line that is well known, and alter it to my own purposes by substituting words. It could be "Fear is all there is" or, "Soup is all there is" or I could add a work and make it "Love is not all there is." You can do the same with longer quotes and concepts and simply write them down on your cards.

Try it - it really does work and you get quoted from your own book. Make the quotes part of your marketing campaign and help the interviewers and reviewers do their job. You will find that they will use your quotes in the introduction and you can use them in your own efforts like blogs, book covers and one-pagers.

Here's a few that I have created over the past little while:

"Everyone has an answer, but what's the question?"
Bob Bannon

"When we let go of doing and embrace being, we open a direct channel to inspiration"
Bob Bannon

"Courage grows from failure nurtured with hope, desire and passion"
Bob Bannon

You get the idea; now sit down and write a self quote on something from the book you want to write and share it with us, but make sure you leave your name under it so you can be properly credited.