Beginnings
In June 1867, the newspaper Piqua Democrat warned its readers “Don’t judge a book by its cover, see a man by his cloth, as there is often a good deal of solid worth and superior skill underneath a jacket and yaller pants.” This was the first recorded instance of the now oft-repeated phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover.”
The idiom is relatively young because book covers themselves are young. For hundreds of years, books were handmade objects of very high financial and cultural value, and covers were made of sturdy materials to protect the content. However, in the 1820s, new methods of production made it affordable to produce cloth book covers with stamped designs. Cloth requires more protection than wood or leather, so “dust jackets” followed soon after. At the time, dust jackets were simple, disposable, and covered the entire book like wrapping paper.
Changes
Things changed in 1894 when the cover of The Yellow Book not only set off a series of unfriendly critical responses (the Times disparaged the cover’s “repulsiveness and insolence”) but also prompted the rise of the modern book cover. Eschewing
Front cover of the “Yellow Book,” vol. 1, April 1894.
decorative patterns and Victorian restraint, designers began employing bold, eye-catching colors and avant-garde design. By the 1930s, books were finally available as mass-produced paperbacks and were therefore inexpensive for both consumers and publishers. Covers were often literal representations of the plot and emphasized dramatic graphics over careful design. Finally, in recent decades, we have arrived at more aesthetic covers containing thoughtful designs and nuanced symbolism. In an increasingly competitive market, designers must meet an increasingly higher bar.
Futures
As brick-and-mortar stores recede into the distance, consumers can now buy any one of the tens of millions of books available at Amazon.com with the click of a button. In the face of this incredible glut of available media, what is our first step in winnowing down our choices? Quite simply: judging a book by its cover.
Although the metaphorical meaning of the phrase it clearly good advice, I would argue the practical meaning is unavoidable — and not wholly undesirable. At the most basic level, genres have cover styles, and these styles act as lighthouses in the sea of media surrounding us every day. (Personally, my eyes slide right over any covers that convey “political thriller”…)
But “judging a cover” is about more than just marketing. Academic books with subdued covers, pink romance novels with cheap paper, glossy coffee table books in unconventional dimensions – the physicality of the book and the visual contents of the cover set the scene for the purely mental journey on which you are about to embark. This is a significant part in the consumption of a book and shouldn’t be dismissed as shallow.
Don’t judge the quality of a book’s contents by its cover. But don’t dismiss the cover either. It’s the greeter at the front door, the narrator setting the scene, the artist painting you a picture. Don’t judge it – embrace it as part of the book.
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The Basics
First things first: put all lines of dialogue in double quotes to indicate that these are spoken words. To signal a change in speaker, put each character’s dialogue on a new line. Even at this most basic level, readers will understand that this is an exchange between characters.
“I love you.”
“I know.”
Dialogue Tags
Dialogue tags, also known as “attributions,” are the “he said, she said” of written conversation. When used, they clarify who’s speaking and sometimes provide additional information. They can go before, after, or right in the middle of dialogue lines, depending on how you’d like to create your rhythm and flow. (Or you can even skip them altogether! But that’s another post for another day.) Regardless of the tag’s placement, always use a comma in place of a period between the tag and the line of dialogue.
If the tag follows the dialogue, the first letter of the tag is not capitalized.
“I’m never going to give you up,” he said.
If the tag goes before the dialogue, capitalize the first letter of the dialogue.
She smiled and added, “Never gonna let you down.”
Of course, always capitalize names, even if they immediately follow a dialogue tag.
“Never gonna run around and desert you,” Ricky Astley sang at the top of his lungs.
What if you don’t want to put the tag before or after the dialogue, but right smack in the middle? You can do that too! These are still punctuated with commas, and the beginning of the second section of dialogue is left uncapitalized.
“Houston,” the astronaut said, his voice oddly steady, “we have a problem.”
If you wish to make a more pronounced pause, you can use a period to break the speech it into two sentences but keep them on the same line.
“Are you crying?” he asked incredulously. He turned to the rest of the team and yelled, “There’s no crying! There’s no crying in baseball!”
Questions
If your character is asking a question, simply use a question mark just like you would use a comma in a regular sentence with a dialogue tag (the tag is still left uncapitalized, unless it’s a name).
“You talkin’ to me?” the taxi driver asked.
“What kind of dog is this?” Borat asked as he gestured towards a tortoise.
Other Punctuation
Exclamation points, ellipses, and dashes work in a similar manner, with the beginning of the tag left uncapitalized (unless it’s a name):
“Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!” the French knight taunted.
“I wish I knew how to quit you…” he mused quietly.
She began yelling, “You mock my pain–”
“Life is pain,” Westley cut in. “Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
Quotes Within Quotes
To indicate quotes within dialogue, use single quotation marks.
“Everyone is always telling me ‘you are so humble,’ and I’m like ‘oh my god I know,'” she said without irony.
Action Beats
Action beats illustrate what the speaker is doing while talking. They can augment or even replace dialogue tags, but they are not punctuated in the same way. Ultimately, they are sentences and should be treated as such — so make sure to capitalize the first letter and end with a full stop.
Dorothy closed her eyes and began tapping her heels together. “There’s no place like home…”
Once you get a hang of these simple rules it will become second nature, and then you can focus on content instead of commas!
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An ISBN, or International Standard Book Number, is an integral component to getting your work published and available for purchase. Below are some common questions and concerns that arise.
What is an ISBN and when do I need one?
This thirteen-digit unique number is required if you want to distribute your book for retail (e.g. via shops, libraries, online retailers such as Amazon, etc). An ISBN is essentially a unique “address” that identifies the work’s publisher, title, and geographic location.
When is an ISBN required?
The short answer: if you are selling a printed book, it is mandatory. However, if you are simply printing your book as a gift or memento you do not plan on distributing for sale, you do not need an ISBN.
Do I only need one ISBN per book?
Technically, each individual version and format of your book should have a separate ISBN. If someone thinks they are ordering the hardcover version and receive an audio book, they will be (understandably) unhappy!
What about eBooks?
Ah, a tricky question! Technically, no. For example, if you use Kindle KDP and do not have an ISBN for your eBook, they will provide one for you (they just ask you do NOT use your print ISBN). Some authors still choose to purchase ISBNs for their eBooks to bolster copyright claims and increase professionalism. It also could potentially increase your book’s discoverability by libraries and bookstores. However, many find the cost prohibitively expensive with little reward.
Where can I purchase an ISBN and how much does it cost?
ISBNs can be purchased from various agencies, depending on your country. The only official United States ISBN agency is Bowker, and you can purchase ISBNs at www.myidentifiers.com. They are sold in packages that cost anywhere from $1.50 to $125 per ISBN (depending on how many you buy in bulk).
You can also purchase them from print-on-demand companies, such as CreateSpace and IngramSpark. These are generally cheaper (for example, CreateSpace offers individual ISBNs for $99), but these companies are simply acting as agents for Bowker.
Perhaps the most cost-effective method is simply using a free ISBN assigned by companies such as CreateSpace/KDP. However, authors should be aware that the company in question will hold the imprint, and maybe potentially limit one’s distribution power. If the ISBN is in your name, you have full control. Moreover, libraries and brick-and-mortar stores may refuse to carry books with ISBNs owned by self-publishing services such as CreateSpace and IngramSpark.
What do the numbers mean?
Believe it or not, it’s not just a random collection of numbers! Each section carries a piece of information, reading left to right:
Product – “978” is used to denote that the product is a book
Country – 0 and 1 are used for English-speaking countries
Publisher – the middle group indicates the publisher
Title – number group of varying length is used to represent the title
Check Digit – a mathematical variable of the first twelve numbers, which validates the number
“According to her five-year plan, Grace Foster’s life is right on schedule. After marrying her college sweetheart, she has fought to earn her dream job of evening news producer at WKND. When a story breaks, and her husband is suddenly arrested, she flees for the last place she thought she’d ever find solace: Her mother’s home. The picturesque cottage on the shore of Lake Michigan appears to be the perfect hideout, or is it the battleground she left ten years ago?
Being the daughter of Julia Dunham, best-selling self-help author, has always made Grace cynical. But watching her mother go through her own personal crisis, Grace experiences compassion she’s never felt before. With support from her family and friends, Grace begins to follow the steps in her mom’s latest best-seller to rebuild her own life. Will what she learns give her the courage to let go of the past and move forward, or will Julia push Grace out of her life for good?”
I was lucky enough to do the cover, formatting, and editing for this amazing book! I really can’t believe this is M. J. Parisian’s first novel. She has a strong story, believable dialogue, and absolutely lovable characters. Moreover, this book is more than just an interesting story — it’s excellent life advice. Highly recommend!
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Lindsey Fitzharris accomplished the difficult (but rewarding) feat of writing a truly excellent example of narrative nonfiction and medical history. The Butchering Art tells the true story of Joseph Lister’s life-long battle to bring antiseptic approaches to surgery into the operating room. She clearly did her research into medical practices of the time, and deftly weaves scientific explanations between biographical sketches of key players. The book is gruesome enough to make you thankful for modern antiseptics, but not exploitative of people’s suffering. It’s an all-around engaging read!
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